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July 17, 2002


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A FREE electronic magazine...                       July 17, 2002
=================================================================
B I G   B U C K S   I N   A   B A T H R O B E
Make More Money & Have More Fun With Your Small Business!
=================================================================
Publisher:  Dave Balch, "The Stay-at-Home CEO"(tm)
Check out this endorsement!!!
   "David made over $5 million at home and wants to help you
    do the same or more"
             Mark Victor Hanson, co-creator of the #1 best selling
             "Chicken Soup for the Soul" series
(Scroll to end for subscribe / unsubscribe instructions)
=================================================================
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT! SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT! SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!
The "Big Bucks Boutique" is now open!  Resources and materials
that will help you "Make More Money and Have More Fun" with your
business are now available online with secure ordering.  Take a
look now! Limited time... FREE T-SHIRT WITH ANY ORDER OVER $30!
http://www.TheStayAtHomeCEO.com/boutique.htm
=================================================================
I n   T h i s   I s s u e . . .
=================================================================
   1. A "Quickie" - Personal Observation
   2. Feature: Article
               "Your Secret Weapon"
   3. Feature: "Ask Dave" - Can I help with a business problem?
               MLM Liability Issue
   4. Feature: "Meanwhile, back at the ranch..."
               Lily in prime form
   5. About "Big Bucks in a Bathrobe" Newsletter
   6. Who the Heck am I, Anyway?
   7. How to Subscribe / Unsubscribe
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
  PLEASE FORWARD THIS to each of your friends who have small or
  home-based businesses; they'll LOVE you for it!  (Be sure they
  know it's from you, or they'll think I spammed 'em!)  Thanks!
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Copyright (c)2002, A Few Good People, Inc.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
11111 A "Quickie" - Personal Observation
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I have been trying to contact a web hosting service for a
client of mine and I always get the automated attendant, so
I leave voice messages.  They never return the calls or
answer my emails.  One time I called and someone actually
picked up the phone!  Glory be!  But they didn't say
anything and then hung up... so I called back and guess
what?  I got the voice attendant again and had to leave
another voice mail.  They didn't return that call either.
They don't know who I am or what I want... it is simply
amazing.
And then there is my online credit card gateway provider.  I
called them with a question; the gentleman that answered the
phone asked my account number, he had the information he
needed in 2 seconds and the information I needed in 5. Bada
bing, bada boom!
Some people really have their act together, some don't.
Which are you?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
22222 A r t i c l e "Your Secret Weapon"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By Dave Balch, "The Stay-at-Home CEO"(tm)
Did you know that you had a secret weapon to help you solve
complex and perplexing problems?  It is available to each
and every one of us whether we know it or not, whether we
use it or not.
Do you want to know what it is?  I knew you would... it's
your subconscious.
Stay with me here... and don't roll your eyes!  This is not
some hocus-pocus new age revolution or a pie-in-the-sky
theory.  This is a fact and if you're not taking advantage
of it you are missing out big time.
The best way to explain it is with an example of how I used
it just last night.
It has been very hot up here in the mountains (at least to
me!) and I don't do well in the heat.  We have central air
conditioning for the first level of the house but my office
is on the lower level and is way too hot for me to
concentrate.  So, I set up a makeshift office upstairs and
wired it so I could operate my desktop computer (downstairs)
from upstairs using my notebook computer.  There is special
software to do this and I couldn't get it to work properly:
I could operate the laptop from the desktop, but not the
other way around, which is the way I needed it to work.
I tried everything:  technical support at the manufacturer's
website, other user groups on the Internet, comparing the
settings on the different computers (after all, it worked
one way, why won't it work the other way??), reading
documentation, "help" files, etc.  To complicate the
situation, I was using an older version of the software
which was no longer supported.  Needless to say, I was very
frustrated and out of options; I couldn't think of anything
else to try.
That's when I decided to use my "secret weapon".  I realized
that I was spinning my wheels, that there must be a solution
that I just couldn't see, and that I would be able to figure
it out more quickly if I put it away and let my subconscious
work on it for me.
Sure enough, within a few hours I had four new ideas to try.
At 2:00 a.m.  I woke up with another one, which turned out
to be the solution to the problem.
It's kind of ironic isn't it?  Sometimes the best way to
solve a problem is to stop working on it!
The secret is to take your mind off of it.  Go on to
something else.  It doesn't have to be an activity that is
related to the problem; in fact I believe that the larger
the difference in activities, the better your result will
be.
My wife is good at this.  We often have animal-related
problems to solve such as how to take care of them when we
need to go somewhere, or how to keep the dogs away from the
flower pots, or how to allow the cats on the deck but not
out into the forest.  She thinks about it a while and then
goes on to the next thing.  Before you know it, she has the
perfect solution; it just pops into her mind while she is
doing something that has nothing whatsoever to do with the
problem.
Try it.  It works.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
33333  "A s k   D a v e"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   (Can I help you with a business problem?  I will field
   business questions in every issue.  Send them to
   mailto:DaveEZ@DaveBalch.com )
   Ask whatever you'd like... all letters will remain anonymous.
   Maybe my 2-cents'-worth will help you make "Big Bucks"!
   (Maybe not!)
Today's question:
----------------
Dear Dave:
I am a Marketing Executive (sales Rep) for a direct catalog
sales company.  Today, I discovered that as
a rep, if I bring somebody into the company and they
purchase the products and then maybe they have side effects
from one of the products or the company mixes something in
error at the manufacturing stage or something is mislabeled
and then the person I brought into the company is affected,
I can be sued as an individual along with the company.
The company has no written statement in place to negate this
liability.  I have contacted them and expressed my concern.
How common is this among MLM's?
I do not think any of the other people in the organization
are aware of this liability.  I have stated that I will make
sure it is brought to light at the company's convention,
which is to take place at the beginning of August.  No one
wants to be sued in this capacity.
Do you have any suggestions on how I can leverage myself in
order to get the company to put something in writing that
will limit the liability for such happenings to the company?
                M.A.J.
   Dear M.A.J.
   Wow!  What a great question!  I have absolutely no
   idea... but I do have some thoughts about it.
   1. No matter what you do, I would contact a personal
   injury attorney.  I am not an attorney and I am not
   offering any legal advice, but from what I've heard about
   liability and legal stuff in general there is nothing you
   can do to prevent someone from suing you.  I belong to a
   motorcycle club and we sign waivers all the time so that
   the club can't get sued by an individual that is injured
   in a club event, but one of our members is an attorney
   and he said that the waivers are worthless in court.
   2. I think that the best you can hope for from the
   company is for them to guarantee to defend you in the
   case of such a suit.  But then you get into all kinds of
   other issues about whether you misrepresented the product
   or caused the product to be mislabeled, etc. in which
   case they probably would want you to be on your own.
   3. I have had no experience with MLM's in general so I
   don't know how this is handled by others.
   4. How can you leverage to put pressure on the company??
   There has always been power in numbers, but what can you
   do with those numbers that you are actually willing to
   follow-through with if they don't step up to the plate?
   Be sure to let me know how it turns out!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
44444 "M e a n w h i l e,   b a c k   a t   t h e   r a n c h..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
       A glimpse into the life of this "Stay-at-Home CEO"
   (Photos and short bios of the complete "cast of characters"
   are posted at http://www.TheStayAtHomeCEO.com/theranch.htm )
Lily has been in prime form lately.
My brother-in-law was recently visiting and watched her jump
onto a chair, sniff the cat bed that was on that chair
(always occupied by Phoebe, our other cat), and then, in
plain view, turned around and urinated on it.  In a single
spray she got the bed, the chair, the wall behind the chair,
and the carpet beneath the chair.
Lily and I had a little "talk" about that one.
A few days later, we discovered a dead bluebird in the
closet amidst a number of loose feathers.  (Lily is the only
cat that goes outside, which we only allow because we have
this fantasy that it will placate her and she will stop
urinating in the house.)  Despite our dismay at the dead
bird, we marvel that Lily was able to catch it at all
because she has a bell on her collar and no front claws.
Say what you will about Lily, but you have to admit she is
talented.
Lily and I had a little "talk" about that one as well.
Now it's 7:30pm and I'm eating dinner.  Chris suddenly yells
for me to run to the bathroom immediately.  Upon my
breathless arrival, I find Lily with another bluebird in her
mouth, still alive, flapping its wings and chirping
pathetically.  I 'invited' Lily to leave and she was soon
airborne through the door.  The bird's wing was injured, so
I told it we were going to help it and I put it in a box.
Then I called Linda, the vet's assistant who loves birds and
lives behind the pet hospital.  She agreed to meet me in 10
minutes so I raced over there where Linda was waiting in her
blue P.J.'s and bunny slippers.  She looked the little guy
over and thought that it would be okay in a few days.
I'm not talking to Lily for a while.  It doesn't seem to
help, so she's grounded for the time being.
Don't ask me what that means.  I don't know.
-------------------- CHRIS' CANCER UPDATE
Her first chemo treatment was Friday, July 12.  She hasn't
felt sick from it but has slept a lot, perhaps from the
anti-nausea medication.  We went to the movies and a crown
popped off of her lower right molar, so we found ourselves
at the dentist's office at 9:30 pm Sunday night.  (What ELSE
could possibly happen??)  It's a good thing that the dentist
is a friend of ours. (Don't you just love all of this
small-town stuff??)  Her hair should begin falling out in
two weeks.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
55555  A b o u t  "Big Bucks in a Bathrobe"  N e w s l e t t e r
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Welcome! You are receiving this because either:
   -You requested it on my website or after seeing me at a
    speaking engagement
   -I know you personally and thought you'd like it
   -I asked you if I could send it and you said "Yes"
   -Someone forwarded it to you because they thought you'd
    like it.  Scroll to the bottom for subscription instructions.
If you don't want to receive future issues, scroll to the bottom
for instructions on how to unsubscribe.  No harm, no foul, no
hurt feelings!
My goal is a bi-weekly newsletter that will:
   -help you with your small or home-based business
   -share articles of interest
   -be informal and informative
   -answer specific questions asked by readers
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
66666  W h o   t h e   H e c k   a m   I,   A n y w a y ?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I've generated over $5 million (so far!) from my own home-based
software business and I have a lot to share with you about how I
did it and what I learned along the way.  Now, as a professional
speaker, I offer programs that will help you and your employees
"Make More Money and Have More Fun" with your small or home-based
business!
Visit me at http://www.TheStayAtHomeCEO.com for descriptions of
the programs and educational resources that I offer.
The "Big Bucks Boutique" offers resources and materials that will
help you "Make More Money and Have More Fun" with your business.
Take a look at http://www.TheStayAtHomeCEO.com/boutique.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
77777  H o w   to   S u b s c r i b e   /   U n s u b s c r i b e
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Please note:
   - This newsletter is sent every other week.
   - Comments and suggestions are always welcome!
   - Subscriber information is NEVER shared with
     ANYone for ANY reason.  PERIOD.
   - Contact me at mailto:DaveEZ@DaveBalch.com
   - HOW TO SUBSCRIBE If this issue was forwarded to you and you
     would like to receive your own copy (and OF COURSE you DO!),
     subscribe at http://www.TheStayAtHomeCEO.com
                   A Few Good People, Inc.
                        P.O. Box 824
                    Twin Peaks, CA  92391
                       1-800-366-2347

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© Copyright 2003, A Few Good People, Inc.
P.O. Box 824
Twin Peaks, CA   92391
800-366-2347
909-337-3928
909-337-4945 Fax