Let’s face it. When you’re first starting up a business, you need help and advice. Even if you have an MBA from Harvard or are an experienced entrepreneur, you need someone to bounce ideas off of and check in with to make sure you’re on track for business success.Technically, there are only three times during the life of your business when you absolutely need a small business coach: when you’re first starting up, when you’re ready to grow and expand, and when you’re ready to move on.What do most people do? They hire one small business coach to help them start up. Then, they hire another specialty coach when they’re ready to expand and, finally, another business transition coach to help them close out their business.That’s three different coaches for three different stages. And, each time you hire a different business coach, you lose continuity. Is that really what you want?After all, your start-up coach has been with you from the very beginning, through thick and thin. She knows everything about you and your business. She’s walked with you through your fears, she’s pulled from you the heart of your business plan, and she knows what dreams you secretly hold for your business.Do you have any idea how valuable that kind of knowledge is?Well, let’s say you phase out your relationship with your start-up coach, and it takes you 40 hours to bring your next business coach up to speed. At approximately $200 per hour, that’s at least $8,000. And we haven’t even added a dollar amount for your valuable time spent “training” your new coach.At that price, wouldn’t it be more cost-effective to have one business coach who could start up your business, help it grow, and stay with it through its entire life cycle?Enter, the small business advisor.What to Look for in a Small Business AdvisorWhy do we treat hiring a business coach differently from hiring a financial advisor? You don’t hire three different financial advisors-one at the beginning of your investment years, one in the middle, and another when you retire-do you? No, you hire one financial advisor with the intent of maintaining a lifetime relationship with him, from beginning investments to retirement dividends.The same should be considered when hiring a business coach. Instead of thinking “business coach”, think “business advisor.” Instead of thinking “short-term coach”, think “long-term relationship” with a small business advisor who can be with you through the entire life of your business.Do you think that’s impossible? Think again!A small business advisor is the golden egg of small business know-how. She’s not only capable of helping you write your business plan, she can carefully analyze your business circumstances, assess the business market environment, and help you develop a long-term strategic plan that will take you from start-up to exit plan.Some small business coaches are actually small business advisors, whether or not the title “advisor” is on their business card. Don’t be afraid to ask questions to find out whether or not the coach you’re considering has the desire and the skills to work with your business from beginning to end.A skilled small-business advisor has the training and insight to:· Understand your goals, your dreams, and your reasons for starting up, growing, and transitioning your business.· Create a small business growth strategy that meets your short and long-term needs.· Understand the nature of business and offer wise counsel and continuous monitoring that will help ensure that your small business is positioned for success whether the market is booming or fraught with uncertainty.Best yet, she is someone you can trust who will be with you from start to finish.What You Can Expect from a Small Business AdvisorFirst and foremost: a comprehensive approach.The first thing she’ll do is sit down with you in order to obtain a thorough understanding of your current business situation and find out what you want to accomplish.Much like a financial advisor, your small business advisor will ask you questions about your current business, the future of your business, your growth timeline, the level of risk you’re comfortable with, and the return you expect to get when you sell your business.Periodically, your small-business advisor will meet with you to revisit your business strategy to make sure your business is on track. She’ll also work with you to make any necessary adjustments. That way, you can be sure to reach your business goals.Just as having a financial advisor manage your investment portfolio makes good financial sense, having a small business advisor who offers a comprehensive, long-term approach makes good business sense. A trusted small business advisor can add an enormous amount of value by guiding you through the many complicated business challenges you’ll face from start to finish.So, take advantage of all the expertise your small business advisor has to offer. Share your dreams and goals with her to build a valuable relationship that goes beyond traditional small business coaching to encompass the whole life of your business.

The first thing to keep in mind is that the best home business to start is one based on the internet. It is no secret that more and more people are buying products and services online and, as the sales of online business transactions continues to increase, sales in the offline world continue to decrease.To begin an online business from home you do not need a lot of technical skills or a lot of money to get started out. There is no age barrier, or level of education required, it does not matter about your current internet practical experience or even that you do not have any products to sell.The best home based business simply starts with no stock. So, how can you have a business without any stock to sell? Basically, you sell products and services on behalf of other people and when you sell them the product owner pays you a commission. This home based business model is called online affiliate marketing.Unlike a traditional offline trading business, an online affiliate marketer does not have to buy the stock before he or she goes on to sell it. Firstly, you find products and services which are currently popular. This can either be physical products or digital products. Digital products are those which a buyer will download directly to their computer. This may be something like an education course.Once you have found a product, you promote it to a target audience who would be interested in it. When somebody buys it, you get paid a commission.For example, you can become an Amazon affiliate (which costs you nothing) and look for a product that interests you and that people are currently buying. Let’s say for example it is camping equipment. You insert an advertisement in an online camping magazine for the latest high-tech tent which you found on Amazon. When somebody clicks on your ad and buys the product, you will get paid a commission.This is why affiliate marketing is one of the best home based businesses to start. You do not have to worry about shipping the product, holding it in stock, sorting out any returns or any other customer queries.If you do not want to get involved with physical items and you prefer to have a home based business that sells digital products, you can find a huge selection at Clickbank. This is an online marketplace that deals in thousands of digital products for many different markets. Again, there is no cost to become a Clickbank member.Keep in mind that your home based business is a business and not a hobby. It will require work and some investment. Whilst the set up costs for the best home based business are a lot less than a traditional bricks and mortar business, it will need financial commitment for such items as a website, hosting, marketing, advertising, mentoring and education.An online home based business may not appeal to some individuals as they might believe that they do not have the technical skills required to get the best home based business possible. All of the reasons for not setting up a home based business on the internet can be readily overcome if you are prepared to learn and have the determination to build a sustainable and long term business.

Hi, my name is Walt. I’m an auctioneer with 25 years of experience in the auction business and licensed in the state of MA. I own Quick Auction Service, a company that specializes in building and running custom auctions, I’m also the webmaster of my own site and have been on eBay for 8 years. Besides eBay, the types of auctions I run most frequently are antiques and on-site estate auctions, although I’ve run everything from business overstock auctions to charity & special event auctions.

I enjoy sharing my knowledge and stories of the auction business. My goal for article is to help folks get the absolute most out of their auction experience.

Whether your fresh out of the package or a seasoned dealer I think I can offer something in this article to help you with your auciton adventures.

There may be as many reasons to attend auctions as there are types of auctions to attend. Maybe you want to attend an auction to buy items for re-sale on eBay, or some other market. Maybe you want to furnish your home with wonderful antiques, or you want to furnish your home as inexpensively without sacrificing quality.Some folks are just looking for a fun night out. With a little perseverance all these things are possible.

There are antiques and estate auctions, auto auctions, overstock auctions, absolute and no reserve auctions, real estate auctions, specialty auctions where only one genre of items are sold, tailgate auctions, live auctions, online auctions, sealed bid auctions, silent auctions, charity and fund raising auctions and many more.

Can you really buy for pennies on the dollar at an auction? You bet! Many times I’ve seen folks buy and re-sell at the same auction on the same night for a good profit, although be advised, this should only be done after the auction is over.

There are a lot of ways to find an auction, but here are some tips on how to find and attend the best ones.

Visit the genre of shops in the area that apply to the type of auction you want to attend. IE: If your looking for a good antique auction to attend, stop in the local antiques shops and ask for what there are for good auctions in the area. Sounds obvious right? But listen to what they don’t say as well as what they do say. Oftentimes when a dealer speaks poorly about an auction he or she attends, it may be likely that they are trying to keep a good thing secret. Think for a moment, why would a dealer keep attending a lousy auction?

Newspaper ads: I personally like to find ads in the classified ad section rather than flashy display ads. Flashy ads are usually indicative of an auction that will be high priced, may have reserves, (a set price on an item), and usually an enormous crowd. While any auction can be profitable to attend, it is usually best to steer clear of the glitzy ones, at least for the beginner.

Here’s the minimum you want to find out before you go. If there is a phone number in the ad, call and ask for the terms of the sale. What forms of payment do they accept? Is it an absolute auction? An absolute auction is one that has no minimum or reserve bids on items. These are the best auctions to attend! Is there a buyers premium? A buyers premium is like a tax that everyone who makes purchases at that auction must pay above the winning bid price. Most auctions these days do charge a buyers premium, 10% is not unreasonable but I feel much more than that is greedy, and the auctioneer that charges over 10% is counting on most bidders not doing the extra math as the bids quicken in pace.

A fair auction will have ample time to inspect the merchandise, usually at least 2 or 3 hours. Find out when inspection starts and make sure to attend! Never attend an auction if you can’t make the inspection, not unless your prepared to gamble. Most auctioneers sell at a rate of about 100 items per hour, which is why they sell “as is”. They simply don’t have the time to give a detailed description of all the items. Since almost all items at auction are sold AS IS, there are sure to be some damaged, refinished, fake and incomplete items at any given auction. Beware of any auctions that offer very little or no inspection time.

Good auctions will usually have 150 to 400 lots. A lot may be one item or a group of items. The exception to this are specialty auctions, auto auctions, real estate auctions etc.

When you attend your first sale, take note of the 1/2 dozen or so dealers that buy the most often. See if you can find out about other area auctions they attend.

When you do find an excellent auction, attend it as often as possible. By frequenting good sales, you help increase the bottom line of that business. It’s difficult for many auctioneers to keep the quality of merchandise consistent, so good attendance certainly helps. And when an auctioneer gets to know you as a buyer, he/she will go out of the way to accommodate you, to keep you coming back.