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.

Legal language translation can cover many things. However, most common ones are summons, complaints, bylaws and supporting documentations. Legal translation companies usually consist of a large array of translation staff. As a buyer of translation services, you deserve supportive and personalized attention to your valuable documents.

Actually, the translation service you’re buying is not just about transformed words. It’s also about the translating company’s cooperation, feedback, timely turnaround, patience, skills and sincerity.

And good service providers always work with capable and efficient team procedures. Commonly, legal language translation providers specialise in precise and well-composed translations to cater for your legal documents.

While small firms cater for around 10 to 20 languages, larger ones would cater for over 150 languages or dialects. Some companies are certified for due acceptance by major courts, as well as federal agencies in the US or beyond.

You must also consider the fact that language translation includes (but is not limited to) advanced linguistic skills – especially when it comes to legal language translations. A legal language translator essentially needs to be specialised in technical expertise and legal norms of both a local and international sphere.

Companies, today, have bilingual attorneys, skilled engineers, bankers, or even academic scholars offering you the best legal translations money can buy. Some prestigious translation companies are associated with members from diplomatic communities.

These days, you can get virtually anything you can think of regarding translations. Some full service companies offer full-range language translations; patent translations, bylaws, summons and complaints, evidentiary papers, financial manuscripts, judicial proceedings, foreign/expatriate statutes, and contracts – you just name it!

Reputed providers of legal language translation services come with smart, quality and professional solutions. You can also expect services like international evidence recording, international process services, cataloging services for international document/deed discovery and a large array of research services on overseas legal texts.

With advanced service providers, you can expect real-time interpretation services, transcribers, audio engineers, as well as fully-fledged services dealing with audio-visual or interpretation equipment. These advanced services or equipment are used for international conferences or meetings that involve sophisticated legal issues.

Needless to say, legal language in most of the cases deals with issues that are extremely sensitive. Thus they call for timely assistance, as well as experiences to be handled properly. Sometimes, legal translators are faced with rush or expedited service orders – for an extra emergency fee, of course. But, by all means, you can hardly go wrong with a quality translator of legal documents!

SELF-EMPLOYMENT AND YOU
The world of self-employment can be a personally and financially rewarding one for the right individual. Many people dream of owning their own business but don’t believe it will ever happen for them. The majority of these folks see all the positives of working for yourself, but lack the drive and determination to make the transition from employee to employer.
Self-employment is the ticket to higher earnings without limit and the right to control and work your own schedule. But it’s not easy work. A lot of self-employed people are working longer hours and weeks than ever in their own business. The difference is they are doing work they truly enjoy, and are getting paid for it!
You have the talent and ability to work on your own! Perhaps you’re just not sure what business you’d like to specialize in.
Sales aren’t just the slick folks on the automobile showroom who want to know what it will take to get you in that car today. Selling is the process by which a product reaches a consumer. It can take many forms. If you have some preconceived ideas about sales right now, erase them from your mind. Start with a clean slate by remaining open to all possibilities in your home-based businesses.
After all, if you’re marketing a product you would buy yourself, it will be easy to convince others of its value. Since you’re selecting the right business opportunity, you’ll unquestionably choose the business that has the most appeal to you. Selling something you love almost never feels like work, or real selling!HOW TO GET STARTED
If you currently have a job, you may want to break into your home-based business on a part-time basis until you’ve built up enough earnings base to leave. There will probably be no greater feeling than when you walk out the door and into a business where you call the shots!
If you’re between jobs, then by all means go at this full-force. All you need to do is to contact the businesses listed here that interest you and begin the process of determining if this is right for you.
There may be several opportunities here that are franchises. There is no available data that says that electing to go the franchise route to start your business has any lower success rate than beginning a new business from scratch. Again, view these choices with an open mind and investigate the opportunity thoroughly before making the commitment. If you’re working part or full time, you can, perhaps, be even choosier.THE TOP 10 WAYS TO EARN MONEY AT HOME1. ANTIQUESThe buying and selling of antiques has been and should continue to be a very productive business, financially, for those that do it. Here, you only need an extra room in the house, or the use of your garage — and you have an office!If you have a large home that has some antique furnishings, you might consider turning it into a showroom for your antique acquisitions and sales, providing you satisfy any local zoning regulations. The interest in antiques will survive into the foreseeable future. Many people choose to spend their free time on the weekends “antiquating” from place to place to try and pick up a few odds or ends and maybe a jewel or two. If you know anything about antiques, this may be a great opportunity for you.For more information, check out the book, “Buying and Selling Antiques”, by Don Cline and Sara Pitzer. Your local library may be filled with other publications on this subject that can get you started quickly. Your only overhead may be inventory and advertising!2. BAKINGHave you ever been told that you have a recipe which people would line up to get if they could? Ever had anyone tell you that you should be selling those cupcakes you make? There are a number of success stories about people who have launched successful businesses by cooking at home and then marketing to local people first. Word of mouth on a good product may start to get restaurants or bakeries interested in acquiring your culinary masterpieces. Then you progress to selling them state-wide and presto! A winning home-based business!For more practical advice on the assorted aspects of setting up a specialty foods business, you should contact your local U.S. Department of Agriculture Home Extension Agent in your county. Since every U.S. county has such an individual, that person shouldn’t be hard to find!3. BED AND BREAKFAST PROPRIETOR(S)Have you ever stayed in a bed and breakfast and thought, “hey, I can do this!” You probably went on vacation and simply chalked your thought up as one of those pipedreams one gets when they stay in a beautiful spot.Don’t toss that thought away! While it’s not easy work as the hours can be long and it’s usually a seven days per week business, it’s often something that you can work into a daily schedule. After all, it’s merely an extension of doing the housework for family, right? More and more Americans are taking after Europeans and opening their homes to travelers. If you have an extra room or two since the kids moved out, you can start a bed and breakfast in your own place!Bed and breakfast popularity will continue as more and more vacationers and business travelers seek a different accommodation away from the predictability of the average hotel room. If they enjoy their stay, many become “repeat” customers, coming back to the same familiar surroundings time and again.If you don’t need to do any major renovations in the house to accommodate this type of establishment, you can be off and running with very little money invested, other than advertising and some new “guest room supplies”. If your dream is to buy a bed and breakfast somewhere in a vacation paradise, there are probably houses for sale that will work for this purpose.Whatever your design, there are several good books on the subject of starting your own bed and breakfast, including “Start Your Own Bed and Breakfast”, by Beverly Mathews. Check them out at your local library.4. CHILD CAREDue to the financial pressures many families face today, many parents work outside of the home to bring in enough income to pay daily living expenses. A single parent is obviously working but all too often both members of a two parent family are in the workforce.This creates a home-based opportunity. Children must be watched, all day if they’re not in school, or, otherwise, for a brief time after school before the parents finish work for the day.Caring for one additional child may not be that lucrative, but taking care of several children can certainly be a full-time, financially successful business. Often, taking care of several children is made somewhat easier as the youngsters often will play together.You can do this at home for only a small investment in basic equipment and toys for the kids in addition to the advertising of your business. There are several publications that address starting this type of business, including “Family Day Care”, by Betsy Squibb.Another resource is the Day Care Council of America, 5730 Market Street, Oakland, CA. 94608.5. COMPUTER SPECIALISTThe advent of the computer age has changed the concept of self-employment. Having a computer at home has opened a number of opportunities for running your own business utilizing this equipment. Companies everywhere are “outsourcing” work that can be done by someone else on their computer, out of their own home.If you’re not that familiar with a computer, there are many low-cost (or free) seminars and classes that will teach you what equipment you need and how to use it.If you’re a whiz in computers, you may end up working as a consultant, writing programs for companies. If you’re a beginner, you may find yourself able to obtain work as a writer, using your computer to produce copy that’s easy to edit. You can also keep accounting and payroll records for companies on your computer’s database.Word processing software can be used not only for writers but for those that can offer secretarial services out of their house. Desktop publishing software can allow you to do newsletters for businesses and other organizations.For more educational data, contact the Information Resources Clearinghouse at Syracuse University’s School of Education, 030 Huntington Hall, 150 Marshall Street, Syracuse, N.Y. 13244. Their phone number is (315) 443- 3640.There are a substantial number of good publications, too. Your local library will have several books on computer occupations. If you can operate a computer, you can find work in the information age today.6. GARDENINGIf you like working in your garden each year and growing vegetables for your family to eat, it’s a definite possibility for home-based employment. Imagine clearing a little more space and growing more items that you can sell directly to the consumer.Most produce stands will buy from you if your product is one of high quality. If you enjoy gardening, this could be your ticket! If you have some more land to use, do it! Plant what you can, when you can! Contact your local produce stands to ascertain their buying habits.You can even inquire about your own produce stand if you have enough product. The more space you have on your land, the more likely you will be able to generate enough crops to run the business.People love home-grown vegetables. They just don’t have the time or want to be bothered doing it themselves. That’s your open door!For more information, consult books like “Plants for Profit,” and “A Complete Guide to Growing & Selling Greenhouse Crops”, by Francis Jozwik.7. IMPORTER AND DISTRIBUTORThere are a substantial number of products manufactured in other countries which can be bought inexpensively and sold here in the United States at a profitable level. The recent passages of the Congressional bills, NAFTA and GATT, may make it easier to bring in other products from other countries.This is a business easily operated out of the home, depending on the types of stock you’re carrying. You may have to rent some storage space, but the capital required to start should essentially be limited to the products you’re buying to sell here.Two good resources for you are:* American Importers Association Membership Directory, 420 Lexington Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10017; and* American Register of Importers and Exporters, 38 Park Row, New York, N.Y. 10038.You can also look at books in your library such as “How To Make A Fortune In Import/Export”, by Howard R. Goldsmith, obviously an optimistic look at this type of business.If you know the type of product you want to import and the market most likely to purchase your goods, you have great potential for a successful home-based business.8. INTERIOR DECORATORWhile this business will require you to be out and about, meeting with customers, it’s the type of work many people would love to do. If you have a fascination for decorating a home, this could be your line of work.Many people don’t know where to start when they are remodeling or buying a house for the first time. If you have the knowledge of colors and patterns and what looks good together, plus the expertise of knowing where to get materials and furnishings, this can be a winning home-based business for you.One excellent resource to consult is the “Interior Design Directory”, available through Whitney Communication Corporation, 1050 E. 58th Street, New York, N.Y. 10155.9. PHOTOGRAPHERThe sky’s the limit here! Armed with your trusty camera and some good advertising, you can do weddings, models, family portraits, passports, student photos, local newspaper coverage; almost anything that requires a picture!You can easily start this work, part-time, and work into full-time work based on your success and inclination. Not much equipment is necessary to get going as a camera off the store shelf can often do the trick today. Picking up a tripod and having a room sufficient for developing your pictures, and you’re in business — at home!There are a number of excellent books available in your local library to get you started on the path of professional photography.10. SEWING & ALTERATIONSMany people love to sew. If you’re one of them, consider offering this service out of your home. When someone buys a new outfit, it rarely fits perfectly, meaning some kind of alteration must be done.People look long and hard to find reliable individuals to do their alterations. If you can sew, you’re well on your way to opening the doors of this type of business.One resource you can review is “Sewing for Profit”, by Judith and Allan Smith. Or your library will have a handful of capable publications on starting up this type of business.These are our suggestions as to the top 10 ways to earn money at home, enough to be a full-time self-employed businessperson!But there are many other opportunities. The listings that follow may give you some other ideas you need to get started in business for yourself.SUMMARYAre you ready to start up your own business now?Whether you begin from scratch or invest in a franchise, the time has never been better to get a home- based business off the ground. It’s become almost routine in the business world to work with independent contractors. Many times, it’s more cost-effective, too.Most of these businesses do not require a substantial amount of start-up cash. Many of these franchise opportunities offer financing.
With Internet’s help, your home business can be moved online and expand globally. Your profit will be significantly improved if you can integrate your traditional business into online business.