http://www.integralseminars.org Fri, 30 Jul 2010 05:26:24 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 http://www.integralseminars.org/3-reasons-online-entrepreneurs-love-affiliate-marketing.cfm http://www.integralseminars.org/3-reasons-online-entrepreneurs-love-affiliate-marketing.cfm#comments Fri, 23 Jul 2010 15:24:03 +0000 ewwink http://www.crawbot.co.cc/?p=579

The affiliate marketing business models is a favorite amongst online entrepreneurs for many different reasons. As the age of the internet continues to mature more people are working online from home. Many are starting a small business in the field of affiliate marketing due to the affordable startup costs. In fact the online affiliate marketing business offers several outstanding advantages.

Here are 3 compelling reasons why the affiliate business is such a popular choice for many today.

Low Startup Costs

An affiliate business involves selling products produced by others. These products are warehoused and shipped if necessary, at the expense of the manufacturer. Even customer support is a function handled by the product creator.

The only expenses left to the affiliate are any advertising cost or other expenses that may be related to the hosting and/or maintenance of a website or blog. Interestingly enough an affiliate marketer does not even need to have their own website and there are numerous and cost free ways to advertise on the internet that can be used.

Technical Skills Not Required

In the earlier stages of internet marketing the technical aspects of working online created a barrier for many. Now navigating the online world has been reduced pretty much to a point and click approach. As a result virtually anybody who now desires to ‘operate’ anything online is no longer challenged by these technical barriers.

Ability to Profit Quickly

The products you are promoting as an affiliate are proven and already in demand. Furthermore they are supported by websites with professional sales copy and graphics. This leaves only traffic generation up to the typical marketer. The results are that most experience profits pretty quickly and this type positive reinforcement strengthens their resolve to continue and grow their business.

Online entrepreneurs today are fortunate to be able to take advantage of the global reach of the internet. Many have flocked in particular to the online affiliate marketing business due mainly as we’ve mentioned to the very low startup costs of this particular business model. The built-in flexibility of affiliate marketing now has many starting a small business in just about any field of their choosing. Given the opportunity to pursue the dream of working online from home has re ignited the spirit of the entrepreneur in people worldwide. At the core of this resurgence is the affiliate business model and with some of the advantages it offers as we reviewed above, it is easy to see why.

]]> http://www.integralseminars.org/3-reasons-online-entrepreneurs-love-affiliate-marketing.cfm/feed 0 http://www.integralseminars.org/creating-a-social-network-website.cfm http://www.integralseminars.org/creating-a-social-network-website.cfm#comments Sat, 17 Jul 2010 02:22:10 +0000 ewwink http://www.crawbot.co.cc/?p=565

The seemingly endless popularity of such social network websites as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter (to name a few) has a lot of companies both large and small rethinking their approach to attracting business and creating a buzz in the perpetually changing online marketplace. The question on the minds of many entrepreneurs these days is how they might go about creating a social network website for themselves. Before you can answer that question though, it is beneficial to first take a serious look at the benefits for your business. Ask yourself these two key questions:

Have you identified a targeted niche that is not well served in the current social networking environment online?

Think seriously about why you feel you need a social network. There’s quite a bit of competition in the social networking biz. Unless you have come up with a seriously innovative idea and have some financial backing, you may need to spend a bit more time in the planning stages. If you have a great idea, some money in the bank and you’re feeling a little froggy, then go right ahead and get to hopping my little green friend.

Do you have the time and resources available to invest in creating a social network website?

In the early stages of development, this kind of site will take a bit of time and money. Be sure to look realistically at your ability to invest both or you might end up wasting time and money.

Once you have given yourself an honest answer to each of these questions you will have a better overview of whether you should create your own site or if you should simply integrate the existing social networks into your overall plan of action.

Developing Your Idea

Should you decide to move forward, working through your idea is imperative. Remember to consider every aspect of your site. Make sure there are a number of ways for people to network and communicate with other members. Come up with lots of different activities members might benefit from. Make certain that you’ve incorporate the features your users need to navigate the site. Keep in mind that working from the ground up is essential. First incorporate the features they need, and at a later stage, you can add features that might make the site more exciting. During this development state, you may want to visit and join other budding social networking sites to get some ideas for your own endeavor.

Finding a Design Company

Once you have developed your idea a bit, the next step is to talk to a good design company that has some experience with the code behind social networking sites. Your ability to write code shouldn’t hamper your efforts to translate your ideas into reality. Talking with a team who has handled the technical side of this process for other sites is the only way to succeed. After all, with so many social networks entering the market, a well-designed site is imperative, and the only way to ensure you get what you’re looking for is to talk with project managers from a number of different design companies and get comprehensive proposals from each. Many companies employ experienced social networking designers these days who are familiar with the intricate coding necessary to protect member privacy. As you talk with each company, you’ll need to look carefully at the make-up of their team. You simply cannot build an effective social network without a team that includes a project manager, a graphic designer, and both a front end and back end developer. The proposals should be very detailed, and all of them should have user-centered design at the forefront of the project. Any team will look at design and functionality well before the testing and launch stages.

As you meet with your team, you may be asked about custom designed software versus commercially available applications. In most cases, it is in your best interest to move forward with software that has been designed to meet your needs. That not only gives you the originality you crave, but it also can help to make certain that your members get the functionality you envisioned as well as some measure of control over both the design and the layout of your site.

As you begin the process, you should probably note that the social networking market is growing at an amazing rate, so time is of the essence. With that in mind you will need to get your idea from the napkin to the ‘net as soon as you possibly can if you decide it is viable. Otherwise, by the time you argue yourself into action you may have already been passed up by some bedroom bound teenager with social anxiety who spends his weekends writing code.

Unless of course you are a teenager with social anxiety, in which case you should ignore the last paragraph entirely.

]]> http://www.integralseminars.org/creating-a-social-network-website.cfm/feed 0 http://www.integralseminars.org/aristotle-onassis-was-one-of-the-worlds-richest-men-how-he-recreated-himself-makes-a-great-success-study.cfm http://www.integralseminars.org/aristotle-onassis-was-one-of-the-worlds-richest-men-how-he-recreated-himself-makes-a-great-success-study.cfm#comments Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:10:22 +0000 ewwink http://www.crawbot.co.cc/?p=576

by: Geoff Ficke 

Aristotle Onassis was one of the most successful, publicized and examined people in the world during the middle of the 20th century. Today, years after his death, he is principally remembered as an ultra-rich shipping magnate, touring the world on his magnificent yacht and for his romance with the diva soprano Maria Callas and marriage to Jacqueline Kennedy. Before he attained business and social heights, however, he was a very rough, uncultured, non-work of art. His effort to change a dim future is worth a look: and is instructional as a teaching aid that anyone can utilize in pursuit of success.

Onassis was born in Turkey of Greek parents. At the end of World War l he, along with millions of others, was forced into refugee status and arrived in Argentina as a penniless immigrant. His Spanish was minimal, his education limited and his skills on offer were not highly prized. Nevertheless, he examined his circumstance realistically and with deep analysis. He recognized that out of post-war chaos would come opportunity for the agile and creative entrepreneur. Being broke was just an obstacle, not a closed door to Onassis.

As Onassis learned the ways of Argentine society and business he noticed that there were specific clubs, restaurants, hotels and theatres that were almost exclusively frequented by the successful business and political class. Always a keen observer of human nature, he realized that contacts and friendships of value to an ambitious fellow like himself could only be nurtured in this rarified realm. Onassis was determined to find a way in.

He worked mundane jobs, including a stint as a telephone operator. However, he was different from co-workers and other immigrants. He immersed himself in all things Argentine and he saved every cent he earned that was not needed for basic sustenance. Most importantly, he recognized the old saying; “the rich are different from you and me” was so true. He needed to emulate the rich in order to become rich. He never looked at successful people as the enemy. He had aspirations, not jealousy in his heart.

Onassis became addicted to quality in all areas of life. While still poor, he saved every peso until he could afford a Saville Row hand cut suit. He only had one suit, but it was elegant. He also observed that the rich seemed to appear healthier, happier. They seemed to sport suntan skin as a badge of their fortunate lifestyle. Onassis developed a lifetime addiction to pursuit of the perfect suntan. His tan was internationally famous long before the actor George Hamilton gained similar fame. To this day, a suntan is an emblem of the good life for the successful class.

A Saville Row suit, quality personal furnishings and a suntan that reeked of idle leisure and success were only a start. Onassis was still a rough cob. Nevertheless, he believed in his ultimate destiny. He would have a drink every night at the bar of the Intercontinental Hotel in Buenos Aires, the cities finest. Only one drink, because that was all he could afford. He still worked as a telephone operator, but he kept his parallel lives as a blue-collar worker and social status seeker firmly differentiated.

His nightly visits to the Intercontinental Hotel bar gradually lead to his building a network of business and social contacts. The famous Argentine soprano Claudia Musa frequently visited the hotel. She was an adored opera star and a cultured beauty. Onassis was basically nobody and a poseur. And yet, he pursued the beautiful singer, and with his usual tenacity he won her heart. This drive to win would be displayed in every area of his long and exciting life.

Onassis recognized that Argentine women preferred a type of sweet Turkish tobacco that was not widely available in South America. Utilizing his newly found relationships; he brokered an import deal for an inventory of the tobacco. He assembled the capital necessary to organize a small factory and began to market several brands of Turkish cigarettes. This small, but successful deal was the basis for his later international business prominence.

Onassis recognized that World War 11 was imminent. The movement of war materiel was going to become crucial to the Allies winning the war. Shipping would be highly profitable, if he could find an inventory of ships to purchase. With customary elan, he found a small fleet of sturdy but well used freighters on the St. Lawrence Waterway and arranged a tight line of credit to purchase the motley flotilla. He was on his way to becoming the most famous shipping magnate in history.

Entrepreneurs, in order to succeed, often must change elements of their personal lifestyle. We have all heard the old adage, “success breeds success”. No one practiced this truism more fully and instructively than Aristotle Onassis. He bought one high quality suit. He squired beautiful women. He went to the finest clubs, even though he could not afford much more than one drink. He used his new environment, new contacts and network to benefit his single-minded pursuit of success. Why did Willy Sutton rob banks: because that was where the money was! Onassis also made the elemental decision to hang out where the money was.

I work with entrepreneurs from all walks of life: no two are alike. One of the most difficult aspects of the entrepreneurial process that must be overcome is the need to adjust lifestyle. Sacrifice today will pay dividends tomorrow. Venture capital usually will not be found in a pool hall. The necessity to improve one’s self-presentation and to network continually is paramount. You must be constantly closing the sale, improving your skills and totally focus on achieving your goal.

Aristotle Onassis worked blue-collar jobs, spoke Spanish as a third language, was a displaced immigrant on a strange continent and had zero personal assets. Nevertheless, he organized a personal plan to overcome his obstacles and lead a life of legendary accomplishment.

I spend a great deal of time in my marketing and funding consulting work coaching inventors and entrepreneurs to overcome self-imposed hurdles. Some easily recognize the need to change habits and to utilize pieces of the Onassis template. They often have the ability to succeed. Many more unfortunately, decide that they know best, markets will adapt to their wants and a shortcut to success can be taken. They always fail. This is an absolute observation.

Contact me to discuss this article, other topics related to entrepreneurial pursuitsor a specific project. Geoff Ficke, 859-567-1609.

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