Category Archives: Business

Business, Marketing

Searching For A Home Business Opportunity

In my more personal blog, I present this exercise as a searcher looking for a home based business opportunity. Now to do this from the marketer perspective. After all, if you do not choose your keywords properly, either your site will get no traffic or it will get the wrong type of traffic. Having 5,000 hits a day from visitors who leave as soon as the page loads is not going to get it done.

Looking for key words starts with the Google Adword tool. Entering the term “Home Business” seems promising with 1,000,000 global monthly searches! Awesome! Let’s see how many results that returns. Click the link and look. Oh, 1,290,000,000 results. That’s one freakingly long list. A long keyword is going to be needed.

The offering is for an opportunity, so what about adding that to the term and search for “Home Business Opportunity”? Global searches amounts to 60,500. That ain’t bad, but what about the search results? 170 million. Ok, better than over a billion, but still one huge crowd to try to be heard. More terms will be needed.

What about a review site? Surely that will help. What about a way to talk about the top opportunities? How many of these are out there? The term “Top Home Business” brings back 1,310,000,000 results and “Home Business Reviews” 627,000,000 results. Wow! That’s huge and huge. Way too much noise there. Gonna have to think better.

Legal? Legitimate? That’s it! After all, no one wants to join a fly-by-night opportunity. Being legitimate is very important. Searcher are bound to want to find that. Search volume for “Legitimate Home Based Business”? Turns out, that is a bit low at 4,400 globally. Hmm…might work. Search results? 15,8000,000. Yelp! That is a really bad ratio. So much for legitimate.

Google Adwords does have a suggestion: Legitimate Home Based Businesses and it has a thousand more searches a month. Clicking the link brings bad, but less bad, news: 5,320,000 results. The ratio is better, but that is still some serious competition. Might be on the right track though.

Do you believe in your business opportunity? Do you believe it is the best? Does it have duplication? Does it allow owners to carbon copy the masters of your opportunity? Does it have residual income? Will adding all that help? What are the results for something like “Best Legitimate Home Based Business Carbon Copy Residual”? Well, no searches and no competition, but 33,600 results. Hmmm…that really will not help much.

So goes the art of finding proper keywords. Here a blog site can help as different posts can contain different key words, all focused on a single overall topic. This is also a technique used by Google sniping sites. Start with promising key words, build content around each, then use the less expensive adwords to pay-per-click.

Business, Marketing

Are Your Doors Open?

It seems such a simple question, but are the doors to your business open? Are you diversified in your advertisement portfolio or have you placed all your hopes and dreams into one basket? Just as with stock investments, the advertising for your business needs to be in more than one stream.

Socialize

Social media sites are a great way to get your business heard. From Facebook to MySpace to Twitter, these sites can help target a niche audience. Though powerful, this is just one stream for your ads. Create fan pages for your business. Make a twitter profile to promote. Are you your business? Are you your brand? These social sites are even more powerful. Build your brand and your web presence at the same time. A two-fer. Learn the edicate expectations of these venues and get started.

Search Engines (SEO)

Yes, the Google algorithm keeps changing and it does seem to be a moving target, but search engines are still a good way to drive traffic for your business. Don’t enter SEO alone, but be careful. There are many hucksters out there who will gladly separate you from your money and give you no traffic results. A good one? Start with LinkNetworker.

Articles

Article marketing is a bit of a hybrid strategy. Posting to numerous article sites not only builds brand awareness and expertise, but it also creates more links to your site which also increases your SEO. More than just words, it shows you and your brand in context and creates greater depth.

Success Training

Ok great, but what about personal development? What about working on me as my brand? Get some serious success training. Dani Johnson is a great resource for such training. Affordable and accessible, Dani’s style is down to earth and direct. Her story is incredibly inspirational. She helps many people in all lines of businesses.

Offline Marketing

Having an Internet based business is not a reason to forget about offline marketing. Who hasn’t heard those radio spots for some do-ra-me.com or work-hard-and-fast.com? This can be a great way to generate leads for your business. This may also create a chance to lead share, depending on the type of business you have.

Now how are your doors? Are they closed or way wide open? Diversify your ad streams and they will stay wide open.

Business, Commentary

Do Your Business In 3D

It seems that Hollywood is a buzz with 3D movies these days. It is a bit of a hard sell to the public. Many are the interviews stating this is not the 3D tech of yesterday, this is better. Yeah, maybe. Makers of televisions are also starting to make 3D sets using various schemes, all of them expensive. Nintendo also makes a 3D DS. It seems all the world has gone crazy for 3D!

Your business should also be conducted in 3D. Yes, we do see in 3 dimensions, but here the D’s do not stand for dimensions. They stand for Drive, Desire and Determination. Some might call the the 3D’s of success. Perhaps others would label them as the 3D’s of sustainability. Whichever the label, they are three D’s that are necessary.

Drive
This is what gets you up you going. This is “thing” that pushes you, no matter what happens. Without drive, your business will stale, lose steam, lose power. It is the motivating factor. It is how you are in business.

Desire
Without desire, you have no why. You have no reason to be in business. You will be without direction and purpose. Without desire, there is no meaning to open your doors. There is no lasting value.

Determination
Feeling down? Very large obstacles in your way? Nothing but gloom and doom on the horizon? It is determination that applies the drive to the task; applies desire to results. Without determination, problems cannot be overcome as they will be seen as too large. It is determination that sees things through to the end. It uses the other two to keep going, to get results, to get success. It puts you back on course. It levels yours thoughts. It allows yourself to be moved.

The three D’s of business are all important and necessary. Together, they lead you to success. Miss just one and your journey will not be complete. They are intertwined and essential. They feed off one another. They make a whole. They blend to form a more complete result, steadfast and wrong. They are one.

Commentary, Marketing

Penny A Day Doubled???? Or $60,000 Cash Today?

In the world of financial questions, a famous, or perhaps infamous, one is the “Which would you rather have, a penny a day doubled for 30 days or $60,000 cash today?” It is more than a math question, it tests the perspective of the person being asked.

Many people will quickly state they want the cash. This is quite a typical answer and shows someone who lacks vision. The more thoughtful and vision minded will go for the penny. But why?

On the first day, the penny person gets just a penny. On day two, they get two cents; day three, 4 cents. At the end of the first 7 days, the person who took the penny doubled gets a whopping 64 cents. Their total take for that week is $2.55. Holy cow! They are in to money now!

In the second week, the principles of duplication start to really take hold. Day 8 brings $1.28 and by the end of the second week, a total of 16,383 pennies have been collected. Yep, a total of $163.83 in two weeks! That really rocks! The person choosing the money is no doubt still laughing all the way to the bank.

Day 21 ends more interestingly with a payout of 1,048,576 pennies. Yes, over a million pennies or $10,485.76. The total collected by this person is $20,971.51. Still less than the person who took $60,000, but at least it seems to be gaining. What do the next 9 days bring?

The end of the fourth week, day 28, has a payout of $1,342,177.28. Now we are talking! It took time, but the penny doubled is clearly pulling way, way ahead of the $60,000. The question could go as high as $500,000 for the single payout and still the penny wins. The total collected by the penny miser? $10,737,418.23.

The principle of this exercise is to see the vision of a person. Those that can see further than their current circumstance will work hard to get those pennies doubled every day. They know the power of duplication. They know they want to do things differently. Just as the locomotive needs a long way to get up to speed, so will building duplication take time. Once going, it becomes just as hard to stop as the locomotive. Put inertia to work with you and learn how to build a business that duplicates.

Business

Phoenix rocked….HARD!!! Now let’s build

The Master Marketing Event 7 in Phoenix was unbelievable! It was nothing like I expected and EVERYTHING I needed. Yeah, it was that way!

What? You missed it? Why? Why were you not in Phoenix? What is your business? Do you really believe you do not have anything else to learn? Is your business building a community? No? Then it is time to listen.

There is more to building a business than just sales. If you are not building a community then you are not building something that will last. A community is created to sustain people, to establish connections, to generate leadership. Without such constructs, people fail to grow, fail to learn, fail to survive. Being without a community is to go about with 90% of your heart and mind empty. Why not have a business that creates one?

Community building requires one to empty their hearts into the lives of others. It requires placing belief into the lives of others. It requires others believe you care, have integrity and are not trying to sell them anything. Once they truly believe you are genuine, they will follow your lead, your instruction, your path.

They in turn, will find others to empty themselves into. They in turn will effect the lives of others. It is this duplication that creates community. Built in love and with integrity. That become a community that will change the world. That will build a community of individuals with a servant’s heart. That will build and sustain.

Business

Heading for Phoenix

So, the day of travel is finally here. Today I’m heading for Phoenix, Arizona. Why? Well, only for the marketing event of the year.

This year’s event is in the Arizona Grand Resort and it will be fabulous. “So what?” some might wonder. This is no MLM dance on chairs pep rally. This is a serious workshop for those who are serious about there business. “What kind of business?” CarbonCopyPRO, of course.

Have a business, but not sure how to market it adequately? You need PRO. Don’t have a business, but want one? You need PRO. And above all, you need this event!

As I travel and attend, I will do my best to document. Take pictures and video. I will post some here next week when I am back.

Business, Commentary

The Bend In The Road

Look up ahead on the road. See what is there? The road bends. The future has decided to head in a different direction. Are you ready? Will you make the turn or go off the road? A bend in the road is not the end of the road unless you fail to make the turn.

The road to the future does not always travel in a straight line. There are times when the road leaves a direct path. One stimulus might cause a bump, another a turn. Be aware and know that these changes bring other opportunities.

“Ah,” you say, “I am moving at full speed! I’ll ride the turn out!” No, you will not. If you are not able to make the turn, you will run off the road. You will be out in a field somewhere, praying the road comes back. “Silly!” you say? Look again.

Although several companies had introduced computers for the home and personal use, in 1981 IBM introduced the IBM 5150. Like other machines at the time, it used an open architecture. Based on the Intel 8088, it was one of the first to finally get into the business environment and be taken seriously. Over the next few years, the standard was IBM and clone makers strove to be compatible. Then in the late 80’s, IBM introduced MCA and changed the royalty structure. Suddenly, making a clone was no longer profitable. IBM was expecting to grab more control of the market, but the road turned. Clone makers discovered how to have VGA compatible without MCA. They also pushed the limits of ISA, created VLB and eventually PCI. And IBM? Sure, they are still around, but they have long closed their PC business.

The road to the future is littered with the remains of many businesses that failed to make the turn. KMart. Circuit City. Biggs. Never assume all is known and travel my proceed without care. Ever be vigilant. Ever understand your customer, the market and the road. When it turns, be ready to turn with it.

Business, Commentary

Are You Aware Of Yourself…(or are you kidding yourself)

Do you know who you are? Really? Down deep? Do you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur? To go where few have trod? Are you fully aware of yourself?

This is more than just a simple question. As humans, there are many times when we will have everyone fooled, but underneath, we know the truth. Fully one’s self show the lack of one trait: Integrity.

A pastor once told me that Integrity is what we do when no one else is watching. This can easily be extended to include where no one else can see or know, that is, inside your heart and mind. This is where Integrity starts. If you start by kidding yourself, no true Integrity can follow. There is nowhere else to go. If you lie that deeply, you will lie to everyone else. Start with truth and honesty and it will flow out and others will notice.

Be aware of what you lead yourself to believe. If you are caught up in who you are now and not move toward who need to be, you will not have results. Fool yourself into thinking you are, and failure will follow you in spades. Starting with Integrity leads to good character, which leads to results. Grow through the changes, do not fear them.

Business, Commentary

What Are You Doing For Others?

Being in business is one thing, but it tends to focus on the owner. After all, it is the owner who takes all the risk. It is the owner who does all the hard work until the business can support itself. It is the owner’s name of the door and the owner who is responsible when it fails. Why shouldn’t the focus be on the owner?

What of others? What are you doing for them? In the world of business, what you do for others, without regard to payment, speaks more loudly about you and your motivations than any sales record your business may break. It shows your integrity. It shows your commitment. It shows who you are.

A pastor once told me that Integrity is what you do when no one is looking. I would expand that to include what you do when no reward is expected. Learning what others need, where their weaknesses are, that is where you should spend time. Leaders are not just born from some factory, they are forged over time, through hardships, through good, through fire. Leaders think of others before themselves. They train. They learn. They listen. And they act, for others. What of you? Are you a leader or are you looking at just yourself?

Change your focus and start becoming the leader YOU need to be. The one YOU need to see. Understand your weaknesses and train your strengths to overcome them. Lead by example. Stop the complaining and the excuses and get growing. If you are not growing, you are dieing. Leaders grow.

Business, Commentary

So, you wanna start a Home Business (part 1)

This is the first in a series on helping people to answer the question as to a home business: why start, which one, are they any good, etc. So many start home businesses and fail, usually do to not full investigating the business and their willingness.

Before starting a business, one needs to understand why they would take on such a task. Beyond want more money or more time or more whatever, there needs to be an overpowering and all consuming purpose. Starting and running a home business is tough. There are many distractions and needs for your time. Discovering your why will aide in keeping perspective.

Once you have settled on your why, determine your time. How much time do you really have to spend on your business and yourself? Learning what you will be doing takes effort and time, how much do you have? Unless you are some super sales and marketing person, you are also going to need to learn about yourself and train your weaknesses. This also takes time. Starting some business that requires 10 hours a week to learn and needing 10 more hours a week to train yourself when you only have 5 hours a week to devote is a recipe for sure failure.

Know your time limitations before starting. Develop a schedule to make the necessary time available. Write down what your impediments are and seek solutions. If you have kids, will you need a sitter? Get your spouse to help take care of them? Get the time set aside BEFORE starting the business. Spend that time working on your mind set. Once you start your business, fill that time with training, learning, reviewing, developing. It is easier to accomplish this task before trying to start. That may, it becomes routine and the excepted norm.

Having your why, knowing where you need to learn and managing yourself in time are important first steps when starting a home business. You will be busy enough once you start, so set these down first. Then you will be ahead of everyone else who is just starting. It is a good way to get yourself set up to succeed instead of failing. Now get to it.