Hi - I recently became an Independent Discovery Toys Consultant, how can I be successful at it?
825610
Go door to door and spend many late nights working your tale off.
58427
Get involved with something you have passion for. Perform as much due diligence as possible before spending a single nickle. Goal set and hold yourself accountable for either meeting or not meeting these goals. Ex. First Goal to be completed  in 5 days. Make a list of what you believe is your strengths and weaknesses and then over the next five days ask people close to you what they believe is your strengths and weaknesses. Start small and continously progress with goals such as these to build momentum and understanding of yourself and what you want to go do.  Then determine how much you want to invset in your business both time and money. I would then recommend talking to SBA  - (Free Service) and then a (Franchise Consultant) another free service to get a sense how you want to enter the business world. Your own idea or be your own boss with a formula.
24033
Maybe I don't know the best way, but my father is a Voice Actor, and is very successful. He offers great work shops in the L.A. area and often takes serious aspiring voice actors under his wing. I've noticed that in his field there are some tricks. \n\n1. Of course you have to have a good agent. He works with a well known agency. \n\n2. You have to understand the trends of the business. When I was younger, he worked on a lot of cartoons like Duck Tales, Gummi Bears, Bearnstien Bears, Snorks, and a bunch of other ones. But these days, the younger voices seem to be a trend. He has had to tailor his work in a new way to get into the right realm of voice acting again. Good thing he has a great agent. \n\n3. This is the most important in my opinion. You have to be honest and HARD WORKING. I noticed that a lot of people in entertainment are ego-centric. They won't take a job unless it has a great image attached to it. When my father got his job, he took any and every job he could get. The side product was that he became extremely good at it. He has more practice than anybody, and he now bears the nick-name "one-take Brian" to most of his collegues in Hollywood. So when a commercial is done and they need to lay the VO tracks on the video... he's the man they call in crunch time because they know he'll get it done fast. He saves sound engineers money on reduced studio time too. So I guess hard work and integrity pay off in a business where there's a lot of less honest and less hard working people. \n\nIt's a great business and he loves it. It's very lucrative for him too. However, I've seen a lot of people fail at it. Get out there.. make demos, get your name known, practice your trade, and take what you can get. \n\nI hope it works out. If you live in the L.A. area and are interested in a good contact or his workshops, contact me. He has a good repetoire of well known roles and he knows most of the famous Voice Actors out there from Jim Cummings to Gary Owens.
239563
Make sure that your facilites( toilets/food stalls etc) are evenly spaced and your paths all join up to rides and facilities\nYour visitors to your park like places to sit and relax too so have plenty of seating around food stalls \nMake sure areas for maintainence are defined too, people wont like it if there is rubbish everywhere you can put in bins but they fill up fast\nCheck the "feelings" of your visitors too they actually tell you what they want and what is wrong\nGood luck have fun it's a very addictive game
413687
Be very leery of the companies on TV that say they will bring your idea to market.  Most of those are scams.  They will steal your idea and give you little to nothing for it.  Have you considered who you would sell the product or service to?  Depending on the product, you can have your product manufactured by a company that does that kind of stuff, then sell the finished product to a retailer.  You would be the "middle-man" but your only work is finding a good manufacturer with the right price and selling the finished product to the retailer once.  (Think of selling it to a Wal-mart.)  You'd take a nice profit off the top.  Have you considered licensing your product to a distributor thus receiving a royalty.  That reduces a lot of headache and minimizes your liability.  It would be their responsibility to manufacture it and sell it.  Those little battery testers on packages were done that way.  Don't put all your hope in a "company" that will magically make you rich.  You are creative, so think of creative ways to get the product to market.
892522
Do the business and collaborate it with an interest you're passionate in. You excel in those types of endeavors when you're passionate in them. They're no longer work, they're play. They're inspiration.
221711
start small, speak with the owner, try to get in good with a smaller shop first, work your way up.  and don't give up!
247564
Try to form a consensus amongst the participants as to which plan works best. In getting such an ambitious project off the ground, it might be wiser to meet more frequently (monthly) just in order to get things established and find some kind of rhythm. You may then revert to quarterly sessions once things are operating smoothly. \n\nI'm very impressed that you're contemplating doing something like this and I would be very interested in learning more about it. Can you keep me updated as to your progress, perhaps via your 360 blog? Thanks!
708836
Unless you really have a unique idea, and the finance to patent, produce and market it correctly, you won't earn a million in five years.  If you are prepared to put in consistent effort, the UK business I'm in could help you become financially independent.  I can send you a DVD to have a look at, that explains it a lot better than a simple email, if you'd like to email me your details.  Alternatively, you can leave your details on my freephone - 0800 298 2384.
912582
Do your best and try to watch what the others do.  Offer to help with whatever you can.  Find out some of their interests and chat some.  The main thing is to watch and learn.\n\nI got transfered to a snooty department in my company.  I just watched everyone for a while and one day a co worker was talking aboiut wanting to buy something on eBay but never had.  I'm an eBay addict!  I helped her buy something there and she talks to me all the time now!
515013
It's good you care to become the best sales person you can be.  Just keep in mind that the other competitors sales might not have much to do with the sales staff.  The competitors might put more money into their advertising and marketing campaigns.  You also have to consider pricing.  Are the other products less expensive?  \n\nWhen you're talking with potential customers, impress upon them that your products are the best quality in the business, and your company backs them 100%.  (Make sure your company really does back them though.)  If your products are more expensive, you need to convince them of the importance to have the best quality equipment.  Don't bad mouth the competitors--that just makes you look terrible.  Instead, be positive and upbeat about your product.  \n\nIt's also important to establish a relationship with your customers.  People will buy from people they feel are their friends regardless of price.  When you leave your appointments, make sure you IMMEDIATELY write down the contacts name and any personal information you learned from them while talking.  For instance, how many children they have; the ages of the children; the names of the children; if they have a wife, etc.  Anything at all!  Next time you visit you ask "How was Sarah's soccer game?" or "Is your mother-in-law feeling better?"  Also take goodies to your potential top buyers--donuts, beagles and such.  \n\nAsk a buyer/manager out to lunch.  You pay.  Most companies reimburse the sales staff for business expenses.  If not, it's tax deductible--and then only do this with your most important customers.  Don't forget to send birthday cards (professional ones).\n\nTarget existing customers to buy new products.  Offer to help them fine tune their sales pitches to THEIR customers.  (This paragraph only applies if you're selling to retail stores.)  \n\nI could go on and on.  If you have any questions, feel free to contact me through my profile in yahoo.
302112
1st have a desire - determine the thing that interests you most that's the trick. Love the job or project and you will pursue for its success. Is it food? Is it service? Is it thinkering? Programming? \n2nd plan and compute - plan your products or service to render, determine your margins is it worthwhile?\n3rd location - do you have a market, will your location allow you to do business easier than another?\n4th financial backing - set aside money to fund 1,2,3 above and set a few more for drawbacks and operating at a loss for a few months.\n5th creativity - Set yourself apart from others, be original but acceptable. \n\nHmmm, a cocktail and a pretzel & nuts stand in the afternoons..
851786
i recommend that you do more research work on that because it is not an easy business, you have to make feasibility study, and while you are doing that, surely you'll know and find out how you do it and who you can talk to.\nYou can ask people who has done that before just for guidance.
783577
I used to own a gift shop and in order to buy merchandise I attended trade shows.  At trade shows there are lots of independent sales reps that carry multiple product lines.  My advice is to attend as many trade shows as possible and bring samples of your product.  Meet some of the reps, see who you click with.  Some are really pushy and have questionable ethics.  Some are very nice and sincerely interested in acting as a liaison between suppliers like yourself and store owners like me.  Find reps by checking out their booths, seeing what other lines they carry and if your product would compliment their mix.  Then watch how they interact with potential customers that approach their booth.\n\nAnother possible sales tool is to go to your local yellow pages, and get the names/addresses of stores in your area that you think you would like to see sell your cards.  Then send them a cover letter with a free sample of your cards.  Envision how you would like to see your cards displayed and in what kinds of stores, then contact those stores and sell your vision.  Explain how you think your cards would sell themselves and how you would supply them.  Emphasize the good service that you can offer.  Keep track of who you sent samples to, and then a week or two after you mailed them, call the owner of the business to see if they received the sample and if they would like to see more.  You're selling by taking baby steps, which is more comfortable than cold calling.  If you believe in your product, then your enthusiasm for it will help you succeed.\n\nGood luck!!
150148
Think of all your interests & ask yourself if any of those could be expanded into a business. Just keep in mind...what's your expertise? What are your interests? What could you imagine yourself doing?\n\nThen, once you have some ideas, research, research, research. Check out the competition -- their business practices, pricing, customer service, etc. And also think about what you could offer to set yourself apart from these other companies.\n\nCheck the sources for some handy sites.\n\nHope that helps! I wish you much success & happiness in all your ventures!
170561
I found a few links that should help you to get started on your way.\n\nHope that helps! I wish you much success & happiness in all your ventures!
770647
I would start with the NASD and CFP Board websites. They are a great resource for starting off. At the very least, find a company to sponsor your testing and begin studying for your Series 7. \n\nResearch different firms and decide what type of practice you would like to conduct and/or participate in. I believe that being a planner under an independent firm such as Linsco/Private Ledger or Raymond James, offer wonderful tech and product support, fair payouts, a solid reputation, yet flexibility in how your business is ran. There are many options, but not one specific route is best for everyone. \n\nIf you are just starting off, find an office looking to staff an additional rep or a junior rep to get started off. Even- though maybe not as initially appealing- starting off as a Registered Sales Assistant may be good. It could lead into a great educational experience, more referrals and a promising career.\n\nI wish the very best to you!