Visit 3 Step Plan: http://3stepplan.com

Janelle Duncan, 3 Step Plan member, said that she loves working with Andy Willoughby’s 3 Step Plan for several reasons. “It is a great networking tool. I did not have to hunt down my friends, family and neighbors to build my business. Thanks to the 3 Step Plan, I have built a successful business, I have enthusiasm about my business and am confident in what I am doing,” said Duncan.

Ellie Jones said that she has been with the 3 Step Plan for more than six years. “It is a very simple system that puts members in touch with others who know that they want a home-based business. For those who decide that this is the business system for them, it will help them both professionally and financially,” said Jones.

Read More

Here is an article from the USA Today about the growing use of social media among small businesses. More of them are choosing to utilize social media at the expense of traditional forms of advertising. Small businesses view it as an easy way to maintain contact with current customers while reaching out to new ones.

A new study by MerchantCircle found that more than half of nearly 10,000 respondents nationwide said they plan to create or maintain a social networking presence in the next three months. This number is the highest since the survey began a year ago and is up from 41% in the first three months this year.

More small businesses use Twitter, Facebook to promote

SAN FRANCISCO — A surge in social-media use by small businesses reflects a shift in how they operate and their comfort with increasingly easy-to-use technology.

In growing numbers, small-business owners are adopting social-networking services, location-based services, Twitter and online video to promote products and services, according to a new study by MerchantCircle, a social network for small businesses. It polled a fraction of its more than 1.3 million members.

The survey results are the strongest evidence yet that small businesses — which account for more than 90% of all U.S. companies and fuel the economy — are accelerating their use of social media at the expense of traditional media such as newspapers, the Yellow Pages and radio. Even e-mail messages have taken a beating.

Businesses with fewer than five employees “see Facebook and others as a way to reach targeted consumers” while saving marketing expenditures during a rough economy, says Darren Waddell, vice president of marketing at MerchantCircle.

Read More

Here is an article from Entrepreneur Magazine written by Lisa Druxman about the difficult choices that entrepreneur moms have to make.

No matter what your stage in motherhood, it really is a full-time job. I don’t know a single stay-at-home mom who feels she has extra hours in the day. Now, add running a business to that never-ending job, and it’s easy to see how it’s a formula for becoming overwhelmed. Nevertheless, so many of us hit the trenches each day as both mom and entrepreneur. Personally, I’m on a never-ending journey to make the formula work.

You’ve heard it before. We all have the same 24 hours. So, if we are filling those hours with business and motherhood, something has to give. I asked women all over the country what they have given up in order to be a mom in business, and here’s a sampling of what they said:

Read More

MSNBC featured Entrepreneur Andy Willoughby’s 3 Step Plan member success stories about creating and managing a home business. The 3 Step Plan allows members to find financial freedom while not having their lives consumed by work.

Rob and Denise Carver became members of the 3 Step Plan in 2007 after Rob was diagnosed with MS and was no longer able to work outside their home. With the 3 Step Plan, they took control of their finances and were able to work from home . “The 3 Step Plan is so simple and truly made for anyone to use. We started this almost three years ago and haven’t looked back,” said Denise Carver.

Entrepreneur Andy Willoughby’s 3 Step Plan is featured on retirementplantips.com. Members of the 3 Step Plan discuss how it benefits people of all ages and helps to achieve financial freedom by increasing wealth with their home business. Entrepreneur Andy Willoughby developed the 3 step plan to achieve three goals:

1. One family member creating income from a home-based business
2. Help overcome debt and live debt free
3. Learn to live life without financial problems

Here is a video post by ABC, featuring USA Today contributor and small business expert Steve Strauss about why starting a small business in this tough economy can deem successful by following 5 simple tips.

Tip 1: Be A Business Person: Learn business and start writing a business plan

Tips 2: Look For Vacuums And Waves: There are 27 million businesses and 99 percent account for small businesses. Your business needs something new and different, the vacuum, and something old and successful, the wave. The vacuum is doing something different, thinking outside of the box. Wave is old that deems successful for other businesses such as a twitter page for your business.

Tip 3: Have A GREAT Online Presence: Set up a Website that makes you look professional and big no matter how small your business is because it can generate more business and profit

Tip 4: Use Available Technology: Buy software that can help contribute to your business and have a professional business space for client meeting

Tip 5: Don’t Lead: Find successful business models in your industry

Small Business Expert Steve Strauss Gives Tips On How to Start Your Own Business Now

]]> http://andywilloughby.com/small-business-expert-steve-strauss-tips-start-business/feed/ 0 http://andywilloughby.com/entrepreneur-andy-willoughbys-3-step-plan-members-review-home-business-success/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=entrepreneur-andy-willoughbys-3-step-plan-members-review-home-business-success http://andywilloughby.com/entrepreneur-andy-willoughbys-3-step-plan-members-review-home-business-success/#comments Tue, 06 Jul 2010 19:03:24 +0000 blogupdate http://andywilloughby.com/?p=345

Posted By: Andy Willoughby

Despite what some people may think about network marketing, Entrepreneur Andy Willoughby’s 3 Step Plan has assisted many people start and manage home businesses.  Willoughby’s members assess how the 3 Step Plan has offered them the financial freedom and flexible hours they have always desired.

Review the 3 Step Plan: http://www.3stepplan.com

Denise and Rob Carver, members of the 3 Step Plan reviewed the system.  “Andy Willoughby’s 3 Step Plan has changed our lives.  My husband’s income was our sole income for the past 20 years. But everything changed in 2007 when he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and was unable to work. With Andy Willoughby’s 3 Step Plan, we took control of our own finances. The 3 Step Plan is so simple and truly made for anyone to use.  We started this almost three years ago and haven’t looked back,” said Denise Carver.

For Patty Messer, a retired school teacher, octogenarian parent and mother to an adult special needs daughter, the 3 Step Plan has allowed her to manage her own schedule and finances. “Retirement means a fixed income, but the cost of living continues to rise. I am not able to work outside the house with specific hours. The 3 Step Plan gives me the freedom and flexibility to be able to work from home while taking care of my family. I am very grateful to Andy Willoughby for providing a method of advertising that is both rewarding and successful,” Messer said.

David Gillispie added that the plan is reliable, easy to use and informational. “Andy Willoughby’s 3 Step Plan has been advertised for several years, people recognize that it is a stable system.  This system provides very useful training, support and tools that proved to be successful in building my home business,” Gillispie said.

Willoughby is grateful to those who are successfully utilizing his 3 Step Plan. “I created this business system to give people the opportunity to have financial freedom, and at the same time, to not have their lives consumed by work,” said Willoughby.

Learn more about Andy Willoughby’s 3 Step Plan: http://www.3stepplan.com or http://andywilloughby.com.

Without a doubt it is time to change the face of religion in America. We have to find a way to make it hard to be acceptable to God. If it was hard, everybody would want to do it. Well maybe not everybody. Some people would probably still want to play house and pretend there is no daddy. But if you could be a hero by accepting the Lord, if you could get some kind of recognition, if you even earned a Face book comment by trusting Jesus to purchase you a ticket to heaven it would be a much more popular trip.

If people could say, I was the youngest person to climb Mount Everest and stick my pick in the holy grail of salvation, then we would admire the transformation. If there was just something we could do on our own to earn our place on the train through eternity, mass transit would be popular even in America. We have to come to grips with the truth. Big humans want to do it themselves. We also want the credit for it. We need to be able to study really hard to get it. Just accepting something as truth is just too easy. The answer couldn’t possibly be in a book you can find in any hotel room. It must be hidden somewhere deep in the center of the universe. Now there is a concept that would sell! Books could be written, movies made.

If there were some rules about who could be a chosen one we could get our arms around that. If everyone had to be dressed the same, or for some, not dressed at all would make sense. If you had to have a certain tattoo you could be a believer would even help. Of course some might say you couldn’t have any tattoos.  Now we are getting somewhere. Truly we have to make this complicated if it is going to work.

The real trouble with a faith based on the works of the creator is anyone could join. Poor people and rich people, smart people and not so bright, why even handicapped people could grasp a simple truth built on trust. It wouldn’t matter what color you are or even what political party you were a member of. We couldn’t let it be that easy, how could we be in if someone else is not out?

Why the masses would accept it! That kind of religion might be dangerous!  Especially if the foundation of this movement was to treat others as we want to be treated, (we know how poorly we really feel about ourselves). Best to hire Hollywood stars to depict these threats to society as nitwits, flim flams & self righteous.

But self righteous is the answer, we have to find our own way, do our own thing, be our own savior. We couldn’t let someone else pay our debt to society. Believing that a man with a name could be the way, is just a weak person’s way out right? The whole concept is preposterous it is just too simple, too easy, too obvious.

But if it was true and we could accept it, if it were really as simple as trusting Jesus to have cut our path, we would be in a real predicament. Since we didn’t pay our own fare we would have to accept all the other freeloaders aboard. We would all be equal, the same, together, like family. The more naïve and simple of us might even feel compelled to inform others of the free ride available under the assumption others would consider it good news.

I want to share an article from Entrepreneur written by Lydia Dishman about how to get your business green incentives by reducing, reusing, conserving and recycling.

Easy, Affordable Ways to Green Your Business

Green business initiatives are buzzworthy for good reason: They are a boon to the environment as well as a company’s balance sheet. A greener workplace reduces impact on the planet while being a healthier and more productive place to work. And according to Matt Becker, the head of BDO’s Green Energy Tax Practice, “Green incentives were the most significant group of tax credits and deductions for businesses this past year.” Companies that took steps to go green were eligible for up to four different sources of savings, says Becker, with tax incentives being offered from federal, state and local governments, “plus the added bonus of utility savings.”

But contrary to what many cash-strapped small-business owners may think, Marcos Cordero, CEO of the Green Business Bureau, which offers green business certification, says sustainability management doesn’t have to cost a lot. “Many things require simply changing behavior that results in excessive waste. Start small and building sustainability will pay for itself,” says Cordero.
Whether you run a homebased business or an off-site enterprise, here are several simple and affordable things you can do to run an eco-friendly business that will green your bottom line.

Reduce
Cordero says many office-based businesses spend too much on paper and toners. If you must print, he suggests trying nonbranded toners. “Private-label and re-manufactured toners are often 70 percent cheaper and work just as well,” says Cordero, a savings of hundreds or thousands of dollars, with no upfront costs.

(Read More)

How to Finance a Growing Business

We’ve looked at how you can get your hands on the cash necessary to start your own business. (See related article, “How to Fund a Start-up”) But once you’ve been operating for a few years, you might need another round of cash—this time to expand or improve your business.

For instance, say your home-based business has really taken off. You’ve hired a few employees, you’re regularly meeting with more clients—and now the space in your basement seems pretty tight. You dream of buying or leasing some nice office space, furnishing it to suit your tastes, wiring it for Internet access and installing new equipment.

Expansion into new locations or territories is generally the most common reason a small business might search out a business loan. An entrepreneur who’s been in operation a few years might have other reasons to seek out financing, too—perhaps he or she wants to buy more inventory, upgrade equipment, renovate an existing facility or simply boost working capital.

Sometimes a growing business might have enough capital to fund an expansion or improvement outright. But the owner might seek out financing to ensure there’s enough money on hand to cover any unexpected businesses expenses that arise. And of course, some business owners simply can’t afford to lease new space or open another store unless they’ve got a loan. In that case, they’re betting that the revenues generated by the expansion or improvement will cover the cost of the loan.

It’s always a calculated risk to take on debt, so if you are considering it, you need to make sure the benefits are worth it. Maria Coyne, head of KeyBank’s Business Banking in Cleveland, cautions that loans aren’t for the unprepared: “If you lend someone money who’s not ready for it, or who doesn’t have a plan for it, then in many cases you are just hastening their failure.” In other words, you’d better do your homework first.

(Read More)