Why is financial planning and utilizing financial strategies important for your business? Lack of money or getting into profitability is one of the top four reasons people fail in their own business.

If you are in network marketing, helping your team move into profitability and pay for their marketing will increase their success rate - and yours! Having a marketing plan will help you get the most traction and leverage from your own efforts. Too often, people end up wasting money on ineffective marketing, and tapping out their budget.

Promoting yourself and having more complimentary tools in your "toolbelt" will allow you to be a solution provider to more people and increase your cash flow, while helping others. Often in network marketing or direct sales, people are warned not to promote more than one company because they will end up "chasing too many rabbits" and not be successful. Although it is true that when you have a limited amount of time to work a home business, you need focus, that doesn't mean you can not incorporate complimentary products and resources on your own website and generate passive income while still keeping focused on your primary niche and target market.

Most network marketing and direct sales companies provide replicating websites for their distributors these days, either at no cost or for a monthly fee. The problem is no one is going to find your website unless you send them there. A replicating website will never be found on the search engines unless unique webpages are linking to it. And even then, the site looks like every other distributors' site so why should someone do business with you? You also are missing out on the opportunity of creating multiple income streams, paying for your marketing and much more by not having your own website.

SiteBuildIt is the website building tool I recommend to anyone I am working with for many reasons. First a novice without computer experience can go through the step-by-step Action Guide and build a quality website that is build around a niche market and strong keywords so it gets found! Secondly, it is great value since you get everything in one package: site building tools, web hosting, step-by-step guide, autoresponder, blog, tracking tools, email, domain name - and more for just a little more than most autoresponder services!

The reason I started recommending SiteBuildIt was because I saw how well it was working for my new associates, so bought an SBI site myself just to check all the tools it provides and to better help the people I work with. I have been even more impressed since utilizing SiteBuildIt myself. Even though I have build three websites the traditional way using Dreamweaver and web hosting, I plan on using SiteBuildIt for any other sites I build.

You need to build a marketing budget so you can continue to grow your business. If you have your own website, you can passively create income through Google Adsense ads, complimentary products or services which have affiliate programs, or even your own material like ebooks. By diversification, you create more a more stable income which is important if you want to truly be an independent marketer.

One of the four main reasons people fail in network marketing is lack of a marketing budget. If you are tapping into your personal fund to grow your business, most people can't maintain that for very long. People need to have their business as least break even as soon as possible.

It is important when starting your business to create some cash flow as soon as possible. Although in network marketing people are often concerned with building a team, retailing your product or service is a great way to create some immediate cash flow. Often times friends and family may run the other way if you are trying to convince them they need your opportunity, but if you have a product or service of value, you have a better chance of gaining a customer or getting referrals from the people you know - if you don't hound them.

Affiliate income is another way to generate some immediate income while working on building your business. In Ann Sieg's Renegade Marketer Ebook, you'll learn how to earn affiliate income while generating leads for your primary business.

Using Renegade Marketing system, and Renegade University to walk you step-by-step how to use the strategies in Ann Sieg's book, will allow you to make money off your own marketing efforts. Once you understand the principles in the Renegade Marketer, you can apply this to your product or service, or any business. The people that are purchasing affiliate products that you have chosen which are of value to your target market are highly qualified for your primary business, if you learn how to do this effectively.

Joint-venture marketing is another way to make money off your own marketing. Someone may have a complimentary product or service that would be of value to your target market. By offering that item on your website, you add and value and establish credibility in the eyes of your potential customers, your joint-venture partner gains more sales, and you gain a commission on the sales you generate for your joint-venture partner. Everyone wins.

Using Google adsense on your website is another way to generate income. You can select the pages you want to include ads on, and block ads you don't want to appear. Even if someone does not opt-in or purchase what you offer on your site, if they click on the Google adsense ad, you get paid for that click.

When starting your business or starting to market online, learn how to market with the free or inexpensive methods first, before you jump into Google Adwords or other paid advertizing. Now using Google Adwords right can be a very effective way to know what marketing is working by split-testing, but if you don't know what you are doing, you can waste a lot of money. Unless you have already used Google Adwords successfully and are happy with the results you are getting, I don't recommend setting up an account before you have gotten your hands on a copy of Perry Marshall's Definitive Guide to Adwords. It is well worth the $49 since you can easily waste a considerable amount more than that if you don't know what you are doing.

The other thing you need to do is to track your marketing so you know what is working and what isn't. You should be continuously improving your marketing so that your time and money spent is getting better and better results. You'll only be able to do that if you are tracking your marketing.

You need to treat your business as a business. Have a separate personal checking account & credit card you use strictly for business. It makes it so much easier to keep good records for your taxes and if you don't treat your business as a business the IRS may view it as a hobby, instead of a business. Having a home business is a huge tax advantage so you want to make sure you keep good records and take all the legitimate deductions you are entitled to. Home business tax experts like Sandy Botkins author of "Lower Your Taxes - Big Time", and Ron Mueller the author of, "It's Not How Much You Make, It's How Much You Keep!", will tell you that if it were just for the tax advantages, everyone should have a home business. Obviously not everyone has an interest or the desire to run a home business, but you want to make sure you take advantage of all the benefits through wise financial planning.

Another tax strategy I know of that others have used to give them a little more discretionary income to run their business is to change the deductions on their W4 to provide more weekly take home pay. To do this you need to keep good tax records and make sure you are using the extra income on your business so you don't end up having to pay the IRS, but since most people gain so much by having a home business, this can be effective. You would want to check with your own tax person or CPA to see if it would work in your situation. Here are just a few of the legitimate deductions you may be able to take advantage of:

• If you have a separate business area in you home, you may be able to deduct part of utililities, internet access, mortgage or rent.
• Gas mileage and business expenses such as computer, printer, fax machine, etc.
• Pay your kids over age 7 to work for you

If you are in network marketing, MLM Tax Helper has a software program designed to keep track of all your records and make tax time a lot easier.

A great system to cancel debt and be able to either build equity on your house quicker or have your mortgage paid of in as little as 1/3 to 1/2 the time is UFirst Financial's MoneyMerge system. This remarkable system can powerfully impact those who are courageously seeking more out of life. With this system, the average person can pay off their mortgage in 8 to 12 years instead of 30 years :

• without changing your budget or current monthly expenses
• without making any extra payments
• without refinacing

How the Money Merge Account Program Can Help you and Your Business:

• Increased descretionary income
• More equity that can be utilized for your business
• Helps you to use your money more effectively
• Build equity quicker and pay off mortgages on multiple properties, including a business property.

• Financial Strategies to Fuel you Marketing Budget and Help you Achieve your Goals

View this training webinar recorded on 6/16/08 in its entirety by simply entering your email address. Then just enter your name, and Wendy Mills as the person who invited you. The WorksTeam weekly training webinars are provided at no cost to those working with a Work Team member.