If I give you a bag of seeds but you know nothing about tilling soil, fertilizer, weeding, or watering, will I change your life if you are hungry?

If I give you gallons of paint but you don’t have a brush or a ladder, will you transform the house in which you live?

If I give you money to start a business but you know nothing about management, budgets, marketing, or strategy, will you revolutionize your family and community?

Microfinance dollars are only productive when aligned with education. For most of the clients that Club Asteria works with on a daily basis, lack of money is not as pressing a problem as lack of knowledge.

Many of the women in the underserved parts of the world have very low self-worth. When we organize educational meetings (sometimes in the middle of town or at someone’s house), one of the first opportunities we have available to impact lives is to convince women they have the skills needed to build a business and maintain it.

Often as I am listening to one of our advisors explaining how Club Asteria works and its ability to benefit the community, I catch the eye of a little girl. Maybe she is 8 years old – maybe she is 10 – but she is listening. Her mother thinks she is playing with the other kids just outside of the meeting but she is not. And as one mother pulls her baby to her breast to nurse and another struggles to hear over the sounds of the village animals, I know that little girl is paying attention.

When we empower women to believe that they can manage an income, live a healthier more productive lifestyle, and teach their children that poverty is a state of mind, we can change whole communities and redirect the cycle of destitution.

So much effort must be placed on learning and encouragement! It isn’t about one meeting or one seminar held in a hut somewhere in Thailand. It is about a relationship that grows between the loan officer and the entrepreneur or should I say the Club-Asteria friend and the entrepreneur friend.

We train women to plan a business strategy, to balance a budget, and to create a stable environment to maintain a healthy company. We teach them about employees, discrimination, and security for the future. While at times it seems a daunting task, it is then that I remember the successes that Club-Asteria has had with other entrepreneurs because of educational programs such as this one.

Studies have shown that borrowers who realized the importance of education and diligently learned how to manage their businesses had a higher repayment rate than those that did not attend the meetings or were not interested in learning business development.

Wherever I go, Russia, Thailand, or the Philippines, I am constantly reminded that in order to alter a person’s state of being, one must be accepting of change. Change in the way of thinking, in the way of doing things, and in the way of learning. Only when a person is willing to seek a new idea or foster concepts can micro financing truly impact lives.

It isn’t so much who we are or what we have to say, it is all about what is learned that will make a difference in the lives of these women. If they can successfully operate a business, their children will understand that opportunity comes to those who seek it.

My eye catches the big brown ones of the little girl as she moves closer to the words of the instructor. Today she will learn of the possibility to make a better life for herself and such knowledge will change her destiny.

Club Asteria has harnessed the power of the Internet to help our members earn income and dramatically improve their lives.

As a member, you’re well aware of how quickly the Internet moves – what is new and fresh today is old news tomorrow. This immediacy is a knife that can cut both ways, it makes news outdated, but it also provides an electronic forum that anyone can access!

You’ll notice in this month’s Empower Now an article written by a Club Asteria friend, Shahab Bokhari. A native to Pakistan, Shahab now resides in Chicago, IL and works as a website designer.

His article stresses the importance of keeping your website fresh and new by answering emails, providing fresh news and blogging. All of these methods are excellent ways to get your customers to return to your site, and also helps attract new customers!

Adding another task to your daily list might seem impossible, but when you consider the rewards: increased traffic and sales, then you’ll realize that keeping items on your site up to date definitely has its upside.

So, now that we’ve decided that fresh content is key, it’s time to tackle one of the more obvious questions: Where do I get this timely content?

One source for your information can be yourself!

Sharing your own experiences in business, and in life, helps your customers learn more about you. Building a relationship in sales is crucial for growth, and return business. You can choose how personal you’d like to get on your site, but remember that when it’s published, that information is up there for the world to see!

Take a quick ride around the Internet!

There are millions of websites that offer daily news and interesting articles. Skimming them once a day, and linking to the stories, is a great way to increase your standings in the search engine results. Be sure not to take the information and publish it as your own, and always give credit to the original source.

People love pictures!

When you update your site with pictures and new web banner graphics, your customers and regular site visitors will notice. If they see something they like, this increases the chance for return visits.

Finding photos can be tricky, but there are several sources on the Internet that provide photos for free. One such source is the Flickr Creative Commons. You’ll find thousands of photos that can be used for free, just remember to credit your sources.

Banners are great attention getters

A new banner on your site that calls attention to your business or new offers will have people clicking away. You can also use banners to share your thoughts and ideas, or point visitors to websites that offer free resources.

Sure, updating your sight on a regular basis might take time away from your schedule, but once you incorporate it into your daily actions, you’ll be surprised at how easy, and profitable, it can be!

Do you remember what it was like when you first joined Club Asteria?

Chances are you were overwhelmed with all of the services and products that you could choose from. In addition, there were plenty of programs and other resources designed to help you grow your business.

Now that you’re an experienced member and have taken advantage of all the great items the club offers, don’t you think sharing your experiences with a new member would be rewarding?

What if, beyond the reward of helping out a member, you could also receive reimbursement for your work?

That’s the whole idea behind our brand new Club Asteria Certified Ambassador program. Based on the idea of “each one, teach one” this program was designed to pair new members with more experienced members.

The program works like this: as a Certified Ambassador you’re paid for each new member you mentor. New members may be assigned to you automatically, you can request or select them from a new member list in your geographical area or you may recruit them yourself!

If you’re ready to become a Certified Ambassador, it takes three easy steps.

·         Step 1: Complete the 12 Step Program and become an active member. The 12 Step Program is designed to teach members about the workings of Club Asteria and once you graduate from the program, you’re considered an active purposed Gold Member!

• Step 2: Complete your mentor training and receive certification. You’ll learn how to guide new members and help them establish profitable Club Asteria businesses. You have to be a graduate in order to attain the level of Certified Ambassador.
• Step 3: If you sign up now, you can become a Charter Certified Ambassador. This additional recognition is given only to those members who begin the program now and graduate.

Sounds like a great way to help others, and yourself?

You can begin now by visiting this site and signing up for the 12 Steps to Success program, and you’ll be on your way.

Every month, in addition to the new services and products offered by Club Asteria, our members are given access to Empower Now, and this month is no different!

The November issue of Empower Now is loaded with articles, information and plenty of strategies and tactics. All of these features are designed with the Club Asteria member in mind.

In this month’s issue, you’ll find the following highlights:

·         An in-depth article, written by Emerson Brantley that introduces the Club Asteria Ambassador Certification Program. This program offers payment to each member for every member they mentor! For more information read the article and check out this week’s blog!

• A step by step guide to Towah, the preferred payment service provider to Club Asteria. Our relationship with this company enables club members with secure credit and debit card payments. It’s another way to make your business profitable!
• Want to build a strong, dependable online reputation? You’ll find 7 easy steps to that goal on page 14. Written by Almira Bardai, this article will boost your online reputation and increase your business!
• If you haven’t started the 12 Steps to Success, take a look at page 18-19! There are plenty of member testimonials about this exciting and profitable program – and a profile of one member from Leicester, England whose life dramatically changed after going through the program!
• Andrea Lucas, Mark Kaplan, and Hank Needham – are these names familiar? They should be! All three of these leaders helped found Club Asteria, and you can find out more about them and their unique backgrounds in this profile on pages 22-23!
• Another excellent article tackles the question of How Can I Be A Leader? Penned by Chetan Walia, this informative entry outlines the core parts of leadership, and explains how you can become a leader. Chetan is an accomplished writer and educator, and we’re lucky to have his input this month.

Empower Now is one of our most popular, and useful, publications. Each month, members just like you read through this informative online publication and then share it with their families, friends and business contacts.

Sharing Empower Now is easy – all you have to do is copy and paste the publication’s online link into an email or place it on your social network sites! You’ll not only be sharing vital information with your network, you’ll also benefit from the professional appearance of Empower Now!

Africa is a content that is as violent as it is beautiful, and Rwanda has suffered more than its fair share of violence over the past few decades. The Rwandan Genocide of 1994 basically cleared this rural country of its inhabitants as hundreds of thousands were murdered or fled the violence.

As the country struggles to leave its violent past behind, the mission of Club Asteria becomes even more vital. The infrastructure, which exists, is broken in thousands of places, and the inhabitants have learned that taking care of them is the only help they’re going to receive.

Immanuel is one Rwandan who has seen everything in his short life, and he has suffered along with his country. Like everyone, he has lost family and friends to the violence and upheaval, but instead of letting those experiences rob him of his life, he decided to return to his native land.

At first, Immanuel was busy helping the people in his village rebuild the houses and other structures that had been decimated in the fighting. In addition he was constantly worried about the civil war in the Congo that was pushing more refugees into his own beleaguered country.

Once the rebuilding had been completed, Immanuel began to rebuild the farmland that had lain quiet for too many seasons. He realized that this task would require more than hard work and sweat – he needed a monetary boost.

Petitioning Club Asteria representatives in Rwanda (the organizations through which Club Asteria facilitates micro-loans) with his plan, Immanuel received a micro-loan that would enable him to purchase the necessary tools, seeds, animals and extra hands needed for his ambitious idea.

Using the money wisely, and combining the knowledge that had been handed down by his father, Immanuel purchased plants that would add precious nutrients to the soil. Clearing the land and preparing it for planting went quickly, thanks to the extra help and the necessary tools.

Once the first crop was planted and harvested, he was able to sell the proceeds and then secure coffee beans. This crop is popular in Rwanda, and in demand around the world – thanks to the astronomical success of the corner coffee shops in Europe, Asia and America!

The crops yielded an amazing amount of coffee, even for this land that is known for rich, volcanic soil. Immanuel’s profit allowed him to repay almost his entire loan, purchase more seed and farming material, and buy building materials for his village.

Helping lands like Rwanda heal after long periods of violence is one of our goals at Club Asteria and we achieve that when we provide courageous people like Immanuel with micro-loans that benefit an entire village.

Remember that the loans are generated by the efforts and work of Club Asteria members like you, whose dedication and hard work creates possibilities for other people around the world.

Club Asteria’s goal is to help our members increase their income streams by providing resources, products and services that educate and inform – and appeal to their potential customers.

Those products and services are excellent ways to boost your income and help your family, friends and community – but they can perform even better when you create marketing strategies and tactics to get the word out.

While marketing is a multi-faceted subject, we wanted to present basic building blocks to help you build a successful business.

Message

This first part of your marketing plan is so simple that many people don’t even think about it! The message is what you’re telling your audience about your business, product and service – it should be short, easy to understand, easy to remember and contain vital information.

Don’t forget that you need to be consistent in the messaging – you may need to tweak it depending on where it’s going to appear, but don’t stray too far from the original.

Audience

Don’t ever forget your audience! The people who are your consumers should be the main focus of any campaign you create, whether it’s an email blast, website offer or a postcard campaign!

Know your audience, and make sure your message is appealing to them. This is how you build a following.

Channels

Marketing channels are anything used to spread your marketing message – this includes the Internet, print, television, radio and any other type of communication. Channels may be more desirable based on price, your audience and your familiarity with how they work.

Remember that the Internet provides you with plenty of different methods for marketing, and the social media sites are FREE! So with Facebook or Twitter or any of the others, you can broadcast your message at no cost.

Consistency

You have to be consistent with your marketing efforts, and that includes the messaging you use. Remember that your audience isn’t the only one out there – and they’re paying attention to plenty of messages. Changing your messaging or plans only adds confusion in your audience, and they’ll quickly fade away.

Marketing is a tricky subject, and you’ll want to experiment to find what works and what doesn’t. Remember the building blocks when you market, and you’ll be on the road to success!

Club Asteria’s rapid growth and success at helping our members find financial success is due to providing the right tools in the shape of resources, products and services.

We’re big believers in the idea that you can’t accomplish financial freedom and build your business unless you have the right tools for the job.

Imagine digging a hole with a spoon – sure you will eventually complete the job, but you would have wasted energy and precious time to achieve your goal – and you’re going to get very dirty in the process!

It’s the same concept when you’re trying to start a business – outdated software, unproven products and services that don’t deliver make a task seem impossible!

That’s why we’re so excited about the Club Asteria Community Toolbar, which made its debut in the latest issue of Empower Now!

This tool is custom designed to give Club Asteria members instant access to everything they need to share their success with the rest of the world. The install is simple and with the toolbar at the top of your screen you can:

Instant access to:

• Club Asteria
• Asteria Pro
• Asteria Star Mailer
• Training Videos
• Translate Videos
• Empower Now e-Magazine
• Support Forum

The toolbar also allows you to receive real time news updates from Club Asteria, giving you time to react quickly and efficiently to any new developments that you can share with your customers and friends.

We’ve also included a web page translation tool that works in a flash, so you can investigate and target new markets.

You’ll also find a handy Skype button on the toolbar, which allows you to talk via voice or video to anyone, no matter where in the world they are located.

We’re proud to offer this toolbar to all of our customers, and we hope that you download it today and start taking advantage of the instantaneous news, resources and services that it provides.

By saving time, and getting instant notifications, Club Asteria feels that you’ll be able to make quicker, more precise business decisions that create new opportunities for you – and increase your income stream.

As always, if you’re not a member of Club Asteria, you can join right now for FREE! Simply visit the website and sign up. Once you’re a member, access to a variety of award-winning products and services is yours!