Getting Startup Capital For Your Business

The most common complain among youths trying to launch a business in Nigeria, is lack of
capital. What many youths do not realize is that several organizations have millions of dollars
set aside for the funding of small business enterprise, NGOs and small organizations.
These organizations range from personal foundations, corporate CSR, government grants and
other special grants. Some of the grants can fund any kind of business enterprise, while others
are meant to encourage investment in certain sectors of the economy. For instance, some
grants are for small businesses interested in green renewable energy or in ecological
conservation projects. Some grants are also meant for NGO's , Women or social enterprises.
In any case, every young and aspiring entrepreneur should be aware of all available sources of
free capital and apply to relevant ones.
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Boost Profits with the Power of Facebook

As of July 2011, Facebook has over 750 million active users.  This makes the Facebook community the third largest country in the world, and more than 2.4 times the population of the United States.  The potential of Facebook marketing is absolutely incredible.  And to top it all off, Facebook marketing is FREE!

To get started making money on Facebook, the first thing you need to do is decide what you are going to market.  This could be anything from an affiliate product you receive commission for to promoting your own business or website.  If you plan to use an affiliate product, make sure it’s a good quality product with a reasonable price.  If you promote worthless items you will lose the trust of your Facebook followers really fast.  It’s usually best to purchase the item yourself first and learn as much about it as possible before trying to sell it to others.  If you end up regretting the purchase yourself, don’t put other people through the same situation. 

If you already have a personal Facebook account, make sure you create a new fan page for your business.  It’s okay to try to get your friends to “like” your business fan page but chances are many of them will not be interested in what you are promoting.  By creating a separate fan page, this gives them the option to either “like” your page or not but you can still retain them as a friend on your personal profile.   

Besides suggesting your fan page to your personal list of Facebook friends, here are some other methods you can use to increase your fan base: 

• Add a link to your Facebook fan page in your website and every email you send out.
• Use custom Facebook applications to attract people to your fan page.  Just don’t overdo it.
• Link your Facebook account to your Twitter account and vice versa.
• Create niche relevant videos to add to your fan page and also embed them on your website.
• Add a link to your fan page on your personal profile page.
• Give a gift, such as a free report or video in exchange for becoming a fan.
• Enter new fans into a drawing for a free giveaway. 

Promoting products or services to make money on Facebook is great but you have to be careful how you do it. Just remember, most people come to Facebook to socialize with their friends, not to go shopping or purchase items.  If you are too aggressive with your sales pitches, you may find that you will lose followers and you may even have some people complain about spam. 

The best way to make money on Facebook is to build the trust of your followers.  This can be done by posting useful information and tips about topics in your niche and promptly responding to comments and messages from your fans.  If you are a blog owner you can syndicate your blog to automatically post to your Facebook page and thereby generate more blog readers.  Once and a while it’s okay to send out status updates promoting an item or service or maybe a review of an affiliate product you are marketing.  Just try to keep the advertisements to a minimum.  Put yourself in the shoes of your fans and ask: “What would make you want to be a fan of your own site?”   

Another way to make money on Facebook is by utilizing the Facebook Marketplace.  The Facebook Marketplace is similar to Craigslist in that it allows you to place free localized classified ads to sell your unwanted items.  You can also use the Facebook Marketplace to promote your business by placing ads linking to your website, blog, Facebook fan page, etc.  Just be sure you use an attractive photo and a strong “call to action” to entice people to click your ad.  Maybe even consider giving away a free gift such as a report or eBook that could be downloaded when they visit your site. 

As if the above methods of Facebook marketing are not enough, you can also purchase PPC (pay per click) or PPM (pay per thousand views) advertisements.  Due to the social nature of Facebook, most people will list demographics such as their interests, marital status, etc. in their profile.  This is very useful as an advertiser because this enables you to key in on these demographics and end up with extremely targeted ads.  For example, pretend you are a nightclub owner in Denver and you plan to host a concert with a famous rock band.  You could set up an advertisement to only be seen by Facebook users in the Denver area who have rock music listed as an interest on their profile.   

Hopefully this article opens your eyes to the huge potential there is to make money on Facebook. Whether you plan to sell affiliate items to your fans, used clothing to a local audience, or use paid advertising to promote your business, the power of Facebook marketing should not be underestimated.  If your business currently has an online presence and you are not yet using Facebook, then you are missing out on thousands of potential prospects.

START MAKING MONEY ON FIVERR

If you are looking for a quick online money-making method and you have a talent, or skill that people are willing to pay $5 for then you will definitely want to check out Fiverr.com. Even if you don't have a talent or skill, there are many people making money with Fiverr doing things like sending postcards from exotic locations, or advertising on their cars or even body parts. It is actually humorous to browse this site just to see some of the strange things people will do for $5.

As a webmaster, I absolutely love this site because it is easy to find people who will do website related gigs such as graphic design, link building and advertising just to name a few. Although, for only $5 sometimes you are not quite sure what you are going to get but you're only out $5 if you are not happy with the final product. Besides, buyers can always base their decision on the sellers feedback comments.

Fiverr's feedback system is similar to that of eBay's. If the seller of a gig delivers what they promised in a timely manner, then buyers are urged to leave feedback for the seller. Sellers with good feedback history tend to make more sales than new sellers with no or little feedback because the buyers have more confidence that the sellers will deliver as promised.

If you want to make money with Fiverr, first determine what your talents and skills are. Can you do something relatively quickly that other people would pay $5 for? You may also want to browse around Fiverr.com to see what other types of gigs people are making money with. You may be surprised how simple some of them are. Here is a list of ideas:

Graphic design - Webmasters and advertisers are always on the lookout for good graphic designers to design banners, ads, logos, favicon images, etc. If you are good with photo editing software you may want to consider this.

Writing or editing articles - Blogging and article marketing these days are huge and webmasters are always looking for good quality content. If you can write good quality articles fast, you could make killing on Fiverr.

Create a video and post it to YouTube - Video is really big these days and if you have some basic video editing skills, you can offer this as a service to others.

Post comments or reviews - You could offer to post a number of comments or reviews of a product or website.

Promote a product or website to your social network - If you have a large number of followers on Facbook or Twitter, you could offer to promote someone's product, website, blog, fan page, etc. to your social network for $5. These are very popular gigs on Fiverr because it results in very cheap advertising for the buyers.

Create a "How to" eBook or report and sell it for $5 - This one is nice because you can keep sending the same file to everyone who purchases it. You basically do the work once and profit from it many times.

Offline Advertising - Offer to post flyers or come up with other creative advertising methods for your buyers.

These are just a handful of different methods to make money with Fiverr. Hopefully you can see the value of this website and are able to use your talents and skills to quickly turn up some extra cash. Who knows, maybe you will come up with something new and creative that will be desired by many and give your bank account the big boost that it needs.

If you would like to learn more about making money online without all the hype, then Justin Young invites you to visit http://10waystomakemoneyfast.net. Here you can find information about the latest online money-making tips, ideas and techniques.

5 Easy Ways to Get More Twitter Followers for Your Online Business

Twitter is a social media site that permits you to post short, concise status updates, or "tweets," regarding important information about your business. As a business proprietor, tweets are an excellent method to spread your message about promotions, coupons, company policy updates, industry news and business changes, and even to ask for feedback and input through your customers. Just as with any type of marketing plan, marketing through social networking outlets such as Twitter is really a numbers game. The more followers you've got, the more popular you then become, and the more your business's online reputation grows. For that reason, it is very important increase your Twitter following as much as possible. Here are 5 easy ways to increase your Twitter followers for your business:

1. Request retweets. Retweets are when your followers like something you tweeted so much that they repeat it as being one of their own tweets (giving you credit, of course). Make sure to tell your followers how important their thoughts are, and ask they share your news with their followers in the form of retweets, so that their followers can start to follow your Twitter page.

2. Put plenty of thought into your page bio. When you consider that a lot of your followers won't know you or your business personally, it is clear how important your profile bio is to making an impression. Get your business's message across and pique peoples' curiosity with an accurate and appealing bio.

3. Supply the url to your Twitter profile on everything and whatever you can. You ought to include your Twitter link in emails, on your business cards, on your company website, on your blog site, and in every other social media site you use in promoting your business. Moreover, integrate your Twitter account together with your other social media accounts so that your tweets are viewed across a multitude of Internet outlets.

4. Post photos. Pictures that are tweeted are highly apt to be shared by your followers, and are a great way to personalize your followers' Twitter experience with your company.

5. Involve yourself in discussions about the latest trending issues. Issues that are trending are topics that are having the most conversation on Twitter. You can look-up trending topics through search.twitter.com and, when you find one that relates to your industry or business interests, you can jump into the discussion in order to get recognized by a totally new set of Twitter consumers.

Twitter is an invaluable business marketing tool that, when used the right way, can exponentially grow your business's online presence and increase your customer following. Make the most of your Twitter account by putting it in the hands of professionals and contacting us.

Daniel Ramos has worked with companies ranging from Fortune 500 firms to small 1-person ventures, in creating Pitch Videos and "Success Makeovers" for his clients online presence. To learn more, visit http://www.BigDanMedia.com

CREATIVITY

Creativity is the skill that transforms an average worker into the one every employer wants to have on his team. It is the process that brings something from nothing, and what business doesn't need that?

Employing creativity at work can make the difference between keeping and losing your job, being chosen or passed over for a promotion, and whether you enjoy or hate your hours on the clock.

Creativity is the freedom to love life, excel in your work and sustain meaningful relationships that stand the test of time.

In a recent conversation with Professor Guillaume Wolf, author of reDESIGN: reCREATE, he shared the three key rules or principles for living a creative life.

1. All you have is your process.

The key is to build creative thinking into your everyday life by continually asking questions like, "What do I do next?" "Is there a way I could do this better?" "What am I doing that doesn't need this much energy?" "How can I combine steps to create a better product or less time-consuming process?"

When you were a child, you automatically thought creatively. Life and society has desensitized you to your creative self. As you understand the value of added creativity, you will be surprised how many "great ideas" you start having, seemingly out of nowhere.

2. Commit to creative improvement.

Creative thinking is an ongoing process that requires commitment. Most of us rarely think of it at all, and if we do have a great idea, we rule it out as too weird, too hard or too scary to pursue. Creative geniuses choose to pursue their ideas -- at least long enough to mentally play with them and do a bit of research. Like the Nike staff motto, "Be a sponge," and their company slogan, "Just do it," culture-changers are committed to maximizing good ideas.

3. Each field is interconnected with every other field and they influence each other.

This is where the magic happens! As you allow your mind to play with the cross-connections between fields, you find yourself creating shortcuts, modifications and increased value where none had been seen before.

I saw this play out after my husband and I bought our retail store five years ago. He brought his manufacturing background. I brought my organizational and creative design background. Together we built a retail store that gets rave reviews from people who visit from around the world. Why? Because we allowed ourselves to think "unlike" retailers - to adopt non-retail strategies that made our retail outlet a better store.

What is creativity? It's what arises from the friction and synchronicity of opposites. It's merging what's obvious with what hasn't yet been considered. It's your vehicle from the norm to the extraordinary and it provides a way for you to keep your job, get a promotion and love your work. Creativity is crucial!

Marnie Swedberg is the mentor to thousands of super busy women worldwide, providing online training, resources and connections. To learn more, visit http://www.Marnie.com.

CREATING A BETTER LIFE FOR YOUR SELF

It has been said many times, that if you think you are going to win, you're right, and if you think you are going to lose, you are right too!

That is a very profound statement when you ponder it and it is essential to internalize it if you want to create a better life. The difference between a winner and a loser is basically that a winner expects to win and a loser expects to lose.

As I said, if you really yearn to create a better life, this is one of the first concepts that you must embrace. Being a winner truly always begins with an expectation to win. But don't be fooled! It is not that, that person has to always know exactly how! Expecting to win is the first real decision you must make, even before you have a plan or take action. This kind of attitude is the attitude that will get you through those tough moments when doubts begin to assail.

I remember Karl, a friend of mine. Every time he would go in for a job interview, he would always be so positive in his expectations. Many a time he went in and many a time he did not get the job he wanted. I asked him how he could always remain so cheerful and positive when everyone else in his position was beginning to give up and lose hope. He said, "I don't specifically expect to get that job, but I do expect that the very best job for me will come up and I will get it." That is, he expected, but was not fixed about a particular end result. This way leaves the Universe room to give you not just second best, but the result that is perfect for you.

This brings me to the point of standards and this is vital. if you want to create a better life. Look around you. Most people are not actually failing but they are accepting dreary second-best, because their standards are not high enough. You see this written on their faces as they grasp the straps of the underground. Most people, sadly, plod along from day to day, sticking with a job they don't really like and never thinking to ask more from Life than to scrape by! It is important that you have a high standard and that you expect to get what you want eventually.

To do the impossible, you have to believe. Think of the things that were once considered impossible. Climbing Mount Everest. The Four-Minute Mile, The Horseless Carriage. Now, we take these achievements for granted, because somebody once believed, once expected and pushed themselves over the border of unbelief.

Henry Ford is a wonderful example of someone who did create a better life and had high expectations. When he first wanted to build his V8 motor, all his engineers said it was impossible. However, Henry Ford believed it was possible, and just one year later, the impossible was achieved.

One word of advice. You must be VERY careful as to whom you share your expectations with. It is curious that the people who don't believe something is possible, will always, somehow, try to stop the people who believe something is possible. There is a Chinese Proverb based on that notion. This is an ancient wisdom that has been handed down for years. Therefore, only share your expectations with a trusted friend or nurture them yourself, with positive self-talk.

Remember, for most things, basically it is an equation. Believable = Possible. To create a better life, you can choose to make the Impossible, Possible, simply by believing in it and then, expecting it to happen!

Get Constant Inspiration and Pick up your Free Report on how to Create a Better Life while copies last!

M.Elena Rogers. Founder: http://www.bestsuccessoptions.com