I’ve been an avid country music fan since my early teens and alternatively annoyed many of my peers or converted others to appreciate country music. I’m now a huge fan of Classic Country although I still enjoy some of the modern country songs.  This morning I heard a song by Toby Keith, Country Music Superstar, that inspired my post. It’s entitled, “Somewhere Else.”   The line in the song that struck me was: If you don’t know where you’re going, you might end up somewhere else.

I couldn’t help thinking how true that could be about our online businesses.  Most offline business owners are very clear about what type of business they’ll engage in.  The lines are not always as clear for online businesses.

Many of us start our online businesses without a Business Plan; therefore, we have no clear path to follow.  We also do not have a (more…)

As small business owners, solo-professionals, or entrepreneurs we may feel that we have to do everything for ourselves, and admittedly it may be hard to relinquish control to someone else, especially to persons we do not know personally, like a Virtual Assistant.   We may resist the idea of outsourcing or delegating work to others.

Approximately 10 years ago in the early stages of one of my self-employed businesses I was advised that to experience tremendous growth it was essential to delegate certain tasks to others so I could focus on the areas of my business that only I could do and would bring me the most results.  Initially I did not believe it and felt that would be just spending money I did not need to.  When I finally applied the advice, I immediately saw the positive impact it made on my business.

Are there tasks in your current business you struggle with?  What are your weakest areas?  How much time do you spend trying to do things (more…)

The first part of your business plan takes into consideration your target audience, what they expect, and how the product or service you will be providing will meet or exceed their needs and expectations. 

The following sections will apply across the board, but keep in mind that if your audience includes investors, venture firms, and or banks, your business plan would be much more detailed.  These are ‘bare bones’ guidelines written with the entrepreneur, solo-professional, or small business owner who needs to have a written business plan to serve as a guide or track to run on.

 When organizing a business plan, break it down into sections such as:-

 1.  Business summary – The product or service you will provide.  What you will have to offer must be clearly defined.  Imagine that a stranger is reading your document.  By the end of the first paragraph your reader must clearly understand whether you will be (more…)

If You Don’t Know Who Your Target Audience is, You Cannot Serve Them Effectively.

The first step in creating a Business Plan is to identify who your “target market,” “target audience,” or “ideal client” is.

This is a critical first step.  By starting a business online you have become an online marketer.  Whether you’re selling a service or products you will be in the business of marketing.  It therefore means that your marketing message must be crafted to attract and meet the needs of your particular audience, in order to produce effective results.

If you attempt to target everyone, you’ll probably have very little impact on anyone as your message and methods of delivery will be diluted.  Your message must educate your audience or market on how your product/s or services will meet or exceed their expectations.  They need to know how they will benefit by (more…)

Making the decision to create your own information product yourself is one that requires careful thought.

Writing an eBook

If you are able to, you can create the product yourself.  Some people can write a 40-50 page eBook in a couple of days to a week, but others need much longer than that.

I’m currently writing my first information product for sale.  This is not my first information product as I’ve written several short or special reports as giveaways for opt-in lists.  However, I’m one of those mentioned in the previous paragraph who “need much longer than that.”  It does not, however, have to be that way.

If you’re not a fast writer or you don’t feel confident with your writing ability, you can always hire someone to write your (more…)

One of the first things many beginners to  online business are told is that they should create an information product.  That’s really good advice but it’s  a daunting task for most people who’re unfamiliar with the technology associated with building an  online business, as well as the time to research and create an information product in the form of an eBook.  As a result, many initially opt for promoting other people’s products through Affiliate Marketing.

With the increasing popularity of videos, the time-frame has been shortened for quite a number of persons who’re relatively new to the Internet.  You can now create short videos and bundle these into an information product in a shorter time than you would probably take to write an eBook.

Basic First Step in Creating Your Information Product

Select a Topic:  The first step is to choose a topic. If you’re an expert in a particular niche, or a topic in that niche, it may be best to start by creating your (more…)

Certain tasks in your business are routine or predictable tasks.  You need to do them daily and sometimes several times per day for best results.  Some of these could include:

• Reading and replying to emails
• Spending time on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn
• Visiting forums
• Read and comment on three or four blogs
• Watch You Tube videos for training purposes
• Watch training videos from a Webinar you did not get to attend, or training for a product you purchased.

Every one of these tasks is important to your overall business plan, but each one can result in time-drains if you do not do real-time scheduling to set limits (more…)

I love the Comics in the newspaper and have my favorites.  My family finds this odd because I’m not a big fan of sitcoms on TV and would rather watch a movie or a good drama, yet I’ll have fun with the Comics.

In the Comics section of my local paper last week “Ziggy” was told by his psychiatrist “You’ve  got to choose Attainable goals…Why don’t you shoot for Mediocrity?”

That immediately got me thinking.  Do I settle for mediocrity or pursue excellence when I set my goals?  Are you settling or stretching?

Your goals should be attainable, but they should also make you stretch.  Unrealistic goals only lead to frustration and (more…)

Blogging is a must if you are in business online, whether you are in a niche like affiliate marketing, copy-writing, or any of the internet marketing niches.

Blogging is a must if you have an offline business, like a pool service or pest control; are a chiropractor or dentist; or the owner of a brick and mortar store, but your goal is to increase your visibility by building an online presence.

What is a Blog?

Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, defines a blog as “a type of website or part of a website.  Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or  other materials, such as graphics or video.”

A blog is meant to have the ease of use similar to using a word processor application on your computer.  Unlike e-commerce websites that take hours (more…)

As a business owner there are some things that you are expected to have at all times.  As entrepreneurs with an online business it’s easy to forget simple, but effective strategies that can be incorporated in marketing your business offline.

If you attend a local networking event, what is one thing that you must have readily available?  If you’re traveling on an airplane, you start a conversation with someone and your online business is mentioned, what do you need to have?  If you’re in a book store or library doing research and you mention that what you’re researching has to do with your online business, what should be your next logical step?

Business Cards

I’m sure you already answered “business cards.”  I may be in the minority, but about a year ago that was an aha! moment for me during an online class.  I have a business card for just about everything I’m involved with offline, but at the time it never occurred to me to promote my online business offline by having (more…)