Educating The Flood Affected Nation

The recent catastrophic flood has brought enormous socioeconomic devastation to Pakistan, which includes a figure of more than 15.4 million affected people, a death toll of approximately 1497 with an injured toll of 2054, 2.6 m acres of devastated land and over 300,000 destroyed homes. These statistics are at present just approximates of the actual, which will be presenting a more deplorable picture of the overall scenario. The present actual and approximate data figures will rise exponentially in presence of a non reciprocating attitude of the Government and all the stakeholders.

Wherein, much is being said about the economic reconstruction of the affected areas, it is of equally vital importance to rehabilitate the educational infrastructure of the flood affected areas. This article will examine the various possibilities and mechanisms for reconstructing the educational infrastructure in the flood affected areas.

Before a model of reconstruction of educational infrastructure is presented, it is strongly emphasized that the decades old philosophy of the influential of these areas for having an illiterate population under their command needs to be discarded and discouraged. It is highlighted that the apparent political reasons for adopting this philosophy are (i) strengthening of favored vote banks and (ii) establishing command over illiterate population in such a way that the masses consider the influential as source of their livings. It is vehemently advocated that a literate population will also be instrumental in not only establishing strengthened vote banks and effectual subordination but also bringing in economic prosperity to both their areas and its influential. Many examples can be derived from countries like Bangladesh, where literacy in rural areas has brought in progressive results at both micro and macro levels. Another aspect raising importance of the schooling in the flood affected areas is the fact that masses of these areas are predominantly living under the shadows of illiterate religious clerics. These clerics in the affected areas are continuously announcing these floods as a punishment from the nature. They are most dangerously endeavoring to convince the affected population that all this has happened due to our policies of being of an allied country. In absence of proper schooling and education, these clerics will manipulate the psychology of specifically the affected youth and the these areas may develop as nurseries of terrorists and suicide bombers.

The proposed educational infrastructure, specifically under the current conditionals will be based upon five pivotal pillars namely (i) Physical Infrastructure (ii) Pedagogical Infrastructure (iii) Faculty (iv) Syllabi and (v) Enabling environment. To achieve the objective of entire reconstruction of these five pillars is not a viable option in short term because (i) the educational infrastructure was in conked out condition even before floods and (ii) the present devastation requires concentration in other areas also and hence focusing on just on one area is practically not possible. It is recommended that the entire task of this reconstruction may be divided into phases with each phase as a manageable piece of work having its well defined deliverables and time framework. The first phase may be taken as most imminent and based upon gum and stick ad-hoc settings, which will gradually lead towards more permanent solutions in an incremental fashion. The following few paragraphs will briefly present the gum and stick ad-hoc settings

Physical Infrastructure, though is most needed but will definitely carry enormous expenditures. In addition, the conditions in most of the areas are presently not allowing any sort of brick and cement work and thus it will be a quite daunting task to built schools in the present environment. Initially,it is recommended that camp school areas may be developed using soft construction material on the same grounds as it was used during the earthquake rehabilitation. Various leading private schools need to be encouraged to join in hands with the concerned authorities and NGOs to built up such a physical infrastructure. These schools can take such a venture as a Social Marketing effort. In addition to the leading private schools, multinationals involved in child care products and projects may also be involved for attaining this objective. They will definitely be getting a significant mileage in terms of visibility and other promotional aspects. For example P&G can contribute by providing fibre sheets printed with logos of Commander Safe Guard or Pampers. At this point, it is highlighted that these companies are already lavishly spending significant portion of their revenues on hoardings & panaflex advertisements. At par with this, a sizeable portion of land may be demarcated by government in each of the affected area for this purpose and the camp schools need to operate in three shifts, each of which may last for not less than three hours. As Winston Churchill once said “We shape our dwellings and afterwards our dwellings shape us”, the development of physical infrastructure of these schools on war footings will cast a profound effect on our future course of action.

Pedagogical infrastructure carries equal importance and consists of all the facilities regarding the provision of course content. This infrastructure will consist of (i) Writing boards (iii) Classroom furniture / seating arrangement (iii) books and printed material and (iv) provision of uniforms. With reference to pedagogical infrastructure, it is recommended that rather than having state of art expensive boards, furniture, printed material and uniform, low cost items / donated items may be focused upon in the first phase. Unfortunately, it is a common tendency to develop budgets based upon high cost items, subsequent to which tenders are floated and whatever happens thereafter is known and need not to be further explained. As a nation, a volunteer movement is required, wherein donations in terms of old used furniture items may be requested and then those may be recycled to develop specific school furniture items. Similarly, used paper, old newspapers, magazines, and books may be recycled for having new books and other printed material. In this task, various multinationals may contribute by providing sponsorships for different pedagogical instruments. At present, many of the multinationals are sponsoring various sports events, conferences, exhibitions and seminars. Their deviation from spending on the mentioned events just for one fiscal year will be instrumental in building up our this quite imminent infrastructure.

Provision of faculty to these schools is another important area. In this regard, again a volunteer movement is required. The responsibility of provision of faculty may be given to public and private universities. Targets may be given to them and their grants may be linked with the number of faculty members, they are contributing towardsthis cause. These universities can in turn ask their students to perform this faculty responsibility and for this the whole activity may be carefully planned and blended in accordance with the schooling needs of the affected area. Over here our defense forces may again play an instrumental role in provision of the necessary logistics and security arrangements.

Developing objective oriented syllabi for primary and secondary education is another important and long awaited deliverable. Focus should now be more upon inducing skillset through the syllabi. Agriculture University Faisalabad has a major role to play in developing basic content, which can equip our students with tips and techniques for progressing agriculture in flood affected areas. This content may be included in the science subject’s curriculum. In addition to this, it is also recommended to include more elective subjects at intermediate level and instead of pronouncing intermediate as F.Sc Pre Medical, F.Sc Pre Engineering or FA, a unified nomenclature of Intermediate need to be adopted.

All the above is not attainable without creating an enabling environment, which will entice students residing in these areas to opt for registering in these school camps. Besides provision of stipends, uniforms, and books, there are various other psychological techniques that can stimulate interest in the prospective students of these schools.

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Start A Home-Based Business – 4 Steps To Building A Successful Business From Home

Anybody can realistically start a home-based business these days, as the cost is so low that you need no more than $10 to get started. Thanks to the Internet and all of the free tools it provides, if you are equipped with the right information and have the desire to succeed, it can be done.

Realistically, if you are ready to apply yourself full-time to your home-based business, there is no reason why you cannot be earning a full-time income in a few months time. With that said, achieving this level of success will take a few things; the knowledge to do the right things and the motivation to push through the hard times.

Now there are plenty of different products you can sell in your home-based online business, but the basic structure of your business will succeed only when it follows a very rigid format, which has been the same format many successful online entrepreneurs. Now most people will not come out and give you these secrets, but I am going to give it to you right now. Here is the basic structure of the successful online business model:

1. Develop outstanding products

Without great products, you won’t last long in this business. Whether you are creating physical products or digital information products, be sure to go above and beyond, leaving your customers satisfied every time.

2. Drive targeted leads to your website

Driving plenty of targeted leads to your website in order to capture their information is vital to the success of your business.

3. Build a relationship with your subscribers

Send quality information to your list, making sure to provide quality information for free mixed in with subtle sales letters. Be sure to provide them with great information on a regular basis so you build your credibility.

4. Repeat

The above is the structure of the online business sales model. If you can do all of the above well, simply scale it and watch it grow.

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What Are the Benefits of Home-Based Business Ideas?

Home-based businesses are among the most viable options in times of economic depression such as now. It can either be used as a way to complement your current income or as a full-time venture. With the Internet serving as a platform to connect with millions of global users and buyers, you have a powerful money-making tool in your hands when utilized correctly. With that in mind, we will look at among the many benefits that are associated with home-based business ideas. Home-based businesses transcends all boundaries without taking into age, gender and qualification. This will mean that you, as an unemployed graduate has just about the same level of opportunity to start and succeed as a housewife with 2 young children. Using the Internet as a platform to make business transactions is nothing out of the ordinary. Millions of Internet marketers as well as average users utilize it in many different ways to make money.As mentioned earlier, one does not need any formal education or qualification to be able to get themselves involved in online-businesses from home. The more important variable that can possibly determine the outcome and success and failure is the knowledge or skill involved. For that matter, it is of utmost importance that enough preparation and research is conducted based on the specific targeted niche market. As an example, I will use a freelance copy writer who is home-based. Before anything else, you will need to possess impeccable English language skills such as from the grammar, punctuation, spelling and sentence structure aspects.Research is important if you are to succeed since copy writing often requires you to be versatile. You will have to be able to write about many different subjects and topics; even those that you are absolutely unfamiliar with. In addition to this, you might want to do your own research for the specific markets you can get involved in. For instance, if you think and feel that you are well-suited in the field of travel copy writing, you should research markets which offer opportunities for travel writers.  Another main benefit of a business that is based from the home is the freedom and flexibility contained. Unlike a conventional office job, you can work as much or as little as you want. There will be no one to boss you around and to pressure you for the meeting’s minutes or project tender. The above are some of the most commonly-known benefits of home-based business ideas. You will be your own boss earning your own money and deciding when and how you would like to work.

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Home Based Business – Guess What? You Are Not the Owner

For those of you who currently operate, or are considering taking the steps to operate a home based business, this article was written for you. The key is to recognize that some home based businesses put you in charge, but do not make you the owner. Often times people think because they signed up for a business, and received a website stating their name, or that of their company, they own the business. As you will discover throughout this article, many of these individuals are mistaken.Yes, it is true that essentially every single opportunity which promotes the operation of a home based business to its members, portrays the notion that its agents will become business owners by becoming involved with the parent company. The unfortunate thing is that many arrangements give you the title of business owner, but the authority of a distributor. Therefore, you are forced to work within the confines of the business model of the parent company, selling only their products, at prices which they have determined, earning what they have told you that you will earn.As negative as this may read, it is not to say that such home based businesses are necessarily a bad thing. Rather, I am simply pointing out that many people who join these companies fool themselves into believing they are business owners, when they are really distributors. As a distributor, you will not be able to make any changes on the website. Furthermore, you will not be able to sell anything that is not from the main company, and in a majority of these businesses, you will not be allowed to even remotely adjust pricing. Thus, if a competitor is undercutting you, there is no recourse. The only thing you can control, is how much money you spend on marketing this new distribution endeavor.With all of that being said, franchising in a pretty good way to open a business due to the name recognition and trust which it provides. This holds true whether you are operating brick and mortar or strictly online. Both situations present a similar scenario for the franchise business owner. Fees will be charged to take advantage of any national advertising campaigns and you are restricted to using only products bought from them or their authorized distributors. Again, your name will be right up there as owning the franchise for the business, but not the business itself.When deciding on one home based business over the other, you need to keep in mind that some opportunities will enable you to own the business, while others will not. If you want to have the freedom to market and sell products of your desire, then you will have to avoid businesses which make your enterprise subservient to a parent company.

How to Profit From a Home Based Business

Obviously looking for and starting a home based business starts at your home, but what are the requirements for such a venture? First of all you need to decide what sort of a business you want to start. Then you need to decide how you are going to go about achieving your goals. And finally, you need to be successful in managing the business efficiently and produce the profits for which you have started your home business. Let us look at how to go about all these and be successful with your home based business opportunity.Look For A Good OptionStart with selecting the best option that interests you the most among the possibilities of a home based business. The internet is a great resource you can make use of. Try the various search engines to find out what options are available for you for a home business. Select the option that interests you the most and get on to doing more research on the topic.There are various online businesses you can engage yourself with, if you are familiar with the internet. Generally these require much less capital and investment and if you are good enough with them, you can earn very good money with the least amount of efforts required. Of course you can go for a number of other options for home based businesses as well. Select the one you are most comfortable with and that seems achievable by you.More Resources And Research WorkEquip yourself as much as you can with proper techniques and tools to successfully run the home based business. The more information you have on the topic, the better placed you will be to handle the issues you face with your business. It is a great idea to look at case studies to learn how to effectively run your business and generate the ROI (return on investment).Areas to Focus Your Research On

Company
Products/Services
Leadership
Ownership
Compensation Plans
Tools/Support
By focusing your research on the above specifics areas, you can minimize your risk, plus all the time and energy you will be putting into your home business.It is going to be your business, and hence you must ensure that you give it enough time and commitment, as you will be the sole person to gain from it. A home based business can be a great way to give yourself much more in life that would have been totally impossible otherwise.Darrell Lischka

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Easy Methods To Generate Home Based Business Leads

Having home based business leads is mandatory should you be looking to explode your business and looking for ways to be a top earner in your business. On the other hand the problem is that we waste too much money on the home based business leads and also we lose all our money before we even have chance to make profit. I will go over some methods that you might use immediately to explode your home venture in a record time. I will discuss the free and paid methods you might use to produce this leads.The 1st free methods that you can use to create home based venture leads are through article writing. There are actually diverse things that you know right now that other people might benefit from. Write about it. Create something interesting. Create about something very educational. Whenever you do this, you’ll create followers. Some of these followers off course will opt to work with you. You can find free websites where you can post your articles or blog posts. You are on one of them now.Another free procedure that you might use to produce Home based business leads is through video marketing. You tube is the second most visited internet site now. Shoot a video. Let people know who you’re. Let them know about your business. Offer them success tips and also value through this video. Again just like write-up marketing, they’ll follow you. As soon as they become far more comfortable with you, most of them will join you in your home venture.Social media is another way that you could use to generate home based enterprise leads. Social media could take a lot more time. But the idea is still precisely the same thing. Do not post on your friend’s Facebook wall as well as start pitching your home venture. You must create relationship with individuals on Facebook or Twitter. Chat with them. Offer value. Be positive on there. Make positive comment to their statuses and profile. Whenever you do these, you’ll create followers.The quicker way to create home based venture leads is through paid traffic. Basically you pay money for web site like Google, Yahoo, Bing, Facebook, Twitter plus even You tube to strategically place your ad. As you could guess, in terms of traffic, Google is your best bet. Realize that you could easily lose money with this paid ways of producing home based venture leads. That is why you need proper training for these.There is where an attraction marketing system comes into place. You can get thousands of benefits of having an attraction marketing system. One of it is the trainings that you are going to get. If you are not properly trained, you’ll easily lose thousands of dollars on paid home based venture leads generation.

5 Essential Home Based Business Strategies For The Work At Home Business Owner

Let us all admit that whenever you work at home it does not take long for things to become chaotic. This is because having a company as well as a home lifestyle does not gel together. However, if it is always your wish to own your work at home business; here are five home based business strategies you can apply in order to get the success you are looking for.1. Organize Yourself and BusinessThe two main aspects your home based business must have are your work area, as well as your time. When there isn’t any method or organization in your company as well as your home living, it is possible for you to be completely stressed out 24 hours a day. You will not have a clear start or finishing time, plus your place of work will become a mess the whole day. Try to organize essential records in document folders, and put them in a filing cupboard. Additionally, when you are filing, cautiously carry out labeling for customers tax details, finances, building contractors, providers, and so on. Keep things to do list on your own desk throughout the day, and tick them as soon as the task is completed.Even when your customers know that you work at home; there needs to be fix working hours when you can be reached. One example is, if someone is generating an income on the internet they should remember to supply a get in touch with form so that people can contact them on a twenty-four seven (24/7) service, By doing this they will set up their online business boundaries so that they won’t be getting phone calls through the entire evening hours. An additional way to make sure that company message or calls remain inside the appropriate perimeters is to arrange an independent business telephone line that has an answering machine. This allows you to keep track of messages or calls that occur after working hours without you getting trapped in using the telephone 24 hours a day.2. Telephone AppointmentsTry to keep your appointments regardless of whether it is face-to-face or via the telephone. Collect all relevant details about your customer prior to making the phone call. You see, the consumers will know if you are rushing about for documents or someplace apart from your working environment. Choose a peaceful location for your business phone calls so that your calls are free from background disturbances such as children crying, and so on. In most cases your customers will have an understanding of when they hear your children talking (at the back) a couple of times, however, if this takes place frequently some customers may doubt your professionalism and trust.3. Develop a Professional PictureUse items such as letterheads, pamphlets, business cards, custom-made labelling, and so forth to create a professional picture of your work at home enterprise. Items that are printed using your company logo will enable consumers, and colleagues to realize that you are seriously interested in helping them. Should you have an internet site, make sure that you add the address of your website to your letterhead and envelopes. Use pamphlets to generate more income by publishing a diverse pamphlet for every service or product range offered. Remember e-mail advertising, and post cards to past clients. These things are not only inexpensive, but they are very effective if you want to send birthday celebrations, special deals, promotions, vacations, recommendations, and so forth to your customers.4. Send Out Express Thanks Cards to Customers Cards written by hand to say thank you continues to be valuable in developing devotion and confidence with consumers. These small express thanks cards can do a lot, but they must not be utilized to market your up coming deals. Just compose a basic note saying thanks for his or her business; write the envelope with your own writing (not typed), and post it two or three days following a purchase of your product. You will be amazed at just how much this simple action can boost your consumers trust in you.5. Maintain Accurate Documents Keep a documentation of everything that happens in the business; such as things that takes place from day-to-day, or once a week objectives, to company accounts due, and company accounts receivable information. Even if you are not hectic, you must maintain accurate documents every day to guarantee organization once your company increases. In case you have numerous employees, it is better to employ a pay-roll accountant to maintain personnel pay out, and income taxes. An accountant also can help with general business financial situation, and taxation all through the year as your home based business develops.Since you learn to generate money with a home based business, understand that working at home isn’t a lot diverse from other companies. With the right organization, and marketing your home based work at home business is likely to develop, and become successful.

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5 Property Management Tests for Commercial Property Owners and Asset Managers

5 Property Management Tests for Commercial Real Estate Owners & Asset Managers

With current depressed real estate values and rents, capable property management is more important than it has ever been. It is the main contributor to value in stagnant real estate markets, because while there are prospects for rent growth on the horizon, rent increases could be two to five years off – depending on the market. Management focuses on conserving and building value NOW.

Most commercial real estate owners outsource the property management functions to a general brokerage firm that offers property management services or to a specialized property management company. Unfortunately, selection of the property management firm is often made with very little due diligence on the qualifications of a firm, the person who will actually be doing the managing, and the knowledge of the specific market where properties reside. Picture standing on a busy sidewalk and handing a stranger a suitcase stuffed with cash. In essence, that is the same as selecting a manager without due diligence, because you are handing the equity in the property to a mere passerby for care and custody.

How do you measure the job a management company is doing? This article attempts to help you figure that out, because it makes even less sense to settle for poor service from a sub-par management company then it does to blame all properties’ problems on th e management company.

Below are five tell-tale tests to check the performance level of your management (if your management service is in-house, this test can also apply).

Test #1 Few, if any, ideas for improvement come from the property manager for ways to improve the physical property or the leasing situation.

You hired a caretaker, not a manager. Managers understand the word “proactive”.

Test #2 Property management reports are irregular and hard to decipher.

There is no excuse for this and the situation is easy to fix. Have an Excel spreadsheet designed to supply only the information you want, or select one of several comprehensive and off the shelf software programs available. Examples of the latter are the MRI, Yardi, Quicken or Property Solutions software programs.

I prefer real-time, online file-sharing between the owner or asset manager and the property manager. This setup does double duty – you can access the information anytime you need it for a lender, partners, upper management, etc. Plus, real-time reporting will insure that the property manager won’t wait until the day before a property report is due to actually do something related to your real estate. A simple, inexpensive service like Go to My PC can set up a multiple user system and share management reports.

Test #3 The person you’d hired to manage the property seems to have disappeared and someone else is managing the asset.

You have experienced “bait and switch”, a situation where the well-rounded resume of an experienced manager lands the business for the firm but then it is it goes to an underling or trainee for handling. This happens in both very large national firms and in small local management firms. Protect yourself by putting a “Key Man” clause in the agreement that gives you an ‘out’ if the person you thought you’d hired isn’t actually on the job, or quits.

Test #4 The management firm location is some distance from the managed property and you are not certain how often the property is physically visited by a property manager.

Nothing, absolutely nothing, takes the place of property site visits. A property manager’s responsibility includes ongoing routine contact with tenants. That way, when lease renewal time comes up, there is no unnecessary re-negotiation or delay. Personally, I prefer hiring property managers who live and work in the same market as the property over a big- name firm in a nearby city. If there is not a qualified property manager in the local market and you must use someone in a nearby city, be very specific about requiring periodic on-site visits and what you want to know after each visit. Your manager needs to talk to the tenants face to face before problems arise, and emails, tweets or phone calls are no substitutes!

Test #5 You receive regular reports about the property, but no information about the real estate market where the property sits.

Your manager is doing half the job. To make educated decisions about assets, an owner or asset manager must understand how their property compares to others in the market and what factors are impacting the local scene. A market condition report is not a canned demographic service report from a subscription service – it is a first- hand, feet on the street report analysis.

A good property manager is invaluable and should receive incentives for peak performance. If the above tests indicate that your current management doesn’t measure up, it is time to have a heart-to-heart discussion. Incorporate the above requirements in to the management agreement. That way, if there is no improvement, you are free to look for other options among the competitive firms vying for business.

Benefits of Hiring a Real Estate Lawyer

Are you planning to buy or sell a real estate property but do not have really enough knowledge when it comes to legal matters involving transaction? If so, you might want to consider hiring a real estate lawyer to do the job for you.

Actually, if you have had real estate transaction some time in the past you would know how important is the function a lawyer plays for the job. But if you are just new in business, the following can help you understand how a lawyer can help you in handling real estate transactions – whether you are into buying or selling a property.

If you are buying a property, a lawyer should:

Help you fully understand the purchase contract, including the process of taking the property title – or in other words, the process of title acquisition.
Also do the job of checking to see to it that there are no covenants, easements, liens, etc. registered against the property that could obstruct the use of such property.
Process the registration and all the legal documents for the property.
Help you understand the terms of the mortgage and work with your bank if there is a modification or adjustment required. He can scrutinize the adjustments, including taxes owing and other costs paid prior to transaction closing.
Also work on reviewing all the papers you will be required to sign.
Work for your property insurance so that you will get protected from losses that could be due to title defects.
See to it that you get a valid registered ownership subject only to the liabilities you have agreed.
In case you are selling a property, a lawyer who is expert in real estate law should:

Review and explain to you the binder aka ‘offer to purchase’ – a preliminary payment secured by cash payment between a buyer and seller as an offer to purchase a property. In addition, he can also review or prepare the buy-sell agreement, including its terms negotiation.
Also work or arrange for transfer of security deposits or the deposit of money to the landlord to ensure that the rent is paid and other responsibilities of the lease performed such as paying for damage caused by the tenant.
Also arrange for insurance certificates if necessary.
Prepare the deed and power of attorney when required.
Help you in addressing title issues that may arise and correct them accordingly.
Represent you in the closing and review all the documents you will need to sign.
A lawyer who is an expert in real estate law can help address the legal burdens you might be facing in any real estate transactions.

How To Succeed At Online Product Creation The Easy Way

Product creation could be a frightening subject for a lot of Internet marketers to face. Some folks who get in the game with the intention of making a full time income are completely ignorant as to how an online business operates. One of the most profitable ways to create online cash is by creating a product that others are happy to pay for.

Product creation is legitimate method of generating money through internet marketing but many entrepreneurs get it wrong. They start by imitating their Internet marketing gurus by creating information products on Internet marketing in hopes of getting rich the way their heroes did. The problem is that they usually don’t know what they are doing and enter a highly competitive niche with very little marketing experience or connections.

Here are a few tips for effective product creation that may help you get on the right track:
Start by finding a profitable niche with low to moderate competition. If you conduct some rudimentary market research and keyword research, you’ll find many opportunities in areas that will surprise you. Amazon and eBay are two great places to brainstorm for product ideas.

Developing Your Product does not have to be a difficult project. You can find experts in the right field for your niche and pay them to write the material while an artist designs the packaging and website or blog. You can outsource the entire product creation part of the project after you conduct the research and testing to ensure profitability.

Sales and marketing strategies should be created while developing the product and learning about the market. Some experienced marketers use pay per click to drive traffic to their offer page; some folks outsource the entire marketing campaign to affiliates through ClickBank or other affiliate programs.

Product creation does not need to be hard, particularly when the merchandise is electronic. E-books, videos, audio and multi-media products sell very well. They are distributed immediately to customers electronically. Once you have a good feel for a niche market, try to service your customers with associated products and upgrades. If you want to earn money online through product creation, you must understand supply and demand. The majority of new online marketers fail miserably because they go after highly competitive markets or forget to research their chosen niche properly. You have to create your products according to the needs, wants and desires of the prospective customers.

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