How to Work Hard and Stay Poor

If you want to work hard and stay poor, I’ve got a simple proven formula for you. I know it’s proven, because I see countless people using it every day in the business world.

What? You don’t want to work hard and stay poor? I don’t blame you. It doesn’t sound appealing. Yet, so many aspiring entrepreneurs do it. Read more

Hamsters on a Wheel

I’ve got a headache. Why? When I visit webmaster forums I feel like I’m watching a group of hamsters on a wheel. It’s simply amazing. The same questions, the same wrong conclusions, and the same return to the same questions.

Maybe you’re one of those hamsters. I sure hope not. If you are, jump off your little wheel now while you can and come join the party. Read more

What Chess Can Teach Us About Internet Business

I was reading a forum yesterday and, as usual, I was seeing the same mistake over and over. Many webmasters are wondering why they can’t succeed or why they can’t seem to break through a certain income point. The game of Chess holds the answer.

In Chess, there’s a move that experienced players always play on first timers. It’s called Fool’s Mate and boy do I wish it would work more often. Read more

Do you know your ABCs?

Last night was Karaoke night. Yes, I do Karaoke—albeit poorly. It all started when I was dating this Asian girl. Oh wait, that’s not important.

So, there I am doing my Elvis impression while singing the ABC song. I hope you know the one: “ABCDEFG HIJKLMNOP QRSTUV WX and Y and Z.”

I began to think about how many people I saw daily who were struggling to start up an Internet business or struggling to make money.

The thought hit me. They don’t know their ABCs. I participate at a few forums that are loaded with people trying to do business on the Internet. A common issue with many is their lack of basic business knowledge.

Why is this? Are late-night infomercials to blame? I think so, partly. We now have an entire culture that believes all you need to do to make money is turn on your computer. Ah, I can hear the old the old mantra: “Build it and they will come.”

Rather than learning about business principles, people are simply following advice from others who apparently are doing the same—what a vicious cycle. Rather than learning about the why, they just want to know what to do—quickly. Unfortunately, this almost always leads to failure or very limited success.

There’s a dangerous thought out there that Internet business is completely different from doing business in the real world. While the Internet has some differences, the basics of business still apply. And not knowing them equates to failure on some level.

Whether you read some business-oriented books, go to college, attend some seminars or all of them, you need to grasp the basics of business to succeed.

Site Experiment: One Year - Part Two

The other day I started talking about a site experiment that was started a year ago.

Today, I’ll conclude it. Part one is located here: Site Experiment: One Year - Part One

Costs

While I’m a professional writer, I didn’t write any content for this experiment. Heck, I didn’t even edit it. The idea was to make money without working—a fine goal for anyone.

I limited my budget to $8 per article. For some articles, I got 400 words for that money. For others, it got me less. My main requirement was 250+ words per article. So, let’s say I paid full price for five articles, that’s $40.

Next, I needed a domain name—$7 or less.

On some sites, I paid $10-$20 for directory submission. On other sites, I put the cash in my pocket and just submitted to 5-10 places on my own.

Extras

One of the sites I put up at the end of 2006, using this rule set, was in a smaller niche than main site I’ve been talking about. I didn’t promote the site much at all and I decided to modify the procedure to include a new profit component—e-books. I found an affiliate program for an e-book that I thought my visitors would be interested in.

Despite only earning $10 in AdSense last month, which isn’t too bad given the newness and lack of promotion/content, it made an e-book sale. That sale made me almost $16. It made a sale in the previous month too.

I’m making almost $1 per day for this site with no work. The site has five articles and was given less than two hours of my time from the start of uploading WordPress to the last second I spent on the site. Each day those two hours grow in value.

If you’re going to try something like this, definitely look into adding an e-book or some other informational product.

Good or bad?

Is this a good way to make money on the Internet? For many, putting up hundreds of sites, like the ones I mentioned, isn’t a good idea. They will get confused and bogged down. But, for others it can be an easy add-on to their Internet business ventures.

Yes, it is possible to make thousands of dollars monthly doing this. But only you can decide if it’s a good method to utilize or not.

I think one of the keys of this experiment was my ability to let things go. Don’t try to put out a quality site. Don’t try to make things perfect. Just figure out a way to turn a profit and forget the rest.

Unexpected results

One of the things I found by doing this experiment was that I could find segments to focus on.

For instance, perhaps today I make sites for: classic guitars, gardening, email marketing, learning Tagalog, smoothie recipes, and history books. Months from now I’ll look to see how much money these sites are (or aren’t) bringing in.

If there’s a site doing very well, that’s my indication to focus more in that sector. I like to think of it as a way to get paid while testing markets.

What it is and isn’t

If you’re going to try something like this, you need to understand that your goal isn’t to build a site that’s known and loved. Your goal is to make money—only.

Your visitors will come and leave. Most will never return again. You’re simply trying to get them to leave through one of your paying channels.

Where to start

I’d start by reading Internet Business Entrepreneur—like you are doing right now. I’ll be sharing my quick-start guide for this project in the coming days.

Site Experiment : One Year Later - Part One

In the first quarter of 2006, I decided to try an experiment. I wanted to build a series of sites, do almost no work, and see how much money I could make. It’s been a year and the progress has been nice.

I started out by forming a set of rules for the operation of this experiment. These rules were somewhat against my normal rules of operation (namely not using quality content). Read more

Free Money Making Ideas – Part 1

Often, I see people asking the same question over and over—”what’s a good way to make money?” These people are usually trying to figure out what industry to go into to make money. I imagine they spend their days sloshing around the Internet looking for a way to make money. Is this you? There’s no reason why you should struggle to find moneymaking ideas.

Here are some tips for finding ideas—and they are quick and free.

Moneymaking Tip: Look at your junk mail

That’s right. Start with something you probably get every day of the year. I go out of my way to get on mailing lists. I fill out requests for information in the backs of magazines. I request any free catalog or information pack I see—regardless of whether I really want it.

There’s a reason behind my madness. When I get a piece of “junk” mail, I know that someone spent money to send it to me, which means, there could be money in whatever they are doing.

Since companies sometimes sell mailing information, it’s possible to end up on a slew of fun lists without any additional work. If you do this, I recommend setting up a mailbox at the UPS store, Post Office or similar location.

Let’s look at a few pieces of my mail from today.

Item One: It’s a brochure for a business-training course.

Item Two: It’s a catalog for specialty clothing with promo giveaway.

Item Three: It’s a catalog for gift baskets.

I’ve only listed three items, and I already have a slew of ideas. Let’s stop and look at item #2. This catalog is full of specialty clothes and there’s a bonus if you order now. The bonus was most likely researched by the company and tied to things that potential customers of these products would like. That’s free market research in my mail!

Now, I know what you are saying. How can I use this? Here are some quick ideas from just these three items.

1. Put together my own business-training course.
2. Create a website about gift baskets.
3. Write an article about gift baskets and sell it or use it for myself.
4. Make a note about what promo items work with certain customers.
5. Create and sell gift baskets like the 100s in the catalog.
6. Create a course about how to make and sell gift baskets and show examples.
7. See whether any of these companies have an online affiliate program. If so, look for ways to promote them.
8. Keep the catalogs for future reference on how to set up catalogs that sell.

There are eight ideas from three pieces of junk mail. Some of them take more work than others, but you can see how the ideas are out there.

In the next installment, I’ll share another moneymaking tip and give you more examples.

Too Many Hats

The small business owner often has to wear many hats. One minute he or she is an accountant, then next a web designer. It’s easy to get bogged down with all the tasks required of small business owners.

Many small business owners kill themselves and their chance for success by doing too much on their own. The feeling of having to do everything is a common one among small business owners. However, that’s just not the case nor is it wise.

I think this state of mind comes from people who think it’s better to spend time rather than money. This line of thinking will keep one’s business small indeed.

The proper course of action is to determine what your strong points are and where money can be spent to free you up to focus on those points.

For instance, perhaps you are a very talented artist who’s just opened a web design business. While you might be Picasso with your graphics programs, perhaps you write ad copy at an elementary school level.

For the good of your business, you need to find a way to hire a professional copywriter for that task. The result will be a job done right and the potential for more business.

By spending time for tasks you are very good at, and spending money at those you’re not, you will make the most of your business and give it the best possible chance to prosper.

Setting Up an Internet Business

For some reason many people think that running a business on the Internet is different from doing so in the real world. Many people are tempted to just set up shop and start dabbling in commerce.

I would like to give you a word of warning. Before you engage in any business, you need to think about possible legal issues. It’s highly recommended that you set up either a corporation or a LLC prior to engaging in business on the Internet.

Why? The main reason is protection. If you operate under your own name—D.B.A., partnership, sole proprietorship—your personal assets are at risk. However, by forming your own corporation or LLC, you limit your own personal liability.

Setting up a corporation or LLC isn’t too complicated, and it isn’t costly either. For instance, you can set up a LLC in Nevada for about $250—depending on your situation. If that seems like a small fortune, just think about what you have to lose.

You don’t need to live in the state you set up your company in. Nevada is a great choice, because of the lower fees and lack of taxes. The Nevada Secretary of State’s website has everything you need to setup any type of business entity desired.

Next in this series, I will go over how to set up a Nevada LLC. I will also be showing you how to set up a basic Internet business quickly—bank account, EIN and so forth.