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!
Auction Listings Are Vital to the Success of Fundraising Auctions
Fundraising Auction Tip: You should always provide potential bidders with a printed Auction Listing of both your Live and Silent Auction items at any Fundraising Auction. A printed Auction Listing is vital for several reasons:
An Auction Listing informs bidders of the order of sale, and what is coming up next. If you keep your bidders guessing, they will simply not bid.
If bidders are not 100% certain of what they are bidding on, they will not bid. A printed Auction Listing should answer any and all questions about what is being sold in order to encourage bidders to bid as much as possible.
Bidders often need time to plan their bidding strategies, especially on multiple and/or larger value items. A printed Auction Listing helps them to do that.
Couples often need time to consult with each other about what they are willing to spend on something. A printed Auction Listing helps them to do that.
Potential bidders need to know the specifics, the benefits, and the restrictions on any item they are going to bid on, especially on travel and/or other higher value items. A printed Auction Listing should answer all of their questions, in writing.
After bidders see that they have lost an item to another bidder, a printed Auction Listing makes it easier for them to re-strategize on what else they can bid on.
Printed Auction Listings generally come in 3 forms:
Printed in the Event Program or Auction Catalog.
Printed on loose sheets of paper and hand-inserted into the Event Program or Auction Catalog.
Printed on loose sheets of paper and hand-delivered to all attendees, or left on each dinner table in the room.
Auction Listings cost practically nothing to produce and they can make the difference between the success and failure of a Live and Silent Auction. You should never conduct a Fundraising Auction without one.
A Case Study
Let me share a real-life experience with you. Once I was hired to conduct a Fundraising Auction for a nationally renowned organization. The event was held in a major hotel, in one of the country’s largest cities, with several hundred “black tie” participants attending. It was an extremely professional event, with the music, singing, lighting, speeches, and awards all perfectly timed and choreographed. Everything was done to perfection… exception the Fundraising Auction.
Although I had signed an agreement to serve as their Auctioneer nearly one year in advance of the event, no one bothered to contact me for any advice or help. Approximately one week prior to the Auction date, I contacted the group to see if they had replaced me with another Auctioneer. But they said that I was still their man.
Upon arriving at the event I asked for a copy of the Auction Listing. I was told that there were none. I’m not sure whether they felt that the Auction Listing wasn’t necessary, or whether someone forgot to have them printed. This was never made clear. When I asked what I was to use at the podium, I was told to copy the list of Live Auction items from a committee member’s computer. It took me about 30 minutes to copy three pages of hand-written notes in order to prepare for my role as their Auctioneer.
I knew that they had created a PowerPoint program showing the various Live Auction items. When I asked whether the PowerPoint slide order corresponded to the order of sale I had copied from the committee member’s computer, I was met with a blank stare. The committee member left to check the slide order, and returned to let me know that the slide order did not correspond my notes, and he provided me with the correct slide order… hand-written on a paper napkin. This forced me to re-arrange my three pages of hand-written notes before taking the podium.
There was a Live Auction Table with descriptions of the Live Auction items that were to be sold, but the table was not clearly marked, and it received significantly less attention than the Silent Auction Tables, which were clearly identified. Since the Live Auction Table was located adjacent to the “Raffle Table”, it appeared that most people thought it was part of the raffle and therefore paid very little attention to it.
According to the event program (which did not include an Auction Listing), I knew approximately when I was to begin the Live Auction. At the designated time the Master of Ceremonies announced the start of the Live Auction to the several hundred people in attendance, and introduced me as Auctioneer. As I approached the podium I realized that photographs of award winners were still being taken… directly in front of the podium where I was to stand… which required me to stand aside for several minutes until the photographers were done. Can we say “awkward moment”?
As the photographers cleared, I approached the podium and began my Live Auction introduction. Approximately one minute into my introduction, the “Raffle Committee” approached the podium and stopped my Live Auction Introduction in order to pull the 8 or 9 Raffle Winners. These drawings lasted about 5 minutes. Upon it’s conclusion I was allowed to resume the start of the Live Auction.
When standing at the podium two intense and extremely bright spotlights were pointed directly at the podium. The lights were so bright that I literally could not see the center 1/3 of the room. I could see the tables on the right, and on the left, but was totally blinded when looking straight ahead. It took perhaps five minutes before the spotlights were turned off.
While at the podium and describing Lot #1, I had to ask someone to start the Lot #1 PowerPoint Slide… because apparently no one was assigned that job.
So with only the Auctioneer’s verbal description, and a PowerPoint slide, it appeared that few people in the room had any idea about what we were selling… or when we were selling it… until it was announced by the Auctioneer. As a result, bidding was extremely light and the final results fell several thousands of dollars short of where they should have been
The learning experience is this:
The Live Auction is where you place your better items, and where the real money should be made at any Fundraising Auction. Let bidders know as far in advance as possible what you will be selling, and the order of sale, so they can get excited about the Auction, and plan their bidding strategy accordingly.
Auction Listings are absolutely vital to the success of both Live & Silent Auctions. In my opinion, revenues at this Auction fell thousands of dollars short of where they should have been, because no Auction Listing was provided to the guests.
If bidders are not perfectly clear on what is being sold, including both the item’s specifics, benefits, and restrictions, they will not bid.
When you have a committee of volunteers, especially volunteers having full time jobs and/or very busy schedules, the services of a professional Fundraising Auctioneer can help to keep the committee on track.
And once you retain the services of a professional Fundraising Auctioneer… use the services that you are paying for.
Hiring An Auction Company
Estimating your assets value:
Typically, one of the first questions a business owner will ask me is, “how much will the assets bring at an auction”. After taking the time to review the assets, the auctioneer should give the client a conservative estimate of the sale based upon his experience and the current market trends. It is important that the company give realistic expectations so the seller can make informed decisions based on their best interest.
Compensation and Expenses:
Is the company you are considering working for you or against you? The agreement you decide may determine this.
A business owner should carefully consider how the auction company is compensated. The most common commission structures include: straight commission, outright purchase of assets, guaranteed base with a split above to both auctioneer and seller, guaranteed base with anything above going to auctioneer or a flat fee structure.
In a straight commission structure, the company is paid an agreed upon percentage of the total sale.
In an outright purchase agreement, the auctioneer simply becomes your end buyer. The company purchases your assets and relocates them. While this can be an option in some unique situations, keep in mind that they will want to purchase your assets at a very reduced price to make a profit at a later date.
In a minimum base guarantee, the auction company guarantees the seller that the auction will generate a minimum amount of sales. Anything above that amount either goes to the auction company or split with the seller. While a seller might feel more comfortable doing an auction knowing that he is guaranteed a minimum amount for his sale, keep in mind that it is the best interest of the auction company to secure a minimum base price as low as possible in order reduce their financial liability to the seller and secure higher compensation for the sale.
In a flat fee structure, the auctioneer agrees to show up for the sale and call the auction. There is no incentive for the auctioneer to get the best prices for your assets. The auction company is compensated regardless of the outcome of your sale.
What is the best option for business owners? In my experience, an agreed upon straight commission structure. This puts the responsibility on the auction company to offer the best outcome for everyone involved. There is an incentive for the auction company to work hard for both parties, set up and run a professional sale, get the highest bid and sell every item on the inventory. Successful auctions translate to a higher bottom line for both the seller and the auction company.
Auction Expenses:
In most auction agreements the expenses to conduct an auction are passed to the seller. If the auction company pays for the expenses, it is simply absorbed in higher commission rates.
All expenses should be agreed upon in advance in a written contract. Typical expenses will include the costs of advertising, labor, legal fees, travel, equipment rentals, security, postage and printing. A reputable auction company will be able to estimate all expenses based upon their experience in previous auctions. An agreement should be actual costs charged as expenses, not an estimated amount.
Advertising is typically the highest cost in conducting an auction. The auction company needs to set up an advertising campaign that will promote the sale to its best advantage and not overspend to simply advertise the auction company.
Once the auction is complete, the auction company should provide a complete breakdown of all expenses to the seller, including copies of receipts within the auction summary report.
Buyer’s Premium:
What is a buyer’s premium? If you attend auctions regularly, you are very familiar with this term. The auction company charges a fee to the buyer when they buy an item at auction.
The buyer’s premium has been around since the 1980′s and is standard auction practice. It was first used by auction houses to help offset costs of running brick and mortar permanent auction facilities. Since then, it has spread to all aspects of the auction industry. It is prominent in online auctions and allows auction companies to cover added expenses incurred from online sales.
It is the responsibility of the auction company to provide clear disclosure of the buyer’s premium to both the buyers and the sellers. Those not familiar with auctions are often taken back by the buyer’s premium. They looked upon it as an under handed way for the auction company to make more money. Reputable auction companies will provide full disclosure within the auction contract, advertisement and bidder registration.
Typically, an auction company will charge online buyers a higher buyer’s premium percentage than those attending an auction in person. Extra fees are incurred with online bidding and are charged accordingly to online buyers. This provides the seller a level playing field for both online buyers and those attending the auction in person. Without the buyer’s premium, there is no way to do this.
Pre-Sales:
We’ve all been there. We’re looking forward to attending an auction only to find that some items were sold prior to the auction date.
As an auctioneer with over thirty-six years of experience, I can honestly state that pre-sales will hurt an auction. When a company decides to liquidate their assets, it is easy to sell off high-end pieces of equipment through online sources, equipment vendors or to other businesses. The seller receives instant cash and avoids paying a commission to an auction company.
Auctioneer’s find themselves appearing to acting in a self-serving capacity when potential clients say they are planning to sell off parts of their inventory prior to an auction. It’s hard not to consider the auctioneer’s commission when they warn you not to pre-sell anything. Yes, the auctioneer wants to earn a commission on those sales but it is more important that the auctioneer protect the sale from potential negative backlash that comes from pre-selling. The buying public knows when an auction has been “cherry picked” prior to the sale and it reflects in their bidding. It becomes a sale of “leftovers” and that impacts prices.
A buyer who purchases prior to the auction usually does not attend the sale. They already bought equipment at a good price with no competition. If they do attend the auction, they tend to let others know of their great pre-sale purchases which again, impacts prices and the overall excitement of the sale.
It is important to understand that auctions work best with a complete inventory. You want competition on your higher end equipment. The easy to sell items make it possible to gain respectable prices for hard to sell items.
When a business owner decides to liquidate their equipment assets, there is only one opportunity to do it right. Hiring a reputable auction company will assist you with a professional, orderly and timely liquidation.