Business Alone

May each of you have a wonderful Christmas Day and a very prosperous new year in 2007!

Now turn off your computer and go spend some time with your family.

You are the new owner of an online business. You have made the decision to go out on your own and leave the crowded corporate business world behind.

You have chosen to "do your own thing" - to be your own boss - to take sole responsibility for everything that happens in your business and you answer to no one (except, of course, your spouse!)

In the previous post, I gave the example of developing an online bookstore in such a way that you're not trying to compete with the Big Box retailers head-to-head.

Here's how to do it:

Most "How to Start a New Home Business" books will include a list of personal characteristics or personality traits the author feels are necessary for the entrepreneur to have in order to be a successful small business owner.

The personal traits that I've included on my list aren't those that might "come in handy" down the road sometime. These are essential must-have elements that are the basis of the owner's persona and they will become the foundation of his/her management ability and capacity.

Now don't despair if you don't have all these traits right now. To some degree, at least, every one of them can be acquired or learned with some practice, persistence, and dedication.

I'll admit it . . . I'm a victim.

So are thousands of other would-be entrepreneurs that never start a business because they just can't seem to find the traction to get going.

Sure this is a big step . . . sure there are lots of reasons to begin slowly and not jump into the water that's too deep or too swift until you know how to swim.

Yes, careful planning and thoughtful mentoring will certainly increase your chances of success.

Regardless, the first step is always the hardest!

So many, many people have great difficulty in setting themselves in motion. The reasons are many, of course, but the sad truth is that many dreams fade as the morning breaks because the dreamer can't get out of bed.

Indecisiveness, over-analysis, and the fear of making the wrong move stop many people in their tracks and paralyze them from ever planting and growing their own small business idea.

I sincerely believe that a successful business can be created around almost any marketable idea.

I also believe that every person has hidden away in his/her mind, a potentially profitable business idea that can be made marketable in the right hands.

Your task, as I see it, is to identify the idea(s) that has this great potential and test it to the extent that you're comfortable with it becoming the basis of your new business going forward.

So how do you pull this good business idea from your mind? Where do you go to find it?

Here's an exercise that anyone can do that should help you come up with some great and personalized ideas for the subject of your new online business.

Spend some time and find a niche that takes advantage of the areas of specialty for which you are uniquely skilled or qualified, but which also keep your interest and stoke your passion.

The steps are fairly elementary. I would recommend doing this exercise with your spouse or a close friend that knows you well - that way you'll be able to get a second opinion about your suitability to enter this niche.

In the previous two posts, we discussed a technique for drawing up a very specific list of business subjects that could become the basis of your online enterprise. They are designed to take advantage of your past life experiences, education, skills and passion.

There is a good chance there will be duplicate items on the list. If you find them, cross all the duplicates off so there is only one listing left, but for each duplicate you crossed off, place a star by the one remaining. (For example, if there were three entries the same, you are now left with one entry and two stars by it.)

Now re-list the items from top to bottom in a new list: the items with the most stars at the top, then the next most, then the next, etc.

For all the remaining items with no stars, list them in descending order according to how much you now enjoy doing them, or working with them, or in some way participating in that subject. The entries you enjoy most are ranked above the ones you don't enjoy so much.

What I am about to tell you may shock you, enrage you, or maybe just disgust you -- but I will not mislead you!

You deserve to hear the naked truth about starting a business on the Internet from someone who has spent his entire career in the small business development field and the past 10 years online.

I want you to understand what is going on all around you in this frenzied and "enlightened" time of global communication, instant access, and light-speed digital transmissions.

Most of us have contemplated starting our own business at one time or another - in fact, some have called this almost universal desire - the new "American Dream."

The Internet landscape is saturated with claims of easy, automatic, guaranteed, wealth-building packages and lucrative startup systems that anyone can do with minimal effort and wild success.

These offers often seem so "right" for the novice just starting out in business because of their supposed ease of setup, lack of real work, and mega-profits that are "guaranteed."

But I will tell you: don't waste your money or your time on these products, and above all, don't get discouraged that you're getting left behind if you don't hit the "buy now" button before 12 o'clock midnight when the offer goes away!

The self-proclaimed wealth "gurus" that produce these products can't guarantee you anything.

It's so easy to get hooked on their outrageous claims of mega bucks for little or no effort.

My friend Jeff had tried three different business creation "systems" or turn-key packages over the past few months that had initially sounded like they were exactly the solution he needed to profit from his own online business idea.

But for various reasons, none of the systems had given him even one dollar of revenue to date.

Jeff just couldn't understand why he had failed, and why his purchases hadn't produced the income he was counting on.

With slight variations, these are the common themes of the systems Jeff had purchased:

I have watched as many heart-broken and disgruntled entrepreneurs have bounced from one business building package to the next, to the next, determined to find a system that produced quick results but that also required little or no effort.

Each new system that fails depletes the owner's bank account, shatters his enthusiasm for business, the drive to succeed online, and his precious time spent trying to find anything that produces substantial income!

Now take a step back for a moment and analyze the situation. What's wrong with this guaranteed and automatic wealth building business model?

Do you know?

We've been discussing the futility of buying into many of the so-called "business in a box" solutions that are available to the online entrepreneur.

It seems they are everywhere today and many are being promoted (and even developed) by folks that have never been involved with a successful business.

In the previous post, I gave you four good reasons why you should avoid these one-size-fits-all business packages and why they just don't work.

Here are some additional reasons (continued from yesterday's post) why you should avoid them:

Most new business owners tend to be great advocates for their product or service as they prepare for their business launch.

They become cheerleaders and proselyters for their product's features, benefits, and usefulness. They want to shout to the whole world that their "baby" is being born and it's the greatest improvement to ___________ of the century!

Do you know what I'm talking about? Have you ever felt this way?

I think new business owners are better served at the outset by playing the role of buyer or consumer of that product. Here's why . . .

Entrepreneurs are a diversified bunch. They appear in all sorts of sizes, temperaments, ages, and with various backgrounds.

Some produce tons of workable business ideas in a year. Others seem to struggle to come up with one good idea in a decade.

Regardless of where you fit on the continuum, there is a very underutilized place you can go to get all the good ideas you'll ever need to keep you in business for a long time to come.

Go online!

It's a nasty name, "swipe files," but it's an idea you should implement immediately if you haven't already gotten yours started!

If you're like me, you run across great little ideas and tidbits on the Internet every day.

But if you don't record that idea, or web site, or reference, or "how to" hint for later recall, you will have forgotten that even existed within a day or two.

If you've been involved in copywriting, direct ad creation, web site development, graphics creation, email headlining, and any number of other online business tasks, you've probably heard the term "swipe files."

That's kind of a nasty or unpleasant term, but the concept is smart and the results of you building such files will be significant as you venture into your new information business.

If you don't know what a "swipe file" is, or you're not convinced you need one (or several), read on.

Working for yourself often seems like the perfect solution for finding a way to earn a living and also enjoy some freedom of expression and the flexibility to set your own work schedule.

In addition, the idea of getting paid what you're worth and not having to share the profit of your own labors really appeals to many.

But before you dive into a solo business, you would do well to discuss the implications of being your own boss and "going it alone" with others that have already chosen this path and are actually making a living this way.

Their insights and advice will most likely do one of two things: strengthen your resolve to strike out down this path, or bring doubts into your mind about whether this type of business is really something that you will be happy and productive doing.

Often magazines and news articles about self-employment include tests or checklists that you can review to see if you possess the traits or qualities that are necessary to become a profitable business owner.

You might wonder how accurate such "predictors" are of future success.

My experience in studying a number of these tests is that results vary somewhat depending upon the audience polled and the skill of the survey designer and the results analyst. Nothing is black and white.

So are these predictors useless? Do they have any value to aspiring solo business owners? Here's my take:

Indicators or predictors are just that - they give us some clues about what might be - based upon probabilities captured in repeated tests. There are always exceptions and cases that fall outside the expected range of results.

In the previous post I suggested that there were some personality traits that were commonly measured (through self analysis testing) that seem to be indicators of the entrepreneurial mind set and qualities necessary for future business success.

I also cautioned that if you don't possess all these qualities, and still desire to begin a business venture, you should not be swayed from your decision on the basis of apparent lack of "the right stuff."

Some traits can be "learned" or acquired over time and some may not be quite so relevant to success in certain types of business that a solo operator may have chosen.

There are special challenges and unique rewards for married couples that create and operate a home business in tandem.

This kind of joint project can create new feelings of unity, togetherness, and working for a common goal that many couples don't experience in their hectic "do your own thing" lives.

On the other hand, business partnerships involving mates, if not handled properly, can also intensify negative feelings toward one another, add stress and pressure to a marriage, and drive a wedge in the heart of the relationship.

For these reasons, some couples would never consider working together in a small business, not wanting to risk possible clashes and avoidable irritations.

The unique and important aspect of any web based solo information business operator is the fact that he/she can deliver personal knowledge, skills, or experience to targeted customers over the Internet and get paid to do so!

Since everyone's knowledge and experience is unique, one-of-a-kind, and personal, your business cannot be duplicated (at least legally) by anyone!

Now it may not have occurred to you that if you adopt this business model, you have chosen to set yourself up as an expert in your field.

Even though you may deny you want that role, or won't ever admit to assuming such, you will be perceived as an expert by your audience. They are coming to you, money in hand, seeking the information you distribute.

If you choose to become such an entrepreneur, regardless of the subject of your business, you are putting on a robe of authority, so to speak, and acknowledging that you are a legitimate source of valuable information - the type of information that your client wants and is willing to pay for.

Think about that for a moment . . .

If you sell information, you are, in essence, a paid consultant.

Now you may never have viewed yourself in that light.

Maybe the information you sell takes the form of recommendations on the best cruise lines to book if you want to see Alaska in July. Can you see why you are a consultant in that subject?

Maybe your information business subject is dog grooming. Aunt Mimi has signed on as your customer because she wants you to teach her about grooming Fifi, her toy poodle. You are the consultant - Aunt Mimi is your client.

As soon as your customer signs up for your service (delivered in the form of some type of information), a consultant/client relationship is established.

It doesn't matter if you sell e-books, produce audio clips, run a subscription web site, or design graphics for logos. Digital information is your service and you are giving advice for a fee.

Here is my checklist of crucial questions to ask yourself about your solor business, whether it's still in the making or already cranking out a profit.

Yes, there are some important things to consider beyond what you'll see on this list. But this is a place to begin, a reality check of sorts, to make sure that you understand what your business is about and where you're headed.

[ Just in case you missed the definition of a solo business, it is a small information based business operated by one person on the Internet. The subject of the business will be related to the owner's knowledge, skill, passion, training, or life experiences. - Author's note ]

Anyone can choose a name. Anything will get you by. But the way I see it . . . why not find the very best name you can that will give value and meaning to your business?

Sure it will take a little bit of effort and some time to come up with the perfect name, but I can tell you that finding it will pay you great dividends over time.

Especially on the Internet, your business name sets you apart, defines your niche, and is the address that customers will be hunting for if your marketing reaches them.

So what's in a name? What considerations are important as you mull over the choices that you have? How do you find the best alternative available?

One of the first considerations in choosing a name for your new online solo enterprise should be to find out if someone else has already reserved and registered the same (or a similar) name.

You can hire this chore out to a professional firm if you have lots of money for such things or if you don't trust your own research capability.

Handing this chore off would probably be a good idea if you were treading on thin ice with your preferred name. For example, if you planned to register a name that is very close to a protected name, something like Amazon Jungle for your new book service, you may want to put the burden of proof on a company that will guarantee their results and have the legal muscle to steer the process through to conclusion.

Creating a new business is like preparing for a wedding: there are a thousand details that must be planned and executed.

It's easy to overlook some of the steps that are important to a business - especially when they are often perceived as being distasteful, expensive, and sometimes purely nonsense.

So it is with securing the necessary permits and licenses to make your business legal, keep you out of hot water, and legitimize your company.

Please give me a little slack if your State is different than mine. I guess there's a good chance that the sequence of obtaining the necessary business licenses could vary from State to State.

My business was registered in Utah, first as a sole proprietorship and later on as a Subchapter S Corporation.

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a lawyer and my experience in this realm is limited to just one State. I will tell you what I did. You may find things are done a little differently where you register your business.

I began my license quest at the county administrative office. That ended up being a mistake since they needed to have my DBA and State business registration information before they could process my application.

Every county will have its own procedure and you may find that this is the place to begin tracking down all the licenses and permits that you need. This is the place I started, but was told to register my business name with the State first . . . so that's what I did.

The County Clerk's office will usually be helpful in getting you pointed in the right direction. They'll be able to send you to the proper window to pay your fees.

The type of business you're creating will have a lot to do with the licenses and permits you'll need from the County government.

When most business owners talk about "framing their business license" they are referring to the municipal or city business license that authorizes them to do business at their chosen location.

It is very important, especially before you make any permanent location decisions, to check with your city to see if what you plan to do is allowed in the municipal code.

The city planning and zoning office should be able to help you determine what requirements will apply in your case.

There could be some zoning issues relevant to where you live that might have an impact on your business or the type of license and fees you will be assessed.

I was thinking the other day about how my tastes, preferences, and attitudes have changed over the years since I was first married and had four little ones running under foot.

All my children have now reached adulthood and I'm called "grandpa." (By the way, for any of you staring a similar transition in the face - it's a wonderful thing! It beats the alternative, doesn't it?)

I don't read the same things that used to interest me. I don't watch the same TV I did back then (mostly "kiddie TV" to keep the wee ones happy). The Internet was not around yet.

I'm as guilty as the next small business author. I like to share the business owner personality traits that seem to go hand-in-hand with successful business.

But we rarely discuss the qualities you shouldn't possess.

Maybe we don't like to dwell on the negative. Maybe we feel that as long as the owner has the good qualities, he can also be forgiven for harboring a few of the bad.

Maybe we'd just prefer to keep silent and assume that small business owners hide their personality flaws by keeping to themselves.

These 10 qualities are not reserved for business types. Anyone can become infected. Also, like most diseases, it's a heck of a lot easier to get it than it is to get rid of it.

Every business needs a skeleton, a backbone, a framework that gives structure and organization to the operation.

Having a structure also allows you protections and rights under the law and qualifies your business for particular tax and income advantages.

The structure you choose is important. The decision you make will affect your financial, operational, and legal standing and reporting.

It will also create some responsibilities and requirements for reporting that may force you to seek outside help or assistance. Whether you undertake to learn the do-it-yourself way or you opt for some professional help, here are a few ideas to keep in mind.

Picture yourself leaving on a journey to a far away place you've never been to before. You're not quite sure how to find this place, but you think you can ask questions of the locals along the way so you'll be able to zero in on your final destination.

Let me ask you: "What's the single best resource you could take with you on the journey if you had your choice?"

Would it be lots of money to buy your way in to the directions you need? Maybe.

Would it be a detailed map that showed you the exact way to your destination? Maybe.

What would you want to take on your journey?

Regardless of your business structure (sole proprietorship, partnership, or corporation) you should apply for an EIN (employer identification number) if you want to be seen as a legitimate business.

Yes, sole proprietors can get by without one. Social security numbers are acceptable on income tax filings for persons without employees. But often those who would do business with your business, i.e. suppliers and vendors, want to see an EIN as a way to verify that you really are in business.

Your EIN will be assigned to your business by the Internal Review Service. It's your taxpayer ID, so to speak, and it will be used by federal, state, and local governments.

Most of the Internet's best marketing minds agree on this philosophy:

"Don't try to create interest and excitement in your prospect for your product. Find an overwhelming desire already in your prospect's mind and fill it."

What does this idea suggest? Simply this . . .

Just a few years ago, if you owned a solo business and contracted your time and expertise out on an hourly basis, you probably called yourself a freelancer.

Maybe you were good at writing, or typing, or graphics design, or doing research.

Whatever the skill you possessed, you found you were able to hire your time out to others on an hourly or "per job" basis. It seemed pretty nice at the time.

Hopefully, you enjoyed whatever it was that you did because you were being paid to perform that function only as you were able to produce. Typically, the more hours you spent in someone's service, the more you got paid.

Most of the professional solo businesses that I am aware of have followed a very traditional model in how the business is set up and operated.

Most attorneys, doctors, counselors, and accountants design their practices around the way their predecessors did business before them.

They may decide to locate in a single office or they might opt for a group setting where several others of their practice get together to take advantage of a single building with a common reception area, staff of office assistants, and shared billing system, parking lot, and rest rooms.

Each professional is in business for himself, but his business only thrives as he is able to apply his trade.

He bills at an hourly rate, sees whom he chooses, and sets his own schedule, although his assistants really handle the appointments and flow of work throughout the day.

One of the ways solo business was conducted for many years in this country (U.S.) was by what I call "the one man band" business model.

An entrepreneur would create or find a product and proceed to sell that product to as many buyers as he could find. Sometimes the owner would develop a full line of products offering the consumer many styles, sizes and other choices.

The one man band was many business employees rolled into one. He did the research and development on the product, the manufacturing and/or purchasing, he was the salesman, the secretary, the customer service representative and the business owner all at the same time.

For many years, solo businessmen worked among the ranks of the self-employed as "organizers" or facilitators of groups of like-minded people.

They held titles such as "consultants," "coaches," "mentors," and "instructors." Sometimes they operated strictly as solo entrepreneurs being the only source of expertise in their company.

Others banded together to form a "team" or group that offered the same type of service but included the perspective and experience of multiple experts that often worked together on one project to provide the service.

These workers would organize their own curriculum, design their own delivery approach, and earn their fee by teaching or coaching their clients either in a one-on-one setting or small group atmosphere.

Since the beginning of time, solo business persons have opened and maintained retail stores that sold products to walk-in customers.

Sometimes the stores featured only specialty items, like a bike shop or bakery. Others carried a range of goods (like a mercantile) but remained small enough that one person could man the shop by himself and perform all the daily functions necessary.

There would be goods to order from manufacturers or wholesalers, shelves to stock, customers to wait on, books to be balanced, and cleaning at the end of the day.

If you are serious about starting a small solo business, there is no greater lesson to learn than how to apply the principle of maximum leverage to everything you do in your business operation.

Your survival, and ultimately your success, will hinge on how well you grasp the concept and make it your slave.

It's a difficult lesson for many, partly because most of us rarely practice applying leverage in our own personal lives. We tend to get complacent and accept low output and/or maintaining the status quo as our daily M.O.

When you get right down to brass tacks, most successful businesses are pretty boring. Really!

How many boring hamburgers does your local McDonalds crank out in a year? How many boring oil changes does Jiffy Lube perform for their customers every day? How often do Amazon employees wrap up a boring package of books to be shipped worldwide?

Many of today's most successful companies are at the top of their niche because they have mastered the execution of very boring business subjects and activities. They understand how to execute their boring routine over and over and over again; usually better and cheaper than anyone else.

Profitable companies develop systems of execution based on testing, modifying, and refining. Once they determine what works best, they simply repeat that formula or system over and over again.

There are actually dozens of smart and effective ways to begin the business creation process that will reduce the risk of a new venture for the owner.

I'll focus on what I call the ten "B"s. These are logical and practical ideas you can follow in your own business startup mode to reduce your risk.

They're not theoretical or academic guesses; but tried and proven ways of protecting your assets, both time and money.

Here are a few ideas that may be useful as you consider what you can do to become a star performer in the eyes of your customers.

In a solo business, it's easy to understand why most customers don't differentiate the owner from his business. If you, the owner, treat the customer poorly, your business stinks (even if the customer actually likes the products you deliver.)

And when your offerings disappoint, you, the owner, take the black eye.

It's understandable since the customer sees you and the business as one and the same.

Every business begins with an idea. The idea may or may not be your own, but it will determine, to a large extent, the success of your business.

So it follows that finding a good idea, the right idea for you at this time and place, is paramount in your attempt to begin a solo business.

But how do you know whether you have a good business idea or not? How do you know that the product or service you will offer will be something that others will buy?

Maybe you trust your brother-in-law Harvey's opinion that "this business is going to revolutionize the future of every man, woman, and child living in the free world."

I don't always recommend that you seek out an attorney and a financial advisor for your business safety and peace of mind.

And most of you know that I don't recommend the solo business owner buy an already established business.

But if that's your intent, and you have thoroughly checked out the business as I have suggested elsewhere, you still need to make absolutely sure this transaction is exactly what you intend. Surprises are not a good thing in this business.

Since you will most likely be investing a good deal of change in your purchase, and you will be spending the better part of your waking hours on managing your new "used" company, you would be well advised to consult with legal and financial counsel prior to closing the deal.

Before you take this step, I would encourage you to do a little research and study into the practice so you'll at least be aware of the laws, regulations, and tax consequences of this practice.

Should you pay your children (or the neighbor's kids) with cash to help you in your business and not call them employees so you can avoid the laws governing child labor standards? I won't answer that - it's your decision.

Generally, no youth under the age of 16 is permitted to work more than four hours in one school day. They can't be employed before 5:00 am or after 9:30 pm (unless the following day is a non-school day.) You can't hire a youth for more than 8 hours in a 24-hour period.

Youth that are 14 and 15 can be employed in certain situations and businesses that are non-hazardous like restaurants, janitorial services, fast food chains, landscaping firms, etc.

I know, I know, we all use the term freely and without much thought.

But it really is wrong. A virtual business can't have assets, employees, products and customers.

The term "virtual" means a realistic simulation; of such effect that something appears to be real even though it's not.

Well let me tell you, Internet business is the real thing. It is a different kind of business because of the way it's operated and delivered; but it is as real, legal, and legitimate as any other physical business.

Digital information is not unlike written information, except that it exists in the form of little data bits that consist of "1s" and "0s."

Every character and many symbols that we use in our language can be represented "digitally" and transferred electronically over wires and cables and even through the air waves.

Those characters are developed or "written" in software programs like MS Word and others but are "saved" as digital files which can then be transferred to other media and output types.

First, think for a moment about a traditional physical business.

Choose any store down the street you like or think about your favorite shop at the neighborhood mall.

Undoubtedly, it will have walls, a roof, carpet, employees, opening and closing times, products on the shelf (or some type of service that can be purchased), a cash register, counters, aisles, lights, bathrooms, advertising in the window, dedicated or shared parking outside, and many other things that all businesses have . . . or do they?

Try to imagine an alternative type of store with a single owner but no employees, no walls, no roof, no carpet, no bathrooms, no cash register, no counters, no aisles, no lights or other physical attributes.

Information businesses that are created, developed, promoted, operated, and delivered over the Internet are "the perfect business" because the product or service requires no employees, no stored inventory, no physical packaging, and no physical delivery.

These businesses can be operated from anywhere around the globe with just an Internet connection and the proper business set-up!

But for these businesses to exist, the following conditions must be met:

Today I had a rude awakening. I discovered I needed to practice what I preach. I needed to start taking my own advice.

I'll explain what I mean by telling you about my day.

The phone rang this morning a little after 3:00 am. I was tired and thinking I didn't want to answer it. I hate middle-of-the-night calls.

Most parents hate 3 o'clock calls because they worry that there could be some bad news about one of their children or grandchildren or another relative. Why else does the phone ring at 3:00?

When you do business online, you have to get a little personal with your customers. There's no way around it.

Being personal is fine with most of us, if we like and trust the person that's moving into our space. But online, being personal is a real challenge and a very sensitive issue for the business owner.

From the very beginning, you'd like to know how to reach your prospects individually. So, you go after a first name, last name, and an email address at the very least.

I started following Internet businesses back in the mid-90's and continue to be amazed at the variety and sheer number of creative business techniques and selling ideas that I've seen during that time.

Of all the trends, promotions, sales, and marketing ploys I witnessed, I am continually amazed at one particular selling strategy I've seen that has enormous power and sales potential yet very few marketers ever consider using it.

Here it is:

There should be a number of considerations that you look at before you set a pricing structure to your products.

But many entrepreneurs don't think much about an overall strategy. They believe they are limited in their ability to set prices beyond a certain range.

Let's say you decide to sell a DVD, for instance, that you produced yourself called "The Ups and Downs of Exploring the Grand Canyon on a Pogo Stick!"

If you play the "we guarantee the lowest prices" game, you will usually regret the decision. Of course, only you can be the judge as to your approach to pricing your products and competing in your niche markets.

But I will tell you that unless you are into razor thin margins and moving lots and lots of products, undercutting competitors is a chancy game - at best.

Here's why:

Often, when a new businessman enters the market, he often forgets or totally ignores the cost of support for his products and services.

Depending upon the type of business you operate, that could be a very costly mistake. Why?

Because if you don't understand fully the expenses of doing business in its entirety, there is a good chance you will have a good portion of your profits consumed by these "hidden costs."

Especially in online information sales, the tendency sometimes is to assume that you won't have to deal with very many customer issues.

It's fun to skim through a number of new business plans in a short period of time. I always take special note of the sales projections and compare set against set.

Of course, there is probably no merit in comparing apples to oranges as I'm suggesting I like to do. But it sometimes becomes apparent which prospective owners are attempting to be objective, and which are merely dreaming.

Even if you don't understand specific market demand, you will get a distinct "feel" for the amount of hype and exaggeration that floats around in the numbers and the logic.

There is a tendency among new business owners to price their products and services too low in the hope that they will attract more customers and not be given a reputation of being overpriced.

There are several problems with this strategy.

First, the kind of information business we propose for solo Internet entrepreneurs won't have any direct competition. The products, information and business execution are likely to be very unique and tailored to the owner's personality and experience.

Let's face it, many folks that start their own solo business are first time entrepreneurs. They have no history, background, or training in small business development or operation.

That presents a great challenge - one that can certainly be overcome - but one that must be recognized and met head-on.

You see, operating a business is like most other professions. You don't just declare that you want to be in business for yourself and all of a sudden possess all the skills and knowledge that you need to be successful.

Over the next few posts we will be looking at things you can do in your business to:

- gain the education and experience you need to learn important and useful business skills directly related to your success,

- present your business in the best light as one that is real and credible,

- grow your business beyond being just a startup that doesn't go anywhere,

- expand your mind and your opportunities for new business ideas, new products, and creative solutions to business problems,

We're discussing the steps you can take as a business owner to make yourself and your company a professional, trusted, "real" business; not some sloppy and suspect half-hearted attempt to grab a few customer dollars.

Here's the next step: Search out one or more experienced mentors to guide you in your business.

If you can find experienced business people that are willing to provide you some direction, advice, and counseling, you will be miles ahead of the pack of those who simply "go it alone" with no additional help.

I cant' overemphasize the notion that the most successful business owners are the ones that become "students" of small business and especially, their own business model and niche.

What does it mean to be a student of your business?

Some who go into business become so focused on the daily routines and operations, they never take the time to study and learn about doing business in a more efficient and effective manner.

I've seen a vicious cycle, a treadmill that catches business owners in a kind of "time warp" or trap. The owner starts running on the treadmill and can never seem to jump off.

He finds himself running faster and faster to keep his business afloat as he becomes more successful, but he's never able to slow down, catch up, and he can't jump off.

There is a critical business principle that you need to learn and implement in your solo Internet business that will serve you extremely well. In all digital businesses it will become either an invaluable friend or a nightmare of an enemy.

Some stay in business for years and spend a lot of valuable daily time on managing this area of their business, while others adapt and implement an automated system that does almost all of the manual work for them.

I'm talking about implementing and operating a system of records and data keeping that will aid you in maintaining your business and your customers.

If you want to have a professional and legitimate solo business, you must learn the discipline of setting goals and visualizing where you want your business to be in the future.

Goal-setting is sometimes viewed as nothing more than the worthless act of day dreaming. After all, how can anyone see into the future? Why waste time in guessing where your business will end up 5 or 10 years down the road?

There are three main hang-ups or difficulties with setting goals that keep most folks from realizing the power they hold in their hand when they establish proper goals.

Every business needs to establish and maintain professional working relationships with suppliers, distributors, vendors, service providers, and outsourcing companies.

You may think that just because you're running a solo operation and you are developing all your information products in-house you don't need to worry about on-going relationships.

Every business will need to establish partnerships (or relationships) with an Internet service provider, a bank or other financial partner, tax consultants (even if you prepare your own returns), insurance providers, possibly an attorney, and most likely some online service providers (like a merchant account company to provide for credit card transactions).

Businesses have to communicate in a variety of ways, but I've noticed that many of the online businesses (that I assume are run by solo owners) these days provide no address or telephone number for the company.

I am guessing that the business owners of these web sites have full time employment away from home and just figure that since they can't be around to answer the phone, it's better to just not list a number.

I won't deal with businesses that don't allow contact. Do you?

You've probably noticed over your lifetime that companies dealing in quality products and services tend to remain in business over a long period of time.

Others that prefer to push inferior products - and sometimes just good or average quality offerings - usually have a much shorter life cycle.

Why is it? Wouldn't you logically think that cheaper and more affordable items would outsell more expensive ones if they both performed the same basic functions?

Was it tennis star Andre Agassi that proclaimed, "Image is everything!" in his popular commercials?

Your business image is an important tool for your success because it can either add to the overall perception your customers have about you or it can leave prospects wondering if they really want to take a chance on dealing with such an amateurish or careless business.

Image results from a lot of characteristics and visual clues about your business, but we're going to mention just two of the more important things you can do to portray your desired message in this post.

Have you ever noticed an advertisement in a magazine, a brochure, a newspaper, or online that looked like it was produced on an old typewriter?

Chances are pretty good that the owner of the ad produced it himself using non-professional graphics tools. He sent the ad in "camera ready" to save a few bucks, and it gets published looking like child's play.

Is that the type of material you want associated with your business?

Occasionally you will find announcements, brochures, and web sites with frequent misspellings, incorrect grammar, and other structural problems that can only be construed as a lackadaisical attitude on the part of the owner.

More than anything else, marketing your business and your products effectively will make or break your company. Read that again.

If you are not able to attract prospects to your offerings, whatever they are, you won't be able to generate income and your business will die.

Too often I hear online business owners saying something like, "I don't like to sell, I just want to develop my products" or "My products are great and they will sell themselves."

Regardless of the size of your business, you should separate all your business financial information and record keeping from your personal banking.

It does not look like you're very serious about your business if you continue to co-mingle your business and personal checking accounts, credit lines, credit cards, etc.

Legitimate companies keep their financial transactions totally separate from those of the owner. So should you.

Separate accounting will help you to avoid confusion, keep your information organized for tax purposes, and it will give you a "check" on the health of your business.

I don't know of a large profitable corporation that doesn't regularly seek professional advice on a whole range of business issues.

As a solo business owner, you may have a tendency to rely strictly upon your own knowledge and skill for all your business needs. You may figure that since you're in business for yourself, it's up to you to find answers to your questions and problems.

In actuality, the smart business owner is one that recognizes and admits he has limitations in certain business areas and will seek out professionals who can advise and help him over the rough spots.

I get a number of calls every week that go something like this:

"I want to start a business. I have a wonderful idea. I have no money but so and so told me there were government grants available for new businesses. Can you help me get $50,000 so I can start right away?"

Not wanting to burst the bubble immediately, I might say something like, "What do you want $50,000 for?"

"That's how much I need to rent a building, make some improvements, and set myself up in business. I figure I'll make it all back in the first year."

Here's the number one reason why most people that dream of owning their own business don't ever realize that dream: F-E-A-R

Americans dream about owning a business. 56% of recent survey respondents said that was their great ambition in life. Yet very few ever see that dream materialize.

Most of us work for someone else from our mid twenties until our mid sixties. That's 40 years of our lives, roughly 83,000 hours.

Bruce Judson reports that a Gallup survey of over 1 million U.S. employees found that over 70% are disengaged from their jobs. They have no real commitment to their work or their company. 70%! Wow!

One of the greatest obstacles to man's drive to succeed in his own business (or any other great undertaking, for that matter) is the disdain most of us have for taking risks.

The term "risk" has a very negative connotation for most of us; it suggests a situation that we'd prefer not to encounter.

Why do we dislike risk? As a young child and throughout our schooling we are taught that risk is bad, that we should avoid risk whenever possible . . .

In the past, creating a small business has been a very risky proposition.

You could quit your job to start a new business and not be able to get it back if your business failed.

You could severely cramp you lifestyle if the new business required more time to operate than you expected and didn't return what you wanted.

You could risk losing all your company health insurance benefits, your life insurance, and your 401K.

Let's look at how the Internet, combined with a simple approach to solo business, allows the entrepreneur to control and greatly minimize the risk of creating an owner operated small business.

Risk #1: You could quit your job to start a new business and not be able to get it back if your business failed. A simple approach to online business doesn't require that you quit your job.

You will need to spend time, a considerable amount of time, on your new business; but since it's operated from home (or wherever you have Internet access) you can work on your business before work at your regular job, after work, at lunch, at night and on weekends.

In case you haven't noticed, there is an important trend unfolding in the evolution of modern-day businesses that you need to understand and exploit as a solo Internet business owner.

Years ago, traditional businesses would set up shop in a physical location, stock shelves with the goods the owner expected to be in demand, and lastly open the doors to customers and hope they would buy what was offered.

The solo information business of today is different. No longer does the owner need to make such an expensive commitment to his guess or hunch about which niche is profitable and which products will sell.

A lot of small business owners would reason that because their business is very small and specialized, they ought to try to save money and increase efficiency by keeping all operating functions in-house under the watchful eye of the owner.

Why trust important activities like communications, product development, customer relations, financial management, or fulfillment to an outside firm or several firms that won't have the same concern over these functions that the owner would.

And why pay someone else when the owner is trying to conserve cash and keep operational costs as low as possible?

Here are five good reasons why every Lone Wolf owner ought to seriously consider outsourcing some parts of his operation:

I'm not suggesting anything like copying or plagiarizing someone's profitable business model and products to push them out of their own chosen niche.

Although this very practice happens all the time on the Internet with cloned or stolen and copied products and services, you should never consider such a blatant attempt to shortcut your way to success.

What I am suggesting is that you put on your thinking cap, get creative, and look at the solutions that successful businesses in other niches come up with to solve the problems they find in that niche.

What you end up doing with what I am about to tell you could have a great bearing on your ultimate future as a solo Internet business operator.

I can't over emphasize this point. I hope you pay close attention and get the message clearly.

Undertaking a solo business is like placing yourself in the pilot's seat of a commercial airliner. Your customer's pay to climb aboard and have you fly them to wherever it is you've advertised.

No doubt you have heard this famous phrase many times before - it is used in context with both scientific application and general business principles.

I will borrow it today to talk about an important habit that I think all entrepreneurs ought to adopt and practice for the rest of their lives.

I have mentioned many times that the most successful solo business owners are the ones that ride the crest of the wave of trends and technology in their niche.

One of the ways they do that is by keeping themselves informed about the environment in which they operate (their niche subject) and the world of business both nationally and globally.

One of the things that most business owners look for are ways to add value to their businesses.

The usual thoughts are to add more products to the mix of things sold thereby increasing the profit potential. They reason, "More to sell = more sales!"

If you sell other people's products and if you have a source of additional offerings, this strategy may make sense for your business.

But what if you create your own products and can't readily add new offerings? What if you sell a single item and your business revolves around just that product?

II tend to be personally aligned with perfectionists.

I believe in doing the very best I can no matter what I'm doing. I sometimes spend hours on trying to get something right, even though that pursuit is mostly meaningless.

I'm a sucker for puzzles, brain teasers, and word games.

As an entrepreneur, I have to fight this tendency toward perfection and "coming up with the very best solution" all the time.

One of my favorite mentors (even though I have not personally met him) is a gentleman by the name of Seth Godin. He was formerly the Direct Marketing Vice President at Yahoo!

I call him a mentor because I feel his direction and guidance have helped me immensely in my business career. He keeps in contact with his readers through his popular blog found HERE .

Seth is also a prolific writer and a creative genius when it comes to understanding human behavior in the context of online marketing psychology and how companies can be successful as they develop relationships with their customers.

There is a tendency to believe that in order to have a successful business, you must be better than the other businesses in your niche.

You need to understand that it may be impossible to compete against some businesses in some ways. No matter what you do, they will be better at some things than you could ever be.

But that's OK. There is room for many good businesses in most every niche.

Your challenge will be to pick what you want to be good at, let your customers and prospects know what that specialty is, then execute your business and build your products around that strength.

Don't try to compete in things that you can't excel at. Figure skaters are excellent ice skaters, but their talents may not be of much use to a burly hockey player. They become known for their specially developed and honed skills.

Many businesses are simply little fish in a big ocean, swimming and scurrying about hoping to be noticed or "chosen" by those customers that want what they have to offer.

That is no way to run a business.

Getting noticed involves a lot of positive, pro-active, and planned steps that lead to incremental wins or successes. Typically, the process of being noticed and spreading the word about your products is an expensive and drawn out affair.

But there are things you can do every day in your business to create "buzz." And according to author Richard Laermer, in his great little book Full Frontal PR, this one characteristic of your marketing (creating buzz) is often the difference between success and failure in your total effort.

Can you imagine the satisfaction, pride, and profitability you could enjoy if your solo business was something very extraordinary?

Most businesses online these days are comparatively bland. They sell products and services that are accepted by customers and the companies for the most part operate as mirror images of one another.

But once in a great while, a business elevates itself to the apex of its niche because it is so radically different and remarkable as to be incomparable and considered in a league of its own.

There is a huge amount of talk and banter these days about niche business and the necessity to focus your efforts in very targeted segments of your market sector.

There is a lot less open talk about what it means to position your business in a certain way or stance and how to do it within your specialized niche.

"Positioning" very simply refers to the choices you will be making about how you desire your business to be viewed by others. You will be determining your positioning either consciously by the actions you take, or automatically if you don't do anything to influence your position.

You business positioning differentiates your company and brand from others in the same niche, your competitors, by:

I was asked recently by a lady that had decided to operate a home-based business, what it meant to "niche your way" to a business fortune.

I didn't ask her where she picked up that phrase, but I have a good idea it was something said in an ad or a "how to" article somewhere online associated with running a business in today's environment.

It's a pretty trite expression these days, but the concept is still relevant and should be the basis of most every business entrepreneur that's thinking about doing online commerce.

This gal's question took me back a bit - I guess I just assumed that everyone knew what a niche business was and that it was pretty much a "given" for today's highly segmented business market.

Malcolm Gladwell, a talented and observant staff writer for "The New Yorker," has written a little book that you, the entrepreneur, should read as part of your basic small business education.

Here are the details:

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
by Malcolm Gladwell, Feb. 2000, 288pp.

Gladwell understands human behavior and social trends that have shaped the American economy and influenced the business world so profoundly.

If you're a businessman, an advertiser, customer relations specialist, product developer, or web site owner, The Tipping Point holds many nuggets and gems that will influence the way you view your job and execute your mission.

On my reading list for all online solo business owners is Michael LeBoeuf's little paperback called The Perfect Business.

The corporate salaried employee stereotype with stock options, a hefty 401K, and holiday pay may soon become a relic of the past.

Job security is no longer prevalent. Corporate downsizing, mergers, and take-overs can spell unemployment for even the most proficient and tenured of workers.

LeBoeuf's book is perfect for the employee that decides to leave structured business life and test the waters of self-employment.

His writing is motivational, inspirational, and filled with solid reasons why solo business may be just the solution for those ousted from the 8-to-5 routine.

In a lot of online business situations, email is the lifeline between you and your customers and suppliers.

You don't have face-to-face contact and you may never converse over the phone.

Since your emails are so important, so critical to your communication with both customers and vendors in the business world, it is very smart to pay particular attention to both the substance and presentation of your emails.

All of us get in the habit of becoming lax in the business "chores" that are commonplace and routine. Email is no different.

Late in 2005 (December), several PR experts gave presentations at the Utah Information Technology Association's (UITA) gathering that was labeled: "PR Tips from the Trenches."

I was quite interested in the event because of my belief that public relations strategies are:

(1) often ignored by small solo businesses,

(2) assumed to be too expensive or too complicated and out of reach of the "little guy,"

(3) seen by small businesses as exclusively the tools or resources of the large and well-connected companies,

In 2005 I purchased and read Seth Godin's latest contribution to new age business thinking and culture and immediately was struck by it's logic, practicality and seemingly correct vision of how we must sell our products and services now and in the future.

Seth Godin's book, called All Marketers Are Liars - The Power of Telling Authentic Stories in a Low-Trust World, is a fun read and certainly challenges traditional thinking about marketing products and services.

According to Godin, successful companies will be those that invent good products worth talking about and then come up with good, believable stories about what they've invented.

Godin writes, "Make your story bigger and bigger until it's important enough to believe."

Another book that I like to recommend to entrepreneurs and existing small business owners is The Wisdom of Crowds by James Surowiecki, a columnist for The New Yorker magazine.

It was published in May 2004 and has 320 pages. The subtitle is: "Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Shapes Business, Economies, Societies and Nations."

That's quite a mouthful and suggests that there really is wisdom, influence, and, in particular, power in the thinking and opinions of the masses, either to the benefit or detriment of every society, organization, and economy in the world.

To my way of thinking, there are two business functions that every single company needs to execute well, every day of the year, in order to be categorized as a successful business.

The first function is marketing. Regardless of the product you sell, the size of your company, or the underlying bankroll you operate from, if you don't market what you sell, and market it well, you will never be successful.

The second daily business function that is critical to every business that I know is customer service. That is the topic for this post.

How many people do you know personally that don't really care how they're treated? How many folks enjoy being put off, ignored, lied to, ripped off, pushed around, run around in circles, or treated like they were criminals?

We're discussing the little operating changes that can easily be set up in an online business that will add greatly to your customer support process.

4. Set up a responsive help system or customer support mechanism. It doesn't have to be an expensive and complex hosted solution.

The main thing customers want to know is how to easily, quickly, and reliably get in touch with you should a problem or concern arise.

Customers online understand that small companies may not have full time "operators standing by" waiting to answer every question thrown at them. But by all means, return phone calls and emails just as soon as you can, preferably within a few hours of receiving them.

I believe it's a wise move to investigate all the options you have in executing your online business.

You may quickly dismiss many of these options for any number of reasons, but you might also find just that one perfect little advantage that sets your business apart from your competitors and propels you to success.

Drop-shipping could become your business "ace in the hole" so to speak, but there are many dangers in this industry so you need to be cautious and thorough in your research about the drop-shippers that you employ, their reputation for quality products and service, their fee structure, their policies, and your rights as the selling agent.

Some business owners have chosen to ship purchased products to their customers at no additional cost with the idea that such generosity could mean the difference between landing a sale or not, all other considerations being equal.

I would caution that you be very careful in implementing this strategy. If you choose to offer free shipping, that's certainly your prerogative as the business owner; but if your business can't really afford this luxury, it could become an awful drain on your capital.

Now, don't get me wrong - I'm not saying you should never employ this strategy. In fact, some businesses have used the "free shipping" tactic to differentiate and set their company apart from all the other competitors in their niche.

Have you ever noticed a shopping cart full of groceries sitting next to the checkout stand at the supermarket?

I've seen it happen a few times and usually figured that someone simply left their wallet or purse at home and would be back soon to claim their abandoned goods.

It's not a big problem since most stores are accommodating about the oversight.

But online, shopping cart abandonment is a huge problem! No one really knows the extent of this loss to e-tailers, but I have seen some estimates that suggest fifty percent or more of all online sales processes are never completed.

In the previous installment we discussed some of the costs associated with delivering physical products to your customers.

Be careful to study the numbers and understand exactly what it is costing your business on a weekly, monthly, and annual basis to send out your goods.

In most instances, it is best to charge your customers about what it costs you to handle and ship their purchase. The amount can vary a little from your exact cost so that you can standardize and simplify the shipping cost structure you present to your buyers.

Having to ship merchandise out to customers reminds me of the hassle of shaving every morning. It's a part of the daily routine, it's something to be tolerated but it's never enjoyed, and the longer you let it go, the more difficult the chore grows for the next day.

In my mind, having to ship merchandise, keep inventory on hand, box and package products, etc, is one of the reasons I feel strongly about solo operators focusing on information based business only. There is no shipping.

If you ship merchandise, you have to keep merchandise. All of a sudden you are in the warehousing and inventory business that presents all kinds of extra manpower costs, worries and hassles.

By now you understand that the solo information business strategy discourages dealing in physical products that require shipping and handling. These products require human intervention and a lot of financial costs that are the antithesis of the one-person solo Internet home business model.

Nevertheless, many of you will continue to do business in a physical delivery world because of the types of products you sell.

So I have a few suggestions about shipping products that will hopefully help you in your business to avoid the pitfalls and traps that some solo businesses have fallen into in the past.

Today's solo business owners have an amazing array of tools at their disposal to share their story and their wares with customers compared to days bygone.

Now I'm not an expert in the use of this strategy by any means, but I'd like to mention to you one tool that is easy to put your hands on, and learn how to use, that will open the door to greater customer loyalty and put your web business in front of a growing audience.

I've always believed that business owners should stay on the leading edge of technology available to businesses in order to profit from new advances and efficiencies.

In a previous post, we talked about what meta tags are whether they're important to the search engines. We're going to continue that discussion here and add a few other thoughts.

As the Internet has become more crowded with e-commerce sites, the race to attract traffic through the free search engines has greatly intensified.

In fact, today it's all-out war when it comes to competing for top billing: the rush to grab the very highest search engine rankings for competitive key words that drive tons of traffic to the winners.

Linking strategies for commercial web sites seem to be grabbing a lot of attention these days from marketing experts that claim in-bound links are critical to the search engine rankings.

There is a lot of on-going debate about just how important your links are to top rankings. I'm sure each of the top search engines has its own view of the subject. No doubt they give varying importance to this criterion.

Some claim also that the "page rank" (Google) or the importance of the site linking to your site also affects your search engine position.

But there are other reasons why you need links.

To tell you the truth, I'm having a hard time coming up with any reasons why you shouldn't absolutely consider having a forum at your site.

In the early Internet days folks would chat back and forth via email only. Some sites placed comment forms in strategic places around the site to encourage visitor input, but that communication was pretty much one way.

If the site owner wanted to answer a comment, it was back to the email station to shoot off a reply.

You will hear me very often say, "You are the business." The solo Internet business operator is often an individualist that would rather be creative, adventurous, and find his own way over joining the pack.

If you want to become such, you should execute your business as though it is an extension of yourself. Your company is built around the skills, knowledge, education and passion that make up your life.

So in terms of both subject matter, and executing the daily business operations, you are the business. Without you, the company is nothing.

Some business owners prefer to deal with problem customers by writing them off and shoving them out the door. They don't want or need to be bothered with further dealings or more headaches.

I think there is a better way, however, to attempt to appease and "soften" an irate customer.

Why not turn him 180 degrees around and convert him into one of your most loyal and valued customers?

You won't be 100 per cent successful with this strategy, but it will work often enough that you will soon understand the benefit to your business of this approach.

There are more ways to increase your sales than to just try to entice more and more customers to purchase your product by increasing your advertising budget.

Have you ever considered establishing an affiliate sales program?

Such an effort may seem overwhelming or too complex for a small solo business. But the truth is, with the tools currently available online, there is no reason why the solo owner can't leverage his/her own effort quite inexpensively.

Creating an affiliate sales program is much like recruiting a large group of independent contract salesmen. These folks go out on their own and sell your products or service for a sales commission or portion of the profit on each and every sale they make.

When you think about it, there is no better place to find new prospects that may have an interest in your particular niche than to ask your satisfied customers to recommend their friends and acquaintances that have similar interests and passion for the subject.

Some of your customers may not legitimately know other people in your niche, but those instances will be the exception.

If you are dealing in any kind of business subject or niche like a hobby, or a recreational pursuit, or a leisurely pastime, there's a very good chance that your customer will have friends and maybe even family members that also participate in the same activity.

A joint venture is simply a partnership created to take advantage of non-competing products or services that are extended to the customers of the partner's business(es).

There are many different ways to set up a joint venture and a lot of variations to the theme, but this is basically how it is structured:

One business will make contact with a non-competing business owner to offer his services or products to the non-competing businesses customers and will offer that owner a portion of the profits of all sales (in return for the privilege of contacting his customer base).

I spoke with a young gentleman today about his dream to start a business. That's not a rare occurrence as I deal in such discussions quite a few times every week.

As we began talking, it was obvious to me that he was passionate about his idea and his plan to take that idea to market.

His reason for contacting me was to find out where he might begin looking for funding to finance his project. It was the next item on his "to do" list.

Entrepreneur is kind of a funny word. It's obviously of French origin. I've been hunting for years to find its English counterpart, but have not yet come up with a suitable substitute.

Maybe we don't need an English word for entrepreneur - it's used so commonly these days in the English language that most business-minded people, at least, have a pretty good understanding of the term.

My dictionary states the word "entrepreneur" comes from the Old French "entreprendre" which means, "to undertake." An entrepreneur is one who undertakes the creation, organization, operation, and risk of a business venture.

I want to welcome my new friend Chris Elliott to the blog and the amazing world of Internet business. Chris is a high school senior about to make a choice between colleges and is interested in entering the business world after school is completed.

Chris reminds me that there is a legion of potential solo Internet business candidates among us - the future business leaders that will blossom in the coming generation.

Most of the attention I pay to solo business owners goes to those who have a wealth of knowledge and experience under the belt. They are folks that already have some life and business experiences in the work place.

I recently viewed a video clip produced by John Reese that showed his amazing VRE strategy that added over $500,000 to his business the first year it was implemented (beginning in February 2005.) You can view the video for yourself: http:files1.reesereport.com/vrevideo.html

John says he spent about 120 hours initially setting up this project which includes a network of small web sites that carry Google Adsense ads along with specifically targeted content related to high-paying keyword niches.

John is the same fellow that made some huge waves in the Internet marketing circles when he sold over $1 million of his Traffic Secrets course in a 24-hour period.

The premier search engine Google has come up with several programs that may be of interest to the solo small business owner. But there seems to be some matter of conflicting opinion about whether a web site owner should do anything to send his traffic away to someone else.

Here's the deal: Google allows web site owners to advertise products and services on their web site in exchange for a small referral fee each time a viewer clicks on one of the Google ads.

This is not an affiliate program since Google pays for each click rather than for a product that is actually purchased. In a sense, the web site owner is sharing in a PPC (pay per click) program. Google serves the ads and keeps track of the clicks. The web site owner puts Google's html code on his pages and provides relevant content for Google to match to its advertisers.

If you are a solo business operator and choose to increase the revenue generated at your web site, you have the option of employing Google Adsense advertising. I believe Yahoo and MSN also (or will soon) offer similar programs that allow the web owner to monetize his content.

There are several factors that determine how much revenue a web owner can generate for each of the particular content pages on his site that serve Adsense advertising.

First, the traffic to a site is important as most Internet advertising is, in part at lease, a numbers game. Your viewers will only click on an Adsense ad a certain proportion of the time.

Let's use the example of 1 click every 200 visitors. Given that type of click-through rate, a site with 200 visitors/page/day will generate 1/10 the income that a site with 2,000 visitors/page/day will get, all other things being equal.

Anyone that has searched online for information type products, and even physical products in some cases, has been offered one or more "bonuses" along with the purchase of the main product.

The question you may be asking is this, "Does a bonus offer increase the sale of a particular product?"

You may think that bonuses should naturally increase sales; but that is not always the case.

In this day of increasingly complex e-commerce systems, it seems that there are many strategies that product sellers have at their disposal to increase product sales. The strategy of offering a bonus product is so common now that it may seem like a necessity to follow suit if you want to make sales.

Most profitable Internet business owners will tell you that a consistent, fresh, value-packed email newsletter is one of their key ingredients to success.

But you would be surprised at the number of businesses that don't have one.

Popular excuses for the lack of a newsletter include lack of time to write and mail one, the owner has nothing to say, customers won't read it, the business doesn't want to be confused with a spammer, and the cost of writing and mailing it.

Of course you will never know if a newsletter will be of value to your specific business until you try it, but for many it has proven to be the difference that has allowed the business to thrive.

Why?

Successful Internet business owners know that a consistent, fresh, value-packed email newsletter is one of the best marketing tools at their disposal in terms of both cost effectiveness and customer satisfaction.

Here are some tips that will help a solo business operator create and develop a valuable and profitable newsletter.

1) Before you begin publishing, answer these four questions:
- Who is my perfect customer? (My targeted prospect)
- What do I intend to accomplish? (My purpose)
- How can I be different and unique? (My specialty)
- What do I have to offer? (My personality, experience, skills, etc)

Some solo business owners have experienced great success by marketing their company and products off-line.

That may sound weird, counter-productive, or just plain wrong. You've got to figure that online marketing is the cheapest and most widely reaching form of advertising there is.

Well, I'm certainly not advocating that you abandon your online marketing strategy - that needs to remain intact.

What I would suggest, however, is that you think about all the ways to spread the word about your web site, brand, products, and your business in general - off-line in the physical environment as well.

It may be something you do as a matter of routine, but I've seen enough sales letters and web site catalogs that don't do this that I'm convinced some sellers just don't know what they are missing.

I've often spoken of the need to do everything within your power to garner the trust and confidence of your prospects in online selling.

Lots of people are still a little skeptical about doing business online.

And even though many have moved beyond the fear that credit card numbers will be stolen and used illegally, they still have a certain natural tendency to not give their full faith and trust to a new Internet company they have never dealt with in the past.

I think some people are born to complain.

We've all been acquainted, or at least come in contact, with this type of personality at some point in our lives.

It seems that if the person is not registering a complaint, he's out of character.

It's sad because we all tire of this constant criticism and negative attitude, even though we may be good friends with the person.

But this type of personality can be damaging to a small business in a number of ways.

I'm no expert on the subject because I've only been blogging a short time now (since February 2006 on a blog different than Business Alone).

However, I have been a writer for quite some time and many of the same rules apply to blogging as well.

I have taken the time to do some research on the subject.

Specifically I have been reading about "How to Blog" and trying to follow the instructions of some who have been successful bloggers for quite some time now.

I've also spent a fair amount of time visiting popular blogs, watching what other authors are doing, and trying to follow their lead by seeing and incorporating their techniques into my own blog.

One of the great advantages of being a blog writer (author) and a blog reader (viewer) is the fact that there are few hard and fast rules about what a blog has to look like, say, deliver, and accomplish.

Every blog is a little bit different and unique.

Some actually go way out on a limb and try to be extremely different to the point of overstepping the boundaries of good writing.

Nonetheless, blogs are a form of digital expression and learning.

By their very nature they are personal, custom, and a reflection of the blogger's preferences and wishes.

I got this question for an inquiring young lady that had been following my posts at a previous blog site.

It was really kind of interesting because she didn't leave me a comment on the blog; but rather she sent me an email and asked about several of the style elements I'd incorporated.

She is starting her own blog and I suppose wanted my opinion and wondered what the rhyme and reason was behind my style choices were.

Here are my feelings about the quotation marks around a title of the blog post.

Title preference: quotation marks or not and why?

My wife is affectionately known around our house as "the Coupon Queen."

She dissects the local daily newspaper and all the mail flyers for coupons that she can use locally to get discounts on products that she buys.

I have found that using this same technique in your digital business can be especially effective in drawing traffic to your web site and boosting the sales that you get on your products.

The advantages to using coupons are many. If you include an expiration date, the coupon encourages buyers to check out what you have sooner rather than later.

They give your prospects a reason to click on your active links right now for fear that if they wait, their chance at a good deal may have vanished.

I read a news opinion column recently that claimed the great benefit of the Internet to small businesses was that it allowed every business to be built on the same footing - low startup cost and potentially unlimited exposure.

The article went on to say that if a business expected to compete in its niche online it had to give a lot of things away for free as that was the expected standard online these days.

Is the Internet business model really that different from the way business is done in the off-line physical world?

Do solo entrepreneurs really have to give away a lot of their valuable information products in order to attract customers and expect product purchases?

One of the greatest secrets to successful solo small business seems to escape many entrepreneurs.

If you are one that can't see the handwriting on the wall, I hope you'll take a lesson from this post.

Here is the secret: women drive most of the purchasing decisions these days, both online and off-line.

Now if you're a small business owner and are paying attention to the profiles of your buying customers, you will have recognized this trend a few years ago.

But it's still surprising to me that so many web site owners never seem to cater to ladies in their business or at their web site.

Every new technology faces the same uphill battle when it comes to public acceptance and dispelling people's fears that something bad will happen to them as a result of some unknown or unanticipated problem.

Many people say they are hesitant to make a purchase online because the either fear the process or they fear that their money will be lost forever because the seller will "take the money and run."

I'm too young to remember the early days of inventions like the car, the radio, and the telephone, but there were great fears among the public about what these new devices would do to society.

Many people were slow to adopt and embrace change. It wasn't until they actually saw and understood the advantages and noticed other folks were using the inventions without harm that they decided to give them a try.

Here are a few additional suggestions of practical things you can do in your business to gain the trust of your prospects by calming their fear of purchasing on the Internet and dealing with an unknown company:

6. Be very clear and precise about what the customer is getting with his purchase. Don't leave anything unclear or in doubt. If anything, be overly specific and descriptive so the customer doesn't wonder what his dollars are actually purchasing.

7. Make the actual buying process as easy, straightforward, and intuitive as possible. Don't ask for more personal information than is necessary. Now is not the time for a customer survey. Explain each step you ask the customer to take. If the buyer is going to be taken away from your web site (for instance, to have a credit card transaction approved), explain to him why he is leaving the site and how he will be returned automatically.

I mentioned in an earlier post that I thought press releases were one of the most effective yet misunderstood tools the business owner had at his disposal to market his business and drive targeted traffic to his products.

No one ever taught us how to write a good press release!

The single most important rule to remember is to focus on the wants of the reader. Write what the viewer wants, what will make him happy, save him time, or solve a problem he has.

Forget what you (the business owner) want. It's not about you.

In addition, here are some simple suggestions to boost your copywriting effectiveness and increase your chances of having the release published:

Press releases are one of the most effective yet misunderstood tools the business owner has at his disposal to market his business and drive targeted traffic to his products.

Here are a few simple suggestions to boost your copywriting effectiveness and increase your chances of having the release published:

6. Leave 'em hanging. One technique that is effective in getting press release viewers to head to your web site is to offer part of a story or a list but tell the reader he can find the remainder at your web site, at such and such address.

You build some curiosity and maybe a little suspense in not giving all the good details right then and there.

I have often made the comment, "You are the business." As a small business owner, you are the solo creator, founder, operator, and employee of your business.

Without you, and everything that you know, do, and are, your business is nothing. There is no business if you don't make it so.

I am a proponent of the solo small business strategy because I believe in digital information business as the "perfect" strategy for this day and age, especially for those that want to control every aspect of their life in the business world and beyond.

When you do business as a solo small business owner, you alone are responsible for every aspect of the business.

If there are breakdowns in your product sales, customer relations, or financial management, there's no one to shake a finger at except the guy in the mirror.

Now in a typical "regular" business, each of the employee managers that handle a department like those mentioned above will be scrutinized and evaluated in their performance.

The solo business owner has many tools and resources at his disposal that can leverage his time and automate his business so that he can accomplish much more by himself than would ever have been possible prior to the Internet.

Most business owners that utilize email will tell you that its low cost and "free" fast delivery are the main advantages of using it. But in my mind, at least, there are some other very important reasons why email is the communication medium of choice for the solo business owner.

If you are not using of these email advantages, why not give them a try? They may even be more important resources for your business than the low cost of contacting your customers and prospects.

There is one huge roadblock that stops men and women from accomplishing great things in their lives. It's the four letter "f" word . . .

No, not that one . . .

It's FEAR!

I want to let you know that most all of us have an unhealthy attitude toward fear. It's not your fault that you shy away from your fears. That's what you've been taught to do every since you were a child.

When you were afraid of the dark, rather than helping you meet your fear, Mom helped you avoid it by getting you a nightlight.

I had to chuckle a bit when I read the following statement in the biography of a local politician that was used to describe his philosophy:

"I've seen many changes in (community name) and I've been against most of them!"

He wanted to bring back "the good old days" when traffic was sparse, crime was low, taxes were much less, and folks were friendly.

Such may be the view of this old-timer, but it is a philosophy that can be very damaging to a company.

Most great entrepreneurs welcome change, embrace change, and seek ways to profit from the opportunities brought about by change.

Obviously, there are some subscription or membership models that make more sense than others. I'm sure there are profitable membership models in every industry and niche, but there are some models (regardless of niche) that seem to thrive on the subscription web site platform.

I was once a member of a professional organization that catered specifically to subscription web sites. I joined, not because I had a site, but because I was contemplating starting this type of business and wanted to learn all about this model prior to actually committing money to the idea.

I pulled out some notes I had written about the topic (because this organization is no longer in business) and I can share with you the five types of subscription models that are typically the most profitable.

I've often spoken and written of the accelerated pace of business on the Internet. Online, everything moves quickly and changes happen almost overnight.

It seems products, businesses and the strategies used to reach customers are here today and gone tomorrow.

Press releases and the way businesses keep in the public eye have also changed significantly with the speed and open access of the Internet.

Just a few years ago, press releases were confined to a very predictable format and were used to relay certain kinds of company highlights and events to the mass media.

Today, things have changed and press releases are nothing like they used to be. Here are some of the changes:

You would think most people are rational when spending money on products and services that they find online. After all, the complete information about the product is readily available right on the Internet.

You can also quickly compare prices, shipping, and other factors between two or more sellers to assure you're getting the best deal possible.

I'll admit that I've spent hours online comparison shopping, researching benefits and features, and reviewing the sales pages for just one item I wanted to purchase.

The time I spent online was probably worth way more than the product I was after.

It's only been since the late 1990's that marketers are able to look at the phenomenon of Internet purchasing.

It's really too short a time to accurately begin predicting more long-term trends and patterns that will spill over into the future.

Initially, most online prospects were hesitant to give up credit card information and personal data required to make a purchase. But by about 1998 or so attitudes toward security began changing and customers were more at ease in divulging their information.

As I have watched Internet business begin to grow and mature, I have noticed that certain recurring patterns seem to play themselves out over time.

Observing these patterns and keeping a careful eye on emerging trends will help the solo entrepreneur position himself and his business in a way that will benefit his revenue generation.

For many years marketers have known the popularity and selling power of contests that are offered to prospects and customers.

On the Internet, a fun and profitable (for the participant) contest can to lead to increased traffic and site popularity, returning customers, and word of mouth advertising among family and friends.

The contest you offer doesn't have to be especially costly, cutting edge, or filled with large cash prizes. Since you are working in a specific niche, the contest and the winnings should be somehow related to that niche.

Years ago there were some business characteristics that, if exploited, propelled a small business into the limelight and fueled its growth for years into the future.

What were some of these characteristics?

If your business had the undisputed lowest price in town, you were often rewarded with lots of sales and the revenue to expand your operation.

Some businesses grew quickly because they had access to unique manufacturing processes - those that allowed them to produce products faster and at a lower cost than the competition.

One of the true challenges facing every Internet business is the process of turning prospects into paying customers.

Lots of people can be directed to a web site by various means and incentives - but getting those prospects to spend money with your business is a whole different proposition.

How do you optimize your conversion rate - turning lookers into buyers - that certain percentage of surfers that will actually give you a credit card number and deposit their money into your bank account?

We'll save the details and numbered lists of tactics and strategies for another day.

What I wanted to get across as your sole "take away" (bit of wisdom you can use in your business) from this discussion is:

Of course the type of business you run will often dictate the accepted and profitable practices that are used in your industry.

Your brand may be strong enough that having a slogan may be overkill.

But in most new business situations, I think it's preferable to add a useful slogan as opposed to relying upon your business name alone.

I said "useful" and that is important.

Just adding any slogan because it sounds cool or looks good in the logo probably won't help your marketing cause much.

But if you develop a slogan that tells a story and brands your business in a useful way, it can become a great advantage to you over time.

It seems that the new American Dream is to own a business of your own. No longer is it much of a dream to own a single family home. Everyone seems to have one these days.

I want to caution you, though, that you need to be very cognizant of why you are going into business for yourself.

Of course there are many different reasons why you start a solo business.

But when an entrepreneur tells me that his main reason for going into business is so that he can get way from his demanding boss – I begin to see some red warning flags about that person.

I wonder if he really has what it's going to take to be successful as a solo small business operator. Why?

As the title implies, there is a business principle that all great companies adhere to that produces wealth and abundance beyond the infusion of cash into a business.

It is the principle that value can be created in a business in ways other than by direct cash deposits. It's a pretty simple concept, really, but many folks looking at business from the outside (like an entrepreneur deciding that he wants to create a business) don't think about growing a valuable company from within without spending money to do it.

Why is owning a business so profitable? Why is small business such a prized and universal dream for so many people?

Most would tell you that the reason they want to have a business is for the income stream that it can provide.

I'm always amazed that entrepreneurs are so anxious to spend their money.

I think the traditions and practices of the past have spilled over into the Internet generation of entrepreneurs and clouded the view of some soon-to-be business owners.

They feel that the old business cliché "you have to spend money to make money" still holds true.

I want to challenge that notion and tell you that you can play that game if you want to, but I would strongly advise a different approach.

I want to suggest that you conserve as much cash as you possibly can as you begin your new small business. Look for ways to save money instead of focusing on all the possible things you could spend your money on.