Say Goodbye to 2008

Goodbye 2008...
What a year it wasn't...I believe though, that 2008 will fade, not into obscurity but into oblivion. Did the year just seem to suck, for the most part, for you, too?

(Post your biggest 2008 whine story here)

On TV, I watched people on a NY street using an industrial shredder to chew up symbols of the year's worst memories--one lady shredding the email from the boyfriend who dumped her.
How nice it would be to just shred to pieces all the things that went wrong the last 365 days. But "Monday comes and there are no guarantees" (actually, Thursday this time). What do we do now?

That's the good thing about January 2--it's when the last box of Christmas decorations make it to the attic, college football takes a breather, the annual reports come in and the boss is either cleaning house or adding more to your workload if you survived the cleaning house.
Will you make ends meet this year? For most, the answer is scary. For some, it will be academic, as they use the new year's resolution of change for the better. It has never been more important to gain control of one's life in every aspect.
Do you remember the big whoopla over the book "The Secret"? Well, if you are conscious of being up on the latest trends, even if only for the social aspect of not appearing to have no clue in public conversation, you really should bite the bullet and investigate this book's underlying message. Yeah, you may have to roll your eyes at some of the deliveries but it does have a great point to make.

We are not "islands", as the saying goes. As much as we may think our successes are derived by our own hand, the truth is there are more connections to success than there are "degrees to Kevin Bacon". A comment, a referral, a friend of a friend can mean the difference in reaching a goal. And those are just haphazard connections--just think how far you can go and how fast if you orchestrate the connections.
I have just finished reading what could be the most important psychological epiphany of human interaction for mutual gain that has ever been written. And it has the most boring title of all time (which is the reason I never read it before). This book has been on every major list of entrepreneur, business marketing, sales education, make money online and just darn-good-stuff-to-read lists.
So, having run out of my favorite fiction author, I bought an old copy of Dale Carnegie's
"How to Win Friends & Influence People". The title made me think that it would be a lecture on how to get along with people--something I haven't done that well with in the past and certainly didn't want to pay someone to correct me on it. Was I ever stunned by what lay in the pages within! I can not believe how fascinating the stories were and how they unfolded. All the while revealing concepts of business and marketing and psychology that all worked together and getting a better sense of how reason--good and bad-- affects the outcome of any interaction. There is no way that I can fully describe it so that you fully appreciate the importance of this book. In your library--entrepreneur or not--this book is a "must have" for every intelligent person. Whether you own a small business, are an internet marketer and make money online, the principles are priceless.

Educating and re-educating yourself should never stop. For an entrepreneur, each lesson learned, each skill added, each endeavor brings one to closer to success. Stop learning and you stop succeeding (or eliminate the possibilities of success). What will you learn in 2009? Will you be in the same shape in 365 days from now? Chances are that you will be in either worse or better shape rather than the same. Which one will you choose? It is a choice, no matter what you may think, to be made. I made one when I retired from a 30 year business when I moved and had a choice. I chose another career, internet marketing, and with all the ups and downs, I have never once had to give up or lose the education I had gained. We all have choices--find the ones that get you closer to your goals and learn from those that get in the way of them. But make the choices--don't just sit there still trying to decide which ones to make. Even mistakes are education! And the alternative is success so how does ANYone consider ANY choice the wrong one?
Happy New Year and go with the future you decide upon.

Get your copy of "The Secret" and "How to Win Friends & Influence People" through these links and get a free copy of "How to Use What's in My Head for a Living" by Jay Russo. Just send a copy of your receipt to Jay(at)How2BooksandVideos.com to receive your free copy.

Time to Get Serious about Your Internet Business

Derek Gehl, of the Internet Marketing Center has publicly released the newest edition of his famous "Insider Secrets" online wealth-generating system... this is information I highly recommend you have at your fingertips.

I want to make absolutely SURE his system will work for you.

So here is what he is proposing:

Derek will ship you (via Federal Express) a 10 lb. box.

In this box you'll find 3 resource CDs, 4 guidebooks, and 2 thick binders containing in excess of 1,385 pages explaining the step-by-step instructions on how to start and grow a wildly profitable Internet business.

Just follow the instructions. If you do this, one of two things will happen:

The system will work for you, and you'll start living the dream of "passive" income with your very own Internet business. You'll be literally making money while you sleep!

OR:

The system won't work for you. If this happens, Derek will personally write you a check for $200 as our way of apologizing for wasting your time.

In other words, the absolute WORST thing that can happen if you take us up on this is that you'll come out $200 ahead!

The best case scenario is something far, far more exciting... luxury vacations, new cars for you and your family, paying off your mortgage... It's up to you!)

All you need to do today is tell Derek where to send your package by clicking the link below:

http://www.marketingtips.com/

I personally make my living on the internet. With help from mentors like Derek Gehl, I have made my online businesses not only profitable, but learned how to repeat the process again and again in multiple markets. You will learn how that is possible once you have these materials.

P.S. By the way -- how about a few examples of the people who are *already* using Derek's system?

-- Rory M. from Ireland made over $1,000,000 last year selling a VERY strange gizmo from his simple little web site. (I still don't understand exactly what it does!)

-- Barbara J. is making a steady $8,500 a month telling people how to rearrange their old furniture. (She's a 60-year-old grandmother, and she works LESS than 1 lousy hour a day!)

-- Chris E. must be the envy of his Australian surfer buddies down at the beach... He makes over $200,000 a year working about 9 hours per week. Not bad for a 23-year-old kid!

If you're at all serious about making money with your own online business, then it is essential that you carefully consider this offer ("too good to refuse")...

You can read more of success stories, and find out all the details of how YOU can get started too by visiting:

http://www.marketingtips.com/

Business Survival in Today's Retail World

Chicken Little never had such a wonderful week--seems for a lot of us, the sky really is falling...

Case in point, after ten months in a retail location, our brick and mortar gift store is closing its doors. The economy was a big factor but so were a lot of tedius obstacles such as limited to no signage allowed in or in front of the shopping center, a two story wine store pops up in front or ours after the lease is signed (no visibility from the street), other tenants have totally unrelated markets than ours, and a few more I wouldn't want to bore you with (unless you need good advice on what NOT to do).

Our store wasn't the only one--five others in town with the same market focus folded before we did. Ours was the last to go---but guess what? We are the only one of those five who will still be in business! What's the big difference? Our busines is ONLINE--has been for three years. So we can happily announce to our customers "We are not going out of business--just moving it to our website". That's where they are shopping anyway, so goodbye landlord.

Businesses see the crunch of gas shortages--even ours made the news:
http://www.pr.com/press-release/108176

Now more than ever---a business online just makes a lot of sense. Beyond the savings in overhead over a brick and mortar store is the ability to own lots and lots of internet "real estate". More websites, more businesses and business formats to pursue. Physical products, digital products, drop ship, affiliate programs, referral commissions--what a plethera of options! And only one electric bill to pay...

Getting started with a business online is on the mind of people of all walks of life. Many a grandmother would shock you with the sales they make online. Why not you?
If getting that first website up is a challenge, read what I had to say about it on my blog at

http://how2booksandvideos.blogspot.com/ A really great tool is offered there that you just might want to check out if you are curious about where to start and need the right "toolbox".

Selling on the Internet--Who Knows What They Are Doing?

Okay, did you raise your hand? I recently read a thread on an internet marketing guru's blog and as clear as he was about the product he was launching, there were still comments posted that asked the very most elementary of questions--what is PPC, what is a thread, I am broke and have no credit card--can you help me make money? It would seem a bit pathetic at times but I applaud the ones who asked anyway. At least they are trying to better their situation.

But what if you don't know even the simplest, most taken for granted education we have in this medium of internet marketing, it is so very hard when you don't know and often very easy once you do know. Every day there is someone who wants to know what you already know. A character on TV made the comment that I found so simple but true: "The more you know, the more you don't know." Don't shake your head in confusion--say it a few times and really think about it.

It is at this point I am asking you to post your questions, no matter how elementary they may be to anyone else, and let's "get a thread going" on the subject of What is......

As a writer, it is tremendously important to know who to write for, who is the audience. Why write about subjects no one relates to or cares about. Post your questions so anyone can benefit from the answers.

Coming soon-- a glossary of internet terms for your reference. Ignorance is a word that has gotten a terrible rap---it simply means a "lack of knowledge". Don't ever be embarrassed by a lack of knowledge. Ask and you shall be educated.

Your comments are welcomed and encouraged...

Writing those Darn Articles a real Pain?

So if you are savvy to the workings of getting your site/product/name/links all over the internet, you are aware of how important having articles posted everywhere possible can be. But who the heck are the writers? Someone you hired at, what, 20 bucks an article? Maybe a few cheap ones that were pretty bad? Who knows better what you want to say and what market you want to reach than--well, YOU. But you say you don't know HOW to write an article.

Look, I got straight A's in English and grammar but there is just so much (shouldn't that be "so little"?) I can churn out when quantity is the goal.

Even writing a blog post can get a bit intimidating.....

Truthfully, and believe me when I tell you, the reason for this post is that I just came across something (look out, here comes that word I hate...) uh......amazing. There, I said it. After seeing that overworked word so often, it would take something truly.....*amazing*...for me to even use the word. But this time it fits.

Struggling to write yet another paragraph on a particular subject and make it sound fresh is a major obstacle to online business owners. You can't make money online if there aren't any links back to your ecommerce website. We know how important articles are to our business.

Well, today I found Instant Article Wizard and as skeptical as I am about automated systems (maybe not "skeptical" but certainly intimidated!), this one was well worth a look. So good, that I am buying it today and will keep you updated on what a useful and valuable tool this should become to me. You are encouraged to have a look at the demo videos here and be just as --amazed--as I was. Finally, something that really is worth so much more than the few little bucks being asked.

The name is just perfect, too---Instant Article Wizard..................and presto! You have the article written is as little a 8 minutes! I know, 'cause I watched them do it on the video.

The Big Idea in your head--now what do you do?

You are considering opening a small business. Congratulations! You have taken the first step in a process of being in charge of your own income. Scary doesn't begin to describe it but think back to when you first learned to drive. That was pretty intimidating, wasn't it? All those big, heavy metal machines able to crush you at your first mistake. But you mastered it, right? Well, it takes practice, experience, and motivation to learn how to accomplish your goals so if you have begun to ask questions, you will begin to get answers.


Start with a checklist--
pack your entrepreneurial back pack and be prepared for this journey!


There are some very important tasks you must address (whether for a home based business or a small retail business or an online business). Once in place, you can truly concentrate on your ultimate goal--making your small business succeed.

You will hear that you must create a "business plan" as the very first step. Don't get too intimidated by it. It is more of a "rehearsal" for the business you have chosen to launch. The following check list will open your eyes to the absolutes in starting a business--a business plan will fill in the blanks of questions you never knew were to be considered.

A business plan is never straight forward--you must let it evolve as you explore this wonderous idea of yours. It can help you make real choices on paper before hanging out that shingle. You will evaluate everything and find answers for yourself and for those invested with you. Think of it as a roadmap but with detours and scenic routes that will all take you to your destination no matter what turns you take. Start with sample business plans from other similar businesses and get an idea of what to expect.

Before you get too overwhelmed by the business plan,

put it aside and come back to it after doing all the "must do" tasks we will cover one by one in this blog. Post your comments and questions about each step so we may cover the subjects in more detail.