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Browsing Posts in Tool Tuesday

Tool Tuesday – Outright

March 6, 2012 No comments

 

After a few weeks break we are back with another Tool Tuesday. This weeks chosen tool is to do with a task all business people hate an dread…….accounting. But do not fear there is a breath of fresh air with a new online system from Outright.

outright, eBay Consultant, Andrew Milburn, Outright accounting, tool tuesday

 

The software from Outright is fully web based so there is no downloading anything on to your computer system and once you have have signed up for the service and entered in the details required you can sit back and let Outright take over looking after the finances. Each night Outright updates it self and fully manages your business accounts and put items into the right order. Sounds simple, well it is and apart from the time it take to set up the system which is not long at all, there is nothing else you need do………….Outright even sends you an email once a week with the key details for you, so that you know how much money you are making.

Now I guess you are sitting here thinking – sounds all well and good but all the things this does it will cost me a lot of money…….well the cost is wait for it FREE. Yes for the basic set up it is free, and to be honest most eBay traders can manage on the free set-up. But if you do need detailed and in depth reporting you would need to up grade to the pro account and this will cost you $9.95 a month.

So what are you waiting for sign up for a free account and see how you go along and if needed after time and as your business grows sign up for the pro account, but for now just go with the free version and see if it saves you time – chances are it will.

Andrew Milburn is an eBay Consultant based in Lichfield Staffordshire, for further details please phone 07582 889 050

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Why Vision Is So Important

February 14, 2012 No comments

 

Life as an eBay Consultant is different each day, you get to talk and interact with many people from all walks of life and from all corners of the world. As being an eBay Consultant allows you an insight into many different areas of a persons life, and at times they share some of the deepest secrets with you – I find this a real privilege and  when I see their dreams and visions come true is such a fantastic feeling that I have been allowed to part of their journey.

Glasses

One of the areas I have to visit with a client is their vision for their business, many of them have the strategy mapped out and the different stepping stones on how their business will run and be run. But I believe my job as their eBay Consultant is to take them back to the very beginning and ask them “What their vision is for their business”, in most cases they will say to make money. More often I will say ok that’s fine. I will then say so what will you do with your extra £10.00……more often than not I get a look, what do you mean.

I then explain that if they say to make money this can be anything from a few pounds up to many millions they need to define their vision for their business. You see once the vision is set down on paper, you can then put into place the strategy to make the vision come true.

But first the Vision Statement.

 

It has been said that your vision statement needs to be written in the present tense, this helps you and your brain to live out your vision and the vision will then become true. Also it helps to read your vision statement on a regular basis. For example :

I list 10 items a day in my eBay shop

I sell 5 items a day

I attend 3 Trade Fairs a year

Your vision statement has to be personal to you and your business, you should never take someone else’s vision statement as it will never work for you as it was their vision and not yours.

It is a good idea to take some time out to write the vision statement and I often find and recommend to my eBay Consultancy clients to find a quiet place where you are on your own. Turn off your mobile phones and computers and start to write down what you would like to see from your business.

You need to write down where you are now – this may be hard for some people as they do not like the position they are in, but it needs to be done. And note what changes need to take place

Next write down where you want to be (Note you do not write down the steps needed to get there, this is where the strategy comes in). Write it in present day sentences. Also try and make the vision challenging so it will stretch you, but also it is possible to achieve. If you write too challenging visions you will never meet them.

As I mentioned as an eBay Consultant it is a real privilege when people share their visions with me and then later on seeing them come true.

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Tool Tuesday – Books And Magazines

January 31, 2012 No comments

 

Books and Magazines

 

This weeks Tool Tuesday is going away from gadgets and systems and is going back to some basics. We need to get back to reading books and magazines on a daily basis. It is a proven fact that the people who read on a daily basis are the ones who achieve more things in life. Now I am talking about novels and fiction here (These are good), but about books, magazines and articles that can help you take your business to the next level.

A few years ago it was very hard to ready books while on the train going to work due to the size of books and having to carry them around with you. But today we are so Blessed due to the fact we have the Kindle and Kindle Apps for our books and magazines and nowadays we can carry around with us hundreds of business books and magazines in our pockets.

Today Kindle have a large range of business titles and business magazines that we can download and read on the train, when we are waiting in a queue, or waiting for a client. No more wasting time !!! Now you can improve yourself and your business.

So what types of books should you be reading, well I would love to help you with this, but sadly I do not know your needs and what areas you want to improve in your life and the the life of your business.

But there are books and magazines out there to help you with :

  • Self Improvement
  • Accounting
  • Book Keeping
  • Marketing
  • Product Sourcing
  • Social Media
  • General Business
  • Internet
  • And the list goes on and on

So as we bring this tool Tuesday article to a close can I please encourage you to start reading more and as you read more you will find that your business will grow and so in turn as a person you too will grow.

Happy Reading.

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Tool Tuesday – OSI Rock Stars

January 17, 2012 No comments

Sell

I have mentioned OSI Rock Stars, before and when I am with clients I will often mention the Rock Stars Program if I feel they would benefit from it. Yes it may seem strange for an eBay Consultant talking about another training program, but OSI Rock Stars is far more than a training program.

OSI Rock Stars was started by Janelle Elms, who I have got to know very well over the years, and she and her team of trainers have personally helped me take my businesses to the next level and beyond.

So What Is OSI Rock Stars ?

Well before we get to what it is, first let me tell you what it is not. Rock Stars is not for someone who just wants to pay their monthly or yearly fee and expect Janelle to hold your hand and your business will grow. This will not happen. You pay your fees and you have to work, and at times work hard, and be prepared to learn some honest truths about your business and yourself. But I can tell you if you take hold of what Janelle teaches and then put into action, your business will grow from strength to strength.

OSI Rock Stars is a whole way of life week by week Janelle and her trusted hand picked team teach us step by step how to grow our businesses and also ourselves. We have homework from time to time, and Janelle will often ask us to turn this work in, and then she will go through each part of our homework and pull out the good and the bad parts. (But do not worry any private info will never be shown). We all learn from the mistakes and good parts of our homework.

Also within the Rock Stars program there are now well over 600 hours of webinars and podcasts that you can watch and listen to. Then there are the forums where you can ask questions and normally within a matter of hours and sometime minutes there will be a reply to your question from Rock Stars all over the world.

I believe OSI Rock Stars is a valid tool for your business, but only if you are willing to put into action what you have learned in the classes.

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Tool Tuesday – Google Docs

January 10, 2012 No comments

 

google docs

In this modern fast paced world we are always looking for ways to do business faster and better. And it seems every day there is a company bringing out a new tool or product to help us improve our business and our lifestyle.

As an eBay Consultant I often find myself working away from home and needing to access some client info. In the past this meant having to carry around files, or discs or memory sticks with the info on. (And this also meant a high risk of leaving a file or documents behind – not good)

Yes I know we have things like Excel, Access and these are good and still work, but one of the challenges are the fact that they are on your computer and if you update them you then have to send a copy to your client, and they then have to replace the old one with the new one and if you make several revisions this becomes almost impossible and for an eBay Consultant makes it very hard trying to keep track of clients information.

Also let’s look at it from a sellers point of view, you sell an item to a friend, and update your spreadsheet, and email it to yourself at home so you remember to update your eBay stock, in the meantime back home your partner sells the same item and updates their spreadsheet, and soon the spreadsheet is way out of date.

But those guys at Google have developed Google Docs. This is cloud computing at it’s best. As soon as you update a spreadsheet, document or  presentation it is instantly changed. This is a great help to people such as an eBay Consultant. You can also allow other people access to the item, and they can be allowed to just view or even edit.

This is powerful and also fun. For example if I am online at the same time as a client and either of us make a change we see this happen before our eyes. This is great and everyone can be kept up to date and no one has an old copy ever.

 

Below is quick example of how people can work on a letter together

 

 

 

Andrew Milburn Is An eBay Consultant based in the UK

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Tool Tuesday – Evernote

January 3, 2012 No comments

 evernote-logo

As an eBay Consultant we are asked many different question, but if you asked all the eBay consultants around the world they could most likely group the questions in around 5 different groups. And one of the groups would be “Tools”. What tools do you use in your business to help you streamline your business and enable you to do as much as you do in a day or week.

Well I will let you into a little secret eBay consultants have 30 hours in their days……….I wish !!! No we all have tools and programs that we use on a daily basis to help us manage our time and activities. But before we get into this weeks chosen tool, I want to say if you are serious about your eBay (or Amazon / Etsy) business then you need a Smartphone one that is either on the iphone  or Android platform due to the many apps that there are to help you. I myself am using a Samsung Galaxy S on the Android platform and it is like an extra person in my business.

This weeks tool is called Evernote. This App works on both your phone (iPhone / Android) but it also sinks with your computer and as it is a web based program it can be asked from any computer in the world where there is an internet connection.

So what is Evernote ?

 

Evernote is like a notebook on super power. In simple terms you have almost unlimited notebooks and within those notebooks you can make notes. So for example you can have an eBay Notebook and then within that eBay notebook you can have notes such as product ideas, product sources, a new carriers name and address. You can also take photo’s and make audio notes and then tag them with keywords so that they are easy to find.

Then once you have made the note you just press sync on your phone and within seconds it is available  in the cloud. Let’s look at an example you are out sourcing products and make notes of a great product. You jot down names, costs where you saw it and take a quick picture. You press sync, and within seconds your contact back at home or the office has it on their laptop then again within seconds it can be shared with a friend in China and within a day you could have access to that product.

Yes you could just email the person but Evernote is far more powerful and is accessible far easier and can be shared far faster around the world. And the best bit it is free for the basic package and unless you are doing massive amounts of note taking the free version is all you need, but if you do need to upgrade to the premium version it is very affordable.

 

Another use of Evernote is the app that sits in the Google Chrome Browser. Again let’s say you come across some product ideas while you are surfing the net. In days gone by you would either have to print of sheets of paper or make notes which take time. Now you can just send the ideas to your phone or tablet. The video below shows you more what can be done.

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Tool Tuesday – Printers

July 12, 2011 No comments

Printers

In this week Tool Tuesday, I want to talk about printers, and how if you are serious with your eBay and online business you need a good reliable one, that is fast and also cheap to run. Going back just a few years printers were very expensive and also the ink that it need to run on was also extremely expensive. But as with anything the price of items have come down, both the printer and also the ink, and also the “copy” ink has vastly improved.

But also we need to think what we will need the printer for, if it is just printing off invoices and name and address labels, then a cheaper with basic setting will do, but if you will be using the printer for a complex printing jobs with lots of colour and complex pictures then you will need a higher end printer, and the inks need to be quite cheap.

As mentioned before there are so many printers and it will depend on what you want to do with it. Now if you are looking for a very high end printer to print posters for your eBay business then unless you know what you are looking for you will need to visit some Trade Shows and talk to people in the business and see what the best ones are for your niche.

Over the years I have used many printers, Canon, Epsom and recently a Kodak and hands down the Kodak has won. It is an all round good printer, and also the ink is way cheaper and I can use the genuine ink as the costs are so low.

 

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Tool Tuesday – Google Reader

Tool Tuesday – Google Reader

Well here we are with another Tool Tuesday and the one I have chosen for you is Google Reader. Google Reader is not so much of a money making tool on the surface, but as you start to use it you can see how it can make you money and also over time as well save you money.

As business owners we are very busy people many of us having to run all the different parts of our businesses on our own, but at the same time we like and often need to keep up to date on what is happening in our different niches and Industry news. Now normally we have a list of different blogs we go to, and another list of places that we should go to for information but due to time we often miss out of some important information.

With blogs and websites we want to go to them but just do not have the time to go through everything and then get side tracked by all the other posts and pages. Well stop right there…………………….help is at hand with Google Reader. In simple terms what Google Reader does is use the RSS feed from the blog and push the information to your Google Reader.  All it takes is a few mouse clicks.

Then the magic all starts. Everytime a Blog or RSS feed is update it is pushed to your Google Reader and it is sitting waiting there for you to read. You can do settings within the reader to show whole post or just the title. For me I have the whole post. I see the heading and if it is of interest I cick it and again if by magic I get the whole post or article.

Now the magic just keeps on coming with Google Reader, you can read this on your computer, phone, Ipad, Tablet, so you can read the posts where ever you are in the world.
YouTube Preview Image

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Tool Tuesday – Eyes

June 28, 2011 No comments

Eyes

Today’s Tool Tuesday is all about eyes they are one of the most important tools we have in your eBay and online business. As an eBay consultant we are often asked what tools do we need to run our eBay business, and we will often give them the normal list Computer, internet etc, but then we say things like eyes. So why are our eyes so important to our online business.

Eyes And Our eBay Business

We can have all the latest gadgets known to man to help us run our eBay business, and we can have all the top brains in world helping is and while this is all good, at times we miss those small items in our lives that God gave us for a reason and one of these items are our eyes. every day we see many hundreds if not thousands of images pass our eyes and our brain takes notes and stores them in our storage system called our brain. But how can we turn that into making money?

Well when we are out and about either at work or out with family and friends take time to look around you and see what products and services there are. If you had the time and I do encourage you to take some time and do this and make notes at the end of the time period you will be shocked at what you will find.

All around us are product ideas for us to look into. The types and styles of clothing we see people wearing, the colours they use, gadgets they use and how they use their gadgets. Books people read, the many thousands of magazines that are printed every week – each one of those magazines contain hundreds of product ideas and sources. I could go on and on with examples, but let me challenge you.

This week go out and use your eyes and see how many product ideas you can find by just taking the time and look around you.

Andrew Milburn Is An eBay Consultant Based In Lichfield UK

 

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Tool Tuesday – Postage Scales

June 21, 2011 No comments

Postage Scales

Postage Scales are a must have tool if you are looking to make money in selling on eBay. Now if you are new to eCommerce and selling real products that need to go into the postal system you may be thinking why would I need Postage Scales. Well if you are very good at guessing weights then you might have an excuse – but sooner or later you will get caught out.

Postage Scales are very important when you are selling on places such as eBay, they allow you to work out how much an item costs to post well before you even do the listing on eBay. This will help you when it comes to working out your postage costs and also will show if you can offer free shipping.Postage Scales

When I first started out I just used a pair of cheap kitchen scales, but as time went on and I was selling more and more, I decided to invest in some proper Postage Scales. And I can tell you they have been wonderful. No more guessing and no more losing out when the kitchen scales weighed wrong. Proper Postage Scales are very good with low weights so they will weigh very light items right through to large and heavy items.

Postage Scale Facts

As with everything postage scales come in all sizes and price ranges to suit all budgets. When you buy your first set, go for ones that weigh in grams / KG and also ounces and pounds. This is because different carriers use different methods. Another tip I found very useful was try and buy a pair of postage scales where the number panel comes off the base. This is so you can weigh bulky items and hold the dial in your hands. (Hope that makes sense !!!)

Lastly when you are buying Postage Scales buy ones that weigh upto 20kg+ this will allow you to weigh most items you will be selling online.

Andrew Milburn is an eBay consultant based in Lichfield UK

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