Ir"~~"'
It is sad to note that over 50% of
new businesses could close shop
before their third birthday; due to
"poor business concept" This figure
could rise in Nigeria, especially
where the business environment is
harsh and less supportive. The
other time I set out into town (in
Port Harcourt), to seek for "Ad" for
myjournal hoping to catch-up with
some businesses and supermarkets
that caught my fancy, last year.To
my surprise! I was greeted with one
of two things, either a closed door
or meeting entirely new occupant,
the same premises.
Particularly, their was this "Wallace
Supermart" along Rumuola
Road, averagely sized, good lay-out
and fully stocked, with better space
for parking than even the one's right
at the Junction. First, I thought I
missed my way. But I know the
building! The Wall-ace sign had
disappeared! What could have
gone wrong with this business (that
is Wal-ace supermart); just within
the space of one year! Poor concept
and planning, possibly!
Instead of meeting a well-stocked
shelf with variety of items
beckoning; rather I met stakes of
refrigerators with apparently a new
occupant in the same
premises,which housed Wal-ace
Supermart,a year ago. This canjust
be one of very many cases; if one
actually takes count.
A sound business concept goes
9
,I.
l1li
l1li1
beyond mere admiration of a
beautiful dream or idea. Going with
the drnnkenness of mere wish - that
customers' will just beat the path to
patronize your business - just like
that. Far from it, man!
"A sound business concept goes
beyond mere vision to actually
capturing the vision and reducing it
down to strategies and a sense of
mission; locating the market and
then meeting the needs. This
further extends to rolling out a
practical plan that will keep you in
business in the foreseeable future.
A lot of people have varied reasons
for going into business or selfemployment.
The mere fact that the
rate of unemployment is high in
Nigeria: provides enough reason for
going into business. Observable
trends also shows a marked interest
BUSINESS & PEOPLE - The PortHarcoLlltJournalof
even the gainfully employed
setting up small businesses (by the
side), especially amongst
employees of major
multinationals., banks, and other
well established concerns with
large disposable incomes. Reasons
could vary from earning additional
income stream to hedging against,
eventual loss of job. But the
question is; do we really have
passion for the choice we've made
(to do business) risking our hard
earned resources?
Let's even look at. sQlJle other
reasons first timers have for
choosing a particular type of
business:
. He can buy an existing business
at a bargain
. Someonehe knows is doing well
in a similar kind ofbusiness
. A relative has offered him a
choice to take over a going
concern time
. Hehas idle funds; and a friend or. What are my surrounded by
close associate just offered a. How much should my business
suggestions pay me
Before you say jack! The man has. In five to ten years, how much
opened the doors for business. Six should this business worth in terms
months down the line when the of naira, dollars etc.
storm came, knocking, he closes
shop and loose hard earned cash.
"This is not meant to scare you, but
rather to put you in the right frame of
mind". The list above did not cover
every possible reason's (for first
timers); but each reasons stated
above has one thing in common. By
themselves, they're lousy reasons
for going into any business. A food
for thought: "That someone
climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, because it
was their.A fine reason for going up
the mountain but dubious at best
when it comes to starting a new
business. Iftmly, your desire is to set
up an enduring business, then you Makethe following list:
must start, with a sound business
concept and model, because it is the
foundation; just like building a
house onthe rock.
Ir.~.'"'
Ngw let's consider some .practical
s4iepsthat can help us to develop a
soundbusiness concept.
CRAFTING A VISION:This
exercise will require some level of
concentration. Avoid any form of
distractions as much as you can. If
you canafford it - take a vacation for
a few days in a peaceful and serene
location. Orjust close your eyes for
few minutes, "concentrate deep"
and conjure up detailed image of
what you want your life to be in five
to ten years. Try to factor in, the
picture of this business idea of yours
into this whole plan; taking into
account your personal life and
family as well.
Be as specific as possible; and ask
yourself these questions:
. What should people know me
for
What kind of life do I want to
.' live
How would I want to spend my
.
.
10
Don't limit yourself to only these
questions. Ask yourself more - as
more thoughts hit you. Create a
vivid picture (image and vision) of
yourself touching on things that are
important to you. These are
personal issuesth~tshould influence
the type of business you choose to
run.
SELF ANALYSIS: These
exercises helps figure-out who you
are and if you have the stuff to pull
through the vision you're crafted.
(l)What am I good at: It could be a
talent for public speaking or you
could have a knack for fixing things,
sales or marketing skills, managing
other people, writing skills or
negotiating skills? "These are your
strength". And you may be used to
them that they don't readily come to
mind. Thus, engage people, who
know you well, for their impression
of what you excel at. Keep a list of
these skills and observe yourself for
weeks reflecting on them (and
comments from people) and
correlating these with concrete
realities of you.
(2) Skills that I have acquired:
Whether or not you've worked in a
conventional setting, you no doubt
have acquired some experience.
Wri te down all the work
responsibilities and varied task
you've performed over the period.
These experiences can readily come
to bare when you are starting or
running your own business. You can
make a list of five to ten of them;
depending on how much you've
been disposed to.
BUSINESS & PEOPLE - The Port Harcourt joLirnal-
(3) Things Ilike to do: List the things
=-
you enjoy doing. Stretch beyond
your hobbies and interest that
springs to mind immediately..
Engage people who have knownyou
for a long time in this exercise. Let
them say what they've seen you
doing when you're happiest. Engage
relatives, spouse, friends and
colleagues and ask for their inputs.
Note the areas where the business
conflicts with your personal life,
that is, family matters, hobbies and
other socials. Discuss with spouse
and close relatives (if necessary), on
how the business will affect them.
Note their comments. But you have
the final decision to make. Now you
should make a compromise. What
are those aspects of your personal
life are you willing to give in
because the business must succeed"
if you must risk your hard earned
cash and time. Once you've made
the decision to move forward.Takea
plunge and don't look back. Avoid
negative people, as much as possible
in this exercise. Generally, look
inwards to figure out what you like
or dislikes and where your talent lie.
Keep these lists for the various
exercises in an accessible
place,preferably on your desk top or
bed side, for as long as possible.And
anytime an idea comes to you; jot it
down in the order of the lists you've
previously made.
..
(4) Matching business idea with
personality and attributes: What are
the common features of this
business. List the requirements in
terms of critical skills, training,
manpower, time (devotion to the
business), financial implication and
more. Already, you've made list of
your talent and experience; likes and
dislikes. Now looking at the
business; what gap can you readily
fill; considering critical skills,
manpower and finance required?
Do you also hav\ the right kind of
personality for this-business? It is
better you engage in a business that
well suits your kind of person as to
fuel your drive further to succeed.
Else, it could be disaster or efforts in
vain. The next step is to fill the gaps
- 8
Alsofigureoutthefollowing: -'0.
. What are people looking for that they can't
readily in the market; could be a product or service
. What are customers dissatisfied a b 0 u t ,
existing products in the market
. Ismy product or service unique
. Governmentpolicies to meet meeting these needs or wants
. Demographic shifts . Is their a nitche or under- . . Socialand attitudinaltrends market formy product or servIce
Ban on certain items, cassava initiative, passion for. Who are these people
football in Nigeria, health consciousness, the sudden. Where are they mostly found or
wave of tourism and the opening of Tinapa should. Howbest can I reach them;
begin to make sense to you. These are ways to l.ocate medium/channels
opportunities in your industry. or chosen busIness. . Who are my competing with in this market and
Don't be afraid if your first fe~ Ideas are flaw~d. Just what are they doing
put them aside and keep wor~mg. See~ advIse froI? These steps should help you come up with a good
experts in your propo.sed hne of busIness. It IS business strategy to break into the market with much
advisable to have a busIness mentor as well. Inf?rmal confidence. Don't join the crowd. Segment the market
interviews with supp~ies,custom~rs and oth.ersm the into geographic location, sex, age, income or social
same kind of busIness, possIbly outsIde YO~lf bracket. Locate a niche - or an under-services market or
immediate market who ~ay ~ot ~eeyou as a treat-wIll group and plug-in
reveal quite a lot. Also, IntervIeWIngcust~mers ofyo~r
direct competitors is very important. Fmd out theIr
needs and whatyour competitors can't offerthem.
~& M""moo'
that are left. Giveyourself a time frame to fill these gaps
.Youcould decide to employ someone to make up for
the gaps if you can't fit in. Or better still seek for a
partner of like minds having either cash or experience
or both to plug the gaps.
MARKET RESEARCH: Be Conscious of the
following:
At this point you should put your money to work for
you. Buynewspapers,journals and build your capacity
by attending seminars, conferences, exhibitions and
business workshops that could help to give you the
right focus: sometimes, some ofthese events are free.
But frequently,youhave to pay to attend.
If you can't do a good market research, you can contract
someone to do a detailed feasibility study for your.
Feasibility report :IDouldbe able to tell if you're ready to
roll out or not or discard the idea totally.
Figure out what the market needs are. And who would
actually buy from you and why? - And at what price? If
you can answer these questions convincingly, then you
can be sure to open the doors for business.
m anyway as
serviced
situated
through what
BUSINESS ROLL OUT: This will required some bit
of organized planning. And the following three steeps
should get you opening the doors forbusiness.
(1) Design a pilot model: There is nothing wro~
about thinking big, provided it makes rational sense.
But for now, put that grandiose plan aside and scale
down the budget to something realistic that you can
start immediately.
Depending, some types of business will
require a shoestring budget; while some will
require larger capital out-lay. Then you can
wait to put the funds together - if that be the
case.
Quickly list the most essentials you need to
openthedoors,andassigndeadlines: .
Date
----------
11 BUSINESS & PEOPLE - The Port Harcourt ]ournal-
----------- ----------
J
:;;& Management
~ You can include more on the list. Some businesses have longer gestation period. Thus, you may be required to
V>fund operations beyond three to six month; until cash starts rolling in.
Now, figure out what you have on ground and others not in place yet;
Items
Finance
Partner (if any)
Training/Education
Personnel
E. Location
F. In-kind support
!!!J!lace
-----------
-----------
-----------
-----------
-----------
-----------
Note: For each of the items not in money
place, fix a deadline as to make. What ismy market
provision for and date for business. What do I do if the business
roll out. The good thing about pilot doesn't sell like block buster
models are that you have the luxury. Who are my competitors in
to adjust or make changes, as the the business
need arise in the plan or even discard
the idea, as you may not have
committed somuch funds, after all.
(2) Business plan: This
happens to be the single most
important and valuable document
you need to have as a business
.promoter. But often ignored, due to
lack of understanding on the part of
most entrepreneurs, especially
small businesses. And this
contribute inpart, to the reason most
business can't access funds aside
from personal saving (or sweat
equity).
Business plan basically integrates
every component of your strategy;
from production to marketing; and
providing a road map for executing
your mission. Depending on the
scale of business; all you need is not
more comprehensive than a .six to
ten page pages document of where
you want to take this business to.
What you need is - sit down and ask
yourself the following:
. Where do I want to take this
business to (reflecting on your
mission and vision)
. Can the business make
The objective of the business plan
exercise is to get you thinking like a
businessperson. Your business plan
can enable you seek for external
funding from individuals or
corporate institutions like banks.
For further guidance, you can check
out books or Internet on tips on how
to write a business plan. But it is
advised to seek expert opinions or
business consultants when
approaching third parties or banks
for funding.
(3) Getting Funded: Ifyou have the
financial muscle.With your plan in
hand, please go ahead and
implement. On the other hand,
where start-up funding becomes an
issue, that okay! Now you have the
idea for that blockbuster product;
you've targeted a nitche and you
have the plan to make it work. And
you can demonstrate clearly in you
plan how the business will make
money.
All you need is the money to get
going. Where will you find the cash?
20 BUSINESS&. PEOPLE - The Port Harcourt ]ournal-
-".
Nof in l!lace
'-------
-------------
-------------
-------------
-------------
-------------
Probably not at the banks - as a startup,
except you have the track record,
reputation or collateral (as security)
to tender. Bank loans should be like
frosting in on the cake something
that comes at the end - on top of
everything else. Forget
conventional wisdom.Your friends
and family members are the first
people you should look for in
financipg your new business. Not
only are they likely to belief in you
and your business idea.Also, they
are less likely to saddleyou with the
kind of personal guarantees that the
banks demand.
Just make sure you spell out the
terms of the deal in clear writing.
Other sources of finding are:
. Personal savings
. Partners tojoin force with
. Micro finance institutions (some
are run by N GOs) . Thriftandcreditsocieties
Investment clubs . Cooperatives etc.
Having come this far; you should be
confident of having a sound
business concept and model that
will stand the taste oftime.
Author:
Amadi Dawari-Cottrell,
SMEstart-up coach;
08033400889,
infoneico@yahoo.co.uk
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Stockscenta™
…grooming intelligent investors!
16, Shotayo Hughes Street, Ikate, Surulere, Lagos
gilbdan@yahoo.com, +2348026313143, +2347037857178
We are an indigenous information marketing enterprise whose core competence is investment education, business development and (personality) capacity development.
Borne way back in June 2008 in the city of Ikot-Ekpene in Akwa-Ibom State as a vehicle through which sound and balanced investment education can be fostered and the human mind can get developed to access it resourcefulness in full capacity.
Our operational divisions are as follows:
Investment education activities
Seminar presentation
Customized Private/Group Training
e-Consulting (emailing and phone-in communication)
Writing, Creation and Development of Investment educational materials and Business Modules
General Services:
Audio/Video-to-Text Transcription of your seminar, workshop and preaching recordings on Tape, CD, VCD or DVD
Investment Clubbing Start-up Services
Track Records:
1. Investment Education Forum tagged “ABC’s of Shares Investment” by July 2008 at the FBC Hall, Post Office Road, Opposite Old Stadium, Ikot-Ekpene, Akwa-Ibom State
2. Youth Empowerment Initiative
“The Relevance of Mathematics to Wealth Creation” at Model Comprehensive College Kano (2, Administrative Road, NDDC Estate, Kano State)
3. Investment Club
a. PhalanX
b. F. T.
c. Corpers Club (Initiated during my service year amongst my fellow corps members and it is still active till date)
N.B.: The first two clubs are duy registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission
4. Business Modules
a. Ewen Chia Internet Marketing Start-up kit for Newbie’s! … N2500 (e version)
b. ONLINE SURVEY PACKAGE ! ! ! … N3500 (e version)
SUPER DUPER BONUSES! ALL FOR FREE!!!:-
How to OPEN a VERIFIED PAYPAL ACCOUNT (worth N4500)
How to OPEN a USA BANK ACCOUNT (worth N3500)
How to OWN a USA / UK VIRTUAL ADDRESS (worth N3500)
FOUR! IP BLOCKING SOFTWARES (worth N6500)
EWEN CHIA’s e-book: PayPerLead Programs (sells for $47)
www.xxxxxxxx.com/pdf - e-book on membership sites (sells for N 9000)
c. FOREX ebooks for forex JJC’s!!! … N2500
d. E-book publishing step-by-step guide plus customized and security ebook publishing software to beat piracy … N1500 (e version)
e. Resource manual and software on how to send customized / bulk text messages … N2500 (e version)
f. A do it yourself Web design manual and software … N1500 (e version)
g. E-gold business start-up kit … N1500 (e version)
h. Screen capture manual and software for producing your video tutorials … N2500 (e version)
i. wedding planning (text and audio) - N 1000 (e version)
j. Guide to parenting (audio) - N 1000 (e version)
k. ABCs of shares investment (audio) - N 1000 (e version)
l. 37 e-books on NETWORKING – N 1000 (e version)
m. 1, 561 pages e-book on Computer Engineering: coupling, repairs, upgrading, etc - N 1000 (e version)
Bank details:
Bank - Intercontinental Bank
Account name – Foluwasade Olayinka Daniel
Account number - 0286.110.6744
Please send a TEXT of your NAME, EMAIL, PRODUCT TYPE, and TELLER NO to any of our PHONE NUMBERS after paying
…grooming intelligent investors!
16, Shotayo Hughes Street, Ikate, Surulere, Lagos
gilbdan@yahoo.com, +2348026313143, +2347037857178
We are an indigenous information marketing enterprise whose core competence is investment education, business development and (personality) capacity development.
Borne way back in June 2008 in the city of Ikot-Ekpene in Akwa-Ibom State as a vehicle through which sound and balanced investment education can be fostered and the human mind can get developed to access it resourcefulness in full capacity.
Our operational divisions are as follows:
Investment education activities
Seminar presentation
Customized Private/Group Training
e-Consulting (emailing and phone-in communication)
Writing, Creation and Development of Investment educational materials and Business Modules
General Services:
Audio/Video-to-Text Transcription of your seminar, workshop and preaching recordings on Tape, CD, VCD or DVD
Investment Clubbing Start-up Services
Track Records:
1. Investment Education Forum tagged “ABC’s of Shares Investment” by July 2008 at the FBC Hall, Post Office Road, Opposite Old Stadium, Ikot-Ekpene, Akwa-Ibom State
2. Youth Empowerment Initiative
“The Relevance of Mathematics to Wealth Creation” at Model Comprehensive College Kano (2, Administrative Road, NDDC Estate, Kano State)
3. Investment Club
a. PhalanX
b. F. T.
c. Corpers Club (Initiated during my service year amongst my fellow corps members and it is still active till date)
N.B.: The first two clubs are duy registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission
4. Business Modules
a. Ewen Chia Internet Marketing Start-up kit for Newbie’s! … N2500 (e version)
b. ONLINE SURVEY PACKAGE ! ! ! … N3500 (e version)
SUPER DUPER BONUSES! ALL FOR FREE!!!:-
How to OPEN a VERIFIED PAYPAL ACCOUNT (worth N4500)
How to OPEN a USA BANK ACCOUNT (worth N3500)
How to OWN a USA / UK VIRTUAL ADDRESS (worth N3500)
FOUR! IP BLOCKING SOFTWARES (worth N6500)
EWEN CHIA’s e-book: PayPerLead Programs (sells for $47)
www.xxxxxxxx.com/pdf - e-book on membership sites (sells for N 9000)
c. FOREX ebooks for forex JJC’s!!! … N2500
d. E-book publishing step-by-step guide plus customized and security ebook publishing software to beat piracy … N1500 (e version)
e. Resource manual and software on how to send customized / bulk text messages … N2500 (e version)
f. A do it yourself Web design manual and software … N1500 (e version)
g. E-gold business start-up kit … N1500 (e version)
h. Screen capture manual and software for producing your video tutorials … N2500 (e version)
i. wedding planning (text and audio) - N 1000 (e version)
j. Guide to parenting (audio) - N 1000 (e version)
k. ABCs of shares investment (audio) - N 1000 (e version)
l. 37 e-books on NETWORKING – N 1000 (e version)
m. 1, 561 pages e-book on Computer Engineering: coupling, repairs, upgrading, etc - N 1000 (e version)
Bank details:
Bank - Intercontinental Bank
Account name – Foluwasade Olayinka Daniel
Account number - 0286.110.6744
Please send a TEXT of your NAME, EMAIL, PRODUCT TYPE, and TELLER NO to any of our PHONE NUMBERS after paying
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
boardNET: Make the Leap to Home Business Success
Before you can have a successful home based business, you must first possess 3 "intangibles." These are things that must come from WITHIN you.
First,you must have a strong WHY.
Why MUST you have a successful home business? What is driving you? What is it that you CAN'T have in your life anymore and/or what is it that you absolutely MUST HAVE now? For me, I couldn't stand working 12+ hours a day anymore and missing the experience of my children growing up. I also absolutely HAD TO HAVE the freedom of being able to control my life and finances through a little box (laptop computer) that I could carry with me anywhere in the world and not be tied to anyone's time pressures or demands but my own. That was my carrot and my stick. I felt a great pain deep in my gut of missing out on my children's lives and the incredible freedom that succeeding in a home based business would provide for me. I found my why. You MUST find yours.
Secondly, You must BELIEVE that it is possible.
If you don't believe that it's POSSIBLE for you to have a successful home based business or make your living from home, you won't. It's that simple. For me, figuring out that it was possible was just a matter of realizing that many other people were ALREADY making great money working from home. If they could do it, I could too. It would just be a matter of figuring out what those people were doing and then adapting it to my situation. There is no shortage of undeniable PROOF that people (millions of them) are making money working from home. Just get online and do some research and you'll find countless testimonials and stories of REAL PEOPLE making real money on the Internet. Or head to your local bookstore and you'll find the same documented evidence of this fact. Truth is, it's getting easier and easier to make money with your own home based business. I've always said that "affiliate marketing" (a simple way to make money from home) is the job of the future. In the old days, you had to go to a potential employer, apply for the position and hope for the best. Now you can simply go to any company you want, fill out their affiliate application and start work immediately. Affiliates are the new working class. In fact, making money with affiliate programs or making your living on the Internet is WAY MORE than possible. It is pretty much (or will be soon enough) unavoidable now. Affiliate marketing is the "job" of the future that's already here TODAY.
Thirdly, You must be willing to MAKE THE LEAP.
Ready, FIRE, then aim... This is the operating philosophy you MUST adopt to succeed with a home based business. That's backwards for most people who like to aim before they fire. The fact is that home based business success is a moving target... The only thing constant about it is change. You need to stop analyzing the game and simply jump into it. You can't learn from the outside... You have to be *IN THE RING* to truly understand and profit from it. In fact, this is a business where you can truly be earning WHILE you're still learning... The lesson here is that you will never really be READY to start a home based business. You simply have to start one. It's like having children... You're never really ready, but when it happens you adapt and grow and therefore you succeed. This is what I call: "Making the Leap"! The good news is that the cost of failure with having your own home based business is very small. In the "brick and mortar" world you need to evaluate things very carefully before you decide to open up a business. It's almost always necessary to invest thousands of dollars to get an offline business off the ground. However, on the Internet you can often start a successful business for less than $100.
The Plug-In Profit Site is a great example of this where you can get your own money-making site setup free within 24 hours: http://getresponse.com/click.html?x=a62a&lc=IOAm&mc=f&s=i43D4&y=C&
You simply need get IN THE GAME... Each moment that you stay "out there," you're wasting valuable time that you could be learning and skills necessary to build a successful home based business. In fact, if you're not in the game yet, you're ALREADY behind the times... Make the leap to starting and building a successful home business TODAY! ... NO! ... NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
© Stone Evans, The Home Biz Guy
First,you must have a strong WHY.
Why MUST you have a successful home business? What is driving you? What is it that you CAN'T have in your life anymore and/or what is it that you absolutely MUST HAVE now? For me, I couldn't stand working 12+ hours a day anymore and missing the experience of my children growing up. I also absolutely HAD TO HAVE the freedom of being able to control my life and finances through a little box (laptop computer) that I could carry with me anywhere in the world and not be tied to anyone's time pressures or demands but my own. That was my carrot and my stick. I felt a great pain deep in my gut of missing out on my children's lives and the incredible freedom that succeeding in a home based business would provide for me. I found my why. You MUST find yours.
Secondly, You must BELIEVE that it is possible.
If you don't believe that it's POSSIBLE for you to have a successful home based business or make your living from home, you won't. It's that simple. For me, figuring out that it was possible was just a matter of realizing that many other people were ALREADY making great money working from home. If they could do it, I could too. It would just be a matter of figuring out what those people were doing and then adapting it to my situation. There is no shortage of undeniable PROOF that people (millions of them) are making money working from home. Just get online and do some research and you'll find countless testimonials and stories of REAL PEOPLE making real money on the Internet. Or head to your local bookstore and you'll find the same documented evidence of this fact. Truth is, it's getting easier and easier to make money with your own home based business. I've always said that "affiliate marketing" (a simple way to make money from home) is the job of the future. In the old days, you had to go to a potential employer, apply for the position and hope for the best. Now you can simply go to any company you want, fill out their affiliate application and start work immediately. Affiliates are the new working class. In fact, making money with affiliate programs or making your living on the Internet is WAY MORE than possible. It is pretty much (or will be soon enough) unavoidable now. Affiliate marketing is the "job" of the future that's already here TODAY.
Thirdly, You must be willing to MAKE THE LEAP.
Ready, FIRE, then aim... This is the operating philosophy you MUST adopt to succeed with a home based business. That's backwards for most people who like to aim before they fire. The fact is that home based business success is a moving target... The only thing constant about it is change. You need to stop analyzing the game and simply jump into it. You can't learn from the outside... You have to be *IN THE RING* to truly understand and profit from it. In fact, this is a business where you can truly be earning WHILE you're still learning... The lesson here is that you will never really be READY to start a home based business. You simply have to start one. It's like having children... You're never really ready, but when it happens you adapt and grow and therefore you succeed. This is what I call: "Making the Leap"! The good news is that the cost of failure with having your own home based business is very small. In the "brick and mortar" world you need to evaluate things very carefully before you decide to open up a business. It's almost always necessary to invest thousands of dollars to get an offline business off the ground. However, on the Internet you can often start a successful business for less than $100.
The Plug-In Profit Site is a great example of this where you can get your own money-making site setup free within 24 hours: http://getresponse.com/click.html?x=a62a&lc=IOAm&mc=f&s=i43D4&y=C&
You simply need get IN THE GAME... Each moment that you stay "out there," you're wasting valuable time that you could be learning and skills necessary to build a successful home based business. In fact, if you're not in the game yet, you're ALREADY behind the times... Make the leap to starting and building a successful home business TODAY! ... NO! ... NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
© Stone Evans, The Home Biz Guy
Sunday, November 23, 2008
personality profile: Michelangelo ... the brain behind the university of internet!
by daniel foluwasade
Michelangelo --- is a Bible waving, pew jumping, offering-plate-passing, charismatic preacher’s Kid. Many say he learned how to ‘Ask for the offering’ before he learned how to talk.
Many believe this. It’s hard not to … Michelangelo knows the SCIENCE of attracting money.
He was the founder of The Fat To Muscle Makeover, Inc., where he trained over 100 pastors and deacons and well over 1,000 fitness enthusiasts. He was the co-founder of SmilenDial, Inc., a company responsible for importing over 1 million Fresh-cut flowers and exotic roses into the United States.
He believes this: "Put all your eggs in one basket and watch ‘em grow."
Michelangelo knows the power of Permission-Based emailing campaigns. He knows the Internet. In 2003 Michelangelo agreed to be left alone in an Asheville, NC Mountain cabin for 3 days with one loaf of bread, gallons of water, and a dial up Internet connection. Zero money. No credit cards. Zilch.
The challenge? To quickly earn enough money off the Internet (within 3 days) to order a delicious Omaha steak and lobster dinner for two…
Which meant he would have to find a date as well. 10 hours into his challenge he had earned $456.00 off the Internet from scratch. No advertising help. Nothing.
24 hours later his date came knocking.
But that was a Horror story…
Not everything on the Internet is really what they proclaim (or she in his case).
Michelangelo lives in NY, NY, single, and is 40 years old. He enjoys traveling across the US on a train or Greyhound bus. He is a former bodybuilder, a dedicated fitness enthusiast, and he enjoys a good competitive game of racquetball. He also delights in teaching his mind-boggling mnemonic device.
Michelangelo --- is a Bible waving, pew jumping, offering-plate-passing, charismatic preacher’s Kid. Many say he learned how to ‘Ask for the offering’ before he learned how to talk.
Many believe this. It’s hard not to … Michelangelo knows the SCIENCE of attracting money.
He was the founder of The Fat To Muscle Makeover, Inc., where he trained over 100 pastors and deacons and well over 1,000 fitness enthusiasts. He was the co-founder of SmilenDial, Inc., a company responsible for importing over 1 million Fresh-cut flowers and exotic roses into the United States.
He believes this: "Put all your eggs in one basket and watch ‘em grow."
Michelangelo knows the power of Permission-Based emailing campaigns. He knows the Internet. In 2003 Michelangelo agreed to be left alone in an Asheville, NC Mountain cabin for 3 days with one loaf of bread, gallons of water, and a dial up Internet connection. Zero money. No credit cards. Zilch.
The challenge? To quickly earn enough money off the Internet (within 3 days) to order a delicious Omaha steak and lobster dinner for two…
Which meant he would have to find a date as well. 10 hours into his challenge he had earned $456.00 off the Internet from scratch. No advertising help. Nothing.
24 hours later his date came knocking.
But that was a Horror story…
Not everything on the Internet is really what they proclaim (or she in his case).
Michelangelo lives in NY, NY, single, and is 40 years old. He enjoys traveling across the US on a train or Greyhound bus. He is a former bodybuilder, a dedicated fitness enthusiast, and he enjoys a good competitive game of racquetball. He also delights in teaching his mind-boggling mnemonic device.
Online Programs: THE GOOGLE TRENDS WAY...
THE GOOGLE TRENDS WAY...
Presently, i don't know the number of visits Google have on a daily basis but let us just
guess than it is 20 MILLION searches that occur on Google every single day [though I know it is more than that]. Now if Google have 20 million searches on a daily basis. That definitely means that people are searching for different things right? While I am searching on PAINTS, you could be doing a search on MONEY, someone else is doing a search on MARRIAGE,another one is doing a search on CELEBRITY. Another one on
shoes...and so on. Now imagine if google then comes up and say that right now what people are searching MORE about is on PAINTS...What would you do?
If you are a smart person what you will do is to quickly set-up a website immediately on
paints and get products on paints to sell as an affiliate. Because if PAINTS is what people are searching mostly on at the moment on Google that definitely means that millions of people for one reason or the other are interested in paints at the moment. And by setting up a website on paint i am sure that i will definitely make sales because without any doubt people are interested about it at the moment. Google has a tool that reveals the 1-100 most search word at the moment, at any particular hour. I mean Google can tell you what people are searching more on right now in this particular hour from 1-100. And this tool is FREE! I am going to show you how to maximize this tool and ensure that every single day you make money online.
Step 1: Go to www.google.com/trends/hottrends and take a look at the 1-100 most search
term at a particular hour. Some of those terms have millions of searches and infact for some term that could have been on that list for the past 6-8 hours which means millions of people have been searching on that word for the past to 6-8 hours. Unfortunately not all the words are products or services. For example recently on the day of the election between Obama and John McCain. You can be assured that many people where doing a search for that term on Obama, so don't be surprised if you find just people names on that list. But definitely you would see some that are products or services. I just did a search right now and are some of the things i came up with: dedication 3 download, watch gossip girl season 2 episode 10, one tree hill season 6 episode 10, alpine access, most wanted movie, hale telescope...
Step 2: Select one of those items that you think there you can sell and open a blog on it. Just go to www.blogger.com and open a blog for that product name. For example let me assume that i noticed that people are searching on xp dell laptop. What you will quickly do is to go over to www.blogger.com and open a blog account that is similar to the product. E.g www.dellxplaptop.blogspot.com . The first and Second step shouldn't take you more than 15 minutes.
Step 3: Look for affiliate programs. An affiliate program simply means, you sell someone else product and you get a commission for every sale that you make. The good news about this affiliate marketing strategy i am teaching here is that most of the products that you will find always sell for high price. Some of them sells on the Internet for $100, some for $200 and so on which means that your affiliate commission is likely to be high. The bad news is that from research most of the products are not digital, that means they are not downloadable on the Internet. For example while a shoe can sell for $500 on the Internet, you cannot download it, it will need to be shipped to the owner. That means you wont be able to work effectively with click bank using this strategy since click bank sells only digital [downloadable] products. There are several ways to around this. One of the best way is for you to do a search on www.google.com and type the word there plus affiliate programs. E.g “Sanita shoes +affiliate programs” “Sanita shoes” “ Sanita shoes affiliate programs” By doing a search on google you are likely to see affiliate programs on such words. Another beautiful thing that i found is that, your competition will be very low since these words are not regularly searched for. They are just most searched for that time. Meanwhile if www.google.com does not give you a good result. You will need to go to www.cj.com and register as an affiliate. They work like click bank but they sell physical
products unlike click bank that sells only digital products. All the steps that i have shared above, shouldn't take you more than 30 minutes. The only reason someone will tell me that he didn't apply this technique it's because of laziness. Because it is simple and doesn't cost anything.
Step 4: The final step after you have placed the affiliate programs on the blog is to sendinstant traffic to the blog. I mean FAST and QUICK traffic. If 1,000,000 people are searching for term on google in a particular hour, you either find a way to send some of those traffic to your blog if you want to make quick cash. I mean if an affiliate program is ready to pay you $70 as commission for the sale of their product,and this product has 1,000,000 people searching for it at a particular hour that mean if you are 100% sure that you will make money. Because the demand is already there. Go to websites like www.digg.com or www.answers.yahoo.com and Post as many articles as you can. That way your article appears immediately and you will start seeing traffic to your blog which can convert into sales.
This method look really simple but like i said it works. It wont take you more than 1hr and it wont cost you anything so just give it a try NOW!!!
Presently, i don't know the number of visits Google have on a daily basis but let us just
guess than it is 20 MILLION searches that occur on Google every single day [though I know it is more than that]. Now if Google have 20 million searches on a daily basis. That definitely means that people are searching for different things right? While I am searching on PAINTS, you could be doing a search on MONEY, someone else is doing a search on MARRIAGE,another one is doing a search on CELEBRITY. Another one on
shoes...and so on. Now imagine if google then comes up and say that right now what people are searching MORE about is on PAINTS...What would you do?
If you are a smart person what you will do is to quickly set-up a website immediately on
paints and get products on paints to sell as an affiliate. Because if PAINTS is what people are searching mostly on at the moment on Google that definitely means that millions of people for one reason or the other are interested in paints at the moment. And by setting up a website on paint i am sure that i will definitely make sales because without any doubt people are interested about it at the moment. Google has a tool that reveals the 1-100 most search word at the moment, at any particular hour. I mean Google can tell you what people are searching more on right now in this particular hour from 1-100. And this tool is FREE! I am going to show you how to maximize this tool and ensure that every single day you make money online.
Step 1: Go to www.google.com/trends/hottrends and take a look at the 1-100 most search
term at a particular hour. Some of those terms have millions of searches and infact for some term that could have been on that list for the past 6-8 hours which means millions of people have been searching on that word for the past to 6-8 hours. Unfortunately not all the words are products or services. For example recently on the day of the election between Obama and John McCain. You can be assured that many people where doing a search for that term on Obama, so don't be surprised if you find just people names on that list. But definitely you would see some that are products or services. I just did a search right now and are some of the things i came up with: dedication 3 download, watch gossip girl season 2 episode 10, one tree hill season 6 episode 10, alpine access, most wanted movie, hale telescope...
Step 2: Select one of those items that you think there you can sell and open a blog on it. Just go to www.blogger.com and open a blog for that product name. For example let me assume that i noticed that people are searching on xp dell laptop. What you will quickly do is to go over to www.blogger.com and open a blog account that is similar to the product. E.g www.dellxplaptop.blogspot.com . The first and Second step shouldn't take you more than 15 minutes.
Step 3: Look for affiliate programs. An affiliate program simply means, you sell someone else product and you get a commission for every sale that you make. The good news about this affiliate marketing strategy i am teaching here is that most of the products that you will find always sell for high price. Some of them sells on the Internet for $100, some for $200 and so on which means that your affiliate commission is likely to be high. The bad news is that from research most of the products are not digital, that means they are not downloadable on the Internet. For example while a shoe can sell for $500 on the Internet, you cannot download it, it will need to be shipped to the owner. That means you wont be able to work effectively with click bank using this strategy since click bank sells only digital [downloadable] products. There are several ways to around this. One of the best way is for you to do a search on www.google.com and type the word there plus affiliate programs. E.g “Sanita shoes +affiliate programs” “Sanita shoes” “ Sanita shoes affiliate programs” By doing a search on google you are likely to see affiliate programs on such words. Another beautiful thing that i found is that, your competition will be very low since these words are not regularly searched for. They are just most searched for that time. Meanwhile if www.google.com does not give you a good result. You will need to go to www.cj.com and register as an affiliate. They work like click bank but they sell physical
products unlike click bank that sells only digital products. All the steps that i have shared above, shouldn't take you more than 30 minutes. The only reason someone will tell me that he didn't apply this technique it's because of laziness. Because it is simple and doesn't cost anything.
Step 4: The final step after you have placed the affiliate programs on the blog is to sendinstant traffic to the blog. I mean FAST and QUICK traffic. If 1,000,000 people are searching for term on google in a particular hour, you either find a way to send some of those traffic to your blog if you want to make quick cash. I mean if an affiliate program is ready to pay you $70 as commission for the sale of their product,and this product has 1,000,000 people searching for it at a particular hour that mean if you are 100% sure that you will make money. Because the demand is already there. Go to websites like www.digg.com or www.answers.yahoo.com and Post as many articles as you can. That way your article appears immediately and you will start seeing traffic to your blog which can convert into sales.
This method look really simple but like i said it works. It wont take you more than 1hr and it wont cost you anything so just give it a try NOW!!!
boardNET: WHAT DOES IT TAKES TO MAKE MILLIONS ONLINE???
[1] Time Management: This is crucial. Your time is your life. You must come to that place in your life when you realize that everything you do with your time must be an investment, if it is not so, then throw it away. Also you must realize that for every investment, there must be returns, profits. Don't spend time every day reading emails and visiting forums, you don't need them. When i visit forums, i either do so because i want to make a reasonable post that will drive traffic to my website, or i want to use it to build good relationships with people. I don't just visit for visiting sake. Meanwhile one of the best forum you should join is www.warriorforum.com register, you will learn a lot.
[2]Focus: If you are a member of my mailing list, i believe you are familiar with this quote that says” Discipline Is 50% Success”. This is what many Nigerians lack and that is the reason they would never make money online until they change their thinking. For example in 2009, i have already projected that I would make 80% of my money from creating and selling my own information products and then 20% from affiliate products. That is focus. So i wont buy any product that has to do with affiliate marketing. I am really focused. I just told you about Google Trends, and what did i say about it?I said, though it is good and works very well, i don't use it. I mean i have never REALLY tried it. I have only tested it... There is a difference! The reason is because i am a very focused person. Have some focus for yourself. When you buy an e-book or you attend a seminar ensure that you NEVER attend another seminar unless you have put what you previously learnt from the first seminar to work. You could even be one of "them?!", who have attended up to 10 or even 20 seminars and yet they can boast of $100 a month online. Too Bad. The problem is not always from the seminar facilitator it is always from the student. No focus, No fame!!!
3]Have a business plan: One of the things i am going to do for this soon to be 400 elite
student of mine is to show them how to draw a successful Internet business plan that will be worth millions of dollars. Do you know what ”exactly” you will be doing next month online? If you don't then you don't have a plan yet. Here is example of a business plan that can bring in $10,000 a month after 3 months of applying it:
[a] In January 2009, open a membership website for $11 a month and get 100 people to
register for it. So that month you made $1,100
[b]In that membership website you will have a backend product that sells for $47, and if 20 of them buys if that is $940. So instead of making just $1,100 you end up making $2,040
[c]You will still have affiliate programs in your membership site that will increase your
earnings to $2,700 a month. This is just a lay-man business plan. But it is a great place to start. With this plan my goal is get 100 people join my site a month. Which will mean $2,700.In my first month, BUT in the second month i wont make $2,700 rather i would have $5,400!. The third month $8,100. By continually bringing in 100 people a month I am doubling my income..and by the twelveth month i am will be talking of $32,400 from just one website! Now you can operate more websites and make more money. I was told of someone who has over 200 websites and all of them are up and running. That means if just one of such website brings him $10 a day that would be $2,000 a day and about $730,000 a year!!! And i can tell you this, he makes more than that amount in a year!.
It is all about building a real Internet business. So many are looking for money makers and not business and that is their problem. I also have a friend who focuses only on Affiliate products, and today he is making around $10,400 every month from affiliate products only working just 5 hours a day. Think about it!
To your success,
daniel
lifeprofits
[2]Focus: If you are a member of my mailing list, i believe you are familiar with this quote that says” Discipline Is 50% Success”. This is what many Nigerians lack and that is the reason they would never make money online until they change their thinking. For example in 2009, i have already projected that I would make 80% of my money from creating and selling my own information products and then 20% from affiliate products. That is focus. So i wont buy any product that has to do with affiliate marketing. I am really focused. I just told you about Google Trends, and what did i say about it?I said, though it is good and works very well, i don't use it. I mean i have never REALLY tried it. I have only tested it... There is a difference! The reason is because i am a very focused person. Have some focus for yourself. When you buy an e-book or you attend a seminar ensure that you NEVER attend another seminar unless you have put what you previously learnt from the first seminar to work. You could even be one of "them?!", who have attended up to 10 or even 20 seminars and yet they can boast of $100 a month online. Too Bad. The problem is not always from the seminar facilitator it is always from the student. No focus, No fame!!!
3]Have a business plan: One of the things i am going to do for this soon to be 400 elite
student of mine is to show them how to draw a successful Internet business plan that will be worth millions of dollars. Do you know what ”exactly” you will be doing next month online? If you don't then you don't have a plan yet. Here is example of a business plan that can bring in $10,000 a month after 3 months of applying it:
[a] In January 2009, open a membership website for $11 a month and get 100 people to
register for it. So that month you made $1,100
[b]In that membership website you will have a backend product that sells for $47, and if 20 of them buys if that is $940. So instead of making just $1,100 you end up making $2,040
[c]You will still have affiliate programs in your membership site that will increase your
earnings to $2,700 a month. This is just a lay-man business plan. But it is a great place to start. With this plan my goal is get 100 people join my site a month. Which will mean $2,700.In my first month, BUT in the second month i wont make $2,700 rather i would have $5,400!. The third month $8,100. By continually bringing in 100 people a month I am doubling my income..and by the twelveth month i am will be talking of $32,400 from just one website! Now you can operate more websites and make more money. I was told of someone who has over 200 websites and all of them are up and running. That means if just one of such website brings him $10 a day that would be $2,000 a day and about $730,000 a year!!! And i can tell you this, he makes more than that amount in a year!.
It is all about building a real Internet business. So many are looking for money makers and not business and that is their problem. I also have a friend who focuses only on Affiliate products, and today he is making around $10,400 every month from affiliate products only working just 5 hours a day. Think about it!
To your success,
daniel
lifeprofits
Online Programs: Why You Need Residual Income
One of the reasons we determined that Empowerism a good program to promote is that they pay out a lion's share of the commissions to affiliates. $20.00 out of a $24.95 sale getting paid to the affiliate is pretty good terms, right? As an affiliate, you need to work with companies that put YOU first. After all, you're the one driving the traffic to their site and they don't have a lot of risk since they only pay you when you generate a sale. But a lot of affiliate programs don't understand that. In fact, many programs out there are paying 5-15% commission on products they should be paying you a lot more for. But there is another extremely important factor that determines success or failure as an affiliate marketer. That is whether or not the company pays you one time or pays you residual income for a single sale. This is a big, BIG, *BIG* factor you need to consider before you join ANY affiliate program. If I was promoting products from affiliate programs that only paid me one time for a sale, I'd still need a job somewhere else to cover my basic living expenses. But I realized from day one (after reading Robert Allen's Multiple Streams of Income book) that I needed to work exclusively with programs that paid me residual income. On the Internet, residual income is basically selling a "subscription service" so that when someone buys the product you get paid UP-FRONT one time and then each month when that person's subscription renews with the company, you get paid again, and again, and again... EVERY MONTH for as long as that person continues using the service. I have Internet sales that I made 8 years ago that are still paying me today. This is the power of residual income. As crazy as it sounds, 90% of the people I see fail at generating any significant income from affiliate programs are promoting products that do NOT pay a substantial residual income. So just as you might put on a pair of sunglasses to filter out UV rays, you should put on a pair of mental glasses that filters out ANY program that does NOT pay you residual income. Affiliate programs that pay only one-time for a single sale are BAD for your financial health. Think about it... It takes the same energy on your part to promote something thatpays you ONLY one time as it does to promote something that pays you EVERY MONTH forever. So would you rather spend a day to make a sale that you get paid for that day and that day only or would you rather spend a day and make sale that pays you for the rest of your life? There is only one RIGHT answer to that question. Unless you're just a hobbyist and don't care how much you earn from your efforts, then you shouldn't touch an affiliate program with a ten foot pole that doesn't pay you residual income. You should ONLY focus on programs and products that pay youresidual income.
What are examples of products and affiliate programs that pay residual income?
1) Membership SitesThere are many sites on the Internet that charge people a monthly membership fee to gain access to their services. For example, Empowerism charges $19.95/month to maintain a membership and gain access to all of their proprietary Internet marketing tools and training. As an affiliate for Empowerism, you earn $20 up-front when one of your prospects join the program and $7 per month for the life of their membership.
2) Hosting ServicesEveryone who wants to have their own website on the Internet needs a good web host. I discovered early on that web hosting sells like crazy and you can make a fortune selling hosting services as an affiliate because the demand for hosting is so high. So I did my research and partnered with a hosting company called Host4Profit that offers a great residual income affiliate program. Host4Profit pays you $10 up-front and $10 per month every month for the life of your referral's hosting account. In other words, when you refer 10 people and get paid $100 per month every month. The good part about promoting hosting services is that when people get a website host, they usually stick with it for a long time. It's like someone signing up for telephone service. Once you have a telephone service setup, you keep using it every month and rarely stop the service or change providers. Promoting website hosting services is a great way to generate residual income online.
3) Business OpportunitiesOnline business opportunities offer another great way to get paid residual income on the Internet. The reason for this is simple. Millions of people are flocking to the Internet every day looking for a reliable way to earn extra income. So online business opportunities have become a HUGE industry. The great thing about online business opportunities is that they are much easier than offline business opportunities. All you really need to do for these is find out where the people are searching for these business opportunities and POSITION yourself in front of them. You don't even have to "sell" the opportunity. People are going to join these opportunities anyway so all you do is setup your marketing in such a way that people find the opportunity through your link instead of someone else's. There are many easy ways to do this and I'll share some of those with you in future lessons. In fact, one of the online business opportunities I've had the most success with so far is called Success University. Success University is a MLM company "Internet style". It gives you all the benefits of earning from other people's efforts without all the hassle of talking to people, going to meetings, etc. You just promote a link that encourages people to sign up and take a test-drive for $2 and then they follow the system and start doing the same thing under you. I've built a team of THOUSANDS of people with Success University just by promoting it through my website and auto responder. That's the power of the Internet. I always loved the concept of MLM, but I hated the idea of face-to-face selling.
In conclusion, with the Internet and tools like a website, autoresponder and automated marketing activities, you can build huge organizations and earn tons of money in these programs.
But again... The KEY is choosing the RIGHT programs.
To your success!,
daniel
lifeprofits
What are examples of products and affiliate programs that pay residual income?
1) Membership SitesThere are many sites on the Internet that charge people a monthly membership fee to gain access to their services. For example, Empowerism charges $19.95/month to maintain a membership and gain access to all of their proprietary Internet marketing tools and training. As an affiliate for Empowerism, you earn $20 up-front when one of your prospects join the program and $7 per month for the life of their membership.
2) Hosting ServicesEveryone who wants to have their own website on the Internet needs a good web host. I discovered early on that web hosting sells like crazy and you can make a fortune selling hosting services as an affiliate because the demand for hosting is so high. So I did my research and partnered with a hosting company called Host4Profit that offers a great residual income affiliate program. Host4Profit pays you $10 up-front and $10 per month every month for the life of your referral's hosting account. In other words, when you refer 10 people and get paid $100 per month every month. The good part about promoting hosting services is that when people get a website host, they usually stick with it for a long time. It's like someone signing up for telephone service. Once you have a telephone service setup, you keep using it every month and rarely stop the service or change providers. Promoting website hosting services is a great way to generate residual income online.
3) Business OpportunitiesOnline business opportunities offer another great way to get paid residual income on the Internet. The reason for this is simple. Millions of people are flocking to the Internet every day looking for a reliable way to earn extra income. So online business opportunities have become a HUGE industry. The great thing about online business opportunities is that they are much easier than offline business opportunities. All you really need to do for these is find out where the people are searching for these business opportunities and POSITION yourself in front of them. You don't even have to "sell" the opportunity. People are going to join these opportunities anyway so all you do is setup your marketing in such a way that people find the opportunity through your link instead of someone else's. There are many easy ways to do this and I'll share some of those with you in future lessons. In fact, one of the online business opportunities I've had the most success with so far is called Success University. Success University is a MLM company "Internet style". It gives you all the benefits of earning from other people's efforts without all the hassle of talking to people, going to meetings, etc. You just promote a link that encourages people to sign up and take a test-drive for $2 and then they follow the system and start doing the same thing under you. I've built a team of THOUSANDS of people with Success University just by promoting it through my website and auto responder. That's the power of the Internet. I always loved the concept of MLM, but I hated the idea of face-to-face selling.
In conclusion, with the Internet and tools like a website, autoresponder and automated marketing activities, you can build huge organizations and earn tons of money in these programs.
But again... The KEY is choosing the RIGHT programs.
To your success!,
daniel
lifeprofits
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