So, you’re thinking about starting a home based business. That’s good. One of the things you will need to consider is your attitude toward the people you are serving with that home based business. It seems to me that the attitude of the world has become very selfish and self centered. It’s all about me, me, me, and how much and what do I need to do to win. Look what has become of the world in recent years with that prevailing attitude. Massive greed has catapulted the U.S. and many other countries into a recession that lingers, many people out of work, and a housing market that is just abysmal.Let me suggest a different way to approach your life and your home based business. Servant leadership is based on core values and actions taken for the betterment of the ones you serve. The goal is to help those that you are serving to grow. Integrity, trust, honesty, fairness are all core values that embody servant leadership. In order to provide this service to others in your home based business you must first be sure of whom you are and that you want to serve. Success on many levels is achieved through servant leadership.Instead of it being all about you, change your attitude to one of helping those that you serve. Caring about your clients or other business associates not only on a business level but on a personal level develops trust. Robert Greenleaf has said, “Trust is first. Nothing will move until trust is firm.” This is true in life and in business. Develop trust with those that you interact with and then your business will move forward. Care about their needs and wants. In the servant leader, serving comes first.Financial success will come when people realize that your philosophy is one of caring and serving others. You will be appreciated and loved for your service. You will be seen as a leader. Others will see you as a person they want to follow because you see clearly where you want to go and who you want to be. This clarity will not only bring you personal success and peace, but financial successes as more and more people begin to follow you.How do you win as a servant leader? You win by watching those that you serve achieve the success they deserve under your tutelage. As they grow and learn, you grow and learn. Their success is your success. The more people that see that success, the more will want to follow. The more that follow brings more personal and financial success to you. Servant leadership is in the spirit of caring and helping others.Servant leadership is an expression of your being. It is who you are. You do it because it is the right and good thing to do. Give from your heart. This is not to be confused with doing it because you expect something back. Do the right thing and help others because you care. The universe will respond to your service.As a home based business owner it is your responsibility to serve and lead others. Know that it will not always be a smooth ride and respond in a caring way. Know that there will be challenges to overcome but stay the course. Know your core values and who you want to be. Know that you will be rewarded many times over by helping in other people’s success.
Finding The Best Home Based Businesses for Women
Finding the best home based businesses for women could be one of the biggest boons for those who are trying to juggle all the aspects of their lives in this modern world. There are many women who love their corporate life, and enjoy going into that sphere, but more women are also opting to return to the home. In a recent CBS sampling done by author Linda Hirshman, she found that “Eighty-five percent of the women” were staying home either part-time or full-time. Even more surprising was the percentage of increase in the number of stay-at-home moms in less than 10 years, a whopping 15%! With the escalating number of business opportunities to be found on the Internet, this number is bound to continue to climb every year.There are so many advantages to finding the best home based businesses for women, whether they be moms, or unmarried, or grandmas. In ever accelerating numbers, women of every age and every educational background are searching for ways to not only stay home for the kids sake, or because of health issues, or just because they want to, but also because they want to be their Own Boss. Women’s salaries have yet to reach parity with those of men; there are exceptions, but they are few in number. However, in the world of Home Based Businesses, it’s often the women who earn much more than the men. Often the woman in the home will be earning more than her husband, and it is at that point that he, too, might begin to take a look at the opportunity to leave the work-a-day world.When searching for the best home based businesses for women, it is important to keep in mind the many “traps” out there; those businesses which are out for your money, giving almost nothing in return; or if they do give something, it might have minimal value, or none at all. There are many “diamonds” amongst the stones, and with some careful research, they can be found. Another trap could be a business which says it is environmentally conscious, yet with further investigation, many of the ingredients, whether hidden or on the label, are harmful to pets, children, and the elderly. “Green” business is all the rage now, and many are looking to cash in for the short term; it’s the “green” businesses which have been doing their part for decades, and which have the research to prove it, that are the ones to go with. One other “trap” to beware of is a business which is based on a passing fad; when the fad disappears, so does the business, and all the hard work one has put into it.Finding the best home based businesses for women will have many solutions, so look to those things about which you are most passionate. Take into consideration your interests, and the hobbies which you most enjoy; then find the business which will complement what brings the most joy to your life. One of the best parts of having an at home business is that you are doing something you really love, you are doing it for yourself and your family, and when you find the right business, you will most likely be doing it every day for the rest of your life.
Best Rated Home Based Businesses – Things to Consider
So you have made the decision that you want to start a home based business. You are not alone as thousands of entrepreneurial minded individuals have traveled down this same road in recent years. But making the decision is only the first step in a difficult process. Unfortunately, much of the information that you will need to be successful was not taught to you in school and without it, you may have some difficulty. The good news is that there are sources and mentors out there that can direct you, and the cost is far less than a college degree. In a recent article that I read online, I found a list of the best rated home based businesses. Interestingly enough, most of them required specific skills that the majority of people do not have, and the article failed to mention an absolute essential: marketing ability. Without this, your home based business is probably doomed to fail. We’ll address it later in this article.First, here are some of the best rated home based businesses (or at least some of the most common):Cosmetic Sales
Online Retail Store
Multi-level Marketing
Medical Transcriptionist
Website Design
Resume Writing
Administrative/Secretarial WorkAs you can quickly see, you will need to have a specific skill set in order to do any of these. But even if you already have the ability, you will need to find ways of getting your name, website, and info out to a large number of people if you truly want to become profitable. The interesting aspect of this, however, is that so many people fair to consider their marketing plan until it is almost too late. By then, they are most often broke, discouraged, and ready to start looking for a regular “job”. Trust me that if your marketing plan includes paying out hundreds of dollars every month to a company that promises they’ll get you to page one of Google, you might already be on your way down a treacherous road with no pot of gold at the end.Now I will let you in on a big secret; one that can earn you financial freedom if you embrace it. If you are reading this article, it is a given that you are looking for a home based business and you probably are smart enough to realize that there are thousands, if not even millions, of people worldwide wanting the same thing. Can you now think of one thing that they ALL need but very few of them actually have? Hint: I already told you the answer. Go ahead, say it out loud. “They need marketing education!” Excellent, that’s the ticket.So, it goes without saying what the #1 best rated home based business really should be- educating others on how to effectively market their product or service. When your business is providing this to other businesses, then not only are you helping yourself, you are helping a countless number of others realize their dream. Now that’s a win-win and something that is truly recession-proof. Hey, we already know that you will probably need to develop some new skills in order to be successful, so why not develop abilities that everyone needs and very few actually possess. How do you do that? You need to find a mentor. There are companies out there that will teach you everything you need to know. They will train you, answer questions, and guide you. In fact, you can learn from people who have already achieved a level of success. You can leverage the information you learn to develop your own company while you help others to become more profitable at the same time. Over time, you can employ this knowledge with any traditional or home based business that you undertake, assuring yourself that any venture will become more profitable and stable. You will need to budget for this training, as it will not be free, but its value is immeasurable. As I always say, “If you think education is expensive, then try ignorance.” I have seen way too many home based businesses fail. Don’t become a statistic. Some mentoring companies, such as the one I belong to, will also allow you to take them for a test drive and get a feel for what they offer. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and get on the phone and talk to a company representative. This type of networking relationship could catapult you to financial freedom. It’s never to late or too soon to begin. Carpe Diem!
How To Spot A Legit Home Based Business That Can Change Your Life
Society is definitely in a period of transformation and change. Many traditional institutions and ways of living are becoming obsolete as people are gradually becoming part of a vast new digital world. Competition for employment has become increasingly difficult as companies downsize and continue to put profits ahead of people in an effort to stay ahead. This has led to the rise of the home based business opportunity as an alternative strategy for many individuals. However, how do you spot the best digital home based business? How do you tell the difference between a real business and a pipe dream? Here are three fundamental questions that can help you make that analysis:1. Does the company have a good track record and reputation?This is probably the single most important question to ask, and also the best way to separate opportunities that are best left by the wayside. Thankfully, it is usually a very easy question to answer. The nearly ubiquitous presence of the Internet in our lives has made it difficult for a company to get by with shoddy practices without leaving a paper trail. Do your research and you will be able to locate the best digital home based business opportunity for your circumstances.2. How does the compensation plan pay out?The next most important aspect to understand about legit home based business is how their compensation plan is structured and pays out. This is how you will actually receive your revenue, and it is important to understand the intricacies of the program if you are interested in maximizing your income. The various mechanisms used can vary widely between network marketing opportunities, so all we can really say is to research the ones you are interested in carefully.3. What training and support are available?The final determination in separating legit home based business from less desirable organizations is the scope and scale of the training and support they offer. This is basically common sense; do they set people up to succeed, or are they more interested in sucking fees out of people than actually building an organization that will succeed and grow strong in the long term? Identifying the companies which offer the strongest training and support is a great way to identify the best digital home based business opportunity for your personal needs.Doing some research and investigation into these three questions is a great basis from which to start when trying to identify whether any given opportunity is a legit home based business, or something not worth investing your time in. You will find that the three qualities which definite the best digital home business opportunity are a great online track record, a clear and generous compensation plan, and a robust training and support program.
10 Good Reasons Why Small Enterprises (Small Businesses) Fail
You’ll agree with me that there are so many small businesses which have contributed a lot to the growth of economy. They have created employment opportunities for many families although some remain to be small throughout their operational life.It is obvious that those who are starting new ventures have objectives to achieve. And to mention each business has got its own objectives to achieve such as maximization of profits and sales, minimize costs, maintain a certain level of production and labor force etc.Failing of a business opportunity is what an entrepreneur won’t want to happen. Inasmuch as we agree with the fact that there are firms which have succeeded, we should also accept the fact that a good number of them have failed even before two years lapse after they commence business.If aspiring entrepreneurs addressed the reasons why small businesses fail, then they will not fall to be victims of the same causes of failure. This is because they’ll be in a position to identify these causes and fix them before it’s too late.Now you may be asking yourself as to why some businesses remain to be small throughout their operational life despite some of them making profits or are capable of growing.4 Reasons Why Small Business Remain to be Small1.) The owners of these businesses prefer not to expand their businesses. Some sole proprietors do not want to be bothered with the challenges of managing a big business. They don’t want to employ people to assist them in running their businesses but instead they prefer to be assisted by their family members.2.) The nature of the product/service the business is involved in doesn’t allow expansion. There are people offering products/services which make it difficult for their business to grow.3.) Lack of capital for expansion. There are small businesses which are viable and have the potential of growing but they lack enough capital. Such businesses have the challenge of securing funds from financial institutions. Lack of capital plays a negative role in hindering the growth of small businesses.4.) Very low demand. If the business has a very low demand for its product or service, then at the end of the fiscal financial year/trading period the business won’t realize profits, and if it does, it’s very low, therefore the chances of it expanding are very minimal. Just to mention, realization of inadequate profits as a result of very low demand hinders the growth of small businesses.However, there must be a starting point and as such, every business starts as a small entity and it gradually grows to a medium entity and eventually it becomes a big business entity which is either a private limited company or a public limited company. Note that a partnership business can also grow to become a big business.Reasons Why Small Businesses Fail1.) Wrong Reasons For Commencing Business: People who start a business for wrong reasons haven’t succeeded. Just because another person is making high profits in a certain line of business doesn’t mean that you will also make the same amounts of profits as him/her if you start the same business.2.) Poor Business Management: When there is poor management of the business it becomes difficult for such a business to succeed in its operations. Finance, marketing, purchasing and selling, planning, hiring and managing employees is what most new business owners fail to execute effectively thus making their small businesses to fail.3.) Lack of Commitment: Starting a business requires someone who is committed in ensuring that it succeeds. Neglecting the business will cause the business to fail. Many small businesses have failed because the owners didn’t take their time in monitoring performance and in marketing them. Some business owners leave their businesses to be managed on their behalf by incompetent people who lack book keeping knowledge and the knowledge of managing a business.4.) Lack of Finances: Small businesses have failed because of lack of adequate finances. Some of the owners underestimated the amount of capital required and as a result of this underestimation some ended up running out of operating capital thus ending the operation of their businesses.There are those who have no reserves which has led them not to be able to take care of loses and disasters when they occur thus making them to quit business.5.) Over-Expansion of the Business: This has led to failure of many small businesses. This happens when there is borrowing of too much money beyond what the business requires so as to expand the business. Moving to markets that are not profitable is also over expansion of the small businesses.An ideal expansion is the one that is driven by customers due to their high demand for the products and services which leads to high sales thus the business experiences good cash flow.6.) Location: The place where the business is located is critical in determining its success. Small businesses have failed because of them being located in areas that are not ideal for business. They should be located in areas that are accessible, populated with people and has demand for their products and services.7.) Personal Use of Business Money: This is the biggest challenge facing many small business owners. They withdraw money meant to operate their businesses to meet their personal wants and needs. If they continue to withdraw money from their businesses without returning it, their businesses will eventually run out of finances therefore forcing them to end the operations of their businesses.8.) Lack of Delegation: Small enterprises have failed due to owners not delegating some of the duties to their employees. They think that if they delegate them, then their employees will not perform these duties as they would personally perform them. When such owners fall sick or are away from their businesses, then the operations of some tasks will be paralyzed till they resume to work.9.) Not Diversifying: Small enterprises which have only one product/service to offer are prone to fail easily compared to those that have a variety of products/services.10.) Procrastination and Poor Time Management: Postponements of tasks which the small business owners feel to be unpleasant to perform has made the small businesses to fail. An example of such tasks include following debtors to pay their debts (debt collection).Time management remains to be a challenge for many people who own small businesses. If important tasks like delivering products to customers, purchasing stock etc are not handled in the appropriate time, then the business will lose its customers.The above are not all the reasons why small businesses fail, there are more reasons.
Being Consistent In Marketing Your Recruitment Business
Marketing is very important in recruitment because it can spell the success of your recruitment business. Clients and candidates need to be constantly drawn to your business and this can only be done through consistent effective marketing. However, marketing is one essential activity that is often neglected in favor of other tasks that will close the next deal or fill the next placement. After initial marketing efforts and clients start coming in, sometimes recruiters get the illusion that they are ‘good’ until one day they see that there isn’t much work going around anymore. Below are a few ways to ensure that you will have a constant flow of leads and your recruiters will always have work to hit those billings.
Have A Marketing Plan
Do you have a marketing plan or did your initial marketing activities just work by chance? Well, if your initial marketing efforts worked the first time, then by all means continue what you are doing. However, your initial success in marketing does not take away the fact that you need a plan. You should know your objectives on why you are marketing so you can direct your recruitment business and you can measure the results of your efforts. In other words, you have to know why you are doing what you are doing to know how you are doing. Makes sense? It should!
Are you marketing to build your recruitment company brand? Are you marketing to get more clients? Are you marketing to find more candidates? Are you marketing a specific niche sector? Are you marketing to expand? What are your goals? By when are you expecting to achieve these goals? – These are only some of the questions that you should ask yourself when you create your marketing plan. If you feel that you are only guessing then you may need a recruitment marketing consultant to help create a plan specifically for you to help you achieve your goals.
Incorporate A Marketing Schedule In Your Calendar
Regardless of how much work you have, you should put in ample time for marketing your recruitment business. Consult your marketing plan and make sure you block time for your planned marketing efforts. Stick to your schedule and never forego marketing for your other tasks. It’s all about consistency. If you want work coming in constantly then you should market consistently. A marketing plan is useless if you will not follow through on it.
Consider Getting Help
If you find yourself swamped with work, you can employ the services of a recruitment marketing professional to implement your marketing plan on a regular and consistent basis. This way you can do what you are competent at and marketing your recruitment business will be in the hands of someone whose expertise will help your business in ways that you never thought was possible. Consistency in marketing is key and it is not something that should be pushed aside or forgotten if you want your recruitment business to prosper.
Benefits Of PPC Advertising For Online Business
Are you wondering about the benefits of PPC advertising? There are several ways that PPC advertising can be helpful in making money online.
Due to the growing importance of online advertising, the Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising networks are growing in number. Google AdWords is the most popular Pay Per Click program both for advertisers and affiliates.
Yahoo Marketing provides a good alternative to Google and it can be lower in cost depending on the niche your business is in. Bing is owned by Microsoft.
PayPerClickAcademy offers a deep look into Pay Per Click advertising. They provide help in finding affiliate offers to promote as well as good introduction to Pay Per Click advertising for beginners.
Let’s look a little more into detail at PPC advertising.
Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising pays the publishers when the visitors click on the ads. On the other hand, the advertisers benefit from it when they make a sale.
Therefore, for both the publishers and the advertisers, the PPC ads are a major source of online income. The visitors and the advertising networks also form a very important part of the PPC advertising world. Advertising cannot be placed without the advertising networks and it cannot be seen without real visitors.
Benefits of Pay Per Click Ads
The publisher is paid per click when the visitors click on the ads that are published on their website or blog. One may have just one blog or several blogs for placing the ads.
The advertisers look for a genuine website where their ads will be displayed. Due to this, the PPC advertising networks form a platform between the advertisers and publishers so that all can do business online.
1. For Publishers: Pay Per Click is a beneficial way of earning money because the visitors click on the ads seeking information. More traffic results in more income from the ads. Also, the cost per click varies as per the keywords and the website with high quality content earns a good income for the publisher.
2. For Advertisers: Advertisers always need to promote their products on a related website so that their products reach worldwide. That results in more sales making more profit for them. The cost of the advertising is not that high because the advertisers can easily make a profit when their products are sold.
3. For Advertising Networks: Advertising networks benefit from their business because they get good income from the advertisers.
Moreover, they can earn more from various other advertising on their websites. In short, the advertising networks also have a website that becomes a very important platform for online advertising.
4. For Visitors: Those who click on the PPC ads are forwarded to the website where they can buy the genuine products.
Some websites sell quality products and some websites are just for advertising to gain popularity. Finally, the visitor benefits after buying the product in the comfort of their home.
Online Business While We Sleep
Altogether, when we see the world of Internet marketing, it is completely surviving on the basis of online advertising. No matter what, new websites are being created by the publishers so that the PPC advertising makes a good income for them even while they sleep.
The publishers place the ads on their blogs only once and the advertisers create the adverts only once. They both can relax and benefit even while they are fast asleep.
The online advertising has many benefits; however, it also needs great consistency. A publisher remains consistent while creating a blog and the advertiser remains consistent until the profit is made. Overall the benefits of the PPC advertising are incredible for everyone at all levels.
The Finer Points of Internet Auctions
WHAT IS A PENNY AUCTION?
Penny auctions have exploded in popularity with the massive growth of the internet. However, few people know the true origins of penny auctions.Beginnings actually stretch back to the Great Depression. Those were hard times for everyone, but even harder for farmers. Farmers struggled to bring in steady income because of droughts and crops not selling as well as they had previously. As a result, the banks would foreclose on the farmers who couldn’t keep up with their mortgage payments.
The banks weren’t satisfied with just repossessing the house, they wanted to raise as much capital as possible, so they resorted to selling off the possessions of the owners of the repossessed houses. There was not much the farmers could do about it so they began bidding ridiculously low prices, pennies, on the items while threatening others who dared to bid higher than a few pennies.
The auctions of today hardly resemble their tremulous beginnings. Being part of a penny auction today is exhilarating, fun, and addictive. It combines the selling format of auctioning with a little bit of chance factored in.Auctions are a game of strategy but also a game of luck.
The premise behind penny auctions is giving people the chance to win an item at a drastically reduced price.Auctions make that possible by spreading out the cost of the product among multiple bidders. In order for a person to take part in an auction, they must pay a set price for each bid. For example, if a person wanted to bid on a fifty dollar Amazon gift card then he would spend a dollar for each time a bid placed. If he ended up winning the gift card, then he would only have spent a few dollars for a fifty dollar gift card. Usually penny auctions sell bids in packages.
HOW PENNY AUCTIONS WORK!
The main foundation of penny auctions is the pay-per-bid format. It is the key that allows bidders to win items at the fraction of their retail value and allows the auction owners to keep their site profitable. Most y auction sites run on the same premise: people pay a set amount for each bid, whenever a person places a bid within the closing seconds of the auction time will be added, the last person left with a unique bid after the clocks runs out will win the item. There are a large variety of items that can be won, but they tend to be popular electronics or gift cards to popular stores.
There are two types of auctions: lowest unique bid auction and highest unique bid auction. Lowest unique auction sounds confusing but it is actually quite simple. A unique bid is when only one person has a bid at a certain price. Bids usually start at one penny, a bidder can then place a bid at two pennies. Until another bidder places a higher bid, the most recent bidder will be the lowest unique bid because that was the only bid at two cents and nobody bid higher. However, penny auctions generally don’t stop at one penny. It is not uncommon to find auctions that end up at a couple hundred dollars based on the popularity of the item being auctioned. However, the same principles apply for those auctions. Highest unique bid auctions follow the more traditional auction format such as eBay. The person with the highest bid at the end of the auction wins the item.
Auction site owners turn a profit by selling bids. Say twenty people are bidding on a ten dollar gift card at one dollar per bid, at the end of the auction if there were twenty bids placed in total then the site owner would have made twenty dollars with a ten dollar profit.Auctions do seem like a win-win situation:The site owner makes money while the bidder gets an item for dirt cheap. However, not everyone wins in penny auctions. The people who paid one dollar each bid but left with nothing to show for their investments will not be so happy.
HOW TO WIN!
Penny auction has a lot of chance mixed into it, but one can incorporate strategy that will help raise the chances of winning. Playing smart can make all the difference between gambling and auctioning.
The first crucial tip to winning penny auctions is to know how to manage your bids. Your goal should be to win as much as possible without spending a ton of money buying bids. Managing your bids means that you should already know how much you are willing to risk in order to win an item. The amount of capital you are willing to risk will determine how many bids you can use. Once you know how many bids you have to spend on an item, then you will be better able to manage how and when you place a bid. That will keep you from blowing away all of your bids in the first few seconds of the auction.
The next tip is to practice time management. When fighting in the trenches of penny auctions, you have two enemies: other bidders and time. Knowing when to bid is a must if you want to have success. Placing a bid when there is a lot of time left on the clock is never a good idea. You have to remember that the key to winning a penny auction is being the last one standing when the clock runs out and that each bid increases the amount of time left. It would be a good practice to wait until the last few minutes of the auction before you begin to bid.
The final tip for successful auctioning is to keep your emotions under control.Auctions have a lot of similarities to gambling, and just like gambling, your spending can get out of control. If you keep your emotions level, it will keep you from making rash decisions and blowing loads of cash. Keep your mind clear so that you can gage the behavior of the other bidders and outsmart them.
HOW TO AVOID SCAM SITES!
Penny auctions are a great addition to the web whether you want to win an item that otherwise you wouldn’t be able to afford or if you simply enjoy the thrill that comes with bidding in auctions. Unfortunately, scam sites have tarnished the reputation of the legitimate penny auction sites. However, there are ways that you can protect yourself from scamers and enjoy your auctioning without having to worry about losing your money due to dishonesty.
Checking the reputation of the auction site before you start spending your hard earned money is always a good idea. Chances are other people have tried the site before you and some of them have left reviews. The reviews are your way to gage whether a auction site is trustworthy or not. If a site is getting overwhelmingly negative reviews, then that is a clear indication that you should steer your business elsewhere.
Another tool you can use to protect yourself is checking the Alexia ranks of the auction sites. Alexia rank will give a solid view of how much traffic the auction is getting. If you see a huge difference in the amount of traffic Alexia is projecting and the amount of active bidders on the site, then warning signals should be ringing in your head. Some auction sites have been known to set up robots that automatically bid on projects in order to keep the auction going and inflate the price. That is known as shill bidding. You can sniff out those sites by comparing the traffic the site should be getting to the amount of users using this site.
CONCLUSION!
New legislation may come out later down the road that will officially make penny auctions gambling, but until then, it is a fun, exciting auction that allows one to win the item they’ve always wanted but couldn’t afford.Auctions are also quite lucrative for the site owners because of the pay-per-bid strategy they’ve incorporated. Penny auctions had humble beginnings with farmers who just wanted to get back at the banks who kicked them out of their house. More recently, auctions have enjoyed an explosion in popularity with the rise of the internet.
There are two main formats fora auctions, lowest and highest unique auction, however they both run on the same premise where the last unique bid wins the item. Winning a penny auction will require a certain amount of mental tactic and a bit of luck. However, you can increase your odds of winning by practicing certain techniques such as managing your bids wisely, learning how to work with the time, and keeping a level head and your emotions under control. When you combine those three strategies to your bidding plan, you will find that you win a lot more often.
It is important that you do your due diligence to protect yourself when participating in auctions. Not every auction is run by honest and trustworthy people. There are people out there who just want to take your money. You can protect yourself by ensuring that you only bid on sites that already have a very positive reputation from real users.
How to Find Great Live Auctions for Resale Items
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.
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.