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Plan To Succeed With Information Product Creation: Why You Need To Split Your Process Up

One of the keys to succeeding in information product creation is to break the process up into discrete steps. This frequently isn’t an instinctive reaction for the typical information marketer. Especially on the internet where small sized learning products are the norm.

However, it is extremely important to your ultimate success. In fact, I would go so far as to say that if you don’t do this you probably won’t succeed… even when you are starting out let alone as you move forward.

Your product creation system should do this for you if only to help you to understand the overall task.

But why?

In this article, I’m going to ignore chunking and focus on the practical aspects. That’s not to say that chunking isn’t important. It is. It’s important to understanding and to learning the process. But while you can use the same chunks as you move forward, long term your focus needs to be on the operation of the system not the understanding of it. Unless of course you are constantly training new people!

So why is chunking important to long term use of the product creation process? (Yes, I know systems design uses a different term for this process but I’m not teaching you systems design. So I’m going to use the word learning content designers use.)

The first reason that having individual discrete tasks is important is one of schedule estimation. Frequently it is very difficult to estimate how long the total task of creating a product will take. After all, the size and type of the products matters as does the number of products in your product funnel. And those are just the most obvious elements. However, estimating a discrete task is often much easier. The total can then be estimated as the total of the discrete tasks.

Secondly, scheduling a large task can be problematic. However, by segmenting the task into a number of discrete tasks, you gain a much greater flexibility in scheduling. Not only that but as your business begins to add people you are able to schedule multiple people to the product creation.

Finally, segmenting a large task into smaller discrete tasks allows you to have much better control over the product creation. This affects two different areas — status and quality.

By segmenting your process into discrete tasks you are able to schedule and record the progress at much more detailed level. As a result you are more in control of the status of the product creation. You know what everyone is doing. When they should complete it. And how much it should cost. You also know exactly what has been done.

You also improve your overall quality. Instead of waiting until everything is done you can check quality as you go. This allows you to immediate react to low quality products without absorbing their costs. This means that you have less rework and your rework costs less. And if the product is not going to meet its quality requirement you will know about it in time to stop the development, change the requirement or fix the product.

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New Real Estate Laws and Same Sex Couples

It’s no secret that same sex couples are not created equal. Not only with general discrimination that exists, but being allowed to legally wed (in most states), adding your significant other to your health care plan, or even buying a home together proves to be a challenge. With the new real estate laws and same sex couples, they may now have one up on this jaded system we call “constitutional.”

The Supreme Court has dismissed the existing law that identifies marriage as a joining of a man and a woman. This might be a small step to the general population, but it is huge to gay couples. And while it does not remove all of the other obstacles that they still face, it is a step in the right direction.

So what does this have to do with real estate? Well, the Supreme Court has recently ruled that a portion of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unlawful. For gay and married couples, this means changes that will affect the mortgage interest tax deduction and VA Home loans.

Married gay couples, who until now have not been unable to claim this tax deduction, will now be able to file tax returns jointly. In the past, these couples living in states that allowed gay marriage would not allow couples to file joint tax returns. Since this ruling, DOMA must recognize same sex marriage just as a marriage between a man and a woman, and as such, they will now have the same rights when it comes to the mortgage interest tax deduction.

When it comes to VA loans there is still plenty of work to be done. Currently, a married gay veteran who would like to obtain a VA loan cannot include his/her partner as a spouse on the application. This is because the federal rules require the spouse to be of the opposite sex. While a joint loan is possible, if both are veterans, the VA only allows a portion of the loan to married gay applicants. What a way to treat those who service our country, wouldn’t you say?

While we as a country, are nowhere near treating gay couples equally when it comes to the laws and how they are applied to same sex couples and what we call “traditional marriage,” continued small strides and wins are definitely helping.

Perhaps one day we will all be treated equally. While that is too far down the road for any of us see, maybe one day it will happen. Until then, rulings such as this will help ensure that any gay couple who wishes to buy a home is not discriminated against because of their sexual preference.

Start a Home Based Business Online – The Advantages of Owning a Online Business

At one point of another in our employed lives, we have all dreamed of walking up to the boss’ office and giving them a Donald Trump-like “You’re fired!” and thereafter turn around and leave triumphantly. Chances are you thought twice about it because you had nothing to fall back on before. The good news is that today you can set up your own internet business and say goodbye to your boss for good.It is easy to start your own internet business as this type of venture does not come with very high start up costs. An online business is therefore a much cheaper business to begin than a business in the brick and mortar world. For one – you will not have to pay office rent – because you will not need office space. You can easily work from your living room, bedroom or even your kitchen, so long as you have your laptop and internet connectivity. What’s more, you do not need a lot of expensive office furniture to impress your clients, nor will you have to worry about paying salaries each month as you will not need any staff.To start a home based business online is simple once you know what you are doing. The low direct costs of sales that you will make with your internet business will also translate into higher profit margins for your business. For instance, if you are selling eBooks online, you will pay close to nothing in terms of stocking and delivery costs. On the other hand, if you were stocking encyclopedias for sale in the brick and mortar world… you do the math. As for your other costs such as web hosting, you will incur anywhere between $20 – 30 per month which is minimal in comparison to your profits.If you have ever had to serve a client who is having a bad day, then you will appreciate the benefits that come with not having to deal with your clients face to face through your internet business. You will find that by providing some clear and detailed information, you can avoid most of the conflicts that all business owners tend to experience with their clients. Ensure that your site has a comprehensive FAQs section for client use, and be sure to also send out emails for further clarification on any issues. By not having the customer raging in your face, you are allowed the time to calculate your response and ensure that the problem is solved without your losing a client in the process.If you want to start a home based business online, don’t wait until tomorrow, take action now.