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Affiliate networking weight loss and health businesses are on the rise and finding one that offers complete turnkey wraparound support for their affiliate business owners is the key to developing a successful affiliate networking home business. Individuals who are looking for an affiliate business opportunity are finding that it is one way in which to take their own personal passions and turn them into a business that results in substantial income.
 
Health issues and concerns are becoming prevalent in the United States and have been for at least the past two decades. The American lifestyle of being overly stressed, eating far too much processed food and not getting enough exercise has lead to an epidemic of obesity and associated health problems, like high blood pressure, diabetes and joint problems. For individuals who have decided to take control of their health, figuring out where to start and how to keep their motivation going can be difficult; this is where healthy lifestyle affiliate marketing comes into play.
 
Affiliate Marketing
 
There are several different ways in which to approach health-oriented affiliate programs and there are many, many different kinds of affiliate programs. You can choose an affiliate program that is entirely focused on selling nutritional supplements, healthy foods and other products over a website or in person, like selling Sun Rider or Puritans Pride. You can also choose a company that pays you commissions when individuals become a member of their organization, like Team Beachbody or 6PackSecret. Or you can open a franchise business, like Gold’s Gym, that promotes a healthy lifestyle and allows you to interact with customers in person. The one thing to remember is that you want to choose an affiliate program that provides you with as much support as possible by offering things like business mentoring and advice, website development, product marketing materials (website product content, brochures, catalogs, advertising, etc) and a virtual office.
 
One really great affiliate program that offers all of these support features is Team Beachbody. Becoming a Team Beachbody Coach is an affiliate marketer’s dream come true. If your passion is centered around health and helping people find their way to creating their own healthy lifestyle, then this is definitely an affiliate marketing opportunity worth investigation. Numerous people have found that the support, products and marketing opportunities make building a home based business easy to not only start, but also maintain.
 
Case Study
 
Beachbody is a affiliate marketing program that has been around for many years and they have perfected the marketing of their products with providing everything an affiliate member needs to generate income and build their business. Beachbody generates an enormous amount of customers by the multitude of infomercials that are currently airing on television.

These infomercials include products such as P90X, Turbo Jam and Hip Hop Abs.  Every customer that calls in to order one of those programs is assigned to a Beachbody Coach (affiliate marketer).  The coaches are independent contractors and will help their customers succeed in their set goals. The Beachbody Coaches are there for informational and motivational support. By providing one on one personal motivation, Coaches are actually able to not only help their customers reach their own personal goals, but also have the opportunity to suggest products and program available and build their business through product sales. 

In addition to highly popular products and providing personal contact and support to customers, Beachbody also provides amazing support to their Coach/Marketers. They provide website development tools, marketing support, a virtual office and a constant flow of promotional materials and opportunities for every marketer to use as they build their business. They also provide highly successful opportunities for marketers to build their own down line system by promoting Team Beachbody as a business and assigning an upline Coach to every person who joins the program as a business member. As a result of this complete turnkey system, Beachbody has become one of the most successful and sought after affiliate marketing programs in the United States.
 
Summary
 
In today’s down economy, many people are turning to creating their own business opportunities rather than waiting to be offered a job when the economy starts to finally turn around. If you have the entrepreneurial spirit and have a passion for health, you should definitely consider an affiliate marketing home business. Quite a few individuals have done so well that they have left their former profession entirely and are devoted to helping others build a healthy lifestyle while building their own personal business. You could be one of these success stories too!

Health and Safety Policy sets out how health and safety issues are managed within an organisation. A Health and Safety Policy is a commitment to planning and managing health and safety at work and is the key to achieving acceptable standards and preventing accidents and instances of work-related ill health.

If you employ five or more people you must have a written health and safety policy statement and a record of your health and safety arrangements. You need a written document so that you and your workforce are clear about who’s responsible for what.

If your business employs less than five people you are not legally required to have a written health and safety policy statement. However, you must still ensure that you work safely – a written policy can help you do this.
Why is Health & Safety Important to Small Businesses?

Your employees have rights to work in safe conditions with a regard to personal health and it is therefore important that you offer them this sort of working environment: failing to do so can result in personal injury, disease or general poor health. Such occurrences can result in legal action being taking against your business (or you personally) which could damage the business financially and its reputation (including you – as an employer).
Responsibilities of an Employer

The Health & Safety at Work Act, 1974 states that it is your responsibility to protect the health, safety and welfare of yourself, your employees, and people that may be affected by what you do. Such people include:

    * Visitors to your workplace

    * The public that use your product or service

    * Neighbours

In other words, Employers must provide to its employees:

    * a safe place of work

    * a safe system of work

    * adequate plant and equipment.

Displaying your Health and Safety Policy

The health and safety policy statement should be displayed in a prominent position at all work locations and sites. A copy of a Company’s health & safety policy with full details of the organisation and arrangements for implementing the safety policy should also be available at each work location and site.

The health and safety policy should be reviewed preferably on an annual basis and updated as either legislation changes or working practices change.

Difference between Risk Assessment and Health and Safety Policy

A policy is different from a risk assessment.

    * Policy: general vision and arrangements for the whole business.

    * Risk assessment:  a regular review of how you remove or control hazards, and whether you are doing enough, or if you require further controls.

Legal Duties and Obligations around Health and Safety Policies

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974

The Act says that you must prepare a statement and bring it to the attention of all employees. The policy should be reviewed and revised as often as necessary.

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999

These regulations place duties on employers to assess and manage risks to their employees and others arising from work activities. How this is carried out should be included in the policy.
Involving your Employees

In practice, it can be useful to involve your employees in preparing and implementing the health and safety policy. Where employees are involved in making safety rules, or devising safe working methods, they may be more likely to adhere to them, because they will understand the reasoning behind them. Also, the person who is actually doing a job can be best placed to advise on whether the proposed safe working method will work.

Informing your Employees

There are various ways to bring the policy to the attention of employees. If it is short enough, you may decide to give a copy to each employee.

If you are a larger organisation or your policy is fairly lengthy, you could post copies on notice boards or in appropriate places. Whatever you choose to do, you must make sure that you bring the policy to the attention of all employees.
Is it Important to give Health and Safety Training

You must provide training for your employees to ensure that they:

    * know how to work safely and without risks to health

    * know about your health and safety policy, how you implement it and the part they have to play

    * are aware of their health and safety responsibilities towards themselves, other employees and people visiting your premises.

Training is likely to be particularly important in certain circumstances. For instance, when:

    * new people join your business – from employees to work-placement students

    * employees change jobs within the business

    * an existing risk increases – perhaps because of a greater volume of work

    * a new risk is identified – perhaps when new equipment is purchased

Remember that refresher training is particularly important so that complacency doesn’t creep in.

Monitoring and Review

Monitoring that the policy is still effective is vital. There are many ways that this can be done, including carrying out spot checks or safety inspections using prepared checklists.

More formally, effective monitoring can be achieved through audits and by reviewing management reports and accident investigations.

What should be in the Policy?

A policy is a written statement and should outline the following:

    * The responsibilities of those people using a certain area of the premises.

    * The Health & Safety risks that arise from the work

During President Obama’s campaign, as he went throughout the country extolling the virtues of health care reform, a plumber stood up and declared he could not possibly do business if he were forced to buy one of the packaged health insurance for small businesses then available. The plumber, who was actually an unlicensed plumber (in my state, if you’re not licensed, you’re not a plumber), said he had obtained funding to start his own plumbing business, but if he were required to buy health insurance for his employees, he couldn’t afford to go into business after all. The Republicans latched on to this character’s story to argue against Obama’s proposals for universal health care coverage, but the argument went nowhere, Obama won, and by 2010, a health care reform bill was signed. As it turned out, unless Joe the plumber intended to have 50 or more employees, he would not have to provide health insurance for his employees.

Joe the plumber wasn’t trying to deny the responsibility of business to supply health insurance plans to the employee. It’s been an acceptable practice for decades and embraced by conservatives and liberals alike. Business itself has met their responsibility with exuberance and dignity all these decades, taking lesser profits in order to do it. Currently, 98 percent of companies with 200 or more employees provide health care insurance plans for their employees. About 150 million Americans are employer insured, and that number is expected to grow to 159 million by 2019. The new Health Reform Law continues to rely on business to provide working Americans with the health insurance they need.

Health insurance for small businesses is not as inexpensive as health insurance for businesses with 200 or more employees. This is because insurers give discounts based on the number of people to be insured. Naturally, a larger organization will be able to obtain those hefty discounts while smaller businesses can’t. This gives  something of a competitive advantage to larger business: because they can offer prospective employees health insurance as a benefit and the small businesses  can’t, the best talent goes to the bigger guys. The small business, unable to offer health insurance, also suffers a greater turnover of employees as they tend to leave the business for larger ones able to provide health insurance. Lacking what other workers of equal caliber get, small business employees are more demoralized. Being unable to afford health insurance for small businesses makes doing business as a small business a hard proposition indeed.

Now, small business is in luck. The Health Reform Law is enabling small businesses,  with as few as 25 employees, to get health insurance for small businesses this year (2010) by providing taxes credits for those who do. In addition, the law provides for the building of medical insurance exchanges throughout the country. These exchanges will represent hundreds, thousands, or millions of individuals and small businesses as a group to insurers. It’s the large numbers that have given large corporations leverage to get those lower premiums for their employees. Now, individuals and small business owners with their employees will be counted as a group under the exchange and be eligible for those nicely affordable group rates.

The exchanges are still in the initial stage of development – not ready yet. Expect to see them functioning by 2014. Then, small businesses with 50 or more employees will be required to provide insurance to their employees. Hopefully, these exchanges will make health insurance for small businesses as cheap as it is for the big guys, and give the small businesses an opportunity to attract those valuable, highly skilled employees. There’s an answer for most social issues, Joe the Plumber. All you have to do is seek and you’ll find.

If you’re seriously considering starting an online business, it makes sense that you would want to choose something that’s going to do well right from the start. When you’re investing time and money in your business, it would help to know if you’re setting yourself up for failure or for success. Here are five different kinds of online businesses that have proven to be a hit with customers. Perhaps you can find your perfect business idea here too.

Health and Weight Loss

Everyone either wants to lose weight or wants to improve their health. We’re a society that wants to take care of our bodies and if we look good at the same time, that’s all the better. If you want to start an online business, you might want to focus on ways to help people lose weight or simply to improve their health. You can do this by offering fitness and health related products on your website or perhaps by offering eBooks that will help them make better health decisions. Try to find something that relates to a question or a concern a person has about their health – and then you have a viable and profitable business plan.

Beauty

While it used to be that beauty was something that only women talked about, that certainly isn’t the case any longer. That said, women are still the consumer group that is much more likely to invest in makeup and skin care products, though men too are looking to improve their appearance. With anti aging face products, both genders can begin to reclaim their youthful appearance, which will help them feel more confident in any setting. Selling high quality makeup products and helping customers with their choices is a great business plan, as it allows customers to have the department store experience from the comfort of their home.

Exercise and Sports

But weight loss isn’t the only concern with it comes to health for customers. Exercise and sports are other areas where you can make a profit with your online business. For example, selling sporting equipment or products related to sports fans is still a big business. When you work with the team and their product line, you will be able to access thousands of fans who want to support their team with licensed products.

Fashion

Of course, fashion is still a hot seller, no matter where you are. If you can present high quality fashions on your website, you will attract not only the teenaged sector, but also those in their twenties and thirties – of both genders. Look to celebrity and gossip magazines to show you what’s hot and what’s not and then look for a vendor that sells the same or similar items that you can them turn around to sell for a profit.

Low Price Goods

No matter what you choose to add to your website, if you can sell products available on other sites for a much lower price, you are going to do well. This goes for fashion, beauty, exercise, sports, etc. If you can find high quality products that can be sold at much lower prices, you will draw in many more customers than you could have with higher priced goods. For example, if you can find a way to sell organic goods and clothing for much cheaper than healthy food specialty stores, you can help those that want to be healthier, but can’t afford the higher prices of other stores.

No matter what you choose, try at first to think of things that you yourself might want to buy online – chances are good that you’re not the only one.

Long gone are the days when restaurant franchising was purely synonymous with fast food burger joints and pizza parlours. The industry has now branched out and restaurant franchises include not only themed food from countries all across the globe, but also internet cafes, coffee stalls, tea shops, sandwich bars and cookie outlets. Many involve several food and drink types, combining coffee, smoothies, juice and other drinks with muffins, bagels, baguettes and wraps. One of the newest restaurant franchising opportunities in the UK focuses on the health trend, with all menu items having some health benefit. Healthy eating venues emphasise their use of fresh, quality nutritionally balanced, high-flavour ingredients and pride themselves on their “green” credentials, their aim being to run a responsible and sustainable business. They may offer organic or free range produce, or items which have a reduced carbon footprint, for example locally sourced meat or home grown vegetables and they will try and use environmentally friendly packaging where possible.

Until recently, healthy eating in the UK had a (possibly deserved) reputation for bland and boring food, bound to leave you still feeling hungry. However, limp lettuce leaves and dry crackers have been consigned to the past, according to one new healthy eating restaurant franchise which is planning to expand across London and the south east and hopes to revolutionise the healthy eating market. To create an exciting new healthy food experience for the UK market, the new business has a large salad and wrap bar with a choice of fifteen house combinations, or customers can create their own. It also has a range of healthy sandwiches and wraps, with full nutritional and calorific content displayed. Their breakfast menu includes a range of toasted granary bread, lean bacon rolls on low GI granary bread, yoghurts and granola as well as fresh juices and fair-trade, organic coffee. In the winter months they plan to serve hot salads and soups, handmade chillies and stews, Scottish porridge and jacket potatoes.

Prices at restaurants and cafes specialising in healthy food tend to be higher than those at fast food outlets and are therefore usually found in affluent areas, or where consumers are more likely to be health or image conscious, such as health clubs, gyms, leisure centres and private clinics or hospitals. NHS hospitals have in the past rented out their catering spaces to fast food restaurant franchises, but these contracts are mostly due to end within the next two to three years. There is mounting pressure on the Government to take more action on obesity and health lobbyists have been campaigning for an end to fast food outlets in hospitals. It appears, therefore, that there will be a gap in the market and one which healthy eating restaurant franchises will be eager to fill. So it appears very likely that the health food restaurant franchising business is set for success in the UK.

Restaurant franchise reports

For details of our franchising reports visit our site. Thorough tips and guides included in our franchising reports.

The UK is leading the way in online spending and with the Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG) predicting that UK online sales will hit £42 billion by the end of 2007, it is now essential, if not critical for your business to remain competitive and have the ability to sell your products online.

Most mail order businesses will already have a website presence of some kind, but many are still not taking full advantage of selling their products online via a fully functional ecommerce store. Opening an online store is a natural extension to your existing business and a direct way to increase your sales and revenue.

There are numerous important decisions you will need to make when you first set out to launch your online store, like what will the website look like, how will it integrate into your existing systems, what kind of shopping cart will you use, and more importantly, how you will take online payments from your customers.

In this article, I hope to give you an overview to the different online payment options available to both existing and prospective online merchants and explain some of the pros and cons for your business.

Payment Options

The payment options available can at first be a little daunting for businesses setting out in ecommerce. Which method is the best fit for your business? Are you most interested in obtaining the lowest possible price and fees? Is cash-flow the most important factor? What else is there to take into account?

There are essentially two methods in which you can choose take payments from your website. The first option would be to obtain an Internet Merchant Account (normally from your bank) and separate Payment Service Provider (PSP). The second option would be to use an Online Payment Processing Company – these services usually provide a complete solution which is managed from just one account. We will now look more closely at these two methods below.

Internet Merchant Account (IMA) and Payment Service Provider (PSP)

As an existing business, you will probably already have ‘offline’ credit card processing facilities setup with your bank, but to trade ‘online’ and accept card payments directly; you will also need a totally separate account which is known as an Internet Merchant Account.

You will need to apply for an IMA from either your existing acquiring bank (which may be quicker and easier), or search for another bank offering a competitive deal. For start-ups and new businesses with limited trading history, it can sometimes be difficult to obtain an IMA from a bank, and the associated checks and application process can be rigorous, lengthy and stressful.

Your IMA will usually incur an initial setup and monthly and/or annual fee for operating the account, as well as having a ‘cost per transaction’ charging structure. These can be fixed, or based on a percentage of the transaction value. For merchants likely to be processing large volumes of transactions, the banks can give extremely competitive % rates which are often lower than some Payment Processing Companies.

As well as obtaining your IMA, you will also need a separate agreement with a Payment Service Provider or Payment Gateway. A PSP is like a ‘virtual’ swipe machine service, which takes the card details from your website customers and passes them securely to your IMA to complete the payment process.

There are many PSP services and vendors to choose from, and all have various pricing and security features and some IMA’s may even provide a PSP with the account. Most PSP’s work on a ‘cost per transaction’ charging structure, again, these can be fixed, or based on a percentage of the transaction value. There will also normally be a fixed monthly fee to pay.

You will also need to make sure that your choice of PSP is capable of integrating and communicating with your chosen ecommerce shopping cart software. This may need specialist help from a web developer. It is important that you can speak with PSP over the phone rather than just using email support. If for some reason the service is suddenly not available, you will need someone to look at it urgently, so make sure your chosen PSP offers good support.

The Pros and Cons of having an Internet Merchant Account and PSP

Pros

• You have your own account that you are in control of and your business name appears on your customers card statements.

• Payment processing takes place within your own website giving a professional, smooth, transparent process.

• Rates are often negotiable with the bank – and can be substantially cheaper if you are processing large volumes.

• Funds are usually within your account within three working days.

• May offer a choice of additional anti-fraud tools.

• Better for large volume merchants

Cons

• Lengthy application and vetting process (up to 8 weeks).

• Likely to have setup, monthly and/or annual fees and you may will probably need to pay extra for additional security/anti-fraud services.

• The need for a separate PSP and associated setup, monthly and/or annual fees.

• You will need to integrate your PSP into your ecommerce software and will probably require the work of a web developer.

• Typically, a portion of each transaction is retained by your bank as security against disputes and chargebacks.

Online Payment Processing Companies

The alternative to having your own Internet Merchant Account is to use an Online Payment Processing Company. These companies will usually offer a service which essentially combines the features of a separate IMA and PSP in one account. Whilst the application process is still rigorous, the chances of being accepted are higher than an IMA and without the need of detailed checks into your history. You can also usually be approved, integrated and taking payments within days rather than weeks.

Online Payment Processing Companies take payments on behalf of your business, meaning that the actual ‘transaction’ usually takes place within their own secure web page rather than on your website.

Depending on the service you use, the checkout payment pages can usually be configured to look and feel the same as your website, so subsequently giving a similar smooth experience to that of an IMA and PSP. It is also typically much easier to integrate a payment processing service into your website or shopping cart, without the need for a web developer.

Using an Online Payment Processing Company is often the most cost effective and easy way for new ecommerce businesses to enter the market, as many new businesses will not have the required amount trading history to qualify for an IMA. It may also be more cost effective than using an IMA if you are not planning on taking large volumes of transactions, as you will not be required to pay all the initial fees and monthly charges of a separate IMA and PSP.

There are a number of Online Payment Processing Companies to choose from, and they all have various fees and benefits, but here are a few key points to consider when comparing them.

• How quickly you receive your funds – do you get instant cash-flow?

• Can you customise the checkout payment pages to look and feel the same as your website?

• Do you get all the latest anti-fraud tools such as MasterCard SecureCode and Verified by Visa, known as ‘3D Secure’ (the new online version of ‘Chip and Pin’) as part of the standard service price or are they extra?

• Do you have to pay a monthly/annual account charge?

• Do customers have to spend extra time being asked to sign-up or login to the service before being able make their payment?

• Is it simple, quick and easy to integrate without the need of a web developer?

• Will you be provided with good account management and telephone support?

The Pros and Cons of using an Online Payment Processing Company

Pros

• Easier to be accepted for an account and quicker application process

• Reduced amount of fees and charges

• Just one account required to take online payments

• Easy to integrate and manage

• You are not usually locked into lengthy contracts

• Better for small volume merchants

Cons

• Transaction charges can be higher than that of an IMA

• The payment companies name will appear on your customer’s card statements.

• You may have to wait longer before you can access you received funds.

• Not all companies provide the latest anti-fraud tools.

Summary

Hopefully this article has given you an insight into the available options for taking online payments and goes some way to explaining the differences, pros and cons between an Internet Merchant Account and an Online Payment Processing Company.

The payment option that you ultimately choose to use will be dictated by your particular business requirements. While price is no doubt one of the most important factors to take into account, it is equally important to take into account additional features such as anti-fraud tools and cash-flow.

Whichever one you do choose, it is important to thoroughly research all your options by comparing a number of suppliers to make sure you make the correct decision.

Rob Harrison – Marketing Manager at Nochex. www.nochex.com

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