Thursday 25 February 2016

Blog Bytes 001

 
It seems we have very few serious bloggers or writers in the NYK forums and I can't quite work out why. Blogging seems like the perfect moneymaker for frugal living folks looking to work from home, so perhaps they just haven't got the time to read what others write.

The more we share, the more we have
 
It costs nothing to write

Writing is creative, it can be educational, it can be personal and it can create shared experiences between readers and writers. It is something almost everyone can do... no matter how bad a typist I may be, I earn most of my frugal income from writing, blogging and web-based publishing. It isn't a sure-fire way to get rich quick but it is rewarding and offers job satisfaction. I work from home, I do hours to suit myself. I live within my means. It isn't an easy ride but it paves the way for all types of exciting journeys.

For anyone who is new to the idea, this is a link to the NYK Media rate card, listing basic fees and charges. We try to be as affordable as possible. If paid opportunities become thin on the ground, there are always sites offering freelance work. I hope not to need to use them, but I have. I often receive invites to jobs that I mostly need to turn down, owing to other commitments.

It is worth polishing up your grammar, dotting your i's and stroking your t's

In today's ever-changing technological society, the competition is stiff, but virtual - companies are desperate to find ways of sharing news of their products and services and are prepared to pay for the privilege of an attentive reading audience. Can you help them?

It costs nothing to share

At the bottom of each of these posts there are various share options and even a comments box. Whether you love it or hate it, share it and say exactly why. Comment whenever you want and never forget that a warm welcome awaits everyone who joins in the conversations in our free forums.

In the words of the immortal Leonard Nemoy, "The miracle is this: the more we share, the more we have."

Saturday 3 September 2011

Making the Most of Nothing

A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned

Cyberdosh is about all the moneysaving ways I can think of that might help you make the decision to start earning an income from home. By harnessing the great powers of the Internet and World Wide Web, setting up your own home-based business could be more affordable than you think. 

There are no fancy letters after my name, I'm neither a business guru, nor a specialist in any particular field, there's no fantastic success story (to date), nor are there any scanned copies of bulging bank account statements. All I have is an unquenchable thirst to succeed in earning enough money to support Frugaldom and the wish to help others realise their own earning potential.

This blog is a culmination of years of experience in working with like-minded others, supporting their efforts at garnering success and, more often than not, witnessing their downfalls. Oh yes, I have seen far more failures than successes over the past twenty-five years, but those are the sources of my experience and I have learned something new from every one of them. To all those people involved, I thank you for having the guts to have tried, failed, got back up and tried again and again and again!

In the beginning, if you are reading this, then let us assume you already have a computer and access to the Internet. Now, let's get our heads together and compare notes on exactly what, if anything, is available for frugal entrepreneurs. Right! I forgot there were no heads here yet... but never let it be said that it put me off getting started.

Do you have a need to succeed?

Generating an income from a homebased office (or corner of a room) is probably the most cost-effective, frugal and rewarding of jobs I can think of, but we need to remember that it is a job and that our time is important if we want to succeed. Time management is a skill best practiced from the start, especially if you are juggling building your frugal business empire with running a busy household and/or looking after a family.

Many would say that time is money, but I'm not one of these people.

My time is NOT money, my time is my own to spend as I please. (This is a problem.)

It pleases me to write, therefore I write.

Writing does not pay all of the bills, all of the time. (This is another problem.)

I am almost certain that any serious entrepreneur will confirm the fact that pursuing an enjoyable hobby is not the way to go when you need to earn money now! A steady stream of revenue is essential, so never be scared to chase away anything that interferes with your work schedule, even if it's a sponging, out of work, alcoholic friend or relative! Anything that drains your existing resources needs to be stemmed as soon as possible. (If you are looking for ways of saving money or beating debt, check out the Frugaldom forums and consider following the Frugal Blog.)

This particular Cyberdosh challenge is about combining current skills, hobbies and enjoyable passtimes to create a sound foundation on which to build a small, profitable business. The big difference is that, as frugal entrepreneaurs, we have no start-up funding, no initial cash injection from interest-grabbing financial institutions (thankfully) and no regular source of income to cover the costs of getting up to speed in running a home-based business.  These factors are what can put many people off before they even begin. Am I right? Fear of success is another well-known factor, but I'll leave that one for another day.

Business planning is great, mainly because it is free. All you need is a simple spreadsheet that will calculate your overall costs, deduct your regular out-goings, add income from sales and provide you with an easy to understand document at the end of it all. It should also be excellent for highlighting the point at which you can expect to break even. Number-crunching is good, it exercises your brain and instills an element of urgency to tweak your figures in the right direction. It can also help with weight loss as, more often than not, you'll end up pacing the floor trying to make your business plan work. If you haven't mastered spreadsheets, don't worry, paper and a pen will do. But spreadsheets, in my novice opinion, are genuinely fun to use!

All going well, your figures will stack up to represent a realistic business opportunity. If they don't, you need to take a closer look at your numbers and resolve any issues regarding shortfall. Basically, ensure you have included everything that is needed, strip away anything that isn't needed, and focus on potential profit margins.

A few things to think about before beginning:
  • Will anyone pay you to do what you plan on doing?
  • Have you the time, energy and inclination to pursue your business (or personal) goals?
  • How much research have you done into your chosen field of business?
  • What costs are involved in the set-up?
  • Will the price you charge cover all your costs?
  • Do you enjoy a challenge?
  • Are you prepared to sit down and consider all your options?
  • Where do you start when formulating your business plan?
Preparing your business plan need not be a tenuous exercise, nor do you need to spend a fortune on expensive software. Here in Frugaldom, I chose to download a free office suite from http://www.openoffice.org/

This great free software allows you to create all of the following:
  • Text documents
  • Spreadsheets
  • Presentations
  • Drawings
  • Database
  • HTML documents
  • Business Cards
  • Labels
  • Forms
What I like most about Open Office, aside from the fact that it is free, is that your documents can all be saved into a variety of formats, allowing you to send them out and/or make them accessible to all. The straightforward spreadsheet programme has all the functionality you need to create and maintain a business plan and is also ideal for keeping tabs on accounts.

Please note that not every successful entrepreneur produces a business plan at the start; many fly by the seat of their pants and follow their instincts, for fear of missing a fantastic opportunity to corner a specific market.

Before I go, I must admit to one small faux pas, as far as moneysaving and frugal business planning go. This weekend started really badly, sending me into a tearful and furious, demon-like rage, not normally witnessed. (A full explanation of this can be found in the eBid forums.)

As a result of this major insult, I, NYK Media, a long-standing ambassador of Frugaldom, do solemnly swear that, without realising it, I ended up spending £5.99 that I had absolutely no intentions of spending! In all honesty, I'm stunned by my own actions! I'll mark it down to experience and write it off in the name of research! But I do recommend you read what instigated this, just in case anything similar ever happens to you.

Hopefully, it will turn out to be nothing more than a storm in a teacup.

That's it for today, I think I've done enough free writing to kick myself up the backside and get into business planning mode. Only then will it be time to start capitalising on all the great advertising, marketing and promotional tools that are available to us free of charge. See you all soon! 

OK, what I really mean is welcome to my first Cyberdosh blog follower, if I actually acquire one between now and my next post. :)

If you like this post, feel free to Tweet it, Blog it, Facebook it and, more importantly, +1 it.

If copying this article, please attribute copyright accordingly.
1998 - 2011 (c) by NYK Media

Friday 2 September 2011

Get out the Red, Beat the Blues, Get into Purple!

It May Be the Good Life, but we all NEED to earn.

We also NEED to protect our Identities and Reputations.




STOP! How can eBid help protect your identity? This site is much, much more than a frugal alternative to eBay. Joining eBid isn't just about buying and selling online... it's about protecting your identity, your business, your online reputation and your right to access a whole new virtual platform FREE OF CHARGE!

GO! For the sake of a few minutes, and without it costing you a single penny, prevent someone else from registering your username! You can click here to do that now, if you prefer, then come back to learn more about the advantages of what you have just done.

If branding is important to you, don't forget to register your username anywhere you can, especially if it's free to do so. (Have you registered your username on the Frugaldom Forum?)

eBid is a very well established website with over 3,500,000 listings in over 11,000 categories. It has members in over 20 countries and is growing by the day. It's no flash in the pan, it's something that every online seller, advertiser and marketer needs, even if it's simply to protect your business name and make the most of another free platform.

If you already sell on eBay or elsewhere, then consider giving eBid online auctions a test drive, too.

If you are planning to:
  • Start a new business
  • Launch a new product
  • Run a new promotion 
  • Widen your advertising
  • Liquidate surplus stock
  • Review your marketing strategy
  • Increase brand awareness
  • Expand your online presence
  • Integrate social media
  • Reduce costs
  • Declutter
eBid could provide you with many ideal opportunities. At the very least, you can secure your username for future campaigns and reap the rewards of some extra SEO and business name publicity.

eBid rewards all of its members with loyalty points known as 'Buddy Points'. Save them then spend them, without needing cash - it's BRILLIANT! (You do not need to buy or sell on eBid to earn buddy points.)

It is FREE TO JOIN and offers three types of membership - Buyer, Seller and Seller+

For Seller+ members, you can get up to 5 free online stores with secure shopping and payment systems that incorporate PayPal, PPPay and Google checkout, amongst others. You can open up to FIVE online stores with NO MONTHLY CHARGES or you might choose to open none! With eBid, you have free choice.

NYK Media has been a member of eBid since 1999. That's 12 years of FREE ADVERTISING so far, with up to 5 stores ready and waiting to be put to good use at any time.

Membership is growing worldwide. eBid began life as the UK's online auction site; if I recall correctly, it has always been FREE to join and FREE to list. If you decide to open stores, there's now a tiny fee for LIFETIME membership, however, this soon pays for itself when you consider that from thereonin, you may never need to pay fees ever again. You can, of course, choose to incorporate optional extras in your sales listings, which will cost you a few pennies along the way.

As soon as you register, you can begin earning 'buddy points' as part of the eBid loyalty scheme. These can be earned in several ways and spent on a variety of items, from branded merchandise to big brand electronics.

Earning Buddy Points:

Buddy Points can be earned by referring your friends, customers and colleagues. Once they join you will earn 1 point for each. If they then upgrade to Seller you will earn another point, if they upgrade to Seller+ you will earn a further 2 points. (I'm unashamedly hoping that this blog post will attract a few new buddies!)

•Referring a Buddy = 1 points
•Buddy Seller Upgrade = 2 points
•Buddy Seller+ Upgrade = 5 points
•Making a bid meeting reserve = 0.5% of reserve price (max 5 points)
•Purchasing via Winning Bid = 1.0% of final bid (max 5 points
•Purchasing using BuyNow = 1.0% of BuyNow price (max 5 points)
•Receiving positive feedback = 0.5% of final bid OR BuyNow price (max 5 points)

If you haven't already done so, I invite you to claim your free eBid username HERE. (If you choose to upgrade to a full Lifetime Seller+ membership, they'll send you a welcome 'freebie' T-shirt, so don't forget to email eBid and tell them what size to send you.)

If you want zero auction fees for life plus all the other benefits, then the SELLER+ Lifetime Offer is available NOW at just £49.49 (usually £74.99).

What can you get for your small investment?
  • Free to list (lifetime)
  • Zero Final Value Fees
  • 5 Free Photos per listing
  • 5 Free eBid Stores
  • Uploads to Google Shopping
  • Import from eBay
  • Unlimited Listings for Life
  • Simple to use
  • And let's not forget that all-important FREE T-SHIRT!
If you aren't ready to go the whole hog with a lifetime membership, you can still have a good look around to get the feel of the site and make the most of all the free marketing and advertising potential that the platform has to offer. The lifetime Seller+ offer is valid for up to 24 hours after you register, so don't miss out on this fantastic opportunity.

eBid Online Auctions  UK

How to Join

Go to eBid, select your country location and register your details and username. Joining is fast and free.

As mentioned by a savvy fellow eBidder, if you buy, sell or advertise on other sites like eBay, it's safest to register your username on eBid now, before someone else does! Register your username FREE by clicking HERE.

As a marketing tool and secure trading platform, eBid could be a frugal answer. Integrate it with all your social media networks, like Twitter and Facebook, use it as a store front website, incorporate it into all your advertising and marketing plans... where else can you get all this for FREE?
 
Help beat the blues, get into the purple!


NYK Media

Thursday 1 September 2011

A Little Bit of History and More ... About Cyberdosh

The Cyberdosh Challenges have been around since 1999, so we've tried many different methods of promoting the concept. Then along came social media...

Scottish £100 Note
A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY

Initially, the Cyberdosh site was set up as an online game, combining free to enter, cash prize competitions with sponsor advertising. The initial experiment met with some success, more so because it was, inadvertently, mentioned on the FT.com website. The event caused great hilarity in the office at the time, as prospective investors were emailing to ask when there would be a share issue!

This was never going to happen, as we were merely promoting a dozen or so local businesses by offering a £100 prize fund by way of an online treasure hunt. Most of the represented businesses were homebased. I intend to recreate this simplistic marketing 'toy-ploy' soon, in a bid to compare results with those from a decade ago.

Following on from the game, we then took Cyberdosh to eBid, the UK based alternative to the globally famous eBay. It was an ideal platform, offering free membership and a secure platform on which to build a small business. Most people automatically assumed that eBid was the poor relative of the better known online auctions, but there's so much more to the site than first meets the eye, especially when you start considering the huge potential it offers for serious frugal entrepreneurs harnessing free advertising, marketig and promotional opportunities. Of course, it is still an auction-based selling platform, so jumping in with both feet at a whopping great cost of less than £50 for a lifetime membership was a no brainer for someone like me.

Forums, blogs and social media were still a long way from where they now are, but in the year 2000, I dipped my toes into the public forum foray, eventually running Cyberdosh challenges on a monthly basis. We succeeded in proving that sales increased accordingly with any increase in advertising, marketing and promotion, even when no money was spent. Not exactly rocket science, you may think, but for many newcomers to online cash generation, it convinced them to take the plunge and start a small business. From late 2007, part of the challenge was taken to Martin Lewis' Moneysavingexpert forums, where it still continues, albeit in a slightly different format to what was originally intended. Nowt as strange as folks, as they say, changes were brought about owing to circumstances beyond my control.

A DECADE LATER

Much has happened over the past decade. For homebased, working parents, family commitments often took over, more often than not at the expense of starting up or succeeding in business. Nowadays, opportunities abound for everyone and anyone with a little bit of entrepreneurial spirit and it is my belief that this is still only the tip of the iceberg.


Cash, or more specifically credit, isn't as readily available, so budgets are being squeezed and stretched to breaking point. But times continue to change. I'm not rich, but NYK Media is still here. I was able to do enough to suvive this far, but what of the future?

How can any small business expect to survive, let alone generate a healthy profit, when there are so many restrictions? What makes the difference between success or failure? What are the incentives for bringing great ideas, services and products to market if the essential investment capital is unavailable? In order to get started and to survive during any economic slump we need to think outside the box - we need to be prepared to jump at every opportunity for extra exposure and ensure that every minute spent in doing so is geared towards benefitting your longterm business plan.

ABOUT THE CHALLENGE

For the purposes of the 2012 challenge, we are looking for a few enterprising individuals to join us in a bid to create, maintain and/or grow a small business of their own. It might be something you have already started or it might even be a brand new business idea. The main point is that it fits in with the concept of the 'frugal entrepreneur'..

In my next blog post, I will explain what I understand to be the meaning of a 'frugaleur'.

The Cyberdosh Challenge is completely FREE. Anyone is welcome to join at any time and no business is too small. If you choose not to take part, you are more than welcome to observe from the sidelines or throw in your tuppence worth if you see anyone making any glaring mistakes or taking any expensive wrong turns.


At the end of the day, this is about how much you can generate from how little.
  • You can follow this blog and comment here
  • Follow Frugaldom on Twitter
  • Register your free username in our dedicated forum
  • Register your free eBid username here
  • Don't miss any of the related mini challenges or extra promotions
I prefer to use the same username across a broad spectrum of sites, mainly for the purposes of creating a recognisable name at no cost to myself, so watch out for NYK Media and the Frugaldom associated challenges.

If you like this post, feel free to Tweet it, Blog it, Facebook it and, more importantly, +1 it.

If copying this article, please attribute copyright accordingly.
1998 - 2011 (c) by NYK Media