Establishing and Operating a Home-Based Advertising Agency:
Here’s a business that many people don’t think about because it sounds too complicated, but operating a home-based ad agency is possible. Here are some facts on how to do that based on my own experience.
Basic print advertising-oriented agency business. In this simple agency business, you’ll provide businesses a resource to create ads and submit them to local newspaper and magazines. You may also design and print brochures, catalogs and similar printed materials. Here’s what you’ll need to know:
Some basic advertising knowledge is necessary. By this I mean, you should have a general understanding of how advertising is used by businesses to sell their products or services.If you don’t have a creative background so that you can design ads for your customers, search the Yellow Pages in your local phonebook for Commercial Artists or Freelance Artists or search the Internet. Aligning yourself with these resources is mandatory in order to produce ads for your clients.
You’ll also need copywriting sources that you can find the same way you find artists. Of course if you have the ability to write your own copy and design your own ads…that’s a big advantage.
How you make money:
In this simple ad agency business your profit comes from two sources:When you create ads, brochures, catalogs or any printed materials you will get paid for your creativity and the production of the materials. Most agencies quote flat project prices to clients based on their estimate of the number of creative/production hours needed. Depending on your skills and local rates for creative services, you can expect to be paid between $35 - $200 per hour.
When you place ads in newspapers and magazines for clients, you will earn the standard 15% ad agency commission on each ad each time it runs. Publications have two ad rates: Retail and Ad Agency. If your client placed their own ads they would pay the Retail Ad Rate, while recognized agencies pay the Ad Agency rate that is 15% off the Retail rate.If you graduate to a larger ad agency and can offer clients TV and Radio commercials as well as Internet advertising services, then your production profits and commissions grow considerably.
The one thing to understand about running an ad agency is that those commissions you earn from placing advertising for clients are residual. If you create an ad that runs in every issue of a publication, you’ll earn a commission each time the ad runs – while you’re working on other projects and business development.
Are there any downsides to ad agency ownership? Just like any business, you have to protect yourself from loss. The biggest risk in running an ad agency is non-payment by clients for ads running in publications. Typically, an ad agency will obligate itself for a client by purchasing ad space on the client’s behalf and when each ad has been published the agency will invoice the client to be paid. It’s important to understand that as an ad agency owner when you place ads for clients, the publication is contracting with you…not your client, so you are responsible to pay the media bills. If a client doesn’t pay you, for whatever reason, the publication will still expect you to pay the media bill. I made sure my agency would not be in that financial position by requiring advance payment on ads to be published. I lost a few clients with that policy, but that later turned out to be a smart move because they went out of business and left another agency to pay their media bills.
The only other downside to this business is long workweeks. Sometimes in order to meet ad deadlines it will be necessary to put in late-night hours and even work weekends and holidays. However, hard work is where the profit lies and you’ll eventually have the ability to take leisure time off while others are putting in their 9-5 hours at a job they don’t like.
There are many other facets to this business that I’ll cover in the future. In the meantime, feel free to post your questions or comments here.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Pet Peeve #2 - People Versus Cars in Parking Lots
I’m wondering if this phenomenon is akin only to the south; Florida specifically.
You’re in a WalMart parking lot and you’re carefully backing out of your parking space between two SUVs. As you edge out and hope to not get nailed by another car, you have to jam the brakes to avoid hitting a woman and kids who walk right behind your moving car!
This happens so often now that it’s becoming routine and expected. No matter how far out your car is people will continue to walk right behind your car. It’s almost as though the protected walkways, where you can step into these zones and cars must yield to pedestrians, has carried over to walking anywhere in a parking lot. Either that or these people figure you can see them and you’ll stop rather than hit them.
What is it with these idiots anyway? So is this a WalMart customer mentality everywhere, or is it peculiar only to Floridians?
I really want to install some huge truck air horns at the back of my car and blast the pants off these stupid people when they deliberately walk behind my car daring me to hit them. Maybe 190 decibels and a sudden rush of air will wake them up!
You’re in a WalMart parking lot and you’re carefully backing out of your parking space between two SUVs. As you edge out and hope to not get nailed by another car, you have to jam the brakes to avoid hitting a woman and kids who walk right behind your moving car!
This happens so often now that it’s becoming routine and expected. No matter how far out your car is people will continue to walk right behind your car. It’s almost as though the protected walkways, where you can step into these zones and cars must yield to pedestrians, has carried over to walking anywhere in a parking lot. Either that or these people figure you can see them and you’ll stop rather than hit them.
What is it with these idiots anyway? So is this a WalMart customer mentality everywhere, or is it peculiar only to Floridians?
I really want to install some huge truck air horns at the back of my car and blast the pants off these stupid people when they deliberately walk behind my car daring me to hit them. Maybe 190 decibels and a sudden rush of air will wake them up!
Saturday, March 22, 2008
FREE eBooks
Just a quick note to mention that I am gradually adding good quality FREE eBooks to one of my sites. Click the link in my Fav Links to go there.
Although I have a fair number of ebooks already in my library, I are constantly adding more. Check my site frequently for the latest additions.
All ebooks are completely free and you can even give them away to your family and friends.
Keep in mind that although some ebooks may not be very well written, you will usually still find very useful information contained in them.
Although I have a fair number of ebooks already in my library, I are constantly adding more. Check my site frequently for the latest additions.
All ebooks are completely free and you can even give them away to your family and friends.
Keep in mind that although some ebooks may not be very well written, you will usually still find very useful information contained in them.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Pet Peeve #1 - Unwanted Phone Calls
Stop Prank Calls Now
Prank calls are one of the most annoying things in the entire world. If you have received one or two, you probably shook your head and wished that the caller would get a life and stop aggravating people. However, if you have received many, you probably started to get nervous. You may have wondered if this was really a prank caller or if it was someone that meant you harm. If the prank caller threatened you in some way, you probably definitely wondered if the caller meant you harm. It is not a light situation if you are afraid for your family or your children and your safety. This happens to many different people that have had to deal with this.
The trouble is that the police can't do much of anything unless there is a real threatening event that happens outside of the phone calls. This is enough to make you angry on top of feeling threatened. It's frustrating to know the phone number of the person but not the name. However, you can take action yourself and make the calls stop happening. Whether it's an unlisted home phone number or a cell phone number, it is possible to find out the identity of the caller without having the police trace the telephone calls.
Simply visit a website like http://www.phoneregistry.com/ and enter the phone number of the person that called you. You can get the number from your phone bill or the caller ID. After you enter the phone number, simply wait a few seconds and you will be provided with the name and address of the person who is associated with the phone number. You can even assure yourself that they are not dangerous, or get enough information for the police to act by searching their criminal or arrest records which are also provided. Yes, you can find out if they have ever been charged with a crime, locally or nationally. You can see if it was a misdemeanor or a felony as well.
You do not have to deal with phone calls like this and be helpless. When you search their number at a site like http://www.phoneregistry.com/, you can get the truth about who is calling you. Then, either the police can take over, or you can answer the phone with their name and inform them that you have their address and more. Feel free to say it back to them. If you do this, chances are they will not call you back. If they are dangerous or do have a criminal arrest record, you should not answer the calls. Simply inform the police and allow them to do their job. They will consider the calls a priority and a threat if the person has a criminal record. If this is happening to you, don't take it any longer. Do something about it and show that prank caller that they have stumbled upon the wrong person's phone number.
Prank calls are one of the most annoying things in the entire world. If you have received one or two, you probably shook your head and wished that the caller would get a life and stop aggravating people. However, if you have received many, you probably started to get nervous. You may have wondered if this was really a prank caller or if it was someone that meant you harm. If the prank caller threatened you in some way, you probably definitely wondered if the caller meant you harm. It is not a light situation if you are afraid for your family or your children and your safety. This happens to many different people that have had to deal with this.
The trouble is that the police can't do much of anything unless there is a real threatening event that happens outside of the phone calls. This is enough to make you angry on top of feeling threatened. It's frustrating to know the phone number of the person but not the name. However, you can take action yourself and make the calls stop happening. Whether it's an unlisted home phone number or a cell phone number, it is possible to find out the identity of the caller without having the police trace the telephone calls.
Simply visit a website like http://www.phoneregistry.com/ and enter the phone number of the person that called you. You can get the number from your phone bill or the caller ID. After you enter the phone number, simply wait a few seconds and you will be provided with the name and address of the person who is associated with the phone number. You can even assure yourself that they are not dangerous, or get enough information for the police to act by searching their criminal or arrest records which are also provided. Yes, you can find out if they have ever been charged with a crime, locally or nationally. You can see if it was a misdemeanor or a felony as well.
You do not have to deal with phone calls like this and be helpless. When you search their number at a site like http://www.phoneregistry.com/, you can get the truth about who is calling you. Then, either the police can take over, or you can answer the phone with their name and inform them that you have their address and more. Feel free to say it back to them. If you do this, chances are they will not call you back. If they are dangerous or do have a criminal arrest record, you should not answer the calls. Simply inform the police and allow them to do their job. They will consider the calls a priority and a threat if the person has a criminal record. If this is happening to you, don't take it any longer. Do something about it and show that prank caller that they have stumbled upon the wrong person's phone number.
Take The Internet Back!!!
I'm always skeptical of free offers, but after going through this one several times I see that it is actually free. Don't take my word for it...check it out for yourself - this one is different.
"Have you ever dreamed about owning a piece of a big company? Too expensive? Not now!! How about ownership without paying a penny...ever? Too good to be true? No! Amazing and unique? Yes! Totally legal and fully disclosed? Yes! Join us and own a piece of the next big Internet company - completely free forever! You will even get a $10.00 sign up bonus, free downloads, and a contract assuring you of ownership . Totally free - now and forever!"
"Have you ever dreamed about owning a piece of a big company? Too expensive? Not now!! How about ownership without paying a penny...ever? Too good to be true? No! Amazing and unique? Yes! Totally legal and fully disclosed? Yes! Join us and own a piece of the next big Internet company - completely free forever! You will even get a $10.00 sign up bonus, free downloads, and a contract assuring you of ownership . Totally free - now and forever!"
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Play a Harmonica for Better Health
Medical researchers have shown that playing the harmonica on a regular basis can help improve breathing problems in patients. The repeated pattern of pushing air from the lungs into the instrument, and then sucking air back into the lungs helps patients learn to control and boost their breathing.
Pulmonologists call it bodybuilding for the lungs. The trick to harmonica playing is pushing air from the lungs into the instrument and then sucking air back into the lungs. This repeated pattern helps patients learn to control and boost their breathing...and, of course, to enjoy the music they have now learned to play.
Pulmonologists call it bodybuilding for the lungs. The trick to harmonica playing is pushing air from the lungs into the instrument and then sucking air back into the lungs. This repeated pattern helps patients learn to control and boost their breathing...and, of course, to enjoy the music they have now learned to play.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Energy Independence...NOW?
This information could get you boiling mad!
Have you heard about the process of converting coal to oil – then to synthetic gasoline, diesel fuel, heating oil and so on? Fuels made this way are far cleaner than normally processed gasoline and diesel fuel. The process has been known for decades to the Federal Government and the oil companies.
Why hasn’t this home-grown fuel source been utilized to make us energy-independent? Well, three answers: One, the magic number to make this process worthwhile is $35 per barrel of domestic or imported oil (the coal-to-oil process costs about $35 a barrel to produce and distribute). So as long as oil stayed below $35/barrel, there was no reason for anybody to invest in the coal-to-oil production. But now that oil is far above $35 a barrel, it makes perfect sense to tap this American fuel reserve. Two, oil companies are enjoying huge profits from the low supply and high demand for their oil products, so they’re reluctant to change that. After all, with the coal-to-oil process, gasoline would go back down to $1.39 a gallon or less and their actual net profit would go down, correspondingly. Three, environmentalists have blocked new coal mining operations, and will continue to block the development of this fuel resource, just as they have fought against new oil exploration.
This coal-to-oil idea is not new; the Germans used it during WWII to fuel their war machines. We acquired the knowledge when the German scientists came to the USA to work on the space program, after the war. Today, the state of Montana is in the process of building their first coal-to-oil plant to be operational in two years. Using Montana as a model, other plants could be built by governments in coal-rich states.
Questions: Once oil jumped above the magic $35 a barrel cost, why didn’t the Fed come down hard on the oil industry to move to this process, in addition to domestic oil drilling and production? Or why didn’t the Fed start helping coal-rich states build processing plants they it new could produce cheaper fuels, immediately? This alternative to imported oil, or more drilling for oil, is right here right now in our own country! Why is nothing being done…except in Montana? Where is the mainstream media on this – shouldn’t this be front page news all over the media? Shouldn’t the media be in the face of oil company executives, the US Department of Energy, the Pentagon? Are the tree-huggers so powerful that we can't shut them up in order to become energy-independent in the next 5 years?
Oh yeah, one more factoid to explode your brain: U.S. coal reserves are equivalent to four times the oil of Saudi Arabia, 1.3 times the oil of OPEC and equal to all the world's proved oil reserves.
Have you heard about the process of converting coal to oil – then to synthetic gasoline, diesel fuel, heating oil and so on? Fuels made this way are far cleaner than normally processed gasoline and diesel fuel. The process has been known for decades to the Federal Government and the oil companies.
Why hasn’t this home-grown fuel source been utilized to make us energy-independent? Well, three answers: One, the magic number to make this process worthwhile is $35 per barrel of domestic or imported oil (the coal-to-oil process costs about $35 a barrel to produce and distribute). So as long as oil stayed below $35/barrel, there was no reason for anybody to invest in the coal-to-oil production. But now that oil is far above $35 a barrel, it makes perfect sense to tap this American fuel reserve. Two, oil companies are enjoying huge profits from the low supply and high demand for their oil products, so they’re reluctant to change that. After all, with the coal-to-oil process, gasoline would go back down to $1.39 a gallon or less and their actual net profit would go down, correspondingly. Three, environmentalists have blocked new coal mining operations, and will continue to block the development of this fuel resource, just as they have fought against new oil exploration.
This coal-to-oil idea is not new; the Germans used it during WWII to fuel their war machines. We acquired the knowledge when the German scientists came to the USA to work on the space program, after the war. Today, the state of Montana is in the process of building their first coal-to-oil plant to be operational in two years. Using Montana as a model, other plants could be built by governments in coal-rich states.
Questions: Once oil jumped above the magic $35 a barrel cost, why didn’t the Fed come down hard on the oil industry to move to this process, in addition to domestic oil drilling and production? Or why didn’t the Fed start helping coal-rich states build processing plants they it new could produce cheaper fuels, immediately? This alternative to imported oil, or more drilling for oil, is right here right now in our own country! Why is nothing being done…except in Montana? Where is the mainstream media on this – shouldn’t this be front page news all over the media? Shouldn’t the media be in the face of oil company executives, the US Department of Energy, the Pentagon? Are the tree-huggers so powerful that we can't shut them up in order to become energy-independent in the next 5 years?
Oh yeah, one more factoid to explode your brain: U.S. coal reserves are equivalent to four times the oil of Saudi Arabia, 1.3 times the oil of OPEC and equal to all the world's proved oil reserves.
Ode To America
(This has been around for a while, but it bears revisiting from time to time).
We rarely get a chance to see another country's editorial about the USA. I think this is very much worth reading and passing on. It says a lot.
As you read this editorial, realize it was written on September 24, 2002 , before Farenheit 9/11 and before the America-hating leftists and Hollywood started bashing America again.
The article was written by Mr. Cornel Nistorescu and published under the title "C"ntarea Americii, meaning "Ode To America" in the Romanian newspaper Evenimentulzilei ("The Daily Event" or "News of the Day"):
An Ode to America-Why are Americans so united? They would not resemble one another even if you painted them all one color! They speak all the languages of the world and form an astonishing mixture of civilizations and religious beliefs.
Still, the American tragedy turned three hundred million people into a hand put on the heart. Nobody rushed to accuse the White House, the army, and the secret services that they are only a bunch of losers. Nobody rushed to empty their bank accounts. Nobody rushed out onto the streets nearby to gape about. The Americans volunteered to donate blood and to give a helping hand.
After the first moments of panic, they raised their flag over the smoking ruins, putting on T-shirts, caps and ties in the colors of the national flag.
They placed flags on buildings and cars as if in every place and on every car a government official or the president was passing.
On every occasion, they started singing their traditional song: "God Bless America!" I watched the live broadcast and rerun after rerun for hours listening to the story of the guy who went down one hundred floors with a woman in a wheelchair without knowing who she was, or of the Californian hockey player, who gave his life fighting with the terrorists and prevented the plane from hitting a target that could have killed other hundreds or thousands of people. How on earth were they able to respond united as one human being?
Imperceptibly, with every word and musical note, the memory of some turned into a modern myth of tragic heroes And with every phone call, millions and millions of dollars were put in a collection aimed at rewarding not a man or a family, but a spirit, which no money can buy. What on earth can unite the Americans in such a way? Their land? Their galloping history? Their economic Power? Money? I tried for hours to findan answer, humming songs and murmuring phrases with the risk of sounding commonplace.
I thought things over, but I reached only one conclusion...Only freedom and faith in God can work such miracles.
It's amazing to me how soon people forget the tragedy of 9/11. Lets remind them. Please feel free to copy this article and pass it on.
We rarely get a chance to see another country's editorial about the USA. I think this is very much worth reading and passing on. It says a lot.
As you read this editorial, realize it was written on September 24, 2002 , before Farenheit 9/11 and before the America-hating leftists and Hollywood started bashing America again.
The article was written by Mr. Cornel Nistorescu and published under the title "C"ntarea Americii, meaning "Ode To America" in the Romanian newspaper Evenimentulzilei ("The Daily Event" or "News of the Day"):
An Ode to America-Why are Americans so united? They would not resemble one another even if you painted them all one color! They speak all the languages of the world and form an astonishing mixture of civilizations and religious beliefs.
Still, the American tragedy turned three hundred million people into a hand put on the heart. Nobody rushed to accuse the White House, the army, and the secret services that they are only a bunch of losers. Nobody rushed to empty their bank accounts. Nobody rushed out onto the streets nearby to gape about. The Americans volunteered to donate blood and to give a helping hand.
After the first moments of panic, they raised their flag over the smoking ruins, putting on T-shirts, caps and ties in the colors of the national flag.
They placed flags on buildings and cars as if in every place and on every car a government official or the president was passing.
On every occasion, they started singing their traditional song: "God Bless America!" I watched the live broadcast and rerun after rerun for hours listening to the story of the guy who went down one hundred floors with a woman in a wheelchair without knowing who she was, or of the Californian hockey player, who gave his life fighting with the terrorists and prevented the plane from hitting a target that could have killed other hundreds or thousands of people. How on earth were they able to respond united as one human being?
Imperceptibly, with every word and musical note, the memory of some turned into a modern myth of tragic heroes And with every phone call, millions and millions of dollars were put in a collection aimed at rewarding not a man or a family, but a spirit, which no money can buy. What on earth can unite the Americans in such a way? Their land? Their galloping history? Their economic Power? Money? I tried for hours to findan answer, humming songs and murmuring phrases with the risk of sounding commonplace.
I thought things over, but I reached only one conclusion...Only freedom and faith in God can work such miracles.
It's amazing to me how soon people forget the tragedy of 9/11. Lets remind them. Please feel free to copy this article and pass it on.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Funniest Pet Stories - Squirrel Goes Cammando!
This incident happened about a year ago, but I was reminded of it while watching the squirrels teasing Fluffy the neighborhood tomcat (yes, the big tom is named Fluffy, which is probably why all the other animals torment him).
My wife and I were going to visit her folks who live in a small mobile home park in Titusville Florida. As we entered the lane leading to their trailer, a squirrel ran out in front of our car. I stopped quickly to avoid flattening the little fellow. We sat there and watched him as he ran down the lane a ways. Then he stopped, actually he froze would be a better way of describing his action.
Just off the lane a cat was sitting on the step of another trailer looking out on the lane. The squirrel sees the cat and freezes, but the cat doesn’t appear to see the squirrel. Now here’s the squirrel out in the pen, no trees nearby, and there’s a cat within 20 feet or so. The seconds tick by and the whole scene is motionless. We both remarked to each, “I wonder what’s going to happen?”
Then the most amazing thing happens. The squirrel flattens out his body and begins a slow crawl down the lane like a commando crawling under barbed wire. Drat, and we didn’t have a camera with us! Inch by inch the little fellow crawled on his belly past the trailer with the cat. Once about half way past the trailer the cat turned his head and looked right at the squirrel. He froze again! We didn’t notice if he left any droppings at that point, but you be sure he was terrified.
Gradually the squirrel crawled past the trailer and out of sight of the cat, at which point he took off like a shot and up the nearest tree. No doubt he had a tale to tell (pun intended) to his pals.
Funny thing is, what the squirrel didn’t know was that the cat was tied to the trailer porch and was no threat at any time! That made us wonder what must have been going on in the cat’s mind…”Look at that, squirrel on a stick and I can’t move!”
My wife and I were going to visit her folks who live in a small mobile home park in Titusville Florida. As we entered the lane leading to their trailer, a squirrel ran out in front of our car. I stopped quickly to avoid flattening the little fellow. We sat there and watched him as he ran down the lane a ways. Then he stopped, actually he froze would be a better way of describing his action.
Just off the lane a cat was sitting on the step of another trailer looking out on the lane. The squirrel sees the cat and freezes, but the cat doesn’t appear to see the squirrel. Now here’s the squirrel out in the pen, no trees nearby, and there’s a cat within 20 feet or so. The seconds tick by and the whole scene is motionless. We both remarked to each, “I wonder what’s going to happen?”
Then the most amazing thing happens. The squirrel flattens out his body and begins a slow crawl down the lane like a commando crawling under barbed wire. Drat, and we didn’t have a camera with us! Inch by inch the little fellow crawled on his belly past the trailer with the cat. Once about half way past the trailer the cat turned his head and looked right at the squirrel. He froze again! We didn’t notice if he left any droppings at that point, but you be sure he was terrified.
Gradually the squirrel crawled past the trailer and out of sight of the cat, at which point he took off like a shot and up the nearest tree. No doubt he had a tale to tell (pun intended) to his pals.
Funny thing is, what the squirrel didn’t know was that the cat was tied to the trailer porch and was no threat at any time! That made us wonder what must have been going on in the cat’s mind…”Look at that, squirrel on a stick and I can’t move!”
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