The World Business

Archive for October, 2010

I was reading an article on iMedia Connection last week called 5 Signs that your Social Media Guru is a Quack and it got me thinking about gurus in online and affiliate marketing. If you have been in the affiliate marketing business for more than five minutes, you have probably run across the names or websites of at least a few gurus who offer courses or programs to help you on your road to internet riches. Many of these experts are legitimate super-affiliates with a tremendous amount of knowledge that really can help you get started in this industry and make money. However, there are also plenty of so-called gurus out there whose only real online marketing expertise is in getting people to buy their e-books and online courses. So, how can you tell the difference? Here are a few quick tips to help you weed out the real experts from the snake oil salesmen.

Does the guru’s site and program look professional? This doesn’t mean the site has to be incredibly pretty or a great example of web design expertise. Many successful online marketers know that sometimes an ‘ugly’ design just works better at converting visitors into customers. (It happens in offline marketing, too.) So, just because the site doesn’t have a bunch of bells and whistles doesn’t necessarily mean that the guru isn’t a serious super-affiliate. But, if a guru is claiming to be a web design expert and they have a poorly functioning site or if they promise to teach you how to write amazing ad copy, but they have lots of typos or incomplete sentences on their site, then you should be leery of their claims.

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. I’ve written about this before, but if a guru promises that you can make your internet millions working a couple of hours a week, with no effort or investment beyond the cost of their program, you should be very skeptical. There is a huge audience of potential online entrepreneurs out there who are really only drawn to the whole make money online industry, because they hear it’s easy. It seems to be part of human nature to look for a no-effort solution to a challenge. The make money online industry is a lot like the diet products market. Plenty of people are overweight, but don’t want to actually eat healthy foods and exercise regularly. They just want a supplement they can take that will let them burn calories while sitting on the couch. Not surprisingly, plenty of marketers have come out with diet products that promise the results people want with no effort – but rarely do they deliver much of anything. Online marketing gurus who promise prospective students overnight success and easy money are just capitalizing on that same desire for results with no effort. So, just remember that if a guru’s sales pitch makes it sound like a trained monkey could make money online using their secret process, you should probably avoid it.

Check out the guru online. Seems pretty obvious, but before you shell out hundreds or thousands of dollars to a guru, you should definitely run a search his or her name on Google. When you do this, you may run into a bunch of sites that are really just selling the guru’s program (since many of them utilize affiliate marketing to sell their products), but if you dig a little deeper you can generally find sites with actual unsolicited reviews of the programs they have for sale. See what some of these reviews have to say – positive and negative. Finding a negative review or two doesn’t necessarily mean that a guru’s program is a waste of time. Just as a consumer might post a negative review of a book or restaurant because they personally don’t like it or had a bad experience, many others might have had a great experience but not bothered to post about it. So, take each review with a grain of salt, but if you see an overwhelming number of bad comments and few, if any good ones than this should raise a big red flag about the program.

Ask around. Along with doing an online search, you can also try to get info on a guru by asking others in the affiliate marketing industry about them. If you happen to know a few people with a little experience in the industry they can really help here – as they may also have recommendations on some good training programs to consider. If you attend any conferences, trade shows, or even local networking events with other affiliates, use the opportunity to get their opinions. If you already belong to an affiliate network or two, definitely ask your affiliate managers about the different gurus or affiliate training programs. They should be able to give you some good advice on ones to check out or potentially avoid.

Make sure the program is the right fit for you. Even if a program is completely legitimate and really can help teach people to make money online, it may not be the right program for you. If a program is focused on teaching bloggers how to drive more revenue from their sites, but you don’t even have a blog and actually hate the idea of having to write posts every day, than you probably aren’t going to be successful with that program. Conversely, if you are a dedicated blogger who wants to find new ways to monetize your site, a program that teaches you about building dozens of niche affiliate sites may not be quite what you are looking for. I know that a lot of people just getting into the business may not know what kind of program would be a good fit, but if you already have a little understanding of the industry, then try to find a program that seems to be a good fit for your talents and interests.

None of these tips is a guarantee that the guru you follow or program you purchase will work for you. But, it can help you avoid ones that are most likely to be a waste of your time and money.

Every small business owner starts out with the dream of watching his small business grow until it is no longer small. Every small business leader is looking for ways to make his small business more successful. But very few small business owners know what it takes to be successful in their ventures. Most small business owners are knowledgeable about one specific area of their business, but overall, may not understand how to effectively manage their small business venture. There are two key times when dynamic leadership of a small business is especially crucial: During significant downturns, and during explosive growth.

It seems obvious that a small business needs a dynamic leader during times of stress and struggle. This is especially true in today’s tough economic climate. When a small business is struggling, it needs a leader who can step in, identify the core problem, and implement a plan to correct it. Sometimes finding and implementing the solution to the small business challenge lies outside of the scope of its leader’s abilities or skill set. One of the most important traits of any small business leader is recognizing when he/she is in over their head, and seeking help from a third party expert in the field. Many small businesses have failed because the leader/owner failed to recognize the need to bring in outside resources to correct the core problem. Or worse, the small business leader thought they had identified the core issue, when in fact they were focusing on a symptom of the problem, rather than getting to the root or core cause. A dynamic leader in a small business will recognize when it is prudent and necessary to bring in outside counsel or professional advice to correctly identify core weaknesses or “fatal flaws”, and to create and implement a plan to correct the issue.

Less obvious is the need for dynamic leadership during times of explosive growth. It is ever small business owner’s dream to watch the company’s revenues triple year over year. However, most don’t pause to consider the potentially devastating effects of explosive growth to a small business. As company revenues increase, so do expenses and capital needs. If a small business does not have adequate sources for working capital in place, the small business will likely fail, despite rapidly rising sales. Furthermore, a small business infrastructure may not be adequate for explosive growth. Its personnel may not be adequate for the challenge, both in capacity and ability. Any small business should look to its leader to develop and implement a structured growth strategy. Without a solid growth strategy in place, explosive growth can be equally as devastating for a small business as is rapidly decreasing sales. A small business must look to its dynamic leader to guide it through times of rapid growth, and this leader must recognize within himself/herself their own abilities and capacities, and may need to seek expert help in structuring a sound strategic growth strategy.

In conclusion, it is the dream of every small business owner to watch his or her company grow. But uncontrolled and unstructured growth are equally devasting to a small business as is rapidly shrinking sales. A small business relies upon a dynamic leader to guide it through both times of prosperity, and times of struggle.

Internet is a amazing breakthrough for any business. It is a gold mine. It is both a cash cow to few and a great unsolved puzzle to many? To be a successful opportunist on internet is to know the way it factions and to know the do’s and don’ts.

There are many ways one can use internet from a mere chatting, emailing to earning opportunities in small way to establishing a big business.

To those who succeed in their objective of using internet, it is a reality and to others it is a myth?

Many beginners with lot of aspiration to make money on the internet will end up in disappointment, confusion and conclude internet business is a myth. The common mistakes they make

1. Search internet for business opportunities.

The search results ranges from “make $$$$ in 10 minutes work, surf and earn, see movies and earn, and so on.

They immediately go into the loop of finding out those opportunities and end up in those vicious circles. They will only realize after a long time that they are in a whirl pool and either decide internet opportunity a myth or try again for better keyword.

2. This time they try for a keyword like ‘how to start a business on the internet’ or ‘how to make money on the net’ and so on.

They end up in more attractive offers like promoting products and services as affiliates, referrals, associates. These referral programs are offered by highly promising companies and established products and services.

They immediately register domains relevant to the products, develop web pages and promote the referral links through their websites.

Still end up in failure? Again conclude internet opportunity is a myth

So what next? How to convert this myth to reality?

Watch my next article. In the mean time watch this successful opportunity and find out why?

by: Geoff Ficke

I have had the opportunity to work with literally hundreds of individuals who have attempted to become successful entrepreneurs. It is always fascinating to observe the difficulties that always confront people seeking to expand their range from one field of endeavor to another and how they handle obstacles. If it was easy everyone would try and the majority would succeed. In reality, only a few try and far fewer succeed.

I am reminded of a story about a United States Naval Academy graduate who rose to become a Fleet Admiral. One day he was on Chesapeake Bay on a friend’s 40 foot sail boat. The owner asked the Admiral if he would like to dock the sail boat. “No way”, said the Admiral. “I would not know how to handle this little boat in these winds and currents, you are experienced with her, you handle her”.

This is a classic example of a man knowing his limitations. Most people have some area of expertise in their arsenal of life’s experiences. They often utilize this expertise in pursuit of a hobby or in their work. The opportunity to hone and improve skills in a specific area where they have talent often leads to innovation that can be commercialized.

We all know the person who is able to build things with their hands. The artisan craftsmanship that they produce can become a lucrative business or enriching hobby. The entrepreneurial craftsman, or artist, enjoys the wonderful luxury of being able to make their living doing something that they enjoy and find fulfilling.

The true entrepreneur knows his limitations. This natural skill barrier, however, does not deter this innovator from finding a path to successfully commercializing their idea. If deficient in some areas, say sales, marketing, logistics, or planning, this person recognizes that expertise in these skills can be obtained from many sources. The dreamer, or faux-entrepreneur, sees this type of hurdle as a reason, really an excuse, to quit.

Very few people have the intangible ingredients necessary to become a successful entrepreneur. Most people dream about innovation, new ideas or starting their own business. These wannabe’s will never get much further than the dream sequence in turning their wishes into realities. They can never quite find the right time, the right place, or the right platform to launch their concept and turn it into a going concern. There is always a reason not to move ahead.

I often lecture at university business schools on the topic of entrepreneurship. The question most often posed to me is, “what makes a successful entrepreneur”? There is no definitive answer to that question. It is a bit like Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart’s response when he was asked to if he knew how to define pornography. He replied simply, “I don’t have the definition; I just know it when I see it”.

It is much the same when we meet potential clients seeking to take the entrepreneurial plunge. The courage, vision and willingness to soak up knowledge that is so essential to successfully competing for commercial success is rarely evident. Most people are destined, and should continue to pursue their current life’s work. The ability to overcome repeated obstacles, keep fighting and never quit in the pursuit of a goal is quite simply not present in most people. Most people do not make the cut as entrepreneurs, but we do know potential entrepreneurs when we meet them.

Entrepreneurs have a positive personality. They see the possible and recognize that the word “no”, really just means “not now”. Obstacles are simply challenges to be overcome. They have the courage to take risks, and recognize that success is not assured. The competitive juices run deep in true entrepreneurs and they possess a real independent streak that is lacking in most people.

I know people in the fourth quarter of their lives that are sad, disappointed, some bitter, about the course they have chosen and the lot they have been dealt. I am sad for them. They have missed out on many of life’s greatest opportunities that come from pursuit of a goal, the chase, the struggle and the attainment of success.

In the 21st century it seems as if the pursuit of security and avoidance of risk is the chief goal of many people. That is fine for them. I would argue that the greatest risk is to live a life without challenges, working for stretch goals and basking in the glow of success that can best be secured when dreams become realities. The happiest people I know are entrepreneurial. They live full lives, commercially, spiritually and psychologically. In their life’s fourth quarter they have a treasure chest of accomplishments and memories that they know they will leave behind. The footprint they make on life is significant and memorable. They make the world a much better place for their contributions to it.