Working from home is the goal of people all over the world. We are sick and tired of working from nine to five. We want to stay home with our families and be able to take vacations when we want. The problem is that so many internet ideas and opportunities fail. In fact 95% of all internet home business ideas and opportunities that people attempt fail.

The thing that is important then when looking for an internet hoe business idea or opportunity is to follow in the footsteps of someone who has succeeded.

First and foremost people fail because they do not have the drive and motivation that it takes to be successful at a home business. You need to be determined, motivated, and most importantly be able to work on your own. If you are not able to work unless you have a boss and deadline breathing down your neck then you will not be successful in the field of home business.

One more thing that people fail to do is research. They do not educate themselves on the ways to make money through internet home business ideas and opportunities. You need to find not only a viable opportunity but one that will fit your needs, both financially and emotionally. Find out: is this the best possible internet home business idea or opportunity for me? Do I have and emotional connection to the idea or opportunity that will drive me to continue working.

Another thing that puts 95% of internet home business ideas and opportunities on the failing list is the amount of work required to make them successful. So many people don’t understand the principles behind building a business. They are not willing to work for their success. They want to put out their email address and sit back and watch the money roll in. That will not happen.

Internet home business ideas and opportunities are just like any other business idea or opportunity. It takes real work. You have to be willing to put in the time to work hard to build your business or it will never be successful. If you have the drive and determination you will be successful in whatever internet home business idea or opportunity you pursue.

It is inevitable. It happens every year. Hiding from it or ignoring it won’t make it go away. The dreaded company audit; there is no way around it, so companies must do their best to comply with the current standards. And to be able to prove that they are meeting those standards. The compliance regulations companies must strive to meet are HIPAA for the medical field and Sarbanes-Oxley regarding any company’s financial records.

There are records management systems today that make the auditing process simple and painless. Each time there is activity within the records management system, the event is recorded to a log file. For example, when a medical record is updated by a doctor, the event is recorded, dated, and saved for future confirmation. If a company document is deleted from the records management system, that occurrence is noted and logged.

Another advantage to using an auditing program in conjunction with your records management system is that in a sense, security is increased. In other words, the auditing programs have the ability to record each system login, logout, or bad password attempt. Companies are able to track such important information and evaluate any security issues.

Additionally, on an individual basis, a records management system audit program allows the auditing of specific users. The system records the activities of predefined, selected users. With this feature activated and configured, there will be no question as to “who did what.”

Through the records management system, your company has a means of controlling the activities within the system. These options are configured and set up during the installation process. A user or a group of users may be prevented from modifying or deleting company records. This ensures that the documents do not get wrongfully changed or deleted. This feature allows your company to demonstrate that important records are secure and can never be lost.

To further take advantage of this technology and end possible compliance problems, some auditing program packages include email alert messaging. The value of email messages is that a designated auditor is immediately alerted to information, such as system startup or shutdown, database space availability, and user access denied.

From the data captured in your records management system, audit reports are generated. The reports contain information such as the presence or absence of documents, identification of document dates, document counts, and the occurrence of events within the system.

It takes a great deal of time and effort to operate and manage a company today. Installing a records management system with auditing capabilities lessens the anxiety over auditing and allows your company to concentrate on its productivity and success.

Does your company sweat it out each year during the auditing process? Can your company afford the time it takes to investigate the deletion or modification of a customer record? Research the solutions available to these and other compliance-related issues by investing in an electronic records management system with audit logging capabilities.

For all our interest in networking, following up is just as important. Many one-person business owners find they either don't follow up because they don't know what to do, or develop such an elaborate system for keeping in touch that it quickly breaks down and becomes unworkable. Typical downfalls include:

--Using the same personally intensive strategy and activities for everyone they meet, finding they have no time for service delivery

--Flooding new contacts with electronic information, but don't check in to see if there is a real fit

--Letting months go between contacts and then being dismayed with few responses to offers

Networking Maven Kristy Rogers, is not only well known for her prowess in networking, having received three major networking awards just this year alone, but also conducts great seminars on following up. (http://www.KristyRogersConnects.com)

Following up, says Kristy, is crucial. Especially for people who are in their first three years of running their businesses or those who need to grow their businesses. Yet most people, even those who know they 'should,' don't follow up after meeting new potential clients.

Kristy identified the three most common follow-up mistakes one-person business owners make:

1) Not scheduling time for follow up on your calendar. If you don't make a follow-up appointment, or if you don't keep the appointment with yourself for follow-up activities, it won't get done.

2) Not developing the habit of following up. Set up some simple follow-up systems and tools: have note cards and stamps handy. Write a few sample notes you can use for either email or snail mail. Make following up part of your daily routine. Use 'scrap time' to dash off a quick note/email to one of your contacts. Build your library of 'one sheets' describing your various products and services. Format printed and electronic copies of articles, especially your own, ready for distribution.

3) Not capturing your contacts in an electronic format. Most people struggle with this task because they get hung up on finding the 'perfect program' to use. Should it be Goldmine, Outlook, Entourage, Excel, and so on and so on. Kristy is adamant about this common sabotage: 'Stop waiting until you find the perfect system and just do it.' Most of us have Excel, it's a part of the Microsoft Office package. Just use it!

Take a course, use the tutorial that is included, ask a friend, pay an expert to set up a simple system. Just start. (Of course this doesn't mean utomatically putting every new contact onto your ezine list. Most of us have more than enough email to deal with already, and just get annoyed when having to unsubscribe from unwanted ezines.)

Why don't people follow up? The biggest block cited by participants in Kristy's workshop is 'not knowing what to say.' She suggests having a script when you phone, or write your follow-up notes. Practice and polish your script, and soon you'll be much more comfortable with follow-up calls.

Professional Speaker Marc LeBlanc considers keeping in touch so important he calls it 'The Greatest Marketing Strategy in the World.' Growing Your Business, available from http://www.SmallBusinessSuccess.com, is best known for Mark's clear instructions for crafting your defining statement, your 'elevator speech,' how you quickly explain your unique selling proposition (USP). While developing a great defining statement is necessary, for me the gem in his book was his keeping in touch strategy, his Target 25.

Mark suggests you identify the 25 people in your life who are in a position to impact your business. Then make the most of your Target 25 by following his two 'rules':

1) Never let any of them get more than 30 days of hearing from/about you

2) Each of them must know your defining statement

Why 25? -- More could quickly become overwhelming.

Why 30 days? -- We're all busy and need reminders.

At this point most folks go right to an electronic newsletter, ezine, as their primary stay in touch strategy. And, you should have one. But don't stop with only an ezine. Ezines have become necessary but not sufficient. Use all your stay-in-touch tools and techniques: face-to-face meetings, fax, personal notes, and even phone calls.

Evaluating your Follow-up System

Evaluating the effectiveness of your follow-up system has two parts:

1) Do you use it, and

2) Does it get the results you are looking for?

Whatever keep-in-touch system you develop, make it easy to implement so you will keep it up. Too often the system becomes so complicated or unwieldy it is quickly abandoned as too much trouble. Start small and simple.

Assessing results from your follow-up system is crucial. Not always easy, but very important. Too many professionals stay busy with marketing tasks and activities that don't give needed results. Track the source of all new leads. Compare the amount of effort, costs, and time against number of leads. Identify your best sources.

One colleague has spent enormous amounts of time and money with one 'networking' group only to find it was a social experience not a business building experience. 'Doing the numbers' showed new business came through referrals from existing clients, not networking events. She has shifted her keep-in-touch activities to her client base, rather than relying on networking events to fuel new business.

Both Kristy and Mark define action plans for Patricia Fripp's marketing maxim: 'It is not your customers' responsibility to remember you, but your responsibility to ensure they never forget you.' As Kristy reminded me, 'It is up to the salesperson to drive the sales process. You must drive your own follow-up program.'

Don't wait to get started on your action plan. Your business will thank you, and your bank account will thank you

Today many people are currently unsatisfied in their careers and are looking for opportunities to work at home. A home based business can have so many rewards, no boss, more income, less stress and spending more time with your family to name a few. The solution for this desire is quite simple, find the perfect work at home opportunity that meets your goals and interests.

Locating the right work at home opportunity isn't very difficult. Everyone is unique and has their own gifts and talents. Learning your gifts and talents in the business world,will help you decide what type of home based business you will do best.

The perfect home based business should include your interests. Any home based business requires that you be a "Self Starter" and motivate yourself to do better then working for that lousy boss you had at your last job.

Anyone can easily create a work at home opportunity, but finding a home based business that can financially support you is a lot harder to come by. You can look for a business that offers telecommuting opportunities that allow you to work at home The benefit of working at home in these types of careers is a safer, more secure revenue stream then owning your own business. The down side, your still working for someone else.

So your ready to start your own work at home business, and you have a concept you may like to do, then your ready to do some research. It's very important that you, focus on what you want to do before going through the vast amount of home based business opportunities advertised all over the Internet. A great place to start is with a reputable work at home directory, such as http://homebasedbusinesslistings.com. A legitimate home based business directory can save you a great deal of time and energy as they have already done the research for you and will help steer you away from online scams.

Although running your own business may sound easy, motivation, determination and initiative are all very important characteristics of a successful home-based entrepreneur.

Here is the basic concept for running any successful home based business.

1st - Have an idea of what kind of items or service you would like to offer

2nd - Do the research on your competitors and see how your business can get noticed and stand out.

3rd - Getting started, how to get your plan in motion.

4th - Bigger is better, knowing your competition is key. Your goal is always to be bigger and better.

The setup process in building a lucrative business seems like it gets more difficult as you go, but if your committed and stay the course your business will soar.

In the first step of creating a home based business you need an idea or a concept and determine what you would like to do. The types of home based businesses vary greatly. You can take any interest or idea and turn it into a sales and service oriented business. You can also find a preexisting home based business opportunity that has a well thought out business model with great support and use it as a stepping stone. One of the hottest ideas right now is selling products through auction sites. Home based opportunities like http://eprofitsource.net have taken this idea to the next level, allowing you to sell any type of products or services that your interested in. Partner yourself with a business opportunity that you are interested in, and success is sure to follow.

The next step in creating a home based business is researching other businesses that offer what you are planing to offer. Market research can help you to figure out what will make your home based business idea unique. Whether it's just finding out price points or marketing strategies, knowing your competition is a key to success.

The third big step with setting up a successful work at home business is getting paid by your customers. This area generally requires the ability to get people to understand why your service or product is important . If it's your low cost, let them know what your competitor is selling it for, if it is a service , let them know the benefits of choosing you over your competition.

The fourth step is how you keep your business a success. Non stop research for what other businesses are doing will help you to provide better services and products for your customers. Always remember to scout for any new competitors, because if they're as smart as you, they'll be watching you too.

You may find that one step is usually simpler for one person than another. The simplest way to guarantee that your home based business allows you to reach your goals is to plan well and always be ready to meet your customers needs. As change is always inevitable, the work at home business that can change and grow, will always be the one that stays on top.

The last ingredient to running a successful home based business is you. If you want to keep your home based business going you must believe in yourself and what it takes to succeed. Its always a huge step when your making the decision to start a home based business, but use that "old" fuel of frustration and failure to remind you that you have what it takes to succeed, desire & determination.

Planning the corporate party may be a job that is no one's idea of a good assignment but the party itself can be fun. Striking the delicate balance between light socializing and appropriate corporate conduct is the tricky part.

Most corporate functions are of the meet and greet or annual meeting variety but there are also corporate retirement or holiday parties. The mood should one which encourages less formal yet business priority fun. Most corporate affairs strongly discourage the sort of conduct that is depicted in movies and T.V. as the office party.

In reality most corporate parties are friendly but often vehicles in which business concerns are discussed. For example, a corporate party may be the place where the boss gives a sort of state of the company address and hands out bonuses. There might be prime rib and excellent side dishes but the point is usually business.

Appropriate business conduct is normally practiced at the corporate party but light banter and conversation that aren't allowed during the business day are appropriate here. Things are not as nose to the grindstone as during the regular office day but corporate conversation is the norm.

Guests will enjoy corporate paper party goods that reflect the lighter side of business. Gag gifts or door prizes are sometimes welcome and sometimes a guest speaker may lead a quick seminar type speech. Most corporate parties are actually conducted during the business day but occasionally a business will sponsor a family oriented company party.

Sometimes companies offer field day or other recreational opportunities for its employees and a few family members or friends. These kinds of corporate parties are not much different from other get-togethers. They are meant as fun ways for those closest to the employees to meet some of the people at work.