Saturday, August 26, 2006

7 Keys That Helped Me Leave the "Rat Race" for Cyberspace

On Friday, Aug. 28th, 1998, I finally achieved what I had dreamed about and worked toward for some time.

No, cashing that week's paycheck wasn't what I had been keenly anticipating... Leaving a job I hated in order to work for myself full-time in cyberspace was the dream goal I had finally achieved!

The goal of leaving the "rat race" and calling the shots in one's own profitable business - online or off - is common to many people. At times it even reaches the point of desperation. Some waste thousands of dollars in an elusive attempt to reach it.

If running your own successful business is a goal you'd like to reach, I empathize with your situation. I'll share some tips in this article that helped me "leave the rat race" for my own online business, which may also help you.

Even if you've already achieved self employment, maybe some tips I share can help increase the profitability of your existing business, online or off.

Keys To Leaving The Rat Race

1) Being a doer, not just a dreamer.

One of my favorite sayings is: "When all is said than done, more is said than done." It's easy to dream and talk about our goals, but we won't get anywhere until we take decisive action.

Before I built a successful online business, I did more dreaming and telling others about my goal than I took action toward reaching it. Finally combining my dreams with action, however, was the only thing that worked.

Caution: Don't confuse taking decisive action with making rash decisions. Temper your willingness to act with sound reasoning and knowledgeable decisions, based on sufficient research.

2) Effective time management.

Time certainly means money in the business world. The ability to manage your time effectively is an asset that can repay you many times over, in both your business and personal life.

Getting maximum productivity from your time is even more crucial if you're working a full-time job at the same time you're building your own business.

Back when I worked for an employer, time usually dragged by. Now I find that working for myself, time just breezes by and I often wonder where the time went!

At one point, I was making money in my own business while holding down my full-time regular job, but not enough to live on. Moreover, I needed more time than I had available in my spare hours to pursue things I felt would increase profits.

I then decided to cut back on the hours at my regular job, which my employer agreed to because he didn't want me to quit. This allowed time to expand my business faster and made the transition to running my own full-time business easier. If you can't or don't want to quit your job "cold turkey," consider a similar strategy.

3) Knowledge of your field.

You don't have to be an expert in your business field when first starting out. You can grow as you go, but plan on keeping abreast of developments in your field. Do so long enough and you'll become an expert. You can also team up with others who have needed expertise you may be lacking.

4) Persistence.

Despite the hype sometimes used to try to sell "instant, lazy-man's way to riches" types of products, success in business rarely comes easily or overnight. Fact is, it takes persistent effort and plain old fashioned work. Be wary of promises to the contrary.

I empathize with those that must commute 5 or more days a week to a job they don't like. However, that can be a plus. It was a strong motivation for me to persist at my own business until I went full-time. Whatever your own motivations to persist may be, they will prove useful.

Tip: It will be much easier to persist if you select a field of business that you like, as opposed to pursuing something just for the money. Then your work can be fun, not drudgery.

5) Focus on presenting solutions, not just on selling products and services.

I'm a believer in the business philosophy of "succeeding by helping others succeed." Focusing on helping clients solve their problems and achieve their goals through your products and services contributes more toward long-term success than just focusing on "selling" them products and services.

6) Self-discipline.

Now that my "office" is just a few steps away when I awake in the morning, it's easy to sleep in. With no boss to "crack a whip" over you as a self-employed entrepreneur, self-discipline is definitely needed. Since likely no one will see that things get done but yourself, you need to be a self-starter.

7) Marketing skills.

Regardless of what business you're in, marketing is the tool used to present the solutions that your products or services offer to the rest of the world. As the saying goes, in business "Everything is marketing."

Marketing is a skill. And like any other skill, it can be developed through knowledge and practice. Entrepreneurs can never learn too much about successful marketing.

You, Too, Can Leave The "Rat Race"!

As more and more employees of large corporations have been discovering to their dismay, neither seniority - nor years of company loyalty - guarantee any real job security. In view of this, staking one's claim in the digital Wild Wild Web seems even more attractive.

Of course, there's much more involved in leaving the rat race than can be covered in this article, but I've shared seven of the most important keys to success.

No, leaving the rat race may not come easily, nor overnight, but it's certainly possible and can be well worth the effort. If followed, these keys can help you leave the rat race, too.

About The Author

Marty Foley is a successful home business owner and the founder of . His Internet marketing techniques and resources have helped set the standard in e-commerce, and have often been imitated by other famous Internet marketers. They can truly help you succeed online: http://ProfitInfo.com/
MFoley@ProfitInfo.com

Wednesday, August 9, 2006

The Ultimate Secret To Internet Success! (And It’s Not What You Think)

What I'm about to say may hurt your feelings, but it's time someone tells you the truth:

If your website is not making money, it’s NOBODY'S FAULT BUT YOUR OWN!

I'm warning you…this message is sharp and pointed. I guess I'm "fighting back" after hearing so many people bitch and moan…

"Oh Dan, my website is not working money or website is not making the kind of money I want. But it's not my fault…

  • If only the competition wasn't so fierce…
  • If only people were buying online more…
  • If only I can get higher ranking on all the major engines…
  • If only my affiliate will promote my stuff harder…
  • If only I can get more traffic to the site…
  • If only my customers will just send me more referrals…

If only… If only… If only… What a bunch of hooey!

I am here to tell you, if your website is not making money, the only finger you can point is at yourself.

If you're busy pointing fingers anywhere else, you're suffering from one of the most common "sicknesses" in business…a toxic point of view that can kill…

Passing the buck.

If you can't accept total responsibility for the success and failure of your site, you're not in control…you're powerless.

BUT…if you "own" your website completely…if you accept that it will rise or fall because of you…if you're fully accountable for it…

Then you're the power figure…and you can use your power for good -- to improve, polish, and perfect your website.

If you're willing to do the work and analyze the situation AND YOURSELF, you'll find answers to key questions like these:

***What are my problems?

***What are the true reasons why my website is not doing well?

***What am I pretending not to know/see?

and the biggest question of all:

***What do I personally need to do or have to make things better?

Maybe you need more knowledge, maybe you need more skills, maybe you need more traffic, maybe you’re not doing enough marketing…

It doesn't matter what you need. What matters is that you identify the need and then fill it!

I have a friend who says that as a business person on the web, you can take one of three approaches.

You can be a wiener (someone who throws money at a failing website), a whiner (someone who complains about throwing money at a failing website) or a winner (someone who says, "I'm going to make this failing website succeed.")

If your website is not getting enough traffic, do more per-pay-click, write articles, send out some press releases, exchange links with other sites, whatever, do something.

If your website is not converting well, hire a copywriter, re-write your own copy, test different website conversion strategies, do something.

If you don’t know how to set up your site properly, hire a web designer, learn HTML, get an auto-responder,

The key here is to stop whining, start getting mad at the situation and then do something about it.

Do whatever you want…just do something!

Don’t sit around and hope and pray your website will do better. Because it won’t.

What's the worst that will happen if you take action? You'll make mistakes.

BUT…you’ll also LEARN from your mistakes. You’ll get FEEDBACK from the marketplace so you'll know how to MAKE CHANGES so your site will be more effective.

You don’t have to get it right, you just have to get it going.

Stop whining and take action!

That's a Lok!

Dan Lok

Copyright 2005 Quick Turn Marketing International, Ltd.

About The Author

Dan Lok is known as "The World's #1 Website Conversion Expert", with a proven track record of selling over $25.7 million dollars of merchandise and services. Dan has resuscitated copy that was previously in "critical condition" and helped his clients to double and triple their conversion rates… some as much as 417%!!! More than 200 websites have been "Lok-ed" and loaded for Internet action. Go to: http://www.WebsiteConversionExpert.com