Having Your Own Article Directory

What or where is the road to easy money?

Maybe you have a rich uncle? Or maybe you know the winning numbers to the lottery? However, if you’re thinking an Article Directory is the way to go, you may be disappointed, this is small business you can start today.

Why isn’t an Article directory the path to success?

With the search engines, content is “king” so more content should increase the chances of our website being included in the search engine results - Right?

Traditionally, making money from an Article Directory required that advertising of some sort, like Google’s AdSense, be added to each article’s page. Users would find the article via the search engines, read the article, and then click on the advertising link. The result is money earned from the user clicking on the ad. If we published more articles, then more people would click and we would make MORE money. Get the idea?

This normally would be sound thinking; however the thing about search engines that it is easy to forget is that they have very few slots open at the top of their search results. Getting to the top is not easy anymore, especially if you’re working in a competitive subject area. The amount of content on the internet continues to grow daily.

So what good then is an Article Directory?

I’d suggest that an Article Directory is one piece of developing a website worth visiting and “worthy” of the top search engine results. You need to have GOOD PRODUCTS and SERVICES to make any money. However, if you want your site to be around very long you also need information to keep your visitors.

For example: When I first started looking into establishing a home business, I knew almost nothing about one - other than the fact that there were a lot of scams and I needed to be careful before pulling out the credit card.

I did some research, and then finally selected a company that had been around for a while with products to sell along with an opportunity. My sponsor had his own website and one of the first things I did after signing up was to look thru his site for more information. I went thru various pages of his site reading everything I could and also clicking on… guess what… AdSense ads. (Google and their advertiser’s would probably have been happy as well as I was a “targeted clicker”).

The point of this example is that there are many WAYS TO MAKE MONEY on the internet – MAKE USE OF ALL OF THEM.

An article directory may very well help draw people to your site thru the search engines, depending on the content of the articles and many other factors. However, like many other site owners you may need to use multiple techniques to get visitors to your site. Along the same line of thinking you may need multiple ways of making money. Once you get visitors to your site you need to keep them there and keep them coming back for more and then to either spend money or generate money via advertising clicks.

Today, with online marketing there may no longer be any one “easy road” to success, but there are still lots of different techniques which together all contribute to success.

Your own article directory is one way to be successful.

You are free to copy this article to your site as long as you include the following resource information with an active link to my site.

When Prospects Give You The "Silent Treatment"

If you’ve been selling for a while, you’ve probably had at least one experience in which your prospect suddenly started giving you the "silent treatment."
Anthony described this dilemma very poignantly when he called me a few weeks ago:
"Ari, I don’t know what to do when I get hit with the ‘silent treatment’ -- you know, when I’ve worked with a prospect for quite a while, and we’ve had great conversations, and they've expressed interest in our solution -- and then all of a sudden everything stops.
I try calling them back once or twice. I even send a follow-up e-mail, but nothing. They just disappear. And I figure I’ve lost the sale, and I don’t know what I did wrong, or what to do next. It makes selling feel like such a painful and arduous process."
If this has happened to you, you may have felt anxious and confused. You may have told yourself, "It’s not as if I’m the one who did anything wrong. I put everything into the relationship. How can I rescue the sale if I can’t even get them to talk to me?"
The "Hopeium" Trap
There is a pressure-free way to reestablish communication when your prospect starts giving you the "silent treatment." But first, it’s important to understand why the situation has happened in the first place.
Most of us who sell get caught up in "hopeium," a comical term that means we focus our hopes and desires on making the sale. But hopeium can be a trap, because it's impossible for you to keep in mind your most important goal: to learn your prospect’s truth.
When we fix our minds on the outcome -- making the sale -- we automatically begin anticipating how the process will go, and we also begin expecting that things will happen as we hope they will.
But if we’re in that mindset and our prospect suddenly breaks off communication, we feel lost, anxious, frustrated, discouraged, and confused. We become preoccupied with what went wrong.
We may even feel betrayed.
Is there any way to clear up the mystery?
Yes, by giving up your agenda and learning the truth about where you stand with your prospect --and being ok with whatever the truth may be. "But how can I learn the truth when they’re avoiding me?" you may ask. "And why do I need to let go of the sale?"
Let’s take the second question first.
If you approach your prospect while you still hope the sale will happen, you’ll introduce sales pressure into the relationship. This will push your prospect away from you and destroy any trust you have developed with them. Instead, you can eliminate sales pressure by telling them that you’re okay with their decision if they’ve decided not to move forward.
In other words, you take a step back instead of trying to chase and follow up with calls because you’re focused on getting a "yes."
The bottom line is:
When a prospect gives you the "silent treatment," it doesn’t mean you’ve lost the sale. It just means you don’t know the truth yet.
What you need to do is call and learn the truth.
Why is learning the truth so important?
Here are 4 important reasons:
1. You stop losing confidence in your selling ability. The "silent treatment" threatens our "hopeium." We start blaming ourselves. We don’t know where we stand -- a painful state of limbo. Our self-talk is negative and full of self-blame, and we’re on pins and needles wondering whether the sale will still come through somehow.
2. You increase your selling efficiency and decrease your stress level. Once you learn the truth about your prospect’s situation, you can either stay involved with the prospect or move on. I often say, "A ‘no’ is almost as valuable as a ‘yes.’" Why? Because it frees up your time to find prospects who are a better fit with your solution. This lets you work much more efficiently because you can quickly weed out prospects who aren’t going to buy. Knowing the prospect’s truth lets you walk away without that guilt-laden voice whispering, "If you give up, you don't have what it takes."
Learning your prospect’s truth translates into tangible results that equal real dollars. You’ll also put an end to the self-sabotaging stress that comes from living in "silent treatment" limbo.
3. Sales pressure pushes prospects away. When you respond to the "silent treatment" with calls and e-mails, you’re really telling them that you’re determined to move the sales process forward -- which means you’re looking out for your needs, not theirs. This makes them mistrust you and run the other way.
4. The "silent treatment" -- totally breaking off communication -- is how prospects protect themselves from sales pressure when they don’t feel comfortable telling us their truth. The more we press, the more they run.
But the opposite is true, too. The more we relax and invite the truth, the more straightforward they’ll be with us. Prospects feel okay sharing what’s going on with them when they know we’re okay with hearing it.
How to Reopen Communication
After Anthony and I had talked about some of these issues, he said, "This all makes a lot of sense, Ari, but I’m still not sure what to say when I make that call."
It’s simpler than you might think.
* First, simply give your prospect a call. (E-mail and voicemail are very impersonal, so use them only as last resorts if you can't reach your prospect after several phone calls.)
* Second, take responsibility and apologize for having caused the "silent treatment".
Here’s some language I suggested to Anthony that will make prospects feel safe enough to open up and tell you the truth about their situation:
"Hi, Jim, it’s Anthony. I just wanted, first of all, to call and apologize that we ended up not being able to connect. I feel like somewhere along the way maybe I dropped the ball, or I didn’t give you the information you needed. I’m not calling to move things forward because I’m assuming you’ve probably gone ahead with someone else, and that’s perfectly okay. I’m just checking to see if you may have some feedback as to where I can improve for next time."
When you respond to the "silent treatment" this way, the results will probably surprise you. You may even learn that the prospect has legitimate reasons for not having gotten back to you.
You’ll also find yourself more productive and less frustrated. It’ll make a world of difference in your productivity level, your stress level, your income, and how much you enjoy what you’re doing.
Remember…
You haven’t lost the sale. You just don’t know the truth yet.

The Impact of Lacking Self-Esteem

Studies show that at least 85% or more of the world’s people suffer from some degree of lacking self-esteem. Although one might think that such challenges are only characteristic of the poor, uneducated, or lower socio-economic members of society, people from all walks of life can suffer situational or more widespread challenges with their levels of self-esteem.

Many very successful business people lack self-esteem in some areas of their lives. Perhaps they feel socially challenged or they have difficulty establishing close or intimate relationships. Perhaps they experience low self-esteem with regard to their physical appearance or their health. Perhaps they are not having any fun in their lives, maybe devoting too much attention to their work. Many “successful” people are driven to succeed. They compensate for feeling deficient in other areas of their lives by working harder and finding a place they can excel through their work. This provides them with a new focus where they can win but it doesn’t fulfill their neglected needs in other areas like relationships, recreation, personal and spiritual development, health and appearance and their ability to lead balanced, fun, and fulfilling lives.

It’s not that there is something wrong with finding an occupational niche where one can be successful and feel good about oneself. However, many of those lacking self-esteem in other areas find themselves driven to accomplish, driven to prove their worth. Since business is an area where they can shine, they neglect other areas to focus excessively on business.

However, since their actions are built upon the erroneous belief that they are somehow not good enough, somehow defective or unworthy of being fully loved and accepted, there is little lasting satisfaction even in the arenas where they can excel. It’s as though they are climbing a ladder with the top of the ladder in the clouds. They think that if they can just climb high enough, they will be successful. They will have proven their worth. They will find satisfaction, happiness, and fulfillment. However, as they climb higher and higher, they never seem to arrive. There are always new goals and objectives challenging them to prove their worth. The more they achieve, the more they have yet to go. Try as they will, they never seem to fully measure up. Or, if they do, it is short-lived and fleeting at best. There is no arriving to the point where they find what they long for so badly — the peace of mind that comes from self-love and self-acceptance.

Because the foundation of their ladder is grounded on quicksand, they often find themselves sinking as rapidly as they climb. In fact, from their perspective, they will never reach the perfection they seek so badly. They will always find evidence to highlight their flaws and reinforce their fears of being unworthy, unlovable, defective in some way.

The message of The Self-Esteem Book is simple. No one needs to settle for a dimmed existence due to a lacking sense of self-worth.  Most people either make up or buy into thoughts that there is something wrong with them, that they are somehow inadequate, not good enough and not worthy of being loved and accessing all the good things that life has to offer. If they are willing to examine their past to get to the source of their resignation and diminished self-esteem, they can reinterpret what happened to them in such a way that they can heal and complete the past and eliminate negative self-talk while making a conscious decision to live their lives from a decision to strive for excellence and contribute to others. By developing a firm belief that they can impact people and the world around them and that they are, in fact, very worthy of receiving life’s blessings, they will manifest happiness and fulfillment.

In addition to the cost of never finding true happiness, long-term fulfillment, or peace, lacking self-esteem impacts business people in many other ways. For example, by not getting to the source of their self-esteem issues, they sacrifice their personal power, their ability to best pursue their life purpose and fully manifest their gifts in the world. If our energy is spent by being preoccupied with our weaknesses or being incomplete with our past, we can never be fully present to today and so we sacrifice our true potential to bring about a result.

Our relationships suffer as we will misinterpret the words and actions of others in a way that invalidates us and has us feel badly about who we are. We may be so driven to prove we are good enough that we sacrifice our personal effectiveness and charisma by focusing on ourselves and our deficiencies rather than on the wants and needs of others. We may play small and hide out in social situations or whenever the possibility of looking bad or “being found out” comes up for us. Or, we may overcompensate and turn to workaholic tendencies out of a desire to prove our worth to others or to ourselves. Because of this misdirected focus, we trade our ability to impact others maximally and to best contribute our gifts to the world.

The answer to escaping the vicious cycle of lacking self-esteem, diminished confidence, and the never-ending, frustrating quest for fulfillment lies in the 3 step process as laid out in detail in The Self-Esteem Book. The process starts with healing one’s past so that it no longer robs us of energy and consumes our attention. Once the pull of past ghosts is complete, we can then turn our attention to properly analyzing our present state of affairs. We can identify what’s working in our lives and what’s missing to support living an upset-free life in choice, a life that honors our most important values and inspires us to live passionately.

And finally, we can take that magic wand that is our birth-right, wave it over our lives and design our future deliberately. We can choose to do so in a way that excites us, as we cast off that gloomy state of low self-esteem, unhealthy resignation and self-pity that no longer supports us. We can live with the intention to honor our God-given magnificence and lead happy, fulfilled lives that fully contribute to others as we share our gifts with the world.

The Pros and Cons of a 50/50 Equity Partnership

This article could have been titled “The Pros and Cons of a 50/50 Equity Partnership”, but the cons far outweigh the pros.  When partnerships are formed, the obvious concerns are addressed.  How do each partner’s skills-set and experience complement each other?  How much will each partner contribute to get the business going?  How long will they grow the business until they entertain selling it?  Is that it? … hardly.

Once the business gets going no doubt economic and industry variables change which affect the business.  Each partner’s perception of the direction the business should go changes as well.  There are constant decisions with regards to the mixture of product and service offerings … the decision to get into another line of business or get out of one.  Should the focus be on a higher volume, lower profit margin business model or vice versa?  What about a shift to a more capital intensive model.  If the business becomes a success, many times potential investors creep in, whether an angel investor or venture capitalist.  Both partners need to agree on the investment proposal.

What if one of the partners acquires an asset for the business whether it’s land, a building, a small data center, a thousand servers, or to complicate things further contributes an intellectual asset of some sort.  When the company is going to be sold, what is the value of the partner’s contributed asset?  Who is supposed to value it?  This can become an insurmountable hurdle.  Most buyers know not to value any one piece near what it’s worth by itself.

When it’s time to sell the company, the financial situation of each partner has no doubt changed since the company was founded.  The consideration for the company could be all cash, all stock or a combination of cash and stock. The tax implications of each of the three scenarios are different for each partner.  I have seen the process of divesting a company go up in smoke too many times because the partners didn’t agree on the proposed deal.  They spent years growing the business then totally disagree about when to sell, who to sell to, and/or how much to sell it for.  

Business is about return on equity, not “all for one and one for all”.  My suggestion … one ship, one captain.

How to Make your Computer your Personal ATM

Do you think that ATM’s are only available at banks and credit unions?  Think again.  Your computer can become your own personal ATM machine.  How can you turn your computer into a money making machine?  Jump into the world of internet marketing.  An Internet marketing business is not only profitable, but can be started quickly and affordably.

What should you do first to help you start an Internet marketing business?  You need to create a website that reaches millions of potential customers all over the globe.  There are hundreds of software programs, companies, and offerings out there.  If you are not familiar with Internet infrastructure then you may have a difficult time trying to find the right company to host your website.  We have taken the confusion out of this situation for you by providing references for the best software tools to help get you started.

First, you will need a domain name.  Domain names are the text that users will type into the Internet to access you website.  Think carefully about your domain name so that it is relevant to your product or service.  Once you have a domain name in mind, you need to make sure that it is not taken.  You can type it into your Internet browser and see if anything comes up.  However, it is good to check this through the domain provider we recommend which is www.godaddy.com.

When you purchase a domain name at www.godaddy.com, make sure that you only purchase the domain name and none of the extra services.  Godaddy has a tendency to jack up the prices on these services when you can find them much more affordably at www.frontierpowerhosting.com.

Frontierpowerhosting.com will be your web hosting service.  This web hosting Service Company is top notch because you receive your OWN IP address.  It is critical to have your own IP address so that your emails are never blocked due to an email spammer that has the same IP address.  Frontierpowerhosting.com also has excellent customer service phone support.  In addition, Frontierpowerhosting.com provides an “Email Tracker” feature which enables you to track your emails.  Frontierpowerhosting.com also will provide you with information regarding the deliverability rate for any emails you send.  This information will help you tailor your marketing efforts.

Next you will need to setup a “smart Autoresponder”.  A smart Autoresponder is one that automatically sends emails or forms to users in order to capture their personal information.  Make sure that your Autoresponder captures the following information:  first name, last name, email address, time and date stamp.

An effective smart Autoresponder is called “Auto Responder Plus” which you can find at www.arp3.com.  Auto Responder Plus is software that you can download on your web hosting account.

Once you have these tools in place, you are ready to create your website.  Change your personal computer into a cash cow today!

Surprising Lessons For Work At Home Moms

I've unearthed some surprising bits of wisdom for new wahms by listening to Johnny Cash lately. I thought I would share some of these tidbits from the Rockabilly legend.

1) Understand Your Man ...er, target market!

That's right. Do you understand your target market? Are you aware of her needs, desires and driving ambitions? Does your website speak to your target audience? If not, perhaps you should make some changes or your website visitor or customer will be "as gone as a wild goose in winter" too!

2) A Boy Named Sue

Life ain't easy for a boy named Sue...and life ain't easy for a wahm either. In your business you will have those confidence killers, dream stealers, fun suckers...whatever you want to call them. You will have people who try to tell you that you can't achieve your goals, that what you try won't work. Don't let them get you down!

Sue's father told him, "This world is rough, and if you're gonna make it, you've gotta be tough."

How can you get tough in your business?

3) Man In Black- or Branding 101

J.R. Cash didn't don the all black suit because he didn't have anything else to wear. It was his trademark. He wore all black for a reason.

What about you? Are you working on your brand? In a world full of Elvis Presleys and Jerry Lee Lewises, how will you stand apart? And remember, your target market doesn't have to be just like you- Johnny Cash wrote Folsom Prison Blues and connected with inmates when he had never yet step foot in jail!

4) The Legend of John Henry's Hammer

This song has two bits of wisdom:

a) Learn your business and you will succeed

John Henry's Daddy told him to: "Learn to a turn a jack, learn to lay a track, learn to pick and shovel too." Are you learning all you can about Internet Marketing so that you can succeed in your business? Do you reinvest in ebooks, coaching and mentoring, and software like John Henry's hammer?

b) Technology has its place but it can't take the place of humans.

When the steam engine threatened to take the place of men, Johnny proved that in the end, humans are more valuable. Learn to use technology (like autoresponders) but remember that your website visitor is a human and inject some of yourself into your marketing efforts.

5) One Piece at a Time

This ballad is about a man who decides to build a Cadillac. He steals one piece at a time from the assembly line "and it didn't cost him a dime". But in the end, it didn't work out exactly like he planned!

Does your website look like a pieced together jalopy? Are you unwilling to spend any money on your own domain and hosting, content with a free site cluttered up with ads?

6) In The Jailhouse Now

Please don't throw away your hard work by doing one of the following things:

Spamming
Copying other people's articles or content
Stealing graphics
Clicking on your Adsense ads
Not keeping records and neglecting to pay taxes

It just isn't worth it, and you may find yourself in the jailhouse. Much better to Walk the Line so you can sleep at night.

7) Ring of Fire

Maybe you've made a bad choice... entered into a shotgun romance with a business that's not right for you. Don't be afraid to realize this, chuck everything and start over! Don't beat your head against the wall if, after working hard on a project, you decide it's just not profitable. Better to find your match and pour your energies into that.

In this song, June Carter Cash chronicles her growing attraction to John. Though they were both involved with other people, they were obviously soul mates and ended up making music and growing old together for the next 40 years.

May you make beautiful music with your business!

“C” is for “Creative Catalogs

A lot have changed in the market over the years – a tough economy, rising prices of goods and customer’s need for high quality products have imposed new demands on businesses. Evidently, the need for helpful, reliable information has never been greater. Catalogs have always been a great source of product information. When people need to buy a product they refer to catalogs to guide them in finding the right product at the right price. But increasing sales does not necessitate creating the perfect catalog. A relatively small improvement in your catalog can already result in a proportionate increase in sales and profits.

So before you print your catalog, make a careful analysis of your old catalog. Pick out the flaws in it and try to improve it. Gather all the letters that you received from your customers and look through their criticisms, suggestions and comments. These may be a big help in designing a better catalog. And as you are designing your catalog think of your customers and the reasons why they would want to buy your product. Think of what they want and what they need and use this in creating a catalog that accomplishes your customer’s desires.

Thus, to create a striking catalog use color combinations that are attractive and pleasing to the eyes. You can use full color in the cover and two colors in the inside. Keep in mind that people respond better and remember longer good-looking catalogs so make your color choices carefully. Likewise, to attract new customers you can add new products and information to the products featured in your catalog. For instance, you can feature bizarre items, include exciting products or include unusual facts about specific items. You can also include information on how to use the product, maintain them and operate them. This information will help your customers significantly and as a result they would keep your catalog for future references. In addition, this would increase customer confidence to your company thereby increasing their inclination to buy.  

If there are products in the old catalog that are unprofitable then perhaps you can promote them more strongly in your new catalog. But if it doesn’t really sell, them you can get rid of them or replace them with new items. You need not place them again in the catalog as they can be a nuisance there.

When you are ready to print your new catalog, make sure that you get the services of an experienced and knowledgeable printer with a reputation for quality and reliability. Your local print shop may be able to do the print job for you but there are also printers online that can do it for low prices, easy ordering and instant price quotes. It is up to you to determine which printing service to avail.

So give your business a distinctive personality and create catalogs that can be a special marketer in the minds of your prospects and customers.

Business Plan Writers: Should You Hire One?

Are you interested in starting up your own business?  If so, you should carefully consider writing a business plan.  The thought of preparing a business plan tends to fill most business owners with dread; it can be a difficult, stressful, and time consuming process.  For this reason alone you may want to think about seeking assistance.

One of the many ways that you can seek help to write your plan is by hiring a professional, who in this case is a professional business plan writer.

What Is a Professional Business Plan Writer?

Before deciding whether or not you should hire the services of a professional business plan writer, you should first clearly understand what they are.  In most cases, you will find these individuals to be experienced, professional writers who are well versed in business terminology and who can effectively understand the needs of businesses.  It is important to understand when writing anything, even a business plan, that it is the wording which makes all the difference; the words used can be the difference between success and failure. That is why a large number of small business owners turn to professional writers for assistance.

What a Professional Business Plan Writer Can Do For You

When it comes to searching for a professional business plan writer, you will find that different writers perform different duties. For example, a large number of writers will merely take your ideas, which you have already thought out and developed, and present them in a professional matter; they will just present your plans in a more professional way than you could.

Then there are the professional business plan writers who will work with you to develop your plan from the inception of the basic ideas for your business to the finish document.  Naturally since more work and time goes into to assisting you with developing a business plan from the bottom up you will probably find that the services of these writers cost more than traditional ones.

It is important therefore that before you start your search you be very clear in your own mind as to what level of support and input you require.

Why Hire a Professional Business Plan Writer?

There are a number of different reasons why small business owners turn to professional business plan writers. One of the key reasons is of lack of experience when it comes to putting ideas on paper and not knowing what format a plan should take.  If you have never created a business plan before you can easily find yourself staring at a blank piece of paper for hours on end!

Although it is relatively easy to learn how to create your own plan, it can be a time consuming process to undertake the research and get into the appropriate mindset. With the right experience, a professional business plan writer will be able to create a detailed, professional business plan in half the time that it would take you to create the same plan.

How Do You Find Someone?

If you are interested in acquiring the services of a professional business plan writer, you have a number of different options.  One of those options is to search for someone locally.  Dealing with a local business plan writer is great, especially if you want to deal with someone face-to-face.  Your search can focus on your local government business advice centers or even asking fellow business colleagues. If there is a writing group or circle in your locality then you can approach them for potential names.

The only problem that you may find is that not all areas of your country will have professional business plan writers.  This means you may have to turn to the Internet for assistance. By conducting an online search you will find a large number of professional writers who specialize in creating or writing business plans.

What Should You Look For Before Hiring?

When choosing a professional business plan writer it is important that you don’t choose either the first person that you come across, or the cheapest. If a well written business plan is crucial to the success of your plans then you must be careful in your selection. Your business plan may not only be used for your personal guidance, but it may also be used to attract financing for your business and that is why your plan must look professional, be detailed and readable.

Before hiring a writer, you should request samples of previous work and also ask to see testimonials from business owners who have used their services.  This will help to ensure you are getting your moneys worth and that you end up with a business plan you can proud distribute.

As with any contract you enter into be very certain what you are getting for your money. Does the contract include the provision for free updates or unlimited revisions before the final version is agreed? Will you be charged per word, per page, or by the hour? Make sure you fully understand the deal.

By following these points you should be able to decide whether or not a professional business plan writer can assist you.  Whilst they can be an additional cost you may not be able to afford, in the long run it could be the best investment you ever made.
You will find a complete guide on how to write a business plan in my e-book ‘The Secrets of Writing a Killer Business Plan’.

Unique Aspects of Alabama Payroll Law and Practice

The Alabama State Agency that oversees the collection and reporting of State income taxes deducted from payroll checks is: Department of Revenue Income Tax Division Withholding Tax Section 50 North Ripley St. P.O. Box 327480 Montgomery, Alabama 36132-7480 334-242-1300 www.ador.state.al.us/withholding/index.html Alabama requires that you use Alabama form “A-4, Employee’s Withholding Exemption Certificate” instead of a Federal W-4 Form for Alabama State Income Tax Withholding. Not all states allow salary reductions made under Section 125 cafeteria plans or 401(k) to be treated in the same manner as the IRS code allows. In Alabama cafeteria plans: are not taxable for income tax calculation; are taxable for unemployment insurance purposes. 401(k) plan deferrals are: not taxable for income taxes; are not taxable for unemployment purposes. In Alabama supplemental wages are taxed at a 5% flat rate. You may file your Alabama State W-2s by magnetic media if you choose to. The Alabama State Unemployment Insurance Agency is: The Department of Industrial Relations 649 Monroe Street Montgomery, Alabama 36131 334-242-8990 www.dir.state.al.us/ The State of Alabama taxable wage base for unemployment purposes is wages up to $8000.00. Alabama requires Magnetic media reporting of quarterly wage reporting if the employer has at least 250 employees that they are reporting that quarter. Unemployment records must be retained in Alabama for a minimum period of five years. This information generally includes: name; social security number; dates of hire, rehire and termination; wages by period; payroll pay periods and pay dates; date and circumstances of termination. The Alabama State Agency charged with enforcing the state wage and hour laws is: The Department of Industrial Relations 649 Monroe Street Montgomery, Alabama 36131 334-242-8990 www.dir.state.al.us/ There is no provision for minimum wage in the State of Alabama. There is also no general provision in Alabama State Law covering paying overtime in a non-FLSA covered employer. Alabama State new hire reporting requirements are that every employer must report every new hire, rehire and recall. The employer must report the federally required elements of:

• Employee’s name
• Employee’s address
• Employee’s social security number
• Employer’s name
• Employers address
• Employer’s Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN)

This information must be reported within 7 days of the hiring or rehiring. The information can be sent as a W4 or equivalent by mail, fax or electronically. There is a $25.00 penalty for a late report in Alabama. The Alabama new hire reporting agency can be reached at 334-353-8491 or on the web at www.dir.state.al.us/nh.htm . Alabama does allow compulsory direct deposit but the employee’s choice of financial institution must meet federal Regulation E regarding choice of financial institutions. Alabama has no State Wage and Hour Law provisions concerning pay stub information. In Alabama there are no statutory requirements concerning pay frequency or the lag between when the lag time between when the services are performed and when the employee must be paid. Nor for that matter does Alabama have legal provisions concerning when a terminated employee, voluntary or involuntary, must be paid. Deceased employee’s wages must be paid when normally due to the surviving spouse or custodian of minor children. Escheat laws in Alabama require that unclaimed wages be paid over to the state after one year. There is no provision in Alabama law concerning record retention of abandoned wage records. There is no provision in Alabama law concerning tip credits against State minimum wage. In Alabama the payroll laws covering mandatory rest or meal breaks are only that: minors under 16 must have 30 minutes rest after five hours of work. There is no provision in Alabama law concerning record retention of wage and hour records therefor it is probably wise to follow FLSA guidelines. The Alabama agency charged with enforcing Child Support Orders and laws is: Alabama Department of Human Resources Child Support Enforcement Division 50 Ripley St. Montgomery, AL 36130-1801 334-242-9300 www.dhr.state.al.us/csed/default.asp Alabama has the following provisions for child support deductions:

• When to start Withholding? Immediately after receipt of order.

When to send Payment? Within 7 days of Payday.

When to send Termination Notice? Within 7 days of termination.

Maximum Administrative Fee? $2 per month.

Withholding Limits? Federal Rules under CCPA.

Please note that this article is not updated for changes that can and will happen from time to time.

$3 Million in 6 Months With Adsense!

The Power Play Interviews: Markus Frind- $3 Million in 6 Months

This is the first in a series of Internet Success Stories that you will begin to see on the Power Play Blog. Hope you enjoy them!

Markus Frind, the creator of Plentyoffish.com is a success story worth noting, as he has managed to take a niche formerly ruled by giant corporations and give it his own brand of marketing savvy. A case of David vs. Goliath, where the little guy comes out on top in the end. Markus is the top "individual" adsense publisher in terms of pageviews. Lets find out what some of his secrets are as he shares some advice with our readers. Feel free to comment!

Markus, what is your experience in computer programming and how did it prepare you for becoming a webmaster?

The average pageviews a day is around 14 million for the last week. I'm getting another 80 million pageviews a day from users polling the site to see if they have new messages. Really intensive bandwidth wise!

When I go to your website, I notice that the ads are targeted to my region, yet I have not even registered- can you explain to our readers how you accomplish this feat?

I'm just using ip2location.com- Basically i take your IP, look it up in the database and it tells me what your city is. I then bring up a list of users in your city, nothing magical about it at all.

Are most of your visitors coming primarily from search engines (SERPS), or are you finding that they come from other avenues? Do you actively advertise in the media?

Search engines account for something like 2% of my traffic. The vast majority of my traffic, like any other site with over 5 million pageviews a day comes from word of mouth, and repeat visitors.


The services on your site seem to be offered at no cost to the registrants. Is there some advantage you have over your competitors that allows you to do this?

I've developed new algorithms that allow me to create a mega site for next to no cost. Several years ago I created algorithm that was thousands of times faster then the algorithm used in the 1990's to find a string of 22 prime numbers. At the time a professor used several super computers and hundreds of regular computers over the course of several years to find a record. I did the same thing on 1 computer in 2 weeks.

Fascinating! Are there any other sites you currently maintain, or is plentyoffish.com the only one?

Its the only site at the moment. I've got a few other sites I registered for friends so they could learn to do marketing/affiliate stuff. At this point i think 1 site is enough.

Any tips for those looking to create a profitable endeavor on the internet?

IF someone else thinks what you are doing is a cool idea I'd say it isn't... Find something no one else thinks is important and build up a site with big traffic in that area. Also keep in mind, sites that have low monetization today but have traffic may be the gold mines of tomorrow. In the internet world anything and everything will be monetized at some point and traffic is king.

Traffic is King- very wise advice, Markus. One last question- How do you find the time to maintain such a large commodity on the internet? Surely you must have some other interests in life besides programming and website monitoring?

It only takes a hour a day on average, but its very tiring work. I spend the other couple of hours reading and seeing what is going on.