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The Flexibility of Running a Home Based Business

Many people discover that their biggest complaint about their job is that it provides very little flexibility. There are few jobs that permit workers to come in whenever they feel like it and to work only as long as they desire to in order to accomplish their objectives. While it’s difficult to find a job like that, it isn’t at all hard to have that same kind of flexibility when an individual operates a home based business.

Most home businesses are operated during the hours that the owner wishes. This might be when there is free time that can be spent working, during regular everyday hour, or purely on the weekends. Many people start an internet business they can spend part time on after work, for a short while, until they are earning enough income to make it a full-time job. Other individuals start their home based business full time right away in order to substitute income that they have lost from another source. Whether it’s full time or part time, small business operators working at home can generally decide on their own working hours/days as well as their own working conditions.

This flexibility is something that a lot of people long for in order to be free from the long hours that various jobs demand in today’s job market. Long hours can make it difficult to socialize with friends and to spend quality time with family. Many people decide to start a home based business in order to get back the time to spend with the people they love. Working at home as your own boss can signify that working hours are flexible, leaving time to do other things that are essential. Whether that’s having quality time at home or engaging in hobbies, having a flexible, home based business can make it a reality.

Best Wishes,

John Benjamin

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How Important Is the Fundraising Auctioneer to the Success of Your Event?

I want you to think about the term “Fundraising Auction”.

A “Fundraising Auction” is an event where items of value are gathered, and then sold in a competitive bidding situation, either in a Silent Auction format, or in a Live Auction format by a Live Auctioneer. And since typically the best items are saved for the Live Auction, arguably it is the Live Auction that should generate a significant portion of the proceeds in any Fundraising Auction.

So why do so many non-profit groups consider the Fundraising Auctioneer to be the least valuable component in a Fundraising Auction?

The Hosting Facility gets paid.
The Printer gets paid.
The Caterer gets paid.
The Liquor Store gets paid.
The DJ gets paid.
The Florist gets paid.
But the Auctioneer … the individual who is expected to raise the lion’s share of the event’s proceeds… is expected to work for Free. And is usually under-appreciated for the professional services he/she provides.

I’m not trying to underscore the value of the invitations & programs, food, booze, music, and decorations. All are important in their own way. But each of these are “Expenses”. It is the Auctioneer who is going to bring “Revenue”… and thus, the “Profits”… into any event. Which is the ultimate objective of any Fundraising Auction.

Here is a real-life example of how under-appreciated the Auctioneer can be. In two comparable events we worked last year, during the dinner portion of the event one non-profit group sat the Auctioneer (me) at a table with the DJ, the Interns, the Volunteer Staff, and other event “Help”. The 2nd non-profit group sat the Auctioneer (me) directly next to the CEO of their organization, where we chatted about how important the pending revenue would be to their organization. Which group do you think valued the services of the Fundraising Auctioneer more?

Don’t ever under-estimate the value that a professional Fundraising Auctioneer can bring to your event. The Auctioneer adds value as a pre-event consultant. And the Auctioneer can change an event from a moderate to a huge success.

A Case Study Once I was scheduled to call an Auction for a major local non-profit group. They represented a very good cause and they had a strong and dedicated following. Their event was sold out, quality Live & Silent Auction items had been solicited, and the Special Pledge Appeal had been choreographed and was ready to go. The facility was first class, the appropriate caterer was booked, and the food was ready to cook.

But quite unexpectedly, some unseasonably inclement weather forced the event’s cancellation. Despite all of the committee’s hard work, cancelling the event was the proper decision considering the circumstances.

So the Event Committee scrambled to re-schedule the event for the following weekend.

They confirmed with the Hosting Facility.
They confirmed with the Caterer.
They confirmed with the Liquor Store.
They confirmed with the DJ.
They confirmed with the Florist.
Since they already had the Mailing List of those scheduled to attend, no new invitations had to be printed as all were contacted by email or telephone. So with everything in place, the group went ahead and re-scheduled the event for the following weekend.

But guess who they failed to confirm? You got it… the Professional Auctioneer. They thought so little of the Auctioneer’s contribution that they “assumed” that the Auctioneer would be available and at their beck and call.

But the Auctioneer already had another Fundraising Auction booked for that date with another non-profit group. It was only hour away from the re-scheduled event, and things could have been easily worked out. All Group #1 had to do was start their event one hour earlier, or one hour later, than the Group #2, and the Auctioneer could have helped both groups on the same day.

But because Group #1 failed to anticipate a possible Auctioneer conflict, because they failed to confirm with the Auctioneer before re-scheduling their event, their preferred Auctioneer had to bow out and they had to scramble to locate substitute “Volunteer” Auctioneer only days before their event.

And it cost them.

Learning Points

The Live Auction is usually where the profits are made at any Fundraising Auction.
A Professional Fundraising Auctioneer can be vital to the success of any Fundraising Auction.
The better Fundraising Auctioneers usually get booked quickly.
You need to recognize the important contributions that a good Auctioneer can make to your event.
Michael Ivankovich is a Bucks County Fundraising Auctioneer based in Doylestown PA, and serves the Great Philadelphia PA area. He has been a professionally licensed and bonded Auctioneer in Pennsylvania for nearly 20 years, has been named Pennsylvania’s Auctioneer of the Year, and has considerable experience in conducting Fundraising Auctions. Michael loves helping groups raise needed funds for good causes and one of his specialties is the “Special Pledge Appeal” or “Fund-A-Cause Appeal” which usually enables clients to double their revenue in a single evening.

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How To Determine Which Home Based Business Is Right For You!

In today’s world, who DOESN’T want to make money from home? The 2 primary things at your disposal are that the economy calls for this but also that technology has never made it easier for us! You can literally reach the globe and have things become viral today via Facebook and the power of social networking. It is almost harder to believe that despite these things, the majority of people that get involved STILL fail for some reason. So how do you pick and choose which home based business is proper for you?1.) Your “Why” – You will need to CLEARLY determine what is motivating you to want to work from home. If your “why” isn’t strong enough, typically you won’t succeed. I’m not talking about “I need the money” type of why. I’m talking about a true passion or desire to succeed at something that you feel you can/will make a difference with. Unlike punching a clock and exchanging your time for money (usually piddly money), working from home REQUIRES consistency and drive to the fullest. You will not continually display this on a consistent basis if you don’t enjoy what you’re doing and believe it has a purpose for you and for your customers.When I quit my “job” and started marketing online full time, I was torn between the “Should I or shouldn’t I” phase. I was making enough money online to justify it but my fear of “what if?” set in. I figured out that my “Why” was due to overwhelming medical bills and having NO chance to pay for them until/unless I did something different. My “job” was capped and my income was capped. Home based businesses are notorious for not “capping” you, your potential or your income. Quite attractive when your “Why” is strong.2.) Skill – Let’s face it. There is a certain amount of skill required for a particular business opportunity. This is something that I deal with everyday with my students. They want to get into internet marketing but they “Don’t know how to build websites” and many other excuses. Guess what? Either did I! That’s the beauty of these businesses is that although skill might be required, it CAN be learned and improved upon.I am now building sites, landing pages, sales funnels, blogs, installing plugins, etc. If you would have mentioned these to me years ago, I wouldn’t have even known what they were! So rejoice in the fact that whatever your opportunity is, it WILL require skill that you can improve upon!. The smart “go getter” will pick an opportunity where they are already skilled if possible OR be willing to dive in and learn and not be intimidated by it!3.) Experience – It isn’t likely that you will have experience in whichever opportunity you decide to get involved in and that is normal I think. When I bring experience up, I am referring to being realistic about YOUR personal experience level with this opportunity you are considering. In other words, just because Ralph down the street is achieving success does NOT mean that you will. Draw your OWN conclusions from your OWN experiences, NOT from Ralph’s experience.These opportunities are generally only going to share results from their highest achievers. I believe that means the 1 or 2% that actually achieve tremendous success in this opportunity. They are the ones that do the sales pitches and the infomercials and such because they don’t want to tell you about the other 98% that never made a dime. Be realistic and draw YOUR conclusions. Don’t allow outside influence like this distort your perspective of a particular home based business opportunity. Only YOU can draw this conclusion.4.) Start Up Fees – Many opportunities will ask for and require payment for many different things and reasons. This is normal and shouldn’t scare you away. Businesses require money to start up and require money to build them. However, do NOT blow your budget for any opportunity. If you wish to start or join an opportunity that requires more money than you currently have or can spend, SAVE the money and get involved then. Reason being is this…..you will learn to resent your decision and the opportunity when you don’t see immediate results. It is common for the opportunities to insinuate that if you spend xxxx amount NOW, you can recoup your loss by working the system.Sometimes this is true and I believe it is always possible but it certainly is not probable. If they try to persuade you to move forward when you resist, I would say that is a red flag. Start up fees should be paid and disbursed and forgotten about. Move forward in your decision and give it an honest effort. This leads me to my next helpful tip….5.) Seed Planting – When a farmer goes out and plants seeds, they don’t do this so that they can come back tomorrow and see results. They plant the seeds knowing full well that the results might not happen for quite some time. This is how I always treat home based business also. Many get started, they plant some seeds and get some things accomplished, they don’t see immediate results and the bail out. This is a HUGE problem and one of the leading causes of failure in these home based business opportunities in my opinion.You need to generally give these opportunities adequate time to develop and you need to be smart enough to stick it out for the harvest! You certainly wouldn’t want to be involved in something that yielded immediate results because THAT would most likely be some kind of bogus scam. Instead, moderate results and/or dismal results that continually get better are what you’re looking for. The harvest is waiting and you certainly can’t enjoy it if you bail.In closing, I’d like to simply point out that it is my opinion that ANY home based business CAN generate a good living for the right person. It is usually the person behind the opportunity promoting it that causes the failure. Self sabotage and “re-inventing the wheel” are SO common. Instead of doing what you were taught, you decide to skip this or talk yourself out of doing that…and the next thing you know, you don’t have anything to show for your efforts.However, your efforts weren’t done properly so of course your results weren’t good. Now that I have reached the level of success that I have, I can honestly say that there has never been a better time to get involved in home based business. The decision to do this has changed my life completely in all ways and it has done the same for thousands in this poor economy.I strongly suggest that while evaluating ANY home based business opportunity, you FIRST evaluate yourself because it will most likely be YOU and only YOU that create the failure. We are self sabotaging humans and our loved ones are notorious for not being supportive in these ventures. Surround yourself with others that are successful and ask for help. If you are willing to do the work and go through the motions properly, most that are successful will be more than happy to help you.They should appreciate that you are striving to learn but do NOT expect them to offer advice and then watch you decide to NOT do what they said or to “modify” it and do it YOUR way. Your “Why” simply needs to be strong enough to do any of these things. If it were as easy as it sounds on paper, nobody would work for anyone and we’d all be working from home. If you don’t have determination and drive to be successful, you won’t. It’s not rocket science! I encourage you to go for it. It sure has made ALL the difference in my life!

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