Failure. The word is laced with negative connotations. That's why I think failure gets a bum rap. Failing at something is not necessarily a bad thing. It just means you are trying. And it means you have found a way to not succeed. Thomas Edison went through thousands of experiments before his first lightbulb was illuminated. Ben Franklin is quoted as stating, "I didn't fail the test, I just found one hundred ways to do... Continue Reading

Providing your audience, customers, and potential customers with free, valuable information is a cornerstone of running an online business. If you give enough stuff away for free, and make sure that that stuff is high-quality and indicative of your high standards, then enough people are going to want to pay you to get to the rest of what you know that you will be able to make a nice living from your online income. One... Continue Reading

Still sitting on an idea for a blog without having done anything about it yet? It's probably time to get rolling. Get some hosting, buy the domain, and find a theme you like (we're partial to Socrates), and you're ready to start in on the content. But before you jump in, here are a few things you should be ready for before going live with your new website: Continue Reading

It's not always easy to put yourself out there and develop the online presence that is going to be so essential for the success of your business. If exposing yourself and your ideas to the unwashed Internet masses sounds like a nightmare of privacy concerns and defenselessness, you are definitely not alone. But, counter-intuitive as this may sound, in the end it doesn't have to be about you. Instead of hiding behind your fear, start... Continue Reading

(Written by guest contributor Sarah Beek) There is nothing worse than sitting down to work on a project only to find that what you attacked with exhilaration the day before now seems about as appealing as a box of rocks. You check your email again, waste a little time on your favorite time-wasting blogs, think of something that needs buying, and then proceed to spend precious time researching and buying it. What is this kind... Continue Reading

(Written by guest contributor Kevin E. Houchin Esq.) Let me get right to the point. The reason our economy is in the tank today is that too many people are focused on creating money instead of creating real products and services. To correct this problem, we need to get back to the basics of creating products and services that people need or want, and let the money come as a result. That's the business of... Continue Reading

I've created a bunch of different products during my career. Not all of them have been giant successes. But many have been, and there's a theme that runs through many of the most successful items I've made. Continue Reading

(Written by guest contributor Alan Bechtold) This is a continuation of last week's article on getting inside the minds of your customers and prospects. Continue Reading

(Written by guest contributor Kevin E. Houchin Esq.) In my last article, I introduced The Power of Acceptance, inspired by the following quote: "The most profound choice in life is to either accept things as they exist or to accept the responsibility for changing them." - From The Universal Traveler by Don Koberg and Jim Bagnall Continue Reading

We are living in challenging times. If you are not feeling the economic pinch, you at least know others who are. Some blame the politicians, both Republicans and Democrats. Others blame the legal system. And many wag their finger at corporations who have failed to serve the customer in lieu of their own desire to become wealthy. Regardless, the end result is that unemployment is up and more people are having a difficult time making... Continue Reading

It surprises me how many people are afraid to create an info product. The social proof that info products are profitable is everywhere. The biggest proof is ClickBank. ClickBank, which is essentially a portal for digital info products, has paid out over $1.3 billion to product creators in the last 10 years. That's $130 million every year, and the average person has never heard of them, which is just crazy. But this article is not... Continue Reading

Just in case this word isn't in your vocabulary: Budg-et [buhj-it] -- noun 1. an estimate, often itemized, of expected income and expense for a given period in the future. 2. a plan of operations based on such an estimate. 3. an itemized allotment of funds, time, etc., for a given period. 4. the total sum of money set aside or needed for a purpose. 5. a limited stock or supply of something. Continue Reading

Let me get right to the point. The reason our economy is in the tank today is that too many people are focused on creating money instead of creating real products and services. To correct this problem, we need to get back to the basics of creating products and services that people need or want, and let the money come as a result. That's the business of creativity, and it's going to be the... Continue Reading

Twitter divides people into two camps. To those who use it, it's a whole new Internet. There's the Web of pages and content, and there's the Twitter of people and connections. Both are valuable and both are enjoyable, but they do different things and they do them in different ways. To people who aren't on Twitter though, the service looks completely bizarre. It's a place where people go to tell strangers what they had for... Continue Reading