By Joseph Nyamache
In today's high-speed world, everyone is on the fast track to learn more on how to build a website, information on home business opportunities and work-at-home jobs. The number of entrepreneurs has risen impressively over the last five years. Many working mothers have ditched the cubical for the comfort of their home with their children. Website design is an integral part of that transition for many mom entrepreneurs.
Web design isn't rocket science. It is a step-by-step process that many business owners simply do not have time to do. This gives home businesses and work-at-home employees the opportunity to earn a respectable income from home. Outsourcing website design projects to home-based workers is also a less expensive route for business owners. Website design languages like HTML may look like foreign languages to someone who doesn't understand them. In reality, both languages are quite easy to master, given time.
Hypertext Markup Language, or HTML, is the most widely used and most widely acceptable website design language. HTML uses tags, less-than and greater-than signs, to tell the web browser how to lay out the content of the page. For example, to create distinct paragraphs on a
webpage, the designer would type the less-than sign, the letter p and the greater-than sign. This may look odd to someone who doesn't understand the idea behind it, but it's fully understandable to web browsers.
Tags, tables and graphics are very important additions to any website. Keep in mind that the average person stays at a website for no more than 45 seconds at a time. Make your website attractive enough and informative enough to keep them interested. Several studies also report that people don't stay on websites with too many flashy banners that distract them from the ultimate goal. Remember, sometimes less is more.
Successful website design doesn't start with code. Like any business venture, it starts with an idea. Anyone can learn to put code together and create a decent looking website. It takes someone with drive and determination to create a successful website. Before you type the first tag or the first line of code, take a look at the bigger picture. The first step shouldn't be writing code.
The first step should be defining your niche. Discover what your website should be about and refine that idea. Once you've decided what type of content should be on your website, you're free to consider the layout. Decide whether your website will consist of text only or a combination of photos and text. You also need to define other aspects of the layout, such as the menu. Will the menu be on the left, right, top or bottom of the website? Everything is up to you.
Once you have a plan in place, decide what programming languages are required to achieve your goals. If you don't currently have the programming knowledge to build your website from scratch, try a website builder or host. Some hosts offer very well-built templates that fit a wide variety of needs.
Build your website using the most efficient template, not necessarily the most popular. Sometimes the most popular template is over-used and viewers tend to think the site is too generic. Generic sites do not receive the attention a specifically written site receives. Sites that look different and present new content are always looked upon more favorably.
Another feature some hosting sites offer is search engine submission. Not only can you build your website using pre-formed templates, you don't even have to worry about submission to search engines. This is a very attractive alternative for entrepreneurs who know what they want but are unfamiliar with website design languages.
Hosting sites that offer templates will often offer hints and tips along the way. Their tips and templates will help streamline your website in effort to attract targeted traffic to your website.
Want to learn more on how to build your own website?
Joseph Nyamache has an expert lens on squidoo. Learn how to build your own lens or website on squidoo here.
There's Never Enough Time!
By Rosamunde Bott
Home business owners often complain that there's never enough time to get their work done.
The fact is, there are 24 hours in each day, and that's just the way it is. That is something we cannot change. What we can change is our attitude to the time we have available.
Time really only exists in our own mind. It was man who created seconds, minutes, hours, days etc. Time is a subjective thing; and our own personal feelings about it change depending on our mood. It can be swift, slow, boring, stressful or valuable; we talk about the best of times, the worst times, the good old times.
If time is man-made and subjective, then we can control the way we experience it. In order to manage time effectively you need to be in control.
Creating your own time management system will produce results. Why not finish the day feeling satisfied, rather than with lots of unfinished tasks that leave you frustrated.
Here are a few tips on setting up a time management system to suit you.
1. Analyse Your Current Situation
What's working at the moment? What are the things that are getting done? What's not working? What are you putting off? What are you struggling with? Make a list of everything that works well and a list of things that could be improved.
2. Visualize
Visualize yourself getting all those things done that are currently a problem. Who are you being when you are efficient? What is happening that enables you to get those tasks done? What is in place that is missing in your current situation?
3. Prioritize
Now, make a list of all those tasks that are swirling around in your head. Sort them into those that need to be done daily, weekly or monthly, so you have three separate lists.
Give each task a number between 1 and 10 according to its urgency. There should now only be a few tasks that need to be done immediately. These are the things you will do first in your next work session.
Once you have written down your tasks, you will find that you mind is more at ease because they are no longer swimming around in your head.
4. Focus
Do you leap from one thing to another without really completing anything? You are not alone. However, this does not lead to a happy work experience and will leave you feeling exhausted and dissatisfied.
When you write your daily to-do list, give yourself a realistic time schedule for each task. Then carry out each task within that schedule, and do not think about anything else while you are doing it.
If you find you are not getting the task done within your set time, you just need to adjust the time you need for that task. It's not good trying to do it faster, you'll just feel stressed and unhappy, which in the end is counter-productive.
5. Be decisive
When you are aware that you have a decision to make, allocate a time to think about it, and use an online forum to share your ideas and ask questions. Do not let it interfere with your current task. Once you have made your decision you need to make sure that you write down any action required in your to-do list, within its appropriate category and given its priority number.
6. Eliminate Distractions
Distractions can be the worst enemy of good time management. Being at home means you are vulnerable to non-business interruptions, such as the telephone, the neighbors, the children, pets, housework, cooking etc. We have all experienced these when we are trying to get work done at home.
You are in control, not your telephone, your friends, your family or your dog. If too many of your phone calls are not business, take charge. Explain to your callers, your friends and family that between certain hours you are Working. They need to understand that although you are at home, you are still unavailable. Even pets can learn the times when they can call on your attention and when they can't. Set up a routine and a dog or cat will get to know the times when you are ready to feed them, walk them or play.
7. Evaluate
Constantly keep track of how you are doing. If there are still tasks that are not getting done by their deadlines, you need to re-evaluate and see what can be improved. It may be just a matter of being more realistic about your working speed. Or perhaps you could get up half an hour earlier. Are you checking your emails too often and getting distracted by answering them straight away?
How we spend and experience the hours we have in our day is ultimately our choice. Every second goes to make up our lifetime experience, so make sure that each is a happy one. Ask yourself constantly, am I doing something I am passionate about? Do my goals fit in with my values? Do I believe in what I am doing?
After all, it is your life and your time. Don't waste it in frustration and fear, or telling yourself there's never enough time. There is always enough time. Enjoy each moment while you work towards your goals.
Ros Bott is a writer, life coach and home business owner.
For Ros's life coaching service, go to Career & Confidence Coaching
Blogging Achieving Exponential Success In Your Home Business
By Koz Huseyin
There is nothing like achieving exponential growth. Instead of merely meeting targets, but rather to see sales multiply is something that we all want. For over a year I saw such growth, and it is simply amazing. It is a totally different ball game than trying to grow few percent every year!
For one whole year I went with $0 income. Something had to change; online business was not working for me. Thankfully enough, I did not quit, though that original home business failed, I managed to find out what worked. 1.5 years after the state of despondency, I found exponential growth.
Exponential growth in your home business is possible. What you need to know is to be prepared. Opportunity met with preparation is going to take you further to success then the unprepared. To get prepared needs you to know what you want exactly. Without a goal, there is no way that you can progress to that set goal with your home based business.
Another point of preparation is knowing your business inside out. You must know the processes; do constant testing to find what works and what doesn't. Exponential growth in your home business won't come so quickly if you are new and just starting out in your home business.
For example if you have worked in a day job, away from home for many years, then trying to operate a business from home can be a big challenge. This challenge can be in the form of distractions such as the television. This does not stop there though, and another point is motivation. You must be able to motivate yourself to take action, even though you are at home, and being at home is usually a relaxing affair, and not a business affair!
What has this got to do with exponential growth in your home business? Simple, it is down to focus. Without getting enough focus and attention on your home business, you can't have any hope of achieving exponential growth in your home business.
When working from home, you have many benefits which can help you get that exponential growth. You have extra time. Where many people spend hours commuting to work, you have this time as an added advantage.
Extra time can be used to further your skills, your productivity, and your knowledge of your home business. This will further enhance your ability to earn more. However, learning is not just what is needed to see exponential growth in your business.
Realize that exponential growth can happen in your home business, it is fully possible, and is not down to the hours you work. For many people the strategy is that if they want to double income, sales, etc, they need to double the time they work in there home business. This can be opportunity for disaster. A better solution is to become better equipped at your work from home business. Being more productive even a few percentage points, is a great way to achieve much more than simply putting in extra hours.
Another tip is that of action. I am sure right now you know how to improve your home business and get major growth. If you was to spend time getting those thoughts out of your mind on to paper, and taking action on them, would that not be more productive than thinking extra hours is the only solution?
Find a selection of the best home businesses:
Free Home Business Ideas * Best MLM Network Marketing * Top 10 Home Business Opportunities
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