Issue #2577
- WEALTHY: Who’s designing your business? (Suzanne Richardson)
- HEALTHY: What’s causing your memory to falter? (Kelley Herring)
- WISE: Yogi Berra on identifying your goals
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- How 7 words can put you on track to success (Rich Schefren)
- Do your employees know where they stand? (Jason Holland)
- It’s Good to Know… why we still have fax machines
- Add “contravene” to your vocabulary
== Highly Recommended ==
Why Get Your Hands Dirty When You Don’t Have to?
Where there’s a stampede, there’s an opportunity…
Thousands of wannabe entrepreneurs have jumped on a bandwagon to find, fix-up and flip foreclosures.
They thought they were being smart. They thought they were doing the opposite to the crowd and had the license to print money.
Little do they know… they ARE the crowd!
Now, please don’t misunderstand me. It’s a fact that many properties (sadly) are becoming available at rock bottom prices due to foreclosure. It’s also a fact that a few people are making money by flipping foreclosures…
And they’re earning every penny (when it all works out)!
Flipping foreclosures may sound great in principle, but stop and think about what you have to go through to achieve that…
Not my idea of easy money.
What’s Missing From YOUR Business?
The hotel in downtown Cleveland is clean and quiet. The staff is courteous and helpful. The rooms are spacious, and fitted with nice-looking furniture and flat-screen TVs.
But, in room 528 at least, something is missing…
The king-size bed has only one night table.
There are only four lamps in the living area – one standing in the middle of an empty wall – and no coffee table.
In the bathroom, only two towels (stacked in an open niche under the sink). And aside from one tiny hook two feet above the toilet, no towel racks or hangers.
To a person staying in that hotel room, it feels as though some designer had looked around and said, “Here’s what you need in a hotel room.” But that designer hadn’t actually tried to USE the room to see if anything was lacking.
If you think your Internet business is immune to this problem, think again. Websites are often built by tech people who don’t understand how an average user thinks.
So make sure you test everything – your site, your products, your store – to make sure it works as it’s meant to. Better yet, have a friend, your spouse, and your grandma test things out for you. Get them to report back on what works, what doesn’t, what’s missing, and what’s superfluous. You’ll end up with a better product/site/whatever – and your customers will have a much better experience.
Which leads to trust… which leads to loyalty… which leads to more sales.
[Ed. Note: Testing is one of the most important things you can do for your business. To find out what you should be testing, and how to do it... plus, discover dozens of marketing techniques, website-building tactics, and more... sign up for ETR's Internet Money Club right here.]
“If you don’t know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else.”
Yogi Berra
What Are You Trying to Accomplish Today?
Some days, you wake up to challenges…
The alarm clock didn’t go off. The modem isn’t working. The milk has spoiled.
And yet, with those challenges come opportunities…
You awake to sunshine streaming through a window. You enjoy reading a newspaper instead of quickly scanning news online. You drink your coffee black, and realize you like it better that way.
What if you could turn all your business challenges into opportunities, too?
It’s possible, because I do it every day.
Here’s the secret: Focus attention on the daily tasks that will lead to success.
Before you make your coffee… Before you butter your toast… Before you drop the kids off at school or complete any part of your morning routine, ask yourself this question about your business goals: “What am I trying to accomplish?” More specifically, “What am I trying to accomplish today?”
It’s a short question, but it packs a big punch.
Let’s say, for example, that (like many of my coaching clients) the idea of having a successful online business is enormously attractive to you. Not only does it sound cool to say “entrepreneur,” it gives you the potential to make lots of money without spending much upfront. Yet, the same low-cost barriers to entry for an online business can mean a low probability of profit if you can’t address the question: “What am I really trying to accomplish with this business?”
Whatever your goals, whatever your talents, you have to give this question your full attention every day. Anything less will lead you in the wrong direction – closer to frustration and further from your goals.
So, ask yourself again: “What am I trying to accomplish?” And continue to ask this question every day, several times a day, to maintain your focus.
Many wannabe online entrepreneurs struggle with this question. It’s not because they lack confidence. It’s not because they are trying to be evasive. It’s simply because – no matter how long they have been thinking about building an online business – they just haven’t given the question sufficient, serious thought.
What are you trying to accomplish with your online business?
If you choose to give your attention to something that will become your livelihood, you should certainly know what you hope to accomplish with it, right?
Think about companies like Starbucks and Apple. Their corporate and critical successes are due to passion, customer service, and paying attention to the right things.
You have to find those same magic seeds for your online business.
Without a well-researched and well-executed plan for growth, you stand little chance of succeeding as an online entrepreneur in a world of competitors.
Remember, the Internet is not located on a street corner. It’s located on the World Wide Web. Your competitors may be anywhere on the globe. Are you ready to compete with them and win?
Do you know what you want to accomplish long-term? Just as important, do you know what you have to accomplish on a daily basis to reach that goal? Do you know what you have to accomplish today?
If you’re struggling for answers, here are some techniques you can use to focus your attention on the right things – the things that will translate into success for your online business.
Prioritize.
Learn how to organize your tasks in a way that aligns with your goals. For instance, Michael Masterson uses daily task lists to help him plan out his time.
Determine really clear short-term goals.
Long-term goals are great, but short-term goals give you a “scorecard” to make sure you are completing the important things that will keep you moving forward.
Professor Richard Wiseman – leader of a yearlong study on goal setting – found that people have a better chance of reaching a major goal if they break it down into smaller short-term objectives. So instead of a big, broad goal like “I’ll write a novel this year,” you might plan to write five pages of the novel every week.
Upgrade your ability to deal with information.
Take a speed-reading course. Discover new methods of research and study. Become informationally efficient. Check out my article “Getting Smarter” for more ways to amp up your brainpower.
What’s your objective for your business?
- Do you want to become the best Internet business coach?
- Are you hoping to sell self-help books online?
- Have you discovered a way to feed the masses and end world hunger?
Once you know what you want to accomplish, you can focus your attention on setting the short-term goals that will get you there. And it all starts by asking yourself “What am I trying to accomplish today?”
[Ed. Note: If you're going to be successful in 2009, you need to make Rich's suggestions a part of your day-to-day life. Of course, you may need a little extra help to get moving and keep yourself motivated. Get year-round success strategies, motivational resources, and goal-achieving tools right here.
Rich Schefren - one of the world's best small-business strategists - knows a thing or two about what it takes to be successful online. His businesses have done over $500 million every year - piling up more than $1 billion in sales every two years. Visit his blog to learn how to streamline your business while skyrocketing profits.]
Fed Up With Failed New Year’s Resolutions?
Tired of making New Year’s resolutions and giving up on them?
Resolutions themselves aren’t the problem.
Your method of attaining them is.
Perhaps you want to lose weight. Simply saying you want to lose weight in 2009 isn’t going to help.
You need a specific plan along with a specific number of pounds in mind that you want to lose.
Or what about making more money in 2009? Just wishing for them isn’t going to bring those riches your way.
Exactly how much money do you want to make in 2009? What are you going to do every day in 2009 to make more money?
If you seriously want to succeed in your New Year’s resolutions, then you must change the way you tackle them.
Success in every area of your life is possible if you follow a few easy steps.
Click here to learn how you can successfully complete your 2009 New Year’s resolutions.
Employee Review Do’s and Don’ts
Finding superstar employees is tough… and when you do find them, you don’t want to lose them. Here’s one way to keep your superstars – and potential superstars – happy: Tell them how they are doing.
And I mean with much more than an occasional pat on the back and hearty “Good job!”
If you want your employees (and your company) to grow, you can help them excel by scheduling formal yearly performance reviews. You sit down with each employee, and take a comprehensive look at all the work they have done over the past year. You discuss how their skills have progressed, their biggest successes, where they need improvement, and their goals for the coming year.
- Salespeople, for example, should know how much revenue they should bring in for the year – including weekly and monthly sales goals.
- Supervisors should come out of the review with ways they could improve their interactions with employees. For instance, how they could have handled Johnny’s in-office temper tantrum or how they could have resolved the conflict between Anne and Gina.
- Tech people should be acknowledged for pushing through that big system upgrade, and then be given specific details about how the process needs to be streamlined in the next year.
This is exactly what MaryEllen Tribby does at Early to Rise. And every employee leaves their meeting with a good idea of where he stands and where he is going in the year ahead.
It takes time to thoroughly go over each employee’s track record, and it can be tough to highlight failings. But it’s important to give your people regular feedback.
You put a lot of effort into finding great people to work for you. If you intend to keep them, they need to know what they are doing well and what specifically they need to improve. If they feel like they are working in a vacuum – that whether they do a good job or not doesn’t matter – they’re likely to find an employer who will communicate with them.
So don’t wait until the last minute, and don’t send your performance reviews by e-mail with “ratings” and minimal comments. Get detailed. Keep notes on your employees throughout the year. Do the reviews in person, and make them complete.
[Ed. Note: For more great strategies for maintaining good relationships with employees (and how to find the best ones in the first place), check out Michael Masterson's New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller Ready, Fire, Aim: Zero to $100 Million in No Time Flat.]
Reader Feedback: “I am seeing great results from my new method of working out.”
“If you’re like me, you get very, very bored doing cardio on the treadmill, stationary bike, or whatever your favorite piece of exercise equipment is. Five minutes can feel like hours. The gym has plenty of TVs to try to entertain you while you work out. However, the news is too depressing, watching the food channel only makes me want to eat (definitely defeats the purpose of being at the gym), and the other mindless programs bore me.
“So, I decided to bring my own source of ‘boredom equalizer’ to help me through my workouts. I had purchased Michael Masterson’s book, Ready, Fire, Aim, on CD. I bring one of the CDs to the gym and listen while I’m on the cardio machines… and it works like a charm! I’m so busy concentrating on the information Michael gives in the book that I lose track of what I’m doing on the machines. Before I know it, I have more than doubled my treadmill time and distance and I have increased the rpm speed.
“I am seeing great results from my new method of working out. My body is getting trimmer faster, my stamina is improving quickly, and the knowledge I am getting from the book has been invaluable. As Michael states in the book, ‘Keep your eye on the target and not the barrel.’ This new exercise plan I’m using is a perfect example of this philosophy.
“Use your workout time not only to strengthen your body but to strengthen your mind as well. The results are phenomenal!”
Jo Ann C. Dearden
Egg Harbor Township, NJ
Having a Senior Moment? Blame Sugar
If you’ve had embarrassing lapses in memory, it may be time to pay better attention to your blood sugar.
New research published in the journal Annals of Neurology focused on an area of the hippocampus – the “dentate gyrus” – that is responsible for age-related memory decline. The researchers conducted brain scans on humans and animals, and found that reduced activity in this memory center was closely linked to blood sugar. What’s more, they found that it doesn’t take off-the-charts levels of blood sugar or the presence of diabetes to damage the dentate gyrus.
Maintain your memory by enjoying a low-glycemic diet packed with brain foods like wild fish, organic omega-3 eggs, raw nuts and seeds, nutrient-packed organic veggies, and grass-fed meats. And when the sweet tooth strikes, reach for berries or cherries (which are naturally low in sugar), or a dessert made with all-natural, zero-glycemic erythritol.
[Ed. Note: Keeping your brain and body in peak condition doesn't have to be difficult or expensive. As nutrition expert Kelley Herring points out, you can find plenty of all-natural methods for staying healthy. To learn more about how to stop aging in its tracks and add more life to your years, click here.
Satisfying your sweet tooth doesn't mean loading up on tons of sugar. With Kelley's Guilt-Free Desserts e-book, you'll discover dozens of healthy recipes you can easily make at home. Pick up your copy here.]
It’s Good to Know: Why We Still Have Fax Machines
“Poor line condition… what the heck does that mean?”
“Arghh! This machine is eating my pages!”
Ah, the joys of the fax machine! This surprisingly old technology (patented in 1843) is still holding its own in offices worldwide (consuming about 200 billion pieces of paper per year), despite the advent of the Internet and e-mail. So why is it still around?
For one thing, fax machines are everywhere: doctors’ offices, grocery stores, real estate offices, your mechanic’s shop… the list goes on. It includes the many small businesses that haven’t yet joined the Net revolution. (Yes, they are out there.) Furthermore, fax machines are easy to use. And they are all completely compatible with each other. You can even use your computer to send a fax to a fax machine, or vice versa.
(Source: Wired)
== Highly Recommended ==
The Three Magic Words to Building Wealth Online
What are the three most important words for rapidly building enormous wealth online?
Quick, cheap, & easy! Our new Internet program has them all.
You see, the problem with most Internet advice out there is it’s designed for people with big (multi-million dollar) advertising budgets, lots of administrative, legal, and accounting support and an existing marketing base.
But if your company is smaller than $1 million and/or if you don’t have an Internet business yet, then you need something different… something that lets you start off small.
One man I know turned $10 into over $500,000. How’s that for starting small!
Let me show you how you could get a similar Internet income stream running for almost nothing.
- Charlie Byrne
ETR Associate Publisher
Word to the Wise: Contravene
To “contravene” (kon-truh-VEEN) – from the Latin for “to oppose” – is to act against or be in conflict with.
Example (as used by Jacob Heilbrunn in a New York Times review of Baptism by Fire: Eight Presidents Who Took Office in Times of Crisis by Mark K. Updegrove): “As president… Jefferson contravened his own strict view of the presidency’s limited powers by authorizing the Louisiana Purchase, which more than doubled the size of the United States and plunged it into debt.”
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02-01-09 What are You Trying To Accomplish Today? This article `hit home’ when I remembered the slow driver who was in front of me on my route this morning – Route 61 towards Charleston, SC, where you cannot find much opportunity to pass. When the driver saw a sign “Middleburg Plantation” 3 miles, he sped up a little. He then, thankfully, knew where he was going. That’s like us – when we know what we are aiming for, we tend to get more excited about the journey.
Sorry – I liked the information given in the Post. I thoroughly agree with the idea that you set short and long-term goals and then achieve them in small chunks.