Issue #2673
- WEALTHY: Inflation means opportunity for in-tune investors (Rick Pendergraft)
- HEALTHY: Why sleep and sun are powerful cancer fighters (Kelley Herring)
- WISE: Ralph Waldo Emerson on being a borrower and a mimic
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- The SME method of business success (Paul Lawrence)
- So you mucked things up… (John Forde)
- It’s Good to Know… about the Twitter drop-off
- Add "tremulous" to your vocabulary
== Highly Recommended ==
Why Making Money Online Doesn’t Always Have to Be All That Hard
Many people have it in their heads that turning a profit has to involve hard work and complex tasks – especially online. Truth be told, sometimes it can be just the opposite.
Here’s one example. Instead of struggling and trying to implement every trick in the book, just follow these 3 simple instructions, and you could soon see money coming in at a steady pace. Let me show you how. Discover the easy 3-step process for making quick profits…
Inflation Investing
Inflation is being kept in check right now. But you can guarantee that it will rear its ugly head at some point in the future. Too much money is being printed by the government. And eventually all those dollars floating around in the economy will be chasing a supply of goods that simply isn’t large enough.
So how do you invest for inflation that isn’t here yet?
First, you want to wait until you see the Consumer Price Index and the Producer Price Index creeping up. Don’t wait until everybody is worried about it. You want to take action when the numbers start increasing slightly.
At that point, diversify your portfolio with a balance of investment vehicles: bonds, precious metals, and stocks. How much do you allocate to each one? That is really up to you. But you should consider such factors as your age, your comfort level with risk, and how many years you have until you retire.
I will probably leave approximately 50 percent of my own portfolio in equities (diversified among various markets and sectors), and put approximately 25 percent in bonds and 25 percent in precious metals. And I’m talking, here, about the 80 percent of my portfolio that I view as long-term. The 20 percent that I trade on a short-term basis changes from day to day.
[Ed. Note: Rick Pendergraft's take on the market and approach for investing with confidence despite the Great Recession is available every day in ETR's sister publication, Investor's Daily Edge. Sign up for FREE right here.]
"Every man is a borrower and a mimic."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
A Surefire Business Start-Up Strategy for Beginner Entrepreneurs
My partners and I wanted to start a videography business – shooting videos of special events and private affairs for outside clients. It made a lot of sense for us to develop this additional revenue source because we were already producing and marketing our own line of instructional videos.
We had a studio – and we knew howF to use the video cameras and editing equipment. But we had no idea how to develop the new business we had in mind. Nevertheless, by using the SME method, we were able to do it – and start bringing in a couple of thousand dollars within the first month.
SME stands for:
• Study
• Mimic
• Execute
In other words, you study your competition… and then mimic the way they do business.
If you want to start a new business that you don’t know much about, this is one of the surest ways to be successful. And there’s nothing morally or legally wrong with it – as long as you don’t do something stupid like try to use your competitors’ copyrighted material without authorization or steal their employees and customers.
Here’s how to use the SME method to start a business:
Step 1: Select the Business
When choosing a business, keep in mind Michael Masterson’s principle of one step removed. – meaning a business that’s only one step removed from what you already know.
In other words, choose a business that you know something about, preferably one that you have actual experience with. And if you have some sort of "in," that’s even better. For instance, if you’ve been working as a mechanic and your uncle tells you he has a vacant warehouse he’ll let you use, that would be a great reason to start your own auto repair business.
Step 2: Identify Successful Competitors
Once you know what kind of business you want to start, you have to identify your strongest competitors – those who are doing everything right. And that’s going to take some research.
Start by checking out the ads your competitors are running. Businesses that cater to consumers usually advertise in the local newspaper. Those that market to other businesses advertise in industry trade publications. When you find an ad that is run repeatedly, that’s a good indication that the ad – and the business – is working.
Then, to get a firsthand look at how they operate, pose as a customer (or potential customer). Give them a call and ask the kind of questions a "real" customer would ask – about how long they’re been in business, their prices, their policy on returns, and so on. You might even want to order their product/service… or at least get yourself added to their mailing list.
Step 3: Create – and Execute – Your Business Plan
With all that research on your competitors under your belt, you’re ready to come up with a plan for your own start-up.
You’ll want to offer a product/service that’s similar to theirs, because now you know for sure that there’s a market for it. You’ll also want to model your pricing and policies on theirs. You don’t want to copy their advertising word for word, but you should use the same general ideas ("24-hour service," "free delivery," etc.) because your competitors have already figured out how to attract prospective customers.
After you’ve been in business for a while, you’ll be ready to do some fine-tuning to optimize the things that are working best for you. And before long, you’ll be finding innovative ways to improve on what your competitors are doing – and make even more money!
This is a "Street Smart" method for launching a business that is almost guaranteed to be a success… even if it’s your first shot at being an entrepreneur.
[Ed. Note: Paul Lawrence is a successful entrepreneur who has started more than a dozen profitable small businesses. For information on his "Street Smart" business program, click right here.
If starting your own business still sounds daunting, ETR is here to help. Get step-by-step guidance for creating an Internet business at our 5 Days in July business-building conference. Our experts will show you how to set up a website, pick products, and much more - and you WILL leave the conference with your own fully functioning business. Get all the details here.]
Ready to Recoup Your Recession Losses By 9/30/09?
I don’t know about you, but I’d barely trust Wall Street and the Big Banks with the 63 dollars in my wallet right now, never mind my IRA, 401(k), and life savings!
That’s why thousands of smart Americans are now taking matters into their own hands and quietly moving their savings and portfolio “off” Wall Street… to a far safer and more profitable place I call “Liberty Street”.
One “Liberty Street” investment of as little as $1,000 has the realistic ability to quickly swell into a full year’s salary in just a few weeks’ time – and then repeat over and over again.
Another “Liberty Street” opportunity is currently offering the chance to gain year-in and year-out returns of 65% with 99.77% certainty – even in today’s economy.
"Flops" Who Bounce Back
By John Forde
I happened to be reading an article recently about Sergio Zyman.
Remember him? This is the guy who killed his career at Coca Cola by pushing the launch of "New Coke," considered by some to be the worst product launch since the Edsel.
Did he crawl into a hole after that and disappear? No. He spent the next seven years as a consultant, making a bundle and rebuilding his reputation. Then he went back to Coke and made himself – and them – another fortune. Within five years, Coke nearly quadrupled its sales and had customers in 190 countries buying more than 15 billion (yes, with a "b") cases of their products every year.
Then there’s Bernie Marcus, a guy who worked as a cabinetmaker to get through pharmacy school… then got fired from a job at a home improvement store… but then went on to found Home Depot. And became a billionaire.
Walt Disney once got fired from an ad agency for "a singular lack of drawing ability."
Henry Ford went bankrupt before he hit the big time.
Babe Ruth, who set the first longstanding record for home runs, was also the record-holding strikeout king.
And Jack Welch once managed a plastics plant that blew up under his watch, long before he became the legendary top dog at General Electric.
So what’s the secret of these former "failures" who picked themselves up, dusted themselves off, and went on to make it big? According to an article in Fortune magazine, you can pretty much sum it up in a few words.
Instead of wallowing in self-blame and seeing failure as permanent, a bit of denial helps the rebounders get back on their feet. Meanwhile, they acknowledge that they can’t control their environment completely. This allows them to let go of the instant-replay tapes in their heads – the ones that show them falling on their faces.
Other common traits that you can emulate: Look at your flops not as ends but as milestones. Visualize the next win. And when all else fails – or even before then – don’t hesitate to ask for help.
Great advice.
[Ed. Note: To get more of copywriting expert John Forde's wisdom and insights into marketing (and much more), sign up for his free e-letter, Copywriter's Roundtable, at copywritersroundtable.com. Or send an e-mail to signup@jackforde.com. Get a free report about 15 deadly copy mistakes and how to avoid them when you sign up today.]
Prevent Breast Cancer Naturally
It is possible to prevent cancer – including breast cancer – just by making a few healthy lifestyle choices. Increasing your antioxidant intake and limiting your exposure to toxins are two easy ways to stave off this disease. Here are two more:
• Enjoy some sun.
The sunshine vitamin is finally getting the credit it is due. When sunlight hits your skin, your body produces vitamin D, which is converted to a powerful hormone that has been found to halt the growth of many cancers. And Harvard researchers recently found an inverse relationship between vitamin D levels and breast cancer.
Get more vitamin D by exposing your body to sunlight for 15-20 minutes, 3-5 times per week, or take a high quality vitamin D supplement (like Carlson’s). Aim for 2,000 to 4,000 IU daily.
• Get enough rest.
When you sleep, your body produces a cancer-fighting hormone called melatonin, which triggers a reduction in the production of estrogen. Melatonin is secreted in response to darkness, so it is important to sleep in a dark room and rest soundly through the night.
If melatonin production is low, estrogen levels rise and could promote the growth of breast cancer. So power down the TV and computer at least an hour before bedtime, and look to natural sleep aids like melatonin supplements or valerian to help you get your zzzs.
[Ed. Note: Kelley Herring - founder of Healing Gourmet - has created a revolutionary health transformation program called Your Plate, Your Fate. In this 7-part program you'll learn how to protect your health and optimize your weight by maximizing the nutrients in your food. Plus, you'll get 3 bonus books to help clear your kitchen of harmful ingredients, spot the nutritional deficiencies that could be setting you up for disease, and find out about the 20 tests your doctor should perform (but probably hasn't) to guard your health. Learn more here.
For more advice about which foods you should - and shouldn't - be eating to stay in top health, sign up for ETR's free natural health newsletter.]
It’s Good to Know: The Twitter Drop-Off
Whenever microblogging/social networking tool Twitter is in the news (a lot,lately), millions jump on the Twitter bandwagon. But many of those new users don’t stick around. A recent study by Nielsen Research showed that 60 percent of fledgling Twitterers are gone within a month.
Unless Twitter figures out how to increase user loyalty, Nielsen believes the site’s growth prospects are limited. Social networking titans MySpace and Facebook had double Twitter’s retention rate when they were at the same stage in their development.
(Source: Nielsen and Consumerist)
== Highly Recommended ==
Stuck With the Short End of the Stick in Life?
Life is unfair, but it’s not for those “in the know.” Quit getting shafted at every turn and instead start enjoying every advantage in most situations. See for yourself by clicking here…
Word to the Wise: Tremulous
"Tremulous" (TREM-yuh-lus) – from the Latin for "to tremble" – means shaking; shivering; quivering; affected with fear or timidity.
Example (as used by Roger Cohen in Hearts Grown Brutal): "With an address for his father at last in his possession, Sead could scarcely contain a tremulous excitement."
[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
Similar Articles:
- None Found
Hello, it was a pleasure reading these posts. They helped me to create interest in Jeff Paul’s money-making techniques. I was a jobless person, but today I’m running my own small internet business. Thanks for the post