Are you just starting out in business or have you been around awhile and are ready for a change? Pay attention to these important steps no matter where you are on the road to success:
• Know your goals and objectives (What do you want?)
• Write a business plan and modify as necessary (It’s okay to change your mind)
• Design a system for qualifying new ideas (Don’t chase every bright, shiny object)

Advances in technology have transformed our lives forever. They’ve also changed the way we do business. New world trends have introduced us to a global marketplace and placed all kinds of prospects at our virtual doorsteps.

There is, however, one thing that hasn’t changed: businesses still need the foundation of a solid business plan and marketing plan. Neglect this and your business may crumble to the ground, taking all of your great ideas with it.

Most of today’s entrepreneurs find themselves overwhelmed just keeping their businesses afloat. Why? Because they try to do everything themselves. They don’t know how to delegate and instead of doing things that will move their businesses forward, they get caught in a mire of tasks that pulls them back down.

In the attached video, entrepreneur Tracy Walker describes how a 123Employee VA performs tasks that free her time so she can focus on doing the things that help her business grow. Like many, at first she had no idea how to work with a 123 Employee VA, but soon discovered how valuable this would become.

We all have items on our to-do lists that can be delegated to others, such as social media, email marketing, maintaining our data bases and more. A VA (virtual assistant) works remotely to perform the tasks delegated by business people. Until we assess our task lists and duties we often don’t realize how many things can be outsourced to a trusted virtual assistant.

Try this exercise: take out a blank piece of paper and draw a line down the middle. Title the section on the left, IGAs (Income Generating Activities). This refers to tasks that have a direct impact on generating profits in your business. Example might be, meeting with prospects, attend networking events, create online products for sale.

At the head of the column on the right side, write the word Tasks. Now think about your business and what it takes to run it. Think of the things you do day to day. Most people have several tasks listed under the Tasks heading. These are duties that by outsourcing you can free yourself to spend more time on the IGAs and increase profits.

Watch the video and see what Tracy has to say. You too can learn how working with a VA will help you grow your business and increase profits. Please contact us at http://www.123Employee.com

Daven Michaels is a New York Times Best Selling Author and CEO of premiere global outsourcing company, 123Employee, http://www.123Employee.com. The company employs hundreds of young bright individuals on three continents. His International event, Beyond Business Live! http://www.BeyondBusinessLive.com. inspires entrepreneurs to meet challenges head-on in with revolutionary new theories and systems allowing them to design the business and personal lifestyles of their dreams.

As an entrepreneur, do you have a hard time completing tasks and getting the job done? You’re not alone. Technological innovation that was supposed to make life easier has complicated things. The major culprit is something I don’t know how we ever lived without: the Internet.

Times have never been better for entrepreneurship. The Internet has made wealth and success attainable to all of us by unlocking the door to a global marketplace. However, with innovation often comes challenge. Along with more opportunity, there’s more work to do and many entrepreneurs are overwhelmed.

The solution? Outsourcing.

Once looked upon unfavorably, heads are turning as outsourcing is being credited not only for saving businesses from failure, but also for helping them grow by meeting the challenges brought about by our ever-changing world.

In this valuable Google Hangout video, I introduce myself, CEO of 123 Employee with our company’s Vice President, Beejal Parmar as we outline six steps that will give you a clear understanding of how to use outsourcing in your business. Learn what to delegate and how to be most successful with the process.

Everyone can benefit from delegating tasks that free us to focus our time and energy on income generation. If after watching this video you discover ways outsourcing will directly benefit your business, please contact us at http://www.123Employee.com

Daven Michaels is a New York Times Best Selling Author and CEO of premiere global outsourcing company , 123Employee, http://www.123Employee.com. The company employs hundreds of young bright individuals on three continents. His International event, Beyond Business Live! http://www.BeyondBusinessLive.com inspires entrepreneurs to meet challenges head-on in with revolutionary new theories and systems allowing them to design the business and personal lifestyles of their dreams.

Hey guys. This is Tracy Walker with keepallthecash.com and before getting plugged into 123Employee, I was probably like a lot of entrepreneurs where I had so many different ideas and so many different things going on in my business that I just couldn’t implement them all.

So I decided to take a chance, get started with 123Employee, get my own VA and what she does for me is she does all of my marketing. If I say to her listen, I need you to post a blog post for me, she’ll post it. If I ask her to do any keyword research for me, she does that. She does a lot of my syndication, meaning that she posts on Facebook for me, she posts on Pinterest for me, she does my Instagram work for me. She does my articles and doing back-linking and all these wonderful things and she uploads my videos to my YouTube channel.

So if you’re ready to outsource your business and actually get to back to living your life and having fun in your business, I highly recommend you get plugged into 123Employee, Daven will take are of you.

Hey there, it’s Daven Michaels and today I’m coming to you from the highest peak in the world. Behind me is Mount Everest, and I’m at Basecamp. And I want to speak to you for a moment about the concept of One Email.

What would your life be like if you only received one email per day. Think how productive you’d be! Think how much you’d get done and think how great your life would be, wouldn’t it? Because you know once you start checking your email, half your day is gone, isn’t it?

So I receive one email a day, and let me explain how this works. There are days that I receive a thousand emails from the outside world. I have my internal email, but from the outside world, there are days when I’ll receive a thousand emails, but I don’t check them. One of my assistants she checks them and she knows how to do it. She’s been doing it for a while, and 98% of those emails she can check on her own. The other 2%, if anything is timely and important, she’ll forward it to me right away, that’s usually two or three per week. And then if something is important but not timely, she’ll save that email and she’ll save all those emails, and she’ll consolidate them, and I receive one email a day.

Guess how long it takes me to respond to that email? Less than five minutes. It makes me way more productive, because we find that the way that our business grows is for me actually focusing on the big picture of our business- focusing on the income-generating activities.

So this is something you could do with your virtual assistant. All of our virtual assistants are trained on how to do this. To get more information simply go to our website (http://www.123employee.com). And until next time, this is Daven Michaels. I hope you’re living your true life adventure. Bye for now.

Are you interacting with your Facebook friends like you should? Are you letting friends just sit there without reaching out and connecting? If you aren’t, your not alone. Most Facebook users don’t spend enough time interacting with their friends, fans or group members enough. When you neglect reaching out and networking, your profile and everyone that’s a part of it becomes a superficial and two dimensional social friendships.

Networking takes time, but that is how the strength of Facebook comes to light. This is where outsourcing your social networking tasks can help. I know that you are too busy to constantly stay in touch with your friends, but if you neglect this powerful marketing tool your missing out on what big companies already know…networking with real people builds trust and sales on the Internet. Outsourced reps trained in social networking can give you the relief you need to stay on top of busy tasks like this.

Are you already paying for social networking duties from an in house employee or virtual assistant? Add up the costs and see how much outsourcing can save you. Virtual assistants trained in Internet marketing can cost a small fortune, but you can’t deny the power of having an online presence and spreading the message of your business or service. Outsourcing helps grow your business globally for as little as $5.00 an hour and you only pay for what you need. This is the kind of partnership your company cannot do without.

Taking your Facebook interactivity to the next level will create the results you need for big strides in sales, opt-ins or customer service. Imagine the money you could be saving with Internet trained overseas reps. No matter how the Internet changes, interacting with your prospects is here to stay. This has been a staple of business forever…the Internet is finally catching up. Are you going to be apart of it?

Daven Michaels is an award-winning outsourcer and author of the book, ‘Outsource This!’ Daven has been honored more than any other individual or outsourcing organization. You can get more information on outsourcing by visiting www.123Employee.com

 

I was bad at disco, I was really bad at rap…here’s your chance to see me be a total doofus in this video where I attempt to be ‘gangnam.’

(Hint: I’m the one in the hat).

if you must know, here’s how it all went down….

My VP, Beejal, came to me while I was in a stupor and said he wanted to do a Gangnam Style video featuring yours truly and the 123Employee staff. In my glazed and dazed fog, I said, “sure, whatever.”

I then proceeded to forget about.

Well…guess who quickly remembered?

A few days later when I landed in the Philippines, jet lagged and ripe, I walked into my office, and Beejal says, “Hey, bud, it’s all set. The entire staff’s onboard and we shoot the video in 5 hours!”

The Mountain Dew I was drinking shot out of my nose.

If you want to pee your pants, take pot shots at me, make fun of me behind my back (and who doesn’t?), then clickety click here…

Now, because you’re privy to one of the ‘unmentionable’ moments in my life, do me a big one. After you watch the video, show some love and leave a comment. (I’m know I’m opening up a can of worms here).

Enjoy.

Daven “PSY” Michaels

PS: Parental Warning Advisory. Keep children at a safe distance when viewing this video. And please don’t try this at home. I’m a trained professional.

As we’ve discussed before, marketing online is a tricky endeavor. It’s extremely difficult to gage the perceptivity and desires of your potential customer base when first starting out. How do you know what truly interests them? Or what’s attractive to them? Where exactly is the best place to start?

All are great questions, and in complete honesty, the only way to truly know is to dive in and try. Sure, you can conduct market research, but the catch is – the market is always changing, and peoples’ preferences are in constant fluctuation. Something that is popular now, won’t be six months from now. So, it’s near impossible to develop a fool-proof plan when first entering the realm of online marketing.

So what can you, the first time online entrepreneur, do to ensure some sort of initial Internet success? The answer is very simple; follow the Rule of Reciprocation.

The Rule of Reciprocation

The fundamentals behind the Rule of Reciprocation are straight-forward and easy to follow. In a nutshell, the rule represents the ideal of giving. By giving you in turn receive. And in this model, by giving a piece of yourself and your business, you in turn receive support and build popularity. In a sense, you are creating a scale of market equilibrium and symbiosis, which requires both sides to provide valued assets. You contribute a part of your character and a piece of your business, and customers give their encouragement as well as their money.

So now the questions becomes – what exactly can you and should you give? Well, the options are boundless because it truly depends on what your business is all about. In the end, what you give will be completely unique, just like the company you built. But there are always a few good places to start.

Most importantly, you can give your knowledge, which is the one thing you can be certain people want. After all, that’s why you created your business; to provide a service you understand through and through to the masses. By being literate and competent in your product you attract curious clients, and by sharing what you know you reel them in and keep them interested. So share your knowledge, and use any and all avenues possible to get customers amped on your business.

In other words, get imaginative and don’t be stingy. If you wrote a book, give it out. Develop unique videos and audio’s and share them with all interested parties. Create pod casts and blast them all over the web. Do everything and anything to stir attention and garner support, but be sure to include a personalized touch. Remember, you want to stand out, not just your product or service. You are the key item that makes your business different than the hundreds of competitors out there providing the same amenity. So make yourself known to the public. Set up an open attendance webinar to introduce your business and get people excited for your product or service. The only way to become a known fixture is to put yourself out there – put yourself on the Web and in time you will hook a substantial customer base.

Never Procrastinate

And now that you know what to do, it’s time to get to it. Don’t waste precious moments over analyzing the if’s, and’s and but’s; jump right in. The time is now. Take the first step, whatever it may be, to get your business personalized and running. Whether it’s a baby step or a huge leap into the seemingly unknown, just do it. Set up your first webinar, write the first paragraph to your book, create your first podcast, and get the ball rolling. The time is now. And remember—the more you give, the more you get.

So you see; reciprocity is a beautiful thing and a fundamental beginning to any marketing venture. When you give something to the people, people will eventually give you something you desire, whether it’s their knowledge, a business relationship or a purchasing partnership. In the end it all balances out, and you’ll find yourself at the start of a flourishing online business presence. Get out there and enjoy

Daven Michaels is an award-winning outsourcer and author of the book, ‘Outsource This!’ Daven has been honored more than any other individual or outsourcing organization. You can get more information on outsourcing by visiting www.123Employee.com

The breadth of digital interaction is expansive, taking effect on all avenues of communication; its tendrils of technology grabbing hold in telephone calls, video chat, and much, much more. Any mode used to communicate information is essentially tied to the digital world. Even when speaking face to face, notes are recorded on laptops and phone numbers are exchanged on cell phones. It’s a force behind any great company, breathing life into websites and handling customer inquiries on a near 24/7 basis. Without the technology of digital communication many business would founder in the cut throat competition of the Internet realm, succumbing to flasher and better organized websites.

You see, image can be everything. And visuals are just has attention grabbing and effective as a person yelling at you. So, creating a visually enticing website— one that communicates excitement and a sense of purpose – is vital to the development and growth of any company, but especially for those entering into the chaos for the first time.

Graphic Design Outsourcing

When first entering the daunting realm of the World Wide Web as a new, fledgling business, it’s important to make an impression right off the bat, and solidify your presence as much as possible. How is this done, you ask? Well, there are hundreds of protocols to undertake, like link-building, search engine optimization, content writing…etc., but the number 1 item that must be primed to perfection is the overall visual appearance of your website, as that is the first thing people see.

In all honesty, your website is the face of your business. It’s the one place people can go to find everything and anything concerning your services, without having to leave their home or call in an inquiry. In a sense it is the first impression of your company and therefore, it must be inviting, informative, innovative, and intriguing. Like a good book that draws a reader in with a catchy hook, your website must captivate visitors by being interactive yet informative. And this can be accomplished with effectively placed graphics and visual aesthetics.

Unfortunately, creating, developing and implementing graphic designs that complement your business and attract noteworthy attention, can be very difficult, time-consuming and technical. It’s not about putting some pretty pictures together and making a visually exciting website; it’s about creating a brand that transcends the web and validates your business values. And for smaller businesses looking to make a mark on the world, hiring a graphic design team is a favorable option.

Some of you might be thinking that hiring a team is a waste of money; that you can do it yourself or hire some brilliant student off Craigslist to develop your web design. Although these may be valid options, more often than not the end result is crippled by your limited knowledge and that of your hired student. And in reality, there are many places you can turn to when your budget is limited. All around the world are prestigious, outsourcing graphic design businesses you can hire and expect great designs at low prices; and more importantly, you can expect a complete design program that boosts your business image.

As mentioned before, posting pretty graphics is not going to validate your website. You must look at the big picture, and develop a visual program that boosts your company image. Highly qualified design teams offer such quality and extensive design services. By outsourcing your graphic design needs, you will receive aid from the beginning to the end; from the concept and birth of your business, to the design, and through the production and printing process. Everything will be accounted for, from your logo or banner, to something as simple as a letterhead; and all of it will flow naturally from the computer screen to potential clients. Professional design teams understand the point of user-friendly websites, and can ensure that your pretty pictures will jump off the screen and expertly guide visitors through your website. You will receive a total design solution that can morph off the Internet to your business cards and even transform into efficient online advertisements.

By outsourcing your graphic design needs, you essentially find the perfect spokesmen for your website, as they will create a usable design that entices customers and effectively navigates them through all your business has to offer. And such service is vital when breaking out into the World Wide Web and trying to generate online popularity.

Daven Michaels is an award-winning outsourcer and author of the book, ‘Outsource This!’ Daven has been honored more than any other individual or outsourcing organization. You can get more information on outsourcing by visiting www.123Employee.com

Building a business from the ground-up is a weighty endeavor. This we know. Developing a strategic plan that outlines the overall purpose and goal of your company in a manner that not only defines its nut-and-bolts but accurately documents the minutest details of its machinery is hard work that takes time, dedication and help from trustworthy partners. Sure, you can do it all yourself, but you’d be crippled by your capabilities. It’s impossible to be an expert in everything, and in order to be successful, you need to appear as an expert to professionals and potential clients. Hence, the necessity for outsourcing various business-oriented needs to qualified and dignified experts.

Get It Right From the Start

In recent years outsourcing has flourished, with thousands of companies from around the world dedicated to helping your business grow. Every task, whether internal or external in nature, can be outsourced to experts, providing you with the knowledge and state-of-the-art technology required for success. It’s a dog-eat, dog-eat world, and in order to survive you must have a strong team assembled from the start. And thanks to the digital connectivity of the world, your team can come from the four corners of the globe. You are no longer stifled by distance and can pick the cream-of-the-crop to do your bidding. Having such power is truly invigorating, making the start-up process all the more easier.

Outsourcing is truly a bountiful outlet to get your business running effectively and efficiently. Its plethora of benefits not only gives you a competitive advantage, it’s cost effective as well. Let’s take a closer look.

Benefits of Outsourcing

Skilled Expertise – Let’s face it, obtaining a pool of skilled employees is one of the biggest challenges and headaches for companies today. The process of searching, interviewing, and training is not only time consuming, it can rapidly drain your company funds and moral. Outsourcing to professional businesses, however, provides you access to skilled resources at a lower costand frees you from the burden of direct management.

Focus on Core Values – In order to succeed your company must not lose sight of its goals and values. Unfortunately, the stress of managing back-office operations and administrative functions can cloud your business vision, resulting in a less than stellar performance. Outsourcing such repetitive and mundane tasks frees up time, allowing you to focus on your core competencies.

Increased Efficiency and Productivity – Rather than fuss with every little detail and struggle through hours of paperwork in an attempt to streamline your company values, goals, and results, outsource to trustworthy and knowledgeable professionals who can align your business operations tactfully and proficiently. Using experts of various fields, guarantees a level of efficiency that helps streamline business processes, thus contributing to your bottom-line, which in turn raises your productivity.

Risk Distribution – By outsourcing various functions you in turn outsource the management and risk involved for running those particular tasks. In a sense, you hand over the responsibility for certain processes, and problems that arise must be dealt with by the company you hired, rather than eating up your time and energy.

24-Hour Workdays – Currently, many outsourcing companies are located in Asia, meaning their day begins when your day ends. As such, your company can continue its business through the night because of your overseas outsourcing partner. In other words, by outsourcing in countries around the world, you can create a 24-hour business, which is especially beneficial for companies that must provide round-the-clock customer support.

Lower Costs = Greater Revenue – Perhaps the main benefit of outsourcing is the money saved. Due to the differences in pay and standard of living that exists between many Asian countries and Western countries, labor costs are much lower in Asia. Therefore, hiring an offshore company to balance your books or manage human resource functions can result in significant savings. By spending less your company retains a greater savings.

A Flourishing Company

As you can see, outsourcing can provide the boost needed to achieve success. Aligning the core values of your company with professional outsourcing services can ensure smooth business transactions, making your business efficient and reliable. Let the experts handle the tedious logistics, and you can focus on what’s really important – the purpose and goals of your company.

Daven Michaels is an award-winning outsourcer and author of the book, ‘Outsource This!’ Daven has been honored more than any other individual or outsourcing organization. You can get more information on outsourcing by visiting www.123Employee.com