Making money quickly!

This from Seth Godins blog

You probably don’t need to read this, but I bet you know people who do. Please feel free to repost or forward:

Times are tough, and many say they are going to be tougher. That makes some people more focused, it turns others desperate.

You may be tempted at some point to try to make a million dollars. To do it without a lot of effort or skill or risk. Using a system, some shortcut perhaps, or mortgaging something you already own.

There are countless infomercials and programs and systems that promise to help you do this. There are financial instruments and investments and documents you can sign that promise similar relief from financial stress.

Resist.

There are four ways to make a million dollars. Luck. Patient effort. Skill. Risk.

(Five if you count inheritance, and six if you count starting with two million dollars).

Conspicuously missing from this list are effortless 1-2-3 systems that involve buying an expensive book or series of tapes. Also missing are complicated tax shelters or other ‘proven’ systems. The harder someone tries to sell you this solution, the more certain you should be that it is a scam. If no skill or effort is required, then why doesn’t the promoter just hire a bunch of people at minimum wage and keep the profits?

There are literally a million ways to make a good living online, ten million ways to start and thrive with your own business offline. But all of these require effort, and none of them are likely to make you a million dollars.

Short version of my opinion: If someone offers to sell you the secret system, don’t buy it. If you need to invest in a system before you use it, walk away. If you are promised big returns with no risk and little effort, you know the person is lying to you. Every time.

Your Marketing Organized

One of the most difficult tasks for small business owners, when it comes to marketing, is organization. Until you start to look at marketing as one of the core systems in your business it will always feel like a disjointed and disconnected thing that you know you must do when you can get around to it. And that’s no way to build momentum.

I find that it’s helpful for many people to look at marketing in the traditional org chart fashion. See, here’s the deal, even if it’s just you and Louie, he does this, you do that, you need an org chart for your business. Here’s why. No matter how many actual people you have in your organization, your business has many functions, it’s just that they are being done – or not being done – by just you and Louie.

By creating an organization chart, and acknowledging all the functions, you stand a far greater chance of developing individual systems and strategies to make sure the work in each area is organized and done. Not to mention the fact that you are laying the foundation for growth if and when you have bodies to put in more of the boxes on your chart.

To keep you org chart simple for now I like to start with the top as Marketing, Money and Management or Marketing, Finance and Operations.

For the purpose of this post I’ve created what I think is the ideal Marketing organization in the graphic below. (This is a smartart graphic that new versions of MS Office can create and save as an image – click on the graphic to see full size and feel free to borrow for your organization.)

If you can begin to realize that your company’s marketing system does indeed need to perform all of the functions listed above, you can more easily grasp how to create processes that assure you are accurately moving each and every customer logically along the path to becoming a hyper-satisfied referral machine.

And that’s the way to build marketing momentum!

Source:
www.ducttapemarketing.com/blog/2008/10/07/your-marketing-organized/

Startups in uncertain economic times

Yes it can work.  In fact,  most startups thrive on times like these.  *melodramatic on*  it’s times like these that true business heroes come to the party, seperates the contenders from the pretenders *melodramatic off*

South Africa has HUGE potential, sure the US economy is falling apart but thats life, its a circle – you have your ups and you can be certain that you’ll have your downs.  Take it as it comes, be consistent and dedicated and it will work.

I’ve seen it before and I’m sure I’ll see it again.

Whenever a business cycle starts to falter, the media start wringing their hands. Then big businesses do, freelancers, entrepreneurs and soon everyone is keening.

People and organizations that have no real financial stress start to pull back, “because it’s prudent.” Now is not the time, they say. They cut budgets and put off investments. It’s almost as if everyone is just waiting for an excuse to do less.

In fact, they are.

Growth is frightening for a lot of people. It brings change and the opportunity for public failure. So if the astrological signs aren’t right or the water is too cold or we’ve got a twinge in our elbow, we find an excuse. We decide to do it later, or not at all.

What a shame. What a waste.

Inc. magazine reports that a huge percentage of companies in this year’s Inc. 500 were founded within months of 9/11. Talk about uncertain times.

But uncertain times, frozen liquidity, political change and poor astrological forecasts (not to mention chicken entrails) all lead to less competition, more available talent and a do-or-die attitude that causes real change to happen.

If I wasn’t already running my own business, today is the day I’d start one

*source*

Patience and Passion

Selling bottled tap water

Proof that anything can be sold, if its marketed properly and managed professionally.  I’ve noticed in recent years, people are willing to pay for ‘convenience’.  Bottled water, que for your services, home delivery.  They all are willing to pay a premium for this convenience.

Perhaps our lives have become so busy and frantic, we try to take the shortcut whenever possible to save on time, irrespective of the additional costs.

As counter-intuitive as it may seem, New York tap water is incredibly fresh and pure. It comes from a reservoir in upstate New York and, as it wends its way to the city, it is filtered, processed, cleaned, and purified.

Entrepreneur Craig Zucker has begun bottling and selling New York City tap water. After running water through a reverse-osmosis system that removes chlorine and impurities, he markets it under the name Tap’d NY. A 20-ounce bottle runs $1.50, a fairly high price for bottled water.

On the bright side, Tap’d NY doesn’t need to be shipped from the mountains of Vermont, the Springs of Maine, or the rocky beaches of Fiji, which means that it is, actually, a comparatively green option.

On the other hand, even irony-enhanced New Yorkers might have a hard time shelling out cash for something they already get for free! 

One to try in South African cities?  I myself always drink tap water at home. Joburg has clean, pure & health tap water.

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