Actual for You - Business

The Self-Employed Can't Be Lone Rangers
Helping people throw off the yoke of employment, the last legalized form of slavery, is the most important way to usher people into the economic world of the 21st Century.Robert Kiyosaki, the “Rich Dad” of “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” fame, advanced self-employment in a recent article. We've added our thoughts to his.Kiyosaki says:1.“Schools train students to be employees who look for jobs rather than train entrepreneurs who create jobs and businesses.”Alquist adds:America’s current public school educational model predates even the demised Industrial Revolution, going back into agrarian society, giving students ample time off to help parents with the family farm at harvest time.Since only 1 to 2% of Americans are involved in agriculture, a summer vacation for students to help at the

want in the press kit. Some want an entire press kit with a CD (forego sending a headshot unless specifically asked for one), while others just need a letter of summary which contains recent happenings, targeting ideas, and review excerpts, if you have any. It's important to find out this information beforehand. We found out, after much wasted time and money, that several distributors only wanted the letter. They had opened the package, read the tear sheet, and thrown the rest away. Once we started calling frequently, they asked for the whole package again. What a waste of resources!
• In your letter/press kit they will want to know your "SRP," which is your Suggested Retail Price. For those of you who are un

How to Create and Sustain Optimal Performance Throughout Your Organization
There are two sides to optimal performance. One side deals with structures, processes and procedures, tools and measurement. This side deals with management of "hard" objective data: facts, figures, charts, etc. that can be examined and "seen."The other side of optimal performance has to do with attitude, creativity, commitment, buy-in and self-discipline. This "softer," intangible side deals with leadership: when leadership is present, the right things get done in an efficient, enthusiastic way. When leadership is absent, things get done but often without achieving the intended results.There are twenty steps that, if followed in your organization, will result in consistent optimal performance throughout your workforce. I call it the “Optimal Process Design®." The Optimal Process Design® targets both the personal (leadership) a

Finding a distributor is hard. It can take months and months before you find and secure a distributor, which is not an easy process for independent labels or individuals.

Don't give up or get discouraged; keep plugging away, even if you can't find a distributor after months of searching. Distributors get a lot of packages on their desks every week, so it's imperative that you contact them first before you send them a package. When calling a distributor, you may get them on the first try, or it may take you weeks before you get a live person to talk to.

If you don't contact them first, and send a package to them unsolicited, it might get tossed or sent back unopened. But you may think, ‘My product is awesome! They would never do that with mine.' Sorry to bring you bad news, but your package may never get opened. As a matter of fact, it may never get past the receptionist’s desk without prior clearance. So why not make sure that your product has a much better chance of getting heard by getting permission first?

For those of you who feel you could never make any cold calls, you will have to get over it, or have a friend do the calling for you. Getting through the first phone call is always tough, but then you will see, as you make more and more calls, that it gets easier every time. You are in competition with a lot of people who are making the calls. If you don't call, the chances are very slim that you will ever be heard.

If, after the first time you call, you still feel that you are just too embarrassed, try making up a character and make your call as that character. Become "Jicki Wicki" from "Nagawicki." (You never know; it could lead to an additional career of acting!) Make it a game.

It is important that you submit your CD to a distributor that distributes your kind of music. The person you send it to is not necessarily the person in charge of final decisions. From the time you start contacting them, it may take you six to eight months to get the actual product in their hands and get them to finally listen to it, before you find the right distributor. Once you finally get one, it can take an additional few months to get added to their database. Here are few words of advice on finding a distributor:

• On your first call, tell them your name and label. If you haven't picked a name yet, make one up.
• Ask about their submission and distribution policies.
• Ask if being the only act on an indie label is going to cause a problem. Many distributors will not take products from Indie labels unless they have at least three to fifteen CDs in their 'stable.’ Additionally, many distributors will not take you on unless you already have established airplay. The catch-22 is that many radio stations, while they may play an independent artist, will only do so if they have national distribution.
• Ask what they want in the press kit. Some want an entire press kit with a CD (forego sending a headshot unless specifically asked for one), while others just need a letter of summary which contains recent happenings, targeting ideas, and review excerpts, if you have any. It's important to find out this information beforehand. We found out, after much wasted time and money, that several distributors only wanted the letter. They had opened the package, read the tear sheet, and thrown the rest away. Once we started calling frequently, they asked for the whole package again. What a waste of resources!
• In your letter/press kit they will want to know your "SRP," which is your Suggested Retail Price. For those of you who are unf

Four Steps to Accelerate International Business Growth
U.S. exports continue to grow, but many American companies lack the international business know-how to capitalize on this potential source of increased sales and profits. Proliferating trade agreements and a weakened U.S. dollar have resulted in one of the most favorable export markets in decades. Foreign importers of U.S. goods report an increasing demand for U.S. products—from popcorn to pet food. The U.S. has enjoyed 11 straight quarters of increasing exports—yet with 95 percent of the world’s population residing outside of U.S. borders and an increasingly promising international sales outlook, experts are questioning why only 5 percent of U.S. companies are currently exporting. But how do we initiate and sustain growth in unfamiliar markets?1. DEFINE STRATEGIC NEEDS Tapping into new markets provides the opportunity for increa

some! They would never do that with mine.' Sorry to bring you bad news, but your package may never get opened. As a matter of fact, it may never get past the receptionist’s desk without prior clearance. So why not make sure that your product has a much better chance of getting heard by getting permission first?

6 Steps to Perfect Interview Follow Up
If you’re like most folks, you probably think that your work is done once you’ve aced the interview. Well, although the hard part is indeed over, your work is not done. In fact, it is only just beginning. So, this is not the time to sit back and wait for the offer to come through. Instead you have to make your future employer want to hire you. In essence, you have to cinch the deal. In this article, we’ll discuss certain things that you can do to follow up after the interview.* At the end of the interview, thank your interviewer for taking the time to meet with you and inquire as to when a hiring decision will be made. After all, you certainly don’t want to be sitting around wondering when you’ll get a call back. If you know that a decision will be made within 2-3 weeks, you can be prepared.* Obtain the correct names and designa

ever be heard.

Using Technology to Create a Year-Round Event
The conference that you have spent months planning went off without a hitch - your attendees, sponsors and exhibitors all left happy and the goals of the conference were accomplished. But now what? To get the most out of your conference start thinking about it not as just a three or four day event, but as a year-long event – continually engaging your audience. Here are some great ways you can utilize technology to easily and effectively communicate with your attendees, potential attendees, exhibitors and sponsors to keep your conference going year-round.PodcastingPodcasting is fast becoming one of the most popular ways to distribute electronic media. Any form of electronic recording (video or audio) can be turned into a podcast for distribution over the Internet and can be replayed on a computer or MP3 player.Confe

few months to get added to their database. Here are few words of advice on finding a distributor:

How to Get People Very Excited About What You're Selling!
If you’ve got a fear of selling it’s unlikely you’ll get ahead at a fast rate (maybe eventually through investing) but if you want to fast-track your wealth – learn to sell. Every leader is a sales person. Every great leader is a great sales person. Everything is sales. There are people leading nations whose job it is to sell their product and their culture to get ahead.Successful businesses are all lead from the top, and the CEO/Owners energy is transferred down through the company and that’s what sells his staff to staying with them. It’s a cross between marketing and selling, and it is amazing. I love selling, it’s been my strength and it’s what I like to talk about and share it with other, because once you understand it, many options will open up and the cash will flow!At the end of the day you’re in business to make money (

My suggestion for SRP is $11.98 - $12.98. You don't want to price yourself out of the market. When you look in a music store, most major-label artists’ CDs are "on sale" for $11.98. Distributors will typically take 40-60% of your SRP as their cut (which at 40% x $11.98 gives you $7.19 per CD), and the music stores will typically mark up your SRP by $1.00 - $4.00. If you set your SRP at $11.98, and the store adds an additional $2.00 to the price of your CD, the cost to the consumer would be $13.98. However, if you set your SRP at $13.98 and the store adds $2.00, the price to the consumer would be $15.98. Which price do you think a consumer who had never heard of you would be more likely to pay?

• Double-check what style of music they currently distribute.
• Ask if they require your music to be played on a particular radio station.

There are some distributors that require you to be played on specific stations before they will distribute you. If that station does not play your genre of music, you have wasted your product, money, and time. Let me give you an example of why this is another key question. We had asked all of the above questions, with the exception of this particular one. Then we shipped off the package. When we contacted them later, they asked us if we were playing on a certain radio station. We said no.

It turned out that the station only played alternative music, while our CD is Country/Jazz. You can see the problem. When we approached them about this fact, they said they did not distribute Country Music. We asked when they stopped distributing Country Music. The gentleman we spoke with during our initial call said he was considering presenting Country Music to the company, but hadn't had the chance. He realized that we would never be played on the station on which they require airplay, so he dropped it. A great example of wasted time, effort, and money!

• Inquire where their distribution arm reaches. Ask for specific states and regions. Some distributors only distribute in certain states. If your radio airplay, live gigs, and promotion are not in those regions, they cannot help you.
• When is the best time to reach them?
• Who are some of the major stores they distribute too, and in what areas? Call several of the stores and double-check their references. If the stores have never heard of them, they may not be a legitimate distributor. Save your product from an unscrupulous person who may be trying to rip you off.

This is just a sampling of things you must do in order to obtain a distributor. Don’t forget to get your music listed with iTunes, Sonymusic and all the other online distributors. Once you actually obtain a

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Whenever you attend a trade show you will find lots of giveaways at vendor booths. Which ones do you keep and which ones end up in the trash?

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