Blitz Ezine # 238 June 7, 2004

Increasing your Profits By Decrease your cost of doing business

The Blitz-Promotions News Letter
Issue no. 238, June 7th, 2004

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Blitz Comments
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In this Issue
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- Increase your profits.
- Plan your business.

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Food for thought
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There are a lot of things that go into creating success. I don't like to do just the things I like to do. I like to do things that cause the company to succeed. I don't spend a lot of time doing my favorite activities.
Michael Dell

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Increasing your Profits
Ways to Increase your bottom line.
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Below are some ways to increase your profits.

• Buy in bulk. Shop Costco when you can.
• Use a fax switch so you won't have to buy an additional phone line. When thinking of costs, think long term (ie $13.00 a month becomes $156.00 in a year).
• Monitor long distance telephone charges - include them in charges to customers or insure that they are included in overhead.
• Hire students in the summer or for peak periods. You can contact your high school's guidance counselor and find some excellent young people that are willing to work (and learn).
• Have office cleaning staff reduce visits to once every two nights instead of every day.
• Make sure that your faucets don't leak.
• Ensure that postage for parcels is correct by using weigh scales.
• RECYCLE. Encourage the reuse of newspapers, paper for draft copies, boxes, incoming Styrofoam packing for outgoing packages.
• Photocopy paper on both sides for client newsletters and other mailings.
• File taxes on time...consider municipal, provincial, GST, PST and Federal... to avoid penalties.
• Increase the deductibles on office business insurance policies.
• Negotiate for discount vehicle fuel through bulk buying or centralized purchasing.
• Consolidate credit card outstanding balances with a line of credit to reduce interest charges.
• Consider refinancing loans at old rates for new, lower rates.
• Review credit card membership costs and cancel redundant cards. Don't use a card that charges you a fee. Make sure your interest rate is fixed and below 12 %.
• Negotiate better deals on maintenance contracts such as grass cutting, window cleaning, carpet cleaning and uniforms.
• Entertain at your home or office rather than at restaurants.
• Pay bills that provide discounts on time.
• Use refillable cartridges for photocopiers or laser printers.
• Review the effectiveness of your advertising
• Get your accounting up to date for tax planning for both company and owners.
• . Ensure all withholding taxes for employees are paid on time.
• Review Workers Compensation rates. Be sure that adjustments are handled promptly to provide credits.
• Schedule regular maintenance on key vehicles, computers or other productivity enhancements to avoid expensive down time. It is much cheaper to maintain things than to buy new ones.
• Review accounts payable for large debit balances. Use the credit or request refund.
• Review inventory. Is it possible to use old stock that has been forgotten?
• Reduce rent and overhead by sharing space and facilities with a complementary business.
  

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Guest Articles
Learn The "Secrets" Of Business Planning!
© 2004, Jon Kogan, All Rights Reserved.
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Almost everyone needs or wants more money than they currently have, and with this desire most of these people would like to start some sort of extra income producing project. The trouble is, not many of these people seem able to fit "a second job" into their time schedules.

It's true that people are very busy, but extra time for some sort of home-based extra income producing project can almost always be found. Here is the most important "secret" of all relating to starting and building a profitable home-based business.

Regardless of what kind of business you start, you must have the capital and the available time to sustain your business through the first six months of operation on the basis of not taking in any money. Most importantly, you must not count on receiving of spending any money coming in from your business, on yourself or for your bills, during those first six months. Any and all the income from your business during those first six months should be reinvested in your business in order for it to grow and reach your planned first year potential for it.

Sit down with pencil and paper, and list your daily schedule. What time do you wake up - then step-by-step, list everything you do each day. Most people will find that they have about 3-hours each day that can be utilized in a more constructive or efficient manner. As we've already noted, you may have to give up the time you waste in your local pub or a few of the television programs you watch, but it should be worth it in the long run.

Efficient time management boils down to planning what you're going to do, and then doing it without back-tracking. Start by making a list of the things you want to do tomorrow, each evening before you jump into bed. Schedule your trips to the store or wherever to coincide with other things you have to do and with your trips to or from work. Organize your trips to take care of as many things as possible while you're out of the house.

Whatever chores you have to do at home, set aside a specific time to do them, and a specific amount of time to devote to them For instance, just one hour a day on yard work would probably make your property the envy of all your neighbors. Don't try to do a week's work in one big flurry. Whether it's painting your house, fixing leaky faucets, or mowing your lawn and trimming your shrubs, do a little bit or one particular job each day and you'll be amazed at your progress.

Take care of all your mail the day you receive it. Don't let those bills and letters pile up on you. If you're unable to pay a bill immediately, file it in a special place that's visible and note on the envelope the date you intend to pay it. Answer your letters the same day you get them.

The important thing is to think of your time as your most valuable asset - it is - so organize what you have to do, and what you want to do. From there, it's just a matter of arranging your priorities.

Once you start listing and planning what you want to do, and them carry out your plans, you'll find plenty of "extra time" for handling virtually any kind of home-based income-producing project. People in general may not like routines or schedules but without some sort of plan relative to what is supposed to be done, the world would be lost in mass confusion.

The secret of all financially successful people is simply that they are organized and do not waste time. Think about it review your own activities - and them see if you can't find a couple of extra hours in each day for more constructive accomplishments.

When you begin planning, and then when you actually become involved in an extra-income-producing endeavor, you should work it exactly as you've organized your regular day-to-day activities - on a time-efficient basis. Do what has to be done immediately - don't try to get done in an hour something that's going to take a week. Plan it out on paper what you have to do, what you want to do, and when you're going to do it - then get right on each project without procrastination.

Finally, and above all else, when you're organizing your time and your business, be sure to set aside time for relaxation. Be sure to schedule time when you and your spouse can be together. You must not involve yourself in anything to the extent that you exclude other people - particularly your loved one - from your life.

Taking stock of the time you waste each day, and then reorganizing your activities is what it's all about. It's a matter of becoming time-efficient in everything you do. It's really easy to do, and you'll not only accomplish a lot more, you'll become a happier person.

Jon Kogan
EDITOR - Home Business Breakthroughs Ezine
http://www.zivomarketing.com

Ordinary people are making EXTRAORDINARY money WORKING
FROM HOME on the Internet!
Sign up for your own F-R-E-E Home Business Breakthroughs Email Newsletter mailto:subscribe@zivomarketing.com

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Links you can use -
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Power point help.
http://www.communicateusingtechnology.com/pptlifeguard.htm

Google Ad Words now allows graphics. Learn more at the following link.

http://www.clickz.com/experts/search/strat/article.php/3356191

99 Windows XP Performance tips.
http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1590

Lots of design help for folks who use CSS.
http://www.csscreator.com/

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Fun and Games
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If you like music then you'll love this site.
http://www.allmusic.com/

The science of having fun - what more could you ask for.
http://www.funology.com/

Free screensavers for the kiddies.
http://www.mrfreefree.com/free_software/free_screensavers_for_kids.html

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Reviews
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My daughter is out of school now and one of the things we enjoy doing is playing games (she kicks my but in checkers). We have quite the game arsenal in the house with 4 computers, Xbox, Gameboys and the Game Cube. I'm thinking about getting the PS 2 as well but we'll have to wait and see.

Anarchy Online is an online role playing game. It is like our virtual playground and although thousands of folks are on we do missions so it is many times just Haley and I. We spend some time planning our strategy and then kick but. It works well because we're playing on different computers but in the same world. The game is a little violent since you have to whack the bad guy, but it is not graphically violent (ie no blood splatters etc). You can buy the game pretty cheap (around 10 bucks) but it does require a monthly subscription to play - but the first month is free. You can find more details at the following link.

http://www.anarchyonline.com

Next month we'll review a couple of Xbox games we found in the bargain bin.

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Useful links to our site
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Find more useful promotion and design articles here -
http://www.blitzpromotions.com/articleindex.htm

Check out our archives for issues you may have missed.
http://www.blitzpromotions.com/ezinearchives.htm

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Next Issues
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July - Increasing your average sale.
August - Getting ready for the holidays.

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Final Thoughts
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Tim and Lisa Hamblin
Tisa Enterprises
PO Box 221
Hazard KY 41702
http://www.blitzpromotions.com
http://www.crochetnmore.com
http://www.webpageplanner.com
http://www.ineedlinks.com