SLIM DOWN FOR SUMMER WITH TLS AND WIN!

Summer is quickly approaching. Can you believe that March 29th marks exactly 12 weeks until the first day of summer? Neither can we.
Do you want to lose weight before it’s time to hit the beach? Get ready to turn heads this summer with TLS Weight Loss Solution. Our community will kick off a 12-week Summer Slim-Down starting March 29th.

Know someone who wants to lose weight? Of course you do – we all do!
Bathing suit season is the perfect time to introduce new customers to TLS Weight Loss Solution. Gather teams now and start a 12-week program on March 29th. Your customers will be ready to hit the beach with a newfound confidence by summer.

As an added bonus, we will be giving away one FREE TLS Find Your Fit Kit ($119.95 value) – everyone who purchases a tlsSlim.com subscription between March 20th and March 31st will be entered to win!

Register on tlsSlim.com to kick off your 12-week Summer Slim-Down!

Summer Slim Down Official Rules Sweepstakes

Prize: One (1) TLS Find Your Fit Kit (the “Prize”) will be given away to one lucky winner! Costs of shipping the Prize to the winner(s) will be paid by Market America, Inc. (“Market America”). All costs, including federal, state and local sales, income and other taxes, insurance, and other expenses not specifically identified above as included in the prize are the sole responsibility of the winner(s). The Approximate Retail Value of the Prize is $119.95 USD. No transfer, assignment, cash redemption or substitution for the Prize is permissible, except by Market America due to prize unavailability, and then a prize of equal or greater value (as determined by Market America) may be substituted.

Rules and Qualifications

1. Applicants must reside in one of the 50 United States and Canada and must be 18 years of age or older at the time of entry.
2. Market America Independent Distributors who are currently involved in Market America’s corrective action process are not eligible to participate.
3. Employees and contractors of Market America, its subsidiaries, licensees, agencies, affiliates, and members of their immediate families (spouses and parents, siblings, children and their spouses, and in-laws) and persons living in the same household of such individuals (whether related or not) are not eligible.
4. The challenge will run from 12:00 am EST/EDT on March, 20, 2014 through 11:59 pm EST/EDT on March 31, 2014 (the “Challenge Time”).
5. To enter, you can: a) Purchase a 1 month, 3 month, or 12 month subscription to tlsSlim.com within the Challenge Time; or b) Send the following information to findyourfit@marketamerica.com within the Challenge Time: March 20, 2014 through March 31, 2014.
6. One entry per person.
7. Entries that do not meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements will be disqualified.
8. No purchase is necessary to enter.
9. There will be one winner of this sweepstakes. The winner will be chosen Friday, April 4th, 2014. The odds of winning depend on the number of entries received.
10. The winner will be contacted by email or phone on or before Wednesday, April 9th, 2014. Don’t forget to check your email on that date to see if you are the lucky winner(s)!
11. The winner must respond by 5:00 pm EST/EDT on Friday, April 11th, 2014 to claim the Prize. If a winner does not respond by the deadline, another winner will be chosen.
12. This sweepstakes is void where prohibited by law.
13. Market America and persons and companies associated with it disclaim all liability for injury or damage to persons and/or property that might result from Sweepstakes entry or acceptance of the Prize.
14. Acceptance of Prize constitutes permission to use winner’s/winners’ name(s), entry/entries, and/or likeness(es) without compensation (except where prohibited by law). You must own all right, title, and interest in and to all intellectual property rights associated with your entry.
15. Acceptance of the Prize constitutes winner’s/winners’ grant to Market America of all right, title, and interest in and to all rights (including, without limitation, all intellectual property rights) associated with winner’s/winners’ entry/entries. Winner(s) shall also execute all documentation required by Market America regarding such ownership rights.
16. Your sweepstakes entry indicates your agreement to all sweepstakes rules.

Original posted on 4/18/1014 can be found here

TOP REASONS WHY YOUR SMALL BUSINESS NEEDS TO BE ONLINE

Still sitting on the fence, not sure if you and your business need to build an online presence? Let me say this bluntly: While you're still debating the amazing potential of marketing your services and products to the masses, what you're really saying is, "No....don't need more new business!" And, your competitors are grabbing your business! There is NO escaping it: people are going straight to Google for the products and services they need. No longer do they search through a phone book...that's fast becoming a thing of the past.

According to Webvisible & Nielsen, search engines are the #1 way people do business - to the tune of 3 out of every 4 people! For example, if someone is looking for any goods/service in general, 75% will begin their search on Google. What does that tell us?
If YOU and YOUR business are NOT online, you are UNSEEN and your business is going straight to your COMPETITORS. You may be missing out on huge opportunities with new types of customers.

TOP REASONS WHY YOUR SMALL BUSINESS NEED TO BE ONLINE:

1. It Extends Your Store Hours: The easiest and cheapest way to make your business available 24/7; everything you offer online is in a 24-hour, round the clock show room. What an amazing thing! Potential customers from all over the world get to research your products or services from where they are while in the privacy of their own home. All while you're sleeping... Your online store allows them to place the order and you're made the sale. Voila!

2. Gives You A Much Larger Audience: The Web has a way bigger reach than the few miles that surround your physical business/store. It's reaches the person next door as well as the people from way across the country. Depending on your specific industry, this opens up a much wider retail sale base than any face-to-face deal ever could.

3. Your Competitors Are there: Just because you don't have a strong online presence yet does NOT mean the same goes for the competition. Just look at how you, yourself... run to the web when you need information. That speaks volume! Failing to maintain an effective online presence is hindering your potential to attract customers. YOU are not there so the search engines are not finding you in search.

4. It Maximizes Your Presence: There is NO better or faster way to get your messages out! The traditional way of sending out flyers, mailings, or even ads in your local paper still has its value but, also mass limitation. The beauty of  online marketing is that it lets you blast out any message you have to your existing and potential customers. You can TARGET your market for the very low cost of FREE. Your hot promotion, the special fundraising events or even your brand new service/product has the ability of going VIRAL. Your message can hit the floor running from 1-1-, 10-100, 100-1000+ people in the matter of 24 hours!

5. Networking With Like-Minded People: Putting up your business online will propel you to meet and build relationships with other like-minded businesses like yourself, people you would never have met or been in contact with otherwise. You have the ability to own and run your own business but also the awesome possibility of working alongside the biggest scope of peers; people you trust, share and grow with. That in itself is huge and one of the biggest advantages for business people of all kinds!

For more information and free demo website, please visit MAWEBCENTERS

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HOW TO RUN A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS WITH YOUR SPOUSE

Whenever I ask married couples what it's like being in business together, I hear two extremes: they either love it or they hate it. The good news is, those who love it are generally able to run successful, thriving enterprises while remaining happily married. The bad news is, those who despise being in business with their spouse usually end up closing up shop, and possibly even getting divorced. The stakes are high, and in my experience, there isn't much middle ground.

That being said, if you're thinking about going into business with your significant other, know that it is 100 percent possible to do so successfully. You're just going to have to work together and be extremely open to compromise. To get started, here are four things to do immediately to set your business up for success (and keep your marriage intact).

#1: Discuss your visions for the future. 
Take 30-60 minutes each to write down your visions for the business. What do you want to accomplish? What are your goals? Where would you like the business to be in five years? Then take turns sharing what you wrote. If your visions are similar, great! If they're vastly different, talk it out and compromise until you're both on the same page. From this unified vision, create shared objectives for what you want to achieve in the business that you can both be inspired and excited about.

#2: Clearly define your roles and responsibilities.
This step begins with each of you writing down your top five strengths and the top five things you hate doing or don't know how to do, such as scheduling or sales calls. From there, you can carve out the roles and responsibilities to leverage each other's strengths and expertise. Make an agreement to respect each other's role and expertise and stay out of the day-to-day execution of them.

What will also result from this exercise is a list of tasks you can outsource or delegate. It is critical to delegate or outsource the tasks neither of you like or can do well so that these tasks actually get done and don't drive the two of you crazy because they keep showing up on the to do list.

#3: Set definitive money rules.
Money arguments are one of the leading causes of marital problems and can carry over into your business. Determine how money decisions will be made within the company to include handling expenses, pricing, and salaries. Maybe you'll be in charge of one area of the business and your spouse will be in charge of another. Or maybe you'll decide that any expense under $5K can be made without the other person's input, but if it's over $5K you need to make the decision together. Whatever you decide, make sure it's something you're both comfortable with.

#4: Create a conflict resolution strategy.
The type of disagreements you have at home will undoubtedly show up in your business. Figure out early on how you'll handle disagreements in the business. One of my favorite strategies is to keep a log of every time you get upset. Mark the date, what happened, and how it made you feel. If something keeps making you upset, it may be time to discuss it with your spouse. If it was a one-time thing, decide to let it go. I also recommend implementing a "deal with it and then drop it" rule! Whenever you and your spouse deal with an issue, resolve it and then drop it for good.

And finally, remember to have fun together! Above all else, growing a business is an exciting and fun venture with the ability to bring you and your spouse even closer together. Enjoy it!

I want to hear from you! What do you think contributes to running a successful business with your spouse? Leave your answer in the comment box below!

by: Kim Pisolkar

Follow Kim Pisolkar on Twitter: www.twitter.com/KimPisolkar

WHY YOU NEED A MASTERMIND GROUP?

Most great people have attained their greatest success just one step beyond their greatest failure. ~Napoleon Hill

Life, and business can be tough. Business is particularly difficult if you are an entrepreneur, solo-preneur, working-preneur, or already have your small business or start-up already moving forward. It is very easy to get distracted and discouraged along the journey to you end-goal. Some of the best solutions to this are coaching and mastermind groups. Today, we will focus on the latter. Everyone needs a sounding board. A place that represents a supportive and safe environment where you can turn to for problem solving, brainstorming, or even feedback.

In addition to having sounding boards to test out our ideas, we can all do better by having experts on our side, and a safe haven in which to ask for and receive help and advice. Every small business owner, CEO, or entrepreneur, in my opinion, must have a Board of Advisor’s. The easiest and fastest way to put one together is to join or create a Mastermind Group where every member gets and gives equal doses of advice from the group.

Ten Reasons You Need One

1. Mandatory participation. In a Mastermind Group the agenda belongs to the whole group and each person’s participation is key. Peers give each other feedback, help each other brainstorm new possibilities, and set up structures of accountability that keep each person focused and on track. The group creates a community of supportive colleagues who will brainstorm together to move each member of the group to new heights.

2. Improved insight. Each member gains tremendous insight, which can improve their business and personal life. A Mastermind Group is a powerful influence and resource.

3. Collaboration. Here is a golden opportunity to interact and collaborate with like minded people in a non-competitive environment.

4. Finding your tribe. Become part of a distinct community, a tribe, in the current vernacular. It is an instant and valuable professional support network. You get to team up with people who are better than you in some areas of business or experience; people you can learn from. And, who can learn from you!

5. Support. You will find and attract people who can help and support you. These matches are helpful for the long term growth and success of your business.

6. Build a foundation. It will help you establish a strong personal foundation and see beyond what you can see by yourself.

7. Alleviate the burden of feeling alone. You can share business models with each other and brainstorm with people who are already on the same wavelength as you. You will get a sense of shared endeavor, and know for certain that there are others out there in the same boat.

8. Leaders are learners. You can walk away from these encounters with gems of wisdom and/ or changed perspective from each meeting. There is no wasted time or energy.

9. Up your risk-taking. Experience, skill and confidence develop from the Mastermind Group’s support can free you up to take more risks and reach for bigger and broader goals and dreams.

10. Celebrate your independent thinking. The Mastermind Group can aid you in designing your business, and your life, to be the way you want them to be, and not as you have always been told they should be.

Teaming up with people who think the way you do, but are skilled in other areas can be of benefit to everyone involved in the group. Thinking and seeing things differently, both in life and in business will keep you a few steps ahead or your competition, focused and on track for success (as you define it) at home and at work.

Photo Credit: ArtJonak via Compfight cc

This article was syndicated from Business 2 Community: Why YOU Need a Mastermind Group