Issue #2573
- WEALTHY: Avoid this newbie Internet business mistake (Derek Gehl)
- HEALTHY: What your workout “rituals” might be saying about you (Craig Ballantyne)
- WISE: Dan Kennedy on opportunity
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- 2 things to remember when you make a life-changing decision (Michael Masterson)
- Customer relationships as a marketing strategy (Gal Borenstein)
- It’s Good to Know… about the “sport” of golf
- Add “imprecation” to your vocabulary
== Highly Recommended ==
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”You have to hunt for opportunity. It doesn’t come knocking at your door. And one of the opportunities you should hunt for most aggressively is new markets.”
Dan Kennedy
Believe It or Not, This Is a Great Time to Start Your Internet Business!
By Derek Gehl
I’ve been getting lots of e-mails and calls from people who don’t actually have websites up and running yet. And they’re all concerned about the same thing: “Sure, your strategies are good for people who are already making money online… but what about those of us who are still thinking about starting an Internet business? Isn’t this the worst time to launch a new website?“
Believe me, I understand your fears…
With the past year full of talk about failing banks, collapsing real estate markets, and imploding stocks, I wouldn’t blame you if, right about now, you feel like taking every spare penny you have, stuffing it in your mattress, and waiting for this entire mess to blow over.
But the truth is, starting an Internet business is something you should consider, no matter what the economy looks like. Here’s why…
First, online sales have never been stronger. In fact, a recent report published by comScore Inc. indicates that, despite the ailing economy, online spending between January and October of 2008 rose 9 percent to $102 billion – up from $94 billion in 2007.
Second, remember that, unlike local brick-and-mortar businesses that are typically at the mercy of the local economy,you have access to an entire global market. So even if U.S. shoppers are feeling pinched, you’ll still have plenty of other customers to turn to.
Next, consider the start-up costs of an Internet business. Unlike traditional businesses, you can get your website running for less than the cost of a couple of nights out on the town. So you don’t need to tie up your “emergency” cash – or go into debt – to get started.
And speaking of debt, with such low initial costs, you won’t have to worry about trying to qualify for a start-up loan, something that’s likely to get much tougher during the current credit crunch.
Finally, remember that you can start your Internet business even while you’re working your “day” job, so you can continue to enjoy a regular source of income while you work on making your site successful. Try that with a brick-and-mortar business.
At the end of the day, starting your own Internet business during a recession (or whatever they’re calling it) is an excellent form of job security.
But before you jump in and start your website… remember that there’s one big (and I do mean BIG) newbie mistake you must avoid if you hope to build a successful online business in this turbulent economy.
To start a truly successful online business, you must first identify a “niche market.”
No matter how often I talk about it, I still see many well-intentioned people getting this wrong. (Lots of established site owners are getting it wrong, too.) When I chat with people at industry events, when I read the questions from members of my Internet Entrepreneur Club, when I look at comments on my blog, I hear and see the same things all the time:
“My niche market is young business professionals.”
“My niche market is women over 40 who are interested in their health.”
“My niche market is people who like to garden.”
These are NOT niche markets!!
These are huge and undefined groups of people who all have different goals, interests, and experiences. And trying to sell effectively to a diverse group like that is going to be an exercise in failure.
You’ll likely find yourself competing directly with the likes of Walmart, eBay, or Amazon (or all three)… and something tells me their marketing budgets are just a tiny bit bigger than yours, right?
But that’s the beauty of marketing to a true niche. It’s a much smaller, more defined target, so you can figure out exactly what everyone who visits your site wants… know where they hang out online… understand precisely how to speak to them… and offer the specific products that will make a difference in their lives.
At the same time, you can really concentrate on becoming a recognized expert in your chosen market, so you’ll be able to build really strong relationships of trust with your visitors.
Best of all, these smaller markets are often virtually ignored by the big guys, so you end up with much less competition. Then, even though you’re selling to far fewer people, you’ll actually end up making more sales.
Make sense so far?
So, if “parents over 35″ or “balding men” aren’t niche markets, what is? Well, let’s look at some examples. These are actual niches that real people are getting wealthy in right now:
- Spanish-speaking architects looking for software, training, and resources
- People who want to make crafts with dried poppies
- Heavy-metal bands looking for sponsorship and branded clothing and accessories
See the difference? A niche market is super-specific and caters to a group of people who are all looking for the solution to a common problem.
If you’re worried that narrowing your market this much will limit your sales, consider this:
In a typical town, a business selling nothing but organic parrot food would likely struggle. Even the local pet store couldn’t sell enough of it to make it worthwhile. There just wouldn’t be enough demand.
But with over 1.3 billion people worldwide on the Internet, even if only one or two people in every town want that specific, hard-to-find product, that’s more than enough to make a market for a profitable business.
So start that website now, even though it may seem like the timing is bad. Just make sure you do your homework first.
By identifying a solid, tightly defined niche market, and then building your site and products around the problem your market is trying to solve, you’ll be taking the first giant step toward profits… and avoiding the kinds of disasters that small business start-ups can experience during uncertain economic times.
And that’s what I call job security!
[Ed. Note: As Internet marketing expert Derek Gehl says, this is the perfect time to start an Internet business. Find a niche, set up a business, and you could make it out of the recession completely unscathed. Derek has helped thousands of people grow online businesses that generate $100,000 a year, and often much more! Find out if you have the personality to create extraordinary wealth online - for free - right here.
And for targeted advice on building your own blockbuster Internet business from world-class Internet marketing masters, check out ETR's exclusive Internet Money Club. You'll discover a rock-solid blueprint for creating a business from scratch. Learn more here.]
When It Comes to Your Money, There Is Only One Person You Can Trust
If we’ve learned one thing from the current economic mess it’s that:
- You can’t rely on your Employer…
- You can’t rely on Wall Street and Banking…
- And you SURE AS HECK can’t rely on Uncle Sam.
So who does that leave? YOU! You and only you.
Self-reliance is the new job. Self-reliance is the new 401(k). Self-reliance is what guarantees your kids’ college educations and pays the mortgage.
When other investments are tanking, self-reliance means investing in yourself. And with your own Internet business you could be making $100,000 to $25 million a year.
When Common Sense Gets in Your Way
When you’re at a crossroads in your career – when your heart tells you to go in one direction, but your family and friends are trying to convince you to take a more practical path – what do you do?
In his very good book, The 4-Hour Workweek, Timothy Ferriss says that when it comes to deciding how you want to spend your life, the two most important things to remember are (1) The timing is never right and (2) Ask for forgiveness, not permission.
1. The timing is never right.
“For all the most important things, the timing always sucks,” says Ferriss. “Waiting for a good time to quit your job? The stars will never align and the traffic lights of life will never all be green at the same time. The universe doesn’t conspire against you, but it doesn’t go out of its way to line up all the pins either. Conditions are never perfect.”
2. Ask for forgiveness, not permission.
“If it isn’t going to devastate those around you, try it and then justify it,” says Ferriss. “People – whether parents, partners, or bosses – deny things on an emotional basis that they can learn to accept after the fact. If the potential damage is moderate or in any way reversible, don’t give people the chance to say no.”
So if you’re torn between pursuing a wild dream and following the common sense advice of people who care about you, what do you do?
I say… go for it! When I have followed my heart on career decisions and ignored the well-meaning advice of others, I have done very well.
Make your decision and then “sell” your loved ones on the value of being supportive of your new venture. As an ETR reader, you know how to do that: Make an honest, enthusiastic sales pitch highlighting the many ways that following your passion will benefit them… not you. Make promises. And keep them!
“Someday is a disease that will take your dreams to the grave with you,” says Timothy Ferriss. To that I would add this: The only thing worse than “someday” is “later.”
[Ed. Note: Twenty-nine percent of people fail to keep their New Year's resolutions after TWO WEEKS, thinking "I'll come back to this someday." Don't let YOUR dreams fall by the wayside. Learn how to get easy-to-follow advice and powerful success strategies that have been proven to work right here.]
Worth Quoting: Gal Borenstein, author of What Really Counts for CEOs, on Marketing in a Recession
“This year will be the year of rebuilding customer brand loyalty and service. Having the biggest discounts will not ensure that consumers stay loyal to a brand. What is important is developing a sound marketing and communications strategy that allows companies to listen, react, and engage with consumers across multiple communication platforms.”
(Source: CNN)
7 Signs That You Are Doing Too Much Cardio
The other day, while I was completing my Turbulence Training workout, I noticed that the folks sweating it out on the cardio machines were going through some interesting rituals. After watching them for a while, it was clear to me why they were doing it: They were doing too darn much cardio!
This got me thinking. And to keep you from falling into the same trap, I came up with the following ” 7 signs that you are doing too much cardio.”
#1. You have to spend 5 minutes before your workout flipping through all the magazines in the gym to find one you haven’t read before.
#2. You know the other cardio addicts on the machines (the guys you talk to every day) better than you know your own friends.
#3. You know exactly how many calories you burn per minute on every machine in the gym. (And you use that information to justify every calorie you eat.)
#4. You dread your workouts more than a trip to the dentist.
#5. The only thing you are losing is precious time – not belly fat.
#6. You go to the gym to watch your favorite television shows while doing cardio.
#7. You’re getting overuse injuries because you keep doing the same activity over and over again every day.
Listen, cardio is not the be all and end all exercise for fat loss. In fact, as I’ve written in previous ETR articles, cardio just doesn’t work.
A big part of your results are going to come from your nutrition. So focus on whole, natural foods, and avoid foods that come from a bag or a box.
Once you’ve taken care of your nutrition, look for workouts that you enjoy and that allow you to build strength, mobility, and fitness. You’ll save time, have more fun, and see a big difference in your waistline.
[Ed. Note: If you think long, slow cardio is the best way to get fit, you've fallen victim to one of the most common myths around. Discover 5 more myths about exercise - and how to combat them - right here.
For simple ideas that can help you find more energy, better health, less pain, and a dramatic boost in overall vitality, sign up for ETR's free natural health newsletter.]
It’s Good to Know: Golfers – It Is a Sport… Sort Of
Golfers have always had to defend themselves: Is golf a sport, or is it simply laid-back recreation? Now we have an answer, sort of.
Research by the Rose Center for Health and Sports Sciences in Denver tracked the heart rates, oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide production, and walking distances of golfers during a typical game. The results indicated that golfers actually expend more energy than those engaged in activities like bowling, billiards, fishing, and even the Canadian national pastime of curling.
But don’t start bragging just yet, golfers. The exercise you get during a game pales in comparison to football, baseball, and even Ultimate Frisbee.
Plus, we here at ETR are reluctant to label something a “sport” if you can drink beer while doing it.
(Source: Popular Science)
== Highly Recommended ==
Remove Your Success Stumbling Blocks
Having trouble reaching your goals?
You might be sabotaging your efforts and not even know it.
Do you know how to reach your goals?
Have you sat down and really thought about what it’s going to take in order to achieve them?
What steps must you take to bring that dream alive?
Are your day-to-day life activities eating into the time you need to spend nurturing those goals?
Is anyone encouraging you towards the finish line of your success?
If you can’t positively answer the above questions, then stumbling blocks litter your path to success.
Before you start out on your path to success you must have a firm destination in mind and the route mapped out in advance.
Click here to learn how you can get started and stay on track…
Word to the Wise: Imprecation
An “imprecation” (im-prih-KAY-shun) – from the Latin for “to pray against” – is a curse, the act of invoking evil upon someone.
Example (in a Time magazine article by Lance Morrow): “Would he criticize an erring colleague? ‘I shall,’ [Sen. Everett] Dirksen would promise, in a voice like the finest whiskey aged in fog, ‘invoke upon him every condign imprecation.’”
[Ed. Note: Become a more persuasive writer and speaker ... build your self-confidence and intellect ... increase your attractiveness to others ... just by spending 10 VERY enjoyable minutes a day with ETR's new Words to the Wise CD Library.]
Copyright ETR, LLC, 2009
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