Allow me to introduce you to my nephew, Jordan Benker. I know him as Jordy, and he is a very talented young musician. Why am I writing about Jordan today? Obviously, I care about him and I want to see him succeed. But I've got another angle. This past week I observed something very interesting happening with Jordan while following his Facebook posts. There was a discussion saying that his name trended worldwide on Twitter... Continue Reading

There is a new job description out there, one that probably wasn't around when your grandfather was crafting his career: life coach. What exactly is a life coach, and why would you need one? First of all, the term is somewhat fluid. You can call it what you will, but a life coach, mentor, personal consultant, etc. is someone who helps you with some aspect of your life that you can't quite see clearly and... Continue Reading

Whether or not your online business plans include you writing anything, there is a lot to be said for developing a consistent journaling habit. Many, many people (especially those who have to be creative on a daily basis) attest to the fact that doing a morning "brain dump" of all of your worries, ideas, plans, etc. by writing them down helps to clear you out to do your best work later in the day. This... 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

No firm has done more to enable the monetization of the Internet than Google. Its AdSense system has gone through a lot of changes since it launched in 2003, but it's still the backbone of my online business, the channel around which much of my content is built. Continue Reading

There's a lot to be said in this day and age of rabid consumerism for decluttering. There are websites and books galore that will help you declutter your possessions so that you can have a neater, simpler existence and basically get more room and space to breathe in. If you've never tried decluttering your physical possessions, you should give it a try. It can give you more energy, confidence, and free you up to pursue... Continue Reading

Have you been putting off starting your online business because you can't decide what kind of business to start? If deciding on which direction to take with your online business feels like trying to map the desert, you need to list out some of the more obvious possibilities and then pick one. It's time to get moving. One of the first steps to getting going is to take some time to outline a rough business... Continue Reading

I received an email solicitation today to take part in an alleged competition that is due to take place starting in October. It's called (brace yourself...) "The Internet Marketing World Cup" (goooooooooalllll!) It is likely you will be hearing more about this in the future so I thought it would be interesting to dissect it and share some thoughts. Continue Reading

(Written by guest contributor Joseph A Michelli Ph.D.) Last week we talked about the importance of having a customer-centric business approach. But how exactly do you go about becoming a business like The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company that adds value though service excellence and desired experience? I take my clients through a very systematic process with delivery of that process adapted to the needs of their business. Typically this journey begins with an honest assessment of... Continue Reading

(Written by guest contributor Chris Harper) Have you ever seen a television commercial that just drives you nuts because of the spokesperson they use? I can think of at least two regional companies here in Colorado that fall into that category for me. In both cases, the "actor" has a close tie to the company being advertised. For one it's the owner, and for the other one it's the owner's kid that serves as their... Continue Reading

A 2006 study found that viewers made subconscious decisions about the quality and credibility of web pages in just 1/20th of a second. In this blink of an eye, viewers did not have enough time to read text or even recognize photos, but instead were reacting only to the site's layout. Even when the participants had more time to look at the site, the research found that they only attempted to reinforce this initial conclusion. Continue Reading

(Written by guest contributor Chris Harper) Unless you're some super creative genius who's trying to keep your work pure of outside influence (aka a liar), then you're always on the lookout for some new inspiration. Inspiration is a funny thing. It seems to hide itself in different places, waiting for someone to stumble upon it at just the right time. Oftentimes, it's not even where you'd expect to find it. And other times, it seems... Continue Reading

(Written by guest contributor Chris Harper) I'm going to be exploring the different kinds of video typically used in product launches. Obviously, you can add more along the way, but from my experience, these three are going to be key to your launch's success. In this article, I'll look at the elements of a compelling teaser video. Continue Reading

(Written by guest contributor Dan Nickerson) Does it seem like everyone online is making $10,000 per month except for you? Continue Reading