It Ain’t All Peaches and Cream!
By · CommentsHey, building a business (a successful one anyway) is mostly NOT peaches and cream. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t trade my business for a day job for hardly anything (ok,ok, I guess I might take one of those $10 million a year CEO jobs…just for one year though).
In the beginning, and sometimes that time period can seem like a LONG time, things can be rough. That is normal. Most people beginning a business expect the “abnormal”…and that would be expecting to hit the big time with a new business in just a few months.
That just ain’t gona happen…short of lottery luck. (pardon my okie slang there)
Your best chance of ever finding success is following one of Dan Kennedy’s tips:
“Never underestimate the difficulty of the task.
If you follow Dan’s advice, have plenty of patience, can maintain focused action, have a normal or even a somewhat below normal IQ, don’t mind a “few” hurdles now and then, and can keep your eye on the big picture while tending to the details, you can’t help but succeed!
Almost any idea can work….heck, in the late 70’s or so a guy made a fortune packaging and selling “pet rocks”…come on! If he can do that, YOU can take a “reasonable idea and make a fortune too!
99% of the time “ideas” don’t fail. What fails is the plan and the action…or lack of one or both.
10 Traits For Success: Do You Have Them All?
By · CommentsIt’s still a sad fact that 90% of those who begin the process of Internet marketing never get past “go”. Another 7% or so give it a good try…until frustration gets the best of them. Sometimes that is in a few weeks, months, or in some cases even years.
Am I really saying that only around 3% of those who attempt some form of Internet marketing have success?
Yip, sad but true I’m afraid.
Now for the 64 THOUSAND dollar question: WHY did those 3 out of 100 have success while the other 97 ate dust?
First, let me point out what did NOT help them succeed:
The 3% are not simply “lucky” and they aren’t just bursting with brains. Luck and brains don’t open the doors here. Sure, it requires some “every-day” IQ, but nothing special at all. In fact, TOO many brains doing TOO much “thinking” can be a block instead of an open road to success.
Here’s what separates the 3% from rest in Internet marketing: (in no particular order of importance
- They are forever optimistic and positive. They KNOW success is just around the corner. They embrace Law of Attraction.
- “Fail Fast” is not a scary concept to them.
- Expecting “results by next week” isn’t on their mind.
- They DO NOT try to reinvent the wheel.
- Those who are successful understand what THEY “like and want” may not be what the masses “like and want”.
- They have no problems with asking for help and seek it out regularly.
- Persistence could be their middle name.
- They instinctively know not to put all their eggs in one basket.
- The PROCESS of online marketing (not just the income).
- They treat Internet marketing as a business (vs. a lottery or get rich quick scheme)
I could go on, but those ten alone will get anyone into the 3% bracket easily.
Go back to #6. That’s where I come in. I can’t change you and make you “fit” into many of the other categories if it’s not your personality, but I can offer the help if you are looking and asking.
Grab onto the #4 concept too. Learn from others what works and what does not. I have been in this business since 2004. I know what works and what will cause you to crash and burn
Simply put, if you will listen and learn, I can detour you right around all the pits the other 97% fall into and never recover from. There is no rocket science here! Anyone with the fail fast attitude, has a positive mindset, and who treats Internet marketing like a business is already well on the right track.
To help you further with #6, I’ve completely revamped Steve’s Classroom. Over the past few months I’ve filled it with info and videos not found anywhere else. Also, when you go to the site, you’ll see the power of WordPress at work.
Yep, that is a WordPress membership site…pretty cool! Oh, by the way, the “membership” costs you nothing to join.
Just register and enjoy
My head is still spinning from all I learned at the Social Media Money Magnet conference in Baltimore last week. I have a 2 page summary of all the notes I took; the high points on that list are on my “to-do” list for this week.
The conference was a real eye opener in a lot of ways. Time after time the presenters emphasized how “less” could be and should be more. Social media can be a HUGE time waster. There are so many aspects of it that will not result in improved sales or leads. To use it successfully, you have to filter out those wasteful actions.
The presenters all hit home the fact that your tweets and posts needed to have value in some way, shape, or form that YOUR particular followers found valuable.
What this means is to always (at least 95% of the time anyway) post info that your followers will find useful/informative/inspiring. Always ask yourself, “Is this something that will cause people to want to find out more about me, subscribe to my newsletter, check out my web site, etc.”
Sure, just to keep it real, a few tweets/posts will simply be about a great movie or restaurant you enjoyed…but even those can be written in fun and inspiring ways.
Social media is all about content. Provide content that improves, makes easier, adds to, or helps in some way with your followers’ lives and/or businesses. When you do that, you will build a massive and dedicated herd!
Always remember that social media is NOT about “making sales”. Its purpose is gathering leads. Social media is a means of building a large and dedicated group of followers who gain benefit from knowing you and feel inspired by you. That’s all it is. When that is accomplished, money will all but automatically flow to you.
Jason Van Orden from Internet Business Mastery - The number 1 Internet Marketing Podcast on iTunes
Coach Deb: The Mistress of twitter success!
Kate Buck: The #1 source simplifying your social media marketing!
Building a Web Site: 2 Common Mistakes
By · Comments
I see a LOT of people making these mistakes when they first build their site.
Watch and Learn!
Are You a Local Business Owner?
By · CommentsReading this post could be the most important 5 minutes a local business owner has spent in a very long time. I’m not the “dramatic type”, but I feel strongly that is a true statement.
For years, decades in fact, Yellow Page advertising has played a key role in a local business’ success. But all good things come to an end as they say.
We are seeing that end happening right now. Yellow Page usage goes down each year as more and more people rely on Google. I for one have not touched the Yellow Pages for quite some time. Why would I? Google offers more instant and much better results than thumbing through a “book”.
If your local business sells pizzas in Boise, do a search for “pizza in boise”.
If your local business sells plumbing services in Denver, search for “plumbers in Denver”
If your local business sells….well, you get the point.
Do a search for your product or service in your city. That’s called a “local search”.
How does your business rank?
Are you right there on the first page by the Google map AND down the page below in the regular listings?
If so, CONGRATULATIONS…for now anyway.
Because if you ARE listed well now, and you don’t know how it happened and you are not doing anything in order to STAY there…your competition will eventually replace your first page listings!
If you are not on the first page now, those competitors you see there now are STEALING business away from you as your read this.
If you have a web site that does not rank well in Google now, submit it for a free site evaluation to find out why it’s not ranking well. On my Free Membership site, I offer no-cost site evaluations to local business owners.
Click Here To Get Your Site Evaluated
Watch the video below and learn why you should focus on local search.
Stressed About Building or Editing Your Web Site?
By · CommentsI can’t tell you how excited I am about a brand new tool that will change a whole lot of people’s lives!
If you are like most people, I bet you’ve said something like this way too often:
“How am I ever going to figure out this web design stuff?” or “If only I could get my site built, I could get on to the important parts…like earning some income with it!”
Don’t feel bad…you can’t believe how many other people have those same frustrations!
Your frustration is over with!
I now have an EASY method to create attractive AND search engine friendly web sites! …without knowing ANYTHING about HTML, Dreamweaver, NVU, or other web editors.
I have several videos here that show just how easy it is to create a great looking web site the search engines will LOVE!
Watch the SitePro24 videos here
Easily Build a Web Site The Search Engines Love!
This 8 Letter Word Will BOOST Your Profits
By · CommentsOne of the most frustrating aspects of running any business is the perceived lack of time to complete everything on the daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly “to-do” lists. Time management is at or near the top of the list of important business skills to master.
But let’s face it; you are JUST ONE PERSON and there really are only 24 hours in each day.
Therefore, the word-of-the-day is “DELEGATE”.
Delegation comes in many forms. If you have employees, delegating more duties and responsibilities to them would of course be your first option.
The second option would be hiring another employee to take up some slack or, if you are a one-man or one-woman show, hiring a part-time VA (virtual assistant) would be the place to begin delegating.
Words and thoughts are cheap of course. Talking about and understanding the need to delegate is one thing…acting on the process is quite another.
Why is the process of delegating so difficult for so many of us?
First, if a new VA or employee is required, you may be hesitant about committing the additional funds. If things are tight, the phrase “can’t afford it now” is often the reason used. In most cases, if outsourcing and delegation are being considered, the truth is probably, “you can’t afford NOT to do it now”. If done thoughtfully, a business will always benefit if its owner has more time to work ON his or her business instead of IN the business.
The second reason for failing to delegate is the “no one can do it as well as I do it” syndrome. It’s usually true…at least in our minds. VA’s should know they are NOT usually hired because a business owner believes someone else can do the job better. If that was true, 90% of outsourcing would cease to exist. (Sorry VA’s, but it is a fact.)
Let’s assume there is a job that needs delegated and it’s true that no one can do it as well as you do it. So what?
The 80/20 rule comes into play here. 20% of your time produces 80% of your income. That 20% is VERY important time spent. Delegating more of the 80% means you can spend more time on the profitable 20%. The purpose of any business is to make profit. Get over the fact that your delegated tasks may not be done EXACTLY like you would do them! Resisting delegation is costing you money!
Some of your daily time, such as creating a new marketing campaign, can be worth many thousands of dollars per hour of time worked. Other tasks you spend your time on may not be worth more than minimum wage. Take a hard and honest look at your daily routine and see what needs to happen in order for you to spend more time on the thousand-dollar per hour tasks!
Do You Work “In” or “on” Your Business?
By · CommentsMost business owners are too busy working “in” their business to have any time to work “on” their business. (That’s one of my favorite Dan Kennedy quotes by the way.)
The vast majority of small business owners find themselves simply maintaining the status quo of just keeping the doors open. Most believe they are doing their part to help the business by eliminating a paid employee position. The result of that thinking keeps their business at its current dead-end.
Think Out of Your Box!
But when a business owner UNDERSTANDS how important working ON their business is instead of in it, great things can happen! The following is a perfect example:
I visited my son last week who had just returned from a trip to Oklahoma City (about 150 miles a way from his home) . On his refrigerator were a letter and a coupon from a BBQ place in OKC I’d not heard of. I asked him about it and he told me he had just gone there last week and the food was GREAT. He said they just faxed him this coupon and the next time he was in the city he was going back for sure.
Now THAT is what I’m talking about! When’s the last time you got a fax from a restaurant you liked? He said the cashier asked him for his business card so he’d be eligible for special offers.
What a deal! He had the coupons there front and center on his fridge for him to remember and others, like me, might see them too.
See how simple that was? The restaurant gained a returning customer and a new customer because the owner had time to implement this simple little program instead of spending time cooking or doing the dishes.
There are a hundred little things like this a business can do to set themselves apart and give them a edge on the competition (whose owners are mostly working IN the business).
No matter what business you are in, keep tabs on your time spent working in or on your business. Only with enough time on the former will your business grow and prosper.
What? You say you don’t have enough time to work “on” your business? Ah, the proverbial Catch 22 I guess it is. Just remember that a few of your competitors have learned the trick of breaking that cycle. In order to keep up, you have to learn it too!
Your Business’ Most Important Number
By · CommentsWhether your business is online or off, the most important number you need to know is what a new customer’s lifetime value is to your business.
If you spend X amount of money on marketing…PayPerClick, SEO Consulting, PayPerClick, radio or TV time, etc. you simply can’t base your decision for spending marketing dollars on how many initial sales come in.
Here’s what I mean:
Say you have an ice cream shop and you spend $500 on a marketing campaign one month. The campaign brings in a new set of 100 customers who each spend an average of $3.00. That’s $300 earned on the $500 marketing investment.
A short-sighted business owner sees a “loss” of $200. But in reality, 25 of those 100 new customers will return…over and over again in the coming year(s). The lifetime value of each of those 25 new customers could be many hundreds of dollars!
The short-sighted owner vows never again to “waste” his money like that. Imagine the money being left on the table with that type of thinking.
If the market was large enough, just think of the profits that shop owner could be reaping in a few years if they consistently had those types of returns on $500 marketing investments! I for one would be HAPPY to “lose” $200 in trade for those new, long-term customers!
Now think about your own business and what the real value is for gaining a new customer. Only then can you make effective decisions about how and where to spend your maketing dollars.
Some Thoughts About Offering “Special Discounts”
By · CommentsAs a consumer, I absolutely HATE it when a business attracts my attention with a special offer…and then there is fine print I have to process.
I wish they all knew about K.I.S.S Why not just Keep It Simple?
Here’s just one example of what I mean:
I was in the drive-thru of a fast food restaurant. They had a special fish sandwich for $2.39…sounded pretty good. Then I noticed the fine print, “offer good with purchase of a medium drink and one side”.
Say WHAT??
Now I was forced to do some quick math to see if their “special” really had a special price compared to their “combo meal”.
I realize their strategy is to catch folks off-guard with the low price offer…and it may work. But I don’t like it and I bet a lot of other people feel as I do.
Don’t do this to your customers.
They’ll appreciate a simple, “here’s what you get…here’s how much it costs” special.
