APRIL 2010
Greetings & Salutations:
It seems almost all of you like the Q&A format ... using
questions I have answered in the past - so, here's some
more of'em:
Q: I'm
starting a small business. How do I go about finding a
management team and locating qualified employees?
A:
Whoa! -- If you were to come into my office and ask
that question, I would have a ho'bunch of questions for you before
I could even begin to answer. -- What kind of business?
Tell me all about the product or service? Where will the
business be located? What is your background? What
are your financial strengths and weaknesses? etc., etc., etc.
If you are looking for a management team, your business is
either very sophisticated - or - you just want someone else to
do the work for you; while you pull the strings and make the
profit.
Assuming that your business is sophisticated enough to need
a management team, you can find good management teams advertising
in the trade publications for your industry. Once you employ
one of those management teams, they will locate and employ the
qualified employees to operate the business.
If, on the other hand, you are just looking for someone to
do the work for you, I heartily suggest you get a JOB and stay
out of the business community ... there are already too many
ne'er-do-wells pretending to be business people.
Q:
Who are your business heroes and why?
A:
My heroes are like my mistakes and failures ... I couldn't count
them with all of fingers, toes and hairs on my chest.
I am forever in awe of people who succeed in business ...
any kind of business ... from the local Mom & Pop grocery
store to the mega-corporate types.
Any one who succeeds in business is my hero.
Q:
What do we need to learn to become business minded
people?
A:
Hey ... I ain't got the time to write a thousand pages.
The main thing a wannabee MUST first do is attempt to lose
their "consumer" mentality. That means they must
give up their attitudes about privacy, security and "the
evils of making money."
To succeed in any business, you must be willing to give up
your privacy and rely solely upon yourself for your security.
-- You MUST let your customers know who you are ... not just
a fictitious email address ... and where they can find you.
Otherwise, you are only playing at being in business.
Learn to respect "money," in all its forms and embrace
the fact that "making money" is NOT evil - but - there
are some evil people who make a lot of money. By and large,
MOST people who make a lot of money are far more honest than
the customers they serve.
Q: What
businesses would you recommend staying away from? How can
I spot an illegitimate offer?
A:
Who is the ugliest woman in the world? -- Depends on who's looking,
doesn't it?
As I have said before, there are millionaires in every imaginable
business - so - if a business interests you, pursue it.
How do you spot an illegitimate offer? -- To which the learned
gurus would respond, "If it sounds too good to be true,
it is."
There are as many legitimate businesses that sound too good
to be true as there are illegitimate ones. - Why? - Because,
most beginning business people are still thinking like consumers.
They don't yet know the real facts about business, so they dismiss
legitimate business opportunities because they simply don't understand
the business of business.
For example: Would you believe it if I told you that
"passive" earnings of 3% to 7% PER DAY were possible?
-- Too good to be true? -- But, it happens every day. Then
again, it doesn't happen every day to the same person. -- You
can only do; maybe, 5 or 6 deals like that in a year's time (it
takes 30 to 60 days just to set up the deals) ... even with the
best sources and resources. (I've done it more than once.)
That kind of offer would be known and acceptable in the International
Forfaiting field ... and those knowledgeable in that field would
know it couldn't be done every day - BUT - every day, con-men
around the world are separating people from their hard earned
money by promising those returns every day on every dollar invested.
You can't tell the legitimate from the illegitimate in the
business community until you fully understand the business of
business as it really exists. -- A knowledgeable money-man would
know that the con-man's offer was illegitimate because the money-man
would also know that you can't do a deal every day ... even under
the best circumstances.
The ONLY way you can protect yourself from illegitimate offers
is by "knowing" the business of business. That
means losing your consumer mentality and studying the business
or industry in which the opportunity may; or may not, exist.
Q:
How do I find joint venture partners and silent business
partners?
A: How do you
find anything you want in business? -- You "advertise"
for it.
There is no big mystery about finding venture partners or
silent partners. You just advertise for them in the publications
they read.
Every trade, industry, field of business endeavor and hobby
has publications directed specifically to people who participate
in those industries ... the "best" are newsletters
that; although very small in circulation, go to a very tight
niche readership. -- Get'em. Read'em. Then, advertise
for the partners you need.
Q:
What are the most important parts of a business plan
and how would I develop them?
A:
Whoops! This question is a bit out of my field of knowledge.
Over the past 50 years, I have never found it necessary to
write a business plan in order to interest investors. I
have bootstrapped all my businesses without financing. -- SO
...
I recommend you do a search on "business plans."
-- I've read a number of good articles on the subject and remember
receiving a FREE template for writing business plans from one
of the Internet companies that provide business plan assistance.
By the way, although I have never written a formal business
plan for any of my businesses, I ALWAYS have a written plan for
doing any business in which I decide to get involved.
Q: What
would you say are 5 to 10 keys to your success in business &
life?
A:
There are only two ... study and testing.
No matter what business you attempt, you MUST study everything
you can find on the subject of your business endeavor.
Then, you MUST test every method, concept and technique in that
business until you find what works for you.
For example: When I decided to go into the banking business,
I bought over $3,000 worth of books on banking and the financial
industry. Read them cover to cover ... all of them.
Then, I tested and retested methods to make my bank do what I
envisioned it doing.
Another example: When I got involved in gold mining,
I bought copies of over $1,500 worth of gold processing patents;
from the U.S. Patent Office. Studied all of them until
I had some ideas on how to get the gold from the placer deposits.
Then, I tested and retested those methods until I found one that
worked.
Whatever you want to do in business, you MUST pay the price
for your education. You either pay for books on the subject,
or you pay the price by cold, hard experience. Then, no
matter what you learn, you can only make it succeed if you test
and retest what you have learned.
Q:
What online and offline companies/businesses do you use and admire?
A: This
is the kind of question that gets most beginners in trouble.
- Why? - Because, all too often, beginners believe that, if they
use the same resources as a successful person, they too will
succeed.
Each person must make their decisions about what businesses,
services, suppliers and/or vendors they will use for their business
... based solely upon the value provided by the sources they
choose.
For example: Back in 1983, we went looking for a new
typesetting system for our paper and ink publications.
We had been using the Compugraphics system ... typesetting one
line of type at a time; then retyping any errors, cutting &
pasting them over the error. -- Price quotes for a typesetting
system with pagination were from $80,000 to $120,000. -- Then
I received information from one of my subscribers; Steve Jobs,
telling me about the Aldus PageMaker that worked on his Macintosh
computer. -- The whole system cost me just over $20,000 ... you
can buy it today for less than $3,000 with a lot more bells &
whistles. -- SO ...
You could say I use and admire the Apple Computers; with the
new Adobe Pagemaker system and the fantastic PageMill website
maker - but - that's because they were the system I started with.
-- Would they be right for YOU ... I don't know. It is,
as always, a matter of perception.
Q:
What advice can you give the person who has "tried everything"
but still can't seem to put all of the pieces to the "success
puzzle" together?
A: Quit
"trying" and start "doing."
You can "try" to do something all your life and
never get it done - but - when you quit "trying" and
dedicate yourself; heart & soul, to doing it, you will succeed.
Pick just one thing. Do it every day. Test it
every day. Do it some more. Test it some more.
"The work will teach you how to do it."
-- Estonian Proverb
Q: What
software tools do you use to automate your business?
A: Actually,
I use very, very few automation programs for my business - and
- neither should you, unless you know for an absolute fact that
those programs will benefit YOUR CUSTOMERS ... not just your
desire to get out of doing the work.
Until just a couple years ago, I did ALL of my Internet marketing
on a 14.4K dial-up modem connection ... not because I wanted
to but because that was the only connection available out
here in the woods. -- I consider that one of the most fortunate
problems I have ever encountered.
By only having a very show dial-up connection, I was forced
by circumstances to devise ways to accomplish the things I needed
to do in order to serve my only assets ... MY CUSTOMERS.
That made me develop the best methods to serve my customers.
When I did get faster dial-up connection, I found that the
systems I had developed were far better than any of the
"automation" programs I could find. Although
the "automation" programs did "speed up"
the process, they (in too many cases) abandoned my customers
... making my customers no more than a series of email addresses;
rather than the "real people" my methods serve.
So ... before you "automate" determine whether it
will serve your customers or will it only serve your desire to
get out of doing the work.
Q:
What standard of computer knowledge do you have to develop, to
run a successful Internet business?
A:
Have you ever heard it said, "A poor workman always
blames his tools."
When I started on the Internet, I was just about as
computer literate as an ol'yella cat. Today, I know more
than the cat and I am constantly reading, studying and
learning anything and everything I can about my tools ...
my computer and the applications I need to make it do the job
I want to do.
Anyone with basic computer skills can run a successful
Internet business - but - those of us who are making the
big bucks are unceasingly studying and learning about the tools
we use in our profession.
You'll never know enough.
Now, let's do some ...
Questions & Answers, Comments & Other
Good Stuff!
Jeffrey Hull ()
tells me ...
"We specialize in Aged Corporations with Min. $150k to
$350k Guaranteed Funding in Approximately
10-12 weeks or your money back c 100% of it. No Personal
Guarantor & No Personal Credit. Terms Only 7-9% annually.
Each individual may purchase up to 4 corporations. Get FREE Information.
"
Okay, Gang, go take a look for your ownself ... http://www.WinnersInformationNetwork.biz
John Schulte , President of the
National Mail Order Association has a freebie for you ...
"New Wholesale and Drop Shipping Sources FREE! Are you
looking for new products to sell? If so, you need to be
on the National Mail Order Association s Product Alert System.
It s Free. Each week you will be alerted to another new
product available for you to sell. You will have constant
access to new products and wholesale suppliers, many of which
will drop ship for you from their warehouses. You will
also get Free access to the product sourcing newsletter Direct
Marketing Digest."
Sign up today for free here: http://nmoamembers.securesites.net/alert
Wendell Polley says ...
"What I have is an online shopping software that pays
you to give it away. It pays affiliate commissions AND part of
the PPC revenue it generates. -- The link to my site is below,and
will do a much better job of explaining this than I. Please feel
free to go there and download your own copy of the software after
you satisfy your curiosity."
You can access the site here: www.myshoppinggenie.com/hotpass
Maya
Saric understands the highest
paid profession ...
"Lots of folk want to be richer but no one wants to sell
anything. But the top 10% of the world s richest folk are
selling something. As a profession sales reps beat the
other mob hands down. Selling does not occur by magic by
folk who are just chatty. Selling is a process executed
by folk who understand it properly and are suited to that process.
Now your readers can find out who can sell? "
Okay, Gang ...
Go to http://www/sa;esomvemtprufile.com ... scroll down to BOX 3 called:
Could I have a career in sales? ... click START!
Adebola Oni tells
me ...
"I am getting married on April 17, 2010. I am excited
about this and will like to do something SPECIAL for my fellow
Subscribers. -- I am a wordpress Pro, with about 4 years experience,
and I will like to help my fellow subscribers set up a professional
and customised blog in any niche. -- I am doing this at a SPECIAL
price of $77. This also comes with Free Domain name and
Hosting for a year."
If you are interested, or just want to see lists of blogs
he has done, send him an email.
Dan Greenberg needs
mailorder distribution ...
"I'm looking to get our product sold wherever we can.
We have a rep for big box retail, and someone working on travel
companies, and trying to work a deal with Linkshare - but - nobody
working mailorder (except myself). -- Ours is a back support
called the Back Booster. Unlike traditional supports, ours
is infatable. This allows the user to customize the level
of support. Also, when not in use, the Back Booster deflates
to pocket size and fits into the included nylon carry bag (for
storage in a pocket, purse or briefcase)."
Looks like a product that should enjoy a good market with the
baby-boomers.
Check it out at: http://www.backbooster.com
Well ... that's it for this month. -- In order to make every
issue responsive to YOUR needs, please send me your questions;
or tell me what sources or resources you need to build your business;
or give me any thoughts you want to share with your fellow members.
Believe it or don't ... I ain t a mind-reader. -- If n you
doesn't tell me what you need, I may never touch upon the information,
sources or resources you need.
This is your publication for you to use to your benefit ...
I am just your moderator.
Until next month, keep well ...
J.F. (Jim) STRAW
Grande Panjandrum
Thoughts For The Month!
"If
your only goal is to become rich, you will never achieve it." -- John D. Rockefeller
"It is not death that a man should fear,
but he should fear never beginning to live."
-- Marcus Aurelius
Copyright - 20010, J.F. (Jim) Straw. All rights reserved.