Plan To Succeed With Information Product Creation: Why You Need To Split Your Process Up

One of the keys to succeeding in information product creation is to break the process up into discrete steps. This frequently isn’t an instinctive reaction for the typical information marketer. Especially on the internet where small sized learning products are the norm.

However, it is extremely important to your ultimate success. In fact, I would go so far as to say that if you don’t do this you probably won’t succeed… even when you are starting out let alone as you move forward.

Your product creation system should do this for you if only to help you to understand the overall task.

But why?

In this article, I’m going to ignore chunking and focus on the practical aspects. That’s not to say that chunking isn’t important. It is. It’s important to understanding and to learning the process. But while you can use the same chunks as you move forward, long term your focus needs to be on the operation of the system not the understanding of it. Unless of course you are constantly training new people!

So why is chunking important to long term use of the product creation process? (Yes, I know systems design uses a different term for this process but I’m not teaching you systems design. So I’m going to use the word learning content designers use.)

The first reason that having individual discrete tasks is important is one of schedule estimation. Frequently it is very difficult to estimate how long the total task of creating a product will take. After all, the size and type of the products matters as does the number of products in your product funnel. And those are just the most obvious elements. However, estimating a discrete task is often much easier. The total can then be estimated as the total of the discrete tasks.

Secondly, scheduling a large task can be problematic. However, by segmenting the task into a number of discrete tasks, you gain a much greater flexibility in scheduling. Not only that but as your business begins to add people you are able to schedule multiple people to the product creation.

Finally, segmenting a large task into smaller discrete tasks allows you to have much better control over the product creation. This affects two different areas — status and quality.

By segmenting your process into discrete tasks you are able to schedule and record the progress at much more detailed level. As a result you are more in control of the status of the product creation. You know what everyone is doing. When they should complete it. And how much it should cost. You also know exactly what has been done.

You also improve your overall quality. Instead of waiting until everything is done you can check quality as you go. This allows you to immediate react to low quality products without absorbing their costs. This means that you have less rework and your rework costs less. And if the product is not going to meet its quality requirement you will know about it in time to stop the development, change the requirement or fix the product.

Home Based Business Is Booming

STARTING A HOME-BASED BUSINESSHome-based business is booming! Not only does the amount of home-based businesses continue to rise, the amount of people wanting to start their own business from home is increasing dramatically too. Why? Because the benefits of working for yourself, from home, are extensive. You save on gas; chose you own hours, have more time for your family… there may even be some tax benefits. Best of all, you reap all the rewards of your hard work.The reality is however that it can be a challenge to get your home business up and running, and probably the biggest hurdles you will face, is where to start.Taking the first stepSo, you have decided you are going to make a go of working from home- the first step after this is to choose that kind of home-based business you will conduct.You mustn’t jump into this lightly. You are potentially going to invest a lot of money in this business over the coming months, hopefully years, so you need to tread very carefully in the initial stages.Hopefully your business will be something you are passionate about, and skilled to do. There are many ‘professional’ career jobs being conducted successfully out of home offices, all over the world. Writers, journalists, designers, photographers software programmes, web developers, bookkeepers accountant and financial advisers, virtual assistants and administrative support staff, typists and data entry clerks, marketers, PR professionals and practically and type of consultant… the list goes on. All of these careers are completely feasible in the home -business world.The term ‘freelancer’ is more widely accepted and increasing popular with companies needing a professional for a one-off project. The freelancer market is becoming stronger, and allows more and more experts to take their skills to a number of clients, instead of working for just one firm. It is profitable for the free lancer, and keeps things interesting with the constantly changing client base and project. For the employer, hiring a freelancer offers the option to work with a specialist, without the paper-work, cost and usually length process involved in having to recruit someone full-time. The ideal solution to their short-term needs.On the other hand, if you are making a complete career change with your move to home business, you will find the opportunities on the internet are endless. Out of the millions of work-from-home offers on the Internet these days, you will more than likely stumble upon more than your fair share of ‘scams’ claiming to change your life and make you rich. Don’t be fooled. You need to first determine whether the offer is legitimate. If you are satisfied that it is, and want to push ahead, you need to decide whether this is the right home business for you.Here are some questions to ask yourself when assessing the opportunity.• Will I bore easily? If this is something you think you will tire of in short time, it is probably not the ideal choice. Most business require patience and persistence, and if you are already thinking you will find the job boring, there is no point going ahead with it.• Do I have all the equipment to conduct this business? If not, how much do I need to outlay and can I afford it? If this job needs you to have access to a computer with Internet connection, phone, fax photocopier, printer, web-cam, massaging service, then it is going to b expensive to set up. However, if you are able to commence business with equipment you currently already own, with the opportunity to build on what you have, then this is going to be more suitable, especially financially.• What is the earning capacity in the early stages, and down the track? Understanding the compensation for job you take on is imperative determining whether or not the job is right for you. You need to be able to support all your existing financial obligations and live off the income you will generate from new business. Assess to the best of your ability whether the earning potential on going is one that will provide financial stability, and if you’re not sure, speak to someone in the know.• How do you feel about the product or service the business will provide? Unless you truly believe you are selling a quality item, you will have trouble making sales. The best businesses are based on passion and desire to deliver something great. Whether it be a piece of writing you have penned, a new software program you are trying to get off the ground, or newly designed vacuum cleaner that cuts your cleaning time in half, you need to have faith in what you’re doing.• Does the business have long-term potential? Or is it just relevant now? You need to see, at the outset, that there will be room for growth. Ideally, your business will expand over time, and its money making potential will grow with it. If you feel that the business will only be sustainable for a little while, then you’ll need to come up with something else, it’s probably better to focus on something different for your work at home career.• What does your ‘gut’ tell you? Don’t underestimate power of the ‘gut feeling’. If you are feeling unsure, or something doesn’t seem quite right, there is probably a reason. Unless you address the uneasiness, and have your questions answered, you will probably continue to feel uncomfortable it’s unlikely you business will prosper.After you have gone over all these questions, and contemplated the answers making the decision to go ahead with your home business venture is exciting. There is a saying that you should “start as you intend to continue”, so if your first step are positive, considered, confident and most importantly smart, you are setting a strong foundation for a successful work at home business.

Purchasing Real Estate With No Cash Money Down

Have you often wanted to purchase real estate but didn’t have enough money? Or maybe you are new to real estate investing and don’t have good credit, but want to purchase real estate. How do you go about accomplishing this task? One way is by using ‘no cash money down real estate investing’ both a person without the funds or credit can purchase real estate. In this article I will explain one scenario in which this form of acquisition can be accomplished.

First off, let us understand what is required to secure a payment other than cash. Yes, I said other than cash! Remember this is no cash money down real estate investing . Other means can be used to secure a payment as a ‘consideration’ for payment. They can be anything that the seller agrees to that has value, i.e., a car, motorcycle, painting, jewelry, silver, etc… or even the promise to pay as in future rental payments.

The promise to pay means that you are not putting any money down at this time, however in the future once the option is exercised, you will then make payments. This is like the ‘egg’ in a recipe that binds the transaction and makes it a true no cash money down to purchase real estate investing acquisition.

There are obviously different methods and scenarios that could be used to purchase real estate with no money down . But for this example I am going to use what is called a ‘ sandwich lease option’ . In this scenario you not only want to acquire the buyer’s payments but also the equity in the property without ever having the risk of true ownership. To do a sandwich lease option you need a combination of an ‘option to purchase agreement’ and a ‘lease agreement’ . Both should be written in your favor, allowing you the ability to back out at any time with no recourse to you outside of the loss of the ‘consideration’. The option to purchase agreement binds the property for you by giving you the ‘revocable right’ before you purchase.

Is there a downside to no cash money down real estate investing ? Of course there is. For instance, if you are not offering to take the property out of the seller’s name leaving them free and clear of the title, then obtaining the option to purchase can be a difficult task.

Another thing to consider is why is the seller having such a hard time selling the property? This can obviously cause a problem for you as well in the future. And if you are looking at renting the property out, since you are not purchasing the property, you have to consider financing problems. What happens if the rental market is below what your payment is? Then you take a loss! And what if the seller is making interest only payments, later changing to interest and principal payments, greatly increasing your payments leaving you in further financial trouble?

Now knowing this it only begs the question; is there a better option to no cash money down real estate investing ? The answer is of course, yes there is! That is if you have a self-directed IRA (preferably Roth) or good credit and a relatively decent income of about $70,000 annually. But we are discussing the scenario that you do not have the funds or do not have good credit to acquire real estate through other means. Besides that would be a topic for another article.

So now that you know the ups and downs of no cash money down real estate investing , the only thing you need to do is ask yourself if this is the vehicle for you and if so, how to go about it. There are teams and companies out there for you, just for this purpose.
Have you often wanted to purchase real estate but didn’t have enough money? Or maybe you are new to real estate investing and don’t have good credit, but want to purchase real estate. How do you go about accomplishing this task? One way is by using ‘no cash money down real estate investing’ both a person without the funds or credit can purchase real estate. In this article I will explain one scenario in which this form of acquisition can be accomplished.

First off, let us understand what is required to secure a payment other than cash. Yes, I said other than cash! Remember this is no cash money down real estate investing. Other means can be used to secure a payment as a ‘consideration’ for payment. They can be anything that the seller agrees to that has value, i.e., a car, motorcycle, painting, jewelry, silver, etc… or even the promise to pay as in future rental payments.

The promise to pay means that you are not putting any money down at this time, however in the future once the option is exercised, you will then make payments. This is like the ‘egg’ in a recipe that binds the transaction and makes it a true no cash money down to purchase real estate investing acquisition.

There are obviously different methods and scenarios that could be used to purchase real estate with no money down. But for this example I am going to use what is called a ‘sandwich lease option’. In this scenario you not only want to acquire the buyer’s payments but also the equity in the property without ever having the risk of true ownership. To do a sandwich lease option you need a combination of an ‘option to purchase agreement’ and a ‘lease agreement’. Both should be written in your favor, allowing you the ability to back out at any time with no recourse to you outside of the loss of the ‘consideration’. The option to purchase agreement binds the property for you by giving you the ‘revocable right’ before you purchase.

Is there a downside to no cash money down real estate investing? Of course there is. For instance, if you are not offering to take the property out of the seller’s name leaving them free and clear of the title, then obtaining the option to purchase can be a difficult task.

Another thing to consider is why is the seller having such a hard time selling the property? This can obviously cause a problem for you as well in the future. And if you are looking at renting the property out, since you are not purchasing the property, you have to consider financing problems. What happens if the rental market is below what your payment is? Then you take a loss! And what if the seller is making interest only payments, later changing to interest and principal payments, greatly increasing your payments leaving you in further financial trouble?

Now knowing this it only begs the question; is there a better option to no cash money down real estate investing? The answer is of course, yes there is! That is if you have a self-directed IRA (preferably Roth) or good credit and a relatively decent income of about $70,000 annually. But we are discussing the scenario that you do not have the funds or do not have good credit to acquire real estate through other means. Besides that would be a topic for another article.

So now that you know the ups and downs of no cash money down real estate investing, the only thing you need to do is ask yourself if this is the vehicle for you and if so, how to go about it. There are teams and companies out there for you, just for this purpose.