"It's the year 2022... People are still the same. They'll do anything to get what they need. And they need SOYLENT GREEN." I was only small when I first saw the film Soylent Green. Perhaps that is why it had such an impact on me. It's an old film, it came out the year before I was born, and to be honest it's not one of my favorites. The film itself is not important. There is a famous line from the film that has become more famous than the movie. In the film Charlton Heston has to dash … [Read more...]

Ask a business owner what they want, why they are in business. You will certainly hear the following amongst the answers: Rewards (financial or otherwise) Freedom Control What you will find though, and I include myself in this, is business owners actually working COUNTER to those aspirations. Rewards, freedom and control come from being at the top of the pile when it comes to business decision making and influence. We look for security by moving towards the bottom of the pyramid - … [Read more...]

Most times when a company kills their brand it is through a steady decline. The kind of loyalty to unloyalty that Scott talks about in his excellent post over there. There are also those occasions where the brand goes from king of the world to "wouldn't touch that in a hazmat suit" bad overnight, such as BP. Despite the "overnight OMG" effect, brands are often resiliant things. People are making a big deal about the Apple iPhone 4 Antenna Issue as if this could be their downfall, but in my … [Read more...]

Five years ago I cut loose from my day job and launched myself into the adventure that is working for oneself. That was the start of my journey towards claiming my independence day, and I think there are lessons for you if you want to do something similar to what I have done. I'm proud of where I am at but as well as talk about the successes, I am going to share with you the mistakes so you can avoid them. If you just want the main lessons, skip to the end. Otherwise, see what you can … [Read more...]

Networking has delivered more return on investment than any other tool in my business. Both financially and in non-monetary terms, my network has delivered so much value that I can not imagine what my situation would be like without it. If there is one thing that I could suggest that would be guaranteed to boost any business, networking would be it. The problem is, everyone who believes in networking recommends it the same way. "It works, try it!". But how does it deliver value … [Read more...]

What would you say is the main habit that is common to all successful online business owners? Is there one thing that if you just applied it would make a massive difference to your own progress? As an inquisitive student of internet marketing I talk to a lot of people involved in the online business world, friends, gurus, mentors. I'm also a big fan of business biographies and checking out interviews with the experts. In investigating these folks' strategies, something comes up again and … [Read more...]

I was interviewed late last night for an American radio show where I was asked where I get my product ideas from. My answer was that I am not any kind of bright spark when it comes to this stuff, so I do the easiest thing, which is to ask. I ask my community what they need help with. The Authority Blogger Course came from coaching clients struggling to get known and attract an engaged audience of people who wanted to buy from them. My Guest Posting Guide ebook and videos came from … [Read more...]

Melani wrote a great post called "Happily Delusional or a Few Things to Make You Feel Better about Your Marketing Stats". In it she talks about how people feel about their business numbers and it has some strong messages for any business. A lot of my friends, clients and contacts look at their results and feel like frauds in business. If they don't outright feel like a complete failure, they still stress and worry that their results are not "good enough". In the internet world especially, … [Read more...]

During our free preview call for the Mojo Marketing Action Plan the other day, I asked the following question. Have a guess what the result turned out to be. I wonder if you will be as shocked as I was ... Have you ever had a successful launch? There were only two possible answers, yes or no. We had a discussion about "success" being however they define it (profit, more customers, grow list, awareness, etc). The question was about how many people who were on the call had achieved their goals … [Read more...]

There are two challenges that 90% of my consulting clients face and I am going to give you the answer to both in this article. After you read this you will be able take a look at your blog or your business and know what you need to do in order to make your 2010 more successful than your 2009. A big claim? Maybe, but I see it work over and over when I coach my clients so I am confident if you implement what I am about to tell you. I have been there. First in the programming … [Read more...]