There are many mistakes that people make when starting a home based business. With just a few changes to these actions and adding a bit more knowledge and steps that same person can have a very successful home based business. The internet makes having a home business even easier than ever before.You need to set goals for your home based business when you start and every year after that. Some goals can be small and quickly achievable while others may take the whole year to complete. The goals must state what action you need to perform to achieve the goal and the deadline you give yourself to achieve the goal by whether it is a week, month, or year later.Schedule on your calendar the hours you are going to spend on your home based business each day. To succeed you must take the business seriously and not treat it like a hobby. Planning the time you will spend and the goals you will work on each day is important in order to stay on track for success. If you do not complete a days work just reschedule it into the following weeks work. Do not give up just because you hit some rough spots in time management or hitting your goals. Just keep on taking positive actions.When getting stated in a home based business it is important to focus on only one product theme or niche when you are learning the ropes. If you try multiple topics or niches then it will be hard to grasp the basics or get as much success from each audience as you could if you just worked on one niche in the beginning. Pick a product, topic niche that you think people want to actually buy products related to it. If they only like to talk about it but do not spend money on it then the theme may not be the best one to get started with.It is important to get some guidance from successful people in the home based business profession. Be careful to pick the right course or teacher. There are a lot of scammers out there who claim to be able to direct you to success but there information may be outdated or not even accurate at all. You need to find the best coach or mentor that you can that can help you reach all your goals. Research the best in the business you are starting such as affiliate marketing online. Then follow their direction as you move forward in your home based business.Stay flexible as you grow in your home based business. Just because one action worked five years before does not mean it will today. You need to be able to try new avenues to success as they become available through technology or through your knowledge as you follow your course of action.
How Important Is the Fundraising Auctioneer to the Success of Your Event?
I want you to think about the term “Fundraising Auction”.
A “Fundraising Auction” is an event where items of value are gathered, and then sold in a competitive bidding situation, either in a Silent Auction format, or in a Live Auction format by a Live Auctioneer. And since typically the best items are saved for the Live Auction, arguably it is the Live Auction that should generate a significant portion of the proceeds in any Fundraising Auction.
So why do so many non-profit groups consider the Fundraising Auctioneer to be the least valuable component in a Fundraising Auction?
The Hosting Facility gets paid.
The Printer gets paid.
The Caterer gets paid.
The Liquor Store gets paid.
The DJ gets paid.
The Florist gets paid.
But the Auctioneer … the individual who is expected to raise the lion’s share of the event’s proceeds… is expected to work for Free. And is usually under-appreciated for the professional services he/she provides.
I’m not trying to underscore the value of the invitations & programs, food, booze, music, and decorations. All are important in their own way. But each of these are “Expenses”. It is the Auctioneer who is going to bring “Revenue”… and thus, the “Profits”… into any event. Which is the ultimate objective of any Fundraising Auction.
Here is a real-life example of how under-appreciated the Auctioneer can be. In two comparable events we worked last year, during the dinner portion of the event one non-profit group sat the Auctioneer (me) at a table with the DJ, the Interns, the Volunteer Staff, and other event “Help”. The 2nd non-profit group sat the Auctioneer (me) directly next to the CEO of their organization, where we chatted about how important the pending revenue would be to their organization. Which group do you think valued the services of the Fundraising Auctioneer more?
Don’t ever under-estimate the value that a professional Fundraising Auctioneer can bring to your event. The Auctioneer adds value as a pre-event consultant. And the Auctioneer can change an event from a moderate to a huge success.
A Case Study Once I was scheduled to call an Auction for a major local non-profit group. They represented a very good cause and they had a strong and dedicated following. Their event was sold out, quality Live & Silent Auction items had been solicited, and the Special Pledge Appeal had been choreographed and was ready to go. The facility was first class, the appropriate caterer was booked, and the food was ready to cook.
But quite unexpectedly, some unseasonably inclement weather forced the event’s cancellation. Despite all of the committee’s hard work, cancelling the event was the proper decision considering the circumstances.
So the Event Committee scrambled to re-schedule the event for the following weekend.
They confirmed with the Hosting Facility.
They confirmed with the Caterer.
They confirmed with the Liquor Store.
They confirmed with the DJ.
They confirmed with the Florist.
Since they already had the Mailing List of those scheduled to attend, no new invitations had to be printed as all were contacted by email or telephone. So with everything in place, the group went ahead and re-scheduled the event for the following weekend.
But guess who they failed to confirm? You got it… the Professional Auctioneer. They thought so little of the Auctioneer’s contribution that they “assumed” that the Auctioneer would be available and at their beck and call.
But the Auctioneer already had another Fundraising Auction booked for that date with another non-profit group. It was only hour away from the re-scheduled event, and things could have been easily worked out. All Group #1 had to do was start their event one hour earlier, or one hour later, than the Group #2, and the Auctioneer could have helped both groups on the same day.
But because Group #1 failed to anticipate a possible Auctioneer conflict, because they failed to confirm with the Auctioneer before re-scheduling their event, their preferred Auctioneer had to bow out and they had to scramble to locate substitute “Volunteer” Auctioneer only days before their event.
And it cost them.
Learning Points
The Live Auction is usually where the profits are made at any Fundraising Auction.
A Professional Fundraising Auctioneer can be vital to the success of any Fundraising Auction.
The better Fundraising Auctioneers usually get booked quickly.
You need to recognize the important contributions that a good Auctioneer can make to your event.
Michael Ivankovich is a Bucks County Fundraising Auctioneer based in Doylestown PA, and serves the Great Philadelphia PA area. He has been a professionally licensed and bonded Auctioneer in Pennsylvania for nearly 20 years, has been named Pennsylvania’s Auctioneer of the Year, and has considerable experience in conducting Fundraising Auctions. Michael loves helping groups raise needed funds for good causes and one of his specialties is the “Special Pledge Appeal” or “Fund-A-Cause Appeal” which usually enables clients to double their revenue in a single evening.
Choosing the Mobile Advertising Network That’s Right for You
As we move further and further into the 21st century, we find that mobile devices are getting smarter and more useful to users. Take the case of mobile advertising networks that work as a system to deliver solutions so that it optimizes a company’s advertising strategies, besides also tracking analytics and maintain a web of applications that deliver quality results across a spectrum of platforms including video and the Internet. This advertising mode first made its appearance with the coming of the iPhone, which has proved to be the star of the advertising.
The mobile advertising network is poised to excel along with the widespread usage of smartphones. These days, this form of advertising can be studied under three kinds of categories:
• Blind networks: As far as advertisers, publishers and impressions go, this form of advertising is considered the largest and generally works on the basis of CPC. These mobile advertising networks have options to target specific content channels but do not allow advertisers to opt for specific websites. The advertising networks that fall under this category are BuzzCity, Adfonic, AdMob, Madvertise, Admoda or Adultmoda and Mojiva.
• Premium blind networks: This form of advertising networks is generally mid-sized and gives newspapers, operator portals and broadcasters a higher premium. So, it’s not surprising that they bring in a higher percentage of brand advertising on the basis of CPM. In this category, you can choose either semi-blind or blind targeting with options to search and display advertisements or go in for particular spots on sites that you choose. These include Hunt Mobile Ads, Madhouse, Millennial Media, xAd, Greystripe and Jumptap.
• Premium networks: These mobile advertising networks are popular with big brand advertisers willing to pay top prices to get prime locations on premium networks with a CPM pricing model. They usually offer superior direct sales and support and a multitude of targeting options. Well-known in this category are Mobile Theory, YOC Group, Hands, NAVTEQ Media Solutions, Microsoft Mobile Advertising and Advertising.com or AOL.
In order to choose a good network for your business model, do the following:
Check that your network has an extensive reach, locally: Is your advertising network able to connect with local business advertisers? In fact, your network should be serving about 60%-70% of local mobile search applications.
Does your network specialize in localized content? If yes, your network will serve ads directly to his local customers. Your ads should be reaching people according to their ZIP codes as far locally as possible, rather than at city level so that they are relevant in a given context and locally too.
Does your network offer Search and Display Advertising? You’re sure to get SMS and display ads on your advertising network, but what about Search and Display advertising? Ideally, your mobile advertising network should offer you both.