Hey there! Well I am hoping everyone that is reading this has been enjoying their holidays! My family had a wonderful Christmas and although Christmas Day was not white, the day after and as of today it sure is! We were slammed with a blizzard and basically snowed in but you know what, it made the family time even more special. There were lots of video games to be played and plenty of food to fill our bellies so all in all the storm was a joy, especially for the kids, shoveling was not so fun but I call that “forced exercise”!
I cannot believe how fast 2010 has rolled by, and this year more than ever I have had an overwhelming feeling of excitement for the coming new year. It could be because this year I told myself whatever hurdles are thrown in front of me I am going to jump over, just like I was back in high school when I was a high hurdler in track. My mom said I used to remind her of a gazelle when I ran, leaping over the high hurdles, doing the three step, which if you don’t know what that is, it’s when you land you take three steps before the next hurdle and jump again, alternating legs, which is hard for many, most people do this in four, jumping using the same leg forward each time. Anyway, I was more determined this year more than ever to not sweat the small stuff, take on the hard stuff like a raging bull, and jump the hurdles fast and furious. So far, I think I did pretty good.
Next year, 2011, feels like change. I like change. I am an Aquarius, and we like change. We are bored easily by nature and need constant excitement. When I know something is going to happen for the better I get a funny feeling in my stomach, which I have while I write this to you. It’s the feeling that makes me wake up every morning with a smug little smirk on my face and makes me think to myself, oh yeah, it’s coming. What’s coming? Is it just coming for me? Well of course not.
What’s coming is whatever you want “it” to be. Positive thinking breeds positive action which breeds positive results. You see, when something falls in your lap, it all depends how you handle it that will determine it’s outcome.
For instance, I work for myself, by myself, out of my home. I recently took on a lot of clients. Now I could have been all stressed out about it and worry that I was taking on more than I could chew, but instead I structured my time and am getting things accomplished one step at a time. My clients are pleased, I am pleased and now I am being referred to even more clients because of my performance. Instead of me being nervous and creating negative energy for myself, I looked at the abundance of clients as a sign of prosperity, and a test of my abilities. I passed the test because I did not let my fears overcome me.
I speak about fears very often and for those that know me are aware that this emotion is one that I talk about most often. It is the one major emotion holding most entrepreneurs back. The fear of the unknown, the fear of “I can’t do this” or “I don’t want to look like a fool” plays a major role in people’s progress. What many little do not realize is when they do take the initiative and just “do it” they are actually inspiring those that have not quite reached that level of bravery yet. For me, when I stepped out of that comfort zone I had been in, I not only gained more self confidence, but I inspired others around me to do the same AND with their testimonials of how I had inspired them, inspired ME to keep going. Do you see how that works?
So my question to you the last days before we say goodbye to 2010 is, “What are you throwing out this year to make room for in 2011″? Are you going to make a point of throwing out your self doubt? Are you going to make some room for inspiration and motivation? Are you going to invest in knowledge this year or are you going to sit around for another year waiting for the big windfall to be placed in your lap?
My last bit of advice for the end of 2010 is, wipe away all the failures you may have encountered this past year, cleanse yourself and forgive yourself of any past mistakes or misfortunes. Rid yourself of guilt, of “but I should have done this” attitude and commit to yourself for 2011 you WILL take action, you WILL write down your short term goals, you WILL seek advice if you are lost, you WILL educate yourself and you WILL succeed in 2011.
My best to you always, much success and if you can relate to any of this please do feel free to place a comment, with a link back to your site, together we grow!
Happy New Year.
Here we are, Thanksgiving already, wasn’t it just summer? Amazing how time flies isn’t it?
I logged off of Facebook and Twitter, shut down my Skype, cell phone in another room, kids are at school and my husband at work. It’s just me, my laptop and my silent house. It will not be that way in a few hours as we prepare for tomorrow, Thanksgiving. The children are so excited to go to their Aunt’s house and play with her toys. My sister has two full grown sons, both married and out of the house, yet you walk into her family room and there are more toys in that room than Toys R Us’ inventory the day before Black Friday. When the children get home I have haircuts to give and nice warm baths before we start making some desserts for tomorrow.
I escaped making Thanksgiving dinner for another year, my sister is so graciously hosting another Thanksgiving feast, however, Christmas is always at my house. My house is the biggest so we can fit the most family members, at the moment my immediate family including children tops the charts at 20, I think, I keep losing count. Someone seems to always be either getting married or having a baby. I have the most kids too, and everyone feels bad if they make us take the kids away from their toys on Christmas so I do the cooking and the rest of the family does the traveling.
I wanted to write to you today and ask that you make sure you are spending time with your family. We are so busy these days with our careers and it is so very easy to get sucked into our own little world, not consciously realizing we are alienating those that love us so much. I did that, so very often, it was hurting my marriage a couple of years ago. I spent so much time in my office, on webinars, conference calls, making sure my clients and business associates were being taken care of that I was hurting my family.
My husband would come home from work, no dinner ready, kids were hungry, I just kept saying okay I will be there in a second, that would turn into an hour. My husband respected and encouraged my career but at the same time I was a steam engine that never shut off. Even when I would seperate myself from the computer and sit down with the family my husband would catch me daydreaming and would ask me to “come back to Earth”. I would sit at dinner or in front of the television not watching the program but thinking about what had to be done the next day or what was needed for a client, etc. and I was not “there” with the family. I struggled with that for a long time, being able to seperate business from family time.
I was obsessed with being the best I could be in my career and was not balancing my personal life and career. One day my husband just cried and said “What am I doing wrong”? I looked at him with utter shock and said “You aren’t doing anything wrong why??” He said I never talked to him anymore. When he would be home I was forever in my office, I would get up long enough to help get the kids to bed and then go back to the office. Mind you he knew I had already been working the entire day while he was at work, I was pulling 12 hour days and still thought I needed to do more.
I was so set in my ways and so selfish I did not see it what was happening around me. I told him at the time he was overreacting and that everything was fine but I knew in my heart something had to be done. Shortly after that I heard my then six year old say to her little sister, “I’ll help you, don’t ask Mommy she’s too busy.” Well there you have it. Sort of like the Grinch hearing the Whos down in Whoville singing on Christmas morning, I got up from my office chair and went into the girls’ bedroom and said “Mommy is not too busy, I am right here and I will help you, always I am NEVER too busy for you.” But apparently I had been. I vividly remember my oldest daughter coming into my office telling me she finished her homework and wanting to show me and me saying “Ok honey I will look at it later I am busy.” I cannot believe now what was going on then because I can handle it all now, but it gives me a sick feeling in my stomach when I think back to those days.
From that day on, which is now about three years ago, I have made it a point to balance my work and my family, work when they are at school and work, and make time for everyone when they are home.
So this day before Thanksgiving, I ask you, if you are like I was and working so hard for the good of your family with all the best of intentions for your hard work in mind, please do not forget to turn off the technology when appropriate, take time out, be thankful for those that surround you and love you, and don’t forget to carve the roast beast.
Tags: Black Friday, family, Grinch, Thanksgiving
Hi gang, it’s Halloween and I thought it would be quite fitting to talk about something that I recognize in a lot of people I mentor and encounter who are learning the home business process or have been at it for awhile and are discouraged. It is a short message but a topic that I would like to address.
Many people, and trust me I have been here, are wallowing in the land of “what ifs” and “if I only did it differently”. They are wanting to have that seven figure income and drive those fancy cars yet they are not getting there and that is making them angry. Many people jump right into a business opportunity and buy into the never ending “hype” and believe that this is IT over and over and over again and never seem to break themselves of this pattern. At the same time after several failed attempts at building a business, losing money, and losing faith in ever getting to their goal of ultimate financial freedom, they start to look at themselves and say “What is wrong with me” or “I just can’t do this”. This is where the ghost of self doubt comes to pay a visit.
The ghost of self doubt visits the day you stop believing in yourself. He visits in that corner of your mind and sets up a tent and a fishing pole and hangs out all day and night. He is the voice you hear inside you that says all the negative comments I mentioned earlier.
Instead of letting the ghost of self doubt hang out inside your head, next time he starts talking to you, tell him to take a hike instead of pitching a tent. Tell yourself to pay attention to the mistakes you have made and learn from them. Educate yourself in identifying what went wrong, what you need more help with, where your strengths and weaknesses are, and pick your chin up and move forward.
There is nothing wrong with making a mistake, as long as you take your failure or set back as a learning experience that will help you as you press on toward the future. Self doubt in itself may very well be what it is that is keeping you from succeeding. Books catering to self confidence and self motivation are plentiful, browse through a bookstore and find one that sounds like it will address certain issues you may be having and give it a read, perhaps twice.
I have some of my favorite books listed on my blog, have a glance perhaps one of them are of interest to you.
Did you or do you ever have a problem with self confidence? Share your story!
Tags: ghost of self doubt, home business failure, self confidence, self doubt
Well, it’s been awhile since my last post and I apologize for that. I have been writing articles for my clients so much I had no time to come back to my happy place! But today, I disciplined myself and said I was coming to post a part 2 to my last post which was talking about the launch. Also to talk about Kajabi, something that not a whole lot of people are aware of exists but is probably the most significant missing ingredient in many businesses trying to market online.
The launch, which I think I touched upon in my last post, simply means launching a product or service of your own or of someone else’s to targeted prospects to make a profit. That pretty much is the simplest of terms I can think of. Are you aware you can do a launch for just about anything? Have you done any Clickbank marketing? If you use social media in conjunction with the search engines you can really make money and sales promoting anything, provided you have something that people want and need and provided you are targeting the right audience!
Did you ever hear the story about the guy that owned the store next to the gold mine during the California gold rush who became a millionaire by selling the shovels to all the gold diggers? Yep, it’s true, I forget his name now but he did, and made a ton more money than most of the gold diggers themselves and didn’t sweat half as much.
Sometimes you have to look at things in a different light and see that there are more ways to make money with a home business than actually selling a product. Quite often you can make a killing off of supplying people with a great business tool or service instead of fighting the competition and trying to convince people that your soap or lotion is better than the guy in that “other” business. Anyway, back to the point of my Part 2 of this post.
I wrote Part 1 I believe it was the end of September, and I mentioned some gurus names, one of which was Jeff Walker who I told you I learned the art of the “launch”. Well, having no clue that I was about to be invited to look at a software program that the “gurus” are using to launch their products, services, businesses whatever and I was floored for three reasons. One was, Jeff Walker used this same system to launch his last program, two, I need this, and three, I felt it was so weird that this just fell in my lap during a time where I was trying to put all my pieces together for my business.
Now I am so trying not to sound like a hypey lunatic here, I really have found this software program called “Kajabi” that although has a stupid name and keeps reminding me of Jumanji with Robin Williams, I have seen what this can do for my future with online marketing, and can see it helping so many others as well. It’s not just to be used only if you want to launch a product or service, it’s your own community, your own portal, your own way to harness social media and SEO and not have to worry about CSS, html, graphic design, splash page creating and so much more!
Kajabi is to me the missing piece to my puzzle to really put an edge on my marketing material not having to spend thousands and thousands of dollars in the process. I encourage you if you are reading this and have any intention of making money online or you are trying to “smarten up” your online marketing, to have a look at Kajabi soon, they will be allowing a 14 day free trial for a very limited time so you can test drive the system and then you can make an educated decision from there.
I am sure you get my drift on all this and if you ready to get serious about yourself and your business, test drive Kajabi and leave me a comment and tell me what you think . Give yourself some time to get through that whole video, you see for once someone has allowed us to look at what the whole system can do for us, get the pricing information up front, enabling us to make a decision while playing with it ourselves a bit before opening up our wallets. I like that.
Tags: Jeff Walker, Kabaji for internet marketers, Kajabi, launching your business, What is Kajabi
Today is Sunday, a day I think out of all seven when I get particularly reflective. I wanted to talk to you today about internet marketing and make you really think outside the box today.
Did you ever wonder about the guru’s making 6 or 7 figures a year what they truly did or do to make that sort of money?
I was on a private webinar about 7 months ago with the Daddy of internet marketing that revealed the secret and I want to let you know what he said. He said you have to analyze the masses. Find out what their problem is and solve it for them. Sound hard? Well, not really. You see the savvy internet marketer knows exactly what the masses want and need and they gear their entire existence around those wants and needs and monetize it. For instance, many will tell you their tale of woes, how they were down in the dumps etc., selling their furniture and such just to get more education etc. etc. and with perserverance, determination and drive they are where they are today. They do that to connect with the people that are listening to them. They want to relate to them on a personal basis instantly gaining that connection with them. They are not lying they are being very truthful about where they came from and where they were, but it’s the WAY they do it that is so powerful.
Now did you ever analyze exactly what they do? Did you actually ever sit back and watch their process unfold in front of you? Have you figured out the secret yet? I sure did and instead of leading you on for three weeks then charging you a ton of money just to tell you what you could have already figured out on your own if you were paying attention, I am going to tell you in this article so keep reading.
You see folks, most people on the internet today do everything backwards. They hear they need to build a list, they understand that they need a list of people to “market” their “stuff” to, they then try everything under the sun to try to get people onto their “list”. They work at that list for a very long time then think magically as soon as they send an email about some business they are in that all these people on their list are going to join them and all will walk the beaches of riches together. Well, that can happen, just not the way most are doing it. What they are lacking is explained below.
The biggest thing I notice that is lacking in most people’s marketing campaigns are a lack of substance and value. Oh I know you are thinking, PLEASE I have heard this already. Well, listen again. Many people claim affiliate marketing is the best way to make money on the internet. That is definitely one of them. The problem is the average affiliate marketer has no client base or following to market the service or program they are marketing in the first place. Did you understand that? If not read that last sentence again. They have this awesome tool, product or service but make peanuts because when they became an affiliate they had no one to market the service to. This is why the “list” is important. Not spamming haphazardly on a social site or to your personal email inbox. An actual group of people that value what you have to say. They comment on your blog or ask your advice. They WANT to know what you are up to and they are waiting for you to show them what you are up to. Those are the people you want on your list.
Back to the gurus, a name in which I can’t stand but nevertheless when I refer to them it is not in my eyes an insult. They know exactly what they are doing and can predict before they start a campaign how much money they will make. Can you do that?
Ok enough with the chatter let’s get to the meat of this article. Here is the secret to the guru’s success: THE LAUNCH.
Yes, you heard me, it’s the launch. It’s the art of launching a product or service in such a way that it will be successful from start to finish. How? Carefully. Well thought out. Studying the previous guru’s step by step and duplicate. Don’t think you can do this or don’t think you have something you can launch? Guess again. You can launch anything from a new line of bikinis to a newly written Ebook. It still needs to be something you are passionate about and that you can stand behind, however, it does not necesarily have to be something you created. It just has to be handled in the right order.
Here are some keys to a successful launch:
1. Don’t put the horse before the cart. In other words, get your presence out there. Start a blog and work it around what you are passionate about. For example, if you love baking cookies and are planning on writing a book about it, while you are busy writing the book, build your audience by writing a blog about cooking, baking, how to bake, why you love to bake, show pictures of your creations, encourage others to comment on your blog about their baking. Run a contest and award someone something for the best recipe of fudge. You get my drift. Something that will create buzz around your product or service, BEFORE you launch that book.
2. When you start #1 above, you will be naturally building your list. USE social media to gather more like minded people. Create a group on Facebook around cooking (back to example from step 1). Groups on Facebook are powerful, more powerful than a fan page for you can schedule events, email the people in your group etc. etc. very powerful, yet everyone talks solely about creating only a fan page. Do both…what the hell it’s more exposure.
3. Do NOT launch your product or service too soon. I see this happen ALL the time. New start up companies will launch their business prematurely before they are ready and all their work backfires in their face. If you don’t talk about your new book you are writing no one knows, right? Therefore no one will know if you suddenly got writer’s block and can’t finish chapter 10. It takes the pressure off of you, and trust me stress will make you counter productive in a heart beat. So in other words make damn sure whatever it is you are launching is ready BEFORE you start to tell the people on your “list”. Don’t give a date unless of course it’s all ready to go!
4. The actual prelaunch itself should be a series of emails and videos and of course some sort of opt in area so truly interested folks can stay informed as you go. PLEASE make sure you have an opt-out clause at the bottom of every email. I strongly suggest not to launch a product or service with fewer than 500 people on your list. It’s a numbers game. All based on percentages. This is your business, treat it as one and do your due diligence.
5. Try to do a JV partnership with key people. For instance, you offer the JV partners a special “cut” of sales if they also market to THEIR lists. Guru’s do this all the time. Why not you?! This is a very VERY effective way to gain more exposure quickly. But first, realize you will need some sort of relationship FIRST with the JV before asking them to partner with you, after all, if whatever you are marketing STINKS then that person’s reputation is on the line. Again, horse before cart = disaster.
6. Study the gurus. I will list here a bunch of people that have this launch stuff down PAT. Look them up, get on a list of theirs and next time they do a launch save EVERY email you get and study it. How they talk, what they do, and duplicate. Mike Dillard, the king of internet marketers, is so good at this he seriously could snap his fingers and tell people to start drinking 17 glasses of water a day and they would do it..why? Because he has worked years at building his followers and giving GREAT advice and people adore him, including me. Ann Sieg, she is the renegade marketer, very down to earth and women in the industry can relate to A LOT of what she has to say and what she has been through. She was my first mentor, before I started paying attention to Mike. Jeff Walker, the one that taught me how to launch. Incredible career and again, very down to earth and easy to understand. There are many more but these three people I have studied, thoroughly, oh one more, Ryan Deiss. He either launches his own stuff or does JV all the time and is a master of the launch as well.
I must tell you when I study these people I don’t buy the courses at the end of the launch that cost people thousands and thousands of dollars. What I have done is take notes, lots and lots and lots, attended webinars, lots and lots of webinars. Watched what they do, when they do it and how they do it. I can honestly say I have purchased many products (books) these people and others have written, but never the 3 month long thousands of dollar courses, I didn’t need to. Maybe you do I don’t know. All I know is the more money I kept in my pocket and the more I learned for free has brought me to where I am today. About to launch my own company. Following what I have learned, studying, duplicating and tons of research. It will happen for me and it can happen for you. Just know the money is not in that terrific MLM you just joined or that company that has the supposed next best lotion. The money is truly within you. It’s just a matter of figuring out what it is or who it is you will partner with to get it done. That was my challenge, I knew I could do it I just didn’t know what although my husband was telling me for over a year what it was. He saw it, I didn’t. or maybe I was too scared to admit it. I don’t know, all I know is as soon as I started to believe in myself the rest started falling into place.
I hope this helped you. If you are searching, wondering, trying to figure out just what it is that will be IT for you. I hope I opened your eyes a little and made you think outside the box. Sometimes the answers to the hardest questions are so obvious we tend to overlook them. I wish you the best. Start to believe in yourself and look inside you for some answers.
Tags: Ann Sieg, internet marketing guru, launch, Mike Dillard, ryan deiss, secret to success
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