30 Creative Ways To Raise Money And Start Your Own Business

Posted by Ricky Figueroa on Jun 6, 2013 | 0 comments

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Hello my friend! Ricky Figueroa here.

First, I want to make clear that I am not affiliated  in any way, shape or form with any of the institutions, and sites I mention below. In other words, I do not make any commissions at all, if you decide to try any of the options below.

When most people start a business, the smart ones do NOT use their own money. If they did, they would be taking it from their checking account, savings account, cookie jar, or out from under their mattress.

But most people, when they start a business, use someone else’s money. That’s what we do when we use our credit card, home equity line of credit, or borrow the funds from a friend.

There is an important thing to remember . . . and this is always a strong motivation … the cost involved in starting a business is TAX DEDUCTIBLE!

So let’s look at some of the ways that people can get started with little or no money of their own. Be sure and read all 30 ideas. There is going to be one that will help you.

1) Sign-Up with your Credit Card.

That is how many get started but if you don’t have a card, you’ll have to apply for and receive the card first! This is the best option because it gives you 30 days to recoup your investment and you will immediately be able to conduct your business. Here are some choices of credit card companies:

https://creditcards.chase.com/ink-business-credit-cards/rewards/ink-cash-card

(MANY PEOPLE ARE GETTING APPROVED WITH THIS METHOD WITH NO ISSUES. Must set up a business name to apply. Get your own business name through the state. I created my own LLC pretty quick, cheap and easy with LegalZoom.)

www.mbna.com

http://creditcards2u.com

http://www.100best-credit-cards.com

http://www.creditcardsmatter.com

2) Obtain a Loan on your 401K.

These loans are great if they’re an option for you because there are no turndowns or penalties. The interest rate is 5%…and you’re paying that interest to yourself!

3) Financing is available however it is subject to a ‘Credit Check.’ The loan company is called AG Finance and they give small personal loans to people for businesses or home renovations. Several people have gone through them to start a business and they have been approved.

It’s free to submit your application. Please visit their website for detailed information:

AG Finance has many offices all over the US . Each customer puts in their zip code and the nearest location is pulled up.

It takes a few minutes, online or over the phone, to complete the application and the customer finds out within 24 hours if they were approved. If so they will receive a check in the mail within 2-3 days. Payback varies from customer to customer because it’s determined by their credit score.

Here are a few more sources. We suggest that you actually apply for all of them and if you get approved for them all, just pick ONE to get your financing from. It costs you nothing to apply for them. You can reach all of them at 1-800-555-1212 or search for them on the web.

4) Household Finance: https://www.hfc.com/learn/HomeNewUser.jst

5) American General: https://loans.agfcredit.com/Iaps/Html/AGHome.html

6) Citi Financial: http://www.wamu.com/home.htm

7) Beneficial: https://secure.citifinancial.com/loanapp/gettingstarted.php

8) (For Canadians) http://www.citifinancial.ca/eng/emain.html 

Some Other Ideas And Strategies To Raise Money And Start Your Own Business…

9) Obtain a short term loan from a friend or family member. Borrow $50 from 100 people. Or $100 from 50 People.

10) Obtain a home equity loan

11) Increase an existing equity line

12) Sell a car you don’t use

13) Have a Rummage Sale

14) Sell off your old CD/DVD collection to the pawn shop

15) Find two or three people or businesses to buy and share the package together.

16) Try: www.eloan.com

17) Get a side job, and work it hard for one month, save all the money. One month is not a big deal or sacrifice, if you really want to start your own business successfully.

18) Crack open your IRA or CD Account Early.

19) Borrow against your future tax return.

20) Sell a farm animal or farm implement you do not use or need.

21) Refinance the House on a different plan and take some cash out.

22) Find the fat in your budget and put that money aside until you have enough to start.

23) Use your income tax return.

24) Stock Dividends.

25) Borrow from Life Insurance policy.

26) Sell a timeshare.

27) Get a title loan on your vehicle, boat or camper.

28) The following link is a way for Canadians to obtain a credit card that offers awesome benefits:

http://www.banking.pcfinancial.ca

29) Focus on how to become an entrepreneur full time to raise the funds to start your own business. What can you sell around you or create to sell to raise the funds! We have a member who sold gourmet dog biscuits!

30) Sell items on Ebay or Amazon!

Bottom line is… IF YOU ARE SERIOUS AND HAVE DESIRE – You will come up with a solution somehow, and even one that is not in this list. When I was presented with the opportunity to start my own business… I didn’t have the money. In fact, I only had $3.50 to my name, but I found the way in just one day! I am 1000 times over glad I did! If you want to learn what I did to come up with the money to start my own business, simply go to My First Quarter 2013 Income Report Post.

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My January, February and March 2013 Monthly Income Report

Posted by Ricky Figueroa on May 29, 2013 | 0 comments

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Welcome to my very first income report. I’ve decided to make this monthly income report about the first quarter of 2013.

Each month I will be writing a detailed report that goes over what I’ve done and lessons learned from the previous month, and I will list where my income comes from and exactly how much I’ve earned. By the way, 100% of my income is generated online.

For those of you new to CEOinfluence.com, you might be wondering why I care to post my income reports in the first place.

Here’s why:

Companies in the stock market share their earnings too, which gives people an idea of how the company is performing. Based on that, people can make a decision whether or not to invest (or continue investing) in that company.

Although my readers, listeners and viewers are not investing money into my company, you are investing time – time to consume my content as well as any time you use to execute the strategies and methods I share. It’s my responsibility as a person in this particular niche to be totally upfront, honest and transparent with you, and to give you a snapshot each month of how I’m performing.

The earnings, although I know that’s the first thing a lot of people look at, are just a part of the whole picture. What I’ve done and the lessons learned along the way are much more valuable in my eyes, and I hope they are to you too.

I hope you enjoy this month’s report, and make sure to sign up with your email below for completely free updates about the CEO Influence Blog (CIB), and more. If you would like to connect with me on Facebook – simply click here.

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What Went Down in January, February and March

What Went Down? Well, in order to tell you what happened in the first 3 months of 2013 – I would have to share with you… what happened in December of 2012.

By December of last year, I was completely broke. In fact, I only had $3.50 to my name, barely no food in the fridge, frustrated, with no income, sleeping on a friend’s couch and not a clear path to follow. By December… CEOinfluence.com was one year old, but with no revenues, and of course, no clear vision, mission and structure.

I remember asking myself, “What In The World Am I Going To Do To Get Out Of This Hole… WITHOUT Having To Work For Someone Else?” I also asked myself, “What Can I Do To Make Money Fast?…. What Am I Good At?”

The Idea That Helped Me Start Changing Things Around

I started writing down all the things I was good at… and to be honest, it took me a while to write the first one. When I came up with a handful of “good skills”… there was one of them that got me thinking. I was building a decent amount of following on Twitter – by that time it was a little bit over 10,000 followers, and I said to myself, “I can create a webinar teaching others how to build their twitter following and build relationships almost on 100% autopilot… without becoming a spammer.”

Did I Know How To Host A Webinar? Absolutely Not. The honest truth is that I was not in the position to let the fact that I did not know HOW to do it – to stop me. All I knew was THE REASON I had to make it happen.

The funny thing is that even before I had the training together… I already had done… a very simple sales letter with a video of me explaining why it was important to master twitter marketing. I also shared the details about what I was going to teach exactly and I started promoting the webinar on Twitter and Facebook. I sold each spot for a $49 one-time fee, and I used Paypal to receive the payments.

To tell you the truth, I did put my heart into that webinar. Was it perfect? NO. I made many technical mistakes – some were out of my control, but some others were caused by my inexperience. But I also gain tons of experience, good friends, and some of them became part of what is now my affiliate team – The Unstoppable Freedom Team.

Back To The Beginning Before Everything Changed

Back in December 2012… that idea I just shared with you… opened the door for me to buy some groceries, and join a unique affiliate program that truly changed things around for me – financially, emotionally and physically. For you to have an idea… it took me from nothing to over $10,000 in my first 90 days in affiliate commissions.

Now, that may not seem a life changing amount of money, but for me… it meant more than just an income. Those $10K represented a REAL breakthrough, a possibility, the beginning of something way bigger – Unstoppable Freedom.

Many people asked me, “Ricky… what about all your bills and debt?” 

Well, I had tons of bills, and debt (which most of it is already gone). At that moment I made the decision to invest in myself and take the risk to invest on my ability to build a business online. Bills and Debt… were not a priority for me – period. I know some people lose sleep because of debt and bills, but I made the choice to rise above it all. Thankfully, I am on my way to be completely debt-free by the end of this year. To say the least… I feel truly blessed.

Here is a summary of lessons I learned during the first 3 months of 2013:

• The Power of Focusing on One Business. One of my biggest mistakes in the past was trying to build multiple streams of income at the same time when I was just getting started. Every time I heard of the “next big thing” or big launch… I had to get on it… “to make more money.” That was the wrong mindset and it cost me a lot of frustrations, and a lot of money. When I decided to focus on this one business and built my network around it – that is when I started creating success and inspiring others. I basically stopped my “shiny object syndrome” and I committed to implement the power of focus.

• Keeping It Simple. By nature, I am a creative individual and tons of ideas come to my head all the time, but that was getting me unfocused. I was jumping from idea to idea and I was over complicating myself so many times. So I have decided to follow what other successful people were doing and that was – keeping things stupid simple. I simply followed the system already in place every single day… for 90 days straight.

• The Power of Making a Committed Decision. I realized that the only way I was going to change things around financially… I had to make a committed decision… and a decision is only a decision when you follow through with daily consistent action and when you start with the “I will make it happen no matter what” mindset. This was so crucial to me, because it made me reach inside for the real reason… that “thing” that pushed me every morning to get on it with passion.

“No Alarm Clock Needed – Passion Wakes Me.”

 Income Breakdown (January)

Disclosure: many of the links below are affiliate links that will earn me a commission if you purchase through them. If you do, I absolutely appreciate it and if you have any questions about any of the products or services please contact me!

 Income Breakdown (February)

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10 Ways to Avoid Quitting in Your First 3 Months With Your Business Strategy

Posted by Ricky Figueroa on Mar 29, 2013 | 0 comments

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What’s happening, my friend?! Ricky Figueroa here.

Let’s be honest here… Most people who start a business – do it with the wrong mindset, turning the potential adventure into a real nightmare. This causes them to quit even before they can start experiencing some success.

Here are 10 Ways to Avoid Quitting or Failure in Your First 3 Months With Your Business Strategy – no matter if it an online business, network marketing business, old traditional business, etc. What I am about to share with you applies to any kind of business:

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• Amass Clients, Not Capital. Don’t sell a business idea to people who won’t care – sell products and services to people who might care. Fund your company on consumer revenues and build your business with only your business in mind – not hypothetical future investors.

• Sell! Sell! Sell! Concentrate on selling – not planning – the plan. Create income, not paperwork.

• Perfection Is The Enemy. Good enough is better than perfect. Forget crossing your T’s and dotting your I’s; your priority is to find the fastest routes to generate immediate cash flow.

• Productivity At All Costs. Stay organized and efficient, but don’t get caught up in busy work. If your tasks aren’t directly related to your bottom line, scrap them in favor of efforts that are.

• Automate, Delegate, or Outsource Remedial Tasks. Automate tasks you can’t scrap (like paying bills and bookkeeping) with online tools and cheap services so you can keep your eye on the revenue-generating tasks.

• Be Penny Wise, Not Dollar Foolish. Always attempt to save money wherever and whenever possible. However, don’t try to save money at the expense of productivity as your business begins to generate positive cash flow; rather, invest in productivity when necessary to increase your effectiveness. Outsourcing select activities (such as those mentioned in number 5) will dramatically free up your time and keep your attention where it needs to be: on sales and marketing.

• Be Realistic. Stay reasonable and grounded. Keep your sales, marketing, and business growth assumptions and expectations in check. It’s better to surprise yourself with positive results than it is to consistently disappoint yourself with negative ones.

• Fix It As It Breaks. If something isn’t working, determine the root cause, assess the possible solutions, and fix it – right then and there. Don’t make the same mistakes twice, or the second time might be your last mistake. On the other hand, do not try to fix what is not broken. If it is working well – do not try to make it way better… you will regret it.

• Don’t Be A Procrastinator. Tomorrow is never better than today. Wake up every morning knowing how you are going to get the most out of your day. Get off your ass and find ways to make money.

• Connect With People Who Know What You Don’t. You don’t know all, nor should you try to. Find mentors who can answer your questions, help you move your business out of the ditches, and set you straight when you are being a moron.

Click Here To Discover The Perfect Business For You

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Why We Left Visalus (REAL TALK)

Posted by Ricky Figueroa on Feb 6, 2013 | 0 comments

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We had to tell our side of the story on our real experiences in the Offline Traditional MLM World.

Getting Paid to Party…. Was that really true?

The opinions we express our simply based on our personal experience, and yours may have been very different from ours. We are not saying we are RIGHT, We are not saying that the Traditional Marketing strategies don’t work (I met lots of STUDS by using the 3 foot rule at Walmart… lol) but for us, it was a Nightmare. And we were the ones making money!

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Empower Network Review 2013: Make Money Blogging (100% Commission)

Posted by Ricky Figueroa on Jan 15, 2013 | 1 comment

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This is an official Empower Network Review – If you want to learn how you can earn 100% Commission and make money by blogging read on… WARNING: The contents in this blog will change you life FOREVER! Proceed only if you’re ready for real income.

Chances are if you’re in the home based business industry at some point you’ve asked yourself the question how can I make money by blogging. If you don’t already have a blog, you’ve at least considered the idea of whether or not you should start blogging. If you fall into either one of these categories, keep reading… this Empower Network Review is for you.

We’re all in this industry of home-based businesses to make money. Whether network marketing, affiliate marketing, internet marketing or in the traditional sense, we’re all looking for that one thing that will help us take a load off and make the road to financial freedom just a little easier.

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Introducing Empower Network

Created by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs, Empower Network is a “plug and play” viral blogging and marketing system modeled after creator David Wood’s own personal blog. The idea of Empower Network has been in the works nearly a year and was developed out of David’s own desire to earn extra income. See, although he was already generating a substantial amount (somewhere around $30k a month), he knew that the only way he would be able to earn more was to help his team earn extra income as well.

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The Answer to 4 Major Problems Plaguing Marketers

1. Website: Empower Network eliminates the need for web hosting, graphic designers, and an advanced knowledge that is generally required for self hosted blogs. Speaking from experience, 95% of the time I spent in the very beginning was in the “how-tos” – so much so that I rarely put any content out because I was always designing, and although I gained some GREAT skills, I missed out on a ton of opportunity to generate consistent readers thereby growing my list.

2. Traffic: Most people really do believe “If you build it they will come” and when it comes to the internet and blogging, that’s just not the way it happens. There are SO many sites out there offer information the average person becomes overwhelmed after looking at the first page of Google. If you don’t possess an in depth knowledge of SEO or least have the resources to outsource this task all your hard work may be for not. You’ll blog for a few months, not generate much of a response (if any) and quit, or at best lose your level of consistency.

3. Conversions: So you have a blog, the design is everything you want it to be. Your SEO game is on point – you’ve dominated keywords, on page, off page, backlinks – EVERYTHING! Your email autoresponder is going crazy with new leads and yet…. you still haven’t made any sales and if you have it’s not enough to write home about. The reality is, even if you master getting traffic to your site, in order to make money by blogging you have to know how to convert your traffic into sales – a skill very few of us in the home based industry actually possess.

4. Commissions: We’ve all been here – You sign up for a business opportunity eyes wide shut. “This is it! This is the one!” you say to yourself. You call your mom, dad, spouse, ex-spouse, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends…. everyone. A couple sign ups come in and you think “Yes! This is the check I’m gonna show off to all the naysayers on Facebook!” The check comes in the mail – it’s heavy. You rip open the envelope, pull it out…. and it’s $50… or maybe it’s $100. This can’t be right?

You should AT LEAST have $500. So you call your upline and they call their upline (b/c they don’t really understand the comp plan either), eventually you’re referred to the back office where you find that little piece of fine print: In order to qualify you must have one on the left, one on the right, two under the right, one under the left, 3 under them, turn around, touch your toes, do the Hokey Pokey and Cha Cha Slide all at once to receive what you thought was money in the bank. I’ll be the first to say I’ve been there… mad as all get out and to make things worse now your rep is ruined with your warm market beacuase what they received was worse than you.

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So How Does Empower Network Solve These Problems?

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Empower Network comes equipped with all the necessary tools for working your business.

• A ready to go blog with banners, graphics, and marketing materials. No set up, installation, techie issues – nothing. Just blog and publish.

• An 8 part training course designed to get you up and running on the first day.

• State of the art sales funnel with full integration into your Aweber or Get Response autoresponder.

• 100% Commission!!! (The best part)

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Seriously… you can’t beat 100% commission. You earn what you work for and it goes straight into your bank account as soon as the sales is complete! How JUICY is that?!?!!

Click here to Watch This Short Video on the Empower Network Compensation Plan for a full understanding. 

If you’ve ever wanted to position yourself in front of something major, this is it! For an inside peek at what will be the biggest viral marketing system to date and your chance to get in while Empower Network is still in prelaunch: Click here

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