photo credit: Torley

For most small businesses, the owner is the key person in the leadership role. Some owners and managers of businesses are convinced that it is only the money that creates passionate performance, productivity, and connectedness in employees. I’ve heard it many times in one form or another: “They are well paid; I don’t understand why they won’t produce.”

While yes it is true that money motivates employees a great deal especially in today’s economy, they are also looking for their personal needs to be met as well. Helping employees meet their personal needs is a great way to motivate them to produce more, work harder and better. When you show that you realize your employees are HUMAN rather than a machine and you recognize that they have needs, they are more likely to work better for you.

Ask your employees to fill out some sort of questionnaire or survey on what they do for recreation, what makes them nervous in their work environment and what would personal touches in their work environment would make their jobs easier and more comfortable for them. From this questionnaire you can go through and start implementing personal touches in the environment as well as maybe creating programs related to their recreation hobbies that motivate them to strive at work, recently posted on Business Week.

Crains NY:

As a high–school dropout who had gone on to attend half a dozen colleges before finally emerging from New York University with a major in the classics, Rob Kalin seemed to have few—if any—of the ingredients for entrepreneurial success.

Instead, at the age of 25 he was just another aspiring furniture designer, working out of a cramped Brooklyn apartment and hoping to scratch out a living selling his stuff online. When hours of surfing for a site that would allow him to do just that got him nowhere, Mr. Kalin had his epiphany.

He had a vision of an almost Utopian place where people could purchase handcrafted items online directly from producers like himself, and where those artisans could share their business and aesthetic challenges and solutions with each other online and off.

“I wanted to create a marketplace community,” says Mr. Kalin.

photo credit: powerbooktrance

Anyone contemplating taking on a franchise business should know all there is to know about that company, their customer base, revenue, expenses and most importantly their franchise marketing system. Below are some helpful hints on how you can spot a great franchise marketing system before buying your franchise, located on Entrepreneur.com.

• The customers are brought in the doors. This is what every business boils down to in the end, whether or not the marketing system brings in the customers. After all, that is where you make your profits.
• It is a proven and documented system. The franchise company you are looking into should always be able to provide you with documented and time and time again proven marketing strategies.
• The system involves the franchisees themselves. A really great marketing system for franchises is one that allows the actual franchiser to put in their two cents, give their suggestions and ideas.

It validates well The surest way to find out how well the marketing program is working is to get on the phone and start asking the existing franchisees. You’ll find that they will be very forthcoming on this topic since few things are closer to their hearts than marketing.

BBQ Grill Beach Towel. Grill marks on your back are optional.

Bottleclip. Wonder if it would work for a six-pack?

Oh Snap! Cheese Board Set. Just tell your guests you have a LARGE rodent problem.

Smoke in a Can. Nothing is more romantic than coughing up a lung.

Photo by Perpetual Kid/TrendsNow/Heliotrope, llc/Maplin.co.uk.

Leasing a TV may sound like the type of scheme cooked up by college students and others suffering from cash-strapped fever.

But renting to own ordinary household items is expanding to more mainstream consumers. Just ask the folks at Aaron’s, the Atlanta-based company with $1.56 billion in sales that leases new and used appliances and furniture to the credit-unworthy.

Add this retailer, with 1,575 stores, and its competitor Rent-A-Center to the list of companies that do well in a recession. First-quarter earnings at Aaron’s jumped 57%; sales rose 15%.

A cheaper way to buy the TV would be at a retailer like Best Buy, which might charge $1,500. Aaron’s customers, however, don’t have the cash to pay upfront and can’t get financing, so they end up paying nearly double. About half of Aaron’s customers make all their payments and wind up owning the product – the outcome in which Aaron’s makes the most money. When merchandise is repossessed, it goes back into stock and is marked accordingly.

Photo by merfam.

You need money to start up; you need money to operate; and you need money to grow.

Throw the dismal economy into the equation–when people are spending less and it’s taking longer for small businesses to get paid (according to the “Economic Pulse” survey)–and money is even harder to come by.

Most important, you have to figure out if there is truly a consumer need. “You know you have a great product, but you don’t know if it fits a need,” Jim Koch, founder and brewer, The Boston Beer Company, says. “Ask yourself if what you’re offering is better or cheaper.”

And if you find that for a certain segment it is, those are your customers; find out what matters to them. “The customer will give you cues,” he adds. “You can learn everything you need to know from them.”

Colleen Long, founder and creative director, FreudTV, discovered the need for her services when she saw a lack of resources for doctors looking to share their expertise. In a sense, she was her customer, and she understood where the need resided.

Koch emphasizes the importance of putting yourself out there tirelessly. As an entrepreneur, you’re often the salesperson, so you have to master the art of selling, he says, reflecting on the early years when he traveled from bar to bar with chilled bottles of Samuel Adams for bartenders to taste. “I had to go into a bar 10 times before I even got to see the bar manager.”

Photo by batintherain.

Contrary to the stereotype of 20-somethings starting Web-based businesses in their basements, it’s actually the baby boomers who best embody the entrepreneurial spirit. Over the past decade, the highest rate of entrepreneurial activity was among people between the ages of 55 and 64, according to a recent study by the Kauffman Foundation.

Luckily, many people age 50 and older may be particularly well suited to entrepreneurship. “The more experience you have, the more likely you are going to be successful. You’re also more secure financially,” says Vivek Wadhwa, a Duke University professor who previously started two businesses and now studies entrepreneurs. “The average entrepreneur starts a company because they want to build wealth, they are tired of working for other people, and they have ideas.”

Check out these 10 Great Places for Entrepreneurs to Retire:

Arlington, Va.; Columbia, Md.; Fargo, N.D.; Fayetteville, Ark.; Fort Collins, Colo.; Knoxville, Tenn.;Lincoln, Neb.; Madison, Wis.; Round Rock, Texas; West Des Moines, Iowa.

Photo by TheSeafarer.

If a Twitter user tweets, but no one is following them, do they really tweet at all?

Aiming to make such philosophical gymnastics less necessary, Tweet My Bumper helps Twitterers recruit new followers by targeting one of life’s few remaining captive audiences: drivers in traffic.

Twitterers seeking followers need only visit Tweet My Bumper, enter their Twitter user name along with the usual other basic information, and Tweet My Bumper will print and ship them a bumper sticker that shows their Twitter name along with the tag line, “Follow me in traffic. Follow me on Twitter.”

Photo by Tweet My Bumper.

Now with her own personal button to push, SWCreations continues to expand. Beyond the button collection is a wide range of pieces to choose from. Within the 900 or so pieces of jewelry that Stephanie has listed, you’re likely to find something that will inspire you.

What inspired you to create SWCreations?

The initial inspiration for creating SWCreations was to find a creative outlet for all my extra mental energy after sleepless nights with a baby, and later running around all day after my toddler (I was a stay at home mother). I decided to call my company SW, which were are my initials. I decided on Creations because that left me open to create other things besides jewelry if the mood struck.

How many pieces do you generally have listed on your website at one time?

My store typically has about 900 pieces listed at one time. Every item is handcrafted, and most pieces are one of a kind, so when sales are brisk it is not always easy to keep my store stocked up with new items.

Tell us a little about your button collection.

I found my first jar of buttons at a local antique store. Inside this jar I found my first pendant sewn together with antique shell buttons and Swarovski crystals. My second purchase of buttons was on eBay. At that time, I was talking to a friend about how a particular competitor was really trying to “push my buttons”, and I came up with the idea of using these buttons as a symbol of my mental resolve to not allow people to “push my buttons”. Ironically, the eBay seller I was purchasing buttons from at the time had the type of personality that gave me another opportunity to practice what I had decided – to not allow “other people to push my buttons” Some people with whom I have shared my story that frequent estate sells began to gather even more buttons, and now I believe I may have a lifetime supply of buttons!

What inspired it?

The jewelry button design collection, ‘My BeadLoved Buttons’, was inspired by a really horrific event in the recent past. A competitor copied my web design and my jewelry designs, and then turned around and filed a false claim saying I had actually copied from HIM! I am sure you can imagine my emotional response to such a betrayal, and that greatly interfered with my creative “muse”. The entire situation was so unbelievably stressful that I found it was sabotaging my ability to be as creative. A long time friend, Shirley from www.GemstoneGifts.com suggested I find something creative to put all this extra energy into, and I found myself telling her over and over…this guy REALLY pushes my buttons!!!! So I began creating these new very intricate designs (translate that as something that required my full attention) and these darling little artistic creations were born from all that turmoil. I am a big believer in trying to make something positive come out of a negative situation.

Did you ever imagine your business would grow like it has?

I never imagined my business would thrive like it has, but I hoped! This company has given me the ability to raise my daughter while staying home as a single mother. Spending my day doing the two things I love most, taking care of my daughter, and creating things with my own hands, has been quite a blessing.

How has your business expanded/changed since it launched 10 years ago?

As my business grew and evolved I had to grow right along with it. I learned many different software programs, editing techniques, image processing shortcuts, SEO, HTML programming, etc, that have saved me a lot of time and money.

What goals do you hope to accomplish over the next year? Any long term goals?

I would love to have more time to be creative and design some new art pieces. I think one of my long term goals for my business is to hire some employees, and possibly a business manager.

What lessons have you learned from your business?

I believe, now more than ever, that I can truly do accomplish anything my heart desires.

Do you have any advice for anyone that might be interested in getting into the handmade jewelry business?

Do what you love, be yourself, and discover what you can create with your own imagination.

Shaving knowledge and technique is not instinctive, all men need to learn the art and unfortunately many learn it badly”.

A passionate statement from London-based grooming shop Geo F. Trumper, which now offers classes on how to shave properly.

Customer demand led to the introduction of the one-to-one sessions, in which a barber shows a customer the best techniques for shaving and how to avoid unsightly problems such as ingrown hairs and razor burn. Other shaving tips are offered according to skin type.

Two types of class are on offer from the Soho branch, depending on the skills sought: there’s the Mach 3 Shaving School at GBP 50, or the 90-minute Open Razor Shaving School at GBP 75.

Founded in 1875, the Trumpers chain is drawing on the power of status skills to expose modern men to its traditional craft while showing customers the advantages of its high-end range—something entrepreneurs in most industries should think of doing, if they aren’t already.

Which skills can you help your customers master?

Photo by saintbob.

Sometimes success can be found only after changing career directions.

Candace Nelson was a former investment banker who realized, after losing her job in the dot-com bust, that her life’s passion is baking. Candace then traded her suits to a baker’s uniform and found culinary success with her cupcakes.

In 2005, Candace first opened her cupcake bakery that she called Sprinkles in Beverly Hills, California. Her cupcakes, based on her own recipes, were an immediate hit. During their first few days of operation, her bakery sold out its inventory hours before the scheduled closing time. Soon Sprinkles was selling 1,000 cupcakes a day, with lines going around the block.

Her cupcakes have since been featured in shows like Oprah, Good Morning America, Today Show, even in Entourage. She has since opened 7 other Sprinkles bakeries in CA, TX and AZ areas, Plans are afoot to expand and open more stores in areas such as Washington DC, Miami, New York, and even Tokyo.

Photo by Entrepreneur Success Stories.

The idea of not having any time for yourself, neglecting your family and giving up your social life can be terrifying.

“A lot of entrepreneurs think, ‘If I own my own business, then I have to eat, breathe and sleep this business,’” Long says. “There’s a lot of guilt where they think any downtime should be spent on the business.”

This isn’t to say you shouldn’t always be thinking about how to better your business and that you shouldn’t jump into action whenever duty calls. Being an entrepreneur will consume a lot of your waking hours, but there are ways to manage the workload, ease the stress and still have time to live your life–and maintain the passion you started with.

“You have to do something you love,” Koch says. “Ask yourself, ‘Is this going to make me happy?’ If you can imagine yourself being happy, you can handle the trade-off and the sacrifices.”

Long advises practicing meditation. “You have to give your mind a break,” she says, recommending 15 to 20 minutes of silence, deep breathing and relaxation every day. “It helps you to refocus.”

And lastly, don’t be afraid to ask for help–whether it means hiring people to do the tasks you don’t have the time or know-how for, forming a discussion group or advisory board, reaching out to peers, or taking advantage of the small-business resources available.

Photo by Geoff Marshall.

1. Make meaning, not money.

2. Make a mantra, not a mission statement.

3. Jump curves.

4. In product design, “roll the DICEE.”

5. Don’t worry, be “crappy.”

6. Polarize people.

7. Let 100 flowers blossom.

8. Churn, baby, churn.

9. Niche yourself.

10. Follow the 10-20-30 rule.

Go here for more details on each commandment.

Photo by wikimedia.org.

Lyn Nielsen of web development company Desktop Solutions sent me these great tips in how and why to consider making your web site “mobile friendly” so that it more easily displays on web sites of cell phone browsers and I’d thought to share them with you.

• Review your competition.

• Think about how users will be using your site while on a mobile device.

• Consider the case of a high-end manufacturer whose products are sold through high-end department stores like Nordstrom’s, Neiman Marcus and Sak’s Fifth Avenue.

• Test your site.

• Consider mobile uses when you design your site.

• Consider registering a mobile version of your domain.

Photo by victorsween.

While they do specialize in signs, that is not all. Imprint In Time also does trophies, shirts, hats, coffee mugs, and a variety of promotional items. The printing possibilities for one of their franchises is endless.

Tell us a little about Imprint In Time.

Imprint In Time is a business marketing company providing services and imprinted products primarily to the business community. Specializing in signage, POP displays, banners and vehicle markings, we provide complete marketing packages inclusive of building signage, vehicle wraps, logo garments, even business cards. We also offer financing of these expensive items allowing the customer to retain funds for other uses. We are a complete one stop shop.

What was the name of your company before you started franchising last year?

Eagle Business Center.

What inspired you to launch the business?

We retired from the corporate world in 2004 deciding to devote full time to a real estate investment company we owned. The RE market began to show alarming signs so we sold all but one property and began looking for something else. No one was providing basic business services in our area (Jasper, GA – foothills of the Appalachian Mountains) so we decided to fill the void.

How has your business changed/expanded since 2005?

We started out doing basic signs, copies, business cards and a few office supplies. As business expanded and our reputation for service became known we began to get requests for various services and products; blueprints – so we added a blueprint machine; wide format color copies – so we added a wide format color machine; T-shirts – we added a shirt printer. dimensional signs – we added a sand blaster and a CNC router. Basically as requests came in, we filled them. There are local competing businesses in all the above categories – however that is there only business. People like us because we save them time and money.

You initially mentioned a 7 business into 1 franchise set up. How so?

1. Signs are a stand alone business, 2. Awards and trophies are a stand alone business, 3. Screen printing shirts & hats is a stand alone business, 4. Embroidering shirts and hats is a stand alone business, 5 Reprographics (blueprints) is a stand alone business, 6. Printing is a stand alone business, 7. Promotional products and personalized gifts is a stand alone business. Through new technology we combine all these services under one umbrella.

What are your franchise requirements?

Franchise fee – $27,000, monthly royalties flat fee $400, 0% advertising contribution (we teach franchisee’s how to market their location via google adwords). We offer a cafeteria style options: the basic minimum package is $65,900 which includes the franchise fee and POS system and is a basic sign shop. The complete turnkey package that provides the franchisee complete market dominance is $198,500. Our lower costs is achieved by allowing the franchisee to deal directly with vendors and to allow them the do their own build out if they so desire. We’ve boiled the fat out of starting a small business. Net worth requirements $300,000 with $75,000 available to invest.

How might you be reached for more information on this opportunity?

www.imprintintime.com, imprint@imprintintime.com, or my personal cell phone 404-316-8460.

What goals do you hope to accomplish for your business/franchise opportunity over the next year or so?

We have an internal goal of 20 units OEY 2011.

Any advice that you’d like to offer out to another business that might be interested in turning their business into a franchise opportunity?

Systems, systems, systems. Everything has to be in a cookie cutter format. If you cannot put a replicable system around it, franchising it will be difficult.

Nielsen, the audience measurement company is releasing a brand new report on teens and media with a lofty promise of serious myth busting and hard fact presenting that will downright knock your socks off.

Ready for some eye-openers? Here we go:

With an ever-expanding media universe, social networks play an increasingly important roles in the lives of teens … as they do in pretty much everyone else’s, too. The 33 million or so teenagers (aged 12 to 17) in the U.S., against all odds, keep on consuming quite a lot of non-connected media, such as TV, radio and – get this – even stuff like newspapers next to their online activities.

According to Nielsen, teenagers are far from abandoning TV for so-called new media. In fact, television viewing rates among U.S. teens have actually gone up 6% in the last five years.

Sure, they browse the Web a lot, but far less than you do. The average time spent browsing for an adult person in the United States comes down to about 29 hours and 15 minutes per month, teens are said to browse the Web a lot less than that: 11 hours and 32 minutes per month on average.

Photo by Aaron Escobar.

Catherine Patton, founder of Patton Medical Devices, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2001. As a result, she is now faced with the daily struggle of effectively managing her disease.

Using injection therapy, Patton quickly grew tired of giving herself an injection each time she needed insulin. The multiple daily injections often left her skin bruised. She then switched to insulin pump therapy where she only had to inject herself every three days. But she found the pump therapy to be inconvenient, uncomfortable and hindered with her active lifestyle.

She then went on to research and experiment on a device that could meet her medical needs, yet have a minimal impact on her life. This led to her invention of i-port®, a medical device for diabetes patients who struggle with daily injections.

Realizing an unmet need existed and that there are others like her faced with the challenges of managing diabetes, Patton founded Patton Medical Devices in 2004 to manufacture and distribute her invention.

Photo by Patton Medical Devices.

photo credit: Lauren Close

First and foremost, we all know that the start of getting your foot in the door is a well put together cover letter accompanied by your well put together resume. The Next important thing is how you react to the interviewer themselves, always make sure you act appropriately to their behavior and demeanor. Now comes the little tips that many interviewers look for during interviews.

• The most obvious one…always dress the part, such as if your going to a business company always wear a suit, if your male make sure you wear a tie even in warm weather.
• Don’t go in there like gang busters talking about your life history. While it may be very interesting or even heart warming, they still don’t really want to hear it on the interview.
• Do your research. Some people find being Googled creepy. But if you do it carefully, you can show the hiring manager that you took the time to learn something about them.
• Answer the question that you are prepared for, you have come up with a great answer for and maybe they didn’t even ask. You can always work into the conversation or part of an answer to another question.

Colleen Long, a psychologist who specializes in entrepreneurship calls it the “lemonade-stand fear.”

“It’s the feeling the entrepreneur first gets when he starts any kind of business: the feeling that he’s operating a lemonade stand, this low-budget operation that doesn’t feel real,” she says.

As a small business, especially during the startup stages, there’s very little stability and security. Unlike traditional employment, you probably don’t have an office, employees, benefits or a paycheck. And what you definitely don’t have is a boss, someone guiding you along.

“Working for yourself is both the best and worst part of being an entrepreneur,” Long says. “No one’s going to tell you what to do. The days can pass you by and you haven’t really done anything because there’s no one giving you the framework for what to do.”

“The instability is scary,” Jim Koch, a well-known entrepreneur says. “It feels very uncomfortable because you’re in a new setting that doesn’t have the order and the structure.” In the early days, The Boston Beer Company didn’t have an office, a computer, a telephone, a distributor or proper accounting.

Our experts agree that setting goals is key to conquering this fear. Whether it’s daily, weekly or more long-term, setting specific, achievable goals keeps you accountable and on track. Koch’s daily goal was to gain one new customer, even if it took him late into the night.

“Sales calls scare me,” he says. “But not having an office forced me to go out and sell.” Achieving this daily goal contributed to his two overarching goals: “to make great beer and work my butt off to sell it.”

Today, those goals still stand: Koch makes sure his beer maintains the same taste and quality as his great-grandfather’s original recipe by traveling to Bavaria each year to select the hops, and personally tasting every batch. Even with more than 700 employees, he still makes regular sales calls.

Photo by Hotshoe!.

photo credit: hansol

A simplistic focus on sales may not be typical for most entrepreneurs, but even savvy business owners may falter when faced with complex vendor compliance programs. Here are steps to avoiding charge-backs.

• Be sure to be clear in all contracts what exactly has been promised to the customer. This way there is no room left for them to attempt saying their services or goods were somehow not what they were promised as you will have it in writing.
• Always make sure you know what your vendor compliance policies and regulations are in their manual. There may be certain criteria or requirements that your company is expect to meet before shipping products out.
• Take a visit out to your customers facility, get a first hand look at their operations and staff, needs and more. This will give you tons of information regarding their company and make you more able to make huge decisions on shipping products in mass quantity to their location, stated recently on OpenForum.
• Always in the end make sure you are well planned and thought out. Know what your customers needs and requirements for products are, know the length of shipping time from the vendor themselves, this way you can plan ahead and make sure all deliveries are on time as scheduled for the customer.

Nothing will motivate you to achieve your goals like making other people aware of the specifics of what you’re aiming to accomplish.

Making others aware of your plans also has the added benefit of potentially providing you with great feedback about how you might best go about carrying through with them, too.

Step 1: Alert the People You Trust

Step 2: Keep Your Twitter/Facebook Friends in the Loop

Step 3: Broadcast Beyond Your Network

Step 4: Stick to It

Photo by dreamjay.

photo credit: furryscaly

I recently came upon an article located on Entrepreneur.com regarding ways that employers can protect themselves during layoffs and keep their company out of a law suit. I have to disagree with many thing’s that are stated in this article as it almost sounds like they are attacking employees and portraying employers to be always innocent in all matters.

They suggest that there is no wrongful fire, only wrongful hires. Many people (employees) would have a problem with this statement. While yes an in depth interview and review process may find yourself a great employee that believes in the core values of your company, this still does not mean that the employee would not take action if later fired for what they believe to be a wrongful reason.

Entrepreneur.com suggests that if you state in your contract or employee handbook somewhere that it is an “at-will” company this protects you from any future lawsuits. That you are allowed to fire an employee for any reason what so ever and get away with it. However, the original laws still apply, so if that employee can prove there was some sort of discrimination, sexual harassment, general harassment, failure to uphold the state law applying to the FMLA act, and many others then you will still have a law suit on your hands. Those are not acceptable for any reason.

Be Honest, Be Consistent. Documents are crucial in litigation. If an employer terminates an employee who never received a negative evaluation for poor performance, it is going to have a lot of explaining to do when faced with a discrimination lawsuit.

Are you thinking about launching a new business? Do you have some new product or service you want to sell?

Are you pretty sure the product or service will be a big hit if you can get enough money to get started, or get the time and resources together to add it to your existing offerings?

Whether you’re starting a new business or expanding your existing business, be sure you stay focused on the most important aspect of any product or service: what real, living, breathing customers want or need badly enough to buy.

1. It must be something people want or need.

2. It must be good quality and effective.

3. It must be something you can buy or produce at low cost and sell for at least two to five times your cost.

4. It must have a market you can afford to reach.

5. You must be able to describe a typical customer in that market in detail.

6. It should be something that involves repeat sales to the same customer or allows up-sell and cross-sell additional products.

7. You must have an affordable and reliable way to deliver or distribute your product to customers.

8. There should be related, and possibly more expensive products you can sell to satisfied customers after the first sale.

9. It should be something you like and believe is worth the price you put on the product or service.

Photo by Shahrokh Dabiri.

Initially inspired by an article, Dave Hood and Chip Hoisington have taken a simple idea and successufully executed it.

Tell us a little about LotsofJobs.net.

Lotsofjobs.net is a 100% Free Job Search and Job Posting Site.

There are some other job web sites that claim to be free, but then offer only limited functionality such as only 10 job posts for free, or browsing resumes that were posted more than 30 days ago, etc.

What was your inspiration?

An article in Inc. Magazine.

What separates LotsOfJobs.net from other job posting/search websites?

Other than the fact that our site is free, we feel that the biggest difference is the user experience.

Right away, the user feels at ease with the color scheme and layout of the site. Also, you can see what is going on immediately. You can search for jobs get all of the contact info in order to email the employer or recruiter without having to log in. This is a big difference between LotsofJobs.net and many other sites. Most sites make you sign up before ever seeing any contact info or details about the job. We do recommend that job seekers sign up with a free account if they see a job they like so that they can apply online….in addition to sending a resume via email to the recruiter/employer. Our recruiters are raving about the site as they say it is simple to use and free and they are getting tons of views and applications on their job posts.

What kind of growth has your website seen since it launched in early May?

1435% growth month over month with approximately 100 new member signups per day. Phenomenal growth and we are very excited about it.

Do you have any goals you would like to reach before you reach your 1 year anniversary?

50,000 new members by May 11th of 2010, and 200,000+ unique visitors per month.

The recession has hit many people quite hard with a decrease in employment opportunities. How might a website like yours help those that have recently found themselves unemployed?

Facing unemployment is a tough thing to go through, however it can open up a lot of doors to people who have been doing something that they have never liked for a long time. Posting their resume for free is a big deal for people since many recruiters search resumes by job titles, etc. With our site, a job seeker can fill in key words for the type of position they are looking for such as: technology sales, java developer, warehouse worker, etc. We even recommend that if job seekers see a post that they like on the site, to match the keywords of those jobt titles that were posted…as that is how the recruiters are likely to search for resumes. Posting a resume and signing up for a free account is also proof for unemployment that an individual is actively seeking employment.

Do you think your service will help boost job hires for companies that are still hoping to expand during the economic downturn?

Absolutely!, as evidenced by our extremely high return rate and numerous multiple logins by our recruiter/employer members.

From idea to now, what are some of the lessons you have learned since you started working on LotsofJobs.net?

Some people don’t work nights and weekends. Very tough to deal with when you want everything done right now.

By the same token, it is important to know what you are good at and where you need help. My business partner and I are business guys, serial entrepreneurs, visionaries, etc, but we are terrible with computers. It is great that we have people who know what they are doing.

Do you have any job hunting tips for those who stop by your website to try and find an opportunity?

Definitely, Chip and I have hired 1000s of people ourselves, and have been on both sides of the fence.

a. On www.lotsofjobs.net or any job search site for that matter, when you post your profile, etc., on the site, use keywords for the positions that you are trying to find as stated above. Employers search by job title, job function, ie. sales, technology sales, software engineer, retail manager, etc. In fact, we think it is so critical, that we made the search field mandatory in order to help both job seekers and recruiters.

b. To get a job. Show passion. Show passion for the job, the company, or even one of your hobbies. A great manager can determine whether or not she can manage a person if that person demonstrates that they have passion and enthusiasm. Be polite. If it is a sales position, always call back and at least leave a message for the hiring manager or person that you interviewed with that you are very excited about taking the next steps. Managers llike to hire people who demonstrate that they want the jobs.

photo credit: LaserGuided

The following is a guest post from Bizymoms.

One of the surest ways to succeed in any business is to try and match your inherent skills and natural interests with the kind of business that you choose for yourself. If you can do that, half your battle is already won. In terms of your skill set matching to your business, you will have a clear edge over most of your competitors who would have to hire those skills from outside. This will ensure that your costing remains cheaper than the competition and you can deliver better value to your customers than they do.

Secondly, if your interests match with your business, you will most likely remain passionate about your business throughout, and that will empower you with exceptional zeal and energy to outperform the competition. In such cases, the business does not become a burden or a drag on your physical and mental resources and your commitment. It becomes an enjoyable work, and when you start enjoying your work, that is the point where you start achieving the best results.

There are many business opportunities available today that are based on personal skills of the entrepreneurs. For example, if you are a trained teacher, you could be in a position to take up the bizop of a training or education company and run your business effectively. Similarly, if your expertise and experience lies in the field of investment banking, you could take up the franchise of an established financial company, and manage your own franchise very successfully.

If your interest lies in retailing, you could opt for the franchise of an established retail brand or a kiosk business opportunity and run your own show. Or, if you are passionate about food and cooking, you could even consider taking up the franchise of an established food chain, and run your own restaurant along with the marketing capabilities of the franchiser to back up your venture.

While you are looking for suitable franchise and business opportunity options, you should specifically look for the particular areas where your interest lies and maintain your focus on those options only. There are many tempting options that may try to impress you with high sales and earnings potential. But if your focus remains clear, you ought to give priority to only such businesses where you can capitalize on your existing skills and natural interest and talent.

When the established systems and an established brand and goodwill of the franchiser combine with your individual skills and interests, chances are that you will be able to edge past the competition and run your business with considerable success.

Bizymoms has been helping women start work at home businesses for over 10 years. Now, with our Franchises for Moms section giving great home business ideas, women can start their own franchise business!