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with your small business!

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Newsletter Archive
February 26, 2003


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A F*REE electronic magazine...             February 26, 2003
============================================================
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)

   "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
============================================================
I n   T h i s   I s s u e . . .
============================================================

   1. Feature: The Stay-at-Home CEO Recommends
   2. A "Quickie" - Personal Observation
   3. Feature: Article
               "How to Attend a Seminar or Conference"
   4. Feature: "Ask Dave" - My take on your business problems
               "Selling family services"
   5. Feature: "Meanwhile, back at the ranch..."
               "The generator..."
   6. About "Big Bucks in a Bathrobe" Newsletter
   7. Who the heck am I, anyway?
   8. How to get on or get off of this list

You are on our list as <$email$>

(To be added/deleted from this list scroll to end for link.)

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
  PLEASE FORWARD THIS issue 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 sent
  it without asking, which is a big no-no!)  Thanks!
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

(c) Copyright 2003, A Few Good People, Inc.  ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
11111 The Stay-at-Home CEO Recommends:

      According to my recent subscriber survey, many of
      you wanted my recommendations on various books
      and products.

      You can read past recommendations here:
      http://www.TheStayAtHomeCEO.com/reviews.htm

      (While it is true that I may make small amounts of
      money on some of these recommendations, my integrity
      is NOT for sale:  I would never recommend something I
      didn't believe-in 100%, just to make a buck or two.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Announcing "Big Bucks in a Bathrobe Marketing Tips" Newsletter

... and it's FR'EE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am very excited to announce a new newsletter focused on
Internet marketing.

"Big Bucks in a Bathrobe Marketing Tips" will be delivered
to you by email twice a month, containing lots of tips and
tricks that will help you increase your business and exposure
on the Internet.

Read all about it here:
http://www.TheStayAtHomeCEO.com/nl/bbbmt.htm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tax time again...  UGH!  Here's a resource that will help
reduce the pain.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I used to think I was pretty sophisticated when it came to
taxes and tax strategies.  Having owned my own corporation
for over 20 years, and hating to pay taxes, I learned a lot
of neat (but legal) tricks.  Yep, I thought I was pretty
cool when it came to taxes.

Until now.

I found a tax book that had a few tricks that even I didn't
know about.  As I read through it, I was pleased to find
most of the things I knew about plus a few that I didn't,
all explained in an easy-to-read style.

It isn't fancy, with colors and graphics that dazzle your
eye, but it is jam-packed with valuable, no-nonsense
information that will easily save you many times its cost.

* The Tax Reduction Toolkit *

How Any Small Business Owner or Self-Employed Person Can
Save Thousands In Taxes (without any fear of an IRS audit!)

...by Wayne M. Davies, a Tax Professional with over 15 years
experience helping people like you to slash their taxes.

Anyone can understand the tax-saving methods covered here.
And, if there is something that you don't understand, the
Toolkit contains coupons for consulting services so you can
ask the author your questions for free!

Here's what you'll find in "The Tax Reduction Toolkit":

* 29 little-known legal loopholes that will reduce your
taxes by thousands -- for self-employed people and small
business owners only!

* 9 biggest mistakes taxpayers make (and how to avoid them)

* How to audit-proof your income tax return forever

* $395 worth of tax consulting and tax planning coupons

* plus several more bonuses that will dramatically improve
your financial situation immediately

I suggest that you take a very close look at this valuable
resource:

http://www.TheStayAtHomeCEO.com/nl/taxes.htm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
22222 A "Quickie" - Personal Observation
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My sister recently decided to bite the bullet and get a
really good chair for her graphic design business.  She
spends all day in it and her back was starting to bother
her, so she figured that it would be a good investment.

She found the chair she wanted on the Internet for a good
price ('only' $900!!) and ordered it, to be shipped
immediately.  It arrived just when they said it would.

But...

The box was horribly mangled and taped together in a rather
random fashion, in such a way that she knew it was shipped
in that condition.  And it was obvious, from the way the box
rattled, the chair inside the box was not padded or packed
in any way.  From the looks of the box, the chair was sure
to be damaged.

This story has a happy ending because the chair was in
perfect condition, but the rag-tag shipping container left
her with a bad feeling about the company and the chair.  She
felt like they didn't care about her or their own
merchandise.  For $900 you want to feel good about your
purchase!

How much trouble would it be to have shipping boxes that are
appropriate for the merchandise they are shipping?  They
should take a lesson from Gateway computer:  everything they
ship is in a nice, clean-looking box that is covered with
cow patterns (their logo).

Besides giving the customer a good feeling about their
purchase, it is good advertising to everyone who encounters
the box enroute.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

SIGN-UP FOR MY FREE MIN-E-SEMINAR:

"Secrets of an Actual $5 Million Home Business"

Eight e-mails in eight days that will change the way you run your
small business!

http://www.TheStayAtHomeCEO.com/secrets/mine1.htm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
33333 A r t i c l e "How to Attend a Seminar or Conference"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By Dave Balch, "The Stay-at-Home CEO(tm)"

I have made no secret of the fact that I am a big proponent
of education as a way of sharpening your business skills and
keeping up on the latest trends and practices in your
industry.  There are many ways of getting that information,
each of which has distinct advantages and disadvantages.
One of the best, however, is to attend a seminar or
conference.

Personally, I like to make a special trip to spend a
concentrated amount of time learning about something I need
to know.  Even if the event is a dud, I have managed to
spend a lot of time thinking about my business and that is
never a bad thing to do.

Seminars can be as short as a couple of hours or a
conference as long as a couple of days, but no matter how
long they are there are some specific things you should do
before, during, and after the event to insure that you get
the most out of your investment of time and money.  (It is
important to remember, however, that learning is a process,
not a one- time occurrence; therefore don't expect to come
away from a single event as an expert.  If you can learn two
or three really solid nuggets you have been successful.)
Here are a few suggestions:

Before the seminar:

  1. Set objectives – what specifically do you want to learn
  more about?

  2. Be sure you are well rested; spend the night nearby if
  necessary.  Yes, it's an

  extra expense, but why go at all if you are too tired to
  absorb the information?  Think of it as an investment in
  your investment.

  3. Be sure you pack lots of business cards.

  4. If this is the type of seminar that has concurrent
  "breakout" sessions, go over the agenda carefully in
  advance so you can plan your time and spend it on the
  sessions that are in alignment with your objectives.

During the seminar:

  1. Participate in all exercises, even if they seem "dumb"
  to you.  They have been designed for a reason.

  2. Volunteer for anything and everything; the more you
  participate the more you will get out of it.

  3. Ask questions; don't be afraid of appearing stupid.
  The only stupid question is the one that isn't asked.

  4. Take lots of notes, even if the event is being taped.
  The physical act of writing the information will help you
  absorb it.  Abbreviate whenever possible.  Use symbols in
  the margins to highlight special things.

  5. Make a list, separate from your notes, of action items;
  specific things that you want to do and/or implement right
  away.

  6. Exchange business cards with other attendees that have
  synergy with your business.  Be sure to make notes on the
  back of each card about the person and the reason for your
  interest in them, or you will forget.

  7. Remember that it is easy to get overloaded with
  information and feel completely overwhelmed.  Don't worry,
  it will pass.  This is why it is critical that you take
  good notes and identify specific action items as they
  occur to you.

After the seminar:

  1. Go over your notes as soon as you return in order to
  reinforce what you learned.

  2. Make a commitment to complete at least one of your
  action items in the first three days following the
  seminar.

The most important thing, however, is that you attend in the
first place.  Everyone wonders how to invest their money so
that it is safe and it grows, but the best option is often
investing in yourself.  That's why seminars and conferences
are good investments; make the most of them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
44444  "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:Dave@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 involved with 3 businesses (all which I believe in
strongly to help families).  One is a wellness company
replacing products in your home with nontoxic ones and
carrying nutritional supplements, one provides legal
services to protect families and the other offers dental,
vision, chiropractic and prescription coverage.

My dilemma is that I want to be able to offer all these to
people, but not confuse people.  I was thinking of coming up
with a "company" name that would cover all three and doing a
monthly newsletter to groups of people who would be
interested in the services.

What are your thoughts about this?

Thanks
       T.V.

  Dear T.V.

  I think we need to do a little focusing here.  It sounds
  like your area of interest is not nontoxic products or
  legal services or dental coverage.  It is family
  convenience, safety, and security.  I would find a name
  that reflects that, not the individual products you sell.
  If you named your company Family Product, Legal, and
  Dental Services, what will you do when you find a product
  you want to carry for, say, a security system?

  How about "Family Services" or something equally vanilla?
  Don't paint yourself into a corner; make it easy to expand
  your product offerings, as long as they stay in the same
  theme and pertain to the same markets.

  You say you want to offer all three products without
  confusing them.  If you try to sell them all three at
  once, that probably would be confusing; only sell them
  one.  You will be marketing all three services, and any
  given customer will be interested in only the one to which
  they responded.  Sell them that one and go back to them
  with other products in a month or two.  It's much easier
  to sell to existing customers anyway, so doing it that way
  will make it easier.  Granted, you will have to wait
  longer for the second sale, but then you won't scare
  anyone away by overwhelming them will products the first
  time around.

  If the newsletter is done properly, it will expose
  existing customers to the products they don't have and do
  most of the work for you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
55555 "M e a n w h i l e,   b a c k  at the  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 )

Last issue I mentioned that I had purchased a generator and
that I suspected that that was the reason why we have had no
storms since.  My worries are over:  we got 19 inches of
snow overnight.  Then the power went out.

OH GOODIE!  I get to use the new generator!

It worked fine for about an hour, then started to sputter
and make all kinds of strange noises.  It got worse and
worse, and then stopped completely.  I waited about an hour
and started it again; the same thing happened after about an
hour.

Naturally it was five minutes after the support people went
home for the night, so I was on my own.

Then the power went back on.  I have a reprieve.  I can take
it to a shop and get it fixed.

...and you KNOW when the next power failure will be...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
66666  A b o u t  "Big Bucks in a Bathrobe"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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.

If you don't want to receive future issues, scroll to the
bottom for instructions on how to be removed from the list.
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

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
77777  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

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
88888  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!

   - Your information is NEVER intentionally shared with
     ANYone for ANY reason.  PERIOD.

   - Contact me at mailto:Dave@DaveBalch.com

   - HOW TO GET ON OUR LIST:  If this issue was forwarded to
     you and you would like to receive your own copy (and OF
     COURSE you DO!), you can sign-up here:
     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