But I'm Not Trying to Build an Empire
As sent out to my mailing list today. Looking forward to your thoughts:
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Happy Hallowe'en! Just doing a bit of work on this fun day before
we get into today's festivities. Hope you're having a great day
as well.
Last week I told you about the Final Chapter of Rich Schefren's
Internet Business Manifesto. I received lots of great feedback
and many people told me they thought this final chapter was the
best. I thought so too!
But some people have expressed concern that they didn't feel that
the information was intended for them. They felt Rich was
snubbing the "lifestyle business myth" and it was a stab at what
they had been working so hard at. They also said they didn't want
to be multi-million dollar company, they just wanted to live a
comfortable lifestyle....so why would this information apply?
I've been working at what I consider to be the "lifestyle
business" too, but it's completely grounded in the real business
practices Rich sets out in his Manifesto chapters. You can't
build a long-term business chasing the latest money-making
opportunity.
And here's another important point...
You also can't set it and completely forget it, even if there are
many passive factors to your business. Even if it's not you
physically working at your business, you need the resources and
staff/contractors to maintain and grow your business. There is
always work to be done and strategies to put in place.
Rich teaches you how to make the most of the resources you have
and teaches you what resources you should acquire. It has been a
powerful lesson for me. Learning about the value of customers and
how to make the most of them was very important to me. And the
realization that just because I have someone on my "customer
list" doesn't mean they're a customer anymore. We need to put
things into place to make sure we keep our customers.
A solid plan is important and if we continue to wing it - no, I
don't agree that the big companies can come in and swallow us
whole because we have the "Sweetie" secret weapon the big guns
can't penetrate! But I do believe it makes it hard to grow your
business efficiently.
If you missed reading the Final Chapter, I encourage you to do
so.
If you already read it...come share your thoughts on my blog. I'd
love to chat!
Click here to get your copy.
All the best,
Alice Seba
Your Friend & Partner in Online Success
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---------------
Happy Hallowe'en! Just doing a bit of work on this fun day before
we get into today's festivities. Hope you're having a great day
as well.
Last week I told you about the Final Chapter of Rich Schefren's
Internet Business Manifesto. I received lots of great feedback
and many people told me they thought this final chapter was the
best. I thought so too!
But some people have expressed concern that they didn't feel that
the information was intended for them. They felt Rich was
snubbing the "lifestyle business myth" and it was a stab at what
they had been working so hard at. They also said they didn't want
to be multi-million dollar company, they just wanted to live a
comfortable lifestyle....so why would this information apply?
I've been working at what I consider to be the "lifestyle
business" too, but it's completely grounded in the real business
practices Rich sets out in his Manifesto chapters. You can't
build a long-term business chasing the latest money-making
opportunity.
And here's another important point...
You also can't set it and completely forget it, even if there are
many passive factors to your business. Even if it's not you
physically working at your business, you need the resources and
staff/contractors to maintain and grow your business. There is
always work to be done and strategies to put in place.
Rich teaches you how to make the most of the resources you have
and teaches you what resources you should acquire. It has been a
powerful lesson for me. Learning about the value of customers and
how to make the most of them was very important to me. And the
realization that just because I have someone on my "customer
list" doesn't mean they're a customer anymore. We need to put
things into place to make sure we keep our customers.
A solid plan is important and if we continue to wing it - no, I
don't agree that the big companies can come in and swallow us
whole because we have the "Sweetie" secret weapon the big guns
can't penetrate! But I do believe it makes it hard to grow your
business efficiently.
If you missed reading the Final Chapter, I encourage you to do
so.
If you already read it...come share your thoughts on my blog. I'd
love to chat!
Click here to get your copy.
All the best,
Alice Seba
Your Friend & Partner in Online Success
------------
12 Comments:
Rich has asked me to give out information about his Final Chapter...yes. I did so, because I really like the content and it is helping me and others in their businesses. He has a product on the backend that he will be promoting, but I offer no opinion on that product. I simply like his Internet Business Manifesto chapters.
Work4me2, I will be a little blunt and I hope you accept it as constructive help that might help you go in the right direction.
It sounds like you want somebody to do it for you and that you want a "Internet business in a box" idea.
Well yes, there are plenty of "Internet business in a box" type of programs out there and those are the ones you'll be disappointed in because there is no paint-by-numbers when it comes to business.
Also, when you have those kind of expectations, you are likely attracted to products/software that make it sound easy and then you end up wasting your money. It's not surprising to me.
You need to do your market research, you need to decide what to deliver to that market and you need to gather the resources to get it done. The information you get along the way can help you cut your learning curves or give you new ideas to try. But they aren't going to solve all your problems or build a business for you.
As far as my information products go, I don't know that I have what you are looking for. I simply provide strategies that have worked for me and share how people can apply them...but no, I don't hold people by the hand and do it for them.
Again, I do mean this as constructive commentary because I want to push you to succeed. Your success is in your hands. Best of luck to you and some day you'll have that flock of sheep that love your information and spread the word about you wholeheartedly! :-)
<>with every single package of information and software that I have purchased I felt completely ripped-off and disapointed.>>
Probably because there is no "information or software" that will create success in your online business.
I'm sorry that your experience has been disappointing... perhaps if you keep reading Alice's marketing gems on this blog or take action on some of the information she shares (freely or otherwise, she has lots of excellent products that teach various aspects of internet marketing), your experience will change for the better.
I wish you the best... having a successful online business isn't about the right software or information package, it's about marketing and taking action.
work4me2: if you're disappointed and feeling ripped off, do you return the packages? Most of the IM offers I see always include a "satisfaction guarantee" and I suggest you make use of it.
I've not bought any of these packages and probably never will. When I see headlines like "In A 400 Year Old Castle, A $270 Million Dollar Goliath Divulged Their Secrets To Only ONE Outsider..."
I just feel like taking a shower.
I've been in business for myself for > 22 years and have made millions building high-end ecommerce web sites.
Only recently have I looked deeper into this Internet Marketing industry and so far all I see is a bunch on incestuous relationships that keep selling products that show you how to make millions.
Unfortnately when I look into how they themselves "made millions", 90% of the time all I see is that they sold products showing others how to make money.
Show me an Internet Marketer that makes 80% of their revenue marketing non-Internet Marketing products and I'll show you a real model to duplicate. And you probably won't have to buy a book that outlines their "secrets revealed only to a few".
All bun. No Beef. Where's my soap and towel?
Thanks Alice. I really enjoyed this and also got a better view of customers from this.
Hope you enjoy your shower, Peter.
work4me2, just been thinking about what you wrote a bit and have a question.
What is it about the things you read that you don't understand? Often, there is a lot of terminology that you might need to learn, but a search for definitions on Google will usually help you understand that part. We also have a free Internet marketing glossary about to released. I know when I started, I was constantly looking up definitions and that helped with the understanding part.
But is there something else that isn't understood to you? That might help us point in the right direction to a resource that can clarify things for you.
Here's the lowdown as I see it:
If you don't ALREADY have a sustainable internet business, then Rich Schefren is WAY over your head.
That IS the reality.
However, if you're netting anywhere between $1k + per month, then he is an excellent investment to GROW your business.
I'm not a member of his coaching groups, but some of my good friends are (and they make between $11k - $31k per month with their online businesses)
Someone asked which internet guru makes most of their money from REAL NICHE MARKETING. And then said that if they could find them, they would find a sustainable business model.
I agree. And here's your answer:
FRANK KERN + ED DALE.
Ed made $5M last year selling his NON "Hoe to make money" REAL niche websites. And Frank makes over $100k a month with his non "how to make money" websites.
And the reall proof of the pudding is... they GIVE THER SYSTEM AWAY FREE.
My Mom started with her first niche website in July this year ('06) and this month (Oct) that website has done $1k NET. And she's thrilled.
Check out http://www.underachieverlife.com and sing up for the 30 day challenge.
It's EASILY worth more then $1k as an info product (it's step by step videos, audio and demonstration).
Heck you may even hear a podcast or 2 from me in there ;-)
Enjoy and if you actually IMPLEMENT the program, watch your success on the internet change within 30 days.
Snowboardjohn
There's some horrible spelling/typing mistakes in the above post.
But try not to hold that against me.
:-P
SBJ
I enjoyed reading the manifesto and picked up some good lessons from it.
The thing to do is weed through all the information out there and find the one or two good gems and then take action.
Without action you won't know what works or what doesn't.... everyone has ideas (I have a whole notebook full of million dollar ideas, LOL), it's implementing those ides that count.
Read a few books, courses, and then start trying things out.
Hey snowboardJohn:
I did some quick checking on FRANK KERN + ED DALE. Went to their blog, site, etc.
On their "about" link, I see this:
Frank Likes To Surf And Play Guitar
Ed Likes To Get All Geeky And Play Guitar
Frank & Ed fund these habits through the many joys of Internet Marketing
So far I see about how great they are but don't see any details on the non-internet marketing businesses they succeeded at. can you fill in some details?
Also, in respect to our host Alice, I'd love to know about what moneymaking sites that Alice owns and how much those sites are earning.
I just got out of the shower so I'm ready for another go at it.
Peter - I know Frank and Ed and since I'm not the one who mentioned them, I won't go into a long defence of them...but they are genuine. Ed recently sold his network of niche sites to the tune of about $5 million so he could semi-retire and teach other people.
Peter, I agree, there are a ton of people out there teaching stuff they shouldn't be. But to paint everyone with the same brush is unfair. Without some of the great teachers I've come across online (Ed & Frank are two of those great teachers), many of us would be lost.
You yourself work as a kind of consultant to businesses by building their websites. Certainly, you haven't run companies in all the markets you built sites for, but through your experience in web development, you certainly have gained expertise. That's why people come to you for help. You have experience helping people and have produced results.
Anyway, as far as I go, I started out in a unique way. I was a mother with a new baby who decided she didn't want to go back to work. I started working with a direct sales company that required me to have home parties to make money. I hated it and started look online. I found a huge community of mothers who were working from home and were interested in getting online as well.
At this time, in 2002, the work at home mom community had virtually NO solid Internet marketing resources. The best advice was to join Top Sites, exchange links and try some traffic exchanges. Garbage. No moms in this community were talking about copywriting, targeted traffic or any thing that builds real businesses.
So, I took it upon myself to start a resource site for moms who wanted to have online businesses. True, I had little to no experience, but there was a NEED. I immersed myself completely in helping mothers and myself succeed online. I tried things and reported what worked for me. I didn't simply regurgitate what I heard elsewhere, I talked about things I did or people I worked with did and how it worked for them.
During that time, I built some parent-related sites and other content-type sites...but the work at home mom thing took up most of my time. It took up most of my time because those moms NEEDED me and I was willing to provide my time, research and resources. As a result, most of my income came from where I put in most of my time. But that doesn't matter because I helped those moms produce RESULTS.
So, if it DOES matter to you that I don't come from a long history of selling to other markets and it DOESN'T matter to you that I've helped so many countless people - that's fine with me. I will continue to serve the people who appreciate me.
Today, I am starting to do more work outside of the Internet marketing niche because I've set up a good system for new people to come in, gather information and get their Internet businesses going. I also have a strong support network of business partners and assistants who have helped me free up my time for other ventures. But I won't apologize for dedicating myself somewhere I saw a need and that fulfilling that need allowed for a nice living for my family.
When someone says something like, "nothing I've purchased has worked," or "every business I've tried has failed," one of the first questions I ask is "how many have you tried in what period of time?"
Nothing works overnight and if someone is jumping from program to program or business to business I can't help but think they haven't given any of them the time or effort necessary to determine if it works.
And the second question is, what kind of research are you doing before you buy a package or sign on to a business?
Even when someone I highly respect recommends a program, I don't buy it until I've determined it makes sense for me... that it's something I can see myself implementing.
In many cases, Internet marketers give something away for free…..a free report or a series of email “lessons.” If I’m considering buying their information product I always accept their free offer to see if their advice makes sense for me. If it doesn’t, I don’t buy the product. And even if they don’t offer you something, you can almost always find an article or two they’ve written or some advice they’ve given on message boards to help you determine if their approach fits your situation.
Like everything else, there’s no “one size fits all.”
Oh… and I have read the last chapter of the manifesto yet… it’s on my list though… the ever growing list. :)
Here's something I won't ever understand:
"Can you please tell some non inernet mareting related businesses that xyz has succeded at?!"
What difference does it make?
Surely if you've succeeded OFFline you realize that the marketing medium is just that: the medium.
It's a means to acquire leads at a certain cost, and then sell those leads on at a profit, or monetize those leads for more than you paid for them.
Internet, television, direct mail, catalogues, retail outlets etc. etc. etc.
It's all the same my friend.
Show me a self made successful internet entreprenuer and I'll tell you: they would succeed at anything.
They simply chose the internet because they percieved it to be the highest ROI thing going.
SBJ
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