Make Sure You Have Strategies are In Place…

Matt Levenhagen Blog Post (Reprinted with Permission):

Do you have a strategy?

From my observations, I see a lot of people online that are moving forward without much of a strategy. Or they are stuck using other peoples strategies and don’t develop their own based on their needs and abilities.

It is very important to understand that those that are teaching you things online, are doing what they know or have been successful with themselves. It it not necessarily the path for YOU or the only path you should take.

I use a combination of strategies… I strongly use the old saying, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.”
I just saw a guy the other day freaking out because Google was wiping out his business… He fell by around 400 visitors to his website per day which crushed his income.

Why? Because he had all his eggs in the Google basket! Google is the type of animal that can make changes that don’t make sense, have no ryme or reason, and simply just happen.

You may think you have control, but you don’t.

That’s why you must diversify. Have a strategy that takes into account these type of things…

Don’t do just one thing… Let me rephrase that… You can do one thing, but make sure that you are covered within that one thing.

For instance if you depend on Google Adwords for 100% of your income, that’s fine. Just make sure that you are not doing just one thing within that. Make sure you are not in one market or are driving traffic one way.

Things are in a continuous state of change online. You must brace yourself for that change.
Make sure you have a strategy and you aren’t just mesmerized by some opportunitiy and you lose sight of the big picture.

This is a business not just a way to make some quick cash… it can be, but generally I think most of us want to have long term results and not live on the edge…

So have some sort of strategy in place for your business that insulates you from the environment.
You should have a short term, medium and long term strategy. Where do you see yourself in 1 month, 6 months, 5 years?

How are you going to get there?

There are things I do to make money now, but there are also things that I am building now that will blossom in the future or offer long term stability.

Just sit down for a few minutes and write down some of your goals and what you want out of this business. After you know what you want and have taken into consideration the environment, map out how your are going to get there…

If you do this, you will not only find stability over the long term, but you will find peace of mind.
Matt

Note from WorkAtHomeTruth:

You can read more about Matt Levenhagen and his Campaign Blasts Method here

You Need to Decide!

Matt Levenhagen Blog Post (Reprinted with Permission)

Are you decisive?

If you’re not, it going to be a long, disappointing road.

I have been online pursuing opportunities now for a long time. You know what? I’ve made a lot of decisions along the way. Some of those were the right ones, but many were the wrong ones. The decisions we make define us.

There are a lot of opportunities out there that will promise you riches beyond your wildest imaginations. That’s great! Except it’s not that simple. I don’t care what it is, it will take hard work, commitment and Decisions…

As an example, let’s say you decide your opportunity is to set up a website to sell golden widgets. How would you approach this. Would you just set up a site and boom the checks will start rolling in!?

No. First you have decide how the website is going to be set up. Are you going to build it yourself? If so, whats best for your website? Do you want it set it up in PHP or do you want to use CCS? What editor will you use? Front Page?

Or are you going to decide to hire someone to build it for you?

How will you lay it out? Do you have a logo? Do you need one? What color scheme are you going to use? Do you know the effect of color on your visitors? How do you decide?

What eCommerce solution is best for you? Consider your monthly volume. If it is going to be over $1,000, a merchant account is usually a good choice. You may consider Paypal in conjunction with a merchant account. If you do consider a merchant account, you also need to look into electronic payment gateways.

Then you have to market the products… Are you going to use pop-ups? Are you going to advertise with Adwords, Banners, E-zines…

What’s my Point!? You are going to have to make the right decisions for you business. There are a lot of steps from getting an idea to building the proper platform for the idea and executing it.

Your decisions will ultimatly lead to an end result… Did it work? Are you making money?… or is it a do over?

When you decide to pursue an opportunity, that is the decision that will trigger the rest of them.

You must learn to decide.

Indecision will find you broke and discouraged…

How To Survive Until Your Business is Off the Ground…

Matt Levenhagen Blog Post (reprinted with permission):

I ran across this site. The give some good advice on a number of business topics.

Click Here: How Do I Survive Until My Business is Off the Ground?
- From BusinessLink.gov.uk

What of the most difficult things to do when you first go into business is waiting for the money to start flowing… or simply to pay the bills… breaking even is always nice.

Honestly, don’t let the hype out there fool you… Don’t buy into you can get rich overnight. Most of that is a bunch of “you know what”.

It is simply not that easy.

The online world is just like the offline world when it comes to business. When you start a business expect there to be a learning curve, expect to work hard, work long hours, and even invest money before you see a decent profit.

Like this site says above:

Many businesses do not make a profit in their first year but can earn enough to cover their outgoings. Even if your business generates more than this, you may want to re-invest it to help your business develop. You may therefore need an alternative source of income while your business is growing.

Don’t sell the farm… don’t necessarily give up your day job right away. I know you hate it and are itching to strike out on your own, but think before you act…

Listen, I run my own businesses, but I didn’t just quit everything else before I started one.

I got into the insurance business in 1997. I was a full-time bartender and struggling artist…. I dumped being an artist; it wasn’t making me any money anyway.

BUT I stayed on as a bartender for a couple of years until I had a good foot hold in my new career. I’d work at the office during the week and bartend at night or on the weekends…

Then when I got into my contracting business, I started part-time, just as a weekend gig… which quickly took hold and I was able to leave insurance and do it full-time…

I don’t just do online stuff. I still have my off-line businesses now. If I make a million dollars online will I close shop offline… probably. But until then I’m going to keep my foot in both worlds. You never know what might happen… I like my bases covered… for now.

Some of the most successful people I know online either are still in an offline business or career and work online as well… or they waited until the cash was flowing big time online before they took the risk to leave their job.

Listen, this is especially important if you have responsiblities. Your wife, kids, family come first. Make sure there is food on the table.

You can still have big dreams! You can still take risks, but make sure they are calculated. What can you afford to lose??

I could certainly stop my business offline, but I won’t right now. I’m doing fine in my current situation. And it gives me more stability which my wife seems to enjoy the most!

Calculate what you can risk; consider combining another form of income until your business is rocking… there is nothing wrong with that. Businesses have done that for ages!

It is not uncommon for a business not to show a profit for a couple years even! Some of the most successful and biggest businesses in the world started that way! True story. I’m not saying it will take you that long, but just trying to show you the realistic side of life.

The key is persistence and focusing on your goals, never giving up AND caclulating your risks… If you decide to succeed, you will in time.

OR you could get lucky and strike gold your first day… ya never know!