1. May 2009 by Pat.

Published: April 29 2009

In my travels, I meet quite a few would-be entrepreneurs. Some of these characters have a vision of starting or buying a business, but always seem to find reasons to do nothing. Their excuses as to why they have not created an enterprise sound convincing, but in truth none of them really stands up to close examination.

First on the list tends to be a lack of capital. There are lots of solutions to this one. My first business, when I was 18, was a venture with an Oxford nightclub where student friends and I promoted themed evenings and took the door money, while the venue owners kept the bar takings. The operation needed no capital at all - always the best type for absolute beginners.

Other situations may need some funding, but often less than founders think. I am often impressed at how first-time restaurateurs seem to fit out premises on a shoestring - using second-hand equipment, helping out themselves with the refurbishment and so on.  Most things can be done on a budget if your life’s dream depends on it.

And even now there is equity backing out there. There are all sorts of pockets of institutional and private cash for a sound project, from government agencies to angel investors. It has never been easy to tap these sources of finance, so you need to be good - and persistent.

Howard Schultz, founder of Starbucks, did more than 250 presentations to raise the early-stage funding to really kick-start his coffee bar chain.

A second imagined obstacle is income: people get addicted to a nice safe salary as an employee, and are unwilling to give it up for the uncertainties of the entrepreneurial life. It is true that plenty of the self-employed earn less than they would working for others - and may put in longer hours. But they do it because of the freedom and fulfilment it brings - and because they refuse to give up on their hopes.

During my early 20s I took little time off - when I wasn’t working for others, I ran sideline businesses at weekends and during holidays - until I felt able to finally break free and become a full-time entrepreneur. In some ways I wished I had not delayed, but had taken the plunge straight from university.

I accept that there are those who have heavy domestic responsibilities - a mortgage, family obligations and so forth. But anything really worth having requires sacrifice - do you want to deny yourself opportunities and live a life of regrets? Right now many are facing redundancy, so there may not be any salary coming in anyway - what have you got to lose?

A third reason is the idea: too many wannabe entrepreneurs are waiting for a breakthrough concept to arrive one day, fully formed and ready to launch. But capitalism is not like that.

Most new businesses do something pretty similar to many others - they provide familiar services or products, fulfilling a definite demand - with perhaps an incremental improvement. You do not need an earth-shattering invention to achieve success.

Those triumphs are rare, and usually happen after immense heartache. What you want is a solid proposition that generates sales and cash quickly, using the skills you already possess, with economics you understand, and serving a known market.

A fourth reason is risk aversion. Too many people fear failure more than they want to win. Of course, your start-up might prove a vain attempt at the prize, so you may lose money, time and pride. But 2009 is, in fact, a great time to fail. All around us companies and institutions are going wrong, including many of the world’s largest and grandest. Everyone who has achieved much has suffered setbacks. And you know what? No one really notices or cares. As Confucius said: “Our greatest glory lies not in never failing, but in rising every time we fail.”

I predict that many great companies will be started in the next year or two, by those brave enough to believe in the future, energetic enough to seize the day and optimistic enough to deny the possibility of defeat.

There is never a perfect time to begin the journey. But if you have ambition and are willing to apply the effort, stop making excuses - get out there and start battling.

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20. January 2009 by Pat.

Networking can be a waste of time or it can be very profitable. What determines the difference? You - and how you approach the science of networking. To build a more profitable network you need to understand and master the power of questioning. Networking without good questioning is doomed to failure.Follow these three ways to improve your questioning skills: 1. Prepare and ask good questions of others. 2. Anticipate and prepare for questions. 3. Ask yourself questions.

Prepare and ask good questions Good questions will help you to better identify and target the prime prospects that you want in your network. Questions with purpose will move you faster to your goals then idle gossip. Good questions asked well will engage your networking contacts in interesting conversation.

Engaging conversation will make them think. It might make them laugh. It will help them remember you because we tend to remember interesting people. And it will help them to help you better because they will better understand your needs and mindset.

Good questions demonstrate forethought. Good questions don’t happen by accident. Don’t try to wing it. Networking will required a significant investment of your time. Networking done well can be very profitable for you. Why would you wing anything so important?

Anticipate and prepare for questions

If you were summoned to a job interview you would think about and prepare answers to the questions you think you will be asked. Consider every networking event as a job interview. Think about, anticipate and prepare good answers for the questions you might be asked.

Don’t be like the financial planner I met at a networking event. She had a catchy opening line. Then I asked her about what books she based her investment philosophy upon or might recommend. Her halting reply was that she did not support any of the books out there. What a ridiculous answer. She immediately lost all credibility with me. That ended the conversation as I dismissed her. Her only networking tool was a clever opening line but her inability to answer my question demonstrated lack of planning and thus a useless networking contact.

Ask yourself questions

This type of question is the most important to the success of your networking. While planning your networking strategy ask yourself about your purpose, assumptions and expectations.

What do you want your networking to do for you? How will you make your networking as productive as possible? What are you willing to invest (time, thought and money) in your networking activities to enjoy the best return on your investment? How will you improve your networking skills? How will you learn the science of networking? Who are the difference types of contacts that you want in your network? How will you identify them and nurture those relationships?

Become a master of smart questions

Some networkers are afraid of questions. Why? Maybe they have something to hide. Maybe they are afraid to grow. People who want to grow are learners and learners are people who ask good questions. Albert Einstein <http://www.alberteinstein.info/>; continually asked difficult questions of others and especially of himself. Einstein would have been an incredibly effective networker.

Be aware of the myth that “there are no dumb questions”. In fact there are many dumb questions - so think and prepare smart questions. “How’s business?” is a dumb question. “What’s new?” is a dumb networking question.

You can get better networking results when you ask smarter questions.

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15. January 2009 by Pat.

If you are an avid blogger and want to take it into another level, what can you do? More and more businesses are using the blog marketing strategies as their online tool to engage more customers to avail their products.

But with hundreds of blogs in the world wide web, it makes you wonder, how do other bloggers make their weblogs stand out? What blog marketing strategies do they use?

One of the recommended blog marketing strategies being done is by RSS feed distribution. The orange square is familiar to many web users. This keep people informed about the updates of a particular section of a website after they have subscribed to it.

Adding the RSS feed to your blog, by inserting the icon and HTML code, would keep your visitors get the updated information in your blogs a lot easier. By incorporating fresh keyword- rich text content in the blog, search engines would take notice of your site. This would enable more visitors to check your blog.

Other blog marketing strategies are blog submission and strategic product research. With blog submission, you can submit your blog details to a number of blog directories in the web. It can be time consuming, but it is worth it. These blog directories have an extensive list of categories with sub-categories, within which your blog can be reviewed. Directories may even show the amount of hits for a blog and whether they have received a review.

With the strategic product research, you can find ideas for your blog products. You can do extensive research and research about your target audience. You also get to know who you are competing with. You also get to know why you are being trashed or praised by the public and how to appropriately respond to these reactions.

Blog marketing strategies also include communication with the customers and representing your business transparently. To promote better communication with the customers you can have dialogs with your customers and readers to be updated about their needs.

Blogs humanize the company. Customers tend to buy from someone they can talk to instead of a corporate identity. This is what business benefit from blogging. They make their business transparent.

There are numerous blog marketing strategies you can try. These can either make or break your blog. It may or it may not work. But if some strategies would not work for you, surely you will learn what is best for your own business in the process.

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13. January 2009 by Pat.

The value of testimonials is tremendous and this is why you will find that those websites that are successful almost always has them. The fact is, all of us say good words about ourselves, about the services we offer and the products that are on display. But most websites on the Internet face a credibility problem where everything they have to say is taken with a pinch of salt by the prospective customer. In this situation what your actual customers are saying has a great effect as people tend to believe those like them who have been customers themselves and have tried the company. Yes, testimonials often have a great impact and can push up the sales. Credibility indicators such as testimonials can lead to a higher conversion rate. This is why it is said that testimonials can be your ’secret sales force’.

The main problem with online shopping is that on the Internet, people cannot touch anything, and nor can they have a feel of a product. The only thing that they can do is see their pictures and read the descriptions. This is why they hesitate when making a purchase - they would rather buy it from an offline store but still visit websites because it is convenient to do so. Thus, if there are testimonials where the users are actually saying good things and about their user experiences, then it definitely helps.

But the testimonials need to be well written and not something simple like this - “I have used this product and I liked it - Thank You”. Customers want to know whether the product is good or not and whether it delivers what it promises, but they want to know much more too. Such as whether the company selling it is reliable, are there any money back guarantees and whether the company honors these guarantees or not, whether the product reaches on time or not and lastly, is the customer service department functional, helpful and prompt.

So you should request your happy customers to write testimonials that are more detailed, offer value propositions and speak of personal experiences. And if they cannot do so, you may even write them yourself and send them over to the customers for their approval.

There are those websites that also publish audio and video testimonials and many believe that these ones have more credibility as visitors can actually see happy customers speaking or hear them.

But in whichever way you may publish the testimonials, you can expect them to work as your secret sales force. That is why they are so popular on the Internet.

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6. January 2009 by Pat.

Stepping out of your comfort zone to do something big with your life takes more than just “know-how”; you also need courage, determination and a very good game face.

Every entrepreneur experiences a period of time where confidence levels drop only to be replaced by soaring levels of fear and insecurity. The secret to making it through those days, weeks or even months of feeling insecure is to put on a brave face and keep going anyway.

I’m a huge fan of President-elect Barack Obama and like most people, am inspired by his message. I imagine even Obama must have moments where he thinks, “What have I gotten myself into? Can I really solve all these problems and do this job? Am I qualified to be a world leader?”

You’ve probably heard political pundits talk about whether or not Obama looks and sounds “presidential”.

How can he be expected to sound presidential already? He’s not the President and he’s never been the President. But that will be his job soon enough and when it is, there’s no giant “pause button” in the Oval Office he can press to stop the world from watching him while he eases into his new role.

To keep the rest of the world feeling secure about him being a leader, he has to look and sound presidential and keep going - especially in those moments when he’s not really feeling it. If he looks confident and sounds like he knows what he’s talking about, he inspires our confidence in him and his abilities– even though he’s never done this job before.

A common trait among new entrepreneurs is that feeling of insecurity. Thoughts going through your head saying, “People are going to see right through me! How can I possibly be qualified to do this? Can I actually deliver on what I’ve said I could do?”

This second-guessing is quite common. However, if you’ve gone into business for yourself, there’s a good chance you’re great at what you do. My best advice to new entrepreneurs is to put on a brave face and go for it.

Don’t be afraid to meet with new clients. Congratulate yourself on the fact that you were able to convey a professional enough image to actually get a client! That’s half the battle! This person saw something in you that you may not be feeling right now, but you have to keep going anyway.

The more confident you appear to prospective clients, the better. Everything else aside, if you’re competing against someone with the identical credentials, experience and education as you, all a potential client has to base a decision on is your body language, how you sound and how you act. Would you rather work with a calm, cool and collected professional or a fidgety, nervous person who obviously lacks confidence?

If you appear successful and confident when you’re first starting out in your career, people are going to naturally assume you must be great at what you do. If you are perceived as successful and especially if you appear in high demand, people are going to find the thought of working with you more attractive.

If you don’t feel like a professional [insert your profession here], act the part until you do!

Act the way you think a successful person in your field would act. The more you do this, the less you’ll feel like you’re playing a part. It will become more natural with practice. Fortunately for you, unlike Obama, you don’t have to do your job with the whole world watching your every move and hanging on every word! Your clients aren’t looking for signs of incompetence; they’re looking for solutions to their problems. Give them what they hired you for and keep your focus on the task, not your nerves. You’re better than you think!

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30. December 2008 by Pat.

I’m sure we’ll all agree that network marketing is a people business. In fact, I’ll take it a step further and say that network marketing is a relationship business. Yet I’m constantly amazed at how often people don’t know or don’t understand what a relationship is.

I found two definitions for the word relationship at dictionary.com:

a connection, association, or involvement.
an emotional or other connection between people: the relationship between teachers and students.

I talk to strangers. I always have. I generally like people, like meeting people and enjoy hearing what people have to say.

I really can not stress enough that meeting someone and saying, “hi, join my company” is not relationship building. I’ve known people for years before they’ve made a purchase or offered a referral.

When I get an email, I always answer it. I always leave the door open for a return email from the sender. There are times this leads to a sale and times that it does not. My goal is to leave those I come into contact with satisfied with their interaction with me. It is that satisfaction that leads to sales and referrals.

Each person we meet has the potential to be a customer or offer a referral. Sometimes that will happen overnight and as I mentioned above, sometimes it’s years until this happens.

Remember, the definition of a relationship is a connection or involvement. These connections and involvements can not and do not happen when your whole goal is to make a sale.

I’ve had people say to me, “I don’t have time to say hello and be nice to 100 different people”. My response to them is “I understand, give each of them my name and email address, I have plenty of time.” Network marketing is about relationships and relationships take time.

Take the time to enjoy getting to know others. You’ll see your business grow from this simple gesture.

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16. December 2008 by Pat.

When you start a Network Marketing business, your sponsor should be the person to teach you the ropes and teach you how to be successful. Unfortunately, many people quit Network Marketing altogether because they don’t get the proper training. Choosing a sponsor who shares your philosophy and values to help you on your journey to Network Marketing success is critical. Here are some red flags that you should watch out for when choosing your sponsor.

Doesn’t ask you questions. A good sponsor will ask questions to potential team members. He or she will want to know a little about your background, why you’re interested in Network Marketing, and what you can bring to the team. If your potential sponsor doesn’t ask you questions, that should be a red flag. No questions means they’re willing to sponsor anybody with a heartbeat. They’re more interested in signing you up than finding out if you will be a good fit for their team. You will want to be selective about who you sponsor, and you want your sponsor to be selective as well.

Doesn’t connect with you. You will be working closely with your sponsor, so it’s important to choose someone you connect with. You don’t have to be the same age, gender, political affiliation, etc. with your sponsor. But you do want to feel comfortable talking with them, asking questions, bouncing ideas off them, etc. You need to feel a connection with them.

Tells you he or she will build your downline for you. While a good Network Marketing plan encourages teamwork, a good sponsor would never tell someone that they don’t have to work. Instead, a good sponsor will show you how to work and achieve the best results. Someone who tells you they will build your downline for you is desperate and not someone you want as your sponsor.

Doesn’t know how to market the way you want to. If you want to market online, you need to make sure you choose a sponsor who has had success marketing online. If you would rather focus on calling leads, choose a sponsor who has been successful calling leads. You will quickly become frustrated if you choose a sponsor who doesn’t know how to market the way you want to. You will save yourself time and effort by choosing a sponsor who has experience doing what you want to do.

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9. December 2008 by Pat.

Everybody wants to be a top residual income earner in his or her Network Marketing business. We have dreams of sitting on a beach or in the mountains, sleeping until noon or doing philanthropic work without any consideration for how we are going to be paid.

However, to become a top residual income earner in a Network Marketing business is a far of dream for some. Career and family obligations or not having the right map will get in the way for so many people.

The tips below will give you a better chance to be a top residual income earner in your business -

1. Make a long-term commitment - Top residual income earners are those who stay the course and keep their commitment through the tough times. Most people will quit early in the process and the only difference between the ones who make it and the ones who do not is that those who make it do not quit.

2. Stick to one game plan for at least 90 days - There are so many ways to build a Network Marketing business and everybody you talk to will have a different view. However, the top residual income earners have a system that they have followed for a long time and perfected. It may take you a little time to find your perfect system, but you will find it.

3. Be a Student of the Game - It seems that top residual income earners are so humble and let you know how much they do not know. They are always looking for new ways to improve their business and they realize that there is so much more that they do not know as compared to what they do know. People who do not earn top incomes seem to have all of the answers and are unwilling to explore other options. Being a know-it-all is a quick way to becoming an instant failure.

Use these three tips and you will find that you will soon become a top residual income earner in your business.

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