How To Add Immense Value To Your Expired Domain By Buying Expired Domain Traffic

Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2008 John Khu


Sensible expired domain traders always realize the immense value of expired domain traffic and they also understand how expired domain traffic can supplement the overall value of the domain in providing a premium value that eventually helps them in getting the best possible monetary gains. You can make your expired domains prosperous, richer and healthier, when you import and supplement additional traffic to your domain; quality links and an organic type of traffic can help your domain automatically add better value and a premium tag. An expired domain with a big list of quality traffic and inbound links could be a big asset to your domain trading business. However, to make your ambitions a big reality, you may wish to find a practical way to pool traffic and links to enrich the expired domain.

Now, the big question is how you propose to bring quality traffic to your web domain Expired domain traffic will not just come trickling down to your web domain. To make it happen, you will need to create a solid action plan that aims at making people come visiting your web domain. There are several strategies and techniques that help you add traffic and links to your web domain. Here are some of the proven strategies and methods that empower you to import better quality traffic to your expired domain:

Approach Number 1

Buying an expired domain that already has some amount of traffic and inbound links is a viable option. However, finding such a domain is actually a tough task because of the intensive competition surrounding that domain. To ensure that you are buying a good expired domain, you can request for an expired domain appraisal report from the owner. In many cases, an expired domain name may have little amount of traffic attached to it; under such a scenario, you will need to look and examine closely at the uniqueness and specialty of the domain.

Approach Number 2

This is a roundabout way of developing expired domain traffic that needs some amount of time and money. It is also quite tedious and complicated task to add traffic and links to your expired domain. Domain parking is possibly one of the easiest methods to bring good quality traffic to your expired domain. The most beneficial aspect of this approach is the low cost involved in the exercise. Web portals like Sedo.com offers cheaper domain parking services that also provide a simple web template to make your prospective visitors to click on the page and lead them to another web site.

Approach Number 3

However, the quality of traffic generated here is quite inferior and many search engines may never rate this type of traffic. To bring high quality expired-domain traffic to your domain, you may also wish to set up a well designed and well conceived web portal. When you promote your web portal in a systematic and organized manner, people will come flocking to visit your web site, by typing the actual URL on the address bar of the web site; this type of traffic is true and real and it is highly organic in its nature. An effective Pay per lead program is another additional and lucrative program that could be a potentially powerful formula to create domain traffic as well as a small amount of income.

Approach Number 4

If you are short of good quality traffic, you can even buy a pack of quality expired domain traffic from a seller. However, you are never sure of the inherent quality of traffic purchased by you. In many cases, it may not even work to your benefit and expectations.

Adding value to your domain by importing high quality expired domain traffic means:

Creating a premium web domain that carries a top of the class commercial rating.

Setting up a well coordinated business opportunity that can provide you lucrative gains.

Learn and understand the insider secrets of using the expired domain traffic to its fullest possible extent.


About the Author:
John Khu is an author and also a seasoned professional with vast experience in expired domain name business. He is also the owner of the path breaking web sites called http://www.expireddomainsecret.com and http://www.expireddomaingains.com which provides complete and up-to-date information on expired domains and their eternal secrets.

Competitive Advantage ---- Make Your Strategic Plan Your Launching Pad

Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2008 Rick Johnson


Developing competitive advantage in the market place is not the easiest thing to accomplish.

According to Wikipedia,

"Competitive advantage is a position that a company occupies in its competitive landscape. A competitive advantage, sustainable or not, exists when a company makes a profit, that is, their earnings exceed their costs.. That means that normal competitive pressures are not able to drive down the firm's earnings to the point where they cover all costs and just provide minimum sufficient additional return to keep capital invested. Most forms of competitive advantage cannot be sustained for any length of time because the promise of profits invites competitors to duplicate the competitive advantage held by any one firm.

A firm possesses a sustainable competitive advantage when it has value-creating processes and positions that cannot be duplicated or imitated by other firms that lead to the production of above-normal rents."

Wow.... That's a mouthful and pretty simplistic. However, to make that happen and create sustainable competitive advantage, which means creating sustainable profitability, I believe it starts with a well thought out strategic plan; a plan that has the potential to substantially improve a company's performance. A strategic plan is a competitive differentiator in today's volatile economy and it can function as a launching pad to create competitive advantage by leveraging your differentiation. What is it that you do that makes you different and defines your value propositions?

Vision

Creating a well thought out strategic plan starts with a vision. Most importantly, however, as a leader you must be able to turn this vision into a cause. A vision without a cause is simply a day dream. That means that as the leader you must be able to document this vision into an end game - a destination that you want the company to reach.

A critical factor and the very first step in developing a strategic plan is turning your vision into a cause by developing your end game. Just exactly what do you want your company to be when it grows up? Ask yourself the following questions from the perspective of looking five to seven years into the future.

1. What markets should your company be serving five years from now?

2. What products should you be distributing?

3. Who are your primary competitors?

4. What are your strengths?

5. What are your competitors' strengths?

6. How has your marketing strategy changed?

7. What are your core competencies?

8. What is the size of your revenue stream?

9. How is your revenue stream segmented?

10. Do you have a Human Resource Development plan?

A Creative Process

Strategic planning is a creative process the starts with the visionary creativity of the owner or CEO. The fresh insight it engenders might very well alter past initiatives. Planning also consumes resources which are precious commodities. It can be an overwhelming and daunting task, but it is a process that eventually defines the direction and activities of the organization.. Despite its overwhelming nature, the benefits of planning can far outweigh the hard work and pain involved in the process. Strategic planning is a key process that adjusts an organization's direction in response to a changing environment. It supports the fundamental decisions and actions that shape and guide an organization. A sound strategic plan can help define and focus a distributor's efforts to move the company in the right direction, using the best methods. It can and often does create competitive advantage.

A well thought out Strategic Plan is essential for a business to be successful. Unfortunately, many businesses fail when it comes time to implement their plans. The result can be wasted time and money as well as numerous missed opportunities.

Strategic planning creates a team culture that is necessary for success. Working together effectively is not automatic. It takes a specific effort and the development of a culture that is supported by executive management. Shared experiences create unity and value. Knowledge transfer is essential for an organization to grow. Without knowledge transfer and the sharing of the planning experience it is difficult for the group to share the vision and work toward common goals.

Some "experts" may encourage you to hold a weekend retreat where you all sing the same songs, drink the same kool-aid and come away with a long list of initiatives that never get done. Other experts may tell you, as published in one of our industry's leading newsletters:

"The strategic planning process itself is simple enough for most firms to do the work on their own. An outside facilitator with the right experience and skills can speed the process and help to assure workable results. An ideal plan can be boiled down to a 'one-page strategic plan,' a simple summary every employee can understand and apply in his or her daily work."

Not true, not true at all. Oh, it is certainly important for every employee to have a crisp, short explanation of what your strategy is all about but this is simply part of creating ownership and buy-in. We call it the "Core Strategy Statement".

Implementation is Key

Absolutely essential but standing on its own with no precise implantation outline, with accountability, goals and timelines makes it nothing more than a slogan or mission statement. And...... Mission Statements do not create success. Actions create success.

Developing a successful strategic plan that creates competitive advantage is much more than a one page brief. There are a number of important factors that must be considered if a strategic plan is to be successfully implemented. There are a number of ways to insure that company behavior really changes as a result of the strategic planning process.

A strategic plan that creates competitive advantage must be built upon the following:

Specific real-world objectives must be set. These objectives must have goals and be measureable.

Objectives and initiatives must be prioritized and compared to resources available to support the initiative. The purpose is the realization that you can't do everything at once. Listing fifty initiatives to be accomplished in year one is delusionary. Consequently, the first 12 to 18 months should be spent focusing on the four to six initiatives that will have the biggest bang for your buck in the shortest period of time. Other initiatives should be deferred for review annually or upon completion of a prioritized initiative.

The objectives should be specific so that there is no ambiguity about what is required. Expected timing and personnel accountability should be specified in each objective. Ideally there should be one individual who is accountable to company management for reaching each objective.

A monthly strategic review meeting should be held in order to evaluate progress on reaching objectives. These meetings are very powerful tools to ensure that the proper focus is put on achieving the objectives that are part of the strategic planning process.

Key performance indicators must be defined for each specific objective. Company performance must be measured. If important performance metrics are not tracked then there is no way that company management can work toward achieving the goals the have been set during the planning process.

Strategic planning creates a team culture that is necessary for success. It's necessary to create competitive advantage. Working together effectively is not automatic. It takes a specific effort and the development of a culture that is supported by executive management. Shared experiences create unity and value. Unity and value create competitive advantage. Knowledge transfer is essential for an organization to grow. Without knowledge transfer and the sharing of the planning experience it is difficult for the group to share the vision and work toward common goals. And.... Achieving common goals built into your strategic plan is the "launching pad for competitive advantage."


About the Author:
http://www.ceostrategist.com - Sign up to receive "The Howl" a free monthly newsletter that addresses real world industry issues. - Straight talk about today's issues. Rick Johnson, expert speaker, wholesale distribution's "Leadership Strategist", founder of CEO Strategist, LLC a firm that helps clients create and maintain competitive advantage. Need a speaker for your next event, E-mail rick@ceostrategist.com. Don't forget to check out the Lead Wolf Series that can help you put more profit into your business. And check out Rick's new CD and workbook Real World Leadership Kit --- "Learning to Lead So Others Will Follow." http://www.ceostrategist.com/resources-store/real-world-leadership.html

Work At Home Business Opportunities That Can Be Better Than An Online Business

Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2008 Lou Gubitosa


For obvious reasons, many people strive to develop a home business. The thought of having a more flexible schedule that allows the business owner to spend more quality time with his or her family is a worthwhile goal that many seek to achieve.

The growth of the Internet has delivered the greatest hope for most people who seek out their own home business. But the truth of the matter is that most people who start an online business will fail. The Small Business Administration suggested the 95% of all online businesses fail. That is a number that makes the potential of creating a successful online business a very remote possibility.

Contrast that with the SBA numbers for a normal brick-and-mortar small business. The Small Business Administration says that 65% of ordinary small businesses fail within five years.

There is one industry that is perfect for the small business startup that delivers a much brighter outlook on the business survival front. According to the Department of Commerce, only 5% of vending machine businesses fail.

Against the 95% of online business failures and the 65% of offline small business failures, the 5% failure rate in the vending machine industry shows that this is one of the safest, if not the safest bet in home-based business opportunities.

Getting Into The Vending Industry

Getting started is as simple as buying machines and product, then getting machines placed in locations where people will use them.

The product range in this industry is phenomenal. This industry got its start in 1926 with cigarette vending machines. Since, the industry has moved into soft drinks, water, milk, energy drinks, snacks, energy foods, sandwiches, newspapers, stamps and more.

While it might make sense to get started in this industry with pop machines or snack machines, one has to find a place where the machines will be accepted. New apartment complexes and shopping centers make the most sense for getting soft drink vending machines placed, but depending on where one lives, the waiting time might be lengthy.

For many who are looking to get into this industry, it might make more sense to target product lines that no one else is serving and to get those machines placed where others might already have drink vending or snack vending machines.

As with any business model, the trick to gaining early success is to find a niche that is being under served and exploit that niche to the fullest extent possible.

Work-At-Home Explained

It is true that you will not be setting up your vending machines in your back yard, but for all intent purposes, a vending business can be operated as a home business.

Vending machines will be placed at various locations, but one can store additional product in the garage or a spare room in the house. All other business processes can be handled from a home office.

Keeping the books, ordering new product, and processing bank deposits can all be done from a home office. Product storage can be done at home or even in a rented storage unit.

Either way, most vending machine business operators only leave their home to get new product, deliver products to their machines, and to go to the bank to make bank deposits. On occasion a vendor may also leave the office to meet with property owners to arrange new locations for their vending machines, but frequently, a lot of that process can be handled over the telephone.

Commitments To The Business

The time away from home office for business operations will depend entirely upon how many machines the business owner has in the field and how many transactions those machines are doing on a regular basis. For many small business owners in the vending industry, the average time away from home amounts to only a few hours a day.

Most people who enter into this market find that they can make a decent living working only a few hours per week. As with any other home-based business or otherwise, the amount of money that can be earned from the process is directly proportional to what one puts into the business.

Getting Started

Small business owners tend to start their businesses on a part-time basis. In fact, according to the Vending Connection website, 70% of new vending operators work their startup business in the evenings and on the weekends. 85% of those vendors who work their business part-time in the evenings and on the weekend will go full-time within two years.

Don't worry if you are not getting started in soft drinks and snacks right away. Getting started is the most important thing to do, and then as your business develops cash flow and resources, you can then expand into the more competitive markets such as soft drinks.

As a new vending business owner, it is important to be able to identify under served niche markets and then to arrange your entrance into those markets.

One of the newest products that is starting to attract a lot of attention is Buzz Bites(r) Chocolate Energy Chews. The size of a coffee machine, the Buzz Bites(r) vending machines are designed to sit on the counter right next to the coffee machine. But once consumers learn that the Buzz Bites(r) product offers more energy than a cup of coffee, sales of the Buzz Bites(r) grow to the point that nearly half of all coffee-consumers will stop using coffee to get that energy boost.




About the Author:
Lou Gubitosa is the owner of Vending Systems. If you seek to Work At Home and Make Money with a lucrative home business opportunity, then you owe it to yourself to look into a Vending Machines business. Buzz Bites(r) Vending machine routes are available all over the United States, for those interested in getting involved with this proven business model. For a FREE INFORMATION KIT on this HOT NEW business opportunity, visit Lou's website at http://www.VendingSystems.com or call us at: 1-800-779-0025

Negative Versus Positive Marketing Messages: Which Works Best?

Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2008 Judy Murdoch


Nancy is a small business owner who helps nonprofit groups create fund raising events that can double- even triple- their average donation.

Until recently, Nancy has gotten her business primarily through in-person meetings: attending networking events, taking people out for coffee, and giving presentations.

In-person is great for getting local business but Nancy wants to serve a national customer base. So she hired someone to design a website and using emails and postcards to market her services.

She's been using emails and postcards for the last ten months and the results have been dismal.

"I haven't gotten a single new client," she told me.

So I took a look at the emails she was sending out and I immediately saw the problem.



>> Enthusiasm Can Turn People Off



Nancy loves her work and really wants her clients to succeed. It's hard to spend time with her and not get excited about what she's doing.

Her enthusiasm works to her advantage when she meets people in person.

It seems logical then that enthusiasm would work in all her other marketing. Wrong.



>> Establishing Trust is the First Step



There's a saying, "People want to know you care, before they care about what you know."

As human beings, we have a natural desire to belong and feel valued. It's the reason why people hate to be sold to...we don't feel understood or valued for who we are.

When you meet someone in person, it's a lot easier to build trust because you can communicate that you care in many ways: in your tone of voice, in the way you look at others, in your gestures.

For people like Nancy, building trust occurs almost immediately during in person meetings because she communicates that she cares both in what she says and what she doesn't say.

But when communicating in less personal ways—using email, postcards, and other types of written media, you have only words to work with.

Which means you must take an extra step and deliberately demonstrate empathy before you enthusiastically share why your products and services are so wonderful.



>> Establishing Trust Means Starting with the Negative



So how do you show you care when you use email, web pages, and other mediums that limit your ability to express yourself?

You start with the problem or pain your customer is likely experiencing.

When you do this you are saying, in effect to your audience:

"I understand you have this problem that you're struggling to solve."

"I, too, have struggled with it"

"Through my experience, education, research, etc., I have came up with a solution to solve the problem."

"My solution work for you too."

Once you say these things, you are free to bubble away about your wonderful solution.



>> Example: Establishing Trust First



So let's go back to Nancy.

Instead of immediately starting her emails off with how she helps her clients double their fund raising results she begins with demonstrating empathy and understanding.

Before:

"Non-profits, let me show you how to double- , even triple your donations."

After:

"Non-profits, are you struggling to compete for funding in today's difficult economy?"

Can you feel the difference?

Nancy's email then went on to describe her own struggles with fund raising and how she developed her solution.

When Nancy began using this approach, her prospect inquiries immediately increased and she's now in the process of turning some of the prospects into clients.

But she first needed to demonstrate she understood and cared before they were willing to make the call.



>> Bottom Line



The less personal the communication, the more important it becomes to first establish trust with your prospects.

For emails, blog posts, web pages, etc.:

1. Start with the Negative: demonstrate you understand their problem and struggle to solve it.

2. End with the Positive: share why your solution is better and will work.


About the Author:
Judy Murdoch helps small business owners create low-cost, effective marketing campaigns using word-of-mouth referrals, guerrilla marketing activities, and selected strategic alliances. To download a free copy of the workbook, "Where Does it Hurt? Marketing Solutions to the problems that Drive Your Customers Crazy!" go to http://www.judymurdoch.com/workbook.htm
You can contact Judy at 303-475-2015 or judy@judymurdoch.com

The Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Olympics

Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2008 Jennifer Adams


When I watched the Opening Ceremony, I was entranced. It began with giant footprints in the sky made of fireworks, leading the way to the stadium. The stadium was built specifically for the Olympics in the shape of a bird's nest, which is considered a lucky symbol in China. Once at the stadium, fire appeared to race around the top edge of the structure before falling to the ground within like a comet. Two large rectangles full of what turned out to be drummers began performing along with a flickering light show that made patterns from the different drums. It was amazing.

The Opening Ceremony traced the history of China, featuring a huge LED screen that unrolled like a scroll upon the stadium floor. The idea of an unrolling LED screen that people could dance and march upon was ingenious. The screen had images and symbols going by as dancers painted on yet another floor screen, creating a landscape in the style of Chinese brush painting. Next, there were many people in flowing, costumes. A large amount of blocks were in place on the LED screen, and we were treated to a patterned dance by the blocks, first moving like ripples in a pond, then forming Chinese characters and the Great Wall. After it was over, people popped up from each block. They must have practiced for weeks to get the choreography right.

One of my favorite parts was the single dancer in the flowing neon costume who danced upon a moving floor carried by many other people in bright green costumes. She had long flowing ribbons that she waved as part of her dance. Many people then came out carrying large oars. They did what looked like the wave while images of ocean waves played on the top scrim in the stadium. The oarsmen eventually formed a boat around the enter LED screen, which showed images of Chinese ships.

The costumes were amazing. They looked like they were made of silk and other fine fabrics. They say there were 15,000 performers in this Opening Ceremony... and they all had marvelous costumes of vibrant colors. The bright dresses and traditional costumes added to the pageantry. The costumes were so detailed, from the perfect pleats to the tiny gold baubles in the dancers' hair. China has a reputation of being highly populated, and everything they did used masses of people, which helped bring that feeling to mind. The sheer numbers that performed so beautifully is mind-boggling.

The lighted suits were really cool. It was like watching stars running around. They made the shape of a bird, in honor of the usual pigeons that are traditionally released at the Olympic Games. The lights then formed a bird's nest, echoing the theme of the stadium.

The history of martial arts was honored with the Tai Chi exhibition, and then images of waterfalls covered the upper scrims while ripples of people made their entrance and got into place. Children sat in the middle of the screen. The masses of practitioners performing were amazing.

I think my favorite part was the astronaut portion. The lights looked like stars, and the astronauts floating in the air were really great as planets floated by on the upper scrims. The people running and tumbling around the circumference of the large globe was a great effect. The theme song was beautiful and haunting as images of whales floated by on the ceiling. The sea of faces they showed during the theme song brought tears to my eyes, as it brought individuality of all nationalities to the show.

The fireworks were amazing. So many colors, so many patterns. The usual parade of nations was done according to the number of strokes in the Chinese names for those countries rather than alphabetically, which made if interesting as you didn't know who was coming next. There were over 200 countries there to compete in the Olympic Games. They slowly filled the center of the stadium with all the athletes who were there to compete. The small child who came out with the China team was so cute, waving a little flag as he marched.

The speeches were nice, but I really preferred the pageantry of the earlier portion of the ceremony. China really set the bar high for anyone hosting future Olympic Games for the Opening Ceremony. I hope we'll see more imaginative and innovative ceremonies in the future. This one was very entertaining, touching and gave a true flavor of China.


About the Author:
Jennifer Adams writes for BestShowTickets, where you can buy concert and Broadway tickets as well as all kinds of sports tickets, at: http://www.bestshowticketslasvegas.com

PPC Campaigns-Useful Tools for Promoting Expired Domains

Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2008 John Khu


Domain name registrations, both new and expired domains, are rising slowly in the past few years and total registrations are likely to reach a peak during the end of last quarter of 2009. Domain registrations have reached an all time high of about 75 millions during 2006 with an average of 1.5 millions new registrations. This indicates that there has been an increase of about 35% over the same quarter in the previous year. A recent research suggests that dot com extensions still leads the pack and the future trend for this domain still looks very rosy and promising.

Of late, pay per click industry (PPC) is showing an astronomical growth because of a number of advantages and benefits. This industry is poised to grow at a rate of 13% and to a volume of almost $6 billion by the end of calendar year 2009. Furthermore, contextual advertising is also cajoling a lot of people from not only domain name traders but also corporations and big firms.

Several companies and web masters understand the importance of targeted traffic to their web sites to create better sales conversions. PPC is a proven way of helping expired domain traders on realizing very good commercial returns over their investments. PPC advertising market is driving expired domain name industry as the new owners register expired domain names that contain sensitive keywords related to their business or even buying an expired domain that was once a thriving web site for a range of products and services. PPC is also a very good method to make visitors flocking to your domain.

Most of the leading companies that deal with PPC pay on average 30 cents per click while premium firms can pay as high as $100 per click! No matter whether you are an expired domain newbie or an expert domain trader, you can easily find extra traffic and incoming links to your expired domains, when you use a lucrative PPC program. PPC industry is expected to help all expired domain traders with the promise of incoming traffic as well as immense monetary gains. Now it is the right time to buy as many expired-domains as possible to use the ultimate power of PPC campaigns to create a solid residual, online income base.

Expert domain name traders buy very good expired domains and convert it into a well designed web site. PPC is an excellent system that can help such web sites to create a considerable amount of traffic as well as incoming links. The ultimate advantage of using PPC campaign is the enhanced income creating opportunity along with inflated traffic and links.

There are a number of web resources that will help you conduct a PPC campaign. Some of the well known PPC service providers are domain sponsor, fabulous, sedo, afternic, trafficz, domainhop, and dnbidder. Apart from these sites, you can also sign up for a PPC service made available by a number of minor web sites.




About the Author:
John Khu is an author and also a seasoned professional with vast experience in expired domain name business. He is also the owner of the path breaking web sites called http://www.expireddomainsecret.com and http://www.expireddomaingains.com which provides complete and up-to-date information on expired domains and their eternal secrets.

Setting Goals For Getting Your Dream Job

Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2008 Adrian Loncarovich


Are you miserable at work? Well, you're not alone. According to a 2007 survey conducted by The Conference Board, less than half of all Americans are happy with their jobs. For young adults below the age of 25, the numbers are even more striking: only two out of five people in this age group are satisfied with their careers.

Like it or not, you spend 40 hours a week or more at work. Most people see those 40 hours of misery each week as just another fact of life. But what if you could change it? What if you could do something else, something you actually wanted to do? Even though it may seem like you're stuck right now, you're not. By using an organized process of setting goals, identifying what you need to accomplish to meet those goals, and acting on your objectives, you can break free from your current job and land the job of your dreams.

Things You Like

First, you need to figure out what you want to be doing instead of your current job. Obviously, your dream job is going to be something that you enjoy. You may think that getting paid to do something you enjoy is impossible, but in reality almost anyone can find a career that they like if they look hard enough. In fact, you're much more likely to be successful if you enjoy your work.

The easiest way to pinpoint your dream job is to use visual aids, like a list or a mind map (goal mapping software is a great option). It doesn't matter whether you use a pen and paper or a computer program - getting everything written down where you can see it will help you get a clear picture of your job goal and what you need to do to get there. So, start by listing the things you like to do. What interests you? What do you do in your spare time? What is your passion?

Your Skills

Next, you need to identify your skills, the things that you're good at. Are you a whiz at math? Are you the person people call when their computer breaks down? Everyone has their own personal skill set. Start thinking about the things you do well and make a list. Don't forget to include skills that you've developed in your current career. However, don't limit yourself only to skills that you have formal training in, either.

Once you have a list of skills, try to identify which of the skills on the list you are best at. If you'd like, you can assign each skill a number, using "1" for your strongest skill and going from there. Now that you've identified what you like to do and what your strongest skills are, look over the two lists to see if there's any correlation. Then, find a job that involves doing something you like using the skills you are strongest in.

If you're stuck, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Outlook Handbook can help you get a sense of what's out there. A job that you enjoy doing that capitalizes on your natural talents - now doesn't that sound like a dream job to you?

Specialize

Now that you've identified your dream job, what do you need to do to get there? It's time to start identifying the objectives you need to accomplish to achieve your goal. Most careers require a specialized skill set.

Even though you should have the basic skills and aptitudes to be successful in your dream job, chances are that you don't yet have the specialized knowledge that the field requires. So, think about what you need to do to get that knowledge. Do you need to go back to school? Do you need to attend a training seminar and get a certification?

The first objectives you set will be related to obtaining the training and skills you need to succeed in your dream career. This is where getting your dream job can start getting stressful, because it takes real effort to learn additional skills when you are already working a full-time job. However, if you stick to your guns, you will eventually be rewarded.

Make a list of what you need to do to get those specialized skills, and start creating objectives and deadlines for yourself. For example, let's say you've decided your dream job is to be a pilot. Here's what a list of objectives might look like:

Save money for flight school/investigate financial aid options: within the next six months.

Enroll in flight school: within the next year.

Apply for pilot's license: within the next year and a half.

If you identify what you need to do to become qualified for your dream job, break it down into a number of smaller tasks, set deadlines to complete these tasks, and follow through, then sooner or later you'll be ready to take the next step forward.

Create a Proven Record

The next set of objectives involves creating a convincing résumé for yourself, so that employers will feel comfortable hiring you for the job you want. You should start working in your field as early as possible, even if it's only part time or volunteer work. The more experience you have when you actually apply for your dream job, the better off you'll be.

Depending on the job you're going for, you may be able to start working or volunteering in your field while you are still obtaining the necessary education and training.

Stand Above the Average

What else do you need to do to snag your dream job? As soon as you can, you need to start creating a demand for yourself. If you're working part time or volunteering, don't just put in your time and go home. Make yourself stand out from the crowd by doing an above-average job. Whenever you are given an assignment, complete it to the best of your ability, and don't be afraid to take on additional work if you see an area where you can make a difference.

However, even while you are "wowing" people in the field, try to maintain a cool attitude. Don't try too hard to please - it smacks of desperation and will make people think that you lack confidence in yourself.

Putting in extra effort early on will pay off when it's actually time for you to go for the gold and start applying for your dream job. You'll be armed with an above-average résumé that demonstrates to potential employers how hiring you will benefit them. After all, that's what companies are interested in when they hire new employees: the benefits that the candidates will bring to the company if they are hired. A good personality helps in an interview, but nobody is going to hire you just because you "seem nice."

Social Networking

However, there are times when knowledge and experience can only take you so far. Have you ever heard the saying, "It's not what you know, it's who you know"? Sometimes, that really is the case. Having a strong social network can give you an "in" on your dream job. If you know people with good connections, they can help you get your foot in the door and even help you find out about job opportunities before anyone else.

To build your social network, you have to build social links, or connections, between yourself and other people. If you have a friend who knows someone in the industry you're trying to break into, have your friend introduce you to that person.

Another way to meet people is by going to professional conferences in your field or joining professional associations.

Also, it's important to advertise yourself a little bit when you meet new people. Just make sure you know when to stop talking about yourself - you don't want to seem self-centered! However, you do want to make sure that people know what you are good at and where you're trying to go. That way, if they're ever in a position to help you get your dream job, they'll think of you.

It's also a smart move to print off some business cards. They are a convenient, professional way to give potential contacts your phone number. Of course, social networking is about more than effective self-promotion.

In order for it to actually be effective, you have to make people want to help you. The best way to get help is to give it. Why should anybody try to help you if you've never done anything for them? By taking the time out of your life to do something unselfish for someone else, you'll give that person a reason to do something unselfish for you later. As the saying goes, "One good turn deserves another."

To expand your social network even further, consider the Internet. It's not hard to set up your own Web site, and there are companies that will host your site for free. Knowledge of HTML is helpful, especially if you want to create your own site from the ground up, but don't be intimidated - it's certainly not necessary.

Many companies have templates you can use and customize when you set up your site. The same is true for blogging. There are plenty of easy-to-use sites, such as Wordpress.com, that will host your blog free of charge. The Internet offers unlimited social networking potential, but it's up to you to take advantage of it.

Now Get to Work - That You Love!

The most important thing to remember about getting your dream job is that it won't happen overnight. It won't necessarily be easy, either. You may have to be willing to wait and work hard to get into the career of your dreams. That doesn't mean it's impossible, though.

Plan for the long term, but don't procrastinate when it comes to getting started. The first steps you take toward your goal are often the hardest, but if you don't start moving, you'll never get anywhere. So, what are you waiting for? GO!


About the Author:
Adrian Loncarovich is the co-author of GoalEnforcer, a visual goal tracking software that can be used to break your goals into sub-goals and track your progress. More details about GoalEnforcer can be found at http://www.goalenforcer.com/ A free goal setting software demo version can be obtained from http://www.goalenforcer.com/demodownload.html