Tag: online business

Trying New Things

Our business in life is not to get ahead of others, but to get ahead of ourselves — to break our own records, to outstrip our yesterday by our today.” Stewart B. Johnson

 

Why try new things?

This argument comes up as often when things are going well as when things are going badly. Why try new things, everything is running smoothly. This is the don’t rock the boat model of running a business.

I understand it and have fallen prey to it far too often. I spent the first half of my career as an online business person specializing in selling media. Hard media in the form of books, dvds and blurays. Anyone who has or still earns a living in this area can tell you that this industry peaked around 2008 or 2009 and it has been in decline since then. The reason for this is advancements in technology. VOD or video on demand and digital downloads of all types of media has impacted those who sell standard media. If you are having trouble understanding this look at the shape that your local news papers are in. The digital world is replacing old media and those of us who were slow to adjust watched our businesses go into decline.

The other side of the rock the boat coin are those who believe that if hey alter course that bad will go to worst. Thinking like that is borderline insanity and will be the death of your business. Change and adapt when things are going both well and do it with a greater sense of urgency when things are going badly.

If your online business is to grow you are going to have to make changes. Find new sources of supply to meet a demand that you are not even aware of yet. You are going to have to find new ways to reach your customers if your business is going to maintain its market share yet alone grow. With each post this month I will offer a link to a company or service that can help your business grow. Visit their sites and try their trial offers. Some may prove to be necessary for your day-to-day operation. Others maybe discarded after a day or two.

I would like you to check out this company, they can help you create and manage forms and emailing list. Why do I need such a company you ask? Well why do the business that do seven or eight figures in business online spend so much time having visitor fill out forms and gathering email addresses? The answer is that it is good for the long-term growth of their business.


Good luck with your online store and or business and remember the number one rule of those who have created a successful business is don’t be afraid to fail. After all how many planes did not take off before the first one did, how many cars did not start and how many phones never rang before someone was able to say “hello no, you
dialed the wrong number.”


Know your Strengths and Weaknesses

The Things We Don’t Know

There is probably one thing that you do not know that you do not know and it is obvious. You do not know your strengths and weaknesses. For the longest time as an online business person I had no clue what if any of my strengths were.

Once I found what they were and were not it allowed me to play to my strengths. I sort of do a check down at the start and end of each day. At the beginning of each day setting the basic goal of focusing my actions toward the areas that I am strongest in and then working on the ones where I discovered weakness. If I could not handle certain parts of the day-to-day operation of my business or if I found myself spending far too much time on an area that I found to be far to difficult then I would hire someone to aid me in that area. At the end of each day I go over all that I have accomplished and left on the table and normally the accomplishments are usually in comfortable areas of strength and the work left on the table are in my weaker areas.

The lesson learned from this is that knowing your strengths and weaknesses makes for a more efficiently run business. It is okay to admit that you can not do everything. As a matter of fact it is better than okay, it is good business. If you are having trouble with handling the marketing of your business or managing email and list then hire a company or service to do this for you. This frees you up to do the things that you do best. Some of us are good at writing and others are great talkers. If you are good at talking or appearing in front of a camera then use that to grow your business. Go on Youtube or get yourself an online radio broadcast or blog broadcast. Remember that at the end of the day the goal is always to be promoting you online store or online business. To always be closing the next deal.

Allow me to close for now. If you find these post or the information that I provide for you’re here useful take a moment to do a social bookmark, whether it is google plus or stumbleupon. Check out some of the companies that I promote on various pages of this site. It is free to click and visit them all. Companies like Gro Social has help many turn their Facebook page into a promotional tool for their businesses after trying and failing on their own to do so and the service known as GetResponse has helped many of those who have visited this site. If you need someone else to act as an auto responder for your business they are great. They can handle newsletters and sign-up forms for you. Building list and email marketing will be an important part of growing your business into something that can not only help you and your family get by, but get ahead.

Some of you have asked questions about my advertisers. I write about other things, but I do not mention much if anything about GetResponse, they have ads on most of my pages and I never tell you anything about them so I thought I would include a quick tutorial on their service. Okay here it is.

 


Okay that is the sales pitch for today. Get back to work and remember know your strengths and work on improving in the areas where you are weak.


The Online Business Person

The Business Person in You

-“Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell ‘em, ‘Certainly, I can!’ Then get busy and find out how to do it.” Theodore Roosevelt.-

It was not so long ago that you only dreamed about running your own online business. You worked for someone else or perhaps you even still do, but you look at that job as the day job and the online store as the real job. At some point you realized that this was your future.

You were going to be a business person.

Your were going to be your own boss and now here you are. I know that it is frightening at times. After all you are all on your own. It is sink or swim and it is up to you. No one can help you do what must be done each day and even if they could would you really want them to. Part of running your own online business is the freedom that it has given you and if Harry Potter showed up with a magic wand ready to make everything run smoothly most of us would tell him to get a hair cut and hit the bricks. This is a do it yourself operation and that is where the fun is. Those closest to you do not understand that and they never will. If they did understand the joy of running your own business they would be doing it.



I am not here to do your job for you. What I am here to do is offer some advice. I have spent years of trial and error trying to figure out how to get supplies for my online store. Learning how to build my own website. The truth on my journey is that I tried and failed a half-dozen times before maybe I have gotten it right.

I earn a living. I support my family. I have free time to pursue my filmmaking hobby. I want the same for anyone who is willing to put in the time and effort. If you stick around this site and learn a few new things. Visit a site or two that I recommend. Look if you were comfortable where you are you would not be here. So there is room to improve.

-“You must either modify your dreams or magnify your skills.”Jim Rohn-

 

 



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