If I Knew Then What I Know Now ... 13 Rules for Success In Your Home-Based Business

Someone sent me an email the other day. Supposedly General Colin Powell's Rules for Success. Now, I don't know whether they really are or not, but as I read them, I thought they really should be called "15 Rules For Success In Your Home Business". So, here they are:
Rule 1 - It ain't as bad as you think, it will look better in the morning
If there's one experience universal to ALL home-business owners, particularly those running a business on the internet, it's the occasional feeling that you're just spinning your wheels, and not getting anywhere. The number of people who give up on their businesses just as they approach the brink of success is staggering. So hang in there and remind yourself, when things look bleak, that tomorrow is another day, things really aren't as bad as they seem and things really WILL look better in the morning.
Rule 2 - Get mad, then get over it
OK, I concede this is more general advice than home-business advice but it applies in your home business just as it does anywhere else. Resentment and unexpressed anger really don't hurt anyone but the person feeling resentful and angry. Have you ever noticed how completely unproductive you are when burdened by resentment and anger? So feel it, express it (constructively) and then move on. As the man said, "get over it".
Rule 3 - Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls your ego goes with it
Over the course of my career I have, from time to time, met people whose identity and sense of self-worth is so enmeshed in what they do for a living that they literally don't have an identity outside of their work. Because they rely on an external source for their self-esteem and confidence, they find it necessary to continually and relentlessly bolster their personal positions, often at the expense of others, often resorting to political maneuvring in the workplace to maintain and improve their supposed 'status'.
These people are the 'empire builders' you sometimes find in organizations. They jealously guard their power base all the while gathering unto themselves more and more responsibility, beyond the point of being able to do everything they take on.
Because their identity and sense of self-worth depends upon their position within their organization, what happens when their position disappears, such as in a corporate downsizing? It freefalls.
Don't let this happen to you. Remember that you are something separate and distinct from your business. Sure, you can be proud and pleased with your accomplishments but don't define yourself through them. Your self-worth is something that comes from inside your human self, not your business.
Ironically, keeping a professional detachment is more likely to secure the ultimate success of your business. Detachment brings perspective, objectivity and clarity, which helps you make better quality decisions.
Rule 4 - It can be done
Don't allow self-imposed limitations to restrict what you can and will do. You can do anything if you set your mind to it. Well, of course, it must be something that is within your power - you can't just set your mind on growing a third arm, for example.
But for anything that is within human power and capability, the saying "where there's a will is a way" is so true.
Get into the discipline of planning your life and where you want it to go. By setting goals and planning the steps that will help you reach them, you can achieve literally anything your heart desires.
Rule 5 - Be careful what you choose, you may get it
Following on from this, it should go without saying that what you set for your goals is something you truly want because if you do practice the discipline of goal setting you will surely get it.
Rule 6 - Don't let adverse facts stand in the way of a good decision
Keep your eye on the prize and don't be distracted by what's happening on the sidelines. Sure, you may not have entered the marathon had you known there were going to be 1,000 other runners but does that mean entering the marathon was a bad idea? No.
Make your decisions based on quality information and what's in the best interests of your business. If someone else comes along who represents competition for your business, don't be put off your game. Just run your own race. There's ALWAYS a way to distinguish yourself from your competition.
Rule 7 - You can't make someone else's choices. You shouldn't let someone else make yours
IGNORE your mother when she tells you you're crazy for chucking in your nice SAFE secure little job to start your own business. Follow your dream, no-one else's.
Rule 8 - Check small things
Like the fine print in contracts. Like the URL in that sales letter you've just put the finishing touches on. Like your spelling and punctuation. In other words, pay attention to detail.
Rule 9 - Share credit
You've heard the saying, "no man is an island". No woman is either. Remember and acknowledge the people who have helped and continue to help you get where you want to go. Acknowledge the achievements of others.
Rule 10 - Remain calm, be careful
Frenzy and recklessness are hardly the prescription for long-term success in your business. In the face of unexpected challenges, unexplained downturns in business or failure to achieve the results expected, recognize that these are just part of the thrust and parry of business life and use a calm, methodical approach to the problem.
Don't just react blindly or chuck away all your hard work and try something completely different unless a thorough, calm and careful investigation convinces you that you are completely off-beam.
Calmly analyze your situation and use your intelligence to correct the situation. Sometimes a one degree turn of the wheel is all that is required to get back on course, not a completely new rudder.
Rule 11 - Have a vision, be demanding
This rule goes hand in hand with rules 4 and 5. In order to set goals and plan ways to achieve them you must first set your vision. Think big, be brave. There is nothing you can't achieve so make sure your efforts are going to be for something truly worthwhile.
Rule 12 - Don't take counsel of your fears or naysayers
All of us have moments of self-doubt or even fear when embarking on a journey to an unknown destination. If what you have planned for yourself brings with it feelings of anxiety, nervousness, even fear, pay attention to them but don't take their counsel.
They are symptoms of grand thinking, of stretching beyond the boundaries of your comfort zone. As the book says, feel the fear and do it anyway.
Rule 13 - Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier
This rule is closely related to rule 1. Believe that things will work out, that they will look better in the morning, that everything's going to be OK. Repeat the words to yourself as a mantra if you must but instill a spirit of indomitable optimism in your outlook and you will attract success into your life.

Elena Fawkner is editor of Home-Based Business Online. Best business ideas and opportunities for your home-based or online business.

A Few Tips on How to Engage Your Client to Read the Emails by Jason Tan

A top priority task for every local business turns out searching for an affordable marketing strategy. Perceived as one of the most traditional and the less attractive methods of keeping the contact with a customer, email is wrongly treated like an anachronism. Having and developing a contact list of the clients, the companies are capable of reducing the cost of a campaign and building a stronger relationship with the customer. Preserving required order of the activities, the company can avoid costly mistakes, like, for instance, the loss of a part of the subscribers.
The first and basic thing regarding the campaign seems to be a problem of retention of the clients. An obvious way to do that is a welcome electronic letter. Enabling the option of sending it immediately after signing up by the new customer, you have a great chance to introduce yourself.
The form of this presentation depends on you and one of the most appealing examples seems to be FAQ. Attending the email marketing course you will understand how important is an initial stage of the creation of the proper relationship between a local business and the potential customers. Neglecting this point, the companies miss an opportunity of sending the message that is the most often opened. In other words, their reputation and conversion can be improved, but, because of the lack of the experience, they forget about it.
Another question forgotten by the small and medium companies remain most common mistakes made in the content of the message. A leading position among these errors belongs to too long text. These emails are usually found in the trash folder. If your main purpose is sharing the info, write a blog. The necessity of scrolling turns out troublesome, so respect the time of your client.
Preparing an email, do your best to personalize it. This way lets the business engage the client. Otherwise, the customer browsing the electronic letter will be bored and disappointed, noticing the next the same template of the message. The simplicity concerns the visual effects. You can be more profitable, being moderate. The use of one or two types of the fonts is enough. Avoid putting caps in the text. These characters are considered as a kind of screaming. More reasonable solution seems to be a creation of a valuable and appealing content which will encourage the reader to do what you want.
Those who said that the use of the emails in a campaign is not effective anymore were wrong. This affordable method of the promotion cannot be missed especially by the local businesses. Are you fed up with spending money for the advertisements? Chose our email marketing course and notice immediate effects!

About the Author

Jason Tan is Co founder of awebstar, a professional web design, development and best SEO company in Singapore. He is also a marketing and WordPress specialist. The author conducts the research regarding the Email Marketing in Singapore.