FamilyEbiz

TIP from Armand’s First Call We had already decided to attend the Big Seminar in November, but I decided to listen to Armand’s first call last week just to see what he was telling everyone else. I had no idea I would learn something from this call that I can implement immediately. That’s the way it is with Armand. He is always over-delivering! Let me share what I learned . . . Armand discussed Forced Opt-Ins. In case you don’t know what a regular opt-in is, you might check out our home page. The box that flashes up is an opt-in box. You can opt-into our newsletter subscription. On the phone call, Armand discussed the success he has with forced opt-ins. A forced opt-in is a page you must fill out before you can read the sales letter or e-book or whatever you are looking for. It is an excellent marketing tool since it builds your list of very targeted traffic. Those that come to your page are looking for your product. When they fill out your opt-in page, they are excellent candidates for your list since they are highly interested in your product or business. I won’t go into all the details, but I will let you in on a secret. Armand has about 7% sales conversion on one of his forced opt-in product pages. Most people are lucky to get 1-2% sales conversion on a page because they don’t know what it takes to really sell on the internet. Besides this fantastic tip (that we plan to implement on our own website in the next few weeks), Armand showed why he thinks the Big Seminar is not expensive enough. From the time you walk in the door, everything is a marketing lesson from start to finish. Many of the people who attend are coming back because they know the value of this fantastic seminar. Each event has different topics and different speakers which means many of the people you sit by are past speakers. They come back because they know they will also learn something from this event. The networking if outstanding, the food is delicious and abundant and the entertainment is top-notch. Every great success story that is in that room started with one decision that changed their life…they decided to take action, regardless of their own knowledge. They did not sit back and give excuses. Armand proceeded to encourage everyone to make a list of a few things you need to do each and every day. You can’t always quit your day job, so begin with little steps. Decide to do one thing every day and build from there. Little actions turn into big actions and big actions turn into monumental actions. After introducing his upcoming speakers, Armand urged everyone to take register for the Big Seminar. You won’t regret doing so! Click here to listen to this week’s call. Click here to read our invitation to Armand’s Big Seminar

Biblia

The Value of Practical Skills - Part 5

We have been looking at the value of practical skills in this highly specialized and technical age in which we live. Now, I am not adverse to technology. In fact, I make my living on the internet. But, as we have seen, practical skills are not just for those who do not go to college. Below are three more reasons why learning practical skills is a biblical concept. 5. Practical skills produce godly character. Again, I can not say this enough. I am not advocating that pursuing a trade or working with your hands is the only “righteous” calling or vocation a man can enter. Yet, I am saying that learning practical skills will help your son in whatever calling he pursues. These skills will generate godly character in him. James says that trials produce endurance and endurance results in the complete man of God, lacking in nothing. Boys who do not know how to work hard, or grind through unpleasant experiences, will not have the emotional stamina to do the right thing when it becomes very painful to do so. 6. Practical skills give us something to fall back on in hard economic times. It is amazing how many of the patriarchs lived through severe economic downturns in the form of droughts. We are not immune from economic downturns in America today. I have had a variety of jobs and one was a sales position for a head-hunting (career placement) company. I would speak to many highly skilled, technical people every day who were looking for a job and had no other skills on which to fall back. One guy told me that he would not have any trouble finding a job because he had twenty years experience running a call center. I replied, “Maybe, but you are the fifth call center executive I have talked with today!” Do not despise the day of small things. Teach your sons some practical skills now, for there are seasons when God gives hard economic times to test our faith and teach us humility. Or perhaps to save a nation as Joseph did! 7. Last, but not least, God can use our practical skills to minister to others around the world. Carpentry has taken me on mission trips to Haiti, Nicaragua and Mexico. My skill with a saw gave me the opportunity to share the good news in a foreign country. Paul told the Thessalonians to remember his labor and toil, “that we might not be a burden to any of you, we preached to you the gospel of God.” (1 Thessalonians 2:9) He used his skill as a tent maker to earn the right from his audience to preach the gospel. So, even if our sons are not going to pursue a trade-type career, knowledge of these skills will make them more self-sufficient and less vulnerable in economic downturns. Having knowledge of basic “hands-on” skills will give them confidence in their ability to provide for a family and help others in need, even if they do not use those skills to make a living. Plus, most of these skills are just plain fun and can be used on mission trips, helping our neighbors and as a tool to share the gospel. I will conclude with one of my favorite verses.

Here is what I have seen: It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it is his heritage. As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor-- this is the gift of God. For he will not dwell unduly on the days of his life, because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart. (Ecclesiastes 5:18-20)

How do we keep from unduly dwelling on the days of our lives? How do we protect our sons from the stress, depression and self-pity of the modern work environment? We are to teach them (and ourselves!) to enjoy the good of all their labor. Teach them to value good, honest hard work. Teach them to view work not as the daily grind, but as a heritage - what they will be known by. Above all, we must teach them that we serve a gracious and good God and that the ability to work and to eat the fruit thereof, is a gift from Him.

I gave a talk at the Austin Homeschool Convention entitled, The Value of Practical Skills. If you would like to find out more about this CD, click here: http://www.curriculumconnection.net/valuepracticalskills.htm

Practica Those Annoying Pop-ups! - Part 2Last time we talked about those annoying pop-ups and why you need to have one of your own. This time, I will show you how to reduce the annoyance of pop-ups as well as how to make your own pop-up. While I admit that pop-ups can be annoying, here are some ways to mitigate some of the annoyance:-have something on the pop-up they can click to make the pop-up go away-have the pop-up timed so that it disappears after 10 seconds or so-be short and sweet on the pop-up...do not try to get too much information-try to find a pop-up that recognizes cookies so that it will not pop up if someone has already signed upIf you look at my pop-up on http://www.familyebiz.com, you will see that it is actually a pop-over. Meaning, it is not a separate little web page (essentially what a pop-up is), it is actually a script that is a part of the web page. This means that pop-up blockers can not block it without blocking the whole web page. Unfortunately, I have not figured out how to make my pop-over recognize cookies so that people who have already signed up do not have to see them, but I am working on it. And while I know that some find pop-ups extremely annoying - I know, because I have received a few heated emails - the benefits of pop-ups outweigh the downside. I have quadrupled my newsletter subscribers in the last six months and I get new subscribers every single day.And more readers translate into more sales! Please check out our take on the Big Seminar here: The Big SeminarWarmly in Christ,

Stephen Beck http://www.curriculumconnection.net http://www.familyebiz.com info@familyebiz.com
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