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Internet Marketing Business - as I said yesterday, the best business in the world really. The lifestyle allows freedom of time, freedom in making huge amounts of money, freedom in choosing where, how, and for how long you work each day. It’s a fantastic way to be in business. “Business” being the operative word …

Being in business on the internet, versus say, opening up a retail location, or working out of an office versus your home, is exactly the same as business anywhere. In short, you still have to work. You still are “in business”. You have to spend money, you have to put in the hours, you have to lay a foundation and slowly grow.

The main benefit to opening up your business on the net, as I said yesterday, are the “instant on” abilities, fast pace of change, worldwide reach, and you can do it all at a fraction of the cost of opening a street corner location. Retail space on the corner, $5000 a month, and reaches people who drive by the corner. Retail space on the internet equals $50/mth (domain and hosting) and reaches everyone around the world. In both instances you’ll need a lot of marketing, promotion and advertising to succeed, as well as a great product and sales process.

There are so many scams, and so much false information about doing business on the internet that I simply wanted to make things clear. I am still “in business”. I still consider myself a “business”. I’m incorporated, I try (operative word “try”) to work every day. I have systems in place to manage tasks, and I create products and sales processes that take a lot of time and effort. Dispel yourself of the notion that internet business is not work! It’s a lot of work. Just as much, if not more, than opening up that regular business.

What internet business is, fundamentally, is far cheaper to start, and far quicker to open, allowing far broader a reach, and far more automated and long lasting results once you have your structure in place. Very cool indeed, but not the silver bullet all those internet marketing scams make it out to be.

Your business, on the internet or otherwise, will fail miserably if you do not have the entrepreneurial spirit and drive to make it succeed. Saying the magic words, “I own an internet business”, unfortunately, does not magically cure a lack of work ethic, laziness, poor marketing, bad products, or any myriad of bad business decisions and practices. Quite the opposite, in this day and age, competition is tough, wherever you may find it.

So, in preparing my pre-requisites for coaching, and who I’ll accept and want to work with, and whom I will not, I think it’s important that at their core, they have an idea they are passionate about. An idea, that ideally, has been with them for quite some time. A gift they want to get out of themselves and expose to the world, and a real passion to do it.

People often ask me, how can I be so successful at what I do. They look at, and envy, my success. They ask, “why can’t that be me”, or they simply brush it off, and say he “just wants to make money” (as if that’s a bad thing). Unfortunately, they miss the point. I believe success is a difficult thing to craft, and while we all seek to attain it, and in fact it can be mathematically achieved in many cases, it’s never the money that matters. In fact, I view my complete lack of interest in making money to much of my success (and I’ll get into that later).

My success is due to a simple thought pattern - I had gifts that I wanted to share with the world, I had a passion to make those things happen, and I worked extremely hard to do it. I also had a medium (the internet) which my father would have dreamed of having. Sounds easy when you put it that way, eh?

At heart, I was an Entrepreneur, and that’s the type of people I want to work with. Passionate, enthusiastic, positive people. I want to dispel the myth that internet business is somehow different than “regular business”. It’s not! Business is business. There are a few massive unique qualities to business on the net, but in a nutshell, you’re still going into business, and the real money makers, and passion seekers, will view it that way from the start.

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I just don’t stay this enough. Being an entrepreneur on the internet is the way to go.

Note, I didn’t say “work at home on the internet”, and I didn’t say “internet biz”, or “make money on the internet”, or any number of internet business scams that exists out there, attaching the word “internet”.

I think, at the root of internet success, is your understanding, and desire, to be an Entrepreneur. Those people whom work on the net as entrepreneurs, and treat businesses as real businesses, and not hobbies, or portrayals of vanity, will almost always succeed. It’s the nature of Entrepreneurs to eventually find success (often through failure).

Anyone can do this. And yes, I really believe anyone can be successful in business on the internet. The barrier to entry is very low, and the barrier to success is fairly high. If you have a computer, an internet connection and a passion, you have what it takes to be successful online.

While reading this, realize that you, yourself, could have all of these things if you don’t already. It’s all out there, and entirely possible!

So, as an internet entrepreneur, and internet business owner, I enjoy a lifestyle that is unbelievable, even to me. I often find myself amazed at what I have accomplished, and what is possible. The benefits are vast indeed! Yes, it’s very financially rewarding, but honestly, the benefits of internet business go far beyond that, and I’ll mix a few business and personal benefits.

Let’s talk job satisfaction!

Passion! I work on, and in, my passions. Those areas that interest me, that’s what I do on a daily basis. You can focus your internet business around that which motivates and drives you. How cool is that? Really, work is only second to sleep, in the amount of our lives we’ll spend doing it - so you really must love your work.

Speed of Execution: I work on something, and it’s live in hours, or days. Compare this to my past corporate jobs in Video Games, where projects would literally take years to see results. This creates real job satisfaction, and after my first foundational year, allows me to see nearly daily results from my work.

Automation: Let’s call this multiple streams of automated income. Work once, get paid for years, regardless of whether you keep working or not. Try doing that at your day job - it’s not going to happen! This, to me, is one of the greatest benefits of the Internet Marketing lifestyle. I create an automated business in my areas of interest, and they just keep earning, and earning, and earning.

Worldwide Reach: At the touch of a few buttons, I am no longer a local business, but one with worldwide reach, and worldwide sales. Try doing this in our parent’s time - it would be unthinkable, and costly. In our time, it’s a click of a mouse … I love this benefit, and my customer’s are worldwide, in dozens of countries and cities.

Work Time and Results: I determine when, if, and for how long, I work. Each and every day, I am master of my own time. Whether I work at all, go running, play out in the sun, or stay in front of my computer it’s all up to me. I can visit Hawaii, Singapore, or Fiji on a moments notice, and run my entire business from there (and yes, I do actually do this). It’s amazingly freeing - and is entirely different way to live your life. While I’m not married, if I were, this would allow me time with my wife, and children, that otherwise most Men (or women) entirely miss in modern day society.

Now, there’s good and bad to that. With great freedom, comes an even greater ability to not work, to lose focus, and to become unhappy, due mainly to lack of structure in your life (human beings crave structure - hence cubicles). That’s why I think it’s important to be of an entrepreneurial mind when working on the internet.

Each and every day, the motivation to work, the desire to build your business, and put in the hours, has to come from inside you. There’s no one telling you what to do, but yourself. You have to find your way, create and believe in your plan, and then execute it. You have to do all this, with no one telling you when, or how, to accomplish it. You have to be an Entrepreneur.

I used to ask myself, why wouldn’t everyone live this way? What stops people from doing what I do? I just can’t imagine that everyone wouldn’t want an internet business? Why the hell not, right?

The truth of the matter is, and what I need to truly understand, is that this lifestyle is not for everybody. I can’t imagine why everyone wouldn’t want it, but they don’t. For a quick example, It’s not for the cubicle workers, the non dreamers, the people who crave structure … in essence, it’s really ONLY for entrepreneurs. That’s it. I said it. That’s what I’ve found out. The interesting part is, that while not everyone IS an entrepreneur or has that drive and spirit to be one, everyone CAN do it, if they desire. That being said, many people just don’t have the willpower or desire to do it …

And that’s ok … but as I launch my internet business to train and consult others on internet business creation, I need to make sure I understand what type of people I’m going after. I need to imagine my ideal client! I need to really, truly, understand the type of person I’m trying to reach.

And for that, I need to understand the Entrepreneur - but not just how to reach them … I think I know that. I think, perhaps, I need to know how to create them too.

And that’s enough work for today …

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Whoa, color me surprised - this has been a great two months! Really …

Just a few month ago, and throughout the summer, we were noticing that things were getting quite rough. Sales were down across the board, advertising costs were way up, and we were questioning … well, just about everything. The news was filled with negativity, yes, everyone spoke of the rebound coming …

I’ll be honest. I didn’t believe it! I still don’t believe it. We are simply NOT turned around. We are NOT over the hump, and I predict things are going to get a whole lot worse. I see the entire rebound we are currently experiencing as entirely irrational, and I urge great saving, and even greater caution, in the coming year.

That being said - I have to admit when I’m wrong. And, based on our own results, I have to say … We sold a lot of stuff this last two months. It’s like all of America seemed to buy into the “hype” of the ending recession, and started spending like mad. It’s out of control, and we did very, very well. I’m shocked (but very happy) …

And believe you me, this has a great impact on our upcoming January, where I predict things will continue to go gangbusters on the web … We are currently refining our strategies, and predict a stellar January! Beyond that though - we think the irrational exuberance is going to wane, and we see some tough times in 2010. While I can’t argue with our exceptional November and December results, I also, can’t really say we saw it coming. How long can this kind of spending continue?

No, I am not complaining. Just making note of the fact that the country has not dealt (at ALL) with the housing issue, foreclosures, or bank financing (like my small business maybe being able to get a LOAN to expand even faster). These are troubling problems, and stand in the way (I believe) of any true recovery.

That being said - to the victor go the spoils, and in this instance, as we’ve “figured out” internet business, we’ve been strong victors. So ends a crazy 2009, and what will almost assuredly be a crazier 2010 …

Lessons Learned: Spend Less!
-> We went crazy with adwords and landing page testing, and paid the price. I am an avid tester, and PPC buyer, but we overdid it, and we paid a heavy (six figure) price. 2010? We’re going to do LESS, but more targeted, PPC. Think … hand done SpeedPPC campaigns.

-> Focus, Focus, Focus … We’re going to greatly trim our niches, and where we focus our energies. We cut down 100 sites this year, and we plan to trim 200 more in 2010. That’s right. 200 sites, bye-bye. In fact, we’re going to give MarketingCrazy members first crack at buying these sites and domain names (for very cheap).

-> No More Buying Internet Marketing Courses! Ha - I’ve promised this before, but this year - no way. We’re going to create one, that’s going to blow everything else out of the water. To do that, we’re going to need to stop reading everyone else’s for a moment. Yep, that means I’m going to drop out of the 100+ email marketing lists for the following year. Yay!

In my next post, I’m going to detail the top 3 game changers of 2010, with regards to internet marketing, and I’m going to tell you our plans of how we’re preparing to deal with them. What are you three things you’re planning for 2010?

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So simple! I use to do this all the time,  but admittedly, I have integrated most of it, automated most of it … and I haven’t thought about this method in years.

Now, with the arrival of “the box”, I have attacked the first task… the four day cash machine method.  I am very familiar with it…

So, I got the Mass Control 2.0 impressive box in (but I’m beyond being impressed by fancy boxes). That being said … I was impressed. It was a nice box!  Organized, clean, and easy to understand. I started with the four day cash method, to see what my results would be. Granted, this isn’t an important test for me (I am truly interested in the COURSE and what it teaches), but there’s so much hype around this, I had to see what would happen…

Specifically, what would happen if I followed HIS instructions to the letter. I would not change anything! I would simply follow the instructions perfectly…

I have now put in a total of 5 hours of work. I have made the landing page, setup the list, ARs, thank you ARs, bonuses, etc … I suppose it might take others a little longer, but I had most of my things in place already. I believe the instructions focus a bit too much on the email (getting the click) versus the landing page (getting the sale), but I will implement SOLELY based on what I’ve been given.

I am turning my brain off (for this exercise only)

I have sent out the email to the coldest list I have, of about 11,000 people. I mean, this list is quite cold, and we rarely contact it beyond the follow up system we initially integrated into it.  I have setup the method, exactly as told, and now … people are arriving at the landing page.

What’s going to happen? Stay tuned … this is just day 1. We’ll update the results tomorrow!

What else? I just purchased the MicroContinuity program (Russell Brunson) … Love the sales procces.

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What have I done in 2008 (not 2009), that really impacted my business - either at a core profit level, or a core efficiency level. Here’s my Top three things I’ve done that have had a huge effect on my business. If you’re starting a business, or growing your business, these might make a big difference!

1) Apple, Gmail, and the Ultimate Shift in my tools and resources…

Ever seen those Apple commercials? Ever wonder if maybe they were right? 2008 was the year of the Apple, and while I still use my PC for certain things, my switch to Apple, and Apple products, proved hugely beneficial to my business!

I can get into specifics about why Apple versus PC, and why, and what tools I use on each, but I’ll save that for a longer, specific post. Suffice it to say, this was a huge time saver, and my business works better on Apple. now have 3 Imacs, 2 Powerbooks … and no headache.

2) Gmail and Google’s paid suite of business tools.

I may live to regret this, but since I was on PC, I used Outlook. Outlook is a horrible program, but I was so stuck in it. So many years wasted… so many emails lost…

Outlook is… quite possibly, the devil.

With my switch to Mac, I made the switch to Gmail, which was very difficult, laborious, and to my way of thinking, a waste of time. Yet, no single thing has catapulted me in productivity than switching to Gmail, and Google Docs, spreadsheets, etc…

Yes, I may live to regret this, putting so much faith into one company, but the paid version (pay the paltry $50 per person), is amazing beneficial to me, my employees, my company, and our productivity.

They simply work, and they work anywhere.  I can travel, and be completely connected to my business. Does anyone still actually use Outlook? I feel like I was a late adopter of Gmail, but it has catapulted me to a better Internet Lifestyle (work and play together).

3) Focus on fewer sites…

We have hundreds of websites. Yes, hundreds. Sometimes it feels like even more!

In 2008, we trimmed it down. Fewer, larger sites were the word of the day, and guess what? It’s working! Follow our lead … this is the wave of the future.

Ever notice how hard it’s getting to rank in Google? Yep - big sites win. Focussed sites win. I’m not saying the ocassional sales letter site can’t garner an easy 20-100k, but if you’re around for the long run - think big, and think, single or small group of sites.

What about link farms? Blog Farms? Etc…  Been there, done that!

Save those for the people whom want to work harder than you do!  You simple won’t need them if you work on creating a big site, with big content, and big community. That’s a fact!

What’s your top 3-5 business changers? What have you done in your business to blow up your productivity or bottom line? We’re getting our 2009 list ready, but would love to get your thoughts and insights first.

What are your game changers?