By 2050, more than 50 percent of the United States population will be people of color; this includes African Americans, Latinos, Asians and others. These skin types have unique needs and require special care and now, most spas and salons offer specific products and procedures designed for more challenging skin. To help make your skin care experience more favorable, here are my 6 tips for skin care for people of color:
Avoid Aggressive Scrubbing
Ethnic skin is not darker because it has more pigment cells. Instead, the melanocyte cells that produce pigment are larger, and thus have more melanin. Scrubbing the skin too aggressively can over stimulate the skin and cause hyperpigmentation or blotchy skin. Plus, scrubs containing rough-edged granules, such as crushed walnut shells, polyethylene beads or apricot pits can irritate darker skin. Instead, choose scrubs that contain natural pumice or round jojoba beads that will not tear the skin.
Don't Pick!
Avoid the blunt trauma caused by picking at the skin. Easy, gentle extractions are better. My best recommendation is to use a sebum softener such as an enzyme or alpha hydroxy acid that will aid in removing blackheads with ease.
Use Salicylic or Alpha Hydroxy Acids
Skin of color is often more prone to ingrown hairs, which can lead to irritation, infection, and discoloration. Using a salicylic or alpha hydroxy acid serum will cause cell turnover and reduce blockages that cause ingrown hairs (note: use a mild scrub prior to shaving to loosen hairs).
Use Ice on Acne
Minimize swelling and inflammation as soon as an acne lesion forms by icing the affected area. When inflammation is reduced, the risk of the skin discoloration is lessened. Fill a small, plastic cup to the very top with water and freeze it, and when a lesion comes up, roll the iced cup over inflamed area for 10 minutes.
Avoid Overstimulation
Over stimulating the skin can result in damaged cells that cannot be replaced, causing the skin to appear white (a condition called hypopigmentation where the color will not return). Avoid using aggressive microdermabrasion treatments and keep cell turnover regular with superficial, light peels. Home care topicals with epidermal growth factors and peptides will aid in strengthening the skin.
Use Sunscreen
Just because darker skin contains more melanin does not mean it will not burn. UVA and UVB rays affect all shades of skin. Always include a broad-spectrum sunscreen with a sun protection factor of 30 in the daily regimen. The good news is that due to the amount of melanin in skin of color, it is more resistant to developing skin cancer and shows less signs of aging, both major issues for Caucasian skin.
More and more leading-edge companies are aware of the issues involved with skin of color and now formulate products especially for their skin needs. The best options combine natural products partnered with scientifically proven ingredients which really work to keep even the most challenging skin looking young and fresh.
Skin care for people of color shares many of the fundamentals of skin care for people with lighter skin. However, there are some things you can do to treat your skin particularly well if you are of color. By avoiding aggressive scrubbing, not picking, avoiding overstimulation, and using sunscreen, you will be on the road to better skin.
For more information on skin care products for people of color, visit www.RhondaAllison.com.
Selasa, 14 Juli 2009
Skin Care For People of Color - 6 Tips
Rabu, 18 Februari 2009
An Idol at a Time
With today’s growing audience for pop reality entertainment shows, one cannot help but consider these young and raw talents and their future in the music business. There is the American Idol, the most popular search for young artists who would want to make it big in the music business, plus a lot more TV shows similar to this—a whole season of perfectly molding the most talented, young, and fresh artists on that side of the planet, and showcasing the winner on the season finale. Yes, this may be the “in” thing in television, but this is also a new approach in searching for the best of the best.
These shows have one goal in common: to mold raw talents into a much deserved spotlight, by giving them a chance to learn more about their music, discover their hidden talents, meet new people—the list just goes on and on. For many, this is a chance for them to share what they have to others; for some, a life changing challenge that beats all odds. Either way, one thing remains the same: winner takes all.
In this somewhat harsh reality of show business, people have already mixed the music business with TV, making it a whole new era of “real” entertainment. Every week, a few will get cut off, and the best of the artists will remain, fighting for the “Idol” title. To get to this, there will be a lot of practice, enhancements, and of course, emotions. With a fast paced approach (because the show usually runs for only a couple of weeks) these young talents without experience whatsoever in the showbiz industry breaks their routine and show what they got in front of the cameras.
As the show progresses, so are the fans. At the end of each season, only one winner will get the chance to perform for several other shows, not mentioning the contract with a big music production label, their first album, and concerts across the state. Definitely, this is a dream come true for any young artist. But the question still remains: what would be the future for these young ones? And what is life after the glaring, almost blinding spotlight?
Many recording artists made it big through the traditional way-- working hard, playing extensively until they can't play no more. Comparing to the “Idol” scenario, we can say that this “Idol” shine may not last as long as others, maybe because it was all just about the TV rankings, and not the real music as it should be. But this should not affect other people, especially those who are in for the music. Yes, show business made its way to intertwine with the music business, but sometimes that's just how it all works-- more business, more money.
About The Author:
Music Business in a Box is a music business resource that helps you everything you need to get your music career started. Music Business in a Box offers music business handbook and career guide from popular music authors like Doc Holliday, L.T Hutton and Ron Berkowitz, music course, music techniques, music teaching tips and more. Call 888-463-1479 or 888-470-6599 or visit http://www.mbib.com
Music Teaching Tips that Work
By Earl Marsden
Most of us music teachers aim to offer the best services to our students and let them learn their chosen instruments in the most efficient manner. Having a good teaching strategy will not only give your students fun learning experience but it will also earn you respect in the field. Thus, I have listed some music teaching tips that will enable you to teach your students effectively.
* Target both your students' minds and bodies - Especially if your students are still young, you must understand that they may need a combination of physical and mental exercises and activities in learning. Aside from the fun it may bring to them, the possibility of understanding and recalling the lesson you are teaching may also increase.
* Learn how to energize students during boring moments - there will always be some instances wherein you have to discuss some important topics that are somewhat uninteresting to your students. These may lead to an inattentive class or worse, a sleeping class. Being observant and flexible is important to bring back a lively discussion. Why not ask them to do some stretching or tell some old jokes. Detaching fro the lesson plan for some minutes is better that to teach a daydreaming class.
* Provide your students with the best facilities - this is not one of my music teaching tips but rather it is your key to attract more clients and students. If your students learn and practice their instruments comfortably, you may not need to explain some lessons further. Your students may have greater determination and urge to learn any lesson.
* Give commendations to well-doers - giving applause for those who excel and have positive attitudes in the class will even boost their moral. This might as well motivate all the others to exert their efforts in learning their instrument and join those who have earned commendations.
* Treat slow-learners and wacky students positively - a class includes students with a variety of learning capacities and attitudes. Slow-learners and problem students must not be treated differently. Always remember that music teaching does not only involve explaining music lessons but instilling positive personality to each of your students.
These music teaching tips may vary depending on the circumstances. Private music teachers with fewer students may have an easier time handling their students. But then again, for those who may find these tips effective, please do your part and let other music teachers know about it.
About The Author:
For more effective music teaching tips and resources, check out this music teachers website.
Music Teachers Software
Music Teachers Resources and Tips
Resources and Tips For Music Teachers With Special Learner
Music lovers and enthusiasts have all the rights to learn their chosen musical instrument despite of their impairment, as long as such will not completely forbid them to play such. Various tips and instructional guides are available on the internet and some libraries that will give music teachers the resources to be effective in handling special learners.
Let us say in the case of Andrea Boccelli, a great tenor and musician who was diagnosed with glaucoma and lost his sight at an early age of fourteen; if not for his music teacher, we might not hear his tranquil and heart warming voice. More so, he reached success in music because he had such self-motivation and certain love for music. And these had made it all possible
.
Generally speaking, special learners are regarded as those students, who either have cognitive, physical, mental or social abilities and disabilities. These groups of special individuals are faced with different learning challenges. However, through the professional assistance of music teachers and enthusiasts as well as effective and efficient music teachers' resources, they are able to comprehend, adopt and adjust to such learning situations. Also, acquisition of skills and knowledge has been possible through these resources for music teachers.
Great examples of music teachers' resources are those from the Internet such as tips and inputs from various music teacher sites, personal experiences of the music lovers and experts themselves, other extensive techniques and methods of music teachers, and some findings from different music researches. When music teachers are in need of such reliable and effective resources, they may adopt any of those mentioned sources and make each a part of their music teaching strategies.
Music teachers' resources truly come in variation. You may actually choose from different available resources nowadays. However, you have to bear in mind that it takes a lot of analysis and discernment to find out which among those resources would be appropriate and effective for each special learner. Remember that as a music teacher, your role does not end in mere teaching music but most of all, in making them discover their talents and feel that they are treated as typical and average students.
Though it may be quite difficult to deal with special learners, music teachers will then feel and realize that teaching them can be very rewarding. Your time, efforts and hard works will soon pay off especially if you have seen your learners succeed and unleash their music talents and inclinations.
Furthermore, when these special learners tend to appreciate their music teachers, have made them their real mentors, and have considered them as their source of motivation and inspiration, these music educators can proudly say that being one has been a blessing, thus gives them such feelings of fulfillment and self-worth.
About The Author:
For more tips and music teachers' resources, visit this music teaching website.
Selasa, 06 Januari 2009
Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Horror, Gaming, Anime & Comic Conventions - They Are Not All The Same
by: June Williams
A very large number of people who have never attended a Sci-Fi convention have the idea that they are all about people standing in line to get autographs of actors while wearing Klingon makeup and costumes or pointed ears. I’m not saying that those stereotypes don’t exist but the Convention experience is much richer and diverse than you may have been led to believe. To get the best experience it is important first consider your interests and then match them to what conventions are available.
Conventions come in two primary flavors. Professional and fan run. Professional conventions should have actors who have appeared in genre television and films ready to sign autographs and have their photos taken with fans. Some of these conventions include the costs of autographs and photo sessions in the cost of admission others operate in more of an a la carte fashion.
Often genre conventions have previews of new shows and films, and usually an extensive dealer’s room where you can buy anything from jewelry, ornaments, t-shirts and action figures to full scale replicas and costumes...and more. While there are a number of professional promoters the best known and run are Chiller Theatre Expo, Creation Entertainment, Fed Con ( Germany ), Starland and Vulcon. Do expect things to be as advertised and run on time. Do not expect warm and fuzzy.
Warm and fuzzy is more the field of fan run conventions. Fans who get together to run conventions have a great deal of enthusiasm, but usually are run with a volunteer staff and can be a bit “bumpy” with organization of the activities. What you can expect? A movie room, anime room, gaming room, art show, dealer’s room, and various special interest group rooms and tables. It is a rare con that doesn’t have a dance and a masquerade. Many fan run conventions also have guests ranging from actors, authors, cartoonists, illustrators, scientists etc. You may also find workshops for writing, acting, art, costuming, make-up and special effects. It all varies from convention to convention and year to year. Older fan run conventions such as Aggie Con, Balticon, Bay Con, CONvergence, Dragon Con, ICON, Shore Leave, United Fan Con, Toronto Trek to name a few.
The following sections may help you in selecting the kind of convention you would enjoy the most. Don’t be afraid to try other sorts once you’ve sampled those that are in your comfort zone. Exploration can be fun:
• LITERARY CONVENTIONS
Love to read speculative fiction? Do you have an interest in attending workshops on writing and publishing? Would you like to mingle with like-minded fans and meet professionals in the field such as authors, editors, illustrators and publishers? Then a literary convention would be the place you might enjoy most. Conventions such as World Science Fiction Convention (which is where the Hugo awards are announced), the World Fantasy Convention, World Horror Convention, Balticon, Philcon, Lunacon, Boskone, Readercon, Wiscon and Capclave are all reader friendly and while you may find the occasional filking group, men in kilts, swords and women in medieval garb I doubt that you’ll see many people dressed like the attendees of the convention seen in the movie Galaxy Quest. OK maybe one or two but they are a tiny minority.
• MEDIA CONVENTIONS
Media conventions are very much about television and film. Science Fiction & Fantasy or Horror & Paranormal guests abound. You may meet and hear behind the scenes stories of actors and illustrators, SFX experts and make-up artists and a host of media professionals. Many of the attendees may be wearing costumes. Depending on whether you are going to a “pro” con or a fan run con the rest will vary greatly. Parties are expected and encouraged. At a pro convention this will take the form of a banquet with the guests at a fee and/or a dance or cocktail party all for various prices. Fan run convention also may have a price attached to a banquet or “private” gathering with a particular celebrity or celebrities but they will also have fee free dances, masquerades, art shows, filking, sword demonstrations etc. Toronto Trek, Celebration, BotCon, Dragon Con , Comic-Con ( both Dragon Con and Comicon will appear under many categories)
• GAMING CONVENTIONS
Gamers come in all shapes, sizes, ages, colors and ethnic backgrounds but they all have something in common. A love of games. Role playing, live, pen and paper, MMOG as well as video gamers and board gamers all have a lot of interactive fun at gaming conventions. You can meet game designers, try out new games that have yet to hit the general market, and play in tournaments for glory and prizes. Once an almost male-only pursuit, gaming now has a growing number of female enthusiasts Gaming has become so pervasive that it is now nearly socially acceptable to the mainstream public. Nearly.
There are giant conventions like GENCON and ORIGINS, where it is so crowded you may have trouble negotiating the exhibition halls due to the crowds. The upside is the great diversity and FREEBIES as there are so many gaming companies competing for your attention. Then there are the more intimate play intensive ones like Archon, CastleCon, Dragonflight Dreikonigsnacht (Twelfth Night), Festival of Dreams, HexaCon, KublaCon, MACE, MarsCon, Marmalade Dog, ShaunCon, Strategicon, The Once and Future Con, and many many more.
Keep in mind that many conventions other than pure gaming conventions have gaming tracks. If you like to game but want to do more than only game during the weekend you might look into some of the other cons with a strong gaming element.
• ANIME CONVENTIONS
For the older generation anime seems so foreign, even unreachable. It shouldn’t be. Yes, anime and its siblings manga and ahem *cough* hentai are of Japanese origin but the striking visual styles and beauty, the characters and stories connect with westerners as well as audiences in the east. Because they are animations they can either be sub-titled or dubbed in the language of the country where it is being broadcast. In anime the stars are the illustrators, authors, and voice actors. At conventions you will find many of these sorts of guests as well as companies promoting their projects. You will also find some of the most imaginative of costumes created and worn by fans. At larger conventions you may find multiple rooms running films day and night. At smaller ones perhaps just one room will be devoted to showing their favorites. There are often panels discussing aspects of cosplay, fan fiction, video games, favorite voice actors, anime series or movies. As in literary conventions there are often workshops. These workshops are mostly how to draw manga, make computer animation, or how to become a voice actor. The dealers room will be filled with DVDs , software, graphic novel manga, art books, apparel, toys and exotic ( for us ) foods.
While the U.S. and Canada have the largest SF conventions in the world the largest Anime conventions are Lucca Comics & Games in Lucca Italy ( 85,000 ) , Japan Expo in Paris France ( 83,000 ) Salon del Manga in Barcelona Spain ( 63,000 ) and Romics in Rome Italy ( 50,000 ). The big guys in North America are Anime Expo Los Angeles California (41,000), Otakon Baltimore Maryland (23,000) and A-Kon Dallas Texas (14,500). Hey, size isn’t everything and some of the smallest might be the way to start if you have never been to a con before!!
• HORROR CONVENTIONS
What a perfect place to let it all hang out (dating myself but who cares). Horror conventions revel in going over the top. Long live Elvira, Freddy Krueger, Jason, Dracula, Zacherley, Even the names of these conventions and expos are meant to be graphic illustrations of what you will find there. Chiller Theatre, Fangoria, Fright Night Film and Fantasy Fest, HorrorFind, HorrorHound Weekend, Spooky Empire. Nothing to subtle here. No sparing of the gore. It’s like the rollercoaster of genre conventions. If you have a strong stomach and a dark sense of humor you will have tons of fun. The dealer’s room, art show, video rooms all are in sync with the horror theme. Guests that reach back decades up to the present. Once again there is a chance to meet actors, artists and authors for autographs, photo shoots, and anecdotes. Attendees go wild with costumes and you can do so too even without a ton of money or a pile of cash. Try out your best monsterish clothes and make-up or come asa victim…or not. Costumes aren’t required, they are just fun. There is usually a monster mash even if that isn’t the name given. Some horror conventions invite guests that more about nostalgia than horror. Chiller Con is a good example of this. Some of their guests are Micky Dolenz from the Monkees, Ernest Borgnine , Lindsay Wagner, Brigitte Nielson, Katey Sagal (Married with Children), Stephen Baldwin, Daniel Baldwin, Barry Bostwick, Erin Murphy (Tabitha of Bewitched), Avery Brooks, Armin Shimmerman, Robert Picardo, Geri Reischel (Jan from The Brady Bunch), Susan Olsen (Cindy from The Brady Bunch),Joe Pantoliano,Richard Kiel ("Jaws" Moonraker), Lou Ferrigno, William B Davies (X-Files-Cancer Man), Stella Stevens, Frank Stallone, Ron Bumblefoot ( Guns N Roses ) and a host of others.
• COMIC CONVENTION
When you think of a comic book convention you will probably think of a sea of old comic books, toys, Star Wars stuff, Star Trek stuff, action figures, collectible card games and magazines for sale and you would be right but that is only a part and an increasingly small part of the experience. You will find illustrators, authors, publishers and very often interesting workshops and panels that deal with every aspect of the industry past, present and future. There are the costume contingents that always show up at the larger conventions and some are so good that you could almost believe you were seeing superheroes and villains walk out of the pages and off the screen to meet you and be photographed. Some cons such as Dragon Con and Comic-Con began solely as comic conventions but grew to tremendous size, scope and diversity that they have transcended the genre that gave rise to them. Even those such as HEROES which remains focused on comics manages to have a number of other aspects and should be able to keep the whole family amused for the weekend. Comic conventions often have a lot of pop culture and nostalgia guests. So if you would like to see people like Creature, Parthenon and Fat Mama from Who wants to be a Superhero or maybe even Stan Lee himself, you might get your chance. How about James & Oliver Phelps who played the Weasley Twins in the Harry Potter movies ? Or perhaps Sean Astin or Billy Boyd and even Elijah Wood . From Heroes Hayden Paniterre and Masi Oka, or Ice-T…yes I said Ice-T AND his swimsuit-model wife Coco.
For a walk down memory lane there is Erik Estrada, Betsy Palmer, Soupy Sales, Richard Hatch, John Saxon, Adam West and Burt Ward ( Batman and Robin) , Julie Newmar, Peter Mayhew, Eddie Byrnes (77 Sunset Strip), Erin Gray (Buck Rodgers), Gary Coleman, Lou Ferrigno and on and on. Some are from your childhood others are from your parents childhoods. I can tell you that when I unexpectedly got to meet the very ladylike and gracious Betsy Palmer it was a thrill.
The bottom line is conventions are places where adults can go and play and slough off the average workday week . Have fun !!
About The Author
June Williams
V.P. Buzzy Multimedia Publishing
http://www.buzzymultimedia.com
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7 Ways to Drive More Targeted Traffic to Your Website
by: Alicia Forest
Unfortunately, when it comes to your website, the "if you build it, they will come" strategy just doesn't work. Fortunately, there are several ways to drive high-quality traffic to your website for little to no cost. The following 7 strategies will show you how:
1. Optimize your site for the search engines.
You'd have to be a fulltime search engine optimization expert to keep up with all the changes the major search engines make, but there are a few basic things you can do to help your site come up for relevant searches. Here are some to get you started:
a. Define your keywords - this is how people will find your business online. The trick is to find keywords that are highly relevant to what you offer and popular enough that they will attract decent traffic to your site, but not so competitive that you can't rank well using them. Use your keywords in your web page copy.
b. Create your metatags - this is how the search engines "read" your site. Put your keywords in your metatags on each page of your website.
c. Don't use lots of graphics or Flash, frames, or "alt" tags in HTML for pictures - search engines don't like them because it makes it hard for them to "read" your site.
d. Submit your site to the search engines (see #2).
e. Get links to your site - create a page in your website and call it either resources or links and add GOOD links, meaning relevant links. Linking is the second biggest indicator of how your site is ranked.
2. Submit your site to the search engines.
Why wait for the search engines' robots or spiders to find you? Submit your website (it's best if you submit every page individually) to at least these three major search engines manually. It's easy and only takes a minute.
Submit your web pages to:
Yahoo at http://search.yahoo.com/info/submit.html
Google at http://www.google.com/addurl/?continue=/addurl
DMoz at http://www.dmoz.com/add.html
3. Use pay-per-click advertising.
Google Adwords or Yahoo Overture both offer pay-per-click advertising options. You can create a ppc campaign for a very small investment, and because you have complete control over your budget, you can set it for whatever amount you feel comfortable with. It's very difficult to get to the top of the "organic" search results (on the left side of the search results page) but can be very easy to get on the first page of results with a PPC, bringing targeted traffic to you. The best part is you only pay when someone clicks your ad that takes them to your website.
I've been told that Overture is actually easier to learn for a beginner, but I personally use Adwords. I spend less than $50 a month on my Google campaigns at the moment and it consistently brings visitors to my website who are interested in what I have to offer.
4. Place or swap ads with other ezines in your niche.
Seek out other ezines in your niche whose publishers might be interested in swapping ads. They can either be formals ads, or just a recommendation within the content of the ezine itself. I've used this strategy myself, with the result being lots of new visitors to my website and new subscribers to my ezine.
In addition to or instead of swapping ads, you could also purchase ad space in an ezine in your niche that has a large circulation. If you pay to place an ad, I usually suggest running it for a minimum of three consecutive issues for the best results.
5. Be a bonus participant.
You're probably aware of the tactic of adding valuable bonuses to your offerings to encourage people to buy. As a traffic-building technique, you could do the same for someone else's product offering. For example, when Andrea Lee released her second edition of "Multiple Streams of Coaching Income" print book, one of my audio products was offered as a bonus to those who bought the book. I received loads of new visitors to my website and had a nice spike in ezine subscribers as well as a result.
6. Become an "ask the expert" on a high-traffic website in your niche.
Seek out websites that are information portals for your niche, and see if they offer an "ask the expert" section (and if they don't, you could always suggest they do). Offer your services as an expert, to answer questions from their visitors about the challenges they face.
For example, I'm the online marketing expert at www.womans-net.com, and I get targeted traffic from people visiting that site.
7. Be an active participant on a large discussion list in your niche.
Research and join a handful of discussion lists in your niche, and schedule time every week to check in and see if you can offer any valuable advice to the conversation. Be careful to follow the list rules about promoting your website, though. Most lists are intended to be a place where people can ask for help without worrying about being sold to. However, most lists also allow you a couple of lines in your email signature where you can promote your business. Use this space to point people in the direction of your website.
These 7 ways of attracting targeted traffic to your website are tried-and true, meaning they do work. You may have to do a bit of thirsty work, and give it some time, but the end result will be more high-quality traffic to your online business.
Copyright 2006 Alicia M Forest and ClientAbundance.com
About The Author
Alicia M Forest, MBA, Multiple Streams Queen & Coach™, & Founder of http://www.ClientAbundance.com, teaches coaches, consultants, online entrepreneurs and solo professionals to attract more clients, create profit-making products and services, make more sales, and ultimately live the life they desire and deserve.
For FREE tips on how to create abundance in your business, visit http://www.ClientAbundance.com.
Guaranteed Extra Cash Online
by: Peter V. Ruble
For college students and other people who feel burned out trying to balance paying the bills and living at the same time, ads like these can prove to be irresistible. Many of them make perfect sense and easily hook you based on good concepts. Unfortunately, many times the product or service does not match the brilliance of a great idea for making money from home or through the Internet. As I’ve learned myself, the further you go down this road, the more excited you get. You basically get hooked, and if you aren’t careful, you will end up working hard and falling further into debt than you can imagine. Much like gambling, the lure of easy money and independence can make just about anyone fall prey to work at home scams that feed off your dreams to get to your wallet so they can go on to the next victim.
Hopefully, you will never fall victim to these scam artists. However, the fact of the matter is that these scammers would not be wasting their time if they were not making any money. And as long as people continue to get mixed up in this business, these scammers are going to stick around to trick more and more people.
The best way to keep a scammer’s claws away from your credit card is to do thorough research on each opportunity that you are considering. This means doing much more than simply reading a bit about it online. In my personal experience, I have been taken by companies who were savvy enough to pollute the Internet with staged testimonials, guarantees, questionable references to big name endorsements, and even appearances in the Better Business Bureau.
A colleague of mine who invested in vending machine placement services even went so far as to physically go to the manufacturing plant to tour the warehouse as well as contact the Better Business Bureau of that state. What he received, in return, were twenty malfunctioning candy machines with a list of local businesses who had apparently agreed to receive them. Not only did none of these businesses know what he was talking about, many of them were hostile when he showed up to place them.
What you want to do is check message boards such as the ASK section of Yahoo.com. Another simple method of weeding out the scams from the genuine opportunities is to go to a search engine and simply type in the company name followed by the word “scam”. If you do this, and you are barraged by an endless list of complaints, you my friend have found a nugget of gold in a sea of mud.
In terms of the Better Business Bureau, it is best to contact them directly to ask about any complaints, and also find out how long a company has been listed. The Better Business Bureau operates state by state. They will be able to tell you if they have any complaints on file. If they do, you will want to avoid the opportunity at all costs. But if it appears that a company is doing business the right way, you can continue your own research.
Being in the Business Bureau is not necessarily that hard to accomplish. Many scammers can use their money and connections to set up a front to initially qualify for the Better Business Bureau just long enough for them to collect their cash from unsuspecting victims, close shop, create a new identity and start again.
Before you decide to do anything, attempt to get in touch with the company that you are interested in. Can you get a human being on the phone? Do they have an actually physical address? How long does it take them to respond to your e-mails, if at all? If you cannot even talk to the company before you start, there is not chance that they will be around when you really need them. I once made quite a bit of money selling vacation vouchers on auction sites. The marketing plan was sound, and the money saving vouchers was a hit. Only problem was, I could never get in touch with their customer service department to handle my customer inquiries and complaints once I realized that the promises that existed in writing on the vouchers were misleading at best. This proved to be such a problem that it took me over a year to recover from the negative publicity on my auction site.
Of course, there are legitimate home based businesses out there. With the Internet and all the low cost, web producing tools available, there seems to be a renaissance in entrepreneurship. Basically, just find a product or service you can market online, and do your research. Sell on EBay if you don’t want to build your own website. You can have a website their and all search engine marketing is already done by EBay. The Small Business Association has an office in downtown Tacoma and contains invaluable information on their website http://www.sba.com. Since small business is the backbone of our country economically, sources such as these are eager to help you create a plan with realistic expectations.
However, like anything else worthwhile, you have to do your homework and work hard at it. The problem is that too many people make you think you can practically go online and make money just clicking on a mouse. You want to steer clear of any business that asks to you to pay for their “Top Secret” e-book that will teach you how to make an automated income.”
Think about it, if you are in dire need of cash, can you imagine any other situation in which you would not only work for free, but pay for the privilege to work. There are no magic formals or secrets worth paying for. All of the information in these e-books can be found for free through your own research if you have common internet skills.
If you don’t want to work hard and just make a few easy extra bucks without donating your blood or volunteering to be a guinea pig, it is possible to make some good extra money filling out online surveys or through mystery shopping. There are real opportunities out there which require no fee to get started. Not only that, several of them will even give you a $5 bonus just for signing up. If a company such as this is legitimate, they would be making lots of money through the success of its members. Companies that require that $49.97 start up fee only make money through the fee and only want to teach you how to get other people to do the same. The products are all useless lists and general information that anyone with a functioning mind could figure out on their own, or get for free by doing their own research.
In 12 years of trying to make a living on the Internet, the following are the best companies I have ever encountered for making a few extra bucks filling out surveys, playing games and mystery shopping. They probably won’t pay the rent, but if you’re interested in making an extra $400 or $500 a month or eating out at nice restaurants and going to movies for free, you may want to check these out:
Mystery Shopping Providers Association: ." target=new>http://www.mysteryshop.org/shoppers/">.
This site contains all the information you will ever need on starting up as a mystery shopper. It is also a portal for the best sites to go to for mystery shopping jobs online, and they don’t require that you invest a penny.
InboxDollars.com. (you can sign up for free and get $5 just for signing up. You can make a few hundred dollars in one day, theoretically, if you are willing to use a credit card to sign up for free or paid trials. Just make sure you have the patience to fill out the long surveys and keep detailed records so you can remember to cancel your free trials before you get charged. Also, you can fill out surveys to make a dollar or two which are completely free. I’ve made about $400 with this site.
http://www..sendearnings.com.(almost identical to InboxDollars.com)
http://www.treasuretrooper.com. (a lot of free surveys and cool games).
http://www.tiktikcash.com. By far the best of the survey sites. The free surveys are tremendous. You can make a dollar or two in one minute. This site has the shortest, most painless surveys. I made over thirty bucks in less than after signing up.
About The Author
Peter Ruble
CEO
http://AmericanRubles.com
EdealsGoneWild.
