Tag Archives: Internet Marketing

Hiring Tip #1 – It Starts Before the Interview

When we’ve talked about developing your personal brand, we’ve noted that everything matters.  How you talk, how you answer your emails, how you connect with people.  Tina Forsyth has much the same thought when it comes to landing a job.  According to Tina:

When it comes to hiring I’m reminded of the philosophy:

How you do anything is how you do everything

As an Online Business Manager I’ve done my fair share of hiring virtual professionals over the years, and i’ve found that you can learn ALOT about someone from the very first moment you connect with them (which is usually by email).

How people respond to you from day one can be a good reflection of how they would actually be on a project.

There are a few things you can pay attention to that may help filter out some potentially unsuitable people along the way:

How quickly do they respond to your emails?
I expect a 24 hour turnaround time when I send someone an email (except on weekends/holidays of course). If I send someone an email saying ‘hey, i’m interested in hiring you’ and I don’t hear from them for 3 days I will most likely not consider them further. Most of our projects require a 24 hour turnaround in communication, and if I don’t see that right away it is a red flag.

Did they provide what you asked them for?
If you asked them for specific information, did they provide it in full detail? I’m actually surprised how often I will get a response from a potential hire and they didn’t include half of the information I requested. If they have a lack of attention to details in these early stages it makes me wonder how much would be missed on the job.

What is the tone of their response?
Are they casual or do they take a more professional approach in their writing? (depending on your needs you may prefer either one). How is their spelling & grammar? The actual tone of their response can be very telling – for example if you are hiring someone to response to customer service emails and their spelling/grammar is poor that may not be a good fit.

Do they follow up with you?
If you haven’t responded to someone in a day or so, do they follow up with you? I’ll admit that I sometimes do this on purpose – not respond to an email for a couple of days just to see if the person will follow up with me to check in. If someone is eager/excited about the opportunity they should send a follow up email to check in with you (even just to ensure that you received their last message)
There are of course many things that come into play in the hiring process, but it is sometimes these little things that can make all the difference in the long run. And if you don’t pay attention to them now they could turn into big issues and annoyances down the road.

–

Tina Forsyth is the author of Becoming an Online Business Manager: Playing a Bigger Game with Your Clients and Yourself. She writes and consults in advanced online marketing and business systems for business owners and their support teams. www.OnlineBusinessManager.com

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

What Is An Online Business Manager And Why Do I Need One?

What the heck is an online business manager?  If you’re like me, you may have never heard the term before.  It appears to be a relatively new job description…..at least formal job description.

The reason  you should be interested is because you might be one, without realizing it.  You might already have the skills to be one, or on the path to be one. Or you might need one.

If you’re Net savvy, this could be a job for you.  If you don’t think you’re ready to be an online business manager yet, you could start out as a virtual assistant ( we’ll describe the difference later), or work on an online business manager’s team.

The flip side of the coin is, if you run an online business, organization or association, you might need an online business manager to handle the day to day tasks and free up your time for your core skills or to grow your business. Perhaps you just never knew such a position existed or  put together all the elements you need to have for an online business and realized you could get all that implemented for you by a single person, who knows the right tools or manages the right team.

51fjudikul_sl500_aa240_

Tina Forsyth is the person who really crystalized this concept in her new book, Becoming an Online Business Manager.

Tina describes a situation in which business owners “already have teams of virtual assistants, webmasters, designers and other contractors, but what they really need is someone to manage all of this; to play a bigger role in their business so that they can grow to the next level.”
Now, as online businesses have grown and increased in complexity, with more sophisticated online tools available, Tina says she is “seeing more business owners who are ready to hire at the management level.”

When I started reading Tina’s writing, it was with a mild shock of recognition I realized I had been doing what she described for a number of clients for some time. Since I had operated a major website since 1996, I had ample experience on the web, so a number of businesses and organizations I had come into the same orbit with had asked for me to help them set up shop online.  What happened, in every case, was that I was not just setting up or overseeing the set up of a website and collaborative and marketing tools, but helping them think through the business processes they would need to succeed and grow their businesses. It was a collaboration where I implemented their vision, more like a doctor collaborating with a patient, to diagnose the state of his or her health, determine the level he or she really aspired to reach, then prescribing a regimen for increased fitness to ultimately reach that goal.  The actual construction of the website was more like being the pharmacist dispensing the medicine.

Why Aren’t More People Hiring Online Business Managers?

First of all, they don’t know such people exist.  I didn’t.  And I was one.  I just hadn’t realized it. Tina says:

“For business owners, it is a matter of not knowing who or what they are really looking for. They may have a faint idea they could benefit from hiring someone to help them manage and grow their business online, but they often have no clue what that role looks like. They aren’t clear themselves on what it is they need, which of course makes it quite hard to find someone! Quite often, when we describe the role of an oBM to the business owners we speak to, we hear, “yes! that’s exactly who I need on my team … now where do I find someone?” and that leads us to the other side of the gap, that there just aren’t a lot of people out there who are actively working as oBMs, consciously or unconsciously. So when these clients start looking to fill that role, they are having a tough time finding the person they need.”

Let’s start with a job description so we can learn a little more about what the job looks like.

A sample oBM job description from the book reads like this:
The Online Business Manager will:

Have 5+ years experience in one or more of:

  • the fields of marketing, ecommerce, programming, coaching, business management, human resources, project management, personal development or other related area of study, or equivalent.
  • Work with the very energetic CEO/Owner of the business to create new passive revenue streams, taking them from idea to sale
  • Manage administration, logistics, human resources and infrastructure of a growing online business
  • Recruit additional team members and train/manage them into their respective functions
  • Be familiar with and/or practically experienced in all facets of Internet marketing including:
    • Product planning and research
    • Copywriting
    • Website design and creation
    • Creation of graphics and user interface
    • Product packaging
    • Traffic generation
    • Conversion and
    • The overall strategic marketing plan that creates a cohesive whole out of these elements
  • Have experience creating and implementing a business plan in a competitive environment
  • Be a relationship builder, client service oriented and a team player
  • Understand advertising, affiliate programs and joint ventures; be able to hold and cultivate key relationships
  • Diligently maintain and create a standard operating procedure or business training manual for the business
  • Be fiscally responsible

So why isn’t it easy to find these people? Tina says:
“I believe that there are .. professionals out there who have the skills to be working as an oBM; they just haven’t realized that this opportunity exists… This way of working is still quite new to most people and because of that there is a gap between the business owners who are looking to hire oBMs and the people who could potentially be working for them in this role.”

In fact, I believe there are two levels of workers an online business owner can turn to. A good virtual assistant, or VA, with substantial experience could oversee the technical tools and processes and probably has some tricks up her sleeve about marketing tools which could help expand your business.  An online business manager would be a step up from that: someone who could analyze your business and its processes and collaborate with you to design the elements which would create more value and help you reach your goals.

So, if you’re Net savvy, there could be a job in here for you. Most small business owners, or growing organizations will definitely reach a point where they are either unable to handle all the tasks before them, or don’t have sufficient background and experience online to know how to proceed.  When that point comes, don’t hesitate, look for an online business manager.

Author: Gretchen Glasscock, AdvancingWomen.com

View Gretchen Glasscock's profile on LinkedIn

Related articles by Zemanta
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Finding A Product To Sell Online – Don’t Marry It, Test It

The :en:headquarters of :en:eBay in :en:San Jo...

Image via Wikipedia

Just because a product sells like gangbusters on someone else’s site, don’t assume it will sell on yours.  Your product has to fit in with your overall expertise and what your site is about in order for people to go there and look for it, much less buy it.

Even if a product fits your site and its personality like a hand in a glove, don’t assume it will sell.  The pricing may not be right, the market may be saturated, the stars may not line up right.  Who knows why some things sell on any particular site and others don’t?  You can’t be clairvoyant: you’re not a mind reader, you’re a web marketer.  Everyone has 20/20 hind sight.  That’s why the best plan is to just put up a product and test it out.  It either sells or it doesn’t.  Sometimes you can tweak it…tweak the price, tweak the offer.  But often people just aren’t interested in buying that product from your site and that’s all you really need to know.  And there’s a very simple way to figure this out.
Whether you wish to sell ads related to your content, or join an affiliate marketing program or sell your own products on your site or on Amazon or eBay, there are a lot of moving parts to get right on a website and you will need to make a lot of right choices along the way.  The way to do this is by testing: testing ad placement and color, testing content, testing product categories, testing various suppliers and vendors, testing affiliate marketing programs to see which ones work for you.

Those who take the time to test everything they are doing are the ones who eventually become successful in whichever field they choose.

I can’t begin to tell you how many things I’ve tested.  I’ve tested travel, which I thought might be convenient for business customers: zero.  I’ve tested business ebooks: nothing.  I’ve tested many, many products, all of which came to nada, nothing. Even in  the two core revenue producers on the AdvancingWomen.com site, advertising and employment recruiting, I’ve been through a dozen morphing and transfiguration experiments, starting with Doubleclick Ads, from the day they were born, to some new European ad company which sweet talked me into believing they were going to take the Net by storm, but all they did was truly anemic revenues and give me one more learning experience.  All this was before I morphed my way into a successful combination of Google ads, text ads sold from my site, and some proprietary ad networks. It just took time and testing.

Same with a Job Board or employment recruiting facet of our site at Careers.AdvancingWomen.com.  I was a part of every one of what seemed like a half dozen permutations of what eventually became CareerBuilder.com. That was ok for pocket change. What I began to realize was that big job boards who wanted you as an affiliate wanted the demograhic you had captured but in no way wanted to promote your site, and why should they, as they would be creating their own competition?  Basically they were getting the benefit of your traffic and assuring that you didn’t compete with them or join another competing job board like Monster.com. It worked pretty well  for them, but not necessarily so well for you. Ultimately, I was able to start Careers.AdvancingWomen.com , our own job board which guaranteed a.) I would be building my own brand and therefore an asset I could invest in and  b.) I would not be giving up 50% of the revenue up front.  It just took a lot of testing to arrive at a successsful combination of revenue streams to support the business.

There are many product testing examples as well. Mom-and-pop team Cheryl and Gary Casper started small, like many do on eBay, first looting their own garage, even snatching up VHS copies of their daughter’s Cinderella and Sleeping beauty then moving on to sell their neighbor’s cast offs.

As they learned about online auctions and particularly the eBay environment, the Caspers moved on up the selling food chain.    They now sell $15,000 to $20,000 a month in goods on eBay.

How did they do it?  Trial and error.

After their home started overflowing with neighbor’s cast off products, the Caspers turned to drop-shippers–companies that charge others to sell their products then ship directly to buyers. Although this looked good at first – removing the risk of buying the merchandise, the inconvenience of storing it and the hassle of shipping it—there were definite drawbacks. The Caspers were selling about 40 TVs a week but about half of those arrived damaged at the customer’s home.  The Caspers needed more control over the quality of the product which was shipped to the customer.  They also set out to identify a product category which was less crowded and more profitable than electronics on eBay.

The couple used eBay itself as a research tool, and began going to Chamber of Commerce meetings to find people or companies with products to sell.  They discarded many possible products including Star Wars light sabers and gumball machines.

Ultimately the Caspers decided on auto floor mats, an item with as much as 75 percent profit margins, even after paying the dealer.  The Caspers put as many as 50 mats up on eBay, at $16 to $125 each. Once or twice a week, They buy the mats they’ve sold from a Houston-based auto surplus company.

“If I only wanted to make a few hundred dollars a day, I’d be done by noon,” says Cheryl.

So, the  best advice is probably to use  your common sense to figure out what would be a good product or service for your site to offer.  Don’t spend an excessive amount of time trying to ponder all the variables.  Just put it up.  If it makes money, keep it, if it doesn’t drop it.  That’s the benefit of testing.  Oh, and if it makes money, expand it. That’s the road to success.

Related articles by Zemanta
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Bootstrapping A Blog

Image representing Blogger as depicted in Crun...

Image via CrunchBase

In Don’t Raise Money – Bootstrap A Niche Market Online , we talked about niche markets.  Now, let’s look at bootstrapping that niche by taking that big leap and developing your own blog.

First, you will need to decide: what is your niche? You should zero in on the niche you believe you could excel in.  If you are an expert or have special knowledge of some field or have a  passion for something, start your blog on that. If you keep current, write well and with passion, update often and are open with your readers, you will find an audience.

My inspiration for a website topic, which later also evolved into a blog topic, was a study I was asked to do for the University of Texas at San Antonio business department.  This was in 1994 and they had a lot of very rough, raw material ( like clippings from newspapers) which suggested men make more money than women, even when they own their own business. The term “glass ceiling” had only recently become part of America’s vocabulary and the phenomenon was just beginning to be explored.

It was at this time, in December of 1994, that Netscape introduced the graphical browser and opened up the rush to the Net.

I decided to combine my interest in writing about “leveling the playing field”, with my entrepreneurial drive to launch yet another business on the cutting edge of the newest frontier, which, in this instance was the Net.  I knew I had the interest and the passion to sustain it.

So the question is, “What turns you on?  What sets you on fire or gets your adrenalin pumped?”  That will be your niche.

Step One: Carve out your niche and pick a catchy title that captures the essence of your blog. . Do some brainstorming and toss it around with your friends. Take a look at Ajaxwhois.com, a domain name finding software, to jump start your naming process.

Select A Blog Type

There are many different choices of blog types  from journal blogs, to collaborative and topical blogs ( Chris Brogan‘s new group blog, OMGPittsburgh.com is both collaborative and topical ) and compilation of link blogs ( Alltop StartUp News is both a compilation of links and a topical blog although the startup business topic is very broad.) There are also photoblogs, which can be  successful if you are good and prolific photographer and are articulate about the process and results.  But whatever kind of blog you decide to develop, successful blogs find a niche and stick with it.

Marketability

The next consideration is to make sure the subject of your blog is marketable.  Is there a large enough audience out there who might want to buy something from your site to assure you a cash flow, and ultimately, one which will sustain you?

There are a number of ways to generate revenue from your site but the results of each them will depend on how much traffic you are able to generate so….

First Goal: Generating Traffic ie. Building An Audience

The Process

Keep up to date and listen in to what’s going on, particularly on the Net, in your niche.

How to Write a Famous Blog offers the following advice:

  • “Look around the Internet for blogs you love. Read and post to them religiously. Leave a note that actually has something to do with their site so that they know you actually took the time for pay attention to the material posted; do not expect anything back in return. Just commenting will cause others to be more likely to visit your and do the same. Often when you make comments to sites a link to your own personal site will already be included with your comment, unless you are posting from one hosting site to the next. If you’re at ITW and you read a blog on Myspace then it would be appropriate to include such a link.
  • Build a network with other people in the blogosphere – make friends online. This is the best way to get readers and a great way to meet people you would otherwise never know.”

Gather your audience or your targeted demographic the particular people who are likely to be most interested in what you are writing about

  • “A good way to make a popular blog is to make other blogs popular. That is, visit, read, and thoughtfully comment on other people’s blogs. On most blogger sites, a link to your own blog will be automatically included in your comment. So the more blogs you post on, the more people will be driven to visit your blog. Of course, don’t just go on and post one-word spam, because that might keep people away.
  • Linking to other established or authority websites is also a good way to network and make yourself known in your niche, and other bloggers to share the “link love” with people who link to their site.”

Ways To Monetize Your Site

Whatever product or service you choose to sell, it should be tightly tied in with your theme or niche.  That is how you are identified in search engines and links throughout the Net and why people are coming to visit your site.  AdvancingWomen.com, for example, which focuses on women in business and careers, could probably not sell a single Red Sox baseball cap from its site. Not that there may not be women out there who are afficionadas of AdvancingWomen.com and also would like a Red Sox baseball cap, but that is not where they go to look for it.  So stick to your niche when selling.

What AdvancingWomen.com can and does sell, however, and you can as well, is…

Advertising related to your demographic.

Google Adsense allows you to open an account and include their automated ad delivery which will be match your content. You also can find other ad delivery systems through Google.com, if you’re interested.

Product or Services related to your demographic. You can also Google for these.  Bear in mind, you can select almost any product under the sun and sell as an affiliate through Amazon.com. You can also open your own storefront on Amazon.com.

Identifying a Well Matched Product Or Service For Your Demographic

To take a photoblog as an example, iStockphoto.com, the internet’s original member-generated image and design community, has changed the economic landscape of buying and selling photos online, ( see Crowdsourcing for details of this phenomenon).  So you should take their pricing into consideration, when deciding what to sell from your site. You may want to sell camera equipment or other related items which have the advantage, for you, of being higher ticket items and therefore more profitable for you.

You can also identify various vendors like CafePress.com which allow you to sell personalized T-shirts, buttons, bags and other items.

As your audience grows, your ability to sell will grow and so will the number of vendors approaching you to sell their items.  Be patient. Write well. And write every day. Success will follow.


Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

How To Find A Successful Home Business

Keys to Finding a Successful Home Business

Whether you’re looking for the ease, comfort and cost saving of working from home, or if you’re thinking of a career transition or, heaven forbid, you’ve been laid off and really need to swing into action to keep revenue rolling in, consider the following, then see what the most successful home businesses actually are.  You may find a niche in one of them:

  • How big is the market? The larger the market, the more potential sales you can achieve
  • What is the industry trend? What is the general direction of the industry in which your business will operate? Is the industry expanding, staying level or shrinking?
  • The nature of the product or service itself. Is the product one that people will use often? Look for a product that is consumed (used up) and needs to be replaced regularly. This will give you repeat orders from the same customer and create a steady flow of income.
  • How is the product delivered to the customer? This is an important point as you will want to leverage or use your limited time in the most effective way possible. !Look for a business where the products can be delivered electronically over the internet, or are delivered directly to the consumers by the parent company – without you

See The Most Profitable Home-Based Businesses

Related articles by Zemanta
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Best Way For A Startup To Earn Revenue? – Entrepreneur Poll Results

Advertising on Times Square, New York City

Image via Wikipedia

AdvancingWomen.com believes the top responses in the following poll capture the basics of how to make it through tough times.

First, tough times are the worst possible time to think of cutting your marketing/ad budget.  Don’t do it.  That’s where your prospects come from.  Second, remember most prospects don’t convert into buyers on their first or even their second visit.  You have to keep in touch with them and keeping chipping away at that wall of reserve or objections or whatever is holding them back from buying your product or service.  A series of auto-responder messages can help expand your marketing reach and free up more of your time to speak or meet personally with serious buyers.

Evan Carmichael, Blog Manager for  YoungEntrepreneur.com shares the results  from their latest Entrepreneur Poll,  Best Way For A Startup To Earn Revenue? – Entrepreneur Poll Results.: What Is The Best Way For A Startup To Earn Revenue? The number one answer that came in was:

  • Focus On The Sale

- The number one thing to focus on is your first sale. A lot of businesses fail because they spend their time on letter head, furniture, office space, etc. What really matters is getting in front of your customer, finding out what they need, and providing that service/product. It really is that simple but is by no means easy. Sales is hard work and is a required skill for every entrepreneur. If you have no sales or marketing experience I recommend you get a sales job before going out on your own.

- Hi there, The best way to earn revenue for a start-up is at some point stop setting things up and just start SELLING. Sales is a life blood of any business and the sooner you start the sales the sooner the money comes in.

- This is the only logical answer… The only way to generate revenue is to sell your product or service. There is no need for a poll or a survey… just sell.. thats all you need to know!

- Easy…Start selling a good product as soon as possible. Receiving revenues right away begin to offset the cost of a startup. There are those who want to read, research, plan, etc. all day, but it’s those who take action that succeed in this society.

- Earn revenue by having great sales tactics–selling while not getting caught up in the backoffice work and creating sales methods. Finding a smart way to have sale prices often, showcasing your products or services through sales, or adding some extra incentive or package pricing for the client. Also teaming up with a business that targets your audience. The key is also making sure keep expenses level while selling–so gross margins and profitability ratios don’t get messed up.

  • The second most popular answer was: Create A Marketing Plan

- No one will know that the business exists if it doesn’t launch a marketing effort soon after the ink is dry on the business plan. Create a clear and concise message and repeat it at every exposure avenue visited by your targeted audience.

- To create a marketing system that can attract customers easily. First, you need a way to make sure customers will come back again for your products. Subscription based works well. 2nd, you need to come up with a reason for them to buy. Maybe a one month free etc.

- Put together a marketing plan based on your projected cash-flow needs. How much money does your business need each month to cover costs and stay afloat? How much will it need to begin making a consistent profit? Now look at what you sell. How much business do you need to do each month to bring in that required revenue? Then build a marketing plan based on bringing in that amount of business for the lowest possible investment. And create incentives for customers to act now. There are two big mistakes small business owners make when starting out. One: not paying themselves, which forces many to give up too soon. And two: taking on all the work themselves instead of running the business. A healthy business can pay you a salary, and is scalable enough for you to bring in workers when needed, while you concentrate on running (and growing) the business.

  • The third most popular answer was: Advertise

- You have to spend money to make money as a new business. Advertise!

- Hi Evan! Good to see you on this forum. I believe that to get a business up and running successfully, you have to do a combination of the things several of you are saying: advertising and selling. Your advertising has to be very smart at first, being sure not to waste a dime. Many things can be done for free now, even if you’re a brick and mortar business. Get involved right away in the Chamber of Commerce in your area. Be evident at fundraisers and work your elevator speech into conversations somehow. Use your kids to pass out flyer’s. Do co-op advertising with local businesses. Just be a positive role model in the community and you’ll earn respect; which goes a long way in business. I think when your business is just getting going is the time you really have to be frugal with any money that you can get your hands on.

Other answers from our member were:

  • Don’t borrow if you don’t have customers
  • Rent ad space on your website
  • Networking / referrals
  • Use a blog to promote your business
  • Cut expenses
  • Put profits back into your business
  • Implement your business plan

For more of this post go to YoungEntrepreneur.com Blog » Best Way For A Startup To Earn Revenue? – Entrepreneur Poll Results.

Related articles by Zemanta
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Entrepreneurs: Set Sail, Watch Out For Dragons

Banknotes from all around the World donated by...

Image via Wikipedia

Sharing entrepreneur stories is one of the best ways possible for all of us  to  both sharpen our skills and be encouraged by the experiences of others on the same journey.  Once more Scott Allen, in his entrepreneur blog, has unearthed some jewels among entrepreneur insights and guideposts in Startup Stories #2.

Taken together, the following tales might well form a path for a determined entrepreneur.

Let’s start with Denise Hall who, in My Entrepreneurial Mother Story , “tells how, at the “ripe old age of 36″, she went from “unemployed, homeless and pregnant” to a director of a consulting firm focused on performance improvement for corporations.”

“What I have learned” she says ” is that being opportunistic and bold will get you so much further ahead, and will point you in directions where you can work out the rest! …One of the main responsibilities of my life is to set sail, strive to ‘do it my way’ and, in essence, enjoy the ride!”

The important point here is to set sail.  As someone once said, there is magic in beginnings.  Don’t wait for that perfect moment or perfect opportunity.  Start from where you are with what you’ve got.  So you don’t get discouraged on the journey, it may also help to remember you can’t start from where you want to be, you have to start from where you are.

When Hall was asked: Where do you see yourself in 20 years’ time? She responded: “Swanning around the world as I please, playing grandmother, receiving bucket loads of passive income, and being healthy, wealthy and wise! “”

I want to emphasize that passive income goal.  One of my entrepreneur father’s mantras was “Always create passive income.”  That stood right along side, ” Always have a least 3 businesses ( which we might now call revenue streams) because there will never be a time when one of them isn’t doing badly.”  And “You have to be around money to make money (  ie.  you have to be engaged with a market that ( wants and ) can afford what you’re selling. Don’t go to a down and out burg that industry has by passed long ago, with a dwindling and aging population, to try to sell those hot Lamborghini sports cars or the latest and coolest tech toys.  Your odds aren’t good.)

The clear point of the passive income goal is that someday you might be too sick or too old or, for some other reason, unable to get out there and toil at least 8 hours a day, so it’s a good idea to have a way to support yourself under those circumstance.

So how do you start creating a passive income?

Working At Home To Build Passive Blog Income And Giving Up Full Time Job Pay -

A young “recovering attorney” talks about: Looking To the Future – Sacrificing Some Income Now To Build Up My Online Blog Businesses and Incubate My Other Real World Ventures

He says: I’ve come to realize that the key to building wealth and reaching financial prosperity is to build up multiple streams of alternative and passive income, apart from your primary full time employment. Otherwise, you simply run the risk of living your entire life trading hours for dollars. Passive income generation through methods such as blog income or stock market investing help to get around the finite time problem by allowing you to generate income even when you are not actively sitting and working at your office desk.” ( Ed. Ok, we get it: this is not a good time to mention the stock market.  But, long term, it offers value. Think bonds. Or think CDs or savings accounts. Think cash.)

We vote for that – building up passive income and multiple revenue streams.  Although it’s not an easy assignment and can take quite a while.  The addendum to that is that if you build a business and develop an exit strategy, you can sell your company and the money you make can be converted into your passive income

The Dragons – Tim Berry explains the metaphor, “no dragons yet.” He tells a story of a software developer working for him on a new product. When asked him how the project was going he answered:

“Well enough, no dragons yet.”  When pressed he explained:

“Well you see, it’s like when Columbus set out sailing west towards what he hoped was India. All the time he was sailing west he had his plan and his calculations and what he thought would happen, but, in the back of his mind, most people thought that he was going to drop off the earth and fall into the mouths of dragons.”

“Software development is like that. You think you’re going to reach land, but it’s possible you’ll just fall off the end of the earth, into the mouths of dragons.”

Actually, AdvancingWomen.com thinks all business is like that.

There are dragons everywhere and, if you haven’t run into one yet, you will. The trick is to be on the look out for them, to spot them early when they crack open their shell and jump out onto your desk. Stare them down and tackle them then. Wrestle them to the ground while they’re small before they grow up to be Jurassic Park sized monsters blowing fire in your face.

So in a nutshell, be bold, set sail in your business, strive for 3 or 4 passive income streams and keep fighting off those dragons while they’re hatchlings.

For more, see the following, or send us your story and we’ll share it with others. The more we share, the more we learn:

My Father, My Mentor : The Entrepreneur Seed

Start Your Own Small Business Using More Ingenuity, Less Cash

Match Your Entrepreneur Story

Related articles by Zemanta
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]