Hi Everyone,

I saw something today which I thought was amazing. It proves how people coming together  for a common purpose can show mindset and motivation in an awsome fashion.

Whether it’s in business or in pleasure people motivate people.  Watch the video of The Black Eyed Peas singing on the Oprah Show in Chicago. In particular watch the girl in blue at the front. It’s a bit slow at first but keep watching, you’ll be amazed.

Wasn’t that Awesome?

’till next time,

Barry

Hi Everyone,

No doubt you have seen the announcement that Windows 7 will be with us soon, and as I like to look after my loyal readers how about a Massive 50% Discount? Is that good or what

You can pre order from Amazon and if you use this link you’ll get Windows 7 Home Premium for Half Price:
Yes, Please Give me Windows 7 Home at Half Price

Or for those of you who want ‘The Bees Knees’ how about 18% off Windows 7 Professional E

Use this link to pre-order: I would like Windows 7 Professional please

Keep Smiling.

Barry

When you have a shiny new web site you can be forgiven for continually checking your stats for traffic. After all the hard work we want to feel good when we see the visitor numbers. But all too soon the happy face disappears and is replaced by a frown. Then the nagging questions start and eventually realization finally hits you, ‘BAM’…. right between the eyes!

You’ve got visitors but no customers, and WOW that hurts

OK, less of the self pity. You’ve got to start thinking…like a customer.

“Right, I’m on the site and I want to find out more because I’ve read an article and I’m really interested in teaching my parrot how to tap dance, wear shades and sing like Elvis”. (Don’t dwell on this folks, it ain’t real)

Now you’ve got the visitor you need to do some soul searching and see it from their side, so here are a few pointers:

1.      Are they presented with clean styles, compatible colors and lots of space?

2.      Are your graphics meaningful or have you got more flashing lights than a funfair?

3.      Can they navigate around the site with ease and come back to the home page?

4.      Does your sales pitch lead them through a ‘story’ and then take them seamlessly to a Buy button?

5.      Can they contact you if they have questions?

6.      Does your pricing make sense?

7.      Is there a refund policy to make them feel comfortable?

These points are not meant to be definitive but merely to make you think and look at your site from a different perspective. Consider this: ‘How many times have you walked into a store and after a quick look round, walked out again because it didn’t appeal?’ I’ll bet you can relate to that one.

Make it easy, think outside the box, take your time, make it right and you’ll get there.

‘till next time,

Barry

PS: Don’t forget to sign up for Free Hints and Tips to help you in your marketing.

PPS: The parrot’s awesome

What a week! I’ve been soooo busy working on different projects the time just flew by and I don’t feel to have arrived anywhere. Has that happened to you?

I’ll bet you’ve had the same feeling, rush, rush, rush, do this, do that and at the end of it all, well ‘err… nothing.

It just shows, when you take your eye off the ball you get caught up with all sorts of things that don’t really matter and your time becomes non-productive, but it’s very important to remember that time is money. Ok Ok, now and then you have to step back and relax or do something different but even then you have to be in control. You have to decide what is relaxation and what is time wasting.

To try and keep focused on what’s the best use of your time try this tip: Write on a post-it-note “Will what I’m doing now achieve what I want?” Wow, that sure keeps the reality and brings you back on track. Why don’t you try it for a couple of days then ask yourself, ‘Did it work?’ I’ll bet it did.

Oh! And don’t forget to move the post-it-note to a different place every day or so. Why? Because if it stays in one place you won’t see it

Trying to organise your time and keep focused is very difficult, we’re all guilty of wondering off, and of course we say ‘We don’t have time for this…’ but time moves on and we can’t get it back. So it becomes even more important to make sure we get the maximum out of our time whether it’s time for work or time for fun.

When you’re working on the project for your online business don’t forget to ask yourself the question ‘Will what I’m doing now achieve what I want?’ If it does that’s brilliant you’re on the right track. If it doesn’t, you’ve wondered off again

Don’t forget: If you do nothing you’ll get nothing, so do something.

‘till next time.

Barry

Well the Easter holidays are over, I mean four days break and how quick was that? Did I blink?

Now, here’s where things get interesting. Those of you who have a J.O.B. will no doubt be getting up for work and facing the first day back after the hols. I know it was only two working days but Hey! A holiday is a holiday, right?

Now picture this: Thousands of people with shoulders stooped forward, hands thrust deep into pockets trudging forlornly down a long winding road to work. Well it feels like a long winding road. Anyway, you get my drift? Can you relate to this? I could many years ago, until one day I shouted in frustration; “I want to break free” (No I’m not going to burst into song).

I did however; join the ranks of the Self Employed. No more trudging to work for me, no more Boss, no more 9 to 5 or 8 to 6 or whatever regime they made you do. But… wait a minute… there’s also: no more salary, no more holiday pay, and no more ‘sickies’

OH! My…. God, what have I done? That my friend, was me crashing at 100 miles an hour into the ‘Terror Barrier’, and it was not a pretty sight!

There’s a story for the bit that came next, but I’ll leave that to another post. What I’m trying to say is, being your own Boss, The MD, The CEO, The Chief Exec, The Buck Stops Right Here Person (Only because there’s no one else to blame now) is, well, wonderful, fantastic and immensely satisfying.

Do you know what I like to do on a Monday morning as my neighbours roar off in their cars, with white knuckles on the steering wheel? I’ll go and have a game of golf

Ok, on the other side of the coin when they have their feet up watching TV, I might be working on a project. But I have a choice, and that my friend is the difference.

Get the Mindset right, believe in yourself, believe you can do it and you’ll do it. Step by step, stone by stone, you can move a mountain. I did.

I’m not selling or promoting anything, I just want you to think, to put yourself in that place. Feel the success, breathe it. You know you want it. Just do it. You can.

Remember,

If you do nothing, you get nothing. So do something.

‘Till next time,

Barry

Starting an Online Business of your own is the ideal dream of most people. No daily grind, no more putting up with back stabbing colleagues and a fiery boss you can never seem to please.  You’ve got loads of ideas rushing around your head and you feel really pumped up. You can see lots of money at the end and you have this warm feeling inside. You’ve done your homework; you’re confident and full of expectations. You’re buzzing with excitement and then the big moment arrives; your new online business starts and off you go.

For awhile you maintain this euphoria and everything’s fine,  you’ve done the bits you need to do and it’s all going to plan…or is it? Before you realise, the engine starts to slow down, your mind gets a little fuzzy and you don’t feel quite as fired up. You’re constantly checking on the never ending flow of information that gets pushed at you and then doubt creeps in and you begin to question what you’ve done. This can start to happen after a few weeks, or if your determination was reasonable at the outset, a few months. But slow down it does. Your Online Business doesn’t seem so attractive now.

Why did this happen? If you could analyse your efforts and your input you would realise that the missing ingredient is: RESULTS. There aren’t any. The longer there are no results coming in the slower you go. You then get the worst feeling in the world and it’s the daddy of them all. You feel demoralised. When that happens it’s like trying to climb up a greasy pole. It’s important at this point not to despair. You must evaluate what you have done and why you got to this state.  You could however take an easier route. You could call it a ‘Stepping Stone’ to success, and knowing which stones to step on, makes all the difference. If you’ve experienced this or better still don’t want to experience it then take a look at:

The Solution by clicking here. You’ll be glad you did.

Remember: If you do nothing, you’ll get nothing. So do something.

Keep Smiling,

Barry

Hi Everyone,

A bit serious today, but it’s sometimes good to take a reality check and touch base with our thoughts. (The humor will be back, I promise).

We live in different towns, different areas and different countries but at some point in our lives, chances are we’ve all been to the same place. It’s a dark place where you doubt yourself and you doubt everyone around you. You’ve got a good idea what must be done, but you can’t do it. You know what’s right but you can’t act. You know you should do it today, but you’ll leave it ‘til tomorrow. “It’s ok for everyone else but they’re not me”. Isn’t that what you’re really saying?

You want to wait for someone to come along and work it out for you, but they never arrive. You’re stuck, but why are you stuck? What’s missing?

Courage and Focus, that’s what’s missing. Courage to make a decision: to go forward. Don’t accept the dark place; remember why you started on your journey, your hopes, and your dreams. Don’t let fear hold you back.  You are out of your comfort zone and your subconscious mind stops you from making different decisions to what you would normally make. Fear will stop you from moving forward. You’re having a tough time in this place, you’re uncomfortable. This new thing you’re trying to do, won’t work. It works for other people but it won’t work for me. You’ve become a victim; you’ve lost your way. You’ve lost your focus.

As Henry Ford once said “Whether you think you can or you can’t, either way you’re right”

Don’t lose your focus, remember why you started. Look forward not back. Shake out those dark thoughts. Focus on the result you want to see. Focus on the achievement you want to make. How would you feel if you’ve just checked your bank account and you’ve received an extra $10,000 dollars? How would feel now?  How would you feel? Hold that thought, focus, you can do this. You can move forward, you have the courage to do it. Focus on your goal, your dream. You can do this!

Remove the negative thoughts. Accept that you can achieve, you can win, and you can get there.

Not winning is not Failure. Giving up is Failure.

Never, ever give up!

Check this video, it makes you think.

Remember: If you do nothing you’ll get nothing. So do something.

Till next time.

Barry

Wow, what a subject but here goes.

Just to set the record straight a Niche Market is a group of people all interested in the same topic. As the saying goes: If you can plug into it, you’ll make money. But will you? There are a few questions you need to ask.

1.      Is the market large enough?

2.      Is there scope?

3.      Is the market too technical?

Let’s look at the first one. Is it large enough? You’re going to spend a lot of time doing research, blog posts, article writing, sourcing or creating products and building lists. Is there enough in that particular niche market to warrant volume or will your sales be limited.  Selling is a numbers game; the more in it, the more you’ll get out of it. Unless of course you have a sure fire winner or you’ve got a high ticket price.

Is there scope in the niche for more products after your first? Try and think two products ahead and you won’t go far wrong. For example how many products could you offer a Beekeeper? Some, but not many. How many could you offer a person who keeps tropical fish? A huge amount: including types of fish, plants, tanks, rocks, breeding, equipment or how about a DVD on setting up an aquarium. There must be scope.

Is it too technical?  How about ‘The Association of Brain Surgeons’, boy I think I’ll let that one go But seriously, unless you’re an excellent researcher don’t get into the technical ones. It’s too time consuming and time is money plus you‘ll get found out and your credibility will disappear along with your wallet.

Consider this: ‘Follow your passion and you’ll do ok’. But will you? Is there enough money in it? You might be passionate enough and knowledgeable enough to write a one hundred page eBook and produce dozens of reports with hints and tips, but are there enough people in your chosen niche market that share your passion?

Find your market and work your market. Build your list; build your relationship with your list. Send them free reports, hints, tips and reviews. Use a common sense approach, be nice, be authoritive but don’t be pushy. Become an expert in your niche, someone to trust. Become more personable on your eBooks by including a photo if you’re an attractive person or if you’re like me and look like a ‘bulldog eating a wasp’ forget it :-) only joking…I think.

Finding your niche market can be fun. Here’s a tip: If there’s a well known person (celebrity even) writing in a market, there IS a market.

On a lighter note, my favorite niche is golf and when I started to play I said to my instructor “I want you to teach me how to do a fantastic golf swing”, and he said “How flexible are you”? And I said “I can only come on Saturdays”

What??

Remember: If you do nothing you get nothing, so do something.

Keep Smiling,

Barry