Is Facebook old fashioned or advanced technology? Watch this video to find out.

What’s the real untapped secret to ClickBank? CARING.

Am I not right? Your thoughts?

LINKS:

http://ctaplugin.com

http://warriorforum.com/

The fact is that some of the most basic work forms the basis of all jobs. Good work in these fields is a lot more useful than people think it is. If you’ve done work as a ghost writer, cover designer, or formatting work for a book print, you’ve also done the fundamental work required for some much higher paying jobs.

Targeting a portfolio

Contracts and employers are looking for skills. The better your skills, and the more value you can bring to a job or a contract, the more likely you are to get that job. You’ll also more than likely get more work and above all add to your portfolio some of this very valuable higher rate material.

The classic mistake when going for jobs is to be a bit too literal minded in interpreting what the job wants. It’s advisable to do your homework on any job which attracts your interest.

Start with the basics:

Check out the products, content and design issues: This is like a map of the realities of the job. It’s valuable information, and it can also show you how to approach getting the job.

What does the job really need? This is critical approach. Look for the strengths and weaknesses in the work. If the job lacks something you can do, you’ve got material to work with.

What additional values can you bring to the job? What would you say you can do that they’re not doing? Don’t get too modest about this issue, because your skills may be exactly what this job needs.

What materials can you use to give a really good presentation? What do you have in your portfolio that’s better than their existing work? Remember that you’re the expert in this case, and your skills need to prove that you know what you’re doing. If the contract sees good value, you’ve got the job.

What can you create to show the contract or the employer? This is a slightly sneakier approach, but it’s effective. Can you do something in their type of business as a mockup, which will act as a portfolio presentation, even if you don’t have direct experience? If so, you’ll at least get their interest, and quite possibly any extra outsourcing work they’ve got, as well.

The idea is to make yourself very clear:

• Yes, you can do everything the job requires, and more
• Yes, you can prove your skills
• Yes, you can do brochure printing, greeting card content, flyer printing, whatever they need done.

A successful presentation has nothing to do with luck. It’s content that counts in getting the jobs as much as your designs and your content work. Keep that in mind, look for opportunities, and you’ll do very well.

What do you think?

It could be a good thing at times, and it could be a bad thing at times. It all depends. What I will say though is that the mental trigger never goes off and we miss the opportunity that we should not have.

After putting this much energy into this project, making sure everything is ready, and then waiting, you’ve just killed the moment. You need to train yourself to recognize the opportunity and instantly pull the trigger. It could very well be the difference between life and death.

How do you train yourself to recognize opportunity? Leave a comment with your thoughts.

I’ve seen it happen in the past. I’ve seen it happen to me. I’ve seen it happen to friends. That’s enough headache on my end to warrant that you had better take this seriously.

When you have a website design/development/hosting company/agency/corporation design and manage your website, you had better be sure you ask them about how they will go about purchasing your domain name. If they say,

“Oh, we will take care of that. You don’t need to worry.”

Red flags had better be going up. At this point you should ask questions to clarify exactly what they will do or look for a different company. Why? Because they can take your domain name hostage for any reason and at any time.

Handling your domain name really isn’t as big as the website design companies make it out to be. The hardest thing they can do is offer you a link so you can purchase the domain name from a website hosting company, let you pay with your own credit card, and enter any important identifying information so the world knows that this is your domain name.

That’s really about it. Now that you know, don’t let this mistake happen to you and your friends in the future ok?

That is why I am opening up every Tuesday on my blog for a guest post! If you’ve been wanting to write something, now is the perfect time.

What You Need To Do

A. Select A Topic

1. Personal Finances
2. Small Business
3. Technology/Tech News/Reviews
4. Social Media (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.)
5. New Media (Blogging, Podcasting, Online Video, YouTube, etc.)

B. Write Your Guest Post (300-500 words, you can include links)

C. Write A Short Bio (e.g., Taylor is a New Media Visionary on a journey to change the world.)

D. Contact Me and paste your guest post in the message box.

That’s It! I will reply to let you know when you can expect your post to be published on my blog and will even give you a link to it!

Any questions? Let me know. Otherwise, have fun guest posting!

All it took was one person looking at this problem from another angle and coming up with the solution that changed everything. Whoever invented the wheel is a complete genius, not because of what they did but because of their creativity in solving the problem. By thinking outside the box. By not going with the flow.

But now times have changed. Or have they? I’m pretty sure when “the wheel” came out, everyone laughed and commented on how stupid it was until the “first follower” took the risk and tried it for himself. It turned into a literal avalanche and the rest is history.

Are you blazing a new trail? Are you providing the solution to the problem at hand? You could be reinventing the wheel and not even know it. You could be copying the wheel and not even know it.

I can guarantee reinventing the wheel is harder than it looks. It sometimes takes a lifetime of sweat, blood, and tears to see anything of considerable merit. Copying the wheel is easy, however, but nobody ever tries it because they want to “blaze a “new” trail”.

Now listen closely, there are times you need to reinvent the wheel and there are other times you simply need to copy it. Sometimes you don’t need to blaze a new trail, you simply need to follow somebody down it. So where are you at right now?

Do you really, truly know your destiny? I mean, do you actually know it or are you just guessing at it? Do you think you will be the next rockstar? Do you know that for sure or are you basing it on what people think or say about you?

A good book once told me:

There is something you need to understand. [Insert Subject] is an endless frontier. It is a frontier that no one has reached the end of or fully explored. You have taken one step into this endless frontier, and you are asking me how far you have gone?? Well, you’ve only taken one measly step!

I want you to realize something, you have taken one step into this endless frontier. And you are now one step further into this frontier than 99.9% of the human race. But don’t be satisfied with just one step. Don’t settle for just being above average. Never pitch your tent. Until you have explored the outer reaches of this endless frontier, never stop your pursuit of excellence!

-When God Writes Your Life Story by Eric & Leslie Ludy

Think about it. Many great people in this world did not know their true destiny until the end. Most of the time it was their little secret, kept hidden from the rest of the world.

So now I pose the question to you again, do you really know your TRUE destiny?

Justin Bieber may be a rockstar for this generation, but Beethoven is master for all time. Fred may be the biggest rockstar ever to crash through the rankings on Youtube and become an overnight sensation, but the Three Stooges have him beat in the long run. It isn’t about being popular. It isn’t about showing off to the world. To truly become a master you must sacrifice your life to the calling. You must give something so spectacularly amazing to the world that shines bright enough to become your legacy.

I can tell when a fake is a fake, when someone is trying to push something they obviously are not. Quit the ‘feel good’ statements or the ‘destiny to change the world’, it’s not going to happen in the status quo. The status quo remains how it is regardless of how much you play around in it. It is when the limits are pushed, when the boundaries are exceeded does something extraordinary happen.

How it all started

It was a typical day in the office. I was digging through my usual clutter of information when a dropshipping website fell into my lap. Being an entrepreneur, I looked into it. I had tested the idea out before, but it didn’t pan out (some Nigerian scammer tried to buy it and pay nothing). I thought I could try it out again and see what became of it, perhaps the whole Nigerian scammer picture was out of the issue now that Ebay had “toughened” security.

I signed up, found a product to list on Ebay and put up the auction. Everything went on as normal.

Things are looking up

People started visiting the auction I had listed, and began bidding. The price started rising and I felt confident that it would go well. That’s when I should’ve cut off the auction. I didn’t listen to my gut.

The price eventually landed to within $50 of the retail price of the product I was selling, then the auction ended. The auction sold and soon after I noticed the payment in my paypal account. At this point, I was running around with joy because nothing was going wrong! It was a good day in my book, little did I know of the doom hanging on the horizon.

After The Sale

The payment was pending in my account until Paypal had notification of my shipping number. Ok, no problem I thought. I went through the checkout process with the dropshipping company and eagerly awaited the shipping number they would send me. The auction sold on a Friday, so I expected at least a couple days until they could supply me with the number. I contacted the buyer so that they were aware of this as well.

Paypal Saves The Day

Sunday. Two days after the auction. Doom struck, but not from who you may expect. I was going about my usual day when I noticed an email from Paypal. The email said,

A review of recent transactions indicates that you might have received a
payment that the PayPal account holder did not authorize.

We recommend that you not ship the item until our investigation is
complete. If you’ve already shipped the item, please log in and let us know
where you shipped it.

We have placed a temporary hold on the funds until we complete our
investigation.

I contacted Paypal regarding this, but they gave me the run around. Within a day my account was closed via an “executive decision” by Paypal because I was too much of a “risk” for them. Too much of a risk?!?! HEY PAYPAL, I’VE BEEN A LOYAL CUSTOMER SINCE YOU FIRST CAME OUT!!! You wanna talk about betrayal, this was it. Great job Paypal, save me from absolutely nothing.

Oh, here’s the kicker, the dropshipping order was mixed in with my Paypal account too, so I was out of MY OWN MONEY, they were holding that money as well. I was able to refund the buyer of the item and notify them that I wasn’t able to send them the item as Paypal had closed my account for no reason. The buyer understood and agreed with me, so we were fine on that end. Paypal on the other end? Things were just about to get a whole lot hotter.

The Bubble Pops

Ok, so Paypal saw something they didn’t like, fine by me. Closing my account and refunding the buyer? I guess it was ok. Not being able to use Paypal ever again for any of my payments? That hurt. Not being able to run my online business and get money for work I’ve done? That burned. Almost literally. Paypal holding onto MY MONEY for no reason whatsoever??! That was the kicker that did them in.

I snapped. At that time, I was in Oklahoma City for some TESOL training for a trip I would be taking to Taiwan within the month. My life virtually came to a halt and this problem needed to be fixed immediately.

I called Paypal up and tried to fix it on my own. Paypal’s response to my plea? “You’re too much of a risk.” “We don’t know what is going on” (when I verbaitum explained my side of the story). “That money in your account is not your money, we have to hold on to it in case there are “any refunds” (whatever the heck that means).” “We can’t change anything, that’s our policy.”

Then I brought in the big guns. I brought my parents into this and we spent the next hour on the phone with a “manager” of Paypal customer service. It got heated pretty fast. Paypal did the classic balking maneuver and hid behind their “policies etched into marble”. This was gross what Paypal was doing to an honest person with an honest problem and we would not stand for it. The call ended as follows,

Us: This is the last straw, I have done nothing wrong. Since you seem to be incapable of anything remotely close to customer service and there is no one we can talk to directly to solve this problem, we are going to take legal action. I am going to call my lawyer as soon as this call ends. See you in court.

Them: …[click]…

Us: [Hung up and dialed the lawyer]

I also brought my bank into this whole problem and reported the charge on my account as fraud. My bank went to work immediately. From talking to the bank, we heard of some other horror stories like ours with Paypal as well.

The Aftermath

We searched online for some answers while awaiting a response from our lawyer, who was going to look into some cases for us, and found some websites (About Paypal). The stories we read made us realize we weren’t alone, Paypal had screwed thousands of normal, honest, hard-working people as well. This wasn’t the first time and most definitely wouldn’t be the last of Paypal’s stunts. Read some here. Here are some more stories.

Luckily our bank pulled through on us and we got the money back into our account within the week. How did Paypal respond to a big bank sitting on them? Here’s their email response:

You recently attempted to transfer funds from your bank account to your PayPal account.

Your bank declined the funds transfer on Jul. 23, 2010.

While this transaction had already been identified as unauthorized, the payment process was already underway and could not be stopped. If you have any questions about why this transfer was declined, please contact your bank.

Classic. Turn tail and run away like the wimps you are. Pretend there is nothing wrong and that the “bank” was the problem. Also notice how the “payment was underway and could not be stopped” when I had repeatedly hammered them about returning MY MONEY back to me until I pulled my bank into this situation.

What I’ve Learned

Don’t ever, EVER trust Paypal (or eBay for that matter). Everything that I had linked in my Paypal account has been deleted. They will never have access to any of my financial information or accounts. They have betrayed my trust for the last time. I am done with Paypal forever. If they want to see me ever again, it will be in the courtroom in front of a judge. Paypal has a stinking dung heap worth of sins to atone for, I’m just one of their many horror stories. I may just be the spear that pricks the armor and unleashes the flood, but so be it. Paypal needs to be held responsible for this until they have atoned for what they have done. Get this, according to Paypal policies,

We can close your account at any time and for any reason whatsoever.

Whatever money you have in your account when we close it is ours.

We can hold that money for up to six months and there is nothing you can do about it.

Any access to your financial accounts is permanent, and we can charge it at anytime.

Think I’m lying? Go check the policies for yourself. Wanna get scared out of your freaking mind about how much power they wield over you? Go ahead and read the policies and listen to the stories. After you return to your body, I can guarantee you will disconnect everything from Paypal and run to the hills. That is my hope after telling you my tale.

Want to know the even scarier part? Paypal is responsible for 70% if not 80% of all sales on the internet.

For Paypal

Paypal, if you are even listening and if you even CARE, know this. You have betrayed my trust and thousands of others as well. Your efforts to quell the “Nigerian scammers” isn’t working. It is hitting loyal customers and evangelists who have had accounts with you for years.

Because of that, I will NEVER. EVER. EVER. use, recommend, or listen to anything you have to say for the rest of your miserable existence as a company.

Your customer service is the worst I’ve ever had.

Communication between departments is a failure.

Hiding behind your “policies” is a failed excuse at showing that you care. Your policies are only for the good of your employees and board of directors, ensuring that you get “your” money.

If you truly CARED about your customers, you would move heaven and earth to make sure they have what they need and do everything in your power to rectify their problem, even if that means going outside of your bounds *ahem* policies *ahem*.

But because of that, I will not be satisfied until every single brick of your pathetic excuse of a company is torn down, examined, and BURNED.

I will see you in court.

What About You?

How should you respond to this relentless hammering of a company?

If I were you, and had half a brain to take action, I would close my account with Paypal immediately and look for someone else to use.

I’d also leave a comment thanking the author who wrote this article for enduring hellfire for no reason and for telling his story for the world to hear.

Finally, I’d share this article with my friends and encourage them to do the same.

It prompted this response from him later in the day:

This is the reply I sent back to him and am awaiting a response:

I am genuinely interested in getting to the bottom of this question. Is the Thank You Economy broke? Is it a myth? Gary, if you are reading this I would love for you to leave a comment so that we can start a discussion or creating a video with your answer that I can link to.

The reason I am asking this question is because I’ve been running my online empire for over four years now, but all I’ve had along the way is small breaks. Sure I’m making new friends and connecting with some pretty awesome people, but if I am trying to turn this into a profitable online company, it is making me squat. I need something more concrete, something more than just sharing *more* content from even more sources and making friends. Don’t get me wrong, I love all the connections I’m making online (I’d be completely alone without them), but even they are starting to question the long time benefits and profitability of my journey.

Will this venture actually be able to go full circle and start moving the arrow or just spin my wheels and not move at all? I can wait a lifetime to start reaping the rest of the benefits, but by then I may have moved on to something else. Gamblers know when a game goes south and call it quits, which is basically the same for an entrepreneur. The same idea applies here, but I may be the crazy captain who goes down with the ship.

I’d love to get a discussion going on this, so leave a comment below with your opinion. Is the Thank You Economy a myth?

I am currently in TESOL training in Oklahoma City because I will be leaving in about a month. I will be moving to Taiwan for a year with my sister to teach English in the schools. This is the best opportunity God has shown us yet, and from what we can see, this will open so many doors and new opportunities. Some of the information is quite amazing, and we are excited to be on this path.

The other reason is because Paypal/Ebay shutdown my account and screwed me over for alot of money. In a nutshell, do not do anything on either of their websites, because you could very well wind up in the same situation I am now working through. That situation is not pretty and is serious enough to warrant legal action against Paypal. I even have my bank backing me up in this matter, so all of the guns are coming out. I will have a separate blog post on this soon so that you have the full story.

In the meantime, this is what you can expect to see change on my website. Virtually 95% of my information will be put behind closed doors. The only way you will have access is if you pay a small membership fee. I think I may have learned my lesson about giving away too much for free, because free doesn’t pay the bills. Memberships do. I will still have the most popular posts and the most recent podcast episode available for free. The rest will be put into a premium option, and you will have to pay to access it.

You won’t see the changes take place immediately, but within a months time it will be complete. I’d suggest catching up on any information you missed and subscribing to my membership program so that I can continue to provide you with high quality content. I just can’t afford to give things away for free anymore, however, if the membership provides a small stream of revenue, I may consider opening up some free options once again.

Now you know what’s happening in my life. I’d love to answer any questions you may have. I’ll always be around if you need to contact me.

Think of it as an Oreo. Your opinion is half of the Oreo, mine is the other half. Together there is a cohesive whole and everyone benefits.

So, How do you define a successful Social Media campaign?

“Why do I always have to sit out on a busy street corner for several hours trying to sell lemonade and get sunburned in the process? I love running businesses, but sometimes a kid wants to play with his friends and not work all the time.” He thought to himself. “I don’t want to do this for the rest of my life, there has to be an easier process. Hey, what about hiring somebody to do it for me? Nah, I don’t think they would appreciate that, especially if it was one of my friends… I got it! What if there was a machine that did it for me? Kind of like a vending machine of sorts? I THINK I FOUND THE ANSWER!!”

He spent the next 27 minutes drawing up an idea for a lemonade vending machine. Basically, he would make the lemonade and put it into containers that the vending machine could hold. He would then setup the vending machine at a busy street corner and let it do the work from there. It would work just like a normal vending machine: deposit money and get the lemonade. But he needed money and a vehicle to transport the machine. He went to ask his mother about it.

“Mom, I am going to make a lemonade vending machine but I need money and a vehicle to transport the machine to and from street corners. Can you help me out with this?” He asked. “Sure can.” replied Mom. “But I think I know of something even better to help you out with this.”

She went on to explain that while the lemonade vending machine idea was a good one, there was somebody else who already went through all the hassles and had done all the work. She also mentioned something about it being illegal to setup vending machines on street corners. She directed him to a couple websites where he found information on how to setup his own vending machine business. There were articles on how and where to buy vending machines, where to find suppliers and how to approach them, and how to choose the most profitable locations to setup the vending machine. Everything he needed was right in front of him, he just needed to read up on it and take action.

30 days later he had read all the information he needed to start up his vending machine business. He was able to track down some candy vending machines, a supplier, and a desirable location inside a small grocery store nearby. He had purchased the vending machines and supplies with the money he had in his savings account, and had signed a contract with the store allowing him to place the vending machines at the entrances. The day had come for him to place the vending machines inside the store, and boy was he excited! He enthusiastically setup the vending machine in its spot, filled it with some of his supplies, and talked to the owner of the store to finalize a couple minor details. Not long after, the money started to pour in. Not much at first, but it soon started to catch on and more money started to pour in. All he had to do was set it up once, and it would run by itself for the rest of its life. He now had time to play with friends and not worry about making money because the machine made the money for him!

What 4 Lessons can we take away from this?

1. Create the product once and let it sell itself

There is nothing worse than having a product but having to spend hours promoting it to make a sale. With everything you have setup and created, the product should be able to sell itself right?

2. Put your product where the people who need it can find it

Don’t stuff it away in the back closet. Don’t try and sell it to the people who don’t need it. You’ve done your research. You know who needs it and where they go to find it. Put it right in front of them.

3. Be as transparent in your sales as possible

In the example of the vending machine, you don’t have the product hidden behind a tinted window. You have it in a clear glass container where they can see it and visualize consuming it. If you have people commenting on how clear the “glass” is, you are focusing a bit too much on the sales.

4. Make sure the product is fresh

No one likes eating “old candy”, drinking “stale soda”, or looking at gunk on the vending machine. Make sure the product is fresh and the “vending machine” is always clean.

Am I missing anything you’d like to contribute? Comments are open. Add yours.

(PS: I know the picture used is a girl and the story is about a boy. Click on the picture though and read the little story on the caption and I think you’ll start to see it matches quite well. Pretty impressive eh?)

I was driving in my car running some errands when a radio ad came on. It was talking about Netflix and how they now offer the option to not only watch your favorite movies online or via mail, but that you can now watch your favorite tv shows as well. This set my mind to thinking. How can tv shows make money in the online world, the ‘new media’ realm where you control what you want to watch, where you want to watch it, when you want to watch it, and how? From many of my excursions into the television industry, I know that most of the money tv shows earn come from the ads that play during each episode. There is also the option to “place products” into the episode slyly enough for you to not notice the subliminal ad. This strategy works well in movies also.

Anyways, the thought occurred to me that the easiest way tv shows can make a living online is to partner up with companies such as Netflix and Blockbuster to syndicate episodes where the public wants them. There is also throwing it up on iTunes, Hulu, and Zune Marketplace that can bring in some easy revenue. Problem solved, cue the applause and cheers from an audience that has been waiting for this moment.

If you are a tv show producer or are thinking of becoming one, factor this into your equation. The tips pay out better here, trust me.

How do you get customers?

Well, to put it bluntly, you MARKET to them. No, we don’t advertise to them, read that article I linked up first then continue reading here.

It takes a creative mind to pull customers in. Something that will reach out to them, and show them the solution to their urgent need.

How do you capture the entire market’s attention?

You can do something stupid and completely blow up your reputation, causing ripples in the market. Or you can do something no one has thought about to capture them, but understand this. You cannot serve everyone. Remember the old saying, “If You Try To Be Everything To Everyone, You’ll Be Nothing To No One”?

Take that idea in perspective. Look at the bigger picture. Why do you market to certain segments of people? Why are all these marketing surveys, segments, action plans, and spread the message being conducted by companies big and small?

Because you want to capture your custom customer.

What’s the inside scoop?

Customer comes from the word ‘custom’ which comes from a latin word meaning ‘habit or usage’. It is quite fascinating if you think about it. A person, custom made, just for your business is waiting out there for you to capture them. You have no idea who it is, so you send a message to your market, hoping that they are in the mix. They hear about you and BAM!, deal closed.

Forget about advertising to everybody, that is dead. Besides, we know that reverse psychology works pretty well in this area. Market only to that select group, and sooner or later everyone and their cat will hear about you. There is enough of the market for every business to have their share, you just need to find yours. That is why you have marketing campaigns. That is why you guard the customers you do have with an iron fist (at least I hope you do). That is why you are in business.

There are customers custom-made just for your business. What are you doing to make them notice you?

Not exactly the introduction you expected to read about right? You probably were expecting me to say something along the lines of “I hacked Facebook and got some massive dough, let me show you my insider secrets!”

No, I am not that kind of person. Nor do I expect to be. I am the kind of guy who provides you with some solid information you can use. I am the kind of guy who wants to document my journey online. I am the kind of guy who wants to give you something of value.

To that end, and in response to the unexpected introduction you just read, here is what I have up to this point.

That introduction is basically what my mind was going through at the time before I started making solid money online. Using allegory is as close as I can come to explaining my predicament at the time without giving away private information.

How did I do it? How did I make my first $100 online?

1. I searched for an Urgent Need

I thought to myself, “What do people need help with? How can I help them?” My thoughts stumbled across Facebook Fan Pages. The more I thought about it, the more I uncovered that I knew alot about Fan Pages that I could teach people and that this was something big enough for companies to have. 400 million targeted potential customers in one place with dirt cheap access to all of them and companies just flirting around the issue? I knew I had to do something.

2. I provided customers with the exact solution

I figured many businesses knew about Fan Pages, but had no idea how to create/maintain/promote one. I also knew of other companies who just jumped in without looking and stepped in a couple problem areas that could have been avoided if they had guidance.

3. I Planned In Advance

Not everything was planned out, but most of it was. I cannot stress this enough when starting out online. You need to have some key aspects planned out, such as name, upsell flow, content, offer, and price, before you start “officially working on it”.

4. I Started Free

When I started putting the wheels into action, people already started coming in, but I wasn’t even finished! I was still in the midst of making my skeleton, which was barely operating at this point, yet people were coming in. I knew at that moment that my idea had paid off and continued with renewed vigor.

5. I Strategically Positioned myself to take advantage of all the Free Traffic/Exposure

In the name, where it was located, and how I started, I strategically positioned everything to take advantage of all the free traffic out there on Facebook. I never spent a penny advertising, they all came to me. This particular step required some thinking on my end to make sure this idea worked, the rest came in all by itself naturally.

6. I converted from Free To Paid

I left the free option open for about two weeks, then shutdown the free offer I had going. I stuck a price tag on it and stuck it back on the shelf. I expected traffic to drop, which it did, but people still came and purchased based on the pricing structure I had planned out beforehand. I even made a cold sale over the phone, which left me energized for at least a week! (Gotta thank Wells Fargo for all that sales training when I was a teller)

7. I Upsold to a Premium Option

Yup, contained within my plan to get their foot in the door was the first small purchase and the subsequent value I added in the content I provided. I wanted to provide them with enough value that they would be happy and clamor for more. Some did, and I gave it to them. They are extremely happy, know exactly what to do, and are all fired up to handle what they have.

What do I do?

I Create Fan Pages.

What do you do?

Can I run my business for 30 days with nothing but an IPad?

What do you think? Can Paul do it?

I am personally interested in this challenge. Owing to the fact that the IPad is more of a content consumption device than anything else, this will be an interesting twist. I am curious Paul if you, being a content creator extraordinaire, will be able to pull it off with the apps available for the device. I know all the apps are there for you to use, but this will get interesting when you want to do video, take pictures, record your voice, and such. How will that work into your New Media Content Creation Model?

The interesting feature about the IPad, which I foreshadowed in my first post (The Apple iPad. Greatest thing since iSlicedBread?), is that Apple is purposely marketing this as a “content consumption device”. This device, as confused as you may be at this point, is for the content consumer not the content creator. Does anyone besides me and Paul notice this subtle shift?

If you want to keep tabs on what Paul is up to with this challenge and if it actually works, visit:

http://www.paulsipad.com/

All of these decisions are eventually faced in the lifetime of an entrepreneur, often many times during their life. The same idea holds true for bloggers, podcasters, and every other new media vocation.

Why don’t we take a look at two popular brands and break them down. Perhaps it will help you in the decision making process…

McDonald’s

McDonald’s is known for its many fast food hamburger chains scattered across the globe. The initial idea was developed by Dick and Mac McDonald. They wanted to provide a way to give meals to people as quickly as possible. Their equity was purchased by Ray Kroc who then set out to expand it to the four corners of the earth. The result is that McDonald’s is now a worldwide brand worth many billions of dollars. Every kid from Generation Y to the present has McDonald’s branded permanently in their mind because of the mass marketing effort of McDonald’s. Can’t tell me it didn’t pay off well…

What is McDonald’s known for?

• Big Mac – This one product continues to pull in massive sales in part because of a well executed marketing plan.
• Marketing to the younger generation- You get new plastic toys! (Who doesn’t want one when you are little?) Consequently, when you are older you just walk in there out of habit.
• Food tastes good. Yup, nothing like sprinkling sugar on the fries to make them taste better and a soda, juicy burger, and the occasional salad or other goody. Hence why America is now plump as well.
• Affordability. How many times do you walk into McDonalds to find you are dead broke and can’t buy anything? Unless you are dumb enough to forget your wallet when you go in…
• Speedy Service. That was coined by the original owners and still holds true to this day. I’d like to see a system like that somewhere else on the world that is as efficient about what they do than McDonald’s. Personal Opinion Note: If I am short on time, I will go into McDonald’s to buy something fast.

Gary Vaynerchuk

Gary is one of a kind. He is a fireball of energy and strives to answer every question that is thrown at him. He grew up in New Jersey and was always fascinated with business. He started cutting grass, selling flowers, and then selling baseball cards. He was good at it too. Baseball card sales in his high school years amounted to “three thousand bones a weekend“! He then became interested in wine and read every magazine on the subject. He worked as a clerk in a wine shop, then created his own brand, opening a wine shop and then expanding it to unheard of heights. His tactics, as crazy as they were, are what pushed him into the position he holds now. When he stumbled upon new media/social media, he bit into it like a bull dog and refused to let go. Wine Library TV came out of that. Out of all the people I know in this space, Gary defines how New Media and Social Media should looks like.

He is now an accomplished author, video blogger, brand consultant, and speaker. That and he still holds his position at Wine Library. Contrary to what you may think, Gary actually does alot more for his wine company marketing-wise whenever he is interviewed. He has become associated with the wine world.

What is Gary known for?

• One line sayings. Gotta admit I love hearing the “legacy is greater than currency” and “CRUSH IT” quotes he throws out from time to time.
• Explosive Introductions. Yup, Gary is never without one. It turns alot of people off when he hollers his introduction to the video camera, but the rest become excited and engaged in a snap.
• Wine. Gary bleeds wine. It is all he ever talks about, and he knows what he is talking about. His opinion on wine undercuts the rest and brings a new light to it.
• New York Jets. You can’t go long without him speak on the Jets. If is blood is wine, his heart is the New York Jets. He knows everything about them too. He has to if he is to fulfill his dream of buying them.
• Passion. Not a day goes buy that he doesn’t portray it. He loves what he does and wouldn’t trade anything in the world for it.
• Authenticity. Gary is 100% real. Unedited and uncut, every vlog post and winelibrarytv show he has done in one take.
• Personal Branding. Gary epitomizes how personal branding should be done.

What can McDonald’s or Gary teach you about branding?

1. The brand is your defining point. Everything is built off of it.
2. Have a unique story. No one likes the same old bland status quo.
3. Personal brands depend on the person, iconic brands depend on the decisions of the company.
4. If the person dies, their brand will continue on in a solidified state. If the icon dies, so does the company.
5. Icons are remembered for all time, so is a person.
6. Iconic brands become an authority symbol, personal brands become a person.
7. People tend to trust iconic brands as they mature, same with a personal brand. With the personal brand however, a trust level is built with that person.

Hope that helps you out. I for one am enjoying building a personal brand.

Am I missing anything? Am I totally wrong? Is there something you’d like to share? I’ve pulled the soapbox over, would love to hear your two cents.

It used to be completely different. Business in the 1900′s was all about how many levels we could advertise our product/service on. The internet has completely changed the game, as well as the rapid change in technology. Now we find ourselves with an unlimited amount of levels we can promote our company in. That game has changed and we need to quickly find where we can make the most impact and leverage it.

“But wait” you may be saying right now. “Isn’t marketing and advertising the same thing?” Well…yes, and no.

Advertising is a communication strategy used to persuade the person engaging in the “ad” to take action and to buy from that brand.

Marketing is the process by which companies create value for and build strong customer relationships to ensure brand loyalty and word of mouth distribution with their market base.

Notice the slight but important difference here. (Muaha! And you didn’t think I would flex my communication degree muscles while here in college eh?…)

What did the Industrial Revolution give us? A simpler way to mass produce goods and services at a lower cost. What did the Information Age give us? Well, it kicked down the doors of the Industrial Revolution and said, “Hey, I can do all of that and more for the cost of NOTHING!” What is the Social Media Revolution giving us? It stole the idea presented in the Information Age and scattered it to the far reaches of the globe while giving us the means to connect and share with anyone and everyone across the planet at virtually the speed of light.

What multi-level advertising was to the Industrial Revolution, multi-level marketing is to the Information Age and the Social Media Revolution. You need to stop persuading and start providing value for and building strong relationships with your customers. The persuading will work itself out in the customers’ mind once you have built that relationship.

I worked for the big boys. I know those who have taken this new approach and are now soaring on untold heights. I’ve also watched others flap their “multi-level advertising” wings in vain and plummet straight to the earth below. I know the reason why too, but that is for another post. You’ll have to wait for that to come out…

In the meantime, what are you doing to ensure your multi-level marketing strategy succeeds? Do you even have one?

I’m not giving you the rest of the pie until you’ve consumed your chunk of it and let me know what you thought of it below. You know I love hearing feedback from you guys…

Geese fly in the classic v-shape formation, each leading one at a time, giving the leader time to rest as they fly south for the winter. Notice here that no one goose leads for the entire length, he’d be DEAD before they reached the destination! Nor do two of them duke it out for first place, it would waste too much energy.

Nope, they do it the most efficient way possible. Each goose leads for a time, then falls back to let another lead while he rests to wait his turn again. That way, they get to the destination that much faster and farther than possible by one or two geese.

Every single business in every industry works the exact same way. As a matter of fact, so do nations. Hint: I’ve been studying Western Civilization I for the past three weeks and it has been interesting to watch each nation rise to power, take the stage for a time, then fall back and give it to another nation.

Where are you in the formation? Comment below.

I originally didn’t want to make any New Year Resolutions!

That changed though. You are getting the benefit of reading them now that I am posting them on the web for all to see.

Resolution #1: Find 1000 True Fans

Being that I am starting to take my online presence more seriously and in developing my online business, I find this is a key component. I wrote about it in my Thought Leaders post not too long ago.

Resolution #2: Find and interview the Thought Leaders

Yup, also from the same Thought Leaders post. I find that if I surround myself with the Thought Leaders of this realm, collaborate together, and become good friends, we can take this vibrant world of New Media to the next level!

Resolution #3: Comment and Stumble every blog post

I’m finding out that if I can comment on and stumble every post, the more traffic that blog sees and the chances that I get noticed. Not only does it benefit my reputation, but it also shows I am out on the web interacting with other people, leaving little tips of my own as I go along. If you think about it, it really works out better for the short and the long term, as well as benefits both parties. The unique thing when I stumble posts is that it pastes it into my Friendfeed account and sends out an automatic tweet to my twitter audience later on, where even more people read it. Pretty cool eh?

Resolution #4: See if I can maintain a daily post

Yeah, this one will probably be a kicker of a one to keep, seeing as I am a full-time college student with a 30 credit hour semester load, but we will play it by ear and see what happens. I would love for you guys to keep me accountable. Holler if I haven’t posted anything, and I will see what I can do to post something for you.

As a matter of fact, lets make it even easier. Click here to send me a tweet if I fall behind for the day.

Those are my resolutions for the year 2010. What are yours? Comment below.

-Taylor Marek
Your ever present Social Media Nut ;P

Today we have a chat with Nathan Hangen. Be sure to take notes for this one!

I was originally impressed by the post he wrote called “How to be like Batman“, the interview came out of that.

The stats regarding podcasting that I mentioned in this episode can be found at:
http://blog.blubrry.com/2010/01/28/podcast-consumer-attitudes-study-released-video/

To learn more about Nathan, read his book, or chat with him via twitter,
click on one of the links below:

Blog – NathanHangen.com
Book – Beyond Blogging
Twitter – @nhangen

Want to Retweet this episode to your Twitter Audience? Click Here.

Sponsored by Create A Fan Page.

Lets continue the conversation. Comment below or use these options:

• Toll Free Comment Line: 1-866-867(TMP)-2860
• Send me an e-mail.
• @taylormarek me on Twitter
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/taylormarek

It goes as follows:

There once was a businessman, who, after he had created a product to solve an urgent need, set out to market. He stopped in many places. Villages, cities, states, and everywhere else he saw his product could do the most good. Some of the product he sold fell upon deaf ears, no one wanted to buy what he had to offer. Some of it fell upon interested people who put it on a shelf and let it collect dust. Others fell upon those who needed it. They started using it, but quickly became disillusioned and requested a refund. Still other fell upon those who recognized this product, eagerly bought it and consumed it entirely. Through them word started spreading and soon the businessman was looking at an increase of thirty, sixty, even a hundred times more then he ever thought possible.

What is the meaning? It means that you, as a business owner, will always have these four types of customers. The ones you want to go for are those where the “seed falls upon good soil…and produces… even a hundredfold…”

The rest will take care of itself.

What’s your application to this parable?

I am right now making Facebook Fan Pages for FREE for anyone who may need one. Its for a limited time though, so if you are reading this you need to jump aboard NOW.

Update: Yes, I am true to my word. The free opportunity is no longer. I can still design your fan pages for you, but it will cost a small amount for me to put them together. It is well worth the cost though. Actually, I should really increase the price soon as I am giving them away at a deep discount…

Where should you go? http://createafanpage.com

I’d love to see you on the other side.

-Taylor Marek

When marketing your company, there are certain ways to go about it. You have many mediums to promote in, including social media, to be aware of as well. Some mediums are more potent then others, yet each one has its own benefits associated with it. For example, in television commercials; people are listening, reading, and watching all at the exact same time. Compared to print, where someone is just reading something, you are capturing more senses and engaging that person with your message. With social media, you are engaging that person’s senses and encouraging them to respond, building a relationship with an individual that is impossible with television, radio, and print combined. But that is for a later article, lets take a look at a case study of marketing gone wrong.

Case Study: iNET Web

iNET Web is a website design and hosting company located in Waukesha, Wisconsin. They began in 1998 with the intent to “crush every Waukesha web development competitor in not only price but also design”. They have done just that through their radio ads, effectively downplaying every competitor and taking the market over by force.

Two unforeseen problems came up with this stance, and here is the predicament that now looms over my hometown of Milwaukee.

1. It incenses the “Competition”

Marketing 101 for any company regardless of industry teaches owners to focus on telling their own story. Business owners are encouraged to differentiate and sell their unique benefits for the consumers benefit. It is slightly different from the presumed my-product-is-better-than-your-product argument that companies regularly initiate in, but an important difference nonetheless. Think of it this way, are you in business just so you can “crush your competition” or to provide a solution to a consumer need? Act that way. Market your company that way. Your company is not here to give you an ego boost, you are in business to provide a way of living for yourself by providing the solution to the consumers’ need.

iNET Web effectively created a large rift and threw the competition into it, silencing all opposition. As a result, I barely hear of other website design companies. The ones I do hear of? They despise iNET. The flip side? Some of these companies I stumble across make pretty impressive websites and love their customers to pieces.

This is a fine line, yet this could spell death for your company no matter how profitable you are. Not only does this make your “competition” mad at you, it also splits the market and prevents you from working with your “competitors” down the road. Listen closely, your competition is not in business to bash you, they are in business the same reason you are: to make a profit. There are more than enough people in your market for everyone to benefit from, you physically cannot serve everybody in that market. Neither can your “competition”. That is an undisputed fact. As you understand this, you will start to view your competitors in a different light. Now, rather than “bashing” them, you will see how all of you can work together to serve your market; to both widen and deepen it.

2. It keeps the Market in the Dark

Would you be very happy with someone if they deliberately kept you in the dark? At first no, you would just assume that is exactly how things should be. Then somebody walks by your darkened room’s window with a candle. How would that make you feel? Confused? Mad? Jealous? Yup, all that and an insatiable desire to learn more about that light. Questions would be running through your mind, answers waiting to be uncovered. If the person who originally locked you up and taught you about your “dark room” came by, you would probably tackle him to the ground and give him a sound beating before running out the door after that light.

That is the exact situation the website design/hosting market in Milwaukee, Wisconsin is now facing. Business owners are walking around without a clue what their website is and what it could be. They are walking around in that dark room. They are deliberately left out of the loop, fed only the bits and pieces certain companies want them to hear. Not only is this saddening to hear, but it also makes me mad.

I know this as I walk around that very market (I used to run a website design company in Milwaukee as well) pulling out tidbits of information to gauge what is going on. The reports brought tears to my eyes. How could this market stay in the dark for so long? How could they remain this uneducated about the Internet? How could they not see how immensely powerful their website has now become? If they saw the light, they would break down that door running after the light. My response to this was to flip on my webcam and record something to educate that market, in a way hoping to be that light that would pass by their door.

I don’t think you would want to be that company (person) in their way when they see the light and attempt a mad dash towards it.

For those two reasons…

iNET Web is a Marketing Failure in my book.

Want to learn more about iNET Web as well as my own personal story with them? Watch this video on iNET Web Bashing.

Now that you understand what not to do, what thoughts do you have and what do you intend to do? Any company you’d like to see a case study on?

Wow, the more I reminisce on the movie and watch it, when I have the chance, the better it gets each time. Avatar sure isn’t exhausted on my list, I’m still pulling out some social media goodies for you to enjoy! Here are a couple more…

The first post I wrote on my review of Avatar has been getting some good views lately, when the idea struck me to expand upon it. Avatar has now grossed $1 Billion dollars, has been trending on twitter for the past four weeks, and is doing quite well. Two thoughts I want to impress on you.

1.You Have An Avatar

Interestingly enough, that is your social media (online) presence. Everything you do online is your online presence. After dabbling around in social media for a while, you will most likely find yourself lost in the vibrancy of this world. But one key question remains.

How are you going to merge your offline and online world together effectively? You can’t live in just an offline world at the risk of becoming exiled, so what are you doing to educate yourself? Integrated into that question is another question. What are you doing to bring your business online and expose it to 1.7 Billion+ people?

2. Pick Your Side

Enough with fooling around and asking questions on “What is Social Media?” Every person and every business on the face of the planet is instead asking “How do we use Social Media?” 84% of businesses can’t be wrong if they are starting to implement some kind of social media marketing campaign, including Pepsi. You have a choice to make, which side are you playing on? Are you still playing by the old rules, or the new ones? Are you still going to stay in the traditional advertising realm, or hop over to the much more vibrant world of social media? You have a choice to make, and you’d better make it fast. Neither side is going to wait for you.

In Avatar, Quaritch and his side are only concerned about making the big bucks. Who cares what the cost. Interestingly enough, the mineral they are mining is called “Unobtanium” (anyone notice the irony?) and the largest source is located beneath Hometree, where all the Na’vi live. Anyone notice the parallels?

Traditional Media is trying to blow this off as a plink in the bucket, while unawares are trying to leech and destroy the base Social Media Marketing is upon. This is going to come to a head sooner than you think, I am already starting to hear the horns of war. There will be an inevitable clash between Traditional/Old Media and New/Social Media.

You’ve seen the influential power New/Social Media has had over countries, businesses, and people. The results speak for themselves. There is not much time left to think, NOW is the time to act. Ah, but just wait. You need to come at this from a different angle. You need to approach this the smart way. Don’t run in without a brain in your head. Jake Sully knew this, which is why he was smart about the way the battle unfolded in Avatar.

What are you doing to implement Social Media in your life and your company? Comment below.

The banner you see above and the logo used on my podcast are all the result of Podcast Designs. Becky, who does all of the design work, was referred to me by a fellow podcaster for getting a good logo done for my podcast. She blew me away with what she came back with, and I fell in love with it immediately. Not only does she do logo’s, but also ebook covers, website templates, and any other graphics work you need done.

Podcast Designs comes highly recommended by me, so be sure to tell her that I sent you when you need graphics done.

May 2010 be your most prosperous year yet!

-Taylor Marek

Note: This is one of those rare posts where I recommend someone I use on a regular basis for work they have done for me. I am not compensated in any way, other than good will, for recommending Podcast Designs, I am merely sharing a resource that I use and works well for me.

© Stephen Poff

You are in the art museum marveling at a masterpiece when you notice there is a green smudge running across the bottom of the painting that should not be there. Regardless of whether it was a careless stroke by the artist or not, what just happened? Instantly your liking of the painting took a hit.

The same should be with your blog, research paper, forum post, or any other form of writing you undertake.

I’ve read many blogs. Possibly even too many… (nah, scratch that. I’ll be reading blogs forevermore) I’ve read enough to know this fact. Please double check your work!

Currently, Chris Pirillo is doing a YouTube series slamming poor grammar and writing skills (Note, there is language and it is meant to be offensive, but in a humorous kind of way). Chris can get away with it as he has been on the internet for quite a while now and he has a degree in English, so I can understand where he’s coming from.

It is a simple yet most often overlooked fact in today’s age. Here are a couple tips to remember:

1. Solidify your thoughts

By reading what you just wrote, you will be able to clarify your thoughts. If you need to make changes, now is the time to do it before you publish it. It also confirms what you were thinking, and typically your mind and the words on the page will click together. It never hurts to read what you just wrote and is much more beneficial if you do in the long run.

2. Uncover Errors

If there is a comma missing, punctuation misplaced, or a word spelled wrong, you will usually find it on the second read-through. You may also find a word that looks similar, but because the spell checker didn’t flag it, it will go unnoticed unless you read through and realize that the word is actually spelled differently.

Trust me, it will make you look better in the long run if you double check your work.

A picture is worth a thousand words yet if one part is wrong, it ruins the entire masterpiece.

What are you doing to correct that?

© 2009 Patrick Smith Photography

I’ve been reading some very good material around the web recently, and I’ve been coming to realize the difference between social media rockstars and thought leaders, though this can apply to almost any industry. (I love having StumbleUpon to archive all of this stuff…)

Tim Ferriss nailed it on the head for me. He was at LeWeb speaking on how to make a global phenomenon for under $10k. Two things in his speech stood out.

1. “Target the thought leaders, not the ones who are popular.”

He was speaking about how he went around promoting his book, the 4 Hour Workweek, and this was quite an interesting idea he put forth. He also documented case studies on his results as well, which were quite interesting. He explained that he met someone at an event, got to know him pretty well, and promoted the book on his blog. Little did he know that everyone else followed this guy and soon he noticed on a fairly popular blog that there was a link trailing to his friends blog, which trailed directly back to his blog. Sales for his book sharply increased.

Another example is that Chris Brogan mentioned in passing on a blog post that he picked up Tim’s book for a flight and planned to read it. The book hit #2 bestseller in Amazon for the next 2-3 days. He compared it to being on the Today Show and noticing he hit #12 in Amazon for only 2-3 hours.

Quite interesting if you think about it. Many times the thought leaders are quiet and don’t say much, but everyone echoes them across their own blogs popular or not. Seth Godin is a good example of this, as well as Erik Qualman. Some thought leaders are popular, while some just love to come from behind and surprise you. There are alot of rockstars out there, and alot more wannabes, but the ones who are moving mountains are the thought leaders.

2. “1000 True Fans is all you need.”

This thought, and the referral to the article opened my eyes to something big. If you break it down to simple numbers, if all you had were 1000 people to sell to and your product cost $100, you would make $100k which is a pretty decent living. If you upped it to a $1000 cruise, you would have $1 Million dollars. Think about it.

Tim Ferriss, in pushing his book to stay on the New York Times Bestseller list for two solid weeks, wanted 20k “Earlyvangelists” for his goal to work out. How did it work out? His book has been on the New York Times Bestseller list for two and a half years and still going strong. Surprising eh? Exactly, this is a powerful idea to consider. Think about it?

In response to this, not only is one of my goals for 2010 to find my earlyvangelists and convert them into my 1000 True Fans, but I also created a twitter list to reveal who I believe the thought leaders are. Some are popular, some are not, but each are a part of their own respective industry and have a brilliant mind full of ideas. Feel free to follow, add your comments, and build these ideas out further.

My Twitter Thought Leader List.

Then I grew up. I still enjoy watching the Super Bowl and can hold my own when it comes to debating over football teams and players, but that is just side knowledge. One of the reasons I watch the Super Bowl now is for the ads. Yes, you heard me right.

I enjoy watching the creativity of these companies as they duke it out on the big screen. For all practical purposes, there is a subliminal battle going on as well. I want to see which one understands people and the culture better, and what spin they can throw on it whether serious or humorous.

Mashable just posted an article on Pepsi dropping the Super Bowl Ads in favor of a $20M Social Media Campaign. Listen closely here. Anyone think the Social Media Revolution is still a fad, or are we going to wake up?

I am dead serious. Here we have a company who has been around for more than 100 years, and has been an integral part of the Super Bowl for the past 23 years. They know and have used all the traditional media and advertising outlets since the beginning. Want to know what made Pepsi big though? It was NONE of these ads. It was word-of-mouth. Think I’m kidding? Try the good old “Do you like Pepsi or Coke?” line on anyone. Better yet, talk to the company directly. You’ll get answers real fast.

If Pepsi can pull off their $20M social media campaign in 2010, that will show the world something. Something that needs to be taken seriously. Something that the nicely padded traditional agencies need to wake up to if they expect to have a job down the road. This monumentous shift will show the world that if a company that has been around for the past 100 years is taking this emerging industry seriously, you had better darn well too. Let me remind you that Burger King did pretty good with its whopper sacrifice in the beginning of 2009.

Thoughts? Think Pepsi can pull it off?

Oddly enough, the day started out with nothing planned, but I knew for a fact that I would see Avatar before the day was out. I was waiting on a call from the friends as to the exact day and time, and when I did check in with them they said it would be that very night. I may have been caught up in the hype, but trust me, this was a movie I wanted to see.

We went for the IMAX 3-D version of it. When I got there, a line had already formed for the movie. I got my big bulky glasses and waited in line with the rest of them, meeting my friends in the process. There was a slight buzz of excitement, but that was about it. Not long after, we were ushered into the theater. Yeah, it was sold out, but we got the best seats in the house. Smack in the middle, 4/5ths of the way up.

IMAX has a tendency to come out and punch you right in the face when the movie starts, and it did just that. The sound was gorgeous, though I wouldn’t have minded if they cranked the speakers up more. This was a movie I could get used to watching at full volume. The 3-d glasses were an annoyance at first, but I got used to them quickly. if I could give one recommendation on this movie, go for the IMAX 3-D version, you’ll thank me for it afterwards.

Avatar began. Now how do I rate movies? I rate them based on the story they tell and how accomplished they are in its telling. If they are a master storyteller and can weave a story of awe and wonder, that will usually do it for me. Graphics and music come second. James Cameron is one of those masters.

**Spoiler Alert!!!**

The Story

The story of Avatar goes as follows. Jake Sulley was sent to take his twin brothers place at a human base on the planet of Pandora. He had been in cryo for the past 6 years as they traveled from earth to this distant planet. They landed on Pandora, which if viewed in 3-D is absolutely gorgeous. The colors are vibrant, and it feels for all practical reasons like you are there. Very quickly we find out that Jake is handicapped, he can’t use his legs. The rest of the people there are marines, sent to defend and protect in this hostile planet. We are debriefed and learn there is an alien tribe, the Na’vi, who pretty much like to keep to themselves. Ah, but he isn’t fighting. He was sent as part of a project, Avatar, to find out about the Na’vi by actually becoming one. Apparently the base had been around for a while as they were able to mix human and Na’vi DNA together to form a hybrid. That hybrid was then controlled by the “driver”. Jake was one of the drivers. For all practical purposes then, when they linked their brains together, he became a Na’vi. He only looked like one though, he had no idea of anything else. One thing he did like though was that he could use his legs again.

We soon find the real reason the human base is here. There is a rich supply of unobtanium that they want to mine, but the Na’vi just happen to have their “Hometree” located there. Jake is to spend time with them and earn their trust in order to move them to a different location. But the Na’vi have been watching what Jake and the other drivers have been doing in the forest. He is separated from his group, and is almost killed until a Na’vi female by the name of Neytiri saves him. They bring him to their home, but on the way find out that he is unique. They decide not to kill him, and he is paired up with Neytiri to teach him everything about being Omaticaya, or one of The People. He does quite well at it, and soon becomes one of them at the same time winning her heart.

The tables turn here as Colonel Miles Quaritch is impatient with the slow progress. He decides to go and blow up Hometree, where all of the Na’vi live. Jake and the rest who are in their Avatars try to stop it, but are unsuccessful. Hometree is destroyed and some of the Na’vi die. Everything lies in ruin, but there is one place for the Na’vi to go. The Vault of Souls. Jake then does the most insane thing ever by capturing and riding one of the most feared flying beasts of Pandora. Then, with the help of the remaining Na’vi, he gathers as many tribes as can be found for battle. Colonel Miles Quaritch finds out that the Na’vi are amassing for battle, so he decides to pre-emptively attack first. Jake hears about this, and decides to use the surroundings to their advantage.

The battle for the survival of a civilization begins, and many Na’vi lives are lost. But in the end the human ships are destroyed and Colonel Miles Quaritch dies in the final battle scene. All of the humans are then driven off of Pandora, the base is shutdown, and Jake is then merged with his Avatar body with Neytiri at his side.

I can’t imagine watching this in regular now, the IMAX 3-D version was the crispest I have ever seen. Everything about Avatar gushes jaw-dropping graphics from the first moment until the end. Soundtrack was pretty good too. As a matter of fact, a friend gave me a copy and I am listening to it as I write this. This almost three hour long movie was definitely worth the time and cost.

Are you a Marketer? Read Jeremy Schoemaker’s Review on What Marketers can learn from Avatar.

My Story?

Lets just say that I come pretty darn close to Jake in this. Might not be the best or the strongest out there, but its the heart that counts and ultimately makes all the difference. This movie came at the exact moment in my life, its kind of creepy (in a good way) how it mirrors my own life struggles.

One thing in particular I enjoyed about the movie is that when Jake is learning the language of the Na’vi is that Neytiri keeps repeating to him, Oel ngáti kámeie (I See You). Jake is somewhat confused by this until he consults one of the other Avatar drivers, Norm, what this means. He finds out that it actually means “I see into you; I see through you; I see all of you; I understand you.” Don’t know why, but I particularly enjoy this line.

How does this apply to Social Media?

Apologies if its taken this long to get here, but if you are still reading, this is a very powerful point.

In Avatar, they soon find out that all of the trees seem to be connected on a subconscious level. The Na’vi know this. Interestingly enough, they can upload and download memories faster than the speed of light at certain groves of trees. Everything on Pandora seems to be connected to each other at 10¹² level with everything around it, each sharing even more then that with everything else both near and far, effectively having more connections than the human brain.

Think of the Internet in this way. Its unbelievable yet true at the same time. There are so many connections, no wonder its called the world wide web. Now with the emergence of social media, you are front and center to the most fundamental shift in communication. 1.7 billion people are now online and connected with each other quite frankly to the umpteenth level. Are you aware of how powerful this is? Tapped into this still blows my mind, as it should yours.

How long did it take the radio to reach all of us? 38 years. TV? 13 years. Internet? 4 years. Oh, and the amount of people coming online daily are growing by leaps and bounds unfathomable. What are you doing to connect and engage?

Pretty impressive eh? And this is just the beginning.

Want to read another post on How Avatar applies to Social Media?

Thoughts?

Official Avatar Movie

1. Our Industry is Maturing

Yes, I know this is kind of the obvious one, but it needs to be stated. We can reminisce back to the days podcasting was in its infancy, and how we loved those days and long for them to return, but podcasting is now a tad older then a toddler, if you want to take it in literal years. Remember when Podcast Pickle hit Time Magazine in 2006? We were making headway then. Remember when we hung out and chatted with fellow podcasters, content in our little world? Now the door is wide open. Remember when “social media” was nonexistent? We worked our butts off in the forums, blogs, podcasts, and elsewhere to have our voices heard.

Oh how times have changed. Our little baby is growing up. And as hard as it is, we need to switch gears now.

2. Stop Swearing

I’ve heard just about enough from others in our industry who think they can just swear and get away from it. I know the typical responses too, but with an audience comes a level of professionalism. This may be where my part of the hammer hits the hardest, but it needs to be said for both of our sakes.

I’ve listened to enough people older than me to know the typical story. As a teenager, things are always changing, and as such you are in the midst of many life choices. If you picked up swearing around this time, you probably had it beat pretty hard out of you in your twenties and thirty’s to know to keep your mouth shut. “Grow up” was a pretty typical phrase during this time. I’ve spoken at length with many of my friends and mentors in this space, and we have come to the same conclusion:

If you expect to be taken seriously as an industry, drop the profanity and inappropriate jokes!

3. Focus

If we want to make the impact on the world that we know we can make, we need to stop distracting ourselves with “other things”. We need to hunker down and focus.

4. Monetization

This has always been brought up time and again. There are many ways to monetize, and if we expect to make a business out of this, we need to find our strategy and go with it. Enough floating around in the water waiting to see what will happen, it ain’t going to do you any good. Find the strategy that works, and go with it. I think Chris Brogan mentioned something along those lines as well when he said, “Podcasting isn’t exactly dead.”

5. Engage your tribe

Stop talking about yourself, this is not all about you. This is about your tribe. They found you and are listening to you because you provided them with something of value and earned their trust. No one cares about a self-centered person. Actually, they find it more entertaining to drop you like a bag of rocks and find someone else. Nurture their trust by sharing information with them, and talking to them. Find out their likes and dislikes, share stories. Build a tribe that way, and they will never want to leave.

Am I missing anything? Would love to hear your thoughts.

Tell me how many times the easy road has paid off for someone? I can tell you from experience it DOESN’T. Most of the time you just meet the people who are lucky and it paid off for them. Its why they are called “One Hit Wonders”. Remember Furby? Remember Nano Pets? (If you grew up in the late 90′s you’d know these…) Notice the pattern?

What about the rest of us? Well, let me just say it as plain as can be. Hard Work. Yup, that is what it takes.

Disclaimer: I am in the middle of reading, “Crush It” by Gary Vaynerchuk. It may or may not be influencing what I’m writing, but regardless this is something I’ve known about for several years.

When I first started my blog/podcast, I did NOT do it for the purpose of raking in eyeballs and money. I wanted to share something with the world that was near and dear to my heart. If millions of people came, great! If millions of dollars flowed my way, great! But that is not why I was doing it. I was joining the ranks of people sharing a passion of theirs for the world to benefit from. Sure I’d like to have that life and be able to hang out on a beach sipping a soda (notice I didn’t say piña colada… ;P), but I have more important things I could be doing then that. Trust me, I’d get bored with that life real fast. Anyone would get bored with that life real fast.

Why? Because we have an ingrained sense of purpose in the work we love to do. Its what makes us who we are. Hard Work is what fulfills a basic desire in a man’s life.

Now that’s not to say millions of people will view my website, millions of dollars will flow my way, and that I might hang out on a beach sometime in the future. Those are just the side effects of working your butt off. Notice how easy it is to get off of track? We make the spin-off of what we do into something we think defines us. Don’t hold that up to the pedestal of “goals to attain”, because its not.

In my studies, I’ve been noticing a pattern. Those who make it in life, and those that are remembered for all time, are those who worked till their butts fell off and kept going. Was it easy? No. Was it fun all the time? No. Was the pain unbearable at times? Yes. Did it pay off? Yes. Is it still paying off for them? Yup.

I’ll let you peruse your thoughts and post a comment, but I’ll leave you with one thought.

“You’ll only get out of life what you put into it. Little effort reaps little. Exponential effort reaps countless rewards. How much are you going to put in?”

#LIVEIT!

Learning anything new? Is there something you would like to learn about? Let me know! Hope you are sharing what you learn with others!

Finances: Why I cut up my Credit Card

Figured I’d snip temptation in the butt. Snip! Snip!

Business: Do you love your business?

An obvious question, but have you thought about it recently? Are you doing something you love to do?

Technology: Why Google Wave?

5 Reasons to watch Google Wave: http://www.macworld.com/article/143079/2009/10/googlewave.html

Here are a couple additional articles for you to have fun with!

New Super Computer? http://www.dailytech.com/ORNL+to+Use+NVIDIA+Fermi+to+Build+Next+Gen+Super+Computer/article16401.htm

Bing and Google: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/173016/bing_and_google_success_on_their_own_terms.html

—> Lets continue the conversation, comment below or use these options:

• Toll Free Comment Line: 1-866-867(TMP)-2860
• Send me an e-mail.
• @taylormarek me on Twitter
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Woot! Passed my first CLEP test and excited to release another episode!

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End of the week episode, but that is because I was studying like crazy to pass my first CLEP test. I did, and now am back in the hotseat and ready to crank out another episode. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did creating it!

Finances: Maximize Income

Did you know the Internet can be your biggest leverage? I’d love to have a chat around this, feel free to connect!

Business: Don’t be like your Competition

3 Tips I want to bring up today:

1. No “Ipod Killer” (was supposed to be IPhone, but still applies)
2. No “I’m better than you”
3. No Trash talking your competition <— I HATE this kind of Marketing

Technology: FCC on Net Neutrality

More guidelines being created around Net Neutrality and whether preferential treatment can be shown to those who pay their way in. Here is the link to the article: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/blogs/bizfeed/172290/fcc_to_take_a_stand_on_net_neutrality.html

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Intense week here at college, yet cranked out another episode. Enjoy…

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I actually had to go without lunch today in order to record this episode, but I am excited about the information I’m sharing with you. Feel free to share what you learn in this episode!

Finances: Trim Expenses

Setup a plan on a regular basis to evaluate your expenses. Cut back on those you do not need, leaving the most important ones. You will find you will have more money for yourself in the long run, as well as the short run.

Business: Daily Time Management

Are you running your company or is it running you? Listen to the solution to find out how to manage your daily to-do list.

Technology: Can you hear me?

AT&T is going to be ramping up coverage in cities to eliminate slow or crashing networks. http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090909-710137.html

Is Monopoly going to take over the world? Find out for yourself: http://www.themoneytimes.com/featured/20090909/monopoly-be-launched-online-using-google-maps-id-1083146.html

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On campus, so it may sound a tad different than normal. But I am pumped to release this episode even though I’m in the middle of college classes. Enjoy!

Finances, Business, and Technology: Jeff Mills on Outsourcing

Jeff Mills joins us again for another interview. The last show he was on was #26. Good tips today that you can apply in all three areas, I’d recommend taking notes.

Want to learn more about the Midwest Super Conference? http://taylormarek.com/midwestsuperconference <-This one gives you all the freebies!

Want to learn more about Jeff? http://jeffmills.com

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Here is the background story and tips for the rest of you to enjoy. This is one chapter of my life I want well documented, there are many memories.

I was hired February 4, 2008 as a teller for my local Wells Fargo branch. No, this wasn’t my first job, that’s another story by itself. After a handful of interviews, I was finally in. I was then immersed into the training and the culture of Wells Fargo. Loved every bit of it. Learned alot. Then I moved into my role as a teller and met my co-workers. One of my relatives worked at that branch for years, and we had been coming to that branch for years, so we knew each other pretty well. What transpired in my role as a teller is another book in itself, so I’m not going into much detail.

One memory I will pull out though. I was asked to help at a branch in Racine, which was a 30min+ drive one way. It was October 31, 2008. I’ve never felt fall the same way again after that. I was up bright and early, and drove all the way there with the windows down. I had some flowing music on, which also helped to set the mood. I’ve never smelt the air that crisp, hear the leaves crunch, nor enjoy the changing color of the trees more then I did that day. It was a cool, sunny, crisp, fall morning smell that burst upon my nose. It was a perfect drive. I can smell the air as I’m writing this. I arrived at the branch, and went about my usual duties as a teller. Barely anyone came in that day, so I was either off daydreaming or socializing with fellow co-workers. When lunch break came around, which was an entire HOUR!!, I swung by Arbys and picked up the regular roast beef combo, and an Orange Dream shake (as I’m writing this, they came back with the Orange Dream shake again. Not sure how long it will last though). That break was pure heaven to me. I had an entire hour to myself to do whatever I wanted. I took the liberty of exploring the entire 2nd and 3rd floor of the building, which was completely deserted and quiet except for the occasional empty conference room and storage area. Content with exploring, I went back to the break room and finished eating lunch. During that time I flipped on the TV and watched a mix of the History Channel/Discovery Channel. I vaguely remember watching something about Star Wars and the real life similarities during the time it was written. That felt like the longest break I was ever on, cause I kept watching the clock to see if I went over my time. Never did though, time dragged slowly by. The rest of the day went on exactly like that. Barely anyone came in, I wrapped up my duties, then headed home, feeling the crisp breeze on my skin as I drove home.

Near the end of November, I moved from a teller position to a utility clerk in another department. That meant I got to ride the bus downtown to work everyday. That also meant I had to learn new systems (though there was a machine from 1978 I had to deal with on a daily basis), and deal with tons of numbers, lots of paper, and daily tasks that had to be completed before I left. I got my exercise that way as well. The distance from my house to the bus stop was about a mile away, so I ran it. Yes, in the rain. Yes, in the snow. Yes, sometimes up to my knees. Oh yeah, I also ran it back. That was my exercise, running two miles a day, from the middle of December until today (August 21, 2009). I got pretty good at it too, and for those wondering, I started pushing 6min 15sec miles. Good times…

Tons of memories, and many people I met and became friends with. That will never go away. I truly believe God placed me in the best company He knew of to teach me many things. Not only is the culture behind Wells Fargo amazing, so are the people. Wells Fargo is one of the only remaining companies I believe that has a true handle on the customer. That is why there is such a loyal following. Everything about Wells Fargo complemented my own learning quite nicely as well. If you are Wells Fargo, you know what I mean. ;D

If there is one thing I could take out of my current position at Wells Fargo, it would be this. Everything works out fine, whether you expect it or not. I can’t tell you how many times I thought I would get out early, only for something to happen. Somehow, it all works out for me leaving on time.

Today was a good example of that. I thought I might be able to leave a bit early than usual, but something happened with a machine that kept us until the usual ending time. This was one of those errors I had never encountered before, which made for a fun day. My boss had a good laugh out of this as well, because a problem similar to this happened when I first started out as a utility clerk. Might as well go out with a bang eh? ;P

I will miss working for Wells Fargo, but God is moving me along to the next stage of my life. I’m fine with that, I still have all the memories to reminisce over and people I can catch up with from time to time.

In a way, ’tis a Bittersweet Moment….

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Yes, The podcast has finally hit 100 episodes! Not to mention I am heading off to college in exactly 2 days, so this is a jam-packed episode!

Finances: What are Assets?

Best explanation I heard? Assets make you Money. Are your assets doing that?

Business: Leslie Freebie

Today I interview Leslie of TheFreebieGuy.net regarding his remarkable success with the CaliStyle101.com Forum. I took notes for this one!

Why were we laughing in the middle of the interview over a “mini-Leslie”? Here’s why: http://www.entrepreneurs-journey.com/1486/what-can-expensive-tuna-teach-you-about-marketing/

Technology: Should I update to Windows 7?

Good article from Wired.com, weigh the pros and cons for yourself: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/08/7-reasons-to-avoid-windows-7/

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• Send me an e-mail.
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Big moves and changes being made in the Business and Technology sector, you will want to sit down and listen to this one.

Finances: What is your Question?

Now its your turn. Phone line and e-mail are open! 1-866-867-2860

Business: Derek Media

Today I interview Derek Johnson of Tatango on a HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT! http://derekmedia.net/!!

Technology: Facebook buys Friendfeed

Yeah, this changes the game once again. Here is the article: http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/aug2009/tc20090810_284380.htm?chan=technology_technology+index+page_top+stories

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You heard right, this is the third year anniversary edition of the Taylor Marek Podcast. I hope you are learning alot over all these years.

Finances: Economic Spending Tips

Here’s a tip for you in these economic times, why don’t you look into local events near you? They might be better then you thought…

Business: Derek Johnson

Today I interview Derek Johnson of Tatango. Good stuff in this interview and well worth a listen. ;D

Technology: VTechTV

I reviewed the VTechTV video podcast today. Interested in the latest in the gaming world? Then hop on over: http://vtechtv.com/

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What I want to do is give you a FREE 30min consultation with me. I will be giving away one spot every week on Friday in conjunction with the “Follow Friday” meme brought about through Twitter. What will it be on? Social Media, New Media, Podcasting, Personal Finances, or Small Business/ Entrepreneurship. You choose the topic you want. I’ve been involved in Social Media/New Media for the past 3 years, and Personal Finances/Small Business for at least 8. I want to share with you the knowledge I know, and help you out. I want to see you succeed.

Now, the all important part. What do you need to do to win this? I need you to answer the following question below:

“How has the economy affected your life/business?”

If you answer it on twitter, use the hashtag #FFwk1. Otherwise you can leave a comment. You are allowed one blog comment entry and one twitter entry at maximum. At 8pm CST I will close the challenge. I will then group both the twitter and blog comments together and pick a tweet/comment at random. I will announce the winner over twitter, and will then contact them privately to setup a consultation time.

How much is this worth? I charge $200/hr for a private consultation. If I were you, I’d be banging down the door right now. How bad do you want it?

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If you are reading this, you are the first to know I am heading off to college in a matter of weeks. Absolutely PUMPED to release this episode. Oh yeah, this one has a blooper on the end as well!

Finances: What are your goals?

Have you set your financial Goals? Short-term and Long-term?

Business: Dale Beaumont Interview Part 2

This week wraps up the interview I had with Dale Beaumont. This one has the tip every entrepreneur should listen to.

I was introduced to Dale via Twitter. Once I read his personal site and found out he does video posts over at GetPublishedTV.com, I was hooked. This is a stellar interview and I would highly encourage you to take notes!

Technology: Something BIG is about to happen

Things are changing so fast that if you blink, you will miss it. The internet hasn’t even hit 20, and is on the verge of exploding into something we’ve never seen before. Can you feel it happening?

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Let this be the first video bashing I ever undertake. You can make a decision of whether you want to get a website designed from them after you’ve watched it, the choice is up to you. I personally will NEVER recommend them for any reason whatsoever.

Here is the link to the video and my personal story: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/1904450

Have you read why iNET Web’s Marketing Fails? I think you’ll be more than surprised.

Interview Special!

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It is smack in the middle of the night, and I am releasing this episode a couple days behind schedule. Oh well, such is my life eh? ;P

Finances: The Next Step

Bouncing off of Episode #95, You aren’t going anywhere if you are standing still. Have you taken that next step?

Business: Dale Beaumont Interview Part 1

I was introduced to Dale via Twitter. Once I read his personal site and found out he does video posts over at GetPublishedTV.com, I was hooked. Hear how he wrote his first book at the age of 19 and what inspired him to do so.

http://www.secretsexposed.com.au/

Technology: Google Chrome OS

Yup, Google has kicked in another door. This one being the OS on netbooks. Take a listen!

http://www.pcworld.com/article/168628/googles_chrome_os_may_fail_even_as_it_changes_computing_forever.html

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This could also be titled, “How to File an LLC Yourself”, but I decided against it…

• For anyone interested, this is the exact steps I did to create my company.

If you want to go the easy route, “fill in the blank” option, may I recommend LegalZoom.com?

The first thing you need to do is figure out what your small business will be about. Have that down pat first. LLC’s tend to work for “small businesses” and the “entrepreneur type” in the beginning. As you grow and mature your company, you can look into Corporations for a business structure.

I wanted to create a website design company about 5 years ago, but didn’t have the money to invest in a lawyer to write up and file the documents. My dad did the same thing with his home repair company, but I wanted to see if I could file the papers myself and save a boatload of money. Turns out I could, it just takes attention to details and double checking everything before you send it off.

After I decided on what I wanted to do, I had to think of a name. I thought up of a couple ideas, clever name twists, and wrote them down on paper.

After I had a list of possible names, I googled each one in quotation brackets to see if it pulled up in a search result. If it did, I would cross it off. If it didn’t, I would visit GoDaddy and see if the domain name was taken. If it was, I would cross it off the list. If it wasn’t, I would then go to my states DFI (Dept. of Financial Institutions) website (In this case, I live in WI, so I would go here): http://wdfi.org/ and “Search Business Records” there. If the name pulled up in their records, I would cross it off. If it didn’t, I would consider that a possible name for my LLC. It took me roughly a week doing it this route, but I’m glad I did. I found a really good name, and it made perfect sense to me (meaning it had an inside meaning that only I knew).

I then went to register my LLC in my States (WI in this case) DFI records. I clicked on the “Create a Corporation or LLC” link, and clicked “Limited Liability Company – Wisconsin”. This may or may not be different in the state you live in, and the laws governing that DFI, so always browse your States DFI website first.

For Wisconsin, they have a “What You Need” list, so be sure you have all the information and payment they need before you file. Also be sure to read and double read over the information and the steps they give you, you don’t want to make a mistake and have to pay for it to be corrected later.

Once you have all that information, click the “start filing link” and fill in the information they ask you to provide. Once that is finished, and you have paid your respective fee, print off the confirmation receipt and information and hold onto it! You will usually get an e-mail within a week saying your LLC was filed and accepted. In that e-mail, you will be provided with a link to the “Official Articles of Organization”. Print them off, and guard them with your life! That, and file them away with all your other important papers, and know where they are at all times. There are occasions you will need to pull them out, like making a copy for creating a business banking account, but for the most part they will sit in one area.

Taking this route, I only had to pay $130 for my LLC. There is an annual fee and report I have to provide my states DFI with every year, but it goes pretty smoothly. I saved having to pay $100-$1k+ because I filed it myself!

So, that’s how I did it, and saved money in the process. What route did you take or are planning on going? Comment below and lets get a conversation started around this.

A couple tips for LLC’s:

When you file, file as a “member managed LLC”. You could go for “Manager managed LLC”, but then there is the possibility of a LLP or Partnership problem down the road.

Also, you have to use LLC/ a limited liability company/limited liability co. when you mention your company. You can’t just use the name alone, except when buying the domain name for the company. I prefer to use the LLC option to make it shorter and easier to remember.

Here is another point a friend e-mailed me!

(7-28-09)Scott L.: An LLC is organized, not incorporated. Corporations are incorporated.

Have anything you would like to add regarding LLC’s?

Hope this post helps!

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Can’t wait to release this episode, though its in the midst of a festival right across my street. You’ll have to ignore the background noise, but awesome content regardless!

Sammie called in and left an audio comment. His question was regarding this post: America’s Got Talent Tips

Take a listen to find out!

Finances: Now is the Hour

You have all the training you need, but are you going to take action?

Business: 5 Branding Mistakes

Don’t make the same mistakes when building your brand.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/marketing/branding/article200980.html

Technology: Facebook breaks 250 million

Facebook has broken 250 million users and is crushing MySpace in terms of page views, you’ll want to listen to this one!

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9135566/Facebook_crashes_through_another_milestone_250M_users?taxonomyId=1

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Lets continue the conversation, comment below or use these options:

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Back to the regular show format, though I changed a couple things. Good to be back in the hotseat!

Finances: Who runs the boat?

Are you the captain of your ship or are you letting someone else run it? Do you have a crew and a guide? Listen to find out.

Business: For all you DIY’s

Are you a one-man show in your small business? You could be hampering your own growth and killing your business. Listen closely for a book recommendation.

Technology: CrunchPad

http://www.informationweek.com/news/hardware/handheld/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=218400545 – Michael Arrington of TechCrunch plans on releasing a new touch screen tablet to surf the web. Exciting news!

I blame @Barely, of Barely Podcasting, for skyping me right in the middle of my intro! Its in the blooper real at the end and it still has me in the ground in tears laughing when I listen to it…

Lets continue the conversation, comment below or use these options:

• Toll Free Comment Line: 1-866-867(TMP)-2860
• @taylormarek me on Twitter
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/taylormarek

• Entrepreneurs are willing to risk it all, employees prefer to play it safe and stay off the radar.
• Entrepreneurs can’t adjust to what society dictates, employees flow right along with the mainstream.
• Entrepreneurs make the rules, employees follow rules.
• Entrepreneurs make the jobs that employees work at, employees work their job.
• Entrepreneurs want to affect/help people as much as possible, employees typically look out for themselves and what benefits them.
• Entrepreneurs make the jobs that employees run. Neither can exist without the other.

Which one are you? Disagree with me? Comment below. Lets create a conversation around this.

I’ve added myself to his list (I’m #29) and if you are a young entrepreneur, go ahead and add yourself to this list as well. It is always beneficial to see those your age who are going through the same things you are, rather than think you are alone in this area.

Lots of updates and changes to the site, and plenty stuffed into this episode.

First off, my start into the video realm came on May 19 with the launch of the TaylorMarek20 Vlog. Find the latest vlog/video of my making over at: http://www.youtube.com/taylormarek

This episode is a new twist, in that I have New Media instead of Finances for this episode. Take a listen and tell me what you think.

New Media: 13 Successful Blogging Tips.

http://www.problogger.net/archives/2009/06/10/successful-blogging/ – Darren Rowse and his 5000th blog post! Well worth a read.

Business: Business Podcasting

Have you looked at integrating a podcast into your business? If not, you’re missing out.

Technology: Bing Pre-Iphone

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10261061-2.html – Google’s Schmidt dings Bing

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10261260-1.html – Five of my favorite things about the Palm Pre

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19512_7-10260521-233.html – iPhone OS 3.0 revisited

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10260010-1.html – Details about Apple’s new iPhone 3G S

Lets continue the conversation, comment below or use these options:

• Toll Free Comment Line: 1-866-TMP-2860
• @taylormarek me on Twitter
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/people/Taylor-Marek/784580234

Internet Business:

Jason Van Orden -Podcaster first and foremost, entrepreneur at heart. He was responsible for most of the promoting ideas I’ve implemented on this blog/podcast.

Podcasting:

Paul Colligan – Best mentor anyone could ask for. He knows this area well, and is an awesome friend to have. To me, his name is synonymous with podcasting.

Blogging:

Yaro Starak – One of the first blogs I ever followed when I first came into this realm in early 2006. Everything he writes is so simple, anyone can understand it.

Darren Rowse – When I first ran across ProBlogger, I thought of the name. I said, “I want to be a Pro-Blogger” and I’ve modeled much of what I do on the internet around that statement.

Social Media:

Leesa Barnes – Started out podcasting, made a book, then merged into the realm of social media. Best interviewer I’ve had, and LOVES speaking on New Media.

Those are my mentors, what about you?

In this episode, learn whether you should take control of your money, if you should let your business go, and what kind of April Fools Day pranks went down on the internet.

My Podcast Alley feed! {pca-c501184f1dce9e6d9ffaeb0a846bff3a}

Links:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jsONW-3iv58PvU4osW9nhIevnJ2gD97A0FDO0

Continue the Conversation:

• Toll-Free Comment Line: 1-866-TMP(867)-2860
• Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/taylormarek
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/people/Taylor-Marek/784580234
• Or leave a comment below…

Have you checked all your expenses? If you haven’t already, sit down with your accountant to see if there are any hidden expenses that could be reported. Mileage? Business lunch meeting? Equipment depreciation?

I was planning on linking to an article from CNN Money, and with it would have come more tips, but something just felt wrong when I was reading over it. Reading the article felt like it was “hiding” something or cheating on taxes, and with you small business owners in mind, it didn’t feel right posting it.

Take this tip to heart. It doesn’t hurt to double or triple check your expenses.

Browsing Reuters, I ran across this article: http://www.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUSTRE51K0A920090221?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews&rpc=23&sp=true

I thought this stimulus package was supposed to pull us out of this “recession” and bring everything back to normal? Was I wrong in thinking this? Did we do something worse?

Renowned investor George Soros said on Friday the world financial system has effectively disintegrated, adding that there is yet no prospect of a near-term resolution to the crisis.

Yup, it seems we killed the market. We shall start noticing lines for food soon…

Honestly people, come on. I was being sarcastic when I made the past couple questions/comments and for good reason. We are in this mess because you are fooling around in the economy. Get your fat greedy fingers out of it and let it fix itself!

Soros said the turbulence is actually more severe than during the Great Depression, comparing the current situation to the demise of the Soviet Union.

Oh, don’t even get me started on that path. I’ll let my tweets say it all (be sure to read these in order):

http://twitter.com/taylormarek/statuses/1162936839

http://twitter.com/taylormarek/statuses/1162969030

http://twitter.com/taylormarek/statuses/1162976422

http://twitter.com/taylormarek/statuses/1162981805

http://twitter.com/taylormarek/statuses/1162991444

If you haven’t already read this post, please do: http://taylormarek.com/2009/02/21/the-best-stimulus-is-no-stimulus/

In my previous post, I said, “The best stimulus to our economy is no stimulus at all.”

I am a free market capitalist, meaning that I prefer complete government absence from the economy. Markets and businesses can take care of themselves best if left alone. We’ve never really experienced this yet, but that is beside the point.

In simple economic terms, think of it this way. There are two variables, supply and demand. Supply is how much of something you have at a given time, demand is how many people want what is supplied. The more demand there is for supply, the more it shrinks to nothing. The more supply there is, the less people want of it, because there is so much supply floating around. Big and small companies deal with this all the time, hence why they try to find a nice median range to stick in.

That is a brief explanation of economics. Now lets apply this in a business sense and I will show you the meaning behind the quote I gave.

Businesses are here to make money, if they cannot generate a profit, the business will close shop. If they are able to generate a profit, they will stay around and grow into a bigger company. At this point, there are two possibilities. They might be bought out by another company, thus merging into that company and growing it bigger, or they will control a majority of the market, thus becoming a monopoly. Monopolies tend to last for a while, then implode, or become passed by from another company. This back and forth, from closing shop to a monopoly, is the way to finding a median. A median meaning making enough of a profit to continue, but not so large that they are a monopoly.

Are you noticing how businesses are self-regulating themselves? They are taking care of themselves, purging businesses that don’t work and knocking down monopolies in the effort that all the businesses in that industry share a happy median. There will always be this back and forth between companies in every industry. But what if that were not so? What if someone controlled whether your company lived or died?

Say that one person said one business was better then the rest, and killed the others in that industry, leaving that one. Is there room for improvement? How is that business to know whether it is doing a good job or not? Simply put, they have no idea. There is no competition, hence no improvement or measure to go off of. But what if that person let this competition and noticed one company dying. Say that person throws that company a lifeline, thus preserving the company. The company does good for a while, but then flounders around again. Why? It could be that the goods or service that company was providing was not working and no one was interested in buying what they had to offer. It could also be internal problems going on inside the company, thus an implosion is inevitable. Did that person do a good job helping out that company, or did it just prolong the suffering?

Are you starting to notice the meaning behind my quote? If you are able to understand well enough, you will come to notice that this is prolonging the suffering to the market as a whole. This is not allowing the markets to purge that which needs to be purged, thus preventing our economy as a whole to return to a happy median.

From a general standpoint this looks like a good idea right? True, but here is some history. The money you hold in your hand is worthless, look at what it says, “Backed by the full faith of the US Government”. It started when it was taken off the gold standard in 1971. All you hold in your hand is a piece of paper, fiat currency for a better term. The government can print as much money as it wants now, dumping it in as fast as it can print.

In simple economic terms, think of it this way. There are two variables, supply and demand. Supply is how much of something you have at a given time, demand is how many people want what is supplied. The more demand there is for supply, the more it shrinks to nothing. The more supply there is, the less people want of it, because there is so much supply floating around. Big and small companies deal with this all the time, hence why they try to find a nice median range to stick in.

That said, apply the same to the government printing money. If more and more money is printed (supply), the less people will want of it (demand). It will literally become worthless if there is too much of it. If you understand this concept, you are on solid ground.

Now back to the topic at hand: the Stimulus Package. Think this will work, applying what you just learned? Absolutely not and here is why. Throwing money at a problem will not fix the economic mess we are in. If anything, it will make it worse. You are once again bumping the supply factor out more to the point where the demand is less and less. Secondly, this is not going to create jobs or stimulate the economy. Why? This money is just going to places to try and bring it back into the black. The majority of it will not reach there though. Why? Greed. I can smell it written all over this package, literally it reaks of the odor.

If this was really a “stimulus package”, here is where it should go. It should be going to the local economies to help prop up the businesses there. Strong businesses mean a stong local economy. Stong businesses mean more money is flowing around to the various areas. Strong businesses also mean they can support more employees, hence they hire more people. See what I am saying?

Although the best piece of advice regarding this whole matter is… “The best stimulus to our economy is no stimulus at all.” I’ll explain this quote in my next post. In the meantime, what do you think about this? Anything you care to add, anything you need clarified? Comments are open.

First off, taxing the internet period is just dumb. Its virtually impossible to enforce, and even if it was able to be, you would have the masses to deal with.

Second, how in the world is this going to work? Is this going on your internet bill, or is it being footed directly to the businesses?

Thirdly, if the US government was really having a problem with money, they would be cutting things back like crazy, like any normal business would, and re-organizing on the inside. Oh, but wait. What about the stimulus package that is supposed to help? Is that not doing anything?

Really guys, this is not creative thinking at all. I expect better of you or I will boot you out of office on your next term.

Now I’m not trying to make this into a political post, but this just makes me mad.

What can we learn about this?

To apply to your personal finances, watch your spending. If you don’t have the money, don’t buy it. If it seems money is escaping through a hole, find the hole and plug it. Do not make it bigger or try to hide it. If it is a legitimate thing that needs to be cut off, cut it off.

What about business? If there is some expense that is draining your business, cut it off. Also look through your entire business to see if there are areas you can improve and save money on.

What about Technology? Simply put, trying to tax something like downloads is impossible to enforce, it only makes the masses mad at you.

http://www.fox6now.com/news/sns-ap-wi-xgr–budgetwoes,0,5520090.story

What do you think about this? You’ve heard my end, and I would love to hear yours. Lets get a conversation going around this. Did I mention this will be signed into Wisconsin law this Friday (2-20)?

I thought I would deviate a little from my regular postings to share some humor with you. Enjoy

Here are the economic advisors of our time, these guys explain everything perfectly:

httpv://youtube.com/watch?v=7WMi5TUJDso

(Abbott and Costello do it perfectly, don’t they?)