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Looking for some great books, ebooks, ezines, affiliate programs, podcasts, and online services for your internet business?

Look no further…

I have added a new “Internet Business Resources” page for aspiring and growth-seeking internet entrepreneurs here on the site. 

I’d like to keep the list limited to the most useful stuff for now, but I will likely add more in the future. 

Leave a comment if you have any additional recommendations.  Limit your suggestions to those key resources that have brought you the most success!

These days, I am thinking a lot about the importance of action in entrepreneurship.  Immediate ACTION.

Solo entrepreneurs are particularly prone to the procrastination and avoidance bugs.  And yet, the axiom still holds true that “Nothing happens until you take action.”

Often, it’s so easy to get wrapped up in the finer details that do nothing for the true growth of the business (creating letterhead and business cards, handling pointless paperwork, on and on).

Why bother with all that #!&@ now?  You can handle it later *after* you’re raking it in!

Let’s get started now with 3 quick-and-easy questions:

1.  What Do You Have to Sell Today?
Notice that the question is NOT “What can you go out and get to sell today?” or, “What can you take 3 months to develop and then sell down the road?”

We’re starting right where you are today.  Take a look around.  Go through every room in your house and think “Product.”  Or, take a look at your own skills and talents and think “Service.”

Consider your passions and interests.  You want to have fun with this, so stick to the things you also have a passion for.

2.  Who Will Buy from You Today?
OK- got that product or service ready?  Let’s start thinking about customers.

First, you’ll need to be very clear about this:  You have to believe that someone out there really could benefit from what you’re selling.  If you see the situation that way, you’ll think of your role as more of a problem-solver than a salesperson.

Go ahead and describe your ideal customer – that person who will buy from your TODAY!

3.  How Can You Meet Your Buyer Today?
With a general idea of your customer in mind, it’s time to start thinking about how to connect with these types of people.

Think in terms of channels:

• Who could you call?
• Who could you email?
• Who could you wave a sign at?
• Who could you meet?
• Who could you write a letter?
• Who could you bring to a website?

Here’s a great example of this 3-step process in action…

Before my work evolved into internet-based entrepreneurship, I worked as a freelance copywriter and marketing consultant.  (I still do some similar work with niche expert marketing today.)

To become an entrepreneur-copywriter, I took these same steps:

1.  I decided the best service I could sell *today* was my copywriting & marketing skills.

2.  I determined that local small business owners and ad agencies would be my most likely customers.

3.  I contacted as many of these types of “customers” as possible through the cheapest and fastest channel available: old-fashion cold calling.

Though my business grew in a different direction after this experience, the action I took in the beginning led to all of the results.

Well, what are you waiting for?  Are you ready to become an entrepreneur today?

This article is NOT going to make any promises or guarantees for “easy money” or “get-rich-quick schemes.” Instead, if you read on, you’ll find out how reading one book can help you make a major shift in your thinking about business overnight – literally in 24 hours.

Many of you are already familiar with the original Rich Dad, Poor Dad book. I read that first of the series long ago. It definitely some of my thoughts on money, time, and the future.

But nothing really happened.

Then, I read the Cashflow Quadrant – one of Robert Kiyosaki’s later titles in the Rich Dad, Poor Dad series.

That’s when my entire business vision shifted. And it happened overnight.

Here’s Kiyosaki’s basic argument: Anyone earning money does so from one of four “quadrants”:

• Employment
• Self-Employment
• Business Ownership
• Investing

As you can already see, the first two areas listed are very different from the last two. If you read Kiyosaki’s book, you’ll discover how your thinking about business and work will greatly impact your decision to join either of these groupings – the “active income” quadrants or the “passive income” quadrants.

I write a lot about the critical importance of Mindset in entrepreneurship – and Kiyosaki’s Cashflow Quadrant is almost entirely about the vast differences in Mindset between these groups!

The most valuable part of Kiyosaki’s work is his discussion on how to setup your lifestyle to generate income from a variety of quadrants at a time. Entrepreneurs can easily fall into the role of the self-employee if specific steps are not taken in the right direction.

Do yourself a favor and order this book today. Then, take a day to read Kiyosaki’s words and rethink your role as a business owner.

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Leaving money on the table in your internet business? Not satisfying your “hungry market”? Not confident in your ability to make real money on the web?

Let’s look at the three most likely reasons your web site is going broke…

1. You Have a Mental Block

It’s bizarre, but oh so true: Your ability to make money (in any venture) has a lot to do with your ideas about money.I know what you’re thinking: “Not more of this ‘Law of Attraction’ and ‘The Secret’ hullabaloo.

I’m not going to tell you that all you need to do is sit quietly in a room and meditate on your piles of money. That would be about as effective as telling you that all you need to do is sit at a computer all day and create website after website Field of Dreams style.

The key is… you need to do both. And you need to balance both according to your specific needs. Some people need to focus more on the meditation and mental mindset stuff, while others need to work a bit harder at the desk.

In my experience, this balancing act never ends, and if you learn to accept that now, it makes things fun.

But if you’re working really hard and seeing little or no results, the problem is almost always in your head. If so, it’s time to do some mental reconfiguration.

Start with these key questions:

• What is the difference between the you TODAY who makes X amount every year and the you TOMORROW who makes X+Y per year?

• How hard do you think a person MUST work to make X+Y?

• Do you think it’s possible to really enjoy your work (so much that it’s hardly work) and still make a boatload of cash?

• What feelings of guilt are you still harboring about making (or having) a lot of money?

2. Your Prices are Too Low

Here’s another common problem: guilt-reducing price cuts!

Can you believe that many people are out there selling their own products and services for prices far lower than they actually deserve? Believe it. Chances are, you’re among them!

When I started working as a freelance copywriter, I had the hardest time quoting my prices to clients. Some part of me actually felt guilty charging the industry standard for my valuable services.

Despite the fact that I was qualified to do the work, my copy was always effective, and I gave my all to every project on my desk, I still managed to come up with tons of reasons to lower my prices.

Let’s start here: If you don’t believe in the value of your products and services, who will?

Ask yourself: how much is this product/service really worth? (Spend some time really thinking about what it’s going to do for your customer.)

Also: how much is my time really worth? This question alone can change your life. If you decide you’re worth $100 per hour, then absolutely every minute of your working day becomes incredibly valuable to you.

But, alas, problem #2 here is DIRECTLY related to the opening problem #1 above.

3. You’re Giving it All Away for Free

This last problem is especially true on the web.

Yes, it’s a good idea to give some things away for free, especially if it’s going to result in kickbacks later (email sign ups, client referrals, future purchases, etc).

But… You can’t give it all away all of the time. The key here is knowing how much is too much.

Blogging provides a useful example: In the beginning, as you’re building a readership, you’re going to give it ALL away for free. But you absolutely must have an end game in mind.

What are you giving away every day that you could easily package for sale? (Bloggers, for example, might consider creating ebooks).

How can you stop or cutback on the giveaways? (Write shorter blog posts, be more disciplined during “free consultations” – you get the idea.)

The worst mistake any business or entrepreneur can make is leaving money on the table. As Dan Kennedy once suggested, the goal is actually NOT “zero resistance selling” - it’s better to turn some customers away because of higher prices than to get all the business at rock-bottom prices!

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Are you maximizing the online potential for your business?This is just the question I asked myself during a “business brainstorm” session over a cup of breakfast tea yesterday morning.

That train of thought got me thinking about how I could best categorize the different types of “Internet Business” possible. You might also think of this listing in terms of income streams.

This is by no means exhaustive, but captures the essential methods to make money online.

To illustrate how one person could make use of all four areas, I’ll use “Bookseller Bob” as our case study. Mr. Bookseller owns a small but growing bookstore in his hometown and is thinking seriously about taking his business live on the web.

Each area begins with a “You” statement to sum-up the basic form of doing business – perhaps something like what I might say to Bob as his Internet Business Consultant.

1. Offline-Online Hybrid Marketing
“You can use the Web to enhance your offline marketing systems.”

Technically, we all fall into this category. As the late, great Gary Halbert often insisted, the Web is a “delivery system” and nothing else. While that is debatable, I think Halbert’s point is worth taking.

The offline-online hybrid takes Halbert’s advice very seriously and applies the most conservative approach to using the web.

For our case study, Bookseller Bob would begin very simply by putting up a primitive website with basic information about his store and his products. He might also include an opt-in form to collect email addresses and ramp up his email marketing campaign.

2. Affiliate Marketing
“You can create content to promote other people’s products.”

Now that Bookseller Bob is running a website, he might also consider adding a blog for his musings about books, book business, and other topics of interest.

Of course, one approach is to use the blog as a means of promoting his website and thus his bookstore. Or, Bob could monetize the blog to generate some extra cash from Google Adsense or other affiliate programs.

3. Single Product Marketing
“You can promote primarily one or a few products that “live” on the web, but can also be ordered by phone or mail.”

With a great landing-site and a thriving blog under his belt, Bob is becoming quickly convinced of the true marketing power of the web.

A lot of his readers and friends are even beginning to ask questions about his business model. Like any smart entrepreneur, Bob decides to diversify even further and thus pursues his next project: creating an information product.

Info products fit nicely into virtually any business model, but Bob is especially suited for this - he loves to write and knows how to convey information well for others.

Bob comes up with a working title, “Bootstrap Bookshop Marketing,” and starts working immediately on composition and layout. He then buys www.bootstrapbookshop.com, hires a sales-page copywriter, and arranges for credit card processing.

4. Wholesale or Drop Ship Middleman
“You can market other people’s physical products and use drop shipping or wholesale purchasing methods.”

Bob is still on a quest to maximize his web marketing system and is now thinking about increasing his product sales.

He learns about the simplicity of drop-shipping and begins making plans to open up a Yahoo or other merchant store on his website. Instead of only selling his physical inventory, Bob makes arrangements with a wholesale book distributor to drop ship and make light wholesale purchases for his online customers.

While this case study offers a seamless progression through these business growth stages in web marketing, it is by no means a step-by-step guide. Think of each example as a possibility and then position your business accordingly.

That said, if Bob’s process can help you navigate towards higher process, go for it!

Reader Toolbox:
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