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If
you can't read this, select
here.
 Dear
Friends and Colleagues,
Well,
Liz is still pregnant. And amazingly, she's fine with
that. Me? I want this kid OUT! Not that the
pregnancy has been bad. I just can't wait to meet the
little guy!
In
the meantime, we're trying to educate him in utero to the finer
things in life. In the picture above, we're playing him
some Ella Fitzgerald (and, in my opinion, it doesn't get any
finer than that!). We think he likes it. He really
bounces around in there when we play it.
Hopefully,
I'll have happy baby news to share with you by next month's
newsletter. In the meantime, enjoy this month's
newsletter.
As
always, if I can ever be of any assistance, please feel free to
get in touch!
Warmest
regards,
John
John
Sanpietro
Certified
Personal
& Professional Development Coach
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Learn
to Manage Your Stamping Business Finances with the
Quicken Tutorial CD-ROM!
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I'm
happy to announce the release of the first in a series
of Guided-Process CD-ROMs. These are step-by-step video tutorials that you
view on your computer. You just place them into your
computer's disc drive and they start to play
automatically. You can pause, fast-forward and
rewind as you need to.
The first
CD-ROM, the Quicken Tutorial, will
teach you how to use the
to establish a financial management system for your stamping
business. This is the program I recommend to
all of my coaching clients!
The
CD-ROM will feature step-by-step video instructions covering the
following:
·
Installing
Quicken
·
Setting
Up
Your Business Account
·
Entering
Income
and Expenses
·
Using
Categories
·
Adding
New Categories
·
Splitting
Entries
·
Running
Stamping-specific Situational Reports
·
…and
more
(Because
you'll be viewing this demo online, it will take a few
seconds to load and the sound quality is not as
sharp. Both of these issues are non-existent on
the CD-ROM.)
The
Quicken
Tutorial CD-ROM
is just $24.99! Similar tutorials sell for three
times as much (AND they're not specifically designed for
your stamping business).
The
CD-ROM will work on PC's only. It will not work on
Macs.
FYI...
if you took part in the pre-order special, all
pre-orders have now shipped and you should be receiving
them.
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Worst
Workshop Story of the Month
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 It
seems like a lot of the 'worst workshop' stories I've
received involve animals. Especially exotic
ones...
Last
month's story about the 'rodent workshop' inspired so
many of you to send me stories about your own 'worst
workshop, ' I've decided to make it a monthly
feature. So, keep those stories coming!:
My worst workshop was
with a friend's sister ...who I knew a bit, so I
didn't ask a lot of questions...first bad move!
Well, we had a
lovely Saturday afternoon and all was well for about
an hour until she decided to show off her animals
and so did her kids! She had 3-foot long snake
that weighed in at 50 lbs.! I'm scared to death
of snakes! Then, she goes to get a ferret and laid
the snake on the table...on my things! Do you
think I was moving them? I think not! So,
she brings in the ferret and some animal that was hard
and ugly... then two dogs come in. Oh... did I
mention the husband who had a roast on the counter
that something ate? Well, he wanted that house
cleaned up in a hurry and things in shape. So,
the kids, who had just eaten chocolate, moved the
snake and got chocolate all over my things.
I was almost in tears, but gathered up things and left
quite willingly...hoping they'd never call!
E-mail
your 'Worst Workshop' story to john@stampingismybusiness.com.
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Are
Stamping Business Owners Planning For
Their Retirement?
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As
the April 17th tax deadline approaches, I'd like to ask
you the same question I ask all of my clients - What are
you doing for your retirement?
Many
stamping business owners are unaware that, as sole
proprietors, they have several retirement options beyond
the Traditional and Roth IRA. In many cases, these
options are far superior AND on par with the 401(k) and
403(b) plans larger companies offer!
One
such option is the SEP IRA. The SEP IRA allows you
to make pre-tax contributions into a retirement
plan that you control. In other words, if
you're so inclined, you can use the money to invest in
whatever you want. You're not limited to the
options set by your broker. Often, that
flexibility translates into a better return on your
investment. Of course, if you would like someone
else to do it for you, several brokers offer SEP IRA
plans that are run like a traditional retirement plan -
you pick a strategy and they manage the investments.
If
you'd like more information about SEP IRAs, you can
learn more at Investopedia's
site, or do an internet search for SEP IRA.
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Attention
Ontario-Area
Stamping
Business Owners...
Come
See John LIVE!!!
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 "John
is the BEST business speaker in our profession!"
- Glenda Travelstead
On
Friday and Saturday, May 25th and 26th, I'll be
appearing live in London, Ontario!
I'll
be presenting my Marketing & Recruiting Workshop
on Friday, and The Five Steps to a Successful
Home-based Stamping Business on
Saturday.
Both
events are open to the public, but seating is limited!
If you'd like more information to register you and/or
your downline, please send
us an e-mail.
And,
of course, if
you would like more information about booking John for an appearance in
front of your group, send
us an e-mail, or select
here for more information. We
currently have just one or two openings in late 2007 and
are taking 2008 bookings now!
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Sample
of the Month
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 Submitted
by:
Susan
Jenne
Stamp
Sets: Canvas, The World Over, Riveting, Wonderful
Words II C/S:
Green Galore, Basic Black, Whisper White Ink
& Markers: Basic Black and Green Galore Ink,
Glorious Green, Orchid Opulence, Pretty In Pink, Real
Red and Yoyo Yellow Markers Accessories:
Ticket Corner Punch, 1/2", 1" and 1
1/4" Circle Punches, Black Gingham Ribbon, Crystal
Effects
Congratulations
to Susan, who wins a $10 SIMB Gift Certificate! As
part of our efforts to continually improve, I'm happy to
announce the NEW & IMPROVED SAMPLES SECTION.
Utilizing blog technology, the new samples section
features a search function which allows you to look up
samples by a particular stamp set or theme. You
can also click on each sample for an even larger
version. In total, WE
NOW HAVE OVER 500 SAMPLES and are adding more and more
every day. Use
this link to view the new
Samples Section. We
are now looking for
Mother's
Day and
Spring
samples!
If
you would like to submit a sample to be considered for
Sample of the Month and the Samples Section, just send
me a scan via e-mail, or mail your sample to: John
Sanpietro, Stamping Is My Business!, 36 Fir Street, Jay,
NY 12941. Please
include your name, e-mail address, phone number and all
materials used to make your sample.
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Book of the Month
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 See
Jane Lead - 99 Ways for Women to Take Charge at Work
by
Lois
P. Frankel
Women
are born leaders! Traditionally, they've headed
families and households, but many women have trouble
transferring these skills to their business lives.
Dr. Frankel suggests several strategies for women to
maximize their natural skills and hone their leadership
qualities.
These
skills are inside each and every one of you. The
goal of this book is to bring them out!
Select
here for more information from Amazon.com.
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Stamping
Business Q&A
Should
I Give Back Part of My Class Fee As A Gift Certificate?
No!
This
is one of those tactics that people do because other
people do it, but if you think about it, it makes no
sense financially.
Look
at the following example -
If
you charged $20 for a class, and gave each attendee a
$15 gift certificate, your gross profit (before
expenses) would be about $9 per person ($5 from the
class fee, plus $4 income and commission from the gift
certificate).
However,
if you just charged the $20 and didn't give the gift
certificate, your gross profit would be... well... $20
per person (more than double what you earn in the first
example!)
Even
if your customer ended up buying $30 in product in the
first example, you would still only make a gross profit
of $13 or $14.
It
makes no sense to decrease your profit by increasing
your sales!
(If
there's a question you'd like answered, or a topic you'd
like me to cover, feel free
to
send
me an e-mail)
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Testimonials... |
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Thank
you for all you do, I know you have saved a lot of Stamping Businesses
with the work that you do!
-
CR, Idaho
I
am really excited about Stampin' Up after hearing your talk and purchasing
your book.
Thank you so much for your support.
- LS, Illinois
I
was on both of your Boot Camps and want to say a huge thank you. I
have earned a profit of over $1000 in both January and February due to
tracking my expenses. I was not able to profit more than
$300-500 per month previously. I will again have a profit of
about $1000 in march and am really exited about making real money to
put towards a family vacation.
-
AF, Illinois
Your
live
presentation was a very productive day for the growth of my
organization. Both of my recruits really took in what you shared!!!
One of them always has high expectations and I was very excited to see how
positive she rated the entire day.
-
NH, Illinois
I
have several who are excited and ready to kick back in after (your live
presentation).
-
KP, Illinois
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Quick
Links...
Order
the Electronic Version of "Stamping Is My Business!"
Order
the Printed Version of "Stamping Is My
Business!"
Order
one of the SIMB Training CDs
Join the Stamping Business
Coaching Group
Find out how to book John to speak live to YOUR group
Learn
more about the SIMB Referral Program Sign
up for 1-on-1 Coaching
Sign
up for an @StampingIsMyBusiness.com e-mail address
Order
the "Stamping Is My Business!" Tote Bag Stamping
Is My Business! Homepage
E-mail
Me
Past Newsletters
March,
2007 February,
2007 January,
2007
December,
2006
November,
2006
October,
2006
September,
2006 August,
2006
July,
2006
June,
2006
May,
2006
April,
2006 March,
2006
February,
2006 January,
2006
December,
2005
NEWSLETTER
ARCHIVE
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Companies I Use
People
always ask me what companies I use to run my home-based
business. The links below are all companies I work with
and recommend:
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