What You Need to Know About Contractors Insurance

It is a necessity for any business undergoing construction or renovation to purchase a contractors insurance in order to safeguard their financial stability, as well as their workers' wellbeing. It's not in favor of the business' interest to leave it susceptible to financial drains, in case of management, materials, and manpower problems. There are certainly a lot of risk factors present in a construction site, and all of these could very well hurt a business, if not properly dealt with. Sure, the contractor may be held liable for some of the issues, but most of the losses will be incurred by the property owner. Besides, majority of the states in the U.S. demand that they are secured, before a project license is granted.

Contractors insurance basically covers losses due to lightning, vandalism, fire, lawsuits, injury, and other property damages that are not caused by professional errors or intentional acts. But there are certain policies that do not indemnify against earthquakes, acts of violence, and flooding. The safest plan that you can apply for is a general liability contractor insurance, since it typically takes care of all of the basic concerns, when it comes to this type of activity. Usually, it is the building owner's responsibility to acquire a builder's risk insurance, and ascertain its scope. But, the general contractor can also be tasked to buy it, as stipulated in the contract. It is important to note that this type of property insurance is only valid during the construction period, and is terminated upon the project's completion.

To ensure that you are getting the best policy, it is advisable that you shop around for options, before you settle with a provider. Submit your contracts for quotes if you are a contractor, and negotiate the rate of your policy if you are the business owner. This should help you arrive at a manageable monthly payment term that addresses your construction needs, as well as your monetary limitations.

Next, you should assess the supplementary general condition of your general liability contractor insurance, so that you know who are covered. There are a number of other people who may enter a job site, aside from the builders. You can expect messengers, trespassers, the licensees, and some invitees to come along every once in a while, so they must also be added as insured. To reduce liability exposure, as a contractor, what you can do is determine regulations within the job site, arrange an agreement with the client, and try to be hands-on with any visitation, to pre-empt any potential accidents from happening. It would also be smart to keep the site as hazard free as possible, by disposing all of the materials carefully.

Lastly, never hesitate to use a broker specializing in contractor insurance. This should make the policy application less burdensome. A business owner and contractor would find a broker's meticulous eye for detail and expansive network very helpful, especially for stringent projects. Obviously, you both can't dedicate the right amount of time to go over each unique policy and draw up proposals. A broker will help you accomplish that, and set you up with the right provider or providers as soon as possible.

2 Resell Rights Products Techniques For Rookies

In the resell rights business online, there's a lot of opportunity here. It gives you an instant business that you can start seeing income from in a short period of time. One reason I like resell right products is for backend marketing. What is "backend marketing"? Backend marketing is the process of selling to your current and existing customers.

Without selling to "backend" customers, you have no business. This is where 80% of your total profits will come from. This means if you're currently focusing 95% of your time to getting brand new customers... you're totally missing the point. The "point" is that you should be spending 90% of your time earning recurring income from the people who know you, like you, and trust you the most.

Even though it's a virtually immediate online business that you can enter into, it doesn't mean that you can go "easy" with your marketing efforts. Yes, you will earn 100% profits of each sale, but if you're not selling and promoting your resell rights products in the right way, you're missing out on a ton profits that could be potentially yours.

If you currently have a resell rights product, but don't know how to sell them online, this is what today's lesson will help you to do. I want to share with you a few tips that I've learned over the last couple of years, and they can certainly work for you and your resell rights business also. Here's the first tip for selling them successfully:

1) Get lots of traffic

Without a lot of traffic, it's going to tough to make money with resell rights products. Luckily, there are a wide variety of ways to get traffic, and you have an incredible amount of options at your disposal. You can either do free marketing or paid advertising. Both can work for you.

If you're thinking about doing free marketing, you have a plethora of options. You can do YouTube marketing, forum marketing, article marketing, article syndication, ebook marketing, blogging, podcasting, SEO (search engine optimization), and more. The world is yours if you can persevere and come up with an elaborate (but effective) traffic strategy that can boost your sales immediately. Here's another tip:

2) Modify the sales letter

A lot of the resell rights products that you get will have "average" sales letters - in terms of quality. You will want to edit them and add a better headline, more bullet points that explain what someone will be learning inside of your product, and the close. The close and the "P.S." section of your sales letter is important.

If you know nothing about writing sales letters, you can hire someone online for cheap to do it for you. These sales letter writers typically don't cost much. But if you want to make the sales letter yourself, you will want to get your hands on something called a "swipe file". This is simply a collection of winning ads and sales letters that you can emulate and write your own original sales letter from.

These 2 tips for selling resell rights products are essential to your success. The more you work on them both, the higher the chances are of you earning money with your product.

Good luck with selling your resell rights product.

Planning Phase For an E-Commerce Website

The Planning Phase is the most important phase in building an online sales funnel, and it is often the most overlooked. I'll give you an overview of the strategies and tactics that will set the foundation for all of your online marketing efforts.

Beware! This section is going to seem a bit odd at first. Why? Because most web design firms and marketing agencies are missing many of these elements. But if it's missing, how do I know it works?

Many of the top online marketers are using these strategies and tactics to generate millions dollars in revenue in the following niches:

Weight loss. Business opportunities. Personal development. Dating/Relationships.

In my consulting practice, I have used these strategies and tactics to create millions of dollars in sales. And you should try it!

Understand Why We Build Websites

Most people build websites that I characterize as brochure sites. They talk about their products, services, and about themselves. And guess what? Brochure websites don't pay my bills, so I don't recommend them to my clients.

Effective websites are built for customers and tell your customers, What you have for your customers in it?"

Action Step: Write down who your website is targeted for and what's in it for them.

Automation & Outsourcing

Why is automation and outsourcing critical for online lead gen? Automation and outsourcing eliminates follow-up failure, the major pitfall of small business lead gen.

In section 3, Traffic, I discuss how content creation is critical to drive both SEO and social media traffic. I always recommend that my clients either hire a copywriter or freelance copywriter for their blog articles. Despite my recommendation, most of my clients decide to produce their own blog copy of which 95% of them, fail to write effectively.

Action Step: Take a piece of paper and brainstorm weaknesses and areas where you are understaffed that can be automated and outsourced... so you can eliminate follow-up failure!

Define Your Conversion

In setting up a website for e-commerce, your conversion goal is always a sale. Everything on your website should lead the prospective customer to your conversion goal.

Action Step: Define your conversion goal.

The Importance of List Building List building is the single most important part of e-commerce. Having a list allows us to maximize repeat sales with the same customer, thus increasing the lifetime value of the customer.

The easiest way to build a list is with an ESP (email service provider). There are many to choose from, so refer to the resources section for specific recommendations. Action Step: Select an email service provider.

Create Your Avatar

In order for you to understand your ideal customer, you must create an avatar. An avatar is a representation of your ideal customer. The avatar will include the following elements:

Gender. Age. Income. Likes and dislikes. Job. Pain. Fears and frustration Goals and dreams. How does your product/service eliminate pain or provide future benefit.

Your avatar will become the lens in which your review all of your marketing efforts. If it doesn't work for your avatar, it doesn't belong.

Action Step: Map out your avatar.

Determine Your Color Scheme

"Colors have deep subliminal meanings that affect our thinking and rational. Usually colors have different symbolic meanings that vary according to the culture and countries. So, keep in mind that the color planning is also every important for your business.

In short, you want to match the color of your site with the solution that your avatar is looking for. For example, if your customer is looking for stability and trust, then blue is a good color. Green is often associated with health. While red is associated with strength, vitality and sex.

Action Step: Determine your color scheme.

Map Out Your Mental Triggers

Direct marketers, like Joseph Sugarman (who wrote the above text); were the first to discover that mental triggers could increase conversion rates. Some of my favorite triggers that need to be woven into your lead generation copy include:

Stories. Events. Community. Social proof. Scarcity. Authority. Common enemy. Proof. Reciprocity. Specificity.

Action Step: Brainstorm which mental triggers would be relevant to your avatar.

Map 0ut Your Offer

Your prospects will not give you their information just because you want it! You need to offer them something.

Ask yourself the following questions:

1. What are you going to give them? A free report, a whitepaper, or a webinar? 2. How are they going to get it? 3. Are you going to offer a front-end bonus or surprise bonuses? 4. Guarantee. 5. Terms and price.

On a side note, make sure that you include a privacy statement with your offer, as people are always concerned about their private information.

Action Step: Get your team together and map out your offer.

Decoy Pricing

Decoys are price points that a business doesn't really want you to take. It is a great way to move people to a higher price point.

Economist Dan Arely, author of "Predictably Irrational" gives the following example of a decoy pricing model from the Economist:

Action Step: Determine whether decoy pricing would be good for your offer.

Good, Better, Best Pricing

Another pricing model you should be aware of is "Good, Better, Best" pricing. An example of this pricing model is shown above.

There are many recent studies about the buying habits of consumer show that the majority of customers will choose the middle-priced option.

Always offer three choices. Studies, according to Bryant, show that when two choices were offered, 50% of customers chose the lower-priced option. When three choices were offered, 57% chose the middle option. Customers always look for the choices.

Can We Trust Voting Machines - No, Not Any More Than We Can Trust Political Campaigns

Will there be voter fraud in the November 6, 2012 election? Well, of course there will be, somewhere, there always is. Further, with all the states and their early voting the chances are 100% that some voter fraud has already occurred. The question is; can it continue undetected? Hard to say, but this is something that most all Americans I know believe is; unacceptable. Okay let's talk shall we?

Not only is their absentee voter fraud, but there is also the high likelihood that there is also voting machine fraud as well. In other words, sneaky little programs which miss-tally the vote. No, I didn't say this was funny, in fact, it's pretty serious isn't it? Physorg (dot com) posted an article on November 3, 2012 titled; "Voting machines remain worry in US election," by Rob Lever which stated;

"12-years ago after the FL punch card debacle in which 1000s of votes went uncounted, some experts cite similar concerns about voting technology. I'm not sure we've made forward progress since 2000. We've put a tremendous effort into changing the voting systems, but in many cases we've discarded systems too quickly and replaced them with systems that we haven't examined enough."

The article also recommends reading the new book out in 2012 called; "Broken Ballots" if you really are concerned about this topic and would like to learn more; I am concerned. Over the years, I've personally read a couple of books on this subject, and countless articles discussing the tricks of the trade and how these machines are abused. If we get voter fraud in a swing state like FL, PA, OH, or AZ this could be more than serious, as it will change the entire election, our entire country, and therefore the free world too.

We can't know yet in hindsight if that will be good or bad, but we all inherently know it simply isn't right. Unfortunately, the trust of the Obama Administration is at an all-time low, the trust of the Congress is even worse, and it seems our citizens can no longer trust our government as a whole. We don't know if they are telling us the truth about the budget talks, Benghazi Libya embassy attacks, or even if either candidate's plans for the future are legit. See the problem? And if we can't trust the voting or the government then we have a problem in our civilization and society which can't be fixed by any election. Please consider all this and think on it.

Composting For All - Book Review

Nicki Scott released the second edition of Composting For All in 2004; obviously this is a popular publication within the UK, and it is certainly affordable. Here is one booklet that practices what it preaches - the cover is printed on 80% recycled material and the inside pages are printed on 100% recycled paper. I thought the front cover's image of mom, dad and young girl happily tending to a compost bin near their bountiful garden and lush yard was quite cute.

Thirty-two pages and seventeen chapters (including the introduction and resource sections) are filled with sketches and illustrations by Bob Gale. This short booklet explains what composting involves in a simple way and terms like vermiculture and aerobic bacteria become less confusing. Learn how to begin composting safely wit little hassle. Discover old and new composting methods from hot and cold composts, fermentation methods and vermiculture. He even discusses compost activators (those that increase decomposition process) and how to reuse an old chest freezer to make a worm bin. The booklet closes with a very small reference section for readers to contact eleven associations and publications to further their journey in waste reduction.

I enjoyed his discussion about the amazing array of life forms are supported by composting activities, and the final product that encourages healthier green spaces, gardens, balcony and roof gardens and flowerboxes in our communities. This results in a wonderful bio-support system to help the other critters that share our world, and healthy plants that clean our air.

The suggestion that most appealed to me was substituting leaf compost for peat requirements in our gardens. I had no idea that many commercially bagged compost actually contain peat. Environmentalists will tell you how important it is to avoid using peat-based products, and alternatives such as ground coconut husk have been around for some time.

Cities concerned with stressed landfills offer compost bins or worm bins to help people handle organic waste. Unfortunately the training available for citizens to use is not always readily available. This is what makes books like these so valuable to our society.

Nicki Scott has authored two booklets, one book and a video on composting and other methods we can all employ reduce waste. He has served as the chairperson for the Community Compost Network in the UK.

Author: Nicki Scott Illustrator: Bob Gale Publisher: Green books (UK) ISBN: 1-903998-23-9

Comparison Shopping for Self Employment Insurance Policies

Every business enterprise requires insurance coverage, be it for the commodities available, business assets or the task-force. When you go into operating your own business, you require the self-employment insurance cover. This type of cover is crucial, with the financial insecurities that are there for owning a business. The cover has many options in terms of policies, prices and processes.

As a business owner, you must consider your budget when buying the policies. It is prudent to select a policy within budget limits. This is because different policies have different costs, and some may be too expensive to maintain payment of premiums for the duration of the policy. Also consider your needs. Figure out what aspect needs coverage, be it college education, mortgage, medical care or death benefits such as funeral expenses. Take the policy that covers that or those needs.

Finding the right insurance for the self-employed can be tricky. Agents come in to aid in this task. These are experts in the insurance trade and their input is invaluable. They, especially, offer a short-term insurance of one month to one year. These terms are ideal for starting businesses that are on tight budgets.

Comparison shopping is the ideal method of choosing the best suited self-employed cover. With the advent of internet technology, you need not move from one insurance company to another, making comparisons. There are numerous online insurance companies that avail application services. you can conveniently compare various quotations or find insurance agents to assist you, without breaking a sweat. There is even leading-edge software that collects the various quotes in the entire insurance industry in seconds.

The price options of the policies and their benefits vary widely. There are policies worth hundreds of thousands in cash value, at negligible daily premiums. There are also policies worth relatively less, for less premium rates. You find these variations only by shopping around and comparing different quotations and offers.

With the comparison shopping too, you can come across different cover options that best serve your needs. There are medical care options like HMO and PPO insurance. These two policies use co-pays. You are required to pay a set amount for each visit to a doctor. They have restrictions on the doctors you can see, but PPO has a larger limit than HMO. They also require that you have a referral to see a specialist.

There is fee-for-service coverage whereby you pay a percentage and the insurance company pays the rest for each visit to a doctor. You may even pay as little as 20 per cent. However, this does not use co-pays. You must meet yearly deductibles before the insurance company makes any payments. The importance of comparison shopping is that it gives you the most favorable deals.

Self-employment insurance cover is paramount for a self-employed person as it protects them and their businesses from lawsuits by covering expenses of any claims. They cover the policyholder's health too. All in all, an unbiased comparison insurance shopping gives you the full value of your money, plus benefits.