How to Find the Best Home Internet Business?

The first and most important rule to remember when you are selecting the best Internet business idea is the one that works for you. Often times the best Internet business, idea you can come up with is one that you will have fun doing.

A founder who has enthusiasm will often help a business thrive and survive far beyond other companies in the same field. However, you cannot have enthusiasm to keep your business running if you don’t like your job.

In addition, modern technology and Internet has made it possible and easy for almost anybody to thrive with an Internet based business. As long as you love your idea and you understand it then you will have a thriving business.

The second rule you should remember when selecting the best home internet business is if there is a good marketing system in place. You need to have an advanced plan or idea that will help generate the best possible traffic to your business or subscribers to your email newsletter. While you run your business always, keep in mind that without traffic you don’t have a business no matter how good your idea is.

When selecting the best home internet business you should be on the look out for some advantages that only the best internet business opportunities would have. These advantages may not look very important at first but they will eventually make the difference between early some spending money from your business opportunity and regularly taking home a six-figure check every month from your business opportunity without ever having to leave the house.

The best of the Internet business opportunities usually have a long and detailed section on affiliate information. Go to this section and check out the details. These details should provide you all the information you need to know how best to sell the Internet business opportunity. Having a large affiliate section is important since you won’t make any money off your business without sales. The larger the affiliate section the easier it will be for you to make an income off your home internet business. Some of the best opportunities even have a list of key contacts.

It is also a good idea to go with Internet business opportunities that have a detailed and specific payment policy and preferably one that allows you to be paid for second and even third tier affiliate sales. This means you are paid for sub affiliates that you introduce to the business program. This way you can earn an income off both your direct sales and those of the ones who have joined the program. This can make a big difference in the size of the paycheck you receive.

Plan of Action for Sales Managers

To create a goals program for both yourself and your salespeople, start with this plan of action which contains these key elements: Starting point, Written goals, A plan, How to deal with roadblocks and setbacks, Checkpoints, Scorecard, Reward system, Review

Starting Point

Before deciding where you want to go, see where you are. Get yourself a three-ring binder, plenty of paper, a pencil and a large eraser. Find a quiet spot and write out a clear statement of where you are today. Take your time. You have been without a road map for this long, a little longer won’t hurt.

Be as adult as you can. This is not a “make me proud of you” exercise nor is it a “kick-me” one. Be honest — no one else has to see your plan unless you want to offer it up for scrutiny.

Written Goals

Writing crystallizes thought and thought motivates action! Begin to compile a list of what you would like to accomplish during the rest of your life. List both tangible (things) and intangible (identity) goals.

You may want to consider such areas of your life as: Professional, Social, Financial, Spiritual, Family, Health, Sports, and Educational.

After completing this list, go back and arrange them in order of their priority — most important to least important. As you do this, be careful your priorities are not all coming from one area of your life. You don’t want to be the richest person in the graveyard, or have the lowest handicap on the golf course, while your family is strewn on the beach. If you are like most people, you will probably find many of the things you thought you wanted are not as important when viewed in the big picture.

A Plan

Now that you have prioritized your goals, why do you need a plan?

A. It will be easier to make things happen.

B. Knowing the big picture will allow you to make fewer and easier decisions. Sound planning will not always make it clear what your current decision should be, but it will make your decision-making easier. Ask yourself: Will what I am about to do help me in the attainment of my goals? Planning will allow you to make the best possible decisions about what to do now!

C. You will control rather than be controlled.

D. Planning doesn’t make the future predictable. It does, however, allow you to anticipate what is most likely to occur.

E. Planning is a continuous activity, not a periodic one.

F. You will better be able to translate general goals into specific, measurable objectives.

G. Planning will help you to identify what must be done to insure desired results. Henry David Thoreau said, “In the long run, men hit only what they aim at.”

In your Plan-of-Action notebook, starting with Goal #1, begin to write out just how you plan to go about achieving your goals. It is OK to use your eraser and lots of paper.

How To Deal With Roadblocks And Setbacks

When you have done this for the high-priority goals, write next to each goal where the potential roadblocks and setbacks might occur. Then, assuming they will actually happen, how will you handle them? This may be the toughest part of the program, but I never said making your life happen would be easy. The only thing easy in life is running around shouting, “What happened?”

Checkpoints

Decide upon a realistic “when” for each of your goals.

Once you have chosen a date to accomplish each of your goals, break each goal down into smaller segments of minor goals. Select date accomplished times for these shorter-range goals.

After all, if you were going to eat an elephant, you wouldn’t gulp him down. You would eat him one slice at a time!

Scorecard

Go!

Using your plan and its checkpoints, act on it! You will begin to notice a new internal enthusiasm for life! What you have to do on a daily basis won’t seem as painful and/or difficult, because you will know why you are doing it.

Will there be times when fear, doubt, worry and discouragement creep in? Yes, but remember, John F. Kennedy set a goal for America to be on the moon in ten years. It happened in seven. If man got to the moon, you can achieve your goals!

On three by five cards, list those goals most important to you and have them with you all the time. Keep looking at them. Keep updating the cards. They will motivate you to keep going.

Reward System

Your adult-self knows it is a good idea to work your plan. Your child-self needs a reason why. Feed it! As part of your goals program, decide up-front how you intend to satisfy the instant gratification needs of your child-self, and then pay off as you accomplish your short-range goals.

Review

Nothing is carved in marble. As often as you like, step back and take a look at your big picture. Want to make a change? Go ahead. It’s your life.

A famous baseball player once said, “It is what you learn after you know it all that counts!”

You now have a goals program you can use for your personal and professional life, as well as a tool to use in helping your salespeople accomplish more.

Problems in advertising online.

The fact that there is a huge gap between the percentage of time consumers spend online (it’s high) and the amount of money major marketers spend advertising online (it’s relatively low) drives executives at Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, the New York Times and every ad-supported startup out there completely nuts. At conferences and panels, these web execs like to blame the problem on poorly educated advertisers.

We need to do a better job explaining how the internet works, they’ll say. Content Continues Below Online ads aren’t interruptive or engaging enough, they’ll suppose. In both cases, they’re right. But only partly. A huge–$65 billion huge–part of the online advertising problem is that web marketers know exactly how the web works and how to engage its users–on their own.

These big companies know that using popular platforms like Facebook, YouTube, MySpace and yes, the internet itself, they can market their products without paying for any advertising at all. To this point, it’s worth reading CEO of Media research and advisory firm Outsell Anthea Stratigos’s Q&A with Forbes. In it, she tells Forbes that over the last eight years, companies have shifted $65 billion in annual spending away from traditional advertising channels and spent it on “page content, Web analytics, search engine optimization and site design.” $65 billion is a huge number.

Here’s how Anthea put it in context for Forbes: To scale that, compare the total U.S. TV and cable advertising revenue for 2009, which is about $66 billion. The marketing dollars companies now spend on their own sites is equivalent to all TV ad revenue for the year. Eight years ago we said that the Global 2000 would be the dot-coms of tomorrow.

That’s what’s playing out. She says the shift is why she agrees with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer’s assement that global advertising isn’t just in a recession but has been “reset” at a lower level. “Advertising which has left the news industries is not going to come back in its same shape or form.”

COLMBA RESOURCES

We are providing useful links on the Commonwealth of Learning website, as well as external links.

Knowledge Services

Knowledge Finder: COL's website offers a range of search fields on its Internet pages. The aim is to give access to additional resources, customised to the topic area of the web page the user is viewing.

WikiEducator: a community resource supported by the Commonwealth of Learning for the development of free educational content.

Copyright: working with experts in copyright, COL is assisting member countries to gain insights into the present copyright situation, by identifying exceptions and limitations to copyright that are permitted by international agreements and necessary for a fair education policy.

Information Resource Centre: The Commonwealth of Learning Information Resource Centre provides reference and information retrieval service to staff, consultants, clients and official visitors. Services available include an on-line catalogue and RSS news feeds.

News Feeds: RSS news feeds relating to specific areas of interest to COL partners, such as Open Educational Resources (OER) News Feed and Qualifications Framework News Feed.

Library Services

Free Management Library

The Library provides easy-to-access, clutter-free, comprehensive resources regarding the leadership and management of yourself, other individuals, groups and organizations. Content is relevant to the vast majority of people, whether they are in large or small for-profit or nonprofit organizations. Over the past 10 years, the Library has grown to be one of the world's largest well-organized collections of these types of resources.

Management Internet Library
Has material for students, teachers and professionals.

The Work911.com Workplace Supersite Network
Access to hundreds of free online articles on business, management, success at work, etc.

Textbook Revolution
Free textbooks relating to Business Management available for download.

Cornell University – Business Web Sites
The Management Library staff has compiled lists of free web sites for a variety of business-related topics. In most cases the services are free, although some do require a registration. Certain library-subscribed services are also included.

Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
The Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD) is an international organization dedicated to promoting the adoption, creation, use, dissemination and preservation of electronic analogues to the traditional paper-based theses and dissertations.
This website contains information about the initiative, how to set up Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD) programmes, how to create and locate ETDs, and current research in digital libraries related to NDLTD and ETDs.

DSpace Repositories
DSpace is the software of choice for academic, non-profit, and commercial organizations building open digital repositories. It is free and easy to install "out of the box" and completely customizable to fit the needs of any organization.

Open Access Business and Economic Journals
The aim of the Directory of Open Access Journals is to increase the visibility and ease of use of open access scientific and scholarly journals thereby promoting their increased usage and impact. The Directory aims to be comprehensive and cover all open access scientific and scholarly journals that use a quality control system to guarantee the content. In short a one stop shop for users to Open Access Journals.

Publications

A wide range of studies, reports and research documents have been published by the Commonwealth of Learning. Most are available for download, free-of-charge, on our web site.

Open Courseware and OERs

A definition of Open Courseware (OCW) and Open Educational Resources (OERs) is provided. Using Google and Yahoo Pipes search fields, this site will assist you in locating educational resources specific to your needs. Other relevant sites are listed below.
Open Courseware Consortium
Open Courseware Finder
MIT Open Courseware – Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Open Learn – The Open University
Open Yale Courses – Yale University

Gender Micro-Site

This site is designed to provide a one-stop, comprehensive platform to access print and electronic resources on gender and open, distance and technology-mediated learning (ODL) with a special emphasis on information and communication technology (ICT).

Quality Assurance Micro-Site

This site is designed to provide a single, convenient access point to existing resources in quality assurance in open and distance learning (ODL). It is of particular use to institutions, researchers and governments seeking to establish benchmarks for quality provision.

Links to Other Organisations & Resources

Includes links to other organisations and databases, free access to online journals, e-mail and news digests and portals, national consortia for online education & information for international students and professional development resources

EVENTS AND CONFERENCES

The following website addresses are directly linked to conference and event sites of interest to our CEMBA / CEMPA consortia members.

Association to Advance Collegiate Schools in Business (AACSB)

World Class Practices in Management Education Conferences
In conjunction with
Maintenance of Accreditation Seminar

Association of MBAs

International Conference for Deans and Directors
India Accreditation Seminar
Accredited MBA Fair

eLearning Africa

This is a comprehensive conference on ICT for development, education and training on the African Continent. Its mission is to bring people together who are actively engaged in education and in the implementation of learning technologies in schools, universities, corporate training as well as in education in the public sector.

International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE)

Biennial conference to discuss various quality assurance aspects of Higher Education, including distance education and vocational education, prior learning recognition, and professional accreditation of higher education institutions.

Business conferences worldwide

Economics conferences worldwide

Management conferences worldwide

REFERENCE SITES OF INTEREST

INTERNATIONAL ACCREDITATION BODIES

Association to Advance the Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)

The mission of AACSB International is to advance quality management worldwide through accreditation and thought leadership.

Association of MBAs

Internationally recognised accreditation service considered the global standard for all Masters of Business Administration (MBA), Doctorates in Business Administration (DBA) and Masters in Business and Management (MBM) programmes.

Association of Management Development Institutions in South Asia (AMDISA)

AMDISA is an international not-for-profit association which networks management development institutions across the South Asian Nations, through exchange of information, conducting regional conferences and providing a forum for academics and business leaders. It is recognised by the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC), as a professional association for consultative purposes. It has 206 members, of which 176 are Institutional Members, 2 Affiliate Members, 14 Corporate Members and 14 Reciprocal Members. Membership is available to management development networks all over the world.

South Asian Quality Accreditation System

Refer to the Association of Management Development Institutions in South Asia (AMDISA)

European Foundation for Management Development (EMFD)

EFMD is an international membership organization, based in Brussels, Belgium. With more than 650 member organizations from academia, business, public service and consultancy in 75 countries, EFMD provides a unique forum for information, research, networking and debate on innovation and best practice in management development.

EFMD is recognized globally as an accreditation body of quality in management education and has established accreditation services for business schools and business school programmes, corporate universities and technology-enhanced learning programmes.

European Quality Improvement System (EQIS)

The leading international system of quality assessment, improvement, and accreditation of higher education institutions in management and business administration.

Foundation for International Business Administration Accreditation (FIBAA)

The FIBAA is a Swiss non-profit agency for quality assurance with operative branches in Bonn (Germany) and Zurich (Switzerland). FIBAA audits, assesses and furthers private and state-approved higher education institutions and thus enhances transparency in the educational sector.

International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE)
The International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE) is the premier professional accreditor for business programs in student-centered colleges and universities throughout the world. The IACBE exists to promote, develop, and recognize excellence in business education.
The IACBE’s philosophy of accreditation is centered on student learning and operational outcomes, which makes it flexible and adaptable. The IACBE accredits business degree programs in colleges and universities through the United States and internationally.

HIGHER EDUCATION BODIES

Business In Society Gateway

An international network for excellence in management development.

Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA)

Largest institutional higher education membership organisation based in the United States, offering advocacy, service and recognition of programmatic accrediting organisations.

International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE)

A world-wide association of some 200 organisations that are active in the theory and practice of quality assurance in higher education.

European Academy of Business in Society (EABIS)

A unique alliance of companies, business schools and academic institutions that is, with the support of the European Commission, committed to integrating business in society issues into the heart of business theory and practice in Europe.

PROGRAMME HIGHLIGHTS

Since 2002, The CEMBA / MPA Programmes have provided flexible study options for busy managers and working professionals. Students may choose from two fields of study: Business Administration (MBA) or Public Administration (MPA), with the option of:

• studying at any of the Partner Universities and receiving recognized and bona fide transfer of credits;
• multiple Programme exit points, with the option of earning a post-graduate diploma or a Masters degree, in as little as two years

Highlights include:

• Affordable fee structure - affordable access to management education for working executives and managers;
• Focus on Open & Distance Learning - flexible & distributed learning mode which is ideal for part-time study;
• Recognition and Credibility - The Commonwealth of Learning provides support to the CEMBA / MPA Consortium & Programmes.
• High-quality curriculum - the CEMBA / MPA courses were developed by subject matter experts from universities in Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, India, and Canada;
• Local Learner Support - each Partner University in the CEMBA / MPA Consortium provides learner support through tutors and local study centres;
• Localized Materials & Resources - each Partner University provides localized materials, resources and case studies to supplement learning;
• Credit Transfer - students attending courses at any Partner University will receive bona fide credits for their CEMBA / MPA degree. (Some conditions apply. Please contact the institution directly, where you wish to pursue a degree or diploma.)
• Expanding Number of Partner Universities - The CEMBA / MPA Consortium is growing throughout the Commonwealth. Please check the Partner Universities page for the most up-to-date information.