New AGS Travel Sets New Industry Standard Building Virtual Travel Agencies Through Best of Travel, Technology and Direct Selling Business Models

AGS Travel opens doors to the public today as first of three divisions to launch of parent company Ascend Global Services [AGS], a new direct selling company founded by serial entrepreneur Craig Jerabeck.

AGS is the fifth in a portfolio of companies Jerabeck has founded from ground floor to multimillion dollar status, representative of billions and trillion dollar industries. In addition to travel, AGS has expansion plans, to be announced at a later date, with a Health and Home division. Today, travel is the company's main focus.

Craig Jerabeck, Founder of AGS Travel

“Since we know people love to travel, there is no better source of true residual income for a direct selling business,” says Jerabeck. “Yet, very few companies compete in our space where travel, technology and direct selling are combined. Utilization of the best of '3 Industries' creates a unique business model that elevates our member agents.”

AGS Travel, as its own entity, is a membership subscription company providing premium travel products at best industry rates through certified travel agent members. At AGS Travel, agent members are positioned to participate in the phenomenal growth of the online travel industry. Nearly 80% of all cruises, vacation packages, destination weddings, honeymoons, and group travel are still made using a travel agent.

AGS Travel allows member agents to expeditiously and at minimum cost garner certified agent credentials. The technology allows agents to seamlessly run their own virtual agency at best operational flow; and direct selling can work for anyone who wants to experience financial growth through multiple income streams without limitations of age, gender or circumstance.

Travel is booked and member agents are trained through an industry proven host agency, enabling member agents to book travel directly with a variety of travel and leisure vendors as well as be accredited by the International Airlines Travel Agent Network (IATAN) and the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA). Member agents will also have available an internal travel concierge for one-on-one training and support in booking premium travel, a membership service rare in the direct selling industry.

“Statistics show people are overworked, underpaid, missing out on life, emotionally and physically stressed because of money, frustrated by their job and/or not living their dreams,” adds Jerabeck. “Bottom-line, people want more out of life. AGS Travel answers that call, inspiring the everyday person to experience a traveling lifestyle that pays.”

AGS Travel compensation plan models both the direct selling revenue model and the traditional travel agent commission structure, giving member agents, in essence, '2 Revenue Tracks' to experience income generation and growth. Members are at no obligation to do one or the other, and can capitalize on both.

AGS Travel is powered by XIP4Life, the umbrella company powering the technology and billing operations as well as housing AGS and expansion companies. AGS Travel #844-545-2477 (AGS7).

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Rita's Italian Ice Franchisee Lives Out the American Dream

Rita's Italian Ice franchisee, Gardi Armand, has been living the American Dream. Although born in the U.S., Armand was raised in Haiti and didn't return to live in the States until he attended college. Armand was in pursuit of success and sustainability that he felt the U.S. could bring him; for years, Armand worked hard as an IT specialist in the States, and in 2013, he was able to purchase a Rita's franchise.

Armand was originally attracted to Rita's because the Italian Ice reminded him of a popular Haitian shaved ice dish called fresco. For Armand, serving the sweet summer treat triggers his nostalgia, and he is proud to bring Rita's products to his community.

“It's a pleasure working with Rita's,” says Armand. “They have everything laid out for their franchisees. There's no need to reinvent the wheel, but as the franchisee you still have room to customize your business, which is great.”

Armand has so much enjoyed his experience with Rita's that he is now looking to purchase more Rita's locations and become a multi-unit franchisee. In the next few years Armand hopes to grow the Rita's brand and open new locations in Queens, New York.

Now that warmer months are here, patrons are regularly stopping into their neighborhood Rita's. Rita's is best known for their tasty frozen treats, made fresh on the premises daily. With family favorites like Blendini®, Gelati and Misto Shakes, Rita's is a franchise designed to last.

About Rita's Italian Ice

The popular chain offers many delicious frozen treats that combine their famous Italian Ice and award-winning Old-Fashioned Frozen Custard, including layered Gelati, blended Misto® Shake and a personalized Blendini® which mixes Italian Ice, Frozen Custard and a delicious topping. Other menu items include Milkshakes, Frozen Drinks, Sundaes, Frozen Custard Cakes and Custard Cookie Sandwiches. Since 1984, Rita's has been dedicated to serving up a big dose of happiness with its freshly made, delicious treats in a fun-filled atmosphere, and over thirty years later, it is still spreading “Ice, Custard, Happiness!” For more information about Rita's Italian Ice visit www.ritasice.com.

About Rita's Franchise Company

Ranked #1 in Nation's Restaurant News “Consumer Pick's 2014” for Service and Value in the Frozen Treat category and 14th overall in the Limited-Service category, Rita's Franchise

Company is the largest Italian Ice concept in the world with more than 600 stores in the U.S. The company is aggressively expanding internationally with operating locations in the Philippines, Canada and the Middle East.  Rita's, headquartered in Trevose, Pa., was also named one of the Top 25 Franchise High Performers by the Wall Street Journal's “Startup Journal” and ranks #81 on Entrepreneur Magazine's “2014 Franchise 500” list. For more information about Rita's franchise opportunities, please call 1-800- 677-7482 or visit: www.ownaritas.com.

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SEO is NOT Dead

What better way to attract potential customers for a business than to rank at the top of Google, Bing & Yahoo for their products and services. Ranking Organically in search is the ultimate form of inbound lead generation!

A common lament heard in business circles however is that SEO is Dead, it no longer works or it just cost too much to get results. All three statements couldn't be farther from the truth. Sure, paid ads are a quick way to show up at the top but most savvy searchers bypass the ads at the top and opt to click on the first few organic results.

We even hear many so-called “SEO Experts” giving up on the tried-and-true SEO tactics in favor of other avenues, like Social Media, to direct relevant traffic. While Social Media has its place in an online marketing strategy, nothing truly helps boost lead generation like a strong SEO plan and solid rankings. Every business needs to take advantage of the potential results they may achieve by doing what it takes to compete and start collecting that low-hanging fruit of new customers finding them on the web.

Unfortunately, hundreds of thousands of websites are created every single year, making it harder all the time to rank well for the top 10 spots on page one of the Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs). Getting those coveted, top spots on search engines for related searches may seem inaccessible, but there are some strategies that can help. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) methods have been around since the creation of search engines, but the algorithms that rank websites have changed quite a bit from those days.

Because the original algorithms created to rank websites on SERPs was easily manipulated, constant changes were made to increase the complexity of the algorithms and weed out SPAM websites that delivered little to no value to users. The constant evolution of these algorithms has made it a real necessity for every business to have a serious, ongoing SEO strategy. As business owners, we all know that worthy achievements rarely come without deliberate and concerted efforts.

The good news is that there are some basic on-page SEO tactics that can deliver real results in today's competitive internet landscape:

Focus Keywords

The foundation of ranking well with a website should center around a list of words or phrases that are targeted to rank well for. These keywords should be relevant to the business, brand, or service. It helps to have a specific keyword or phrase in mind for each and every web page that is created. For instance, a small furniture store can have a separate page for products like “sectional sofas”, “sleeper sofas”, or “leather sofas”, focusing the keywords in each page around the specific type of sofa. The keywords or phrases that are targeted will ultimately determine the focus of the content, meta tags, and the architecture of a website.

Long tail keywords should be highly valued, as they give businesses a better chance at reaching customers close to a point-of-purchase. Instead of trying to rank for generic terms like “Fish Market” or “Child Care” which are heavy in competition, using long-tail keyword phrases like “Wholesale Seafood Distributor in Western MA” or “East Orlando Child Care Center” is a better option. Being more specific with keyword phrases will yield less competition and higher results for the pages. Plus, potential customers who use these more specific terms in their search are more likely to convert into a paying customer.

Meta Tags

Meta tags, or meta data, are inserted into the code of a page to help search engines determine what a web page is all about.  Many website CMS's (content management systems) like WordPress have a plugin that can be used to easy fill in, change, or update this meta data all in one location for those business owners who aren't familiar with html coding. There are several types of meta tags that can play a role in how well a site ranks in search engines, including title tags, description tags, alt, and keyword tags to name a few.

Here's a look at each more in depth:

Title Tag – The title tag is the text seen at the top of the browser bar when a web page is displayed. The key to an effective title tag is to use a keyword-specific title that tells both search engines and users what the page is about. Keep this to 60 or less characters and use every word wisely. It is all about matching the words that potential customers use when searching.

Meta Description – This is a brief, 160 character description that includes some keywords and a general idea of what the page content is about. These descriptions are often shown by Search Engines in results link. They also may be modified automatically to match the search query.

Keyword Tag – Fill in the keyword tag with words or short phrases deemed to be relevant to the page being creating. Separate each word or phrase with a comma and add 8 or less keywords or phrases in total. This tag has been devalued, but we still advise including it in the mix and feel that it is still worth completing.

Photo Alt Tags – Each and every photo on a website provides an opportunity to add an “alt tag”. This is a great place to add in specific keywords or targeted locations that can help boost rankings for those search queries. So if a photo is of a “House Painter working on the exterior painting of a home in Farmington CT” – that should be the alt tag.

Heading Tags – These tags should be used throughout the content of every page or blog post to separate long blocks of text and separate headings or subheadings from paragraph text. There are six header tags that can be used – H1 through H6, with H1 tags being given the most weight or importance. At the top of every page, include an H1 tag that will tell search engines what each page is about. Search engines compare the keywords found in the Header Tags with the associated  content looking for relevancy and keyword consistency. These headings also serve to provide an enriched user experience making the content easy to read and follow.

Other SEO strategies like placing internal links (these are links to other relevant pages on the website) throughout the website, creating local citations links, building high-quality organic backlinks from other strong websites, and always keeping the content fresh and up-to-date are of equal value to the actual content on any site. Although the SEO landscape is always changing, many of the tactics we've discussed have stayed tried-and-true year after year.

For more details about how small & medium sized business owners can start utilizing SEO methods and strategies in their online marketing plan give us a call anytime.

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The Billion-Dollar “Hidden Tax” on E-Commerce that Nobody Is Talking About

Online Merchants Are Losing More than $40 Billion Annually to “Chargeback Fraud” – and Honest Consumers Are Ultimately Paying the Price

The United States' e-commerce economy is enormous, totaling $349 billion in online sales in 2016. It's predicted to rise to $523 billion annually within the next five years. Millions of online vendors – and billions of consumers globally – depend on e-commerce for vital goods and services.

But there's a rapidly-growing problem that threatens the stability of America's e-commerce economy. It's a “hidden tax” on online purchases that artificially inflates prices and costs online merchants more than $40 billion annually.

(That's 13-times greater than the $2.7 billion lost to identity fraud.)

The problem is “chargeback fraud” – i.e. unwarranted or illegitimate refunds forced upon merchants through a loophole in the payment industry.

“Chargeback fraud is the fastest-growing problem in e-commerce,” said Monica Eaton-Cardone, COO and co-founder of Chargebacks911, the first global company fully dedicated to mitigating chargeback risk and eliminating chargeback fraud. “Online retailers are hit worst of all, and companies can literally go bankrupt as a result.”

The chargeback mechanism was invented by the Fair Credit Billing Act of 1974, to protect consumers and encourage credit card spending (e.g. “zero liability” for cardholders). The chargeback process typically involves a consumer reporting a fraudulent or incorrect charge to their bank to obtain a refund, and the burden-of-proof is almost always on the merchant.

Critics argue that the Fair Credit Billing Act is now 40+ years old, and was not designed for an e-commerce economy that depends on online sales, card-not-present transactions, and long-distance shipping.

Some chargebacks are justified, of course: A consumer should receive a refund when the product he or she ordered online isn't delivered on time, or fails to match its description. But up to 85 percent of all chargebacks may be fraudulently filed, and according to the 2016 LexisNexis “True Cost of Fraud Study,” the merchant loses $2.47 for every $1 in chargebacks, due to processing fines, penalties, product-loss and other expenses.

Worst of all, chargeback fraud has been growing at a rate of 41 percent annually.

“The American legal system is contributing to the explosive growth in chargeback fraud,” said Ms. Eaton-Cardone. “By placing such a heavy burden-of-proof on merchants, our financial policies actually incentivize fraud. Statistically, 40 percent of consumers who've filed a fraudulent chargeback will do so again within 60 days. We're rewarding bad behavior – and honest consumers are ultimately paying the price, because merchants have no choice but to factor-in this additional cost-of-business when setting their prices. Chargeback fraud is a hidden tax on all of us, and the societal costs should not be ignored.”

Founded in 2011, Chargebacks911 processes over 200 million online transactions every month. The company is headquartered in Tampa Bay, Florida, with 350 worldwide employees, and offices throughout North America, Europe and Asia. Chargebacks911 was recognized by Inc. Magazine as one of America's fastest-growing private companies in 2014 and 2015.

About Chargebacks911: Founded in 2011, Chargebacks911 is the first global company fully dedicated to mitigating chargeback risk and eliminating chargeback fraud.  As industry-leading trailblazers and innovators, Chargebacks911 is credited with developing the most effective strategies for helping online merchants maximize revenue and fight fraud. Accomplishments include:

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The Presidential Election Is Going Mobile

In the spirit of full disclosure, I have been a member of the Electoral College representing the District of Columbia. Not that I ever cast a vote. My candidate, Ralph Nader, never came close to winning. Still, being inside a presidential campaign and somewhat close to the candidate was an interesting and fun experience. One I highly recommend.

As Americans we hold the office of the presidency in our hands. That has never been as literally true as it in 2016. Our mobile devices play a larger role with each passing day. The battle for hearts and minds has turned into a battle for palms and fingers.

It's a battle I fight every day at LMO Advertising as we develop marketing strategies and executions for a score of clients. Mobile has transformed the way we communicate and how we interact with prospects.

The political parties like the same things about mobile that all advertisers do:

1. It is highly targetable by both geography and affinity


2. The cost is relatively inexpensive compared to other media


3. It feels more personal

There is one very large drawback. Although smart phones have completely penetrated the 18-29 year old market to the tune of 90%, that's the market that provides the lowest voter turnout. So mobile is most effective on the demographic least likely to have an impact on the election.

Then again, maybe not. That's what makes this election so interesting. For every gem of conventional wisdom there is a counterpoint no one expected.

I mean, c'mon, Bernie Sanders, love him or hate him, who expected a septuagenarian socialist from Vermont to compete for the nomination all the way to the convention? Not to mention, who suspected that every Republican frontrunner would stumble as a reality TV star rose. This is not your grandfather's election.

While this uncertainty may provide heartburn for the stock market and the political class, it's candy for advertisers. And we haven't even talked about social media marketing. So let's.

This may be the Twitter election. What's really wonderful about that is the Twitter accounts belong to the candidates themselves. So even if subordinates write many of the tweets, they are still coming directly from the candidate. It makes them impossible to dismiss.

There's also a multiplier effect with Twitter that makes it even more effective. When a candidate tweets, that tweet can be re-tweeted by anybody on Twitter, giving the tweet a third-party endorser. The tweet is no longer from the candidate, it is from your friend. This gives the tweet credibility, power and additional reach. With his high post frequency and colorful language, Donald Trump has earned an estimated $383 million dollars worth of free exposure from social media.

I suspect the most rapt Twitter audience this election season will be the mainstream press. They follow for an entirely different reason. Their intent is to immediately jump on any perceived gaffe or mistake. A single careless comment or image can change the storyline and momentum for days.

This makes it imperative that the nominees follow some rules. The first of which is that their social media must sound authentic. If it doesn't, the medium loses its power. Any sense of intimacy and connection dissolves. Thus far both Clinton and Trump have done a believable and effective job with their Twitter accounts. But there have been gaffes and there undoubtedly will be more.

It's also important to feed the beast. Twitter demands variety and velocity. Ignore your Twitter feed at your peril.

So keep a close eye on the “twitterverse” this presidential campaign. It should resemble the Wild West, with one caveat: the Wild West was probably much tamer.

The hidden persuader in 2016 is Internet search. All campaigns will be buying copious amounts of paid search and commanding a phalanx of search engine optimization developers.

It's odd when you think about it because Google, Yahoo! and Bing are supposed to be agnostic. The reality is: they're not, and they will have a huge, or should I say “yuge,” affect on this election. My advertising brethren poisoned the well long ago. Dollars have bludgeoned search logarithms to death. Your search will go to the highest bidder.

Then there is the issue of the search engines themselves. These are large corporations with billions of dollars at stake, do we really believe they will be neutral? It has already proved problematic.

With all these questions in play, you can be sure that good old fashion television advertising will still demand its pound of flesh. It took a nearly two billion-dollar bite out of the 2012 candidates. That number will not go down.

Although both sides will complain about negative ads, neither side will stop. In fact, the safest bet this campaign season is that the negative ads will hit a historic high and the tenor of the charges the candidates make against each other will hit a historic low.

There is actually a very good reason this will happen. Trashing your opponent works. As much as folks say they are turned off by negative ads, they respond to them. So buckle up.

At LMO we don't do political advertising. For us it's a spectator sport. But it serves as a reminder of the power of our business. Estimates are that over eleven billion dollars will be spent before November 8. It will be spread across all media platforms. The other morning, I saw my neighbor putting up yard sign with a candidate's name splashed across it. And I smiled.

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How to Ensure Business Continuity

With our increasing reliance on network connectivity, even just a few minutes of downtime can be critical to business processes. Most companies these days rely so much on digital applications and interconnectivity that they cannot really afford to lose access to data whenever they require of it, as sometimes, this can lead to incurring losses that they may take years to recover from – or worse, never recover from at all. Having failover or backup internet connection is one way for companies to ensure business continuity. With failover internet, businesses can continue to run even with the main network connection is experiencing some issues.

What are other ways to ensure business continuity?

Consider the entire company when doing business continuity planning.

When designing a business continuity plan, it is important to get the input and suggestions from everyone involved in the company. After all, when network downtimes and process-debilitating issues occur, every single employee gets affected. In order for the IT department to develop a business continuity strategy, they will need to get a good grasp of what exactly each person or team needs in order to continue on with their tasks and prevent further problems should issues like data loss due to network inaccessibility happen. Aside from that, they will also need to know which systems are critical for protection due to their sensitivity.

Carry out regular test runs.

Once your business continuity plan has been ironed out, set out to test it several times regularly in order to find any loopholes early on. This way, you'll have a head start in addressing these loopholes by tweaking your business continuity plan to avoid falling into the said loophole. Information technology is very dynamic, so regular testing will ensure that your plans will work out well should there be a need to implement it. Doing so will also help make the employees in the business more familiar with the business continuity strategies.

Alter the plan as necessary.

A healthy and profitable company will, of course, see growth and improvements as time goes by. This means changes, which should also be reflected in your business continuity strategies. Apply the necessary changes to your business continuity plans in order to incorporate recent updates to your business, and to avoid disastrous consequences that may come up from an outdated plan for the continuity of your business.

Look into cloud storage.

Cloud storage is a good option for backing up files that are needed for the continuity of businesses, although it should not be the only storage space for your business data. Fortunately, there are hybrid cloud solutions that are perfect for companies looking for online data storage, while handling sensitive information onsite – and at fairly reasonable prices, too.

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Your Home Business Can Make Even More Money on the Side

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As you are growing your business, it very quickly becomes clear just how important the financial side of things is. Many businesses struggle to turn much of a profit in the very early days of trading. If that is the position that your business is in at the moment, then don't fret. The fact is, this is a common place to be in. The good news is that you can easily make some more money on the side as your business is growing. This is especially simple to do if you already have things in place or your business. Let's take a look at some of the easiest ways you can achieve this today.

Offer Your Services

If you have already set up office, even if it is at home, you are in a good position. To begin with, this means that you are ready to start trading as a business. And that means there is already something you can offer to other businesses of a similar size. We are talking, of course, about hiring out your own services. By way of example, let's take a look at marketing. Chances are, your home business is already in a good position to start marketing your own business. But if you are keen to get a little more cash flowing first, then why not provide a marketing service to other businesses? You might be surprised at how easy it can be to get clients this way, and just how profitable it really can be. Doing this could put you in a much stronger position for when you are ready to start trading with your own business.

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Hire Out Your Server Space

One of the first things that most business owners do is get all the technological side of things ready. In today's world, businesses are heavily reliant on the technology they use, so it makes sense to get this out of the way first. What this means for you is that you have the opportunity to use your technology to make some extra cash. You could, for example, sell some server space to a third party for a monthly fee. Plenty of businesses do this, and it can be a lucrative venture in itself. Similarly, you might find that you can earn a decent amount just by hosting websites on behalf of other businesses. Take a look at 2mhost plans for resellers and see if this is viable for you. If it is, this is an easy way you could make money, even while continuing to trade with your own business.

Consulting

Now we come to an option for the more experienced among you. If you already have considerable experience in a certain field, then consulting can prove to be a useful side-earner. The main thing stopping most people from consulting is simply the fear that they are not good enough. The fact is, it is one of those things which gets easier with practice. If you have a good deal of working knowledge in any particular area of business, it might be worth giving this a shot. Just make sure you charge a fair price for your services.

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Top 10 Best Cities to Start a Nutritionist Practice

Healthy eating is an elusive goal for many-but nutritionists are here to help.

Nutritionists help clients lead healthy lifestyles by eating the right foods. They also specialize in helping clients manage diseases though diet.

As of 2014 there were about 66,700 nutritionists in the U.S., according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is expected to grow 16 percent by 2024, much faster than the average for other professions.

That got us at SpareFoot wondering: Where are the best places for nutritionists to start a business?

To answer this, we teamed up with Thumbtack.com, an online service that connects consumers with skilled professionals to get things done-including finding a nutritionist.

The Top 10

Based on their marketplace data, Thumbtack recently found the top 10 markets with the highest demand for nutritionists, controlling for supply. Cities with the most demand relative to supply scored highest on the Thumbtack Opportunity Index.

Thumbtack also provided the average price per session (per customer) for nutritionists in each of those cities. To come up with our list of best cities to start a nutrition counseling business, we also wanted to consider the cost of living and the cost of real estate for your business.

To rank the top ten, we scored each city on the following metrics:

• Price per session (Thumbtack.com)


• Number of sessions required to pay a median month's rent


• Number of sessions required to equal the median home price


• Number of sessions required to equal asking price per square foot of office space.

Residential real estate data was obtained from Zillow.com and commercial data was obtained from Loopnet.com.

Here are the top ten best places for starting a nutritionist business ranked:

10. Baton Rouge, LA

Nutrition students at the Red Stick Mobile Farmers Market serving an area of Baton Rouge considered a food desert. Photo credit:  LSU – http://www.LSU.edu/

The Louisiana capital might have the lowest going rate for nutritionists at an average of just under $56 per session, but there is no denying that their quite a bit of demand-the city had a market opportunity index of 100, the highest score possible.

• Thumbtack Opportunity Index: 100


• Thumbtack Average Price Per Session: $55.63


• Median asking price for office space (per sq. ft. ): $104.7


• Number of sessions needed to pay for a square foot of office space: 1.88


• Median monthly rent: $1,351


• Sessions required to pay a month's rent: 24.29


• Median home price: $189,000


• Number of sessions needed to equal home price: 3,397

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9. Columbus, OH

The capital of Ohio, manages to edge out Baton Rouge when it comes to affordability for nutritionists, thanks to a $75 dollar average cost per session. Photo credit: Columbus Nutrition Company – http://www.columbusnutritioncompany.com/

Meanwhile the capital of Ohio, manages to edge out Baton Rouge when it comes to affordability for nutritionists, thanks to a $75 dollar average cost per session.

• Thumbtack Opportunity Index: 52.17


• Thumbtack Average Price Per Session: $75.02


• Median asking price for office space (per sq. ft. ): $98.99


• Number of sessions needed to pay for a square foot of office space: 1.32


• Median monthly rent: $1,351


• Sessions required to pay a month's rent: 17.48


• Median home price: $139,940


• Number of sessions needed to equal home price: 1,865

8. New Orleans, LA

New Orleans offers nutritionists more affordable rent than the previous two locations. Photo credit: Molly Kimbal – http://www.mollykimball.com

Back to Louisiana, the state's largest city had a high opportunity score of 69.81, and offers nutritionists more affordable rent than the previous two locations.

• Thumbtack Opportunity Index: 69.81


• Thumbtack Average Price Per Session: $86.71


• Median asking price for office space (per sq. ft. ): 126.21


• Number of sessions needed to pay for a square foot of office space: 1.46


• Median monthly rent: $1,1417


• Sessions required to pay a month's rent: 16.34


• Median home price: $238,250


• Number of sessions needed to equal home price: 2,748

7. Dallas, TX

Dynamic Dietitian & Nutrition learning on in Dallas, TX. Photo credit: Texas Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics – http://www.eatrighttexas.org/

Dallas has the fourth largest price per session on our list, which is good news for nutritionists. Despite higher asking prices, residential rent is more affordable than the proceeding three cities, and so is office space.

• Thumbtack Opportunity Index: 52.5


• Thumbtack Average Price Per Session: $133.19


• Median asking price for office space (per sq. ft. ): 145.12


• Number of sessions needed to pay for a square foot of office space: 1.09


• Median monthly rent: $1,543


• Sessions required to pay a month's rent: 11.58


• Median home price: $282,061


• Number of sessions needed to equal home price: 2,116

6. Louisville, KY

Louisville has the lowest median rent on the list, but is only sixth most affordable rental market due to a lower price per job of $83.83. Photo credit: Photo licensed for use by SpareFoot – http://www.SpareFoot.com/

Louisville has the lowest median rent on the list, but is only sixth most affordable rental market due to a lower price per job of $83.83.

• Thumbtack Opportunity Index: 60.14


• Thumbtack Average Price Per Session: $83.83


• Median asking price for office space (per sq. ft. ): 85.61


• Number of sessions needed to pay for a square foot of office space: 1.02


• Median monthly rent: $1,133


• Sessions required to pay a month's rent: 13.52


• Median home price: $130,250


• Number of sessions needed to equal home price: 1,554

5. Houston, TX

Houston had the lowest opportunity index on the list, but that doesn't mean it's not a great choice for nutritionists. Photo credit: Photo licensed for use by SpareFoot – http://www.SpareFoot.com/

Houston had the lowest opportunity index on the list, but that doesn't mean its not a great choice for nutritionists. The city commands the second highest price per session at $165.52 which makes office space and apartment rent the most affordable on our list so far. However, the city's sky-high housing prices are a bit less affordable for nutritionists than in most of the other cities on our list.

• Thumbtack Opportunity Index: 51.85


• Thumbtack Average Price Per Session: $165.52


• Median asking price for office space (per sq. ft. ): 142.54


• Number of sessions needed to pay for a square foot of office space: 0.86


• Median monthly rent: $1,576


• Sessions required to pay a month's rent: 9.52


• Median home price: $324,000


• Number of sessions needed to equal home price: 1,957

4. Pittsburgh, PA

Nutritionists in Pittsburgh should be quite comfortable here whether they choose to rent or buy with an average cost per session of $103.76. Photo credit: AHN.org – http://www.ahn.org

Pittsburgh lands within the top five for all of our criteria. Nutritionists should be quite comfortable here whether they choose to rent or buy with an average cost per session of $103.76.

• Thumbtack Opportunity Index: 62.24


• Thumbtack Average Price Per Session: $103.76


• Median asking price for office space (per sq. ft. ): 73.68


• Number of sessions needed to pay for a square foot of office space: 0.71


• Median monthly rent: $1,142


• Sessions required to pay a month's rent: 11.01


• Median home price: $156,485


• Number of sessions needed to equal home price: 1,508

3. Rochester, NY

For a small city, Rochester packs a big punch when it comes to a cost per session of $101.47. Photo credit: Emily Kyle Nutrition – https://emilykylenutrition.com

For a small city, Rochester packs a big punch when it comes to a cost per session of $101.47. The city has the lowest home prices on our list, making it one of the most affordable for nutritionists to purchase a home-only 837 average sessions are required to equal the cost of the median home price.

• Thumbtack Opportunity Index: 71.82


• Thumbtack Average Price Per Session: $101.47


• Median asking price for office space (per sq. ft. ): 70.26


• Number of sessions needed to pay for a square foot of office space: 0.69


• Median monthly rent: $1,395


• Sessions required to pay a month's rent: 13.75


• Median home price: $84,900


• Number of sessions needed to equal home price: 837

2. Las Vegas

Nutritionists in Las Vegas earn quite the premium, earning the highest price per session on our list at $255.51 on average. Photo credit: Photo licensed for use by SpareFoot – http://www.vibe9cle.com

Nutritionists in Las Vegas earn quite the premium, earning the highest price per session on our list at $255.51 on average. That also helps make Sin City the most affordable in terms of apartment rents and home prices. Good luck getting clients to steer clear of all-you-can eat buffets though.

• Thumbtack Opportunity Index: 53.95


• Thumbtack Average Price Per Session: $255.51


• Median asking price for office space (per sq. ft. ): 167.06


• Number of sessions needed to pay for a square foot of office space: 0.65


• Median monthly rent: $1,242


• Sessions required to pay a month's rent: 4.86


• Median home price: $199,575


• Number of sessions needed to equal home price: 781

1. Cincinnati, OH

Cincinnati lands within the top three for all of our criteria, making it our top city overall. Photo credit: NutriShop Ohio – http://www.nutrishopohio.com/

Cincinnati lands within the top three for all of our criteria, making it our top city overall. It has the most affordable office space compared to the rest of the list-one session generating enough revenue to cover two square foot of office space. The average price per job of $155.83 is nothing to scoff at either

• Thumbtack Opportunity Index: 72.46


• Thumbtack Average Price Per Session: $155.83


• Median asking price for office space (per sq. ft. ): 80.99


• Number of sessions needed to pay for a square foot of office space: 0.52


• Median monthly rent: $1,258


• Sessions required to pay a month's rent: 8.07


• Median home price: $156,175


• Number of sessions needed to equal home price: 1,002

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7 Reasons Why Every Business Should Have a Diverse Web Traffic Strategy

The internet is expanding and is still in its infancy, and it is by far the most efficient way to generate visitors to a website. However, building a site is one thing and getting it found is another.

Do you think having a solid traffic plan is important?

A solid plan is required to attract the right visitors and draw them from as many sources as you can.

What if the traffic source eventually dried up? If you had several traffic sources running at the same time, you'd hardly feel the drop, and you would still have the other sources producing long enough for you to correct the strategy to get a replacement traffic source.

Your Diverse Traffic Strategy

There are several ways to approach this and I advise using them all. There is search engine marketing, pay per click ads (PPC), remarketing, social media, and e-mail blasts. There are various other tactics, but these are the main.

For example using Search (SEO and PPC) one can rank their primary website, a Yelp listing (or other branded 3rd party page), Google local listing for local businesses, videos, even press. Ad PPC into the mix that and you have a potential for six listings on the 1st page. Now, that's online real estate, and we haven't even tapped social yet.

Copyright: iqoncept / 123RF Stock Photo

Here are 7 advantages to having a diverse traffic strategy:

1. A wider reach for improved brand awareness.

Millions of people go online every single day, and your customers and their family and friends are found in many places.

Utilizing every platform, you can attack your market from multiple angles. You can drive traffic from Social Media, then tag them with your remarketing pixel, so your ads are following them all over the web. Now you've just doubled-down on your Social Traffic. Consumers will become much more aware of your products and services.

2. Minimize risks and maintain the flow of website traffic.

Internet trends and technologies are now getting developed at lightning speed. Businesses have to keep an ear on the ground to know about the latest developments. The brand needs to be where the people are hanging out and looking. That's where the opportunities are to grab more attention.

As one trend emerges, it has a growth curve before it starts to decline. Get ahead of the curve by using new platforms and learning how they work. A multi-channel approach allows you to grab more attention, and you need the attention of your customers. Even if one of the channels fades in popularity, there will be other sources of steady traffic for the site.

3. Get a competitive advantage.

Most businesses stick to the basics. They use one strategy over and over to get more traffic. Once they see results from a campaign, they assume that it's all they ever need. Anyone who thinks outside the box and looks for other channels gets an instant advantage over most of the competition. SEO, PPC, email, social media, and others can all make valuable contributions.

Those who move fast can establish a following right away and corner the market while competitors take their time. They will be seen as a leader in their niche.

4. Cater to different groups.

Each platform tends to attract a different set of users. Campaigns may then be crafted to appeal to a particular segment of mobile users or residents in a particular geographical area.

Perhaps one product page gets more hits from web searches while another draws more views from social media sites. This may be due to the difference in demographics. Individual social networks attract a younger crowd making them suited for products that cater to this age range.

5. Develop a loyal customer base.

In the past, people viewed companies as abstract concepts. They were nothing more than sources of goods. Most interactions were limited to sales and repairs. Now business has gotten a lot more personal. Social media has made two-way communications accessible to all.

Customers expect businesses to have their pages for updates, promos, and concerns. Those who can respond quickly and efficiently earn lots of loyal fans. Some customers become brand evangelists. Continue to serve your clients far into the future to create returning sales and traffic.

6. Maximize the characteristics of each platform.

Every platform has its strengths and weaknesses. Cater your message to the different platforms with campaigns that are tailored to suit each one. For example, Twitter works best for time-sensitive short messages. Product launches, contests, and other promos can be announced through this account. Longer texts can be reserved for lead generation through email and Facebook.

Instagram, on the other hand, puts images front and center. This works best for businesses that have creative products with striking visual features. Food, clothing, footwear, toys, electronics and beauty products are some examples. Services related to grooming, design, art, fitness, and health also fit perfectly. Instructional clips may even be posted with links to the full video on the site.

7. Omnipresence reinforces the message.

Many users maintain accounts on multiple platforms. They are likely to see ads multiple times as they go through the day. This is a good thing as ubiquity reinforces the message. They are more apt to click a link once their interest has been piqued by its omnipresence.

What does your traffic strategy include? Share it in the comments below.

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The American Dream: Where British Investors Should Buy in the USA

You don't have to have been born in the States to be swept up by the American Dream.

It's a pretty attractive prospect for us Brits too. Only Australia attracts more people leaving behind Blighty, with about 20,000 people heading for a new life across the Pond.

Property is a big part of that life. The American property market is packed with top quality housing hotspots that can help you live the dream in real style.

So, if you have designs on following the 20,000 in heading to the US, where should you look to invest?

New York

The Big Apple is an obvious place to start and for good reason. Like London it's a global city, with scores of international business headquarters with bases in and among the iconic sites to make it a strong contender for Brits heading abroad. If you can afford it, penthouse pads with a view of the skyline – preferably Central Park – are among the most sought-after addresses in the world, let alone the US. Browse New York's properties here to get a feel for the quality on offer.

Dallas

Everything is big in Texas, including the potential return for your money in the property market it seems. If you've got an eye on profits when you make the switch to the States then look here. The Real Estate Investment Market Index, produced by BiggerPockets, highlighted the best and worst cities in the US for investors and put Dallas top of the tree, predicting possible returns of 20 per cent by purchasing there. Texas has three cities in the top ten, making it a smart choice all round, especially if you are won over by the young, hip image of the booming capital of Austin.

Seattle

The thriving tech city of Seattle should certainly be on your shortlist, with an economy and standard of living that makes for an attractive combination. It's fast-growing and, as a result, Business Insider pinpoints it as one of the hottest markets in the States, with property price growth of more than five per cent. If famously rains a bit but you're used to that, right?

Salt Lake City

Tech-sector growth is also helping Salt Lake City in Utah to thrive. The combination of a strong economy and a high proportion of young people in its population has seen it dubbed one of America's 'next boom towns' by Forbes. This is also one of the friendlier places to establish some roots in the US, so you're likely to settle well into your new life.

San Francisco

When you're speaking of economic strength and quality of life you can't ignore the Californian city of San Francisco. As the FT highlights, the hilltop neighbourhoods of Pacific Heights, Presidio Heights, Cow Hollow and Russian Hill offer the sort of high end luxury that is hard to resist, with unrivalled views over the Pacific Ocean and the iconic Golden Gate Bridge only adding to the wow factor.

With so many places to explore – and such quality in the market – it's easy to see why the American Dream persists. Keep an eye out for places where this is value, star quality or both to get the most for your money.

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The Best Way to Protect Your E-Commerce Website from Crashing During the Festive Season

It is the expectation of any e-commerce website that the site will enjoy uptime during peak times, such as during the holiday shopping frenzy. The sad truth is that often, during this critical time when you expect your site to be up and running serving your increasing number of customers, the opposite happens. The site crashes, leaving you red faced. This is often caused by too many queries trying to access your database simultaneously while your existing database lacks the capacity to process them effectively.

The Symptom: Crashing Instances

These identical queries, or instances, accessing your databases simultaneously often overwhelm traditional SQL databases that do not possess the required user surge management technologies. The primary symptom of this problem is crashing instances due to the unscalable database infrastructure. In this case, you need a load balancer that will be effective in coping with the increased user capacity. You need a scalable service that has automated database load balancing.  Such a solution will ensure that your e-commerce website is online when you most need it-when shoppers flock to it.

The Main Cause: Database Statements that are inefficient as well as the Usage of the Connection Pool

The underlying cause of this problem of crashed instances, which overwhelms the computational abilities of the server, is often inefficient database statements and connection pool usage. The heavy loads on the server impose a burden on the resources of the database that ultimately crash the application. With the proper solution comprising of built-in application performance monitoring software, this problem is unlikely to occur. Such a solution will keep your e-commerce website running and provide a marked increase on your bottom-line.

The Solution: Optimizing App and Load Balancer

Do not fret, dear e-commerce website owner; there is a solution. There exists a solution that will take care of this holiday shopping frenzy and the increased number of buyers trying to make purchases on your platform. The solution is using a database that has an automated load balancer. Such a solution involves the deploying of multiple tomcat instances, an automated database failover that is app transparent, scalable and has the capacity to deal with increased user surges.

Select a Scalable Solution

The onus on any e-commerce enterprise is to ensure that they have a scalable solution that seamlessly manages increased user demands with in-built technologies such as load balancers and connection pool usage. This, coupled with multiple tomcat instances and application performance monitoring, will ensure that your application's database can act intelligently and assign resources efficiently across the entire platform at critical moments. This type of solution will prevent data loss and failover that will have a negative impact on your e-commerce platform.

The Result: Zero Downtime

The result of such a solution as described above is that you will never have to deal with downtime, which is a positive outcome for mission-critical enterprise platforms. You can rest easy and secure that during events such as the Black Friday, you will be able to maximize your sales with your platform that scales well under increased loads. Zero downtime will also go a long way in increasing user retention across your platform as buyers will be able to complete their purchases in a unified manner.

The Next Steps: Proactive Performance Management

Well, what next? The next step is to obviously make sure that this solution is permanent. This means that your database resources are optimized, well scaled to take care of all scenarios that might be thrown its way. To maintain zero downtime, you must be proactive in your approach to application performance monitoring. You should seek out a solution that instantly and transparently scales up, that has application pooling, and zero downtime maintenance and patching.

Keep Your Site Fail-Proof

You need, at the outset, to deploy an e-commerce solution that incorporates all the above mentioned, mission-critical technologies. You need a server application that has all these solutions bundled in and at the same time, you should consider a cloud-based solution that has the necessary infrastructural support to manage your services and applications during expected peak times. You need a solution provider that has processes in place that will make sure that your site is up and running even in the worst-case scenario.

Conclusion

As an e-commerce website owner, you need to decide beforehand what technology you need to make sure that your website is up and running even during the peak, shopping holiday season. This means that you need to determine your need beforehand and seek out a solution provider that guarantees you that your application will suffer zero downtime. Make a point to look at their complete offer; tick away using the following simple checklist. Do they offer;

• Transparent database failover


• Zero downtime


• Transparent scalability


• Active data centers


• Application performance improvement

If the answer to most of the above is yes, then you can be sure that your application will withstand any shock due to increased usage during the festive season.

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What Online Shoppers Really Want (And Why Your Web Operator Might Have It Wrong)

Copyright: subbotina / 123RF Stock Photo

When you own or run an ecommerce website, there are always opportunities to spend more of your hard-earned money. Upgrades and improvements, expansions and investments, new this and new that, all of it apparently essential according to one advisor or another. But in the end, we all know exactly who we should be listening to when it comes to deciding how to improve an ecommerce site – online shoppers.

The right to spend

Online shopping is the ultimate in retail convenience. Rare is the brick and mortar store that encourages shoppers to browse while wearing underpants and two-handing Doritos, but ecommerce allows everyone to live their best lives while spending money on everything from daily essentials to extravagant gifts. Whether that means lounging on a laptop at home or quickly making a purchase on a smartphone during a morning train commute, people are understandably making online shopping a regular part of their lives, with over 300 billion dollars being spent online in 2014.

It's a pretty big pie that's up for grabs for ecommerce sites. So how come so many sites aren't getting the piece they feel they deserve?

Differing perspectives

Trying to figure out what it is that will spur website users to complete purchases on a website can be a tricky thing. As a business owner, you approach the problem from a business perspective. How can you offer the best customer service? Are your prices competitive? Are all of the product shots attractive? And web operators approach it from an innovation standpoint. Does the website have the newest, flashiest features? Would a card layout be impressive?

Things like customer service, pricing and web design are important, to be sure. But how important? According to online shoppers: not very.

What the people want

Imperva Incapsula commissioned a survey to find out what exactly it is that online shoppers want from ecommerce sites. And it turns out that what online shoppers want isn't all that complicated.

Intuitive design. Online shoppers want to be able to find their way around a website and around products with ease. Completely understandable.

Mobile friendliness. A full 50% of survey respondents indicated that they use multiple devices when shopping – pc, tablet or mobile – and will not return to a website if it is not optimized for mobile use.

Speedy page load times. More than anything, the people want fast websites with reliable performance. Sixty percent of survey respondents are only willing to wait five seconds for a page to load completely, while an even pickier 27% will only wait three seconds. And online shoppers aren't the forgive and forget types, with 68% of responders saying they are unlikely to return to a website that has poor performance.

If the answer to what online shoppers value in ecommerce sites is so simple, why aren't online shoppers getting what they want? Well, the other half of the Imperva Incapsula survey focused on what web operators are saying about ecommerce site optimization, and what they have planned in terms of site performance improvements. This survey has essentially uncovered the ecommerce performance gap.

Giving the people what they want

For anyone with a pretty good knowledge of website performance, the most jarring statistics in the infographic are doubtlessly the number of web operators unfamiliar with content delivery networks (53%) and load balancing tools (43%). After all, the number one thing a content delivery network does is speed up websites while the number one thing load balancing tools do is provide reliable performance, even during major traffic influxes.

Further, what at least 53% of survey respondents don't know is that it's completely possible to two-birds-one-stone the issues of reliable performance and website speed through the use of a CDN. A CDN is a global network of proxy servers that redirects website users to the closest server for the fastest possible page load times and has built-in load balancing (as well as DDoS protection) thanks to that same network of servers that distributes traffic amongst them, keeping any one server from becoming overwhelmed.

Choosing wisely

It can be hard to decide who to listen to when it comes to how you invest in your online business. Unless you consider that one of those groups has hundreds of billions of dollars ready to be spent on websites just like yours. That should make the decision easier. Listen to online shoppers. They have spoken.

 

 

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LEO – Profits and Products to Be Proud of

Are you sick of working for an MLM company with a compensation plan that never seems to benefit you, and you're just not that interested in the products you're selling anymore? There's only so much antifungal foot balm and firming face cream you can sell before you begin to ask yourself 'Am I really happy with this?'

Then you might want to take a look at a relatively new kid on the block with a refreshing outlook, a revolutionary approach to direct selling, inspirational products and a compensation plan to get excited about – Learning Enterprises Organisation Ltd (LEO).

Established in 2012, LEO is a global entrepreneurship training company, which in only four years has opened eight offices spanning five continents. From Canada to Vietnam, and Egypt to China, this is a truly worldwide organisation that is really making waves!

Of course, this amazing success in such a short period of time is no coincidence, when you consider what the company has to offer – products to be proud of and direct selling bonuses with benefits!

Bonuses to believe in

LEO has a big heart and a high-minded mission 'to serve mankind by unleashing human potential.' While this might sound a little lofty, the organisation is dead serious about its aims and puts its money where its mouth is with a generous compensation plan.

Tim Venables, LEO Global Operations Manager

Tim Venables, LEO Global Operations Manager, and compensation plan guru commented:

'What has really struck me about the LEO business is that our compensation plan is truly remarkable. It is like no other plan I have seen before in the industry.'

If you are already a network marketing professional, you will no doubt know all about the matching bonus in a compensation plan, where income is made from the sales of your downline. However, the exciting concept at LEO comes when income also drips from above. LEO's reverse matching bonus is a revolutionary plan which is understandably popular with its Members – a generous bonus to be proud of, gained from the sales of your upline as well as your downline!

When asked what particularly appeals to him about LEO, highly successful Member, Ash Islam said:

'I love the compensation plan and I love the way the company works, the whole vision behind the company – a company with integrity, being transparent to its Members.'

In addition to this refreshing concept, LEO also offers what is called its 'Top of the World' award. If you've ever wanted the chance to become top of the tree in your network marketing team, this ticks the box. With this award, you are given several chances to rise to the level you want through concerted effort.

So, as one of LEO's core presuppositions is 'Our Members are the heart of our business', what do their Members think about this? Ash says:

Ash Islam, a highly successful LEO Member

'It's actually great, because the compensation plan allows you to earn in many different ways. I was actually shocked to earn a substantial amount within my first five days, and that was incredible alone, because I've been in network marketing companies where they were telling me, you know what, work hard now and in two years' time you might make something of yourself, and here it's like five days and it's amazing and not just myself but it's my team, they're all earning, and that's what I really like to see – a team where everyone's earning, not just the people at the top.'

There is also no question of Members being kept waiting for their income, as payments are made promptly on a weekly basis.

In fact, with a little effort in your entrepreneurship journey with LEO, there is a whole lot more you can achieve. For example, the organisation regularly runs remarkable events which its high achievers can attend free. Notably, there will be a Global Leaders' Summit in Greece during July, with no-holds-barred luxury lifestyle treats for its qualifying Members.

Products to be proud of

Of course, it's not just about the profits to be made, but also about the products on offer. Quality products will not just be easier to market, but will also mean that Members can feel that they are genuinely providing a valuable service to others. Well LEO provides just such a synergy between profits and products.

Offering a wide range of top-notch, multilingual e-learning education products, LEO harnesses the power of online learning to offer invaluable training opportunities on a state-of-art e-learning platform. There are four core products it provides, which are designed to help people start their own business – e-learning, e-tutoring, technology and live seminars. LEO gives its Members the chance to LEARN – gaining the business skills they need to be an entrepreneur – as well as EARN, while doing this, and ultimately, to OWN their own businesses.

In fact, e-learning is the fastest growing area of digital content sales, and according to a recent report by Docebo, shows no signs of slowing down. With the flexibility it provides, it is perfectly placed to provide training solutions to the budding business entrepreneurs of today.

A primary benefit of such quality online learning products to a global organisation, is that they know no geographical boundaries, so can appeal to all. Indeed, LEO is passionate about education and believes that everyone has the right to an education. In fact, the LEO Charity wing of the organisation has even sponsored a project in Jordan to help Syrian refugee children receive the education they need to have a better future.

So, if, as the song goes, you 'can't get no satisfaction' where you are, why waste your time on something you don't enjoy, when there is a business opportunity out there that you can really believe in and a beneficial bonus scheme to back it up at LEO!

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