This can be The best business in the world.
Or the worst waste of time under the sun.
And the amazing thing is, where you end up is RARELY about talent.
Or even how hard you are willing to work.
The truth is, it can often be a simple matter of where you decide to FOCUS, that determines whether you run with the BULLS, or swim with the fishes.
Let me give you a quick example. (and in some ways, a personal epiphany that opened my eyes to something REALLY obvious I was overlooking in my own business)
About a month ago, someone relatively new to my list signed up for the most expensive annual coaching offer I have.
To protect her anonymity a bit (even though I know she’s expecting this and some of those in my current coaching group know her) we’ll call her Ellen 
To be honest…….
- I was pretty surprised………as usually before someone pays that large of an amount, there is a back and forth email or two, or they’ve been on my list a long while, or most commonly, has participated in something I’ve offered in the past, like one of the “CHALLENGES” many of you have participated in.
- In this case…….Ellen had done none of those things, which I found curious. (but of course, wasn’t going to complain..:-)
- Even more curious, once we did our initial email introduction, I discovered that not only is Ellen very new to my list, (which I knew) she’s also very new to working online overall (less than 6 months of experience)……..and had recently quit her day job to pursue this work full time.
Other than these few factoids……Ellen remained pretty much a mystery.
Our first phone call was VERY enlightening.
And I truly hope that she got as much out of it as I…:-)
Because what I learned about HER business, opened my eyes to OBVIOUS opportunities I’m missing in my own.
Nothing “top secret”.
And nothing too good to be true.
Just the simple, straightforward stuff that is SO glaringly obvious ….that most of us are too busy to pay attention to at all.
Quite honestly, the stuff I’ve been teaching, preaching and pushing to everyone else……but simply have been too much of a knucklehead to focus on myself.
Here is why:
Ellen is fun, smart, outgoing and AGGRESSIVE. She knows what she wants, puts a singular strategy in her sights, and goes for it.
But at the same time, she really is an online marketing “newbie”. Some of the SUPER simple things that most of you take for granted (writing and submitting articles to EZA for example) were totally foreign concepts to her.
But, and here is the part that really opened my eyes…….
Not only is she already making good money – she is actually charging her clients more for a week or her time…..than I was charging HER for a month of mine..:-)
How?
All she really did was learn ONE highly valuable skill (email marketing) and identify a very specific vertical that she had her offline experience in, (medical) …….learn a very simple set of tasks that MOST online marketing newbies already understand (how to create a newsletter list, put it on a website, and create a short auto-responder sequence)…….. and then started approach high end professionals in this niche (being a medical one, is pretty much all of them) and offering a direct response newsletter creation service with monthly continuity.
Simple.
Easy.
And at $300 an hour with an $1800 commitment for all new clients……
Genius as well.
She WILL make excellent money this year doing something she loves, and she certainly didn’t need my help to get there. (as a matter of fact, she needs less help from me in GETTING clients, than actually doing the work in a way that keeps them coming back)
And there is probably nobody reading this right now that can’t do the same thing.
If you’ve spent the last year learning the “how to’s” of building an online business without any success, the GOOD NEWS is -
You know more than enough, right now, to parlay that passion into PROFIT.
NOT by selling affiliate products.
NOT by building Google Adsense sites or selling ebooks on how to get rich from home.
Instead – sell YOU.
Real services to real people who really NEED your help. (and can afford to pay what your worth, which is RARE in the serendipitous SEO and online marketing universe)
The SECRET is…..
Stop worrying about tools, tips, tricks and techniques.
Give up on the gadgets, gimmicks and gurus.
That stuff doesn’t work.
(as 99% of us learn the hard way)
Instead -
Create an agency (and offer) of one
(and grow and build and EXPAND from there)
How?
Start by going into your local marketplace, find professionals who can truly benefit from what you have learned and sell REAL services to people who will benefit from your weeks, months or even years of “study” in the internet marketing landscape.
If you’ve got a blog, or an auto responder account, or know how to write and submit articles or whatever is is you DO now everyday……..you are light years ahead of the BIGGEST and most under-served audience of entrepreneurs there is.
Business people!
(You know….those people who brush their hair in the morning, put on fancy clothes and go to REAL offices with other real people and don’t have the time or interest to troll blogs looking for online marketing advice…..which is just about ALL of them
Me? I’ve got bedhead, am still wearing my Aquaman Underoos and it’s pushing 4pm
BUT -
There are MILLIONS of local professionals who are already successful in their chosen field…..but are desperate to amp UP their marketing MOJO in the ever important (and ever more competitive) online space and KNOW the clock is ticking.
Not being ready is NOT an excuse.
For YOU, or for your them.
The time is NOW.
The chances are, 98% of the people reading this right now are good enough, right now, to do this today.
Remember…..you DON’T need to be an expert, or a rock star…..or a GURU to offer incredible value to a local dentist or a lawyer, or contractor or designer.
You simply need to understand this “stuff” better than they do, and offer real world services that help them succeed.
Someone I shared this with a week ago said….yes, but I don’t feel like I’m a professional enough yet to sell “me”.
I said -
1. Can you write articles?
2. Can you install a blog?
3. Can you build a facebook page?
4. Can you write a follow up sequence?
5. Can you speak about SEO in a way that makes sense?
These are already things you are already doing everyday, right?
You are ready.
If not now, when?
You don’t have to be a world class super star to help people who need what you DO know, improve.
You don’t need to have won The Tour De France to teach your kids how to ride a bike.
You’ve just got know enough to ride safely, and teach them what to do and when, and give them the opportunity to fly.
The problem is NEVER not knowing enough to succeed.
It’s thinking you need to know it all.
I challenge you to simply think differently.
And think about your gifts…..what you would love to do every day if you could, and identify ONE group of professional people who you’d love to help.
And then start.
I don’t care where you are in the continuum of all of this marketing “stuff” right now – struggling to make your first sale, making just enough to get by or doing really, really well already.
If you pursue this path with fierce and ferocious focus, a fun, fabulous and financially rewarding future awaits.
- Do what you love.
- Charge what you’re worth.
- Create real value for everyone you touch.
- Think BIG. (But look close)
- Build relationships that matter.
- Make people better.
- If not NOW – when?
This is EXACTLY what I am building today for “me”, from the ground UP……and it’s exactly what I want to help You, do……too:-)
(I will be posting this on our Facebook Enlightened Entrepreneur Challenge Page, feel free to share your thoughts with the group..:-)
Community Voice