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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?
If you still haven’t signed up for the Underground Online Seminar® 4 - this is your last chance. I just found out there are only 29 seats left! (There might even be less by now.)
What’s even more important is this Friday, February 29th - you’ll have to pay full boat and the extra bonuses go away!
The Underground 4 is just about to SELL-OUT again (like it hasbeen every year). And if you want in - you need to go here right away:
The actual event is March 28-30, 2008 in Los Angeles, CA and there’s no time to waste..
Hope to see ya’ll there, and let me know if you’re going.
That being said, I just purchased yet another high profile course (doh), this time from Mark Joyner. Nope, not about Internet Marketing at all, but about becoming an author and selling books. Not sure how the course will be, but I’ve learned one thing - always get help from smart people. Simple as that.
This person knows the industry, does SHORT courses that have no fluff, and doesn’t beat around the bush (too much). We’ll see if I can stand it. Nope, no link, just check out simpleology.com to learn more.
Now, back to book writing for me, but not before I briefly mention my return of the John Reese course! Since i’ll likely buy everything he ever comes out with, people might be interested in why I returned his 3 day teleseminar course in February. First off, he’s a class act, and a real business, and there was no problem in the return. Second, it was actually good information, and I may have gotten something out of the full 3 days, however, after one day…I hadn’t. Nope, not a single thing. This is likely because a) I’m a know it all (that’s a joke people), b) I am terribly advanced at this stuff, having been successful online for many years, c) the large # of people in the course were not at my level, d) John was trying to cover ground to make up for C.
No harm done, but I simply can’t afford three days, even at 3-4 hours a day. It’s too difficult. The older I get, the more i make, the less time I can afford. Strange how that works, eh?
What can you afford?
Honestly, what can you afford? When I ran a video game company, my then boss (name withheld) explained to me his time was worth $5000 an hour. His reasoning, if he spent 5k an hour from now, for the rest of his life, he’d still have too much money. Fair enough, he was quite, quite rich (don’t do the math, you’ll figure out my boss). However, I’ve always remember that line. His argument being, if he could "afford" to be here, then we all should be able to as well. ;) I was bored as hell at that meeting.
Anyway, I recently asked myself about the worth of my time, and apart from the impressively simple (doh!) algorhythm above, which will only apply to a handful of people (and is not useful), I used opportunity cost, lifespan, and averaged in, intelligence and things I like to do. I came to the realization, as likely you will, that your time is invaluable. Should you spend it watching TV or reading this blog, with family or friends or simply working on your business, it’s a limited asset. It’s also an asset that you should put a numeric value on, however you decide to reach it. My time is worth $500 an hour.
This is what I charge for it. How about you? What do you charge. Remember to prove it to yourself, meaning, would you pay $499, to get that hour of yours back (i.e. whatever you think your hour is worth working, - $1). I do SO many tasks that I should outsource, especially given how I value my time.
Why ask? Because, if you value your time above, say, even $10 an hour, you should be outsourcing a lot of stuff to free up your time. When you buy a course, the cost of the course is NOT the true cost. The cost of your time will likely outweight it many times (at least for some of you). For those of you where time feels unlimited, congratulations. I guarantee you this. Once the MarketingCrazy books come out, and you start realizing the true value of your time (because you’ll have experience real work, and the real freedom that true residual income provides), you’ll likely value it far more.
Anyway, this post cost someone $200, so back to work on this end. 
