Being laid off is something that can happen to anyone.  In fact, it has happened to me, to some of my family members, and my friends.  This is in fact happening during today’s bad economic climate more often than ever and it will not stop.  As a matter fact, I predict things will get worse.

All of a sudden you lose your main source of income as you are left stranded thinking about your next move. You might feel like you did something wrong and your ego gets bruised.

Well, most of us have heard the old saying “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” In other words, make the best of what life has given you by seeing its positive sides, deal with it, and move on.

Last night I came across a film named “Lemonade” which is about folks who have been laid off and eventually did something positive with their lives. They saw being laid off as a blank page to a new beginning.

These were all successful hardworking employees who did not expect this happening to them. But the truth is that business is business and in the end, when the numbers don’t add up, your position might be on chopping block.  The bottom line is that during a recession, the rules change, and everyone gets affected in one way or another.

So what can you do if you get laid off? No one can answer that question better than yourself but as one guy said during the film “The thing that’s most dangerous is to not do anything. That’s the worst possible thing you can do. Make something, MAKE something, make yourself into something. It doesn’t even matter if it doesn’t match with one person, it’s gonna match with somebody else. If you do nothing…you’re shooting yourself in the foot.”

The above quote doesn’t imply that you should start a business, instead, look for something you enjoy and get busy. Don’t just sit on your couch or in front of the computer looking for a job all day.  The job search can only be done for a few hours a week if any. This point reminds of me of a close friend of mine (Let’s call him ‘Carlos’ to protect his identity) who has been looking for a job for ten months now without any luck.

In his e-mail he wrote:

“What’s worse is that anyone who has a job cannot fully understand how bad it is out there. I get so annoyed when interviewers raise their brows and ask me what I have been doing for 10 months. I want to be like ‘I was playing PS3 and enjoying the vacation, but now the Government tip is about to run out, so, reluctantly, It looks like I’ll have to WORK again.  So, when do I start???’”

Now, Carlos has always been a great employee, graduated top of his class and is a CPA (Certified Public Accountant).  However, he still has problems looking for a job.  This is due to the fact that there are many with similar or better qualifications competing for the same jobs. Competition is fierce and you must stand out.

Again let’s revisit when Carlos mentioned “I get so annoyed when interviewers raise their brows and ask me what I have been doing for 10 months.” My feeling is that he’s not doing enough besides looking for a job.

If you don’t want to start a business, do something else, volunteer, start a blog, and keep yourself busy enough so that you can show a prospective employer that you’ve been making a difference. This, in my opinion will make Carlos a better catch in the eyes of an employer and will certainly make him stand out from the crowd of the ones who do nothing.

No matter what it is, you must do something to survive. One woman during this film said it best “sometimes there are things you love to do that you forget about, so put your energy in the things you love.  Put all the energy you can into those things and see what happens.” Keep yourself busy and productive and a job will come or a business will emerge.

Watch and enjoy the film below “Lemonade”.  It’s a little long (about 36 minutes) but very interesting and inspiring.

I launched this blog with the main goal of educating my clients and readers about accounting related topics.  However, later I figured that the accounting topics standing by themselves would be slightly dull.  Therefore, I decided to include business related posts targeting to help small business owners.

Most of the prior posts you’ve seen have come from my personal blog which I decided to close in order to focus on this one.  I transferred those articles because I found them interesting and helpful enough to those in the small business field.

As you can see, many of the posts aren’t accounting related but I plan to change this and start bringing some educational articles based mainly for those interested in learning about accounting.  However, I don’t plan to change the fact that none accounting posts will be published as long as they are helpful to the business community.

I’ve been behind on my posting goals since I’ve been working on different projects and have had to deal with many personal issues. Nevertheless, I plan to come back on the posting strike once again.  I’m looking to post about 1 to 2 times per week as long as there is something informative to be said so stay tuned.

If your ideal business revolves around network marketing you should consider the importance of finding and researching a competent leader.  A while back when I was relatively new to network marketing I signed up for a direct sales company.  I researched the company and the product.  To be honest, I loved the idea of huge upfront commissions.  Subsequent to finding the right product, I went on the lookout for the right leader.

I saw many promoting the product on YouTube but ended up liking one the best.  Remember people don’t join products or businesses, they join leaders.  They join those who they like best, those who could help them succeed.

To keep his name out of the picture, let’s call him “Bob.”  I noticed that Bob had a system in place to help his team with training and support in general.  I gave him a call and before I knew it, I spent thousands of dollars with this business.

Of course, during my first few weeks, I was happy to start a business with a product that I knew I would enjoy.  But all this excitement didn’t last long, it quickly vanished.

The more I went through the training material provided by my upline, the more I realized I had joined the wrong leader.  I noticed that many of the strategies that Bob discussed during his training, he didn’t even use.

How can he be an expert in something he has no clue about?  Although, I must admit some of his training was useful, it was being delivered by someone who probably did some research in the area but who didn’t really practice what he preached.

In addition to the above, in the beginning, there were a few webinars but little by little they died down.  I never heard again from Bob, never received an e-mail update, never received any additional support.

Are these the qualities of a good leader? I would answer “NO” and I’m sure you would agree with me.  Unlike in the affiliate marketing field, in the Direct Sales and MLM arena, taking care of a downline and providing team support are essential for replication and success.  If you don’t think you have what it takes to be a leader and help others, stay away from MLM and direct sales.  You might be better off with affiliate marketing or some other business you believe you’ll enjoy more.

My advice to anyone interested in joining a direct sales company is to interview the person that you are planning to partner with.  Partnering is in fact what you will be doing.  Ask some good questions and challenge their leadership.

Don’t just throw your money away with the wrong leader because this will be something you will ultimately regret. If the person has not been around for that long, ask to speak with his/her upline and make sure that the upline sponsor will be there to help you as well in case you have any questions or concerns.

Don’t rely 100% on your sponsor.  Don’t blame him or her for your failures. Instead, actively seek training and help from others who will unselfishly provide them to you.  I made a newbie mistake but who cares, what happened to me has just made me better.  Since then, I have learned a lot about marketing, a lot about leadership, and a lot about helping others.

So the point is that having the right leadership does help with your personal growth and success, but if you end up with the wrong person don’t just sit down and wait for something to change.  Instead, actively seek help and a solution to your problems, but most importantly, take full responsibility for your actions.

This post was submitted by Mario Remedios.

Have you ever worked on a goal and woke up one day feeling like quitting? I have, it’s part of human nature to feel ups and downs throughout the different phases of a particular goal. Sometimes, all you need is someone to tell you not to quit.

When I was in college my mom gave me a poster that had a message with a poem about not to quit. Every time I felt down I would quickly glance over it. All of a sudden, I felt reenergized again, I felt focused, and I stayed on the right path to completing whatever task I was working on.

Amazingly, the poem kept me on track and even now I still refer to it. If you ever work towards a goal that you believe in, that you know you’ll be better off after completing it, don’t ever quit. Don’t quit because the truth is that everything good in life is worth battling for. Read the poem below is called “Don’t Quit.”

About a year ago, I received an e-mail from one of my contacts where the guy (John) asked me if it would be easy for him to become an entrepreneur.  He particularly wanted to know if he had a chance to make his business profitable simply without much effort.  Of course, I replied and told him that he had to dedicate some time to build his business and to become a successful entrepreneur.

I was clear with my view that in order to see a plant flourish, you first need to get the seed into some soil, water it often, probably add some fertilizer, and expose it to the sun.  Then and only then, the plant will start to grow and develop.  Now what happens if you stop watering and taking care of this plant?  Yes, you’re right, it will die.  This implies continues work and dedication to see hopeful results.

Your new business (whatever it might be) will suffer the same fate as this plant.  You need to put work into it if you want to benefit later.  No one said it was easy, and if they did, they lied.

As I talked to John and worked through some additional examples, he realized that starting a business wasn’t the right thing for him to do at the moment.  He added that he didn’t have the time to do everything that would be required.

Maybe John was not ready. Maybe, he was overwhelmed with all the required start up procedures and the promising work awaiting.  Who knows…

What matters is that this guy seriously needed a reality check.  Entrepreneurs walk on a lonely sidewalk and are faced with endless challenges and decisions.  Therefore, working for someone else at times is the right thing to do for most.

Often time people ask me why I spend time on my blog. They wonder and think is a waste of time. For instance, I just had a conversation with a friend of mine about blogging.

Bill has a landscaping business so I told him that he should start a blog or add one to  his current site.  I explained that having a blog and maybe blogging about his interests in landscaping will in fact increase his traffic and possibly his client base.

Unlike a static website, a blog goes further by often being updated with fresh content.  Search engines love fresh content and will reward you with high ranking and traffic.

He insisted by saying that he doesn’t think he can get clients that way and that he doesn’t believe social media sites like Twitter or Facebook would add much value to his business.

In my opinion, social media sites will allow you to build relationships and start building the so desired trust you need from a prospective client or business associate.  However, a blog is the best place for those who are interested in you to expand their horizons when it comes to learning about you at a deeper level.

Obviously this is a new blog so I can’t claim making money with it just yet.  However, I have in fact made money with my personal blog and other ones I’ve started in the past.

But the truth is that is not all about making money, it’s more about building relationships and starting an online presence.  It’s about sharing with others what you do and enjoy.  It’s about giving back to your clients and readers valuable content.  It’s about having fun with what you write about and wanting to share.

If money and new clients follow, great, but don’t be too fixed on the idea of making money.  If you want to blog, you really have to enjoy it and believe that you are making some sort of a difference.  However, like everything else, blogs and other social media sites are not for everyone. Some might never get it!

My wife (Erin) and I are thinking of renting a storage place so we went on the hunt to see what’s out there.  For the most part, the prices were similar across the two storage facilities we saw, but the salespeople were different.

Salesperson #1:

As we approached the front desk, the guy asked if we made a reservation.  Erin jumped in and said she did, blah, blah, blah.  From there on, I almost didn’t exist. Seriously, he might have missed me as throughout the whole tour of the place, he barely made eye contact with me.

He handed a small brochure to my wife, and on he went with his sales pitch saying that his place is the best and that the prices will go up if we don’t reserve right away. You know, typical salesman, selling the wrong way.

The interesting part was that I mainly asked all the questions. I asked about their insurance, security, etc.  Yet, he focused his attention to Erin. Umm, that made me wonder! He was almost ignoring me like I wasn’t going to add to the final decision of renting there or not.

He was also very pushy, his final words were “if you don’t reserve by latest tomorrow, 9:30 A.M, the price will go up.” Listen pal, go tell that “fairy tale” to someone else.

Salesperson #2:

Similar to above but with the only difference that the guy actually had a more even eye contact between my wife and me.  He also asked for our names and called us by our names.  Unlike the first guy, he wasn’t pushing for us to rent, but instead, he told us about how much people have enjoyed it there and that they are a new facility, etc.

He was also trying to encourage a conversation and avoid quite awkward moments.  Finally, he gave us his business card, wrote down the price information on it and shook our hands goodbye.

What a difference between salesperson #1 and #2!  Obviously #1 should take some lessons from #2.

From my experience, usually salespeople try to target and work harder on convincing the person they think is the decision maker and this sometimes could cost them their commissions.  When trying to sell something consider all parties involved on the other side.

Don’t conclude that the person that acts more graciously and smiles more often is the easy come decision time.  If the buyers don’t feel comfortable or don’t think they were given the attention they needed, they won’t buy.

If we had to rent somewhere, we’ll certainly go with salesperson #2.

Many times we go through life with nothing but excuses. We tend to excuse ourselves from doing what we should do.

Some of these excuses could lead us to procrastination and thus we might never achieve what we really want in life.

I just watched a “No Excuses” Nike commercial that clearly points out the importance of just doing it. It’s really cool, watch it below:

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I don’t welcome when others wish me “good luck.” Simply because I don’t rely on it to do the things I do or to achieve the results I achieve.

First, let’s define exactly what luck is. According to Wikipedia.org “Luck is a belief in good or bad fortune in life caused by accident or chance which happens beyond a person’s control.”

Yes, someone can win the lottery: My grandparents won the “Pick Five” lotto with only a dollar. They hit all five numbers, but had to split the six figure prize with another winner.  It still feels pretty good to take home some money though. Were they lucky? Yes, because they winning that lottery was beyond their control.

“Beyond your control” is the key to luck.  I hated when I was in school and people would always say “Good luck Mario” before an exam. I didn’t need the luck because unlike my grandparents who simply plugged in whatever numbers that came to their heads on the lottery ticket, I was prepared for the exam beforehand. I knew I would pass it and thus, I didn’t need luck.

Even when I was interviewing for my first job after college, family would sometimes wish me luck.  Again, I didn’t need it because I was already prepared and if I didn’t get the job, it was because I was not a good fit for that company to start with.

I’ve always heard things like:

- “Bill got that job because he got lucky.”

-“Nancy was lucky she got promoted”

-“Steve is lucky he’s rich”

-“I just have bad luck”

People wake up and realize that you can make out of your life whatever you want.  Stop relying so much on luck. Waiting for luck to happen while sitting on the couch and watching TV all day is not going to get you the job, get you promoted, make you rich, or get rid of your bad luck.

Stop waiting for luck and get your act together. Work hard for those goals you have in mind, because is your hard work and dedication that will render great results and not that luck you’ve been waiting for. Don’t justify your failures by claiming you have bad luck and get off your couch please!

It’s very easy to get overwhelmed on the Internet when  trying to market a product or service. You could write articles, start blogging, record videos for YouTube, begin a paid per click campaign, etc. In the beginning you might be tempted to do them all.

If you don’t know where you would be better at, I think you should try as many difference approaches as possible. Try them first to only know later mainly where your strengths are.

See what it is that you really enjoy doing, what it is that really drives you. You really have to enjoy what you do to succeed in marketing your product or service. At the end if you are doing something you don’t enjoy, the chances are that you’ll reflect that to your audience and therefore no sale for you.

For instance, I know some people that are really good with videos. They love to be on camera and showcase their talent by producing high quality videos with helpful content. Their ability to deliver some good videos quickly earns them a huge amount of followers.

On the other hand, these same people don’t have a blog or write articles of any kind. Maybe they’ve realized that they really enjoy videos the most. Most people like videos but not everyone is good at them. Don’t be discouraged, again find what you enjoy the most.

After you find your marketing strengths, you might want to improve your areas of weaknesses. Yes, concentrate on your strengths but work onyour weaknesses if you want to increase the scope of your marketing approach.

Invest in yourself, buy some books and courses. Education is the key to self improvement. After all, in this day and age where attraction marketing is the hot topic, attracting quality leads involves sharing quality content. But in order for you to do this, you have to be willing to learn first.