Pay-For-Performance

A Pay-for-Performance plan is a fairly new phenomenon in the PR community. In short, it means you only pay for a PR firm’s work if it results in some kind of news coverage for you or your company. It’s a great solution for the business first starting out in PR without a huge budget and would prefer to earmark it for results. It’s great if you’re not too concerned about your overall marketing communications strategy but still want to see how public relations can help lift your voice of the company in today’s conversational media.

Retainer

Contracting with a PR firm using a retainer is a way to ensure you have someone to handle all duties associated with your media reach. A retainer is a set dollar amount that’s paid to the PR firm every month. It’s usually based on the number of hours per month you expect the company to work for you. Its perfect for a small to mid-sized company in need of outsourcing all of their public relations needs including strategizing, implementing and designing comprehensive marketing/public relations campaigns. Basically, it’s when you need someone to be there for you to get the job done…no matter what.

Hourly or By Project

If you’re a business that needs help getting important marketing and PR projects done, sometimes just paying for the time it takes to get the project done makes most sense. Those projects can consist of items like press releases, customer newsletters, or press kits. It boils down to this: Whatever needs to be done, tell your chosen firm or consultant and they’ll get it done. For example, let’s say you’re about to announce a new product and you need a press release written. The firm will write the release, post it on the wire and pitch it to reporters…then just bill you for the time needed to get the work done.

Overall, the best public relations firms are those that offer multiple ways of paying for their services. Do your homework and look closely to see if those you’re considering will help you when it comes to paying the bill. You’ll be much better off if you do.

Whether you’ve been laid off, or are just trying to build a new career for yourself, the current near-recession economy we are experiencing may seem like a brick wall for your financial future. But for industrious, creative thinkers there are still plenty of ways to make money during a down economy.

Buy things at a value price. Certainly, the last few months have seen stock prices and real estate prices plunge quickly and severely. For those who are not risk-averse, this represents an opportunity to invest in the future. Buying foreclosed property or undervalued stocks represents a firm belief that the market will rebound – and when it does you will be in a prime position to make a profit off of it.

Become a financial planner/adviser. For many families, the future is looking pretty scary right about now. Everyone could benefit from having a trusted adviser in their lives that will help them best utilize their precious income while still enjoying life (and saving for the future).

Look towards the Internet. Not every business has seen their world come crashing down around them in recent weeks. The Internet Economy is still growing despite economic setbacks that are impacting global markets. And as long as there are investments still being made online, there are opportunities for you. Do some homework and look into online avenues that fit with your skill sets.

Some of the most powerful ways to make money on the Internet include:

Start a Blog – A fun, informative unique blog can bring in tens of thousands of visitors per day. And when potential advertisers see that traffic, they will pay you for the privilege of advertising on the blog. The best thing about a blog is that they are easy to start and relatively inexpensive to run. You can hop over to www.wordpress.com and get all the basics you need for free, including a cool blog design, a place to host your blog, and literally miles of helpful reading from expert bloggers who have made their mark on the industry.

Sell products – If you’ve invented something or bought an overstock of an interesting, useful product, why not sell it online? You can build a simple web site then optimize the page for search engines or buy Pay per Click impressions to bring in the customers. Keep it simple at first, and then as you grow, bring in professional web designers and programmers to enhance the look and functionality of your site.

Publish an eBook – Writing a book, getting published then selling it in Barnes and Noble or Borders can be difficult. However, if you are an expert in your field of work or know your hobby backwards and forwards, why not write a 100 page eBook and put it up for sale online? Regular folks from all walks of life have developed a steady income stream with their “home brewed” eBooks.

Post on Craigslist – There are literally thousands of different ways you can make money from Craigslist. You can post things for sale, offer you services or even buy and sell cars or real estate. And the best thing about Craigslist is that it is FREE to post. So you can experiment with different copy, ad styles or messages until you find the one that really strikes a chord and brings in business.

Sell off the things you don’t need. Many Americans have spent the last several years in a buying frenzy. Too many families are now drowning in debt because of all the unnecessary luxury items they have purchased. Although you won’t get top dollar for them now, if you need capital, selling off extra appliances, gadgets, timeshares, cars and other items can bring in some much-needed income.

Improve your skill set. When things are tight, the individuals who are in the highest demand are those who can perform a variety of different tasks. Look into continuing education programs that will not only help you land a great job, but will also provide benefits if you start up your own business. The investment you make in your education will pay back huge dividends in even the worst economic situation.

Become a freelancer. Corporate layoffs are at an all-time high as businesses look to trim every last dollar they can off of their books. This doesn’t mean that you don’t still provide value to your company – rather it has more likely become too much of a burden to keep you on staff for the entire year. Offer your services to your old company, and other businesses, on a per-project freelance basis. When all is said and done, you could end up making MORE in a year than when you were on salary.

The most important thing to remember when trying to make money in a down economy is DON’T PANIC! These are tough times, yes, but they favor the creative mind and the hard-working individual. Keep reinventing yourself and looking for new, innovative ways to utilize your skill set.

I define core marketing strength as being tactics that you enjoy doing, are good at and what you naturally gravitate towards.

For example, my core marketing strength is writing.  I love writing, I can do it pretty quickly and easily and I have lots of ideas of things I can write about (around my business services and products).

I enjoy speaking and I’ve done lots of it, but it causes me some angst and it’s not something I absolutely thrive on doing.

Networking (especially in-person) is definitely not something I really like, am comfortable with or really want to do!  I’ll do it, I have done it - especially in my corporate life, but it isn’t something I get hopped up about doing!  I’m much better one-on-one with people.

So guess what?  I’ve built my marketing framework around writing. I chose marketing tactics that involved writing - like submitting articles, having a blog, doing guest blogs, writing ebooks and so on.

Once that got going and was humming along consistently, I started adding some marketing tactics that include networking and speaking.

But the key thing is that I built my marketing framework around something I enjoyed, could do fast and with not tons of effort.  This ensured that I took action with my marketing right away and that I enjoyed it.  We all know that we will do something we enjoy, but procrastinate endlessly if it’s something we feel not that great at, don’t enjoy or it seems too difficult.

Once you figure out what your core marketing strength is, you can build a marketing framework that encompasses 3 or 4 tactics based on your strength.  From there you can add additional strategies from your core area and/or add some from the other two areas.

Marketing can be fun - so help make it enjoyable by choosing marketing tactics that you actually like doing!

I would love to hear what your core marketing strength is and which marketing tactics you’re using based on that strength.

In this sluggish economy, it has become harder than ever for small businesses to get started and build a clientèle. Those individuals who do succeed are the ones with innovative ideas that are a bit more off the beaten path. The following are ten unique home-based businesses that you can start today without even leaving the house!

• Tutoring Business. With college entrance becoming more and more competitive, parents are looking for a way to get their kids’ grades up. This has opened up a wealth of new opportunities for home-based tutors.
• Wedding Planner. While our economic situation has taken a bite out of many areas of the luxury economy, one thing that is almost recession-proof is the desire of women everywhere to throw a perfectly planned wedding. Being a home-based wedding planner is easy – as most of the meetings (with the exception of visiting the venue) can take place inside your house.
• Gift Basket Business. If you are a great gift-giver, why not put that talent to good use? Gift basket businesses feature relatively low start-up costs, can be engaged right from your home and provide a steady source of seasonal work (as well as birthdays, special corporate events, etc).
• Concierge. Few people realize it, but you don’t have to be at a hotel to take advantage of a concierge service. A growing number of people are turning to home-based concierges as a means for helping plan out special events, nights out on the town, and more.
• Computer Repair. If you’re the member of the family who always gets called to fix everyone’s PC or iPod then computer repair is an outstanding choice for a home-based business. Just put a little more time into self-education regarding the inner workings of computer repair and you can gain the skills needed to get started.
• Consulting Business. Let’s say you spent years in a particular industry, but left your job either due to layoffs or burnout. Why not put those vital skills to use by becoming a consultant in your chosen field of expertise? Consultants can command a high billing rate (depending upon the industry) and have the freedom to take on as many or as few clients as they see fit.
• Coaching Business. A fast growing industry is business coaching. If you have strong sales skills, are good with people, and a passion for businesses, you can help other businesses become successful. One leading franchiser for small-business growth services is OneCoach. The company website is a place to start to find out how you can provide entrepreneurs with customized solutions to grow their small business.
• Interior Designer. If you’ve got a flair for home or office décor, interior design work may be your calling. The key to getting started is finding 2-3 core clients, and then doing spectacular work for them. Create a book of photos based on your work for these initial clients – and then use it as a “calling card” for obtaining future work.
• Blog Poster. Many businesses need individuals to help them maintain an active blogging community for their online presence. You could make a supplement and potential decent living by blog posting if you have good conversational writing skills.
• Child Care Service Provider. Finally, child care services make an outstanding home-based business for nurturing individuals who are good with children. While some inspection and accreditation may be required, this can be a very lucrative business for those willing to dedicate themselves to it.

To see more home-based business ideas and vote on your favorites, StartupNation’s Home-Based 100 contest is happening right now. Next year, enter your wackiest, greenest or most innovative home-based business and you might be the lucky winner.

Everyone agrees that in order to properly market your business you need to have a web site. For many businesses the person in charge of this project has little or no experience with developing a web site. They know they need it, but have no idea what is involved and so often make their decisions based on price or style, rather than substance.

Over the last eight months, I have spent much of my time redeveloping web sites. Some of the sites had fulfilled their original purpose and needed to be updated because; a) the company had outgrown the site, b) new technology enabled new functionality, or c) they needed a fresh, more contemporary look. Unfortunately though, many of the sites I have worked on are brand new, some just weeks old. A few were inexpensive sites, maybe a Do-It-Yourself project or developed by a friend of a friend, but others were done by agencies and cost $30,000 – $40,000. The budget and creativity were there, but they were poorly planned and did not fulfill the company’s goals.

Currently I am working with a client that just launched their new site. I was brought in to oversee the development of a gift card section for this site. They were thrilled with the new look, but not the functionality. The designer did not design the site with the visitors and site goals in mind. The two main goals of the site were to provide information about their franchise opportunities and provide a revenue stream by selling gift cards online. The first thing I noticed when reviewing their site was the links to Franchise Info and Gift Card Purchase were out of the viewable space or “below the fold.” So in order for someone visiting the site to find this information, they would have to scroll down the page, greatly decreasing the numbers of visits to those areas of the site. This was just one of many areas of concern, but the most profound.

Designers are usually focused on how the site looks, programmers are focused on how the site works, but the most important part of development and the one that is most often overlooked, is the visitor’s experience sometimes referred to as usability. It is so important to ask throughout the design and development stages – Does the site fulfill the company’s goals and can a visitor find the information they want easily.

The best way to avoid this mistake it to take the time to set clear site goals before design and programming begin. Then make sure these goals are still being achieved throughout every stage of the process. There are several stages of development to be aware of.

1. Discovery Stage – Set goals, discuss functionality, begin to collect assets

2. Wire frame and navigation – Make sure that the most important areas of the site are easy to access.

3. Creative Comps – The designer should present one or more comps of the home page and an interior page, for your review and approval before moving into additional design or the programming stage.

4. Programming – This is the full production stage of the site and when all content is added. You should be given a link to a beta version of the site to review before the developer goes LIVE with the site.

5. Quality Assurance – The testing phase. Be sure the developer tests on multiple browsers. What looks good on Internet Explorer 6, does not necessarily work on IE7 or FireFox.

Never be afraid to ask questions. When you receive the beta link to your site, test it yourself, have a friend, or co-worker go through the site and try to access key information. Ask them, does the navigation make sense? Could you find key information? And so on.

Finally, make sure to consider current as well as future goals for your site. If you want to be able to make your own changes, capture data, open an online store or increase the site size, let your web team know at the beginning. This can save time and money down the road.

These are difficult economic times that send shivers down the most optimistic entrepreneur’s spine, but there is a silver lining. It is during difficult financial times that the smartest, forward thinking companies rise to the top. The biggest challenge is to survive and the best way to do so is with a good plan.

Often times as sales decrease, the first thing companies cut is their marketing budgets, but in order to maintain or increase sales, it is important to have a strong market presence – keeping your company’s product or service out there and top of mind. That said it is possible to cut back on costs and increase outreach by developing a smart marketing strategy. Just having a good plan can save time, design and printing costs and cut down on waste.

For many a marketing plan may seem overwhelming or unnecessary. For some, when sales really slow, they feel a need just to do something; an ad or a direct mail piece, or some other marketing opportunity – taking a shot gun approach and hoping to hit something. In the end, this approach can be costly and ineffective. So make a plan, it can always be changed if it is not working. Here are some steps to make the process simpler:

To begin, first determine a marketing budget for the year. Depending on the profit margin of your product and service 2% - 5% of gross forecasted sales should be a minimum budget. If you have a high profit margin, you could increase that percentage a bit. If you do not have forecasted sales numbers, focus on a sales goal for the year.

Next, once you have that budget number, begin to divide up the amount by your marketing tactics. I recommend the following tools – collateral, web site, electronic and print advertising, direct mail, events, etc. When looking at these options, also keep in mind your target market and the mediums they respond to the best. Be sure you have a mix of tactics to ensure a solid “cross-media” strategy. If you find your budget is too tight to do all the items you would like, shift more of your budget to areas that offer a higher return on investment or allocate more of your budget to specific times of year which historically have provided better response rates. Build in a mechanism to track response to your marketing efforts. Web and e-marketing will have analytics built in, but just always asking, “How Did You Hear About Us?” is valuable information.

One tactic that should be included as a component in your marketing plan is a loyalty program. During a time when everyone will be reviewing their spending, customer loyalty is very important. It is easier and less costly to keep a customer than to get a new one. Service is a big part of loyalty, but special programs, deals and communication to your “regulars” will go a long way in keeping them. Plus, they will be the best source of referrals and viral marketing.

Finally, remember to review your plan throughout the year. Re-evalutate, look at actual sales vs. forecasted sales and adjust your budget numbers appropriately. Also, you should check to make sure you are getting the greatest return on investment (ROI) for each tactic you use. When one tactic out performs another, than you should shift dollars to increase the effectiveness, cutting out what does not work. Marketing methods are always changing, new markets open up, and technology is playing a greater role every day so try some new things too! Good luck.

Businesses looking to make inroads online could learn a great deal from the social networking employed by the Barack Obama campaign for President of the United States. Ever since he took on Hilary Clinton and won in a stunning upset once thought impossible by political pundits, Obama and his team (including 24-year-old Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes) have used social networking and online marketing techniques to mobilize their forces, get donations and spread the word about the candidate and his message.

In January, Obama set a record for donations in one month by raising a total of $32 million dollars, $28 million of which was raised online. From these $28 million in online contributions, 90% were under $100, with over 250,000 contributors (source). In February, Obama didn’t attend one single fundraiser and still managed to raise $55 million online.

How did the Obama team do it? Here are several key elements to the social networking aspect of the campaign.

The website. Obama’s official website (www.barackobama.com) has a strong social networking element. The site is filled with ways for supporters to share information and learn about speeches and gatherings in their area. After spending just a few minutes on the website, it is easy to see that it was created by professionals who understand the importance of interactivity and a strong user interface. With every piece of content comes the opportunity to make a donation.

The tools. The Obama website gives users a lot of options for customization. The site provides tools for supporters to hold their own meetings and fundraisers – setting the guidelines to help run the events, but allowing each individual to determine how much money they wish to ask for and the style of the event.

The email campaigns. At organized Obama events, supporters are only asked for an email address, not a donation. Those who sign up to be on the official Obama for President mailing list receive smart, highly coordinated emails several times a week. These emails are geo-targeted on many occasions to alert the individual about upcoming events in their area. The emails also have a personal feel, sporting a relaxed style of writing and are often penned by the candidate, his chiefs of staff or even his wife Michele.

Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. No politician has run for office during the heyday of the major social networking sites, but Obama really has no fear when it comes to using these entities to further his cause. Check into Facebook and you will find the official Obama group and thousands of like-minded groups. Get over to Twitter and you can follow every move the candidate makes as he crisscrosses the country. Even MySpace is filled with efforts to spread the word among voters who are likely taking part in their first election. The campaign understands the limited resources of young Americans, and asks for only small donations on these sites.

The access. Unlike his competitor John McCain, Barack Obama has been an active part of his online campaigns. He writes his own emails and creates exclusive videos just for his online supporters. The result is an immediacy and personal nature to his campaign that few candidates will ever match.

Whether or not Obama wins the presidency in November, he and his outstanding online marketing team have changed the way politicians reach out to the American public and generate funds for their campaign. By knowing the ins and outs of the most current, most popular forms of online marketing, he has set an example not only for future candidates, but businesses that want to target customers with pinpoint accuracy and build their brand online via email, website and social marketing techniques.

We’ve all heard it - over and over. Recession, job loss, tough times.

Does this remind anybody else of the old story about Chicken Little (”the sky is falling”)?

I am a fierce believer that what we think about comes about. If we don’t want financial struggles, despair and “oh no” experiences, why do we spend so much of our time thinking about them?

How is it that some businesses see growth - even record growth - during these “slow” times?

They get back to basics. What are they?

1. They focus on what they do best, and they make the most of it. When did it become admirable to be “Jack of all Trades and master of none”?  Being a one-stop shop may seem like a convenient way to service your customer, and it certainly can be. It also can confuse potential customers into wondering what it exactly is that you do. The same pattern holds for job seekers during these times - employers hire specialists more often than generalists. Why? Because they know exactly what they are getting rather than investing in a candidate and not being certain of what they will get. Be specific. What do you really do? Are you sure?
2. They foster and nurture their strongest networks and referral sources. We all do business with people we know, like and trust. Connect with individuals who believe in the “Givers Gain” philosophy. Who in your circle are your best referral sources? Who has referred business to you in the past? How can you help them grow their business? Help them, and your “know, like and trust” factor will grow exponentially.
3. They dig in and get to it. It’s so easy to wait for things to come to us. Although I do subscribe to the idea of “astral advertising” (aka The Law of Attraction), the perfect client isn’t going to simply appear at our office door with a bucket of money to toss into your lap. Put the right ideas out there (remember, what we think about comes about…) and get to work. Put yourself in situations where you will meet the people you most want to connect with. Be strategic with your time and efforts. This is not about being desparate and begging for clients. You offer a great product or service to your clients, and you will help them (grow their business, save time, save money, insert other benefit here). Don’t be afraid to beat your own drum - that’s how people will hear you.

In my experience as a small business owner for eight years, I have found that there is a lot of confusion over the best ways to market a business. With the plethora of marketing strategies that are available these days between online, offline and integrated marketing, the choices certainly can make one’s head spin. Yet consistent and clear marketing is critical to success. What’s more, business owners and entrepreneurs who do not spend time to plan their marketing strategy have unknowingly set out on a course headed straight for doom.

1. Having a Well-Defined Target Market
This step is often overlooked, but it is critical to spend time defining your ideal client. Defining a target market helps you define who is most likely to buy your product or service versus any random person who can buy simply because they have a credit card. Being armed with this information will help you maximize a small marketing budget because you will only market to extremely focused and targeted audiences, creating a high ROI. Most small business owners would benefit tremendously by selecting a very narrow target market, sometimes called a micro-niche, and going after that market.

2. Marketing Message
Once you know your target market, you can develop a clear marketing message that addresses your market’s specific problems and shows that you have the business that can solve them. The goal of a marketing message is to grab the attention of your target market and make them interested in finding out more information from you. We are all inundated with marketing messages throughout the day, so creating a message that stands out and makes your target market notice you is imperative.

3. Realistic Marketing and PR Plan
A marketing and public relations plan does not have to be complicated. In fact, it should be very simple so you are more likely to follow it. If you have a simple plan that you have integrated with your calendar, you are far more likely to meet your goals. If you select five to ten ways to market your business and repeat them consistently, you will see results. Also, free PR opportunities are out there for you! Your plan should include article and press release submissions to your local business newspaper and membership organizations, at the very least.

4. Networking
Never underestimate the power of a strong web of prospects, clients, joint venture partners, affiliates and others! Who you know and how you treat them will dictate your success. It’s important to select only the best networking groups that put you in the midst of your ideal clients, potential partners or referral sources. It’s better to only be a member of one or two highly targeted networking groups that you can commit to than a dozen where nobody remembers you because you can’t consistently attend or get involved.

5. Email Marketing
Publishing a relationship-building ezine (e-newsletter) is a core marketing tool for most businesses. It’s inexpensive – and when done well, it works to build relationships with others. It’s a wonderful way to showcase your expertise and allows your clients, prospects and partners, and colleagues to get you know, like and trust you.

6. A Sales and Marketing Based Web Site
Your web site can and should be flexing its marketing and sales muscle every second of every day. A marketing and sales-based web site will capture leads and lead them directly into your marketing funnel, allowing you to start to build relationships with them.

7. Professional Marketing Collateral
Having professionally designed and printed marketing collateral is critical. People will judge you based on something as simple as the paper weight of your business card! If you’re really on the cutting edge, you can create a simple CD with an introduction to your business instead of, or in addition to a brochure. Be sure to use your marketing message, hire a graphic artist to do the design work and include a call to action in all of your materials.

8. Your Support Team
Nobody succeeds alone. As a business owner, you will likely need to locate a marketing-based “dream team” of support such as a graphic artist, a web developer, web designer, copy writer, printer, promotions company and an assistant, just to name a few. Having relationships with each of these professionals will come in handy even if you only need to call on their services a few times a year.

9. Time Mastery
It is up to each of us as business owners to tenaciously covet our time, who we spend it with and how we spend it. As a business owner, it is important to spend the vast majority of our work time on high pay-off activities. It is your right to say no to meetings, volunteer work, committee work or other engagements that do not directly support your main business goals.

10. Systems
Michael Gerber, best-selling author of The E Myth, Revisited, says, “The system is the solution.” If you ever find yourself frustrated with something related to billing, your client intake process, your voice mail, or if you spend too much time retraining your staff how to do something, you are in need of a new system. Creating a system can be very simple. It’s a matter of finding out how something is currently being done, making changes necessary to rid yourself of burdensome tasks, and writing down the new and improved process in a flow chart. Once you have it documented, you can hand the flow chart to everyone involved and provide training, even if it’s just a discussion, so the process runs smoothly.
Before you get overwhelmed with this list of “marketing must-haves,” remember tip #8. You don’t need to do it all alone. In fact, you shouldn’t even try. Delegation of things you cannot do, do not want to do, or someone else can do better is one of the best investments you can make into your business. Hiring people who will support your vision will lead you to success. It will allow you to free up your time to spend it where you need to - on leading your business.

© 2008 Meredith Liepelt, Rich Life Marketing

Meredith Liepelt, President of Rich Life Marketing, publishes Smart Marketing, a free bi-weekly ezine featuring marketing tools and resources designed to help the busy entrepreneur become known as an expert, build trust with clients and prospects and generate more income. Subscribe today at www.richlifemarketing.com.

This article may be reprinted when the copyright and author bio are included.

The near-trillion dollar bailout of United States financial institutions by the government has been called a “savior” by both the media and elected officials. It has been focus of discussion in this year’s presidential election, and will be in the year’s to come. But who really stands to gain from the bailout? The following businesses should see glimmers of hope thanks to the money being poured back into their industries.

Investment Banks

Obviously, the number one business that will benefit from the 700 billion dollar bailout is the investment bank. Institutional investment banks are essentially receiving mouth-to-mouth at a time when they are dead on the operating table. The cash infusion into these businesses will allow them to continue to support businesses throughout the world with their investments. In recent news many investment banks are folding during this financial crisis. On September 15th, Merrill Lynch was acquired by Bank of America in a $50 billion dollar deal. In the largest banking failure in history, Washington Mutual (WaMu) was recently purchased by JPMorgan Chase for $1.9 Billion dollars. Also, Wachovia is looking to be purchased by either Wells Fargo or Citigroup Inc sometime this week. The two companies are currently working with the U.S. government to settle their bids on the Wachovia Securities.

Consumer Banks

Nothing kills a bank’s marketing campaign more than…not having any money! The flow of cash back into the top tier financial institutions of this country will increase lending on down the line. In addition, the perceived stability will help maintain consumer deposits and small home and business loans.

Auto Dealers

Again, until things stabilize, nobody is lending much money to anyone. Few industries feel the negative impact of this fact more than the consumer auto industry. It is the ability to hand out a large number of relatively small loans that drives every car dealer from Alaska to Florida – and without it, the future looks bleak.

Retailers

Although most Americans probably don’t understand the direct link between the bailout and their personal finances, the association of bailout-to-consumer confidence is a strong one. By passing a measure to bail out the country’s leading financial institutions, the U.S. government is saying, in effect, that everything is going to be “OK” and that shopping for consumer goods is acceptable behavior. Stores like Target and Banana Republic should reap the benefits of this inference. The holiday season will be the perfect measurement of consumer’s willingness to spend.

Internet Businesses

Stock analysts will tell you that the strongest stocks are those that maintain their value during a down economy. Through these recent dark times, the Internet sector has been one of the few areas of the business world that has seen a steady flow of investments. It stands to reason then, that when things begin to move forward post-bailout, the Internet economy will continue to grow.

The tourism industry

The weak dollar and an uncertain economic climate have really hurt the travel industry. The bailout, while not providing a quick-fix for the travel business, should at least give people the breathing room required for them to consider domestic and international travel. (NOTE: falling gas prices have already helped this industry see small trickles of renewal in the past several weeks).

Although the bailout plan has now been approved by the Senate, Congress and President Bush, things are far from rosy in the United States. In order to develop stability and confidence moving forward, changes must be made to the way we do business. Expect loan officers to be more stringent, and many institutions to become more conservative in the years that follow. De-regulation and free-spending have gotten us into this problem – and only more careful planning will see us through to another day.