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Tag: Strategy

  • Smart Trading Options for Conservative Investors in 2018

    Smart Trading Options for Conservative Investors in 2018

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    When it comes to the stock trade for the conservative investor, there is no doubt we're talking about stock options. But, what exactly is a conservative approach to trading? And what techniques can the savvy investor utilize in 2018 to manage risk and ensure growth? We've outlined a few options that might be right up your alley:

    1. Covered Call Options

    The covered call is really the most conservative of options and some say it's even more conservative than purchasing the original stock. Frequently used within IRA accounts, the covered call can be approached by a conservative investor from two perspectives:

    • Generate Consistent Income: You can employ this strategy without selling shares of a business while still generating monthly or weekly income. This strategy is usually used to capitalize in the event that your stock price is projected to decrease or not show improvement within in the short-term.
    • Sell ​​Stocks at Premiums Selling stocks above the current price may be useful when you can stipulate the price on a stock with which you'd not be uncomfortable selling. This tactic is useful in getting a stock that you are not in a hurry to offer and the sale of the Call may eventually take the stock but at the cost that you establish when the option was sold by you.
    1. Use Puts as Insurance

    This is a strategy that can be used by you if you anticipate a reversal in a short-term stock price hike. Because you're interested in reaping the long-term benefits, you are interested in taking the short-term profits, therefore purchasing a Put will ensure that if the stock goes down in value, the value of the Put will go up. Furthermore, you can sell the Put at a greater cost than you paid for it and reap a gain while the price of the stock is declining.

    1. Secure Puts with Cash

    Another method of securing your interest in a long-term investment is to hold adequate capital in cash on a stock that may see a fall in price. Of course, you must understand the business you're investing in and set a pre-determined price for your stock Put, but this is a simple method to ensure your long-term investment is protected because when the stock does fall, you can close in on the stock Put price.

    As with any investment opportunity, the strategies for stock options are endless. Although the stock market is normally associated with short-term investments, conservative investors are starting to identify options for long-term investments within the stock exchange system that not only generate income, but add value to your portfolio with minimally involved risk.

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    Source by Chris Bouchard

    Views: 0

  • Creating Your Affiliate Strategy To Produce Year-Round Results

    Creating Your Affiliate Strategy To Produce Year-Round Results

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    People generate millions from affiliate marketing and you can too if you decide to create a real business strategy to produce year-round results.

    Niche Down More

    Don’t try to spread yourself too thin regarding the products you’ll promote. Choose a handful of products to promote, throw in some surprises throughout the year, and you’ll do a lot better with your marketing. Choose the best products for your audience that solve problems for them and that you’ll work hard on promoting all year long.

    Create Unparalleled Content

    When you write content, take the extra time to ensure that it’s right. Choose the right images. Choose the right problems and solutions to focus on for your audience and speak directly to your audience of one. Instead of writing about the product directly, you can also write about how to buy the best whatever it is that you’re selling.

    Add Value to Your Ideal Customer’s Life

    Just because you’re selling someone else’s product doesn’t mean that you can’t and should not develop your own brand. Your brand is how your audience feels about you. What feelings do you bring to your audience when they think of you? Find ways to add value to everything you promote to them so that they want to come to you first.

    Choose Memberships to Promote

    Promoting affiliate products that have recurring income is a good way to ensure income all year long too. Memberships, subscriptions and the like are wonderful ways to build your residual income. Some companies don’t pay on repeat orders, so check with the products you want to promote. If they aren’t offering it, ask for it. Once you’re a known super affiliate, they’ll come around.

    Determine Your Multiple Traffic Sources

    In advance of marketing, you need to know all your traffic sources so that you can push traffic to your products. You may want to use social media, paid ads, and more to promote the affiliate products and build traffic to your page in which everything should first be promoted. So, don’t just share a link to the product. Share a link to your review instead.

    Pay Attention to Technology

    It’s imperative to pay attention to technology because there are always “killer technologies” that can come in and change everything. Imagine if you had built your entire business based on one platform and boom, it’s gone. It happens. Do not take for granted that any program you use right now will always be here. Be prepared with something like it to move to as soon as you realize you need to. If you are paying attention, you’ll know.

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    Source by Jon Allo

    Views: 0

  • 7 Reasons Why Your Business Needs A Digital Marketing Strategy

    7 Reasons Why Your Business Needs A Digital Marketing Strategy

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    It’s a sad fact is that most companies don’t have a planned digital marketing strategy. They just go by the seat of their pants, doing a little here and a little there. But, if you develop a proper digital marketing strategy, you can avoid a lot of issues and create a more integrated marketing approach.

    Here are 7 reasons why your business needs a digital marketing strategy.

    1. Provides Direction and Focus

    You’ve heard the saying that if you try to drive somewhere without knowing where you’re going, you won’t ever get there. Your marketing needs a goal and a plan to get to that goal, taking steps that you know work or testing steps to find out if they work.

    2. Promotes a More Focused Brand Voice

    When you have a plan, you can ensure that all your marketing materials (including images, content, and voice) match your brand. When you’re doing things at the last minute, it may not match. Having a plan is always a better approach to help spread awareness of your brand.

    3. Assists with Developing a Strong Value Proposition

    When you take the time to plan out your marketing strategy, it’s a lot easier to maintain your value proposition throughout all the different platforms.

    4. Helps You Get to Know Your Audience Better

    When you develop a digital marketing strategy, you need to do your research so that you get to know your audience better. Plus, you will check your stats more often, which will help you get to know your audience even better and how they respond to different offers.

    5. Better and More Effective Marketing Integration

    When you develop a plan, the great result is that you can more easily integrate all platforms together in a cohesive marketing plan that makes sense and gets results.

    6. Avoids Wasting Resources

    When you create a plan, it will help you avoid wasting anything. You’ll be able to see ways in which you can reuse content, graphics, and information to market across all your digital channels, without having to start fresh each time which can cause resources to be wasted.

    7. Know Where to Optimize Your Efforts

    When you write out the plan, you’ll notice gaps in it and be able to optimize your efforts better. You’ll test out landing pages, test headlines, test graphics, and find out what works best as you move forward with your plan.

    This doesn’t have to be super-complicated to work. But, having a plan means you know where you want to go and have set goals with actions to get you to that goal. It also means that if something is not working to get you to your goal, you can change directions because you’re paying attention as to whether it’s working or not working.

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    Source by Jon Allo

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  • My Separated Husband Says I’m Smothering Him And I’m Not Sure How To Stop

    My Separated Husband Says I’m Smothering Him And I’m Not Sure How To Stop

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    As a wife who has been very reluctantly separated, I would argue that there is a natural and undeniable inclination to cling tightly to what you are afraid of losing. And when you are a wife who does not want to lose your marriage or your husband, then it’s very natural to cling a little more tightly. In some instances and with some husbands, this doesn’t matter. Some husbands do not mind the clinging.

    But when you are dealing with a husband who was demanding space and who seems to be distancing himself from his wife, it can matter – quite a bit, in fact. Many husbands push back against this type of clinging and distance themselves even more. They may use phrases like: “smothering,” “holding on too tight,” or “coming on too strong.”

    The wives hear what the husband is saying, but they also point out that their husband is expecting something that just isn’t natural. She might say: “last night, my husband told me something that I never ever expected him to say. He told me that I was smothering him. We have been separated for about three weeks – at his insistence. If I had my way, he would still be living at home. But as it is, he is staying with a male friend. He has been restless and unhappy for months. He finally told me that he needed some time away from our marriage. I immediately panicked and assumed that he wanted a divorce. He swore that he didn’t. But I am still not sure that I believe him. I just don’t understand why a middle aged man should need space from his marriage unless he is planning to end the marriage or break his vows. And that is why I feel that I need to be in touch with him every day and know what he is doing. But when I try to do this, he tells me that I am “smothering” him. I believe his exact words were something like: ‘I felt like I was being smothered at home and now I feel like I can’t escape even now that I am here. You have got to stop smothering me. I have got to be my own person.’ It’s almost like he is accusing me of acting like his parent – and I absolutely am not. I just care about him and I think that I have the right to know what is going on with him and with my marriage. I don’t think that our talking a couple of times per day is too much to ask. I don’t call that ‘smothering.’ Do you?”

    I am going to be honest because I honestly want to help you. And I want to help you because I have been in your shoes and, because I made so many similar mistakes that almost costs me my marriage, I learned a hard truth. And it is this: It really doesn’t matter if you or I wouldn’t call checking in “smothering.” Because if he perceives it as such, then he is going to react to that perception. And his reaction may be detrimental to what you really want. And isn’t that all that matters?

    Understand That Ideal End Game: I suspect that you what you really want is both for him to come back and for him to come back willingly – and not with his tail between his legs because you have worn him down. Believe me, I understand the strategy. I never consciously thought about it. But looking back now, I think I figured that if I could bug my husband enough or remind him of our marriage enough, he’d eventually get sick of the back and forth and come back home.

    Instead, he distanced himself from me even more. We’ve reconciled now. But he’s confided in me that there were times when he considered divorce because he felt that might be necessary to “escape” my constant contact.

    I’m not here to debate whether or not my husband legitimately needed space from me. He and I will probably never agree on that. But what does matter is that he thought that he did. And frankly, that is all that matters. Because these thoughts formed his actions. Whether his thinking was faulty or not, he was going to act on it. And this thought process made a huge difference in what happened in our marriage.

    I know that we wives like to think that if we just do or say the right thing, he will change his mind and not want space from us anymore. But frankly, this isn’t as likely as him just getting frustrated that you are not listening.

    If What You’ve Done Isn’t Working, Consider Trying Something New: For me, the better call was backing away. I tried initially just telling my husband that I was going to let him call me next time. This did work – some, at least. But there were times when he would not call and I would panic and then come on too strong. So I took some time off by putting literal miles between us by returning to my hometown for a while. This forced me to back away – because I didn’t have much of a choice.

    This didn’t feel ideal at the time. Honestly, it felt like giving up at that particular moment in time. But it did eventually make a positive difference. Eventually, my husband started reaching out to me. And as this started to work, I didn’t have to force myself quite as much anymore. I literally saw that it was working, so the struggle became much less because finally I was starting to see the tide turn. For this reason, I was more than willing to go along because I knew it was the better alternative.

    I am not suggesting that you need to do the same thing. That may not work for you. But I am suggesting that you ask yourself if backing away – even for just a little while – might be worth a try. You can always reverse course if it doesn’t work for you. But once you know for sure that what you’re doing isn’t working – and once your husband has literally told you in harsh words that he’s getting frustrated – then these are both good indications that you may want to change course, even if only for a little while. At the very least, maybe try a form of communication that he doesn’t find “smothering.” You may not technically be smothering, but if he thinks you are, then that is what matters.

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    Source by Leslie Cane

    Views: 0

  • Why Customer Concentration Impacts a Business Sale Transaction

    Why Customer Concentration Impacts a Business Sale Transaction

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    Few owners recognize the major impact that customer concentration has on the sale of their business. Customer concentration represents a significant obstacle and will affect the salability, valuation, and deal structure of a business-for-sale transaction. Not only will it create problems in qualifying buyers but it will impact the ability for any prospective purchaser to obtain third party financing to complete the acquisition. Determining if customer concentration is present in an enterprise is a critical element of the succession planning process.

    Customer concentration is a situation when one customer represents a significant portion of revenues or when the business has a very small customer base. Based upon the expert one consults, the exact percentage for a concentration to exist varies. In most cases it is recognized when one customer represents more than 10% of sales or when the top five customers comprise greater than 25% of a company’s revenue. In either situation, a huge risk is created from the lack of diversification and steps to mitigate it should be taken years in advance of a planned business exit.

    When evaluating a business sale it is important for an owner to recognize that their client base has a significant impact on the enterprise value of the company. A broad and diverse base of customers where there are a large number of clients contributing to the business’ revenue will achieve a higher transaction value as it reduces the risk that a sizable decrease in earnings will occur if any one customer is lost or a particular industry segment that the business serves encounters economic distress.

    In addition to a lower sales price, businesses with customer concentration issues are more difficult to market for sale. For main street business transactions (those with adjusted earnings of less than $2mm) third party financing is used in the majority of cases. Businesses with high levels of customer concentration are very difficult to get financed. Lenders may provide only partial financing, offer sub-optimal terms, or decline the loan altogether. In situations where third party financing is not available, the pool of available buyers is significantly restricted and the terms of a deal could be heavily weighted on a contingent earn-out based on retaining the revenues derived by the largest customers. “Typically we want no customer concentration over a 10% level when considering financing an acquisition. Higher levels are possible with much more explanation and supporting documentation but remain a major concern” states Steve Mariani, President of Diamond Financial Services.

    Lastly, customer concentration will have a direct impact on the deal structure for the business sale transaction. Buyers will strive to bridge the customer concentration risk through a variety of delayed ‘performance based’ financing methods. For example: Assume both parties agree on a transaction price of $900,000 based upon $300,000 of adjusted earnings (a 3x multiple). If the key account in question represents $75,000 of the $300,000 this would represent $225,000 of the transaction price. A buyer will strive to isolate the $225,000 component to ensure that revenue is maintained post sale. After a period of 12 months, if the customer and income are still in place the seller would receive the funds. If the identified client and corresponding revenue was lost during this period, a pricing adjustment would be made.

    In situations where the buyer is unable to obtain transaction financing due to customer concentration issues, the seller might have to accept a “contingent earn-out” for the revenues derived from the largest customers, or worse, they may also have to finance a major portion of the “non-contingent purchase price” negotiated with buyers.

    Contingent payouts could be structured in a variety of methods:

    Earn-Out:

    Earmark part of the purchase price with payments made over a period of time contingent upon the retention of specific customers or achieving specific revenue targets.

    Escrow:

    A percentage of the acquisition price will be held in an escrow account for a specified time.

    Seller-Financing:

    The seller would be responsible for financing a major portion of the purchase price through a seller note. The seller note could be structured with contingencies for revenues derived from the largest customers.

    With any of these deal structuring techniques, the seller cannot be expected to guarantee the revenue in perpetuity and if the transaction price is based upon retaining one or more key customers, the seller may require more active involvement in maintaining the client relationship during the term of the agreement. Obviously, this brings an additional complexity to the transaction.

    In most cases, buyers will look to discount the amount they are willing to pay for a business (with high customer concentration) unless they receive assurances that the risk is low. While the obvious strategy to reduce customer concentration risk is to diversify and increase the business customer base, there are a number of situations where customer concentration either does not pose a significant risk or could be mitigated.

    Customer Contracts:

    Having a contract in place will not eliminate all of the risk of losing a key customer, but it will provide the buyer with security that the revenue and profits will continue after a change in ownership takes place. When customer contracts are involved, the ability to assign or transfer will be important to understand. In many cases, a stock sale vs. asset sale is elected to preserve these contracts.

    Barriers to Entry or Exit:

    Businesses could have intellectual property, product expertise, or patents that create competitive advantages barring competition. Others are located in geographically remote areas where the supply benefits discourage customers from changing the relationship. Lastly, there could be significant capital requirements for manufacturing and tooling or agency approvals (pharmaceutical or government contracting industry) that creates a barrier to entry from potential competitors.

    Providing a Variety of Products and/or Services:

    Having a broad relationship with a key customer where the relationship is not based solely on one product, one location, and one individual decreases the risk that a singular change will fundamentally impact the future revenue stream and continuity of the account.

    Economies of Scale or Synergies:

    The acquisition may be pursued by a strategic buyer where they are bringing new products/services to the enterprise, a broader geographic distribution footprint, or economies of scale in production. Any of these elements would assist in reducing the concentration of revenue risk that an identified key client would represent to the future organization.

    Summary

    Businesses which have high levels of customer concentration are inherently risky and it is important for the owner to appreciate this concern from the perspective of a potential acquirer. Ultimately, the buyer seeks only to retain the customers which have contributed to the success of the business and are factored in the valuation and transaction price. From the position of a buyer a few logical questions and concerns would be:

    1. How does the value of the company change if a customer representing 10% or more of revenue and/or profits is lost in the first year?
    2. How easy would it be for the client representing the customer concentration concern to leave the business?
    3. What unique situations exist within the business to preserve the customer relationship in the years ahead?
    4. What are the logical steps and corresponding costs to mitigate the customer concentration risk?
    5. How do I achieve a win-win transaction? Protecting me, the buyer, against the risk of a near term revenue loss while providing the seller with the proper remuneration for the fair market value of their business?

    While the risk may not be able to be totally eliminated, there are a number of situations where customer concentration is more palatable and a proper explanation should be provided to the buyer at the earliest opportunity. Getting out in front of this potential challenge is critical to achieve a win-win deal. When good communication exists, and two fair and reasonable parties are at the table, there are a number of structuring options available, when necessary, to mitigate the risk and negotiate a fair and reasonable transaction price. Obviously, the best approach for a prospective business seller would be to develop and implement plans to reduce any customer concentration elements years in advance of a business exit. Eliminating this type of risk is just sound advice for any small business owner regardless of whether a sale is contemplated.

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    Source by Michael Fekkes

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  • 4 Little Known Secrets to Becoming a Profitable Affiliate Marketer

    4 Little Known Secrets to Becoming a Profitable Affiliate Marketer

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    Affiliate marketing business has gotten a lot of buzz in recent times due to advances in internet technologies and upsurge of social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc.

    However, some affiliate marketers especially beginners struggle to earn profitably because they do not thoroughly understand the business.

    WHAT REALLY IS AFFILIATE MARKETING?

    Affiliate Marketing is the process of earning online commissions by promoting products and services. Your commissions are earned each time you get a lead (Potential customer) or sell products online.The interesting aspect of affiliate marketing business is that you can make a ton of money with a little monetary investment.

    Furthermore, you can start the business without products or services of your own, work from home and earn passive income even while sleeping if you have an effective system in place.

    HOW DOES AFFILIATE MARKETING WORK

    Register under the affiliate program of reputable companies that have valuable products and services.

    Decide on the niche products to focus on.

    Get your custom affiliate tracking link for each product you decide to promote online.

    Select the right traffic source to use in promoting the product.

    Decide on the marketing strategy to use i.e Blogging, video or social media marketing.

    4 MAJOR WINNING STRATEGIES TO INCREASE YOUR PROFITS ONLINE

    Focus on a single niche at a time

    You should choose a niche that you are both knowledgeable and passionate about. For example, Weight loss, Supplements, Nutrition, Pet training etc. This enables you to easily persuade your customers to buy your products. Also, this will allow you to learn and acquire new selling strategies that will increase your sales and multiply your profits.

    Select traffic sources

    It is recommended to focus on 2 traffic sources at a time. I will recommend focusing on one search engine and one social media traffic at a time. This enables you to properly track and optimize campaigns launched on each platform thereby maximizing your profits per product.The secret of super affiliates is their ability to focus on a traffic source, testing and tracking campaigns optimally.

    Test marketing strategy to use

    You can never know if either blogging, social media or video marketing will be most profitable until you test marketing strategies such as:

    Blogging: You can write a blog post using well research keywords for search engine optimization. This attracts your clients to your blog and causes them to make a decision.

    Video marketing; You can make a video describing the features of the product then you upload it on YouTube for people to watch.

    Social Media Marketing: This is the commonest and the easiest method especially for beginners. Facebook is a very good platform because it has lots of groups/forums where you can find people who are interested in your product and service. You can easily send them a friend request and pitch your products to them.

    Track the data/results gotten from each of the methods then you focus on the method that produces the greatest profit.

    Select the traffic type

    The traffic type can either be free or paid traffic.

    Free traffic involves search engine optimization, social media groups, and article marketing. The drawback of this method is that it does not allow you to target your client based on their interests and demographics.

    Paid traffic involves using Pay per click or Pay per view advertising on search engine and social media platforms. This method is faster, associated with increased conversion and profits because it allows you to target your clients specifically based on interests and other features.

    Finally, affiliate marketing business is very lucrative and you can start becoming profitable today once you implement the strategies above.

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    Source by Christopher Ugo Oseh

    Views: 0

  • Love One Another (A Sermon on John 13: 31-35)

    Love One Another (A Sermon on John 13: 31-35)

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    We are in the 13th chapter of the Gospel according to St John's this week, and I'm going to unpack our reading verse by verse as it is a difficult passage.

    "When he had gone out, Jesus said," Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. " (John 13:31)

    The person who had 'gone out' was Judas, and the sentence seems to suggest that Judas' leaving somewhat brought glory to Jesus, which sounds really odd.

    "If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once." (John 13:32)

    I really have no idea where to begin with that statement!

    "Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, 'Where I am going, you cannot come.'" (John 13:33 )

    That statement makes sense to us as Jesus speaking about his own impending suffering and death, though at the time it made no sense at all to His disciples.

    I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. "(John 13: 34-45)

    That concluding pronouncement, I suspect, is the most difficult to understand of all!

    "All you need is love!" – so said the Beatles.

    When I read statements like these from the lips of Jesus, I can almost hear the soundtrack of that well-known Beatles song playing in the background.

    "Love is all you need. Love is all you need …"

    It's not true, of course. Love isn't all we need – not in relationships, not in families, not in governments.

    We had an election yesterday. Did you vote for the most loving candidate? Should you have?

    I tried to give some thought after reading this passage as to who the most loving candidate for electoral office was. It wasn't obvious.

    It didn't take me long to come up with the names of politicians who were definitely NOT full of love and sweetness, but it seemed less obvious to me which candidates actually were.

    Did the candidate who loves us the most win? Do we care?

    In truth, in as much as we might say, "all we need is love" , I don't think we really care whether our political leaders love us, any more than we really care whether our boss at work truly loves us. Love is not all we need. A good capacity for management is probably far more important in cases like this than is love!

    Love is not all we need in government or in families, and it's not even all we need in a system of morality! This might sound counterintuitive. Is not all of morality – all our statements about what is right and what is wrong – really an extension of that basic ideal of love?

    Certainly, over the generations, scores of philosophers and other great thinkers have suggested that all of our moral intuitions can be reduced to one simple exhortation – if not 'to love' exactly, to something very akin to that.

    The British philosopher, John Stuart Mill, saw all of morality as a system of increasing pleasure for people and reducing harm. He is probably best remembered for his 'harm principle' :

    "That the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others."

    I have a feeling that if you'd asked Mill what the essence of morality was, he might not have said 'love one another' , but might well have said 'don't' harm one another ' , which is pretty similar.

    Likewise, the great 18th century German philosopher, Immanuel Kant, believed that morality could be reduced to a single maxim – the 'categorical imperative' :

    "Act only according to that maxim whereby you can, at the same time, will that it should become a universal law."

    That's always sounded to me like a really complex way of saying 'love your neighbor as you would love yourself " , which, of course, was Jesus' 'golden rule' that many people see as being His one-line summary of the moral law , along with the first and great commandment, of course, that you have to love God:

    "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. " (Matthew 22: 37-40)

    We are familiar with these commandments. We hear them every week in church, and they do seem to suggest that everything in the law of God comes down to love, and that the rest is just commentary.

    Is that really what Jesus was saying? St Augustine thought so, and in my previous sermons on these passages, I have suggested exactly that – that there is really only one law of God – that we love – and that the rest is just application. My more recent reading though has suggested that it's actually a lot more complicated than that, at least if Jesus really was being true to His Hebraic tradition.

    The Hebraic law centers around the Ten Commandments – the ten words of God to the people of Israel – and while it seems straightforward to see commandments like "thou shalt not steal" and "thou shalt not murder" as being extensions of the commandment to love , other commandments like "honor thy father and thy mother" do not seem to be so easily reducible. Honoring your father and your mother seems to be more about respecting authority than it is about love .

    I've been reading a very interesting book lately by moral psychologist, Jonathan Haidt, called "the Righteous Mind" , in which he outlines what he calls 'moral foundation theory' .

    I'm not suggesting that everyone should rush out to get a copy of this book. It is not an easy read and could prove difficult if you don't have an academic background in the study of philosophical ethics (which, thankfully, I do).

    The author's key point, at any rate, is that our moral intuitions can't be reduced to any one simple maxim such as 'love one another' as morality is invariably more complex than that.

    Haidt suggests that there are five reasonably independent dimensions to our moral awareness, and 'caring' for others is just one of those dimensions. The others are:

    • Fairness (which is all about justice, rewards and punishments)
    • Loyalty (which is associated with values ​​such as faithfulness and patriotism )
    • Authority (where you honor your father and your mother, king and country)
    • Sanctity (which involves respecting your body and potentially embracing things like chastity, temperance and cleanliness)

    Forgive me if I'm now sounding more dry and esoteric than the book I mentioned. My point is actually a simple one – that 'all you need is love' is both simplistic and inadequate. We don't only need love – not if we are going to be successful in our relationships or in all of life. We actually need a lot of things – courage, self-discipline, wisdom, nurture and support and a good education, and more!

    Of course, Jesus didn't say "love is all you need". That was ' The Beatles' . What Jesus did say was "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" . In other words, Jesus didn't say that love is all we need to live a full and productive life. What He said was that it was all we needed in order to show the world that we are His disciples. That might sound like much the same thing but it's actually quite distinct.

    The life of love is not a strategy for success, despite what any number of tele-evangelists might have told you. Indeed, if it's right to consider it a strategy at all, the life of love could only be a strategy for getting yourself killed. That's certainly how it worked for Jesus.

    I'm sure I've mentioned before that friend who said to me "I'm sick of hearing people tell me about all the problems they had before they met Jesus and how He solved them all for them. till I met Jesus! "

    That's difficult to hear, I think. We don't want to think of Jesus as the one who leads us down a path of suffering and misery. We want to think of Jesus as one who elevates us to heavenly places.

    Isn't that what religion is for after all? Isn't good religion supposed to benefit our lives and help us live more fully and peacefully with a great sense of purpose and fulfillment? Surely, it's not just about suffering in this world so that we can enjoy a better life in the next? Surely there's more to it than that?

    I don't think Jesus is saying that discipleship is all about suffering any more than it is all about success. Discipleship, Jesus says, is all about love, and everything else depends on what Jesus means by love .

    Jesus says His command to love is a new commandment, and that's a surprise. Certainly, the commandment to love is as old as the Scriptures themselves, so it must be the latter part of the commandment – to love one another ' as I have loved you' – that makes it new.

    When we hear those words, I suspect most of us immediately think of the cross and Jesus laying down his life for us. That makes sense, and indeed the same Gospel writer, John, writes in his first letter "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us" (1 John 3:16). Even so, without wanting to press the issue of the timeline too heavily, the exhortation we have in today's Gospel reading -to love one another "as I have loved you" happens before the cross, suggesting that the model on view here may not be the death of Jesus but the life of Jesus!

    Further, as noted, today's reading begins with a reference to Judas – "when he had gone out" – and Jesus' exhortation to love each other as He has loved us comes immediately before the two terrible betrayals from disciples whom Jesus had just broken bread with and whose feet Jesus had just washed – the one betrayal being from Judas, of course, and the other one being from dear Peter!

    Jesus loved Peter, was betrayed by Peter, and would eventually be reconciled with Peter. Jesus loved Judas but would never be reconciled with him. Even perfect love does not guarantee a perfect ending to the story. Even so, love anyway – that's the new commandment .

    Yes, "greater love has no one than this – to lay down one's life for their friends" (John 15: 3). That is true, and bodily self-sacrifice is indeed the ultimate example of love, but most of the time love is not so grandiose and (thankfully) not quite so painful. The far more common (and in some ways more difficult) labor of love is the ongoing work of having to forgive those who fail us, and sometimes fail us very badly.

    This, I believe, is the love by which everyone will now that we are His disciples – it's the love that breaks bread with those who betray us and that washes the feet of those who turn their backs on us. It's the love that finds its ultimate inspiration in the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross, but which likewise finds daily encouragement in the simple acts of grace shown by Jesus towards those whom He knew would radically fail Him.

    I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. "(John 13: 34-45)

    It's not a strategy for success. It's not a means to a better life or more successful relationships. It's just the way that we demonstrate to the world that we are followers of Jesus. We break bread, we wash feet, we empathise, we forgive. We love one another just as He loved us.

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    Source by David B. Smith

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  • ChatBot Marketing With Aritificial Intelligence

    ChatBot Marketing With Aritificial Intelligence

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    ChatBot Digital Marketing which makes use of Artificial Intelligence technologies can be used a key component in any company’s marketing strategy in terms of guiding customers through a marketing sales funnel. The marketing funnel that would be programmed into the AI ChatBot would be defined in relation to the products and services being offered into the market place from the company in question. Implementation of the particular social media digital marketing strategy may well be devised by a full service digital marketing agency.

    When it comes to effective digital marketing strategy development and subsequent execution that requires marketing research, strategy formulation, content planning, linking strategy and the publication of the content in question. In addition to the above, careful posting on relevant content portals and blogs in necessary in order to expand the digital marketing footprint of the company as well as developing the equity of the brand.

    The point being made is that publishing content on its own is not enough; there has to be a key focus on that of promoting the company and that of building the business’s brand. If the company chooses to take care of the content marketing in house as opposed to making use of a digital marketing agency then all of the necessary software and keyword analysis tools will need to be purchased and subscribed to in order to be able to determine the correct direction that needs to be taken for maximum social media marketing effectiveness.

    So bearing in mind that the content itself is not the main issue per se, we can turn our attention to the strategic use of how companies are using chatbots for marketing – the content will be created and published strategically on portals, blogs, websites and via social media channels then in turn users make their way to the company website where they interact with the artificial intelligence chatbots in order to implement the business’ digital marketing strategies.

    From the various social media marketing channels that may be used to publish related company content; along with the [say] the company blog and other authority blogs. Remembering that there will be associated links within each piece of content – in turn users are directed to the company website which will lead to the strategic AI chatbot with all of the associated calls to action coming into play.

    The activation of the AI ChatBot and interaction with the customer and associated data that will be collected will in turn provide valuable marketing intelligence for the company in question. This could be in the form of questions asked by the ChatBot which carefully guides prospects through a defined marketing or customer support process.

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    Source by Stephen C Campbell

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  • Why Every Entrepreneur Needs An Exit Plan

    Why Every Entrepreneur Needs An Exit Plan

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    When an entrepreneur starts a business, it makes sense for them to consider what the long-term strategy is for the idea. If there is no way to create an exit strategy, it might not be the right business choice (depending on your life goals).

    Let’s look at reasons every entrepreneur needs an exit strategy and the different types of exit strategy.

    People Get Burned Out

    If your business is run only by you, and you’re the only face of your business, it can cause serious problems with burnout. Forming an idea in your mind and putting it down on paper about how you’ll exit the business and approximately when, can help you avoid burnout because you know what the options are.

    You May Want to Retire Some Day

    Lots of entrepreneurs, especially individual freelancers and service providers, have the idea that they’ll simply work forever. The problem with that is that you’re probably vastly underestimating how you’re going to feel in a few years. If you’re 30 today, you have no idea how you’re going to feel at 50 or 60. If you plan for an exit, it doesn’t mean you have to stop, but it’s good to have a plan in case you ever do want to retire.

    Helps Create Better Decisions

    When you have your business planned out from start to finish, you’ll have an easier time making business decisions that work. If you are open to retiring and someone offers you money for your business, you may be more likely to take up the offer.

    Enhances the Value of Your Business

    Creating a business that can exist with or without you naturally ups its value. The reason is that it can essentially live forever if it’s adopting and changing based on the market rather than on the people working there.

    To Make More Money Faster

    If you’re open to selling and you build your business to the top of the earning curve, selling it at that point can be a real winning move. When you break it down mathematically, every business looks like a bell curve with a top-earning moment that can last for years and years – but probably won’t last forever. Selling at the top of the bell curve will garner you more money with less work than keeping it until it goes down.

    Types of Exit Strategies

    There are several existing strategies that you may want to investigate as you’re building your business, so that you can plan on doing what is most realistic for your type of business. Some options include an initial public offering (IPO), liquidation, mergers, acquisitions, selling and more. What will work for you depends on the type of business, the lifetime potential of the business, and more.

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    Source by Jon Allo

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  • Habits – The Big Secret to Marketing Success

    Habits – The Big Secret to Marketing Success

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    What do you think you need more than anything else to attract more of your ideal clients?

    Many people will say, "better information to show me how to do what works."

    Others will say, "more motivation and drive to implement what I already know."

    Another common answer is , "more time to fit marketing activities into my schedule."

    And lots of people will say, "I need better goals and more clarity about what I want to achieve."

    In writing this ezine / blog for the past 20 years I've talked about the importance of all of those.

    But I'm finally understanding a factor that is much more important: good habits.

    Over the past year, I've been a big advocate of the writings of James Clear. He writes a blog about success and habits. And he just came out with his first book, Atomic Habits, which is fantastic.

    Even though James isn't a marketing expert, I'm convinced he's right when he says that the ultimate determinant of success is building positive habits.

    This idea is simple but true: Self-employed professionals who establish regular marketing habits have a much better chance of succeeding than those who don't.

    And the crazy thing is that the four items – information, motivation, time, and goals – I mentioned above don't actually make a huge difference.

    Information. These days, we have access to more information about marketing than ever before in history. And much of it is free and instantly available through a Google or YouTube search.

    The problem is that most of us have not established a regular habit of studying what we need to know to become better marketers. The information is useless unless we become proficient at implementing it.

    And even if we pay good money for courses and programs, much of it goes to waste. I just learned recently online that 97% of people who buy a course online never complete it.

    Motivation. If we measured motivation by intention, we are all motivated. Don't we all want and need to grow our businesses? But we keep getting distracted and don't follow through on our intentions. Again, the issue is poor habits.

    Time. If only we had more of it. But unsuccessful marketers have just as much of it as the most successful ones. The key is that they dedicate more time to implementing regular marketing habits.

    Goals. Nothing wrong with goals except that they are only a starting point for success. And they can get us stuck in the future, instead of doing what needs to be done today – the routine marketing habits that we perform every day or week.

    "A habit or system beats a goal every time." – James Clear

    The research is in and the conclusion is clear.

    Establishing positive and consistent marketing habits have a bigger impact on marketing success than anything else.

    We may have great information, high motivation, lots of time, and clear goals, but unless marketing activities are performed regularly and habitually, the chances of success are slim to none.

    The question you should be asking is, "How do I start establishing better marketing habits?"

    James's Atomic Habits goes to great lengths to share a multitude of ways to become an expert habit practitioner. So I highly suggest you get his book. It could be the most valuable 'marketing' book you'll ever read.

    But let me also give you my perspective on what it takes to establish new marketing habits.

    The C – SPAT Model

    This is a model I came up with for one of my marketing programs.

    Coaching or Context. A coach declares the game, how it is played and how to win at it. And this creates the context in which you play the game. It helps if you have an outside source that can hold you accountable to play by the rules necessary to succeed.

    This principle is why when you're working with a coach or in a program that you suddenly find it's easier to take action and form positive habits. The context of the game helps shape your behaviors.

    Notice that all professionals such as doctors, lawyers, and accountants go through rigorous training in the form of a professional school and internship. And in this context, professional habits and protocols are established.

    As independent professionals, we'd all prefer to do things on our own, charting our own direction. That's nice, except that it doesn't always work very well, does it?

    Study. A big part of the game is study and learning the body of knowledge necessary to perform effectively. Again, the information required to be an effective marketer is readily available, but you need some assistance in sorting the wheat from the chaff and studying what is most useful.

    Planning. All successful marketing needs a plan. The alternative is implementing random marketing activities with little structure and direction. So it's not how much you know, but how you put what you know into action.

    Action. Success doesn't come from being busy or doing a lot of things, but in doing the right things at the right time. This is where establishing regular marketing habits comes in.

    To some, it might be writing an article once or twice a week. For others, it may mean setting up more meetings with networking contacts. Or it could be booking regular speaking engagements.

    The secret to making this work is to leverage the first three steps of the model – Coaching, Study, and Planning, into marketing Actions that you perform as consistently as possible.

    Tracking. What gets measured gets done. And when we fail to measure, habits don't tend to stick. When we measure and track habits, the chances increase dramatically that they are performed consistently.

    It can take some time to establish positive habits. You know that's happened when you don't even have to think about it anymore; you just sit down and write that article every Monday or make five calls to prospects every week.

    And when you're in action like this, you create a feedback loop, learning what works the best and what doesn't. This enables you to fine-tune and adjust over time until your marketing habits become more established.

    So, stop putting so much attention on searching for the "perfect" marketing strategy, getting motivated, finding more time, and setting goals.

    Instead, use the C – SPAT approach to establishing positive marketing habits.

    Cheers, Robert

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    Source by Robert Middleton

    Views: 0