A Trick to Find and Start a Profitable Idea

by Robert on April 23, 2012 in Experiences, Stage 4: Business with 1 Comment

fun fact, the life design project was almost called “no shift key” because i didn’t like using capitals

whether you’re thinking of selling a product or service, or have an idea for a business, i have a trick for testing if it’s profitable that i’ve been using in my business.

the idea can be anything at first to open your mind to this, it could be selling baked goods, doing technical support, telling people how to rack up frequent flyer miles, it’s not important to start.

the biggest hurdle when in this space is usually a mental one…

you’re head messes with you when you have ideas…

  • might be scared and so you think “i could never make money from this”
  • might be practical and worry about graphics, and the website, and marketing, and how you’re going to charge people equaling overload
  • could be adding features by the minute to your great idea, increasing development time, and people involved
  • get lost on where to start
  • complain you’re already too busy but have big dreams

most businesses don’t fail for lack of trying, they fail because the idea wasn’t very good to start with and no one bothered to figure that out.

so how can you figure all this out quickly and get the real question answered…is this idea going to work?

your first move is to ask that question, which not everyone does before they throw all their money into a pizza place or quit their job

…then boil everything down to basics and set one really specific goal…that will get you started, everything after that I’m still learning.

start small, test, and tweak

IT Arsenal didn’t grow until I got really specific about what was offered and measurable goals like, 10 sales this month.

i tricked myself into action by telling myself i would offer one of my product ideas for a couple months and then change to another one of my ideas instead of trying to get my head around how to offer everything and get everything done.

this “cycle idea” tricked me into getting really really specific instead of trying to pitch “how awesome everything I do is” (pour on the sarcasm)….or think of all the problems or reasons i can’t do it. i was able to just start, really start.

after you make the mental shift, it’s much easier to make progress. it’s something bite sized you can take on.

i ended up not actually moving to another idea in a few months, sometimes it was longer, sometimes shorter, but it forced me to get obsessed about a specific product idea in cycles and find what worked, in other words, iterate more and quicker. i’m still doing this now.

examples of getting really specific for my ideas looked like this…Monthly WordPress Backup and Customized Advice, Website Setup for Online Entrepreneurs, Website Setup Training with Video’s for the Non-Technical.

instead of worrying about delivery, i asked people if they wanted this, got feedback and if yes, just sent them a PayPal link and the more feedback I got validated putting more effort into setting up a system for people to buy it, or a better graphic, or a graphic at all.

bad execution is also why business ideas fail, but without a profitable idea, execution doesn’t matter.

you could post your idea on craigslist first to boil things down to their basics. look to only make 3 sales or some very specific measure.

i was surprised…just getting a little specific in the offer and the goals made all the difference and had immediate results (IE questions, interest, and sales). i now have several products selling, with several landing pages, while i slowly keep testing.

the fact that I’m too busy with users to make changes means I’m making money, which was the point. my original ideas have changed, but what’s important is i know what is wanted, what people will pay for, and can act on it.

when you have something to grow, instead of looking quizically at an empty pot you can test just how profitable your idea can be or change it and keep testing.

how to start

  • boil your idea down to a specific small offering
  • ask people if they would buy it, ask them to do so. use friends or craigslist to find people. use launch rock to gather e-mails (http://launchrock.com/)
  • do it for them, gather feedback
  • test and tweak

…after you do this, you have something, which was the point. this is encouragement to take a step on a project you’ve been thinking about.

Site Updates

by Robert on April 21, 2012 in LDP Updates with No comments

Title Tweak

“dismantling efficient living, online entrepreneurship & living your dreams in great detail”

i thought this more directly detailed what i report on and write about, and how i write.

it also reminds me that although the last 2 years have been focused on building an online business, i’ve also been learning more and more about creatively accomplishing things you would call a “life goal” or dream, in addition to consciously being smart about living cheaply and efficiently, and those things deserve more attention in writing on the road to financial freedom.

 

New Plugins

Cute Profiles – [Floating Profile Wordress Plugin] The name doesn’t exactly fit, but the plugin floating to the left is new and works well. I had to modify it so it was fully visible not partly transparent and unattached from the side. I’d also like to re-arrange the buttons but oh well, it works well enough.

The thought process behind it is to show an ever present link to other networks. I know there are share buttons for sharing viewed content, but I’ll stick to keeping that at the bottom of an article as a next action users can perform if the reader liked the content.

 

New Sidebar Elements

  • Profile Buttons
  • Business Goals
  • Personal Goals (lifelines)
  • Current Hits (most popular) and Recent Posts
  • New Resources (affiliate links, and i believe in and use every one of them)

“What’s Working” Online Business Report April

by Robert on April 17, 2012 in Resources, Stage 4: Business with No comments

 

“Some people succeed because they are destined to, some because they are determined to…”

the time is since long overdue for me to report on progress made at IT Arsenal, an online business built to slowly create financial freedom and enable more and more freedoms in life, be it learning new things, following passions, or simply taking much longer vacations and living the life i want to live. the status at this point is: generating excess income and creating openings for an easier life yet still tied to a busy work schedule. life’s good, and so is business.

i’ll go over major points of interest in the last 4 months or so, what’s working, what isn’t, and what you can take away and use for yourself.

Major Developments

new offerings (continuity programs are where it’s at)

wordpress maintenance, disaster recovery, and ongoing “everything” technical help are three new fully functional programs listed now on IT Arsenal. besides getting more and more familiar with building landing pages rapidly for these services, the continuity of an ongoing service is working out very well. using a paypal subscription, i’ve offered an “all you can eat” solution with some boundaries for technical help. those who have an established online business, meaning, it’s bringing in money, are finding it very valuable to offload their technical needs. it’s not a full on membership site where i add content, rather an all access pass for a monthly cost. more on how it’s implemented below.

although i like landing pages services like Unbounce, i’ve used my WordPress theme, Pagelines Platform Pro and stripped out everything but the top navigation and bottom logo, and used the regular WordPress page editor to create sales type pages.

service based offerings but streamlined with gravity forms

although the new offerings lean heavily toward a service orientation, meaning a person is required to deliver, with the help of gravity forms, and actually having a landing page for many more needs on my business website, a majority of interaction is now streamlined or automated.

i can’t tell you what a joy it is to field a question of interest with a link to a beautiful page, and a form that leads directly to checkout and captures all pertinent details, that not only stores the information in a database and e-mails me, but e-mails the user a custom checkout e-mail, and adds them to my newsletter. gravity forms is able to do that for my particular setup.

it’s always been a hurdle for me to make specific offerings for the multitude of requests and various names that “IT stuff” get’s called and categorized with, but gravity forms has helped me combat that greatly. i can more easily create a capture or salespage and put an already made form/buy button at the bottom of it. although i shouldn’t be stalled by this, and instead sell to the need, i feel more equipped to create the first funnel and just go now. the faster you can try things out the better. i continue learning over and over that to drive your business idea you should use as simple and quick means as possible to test if people will pay for it. go from there.

Gravity Forms

new graphics

the services page now greatly simplifies what’s offered via a snazzy iPad looking graphic with links that move the user down the page. i can actually use the page as a reference now, and i’ve received out the blue comments on how “easy” the site was to understand. user interface = so important. my online business colleague mars dorian helped with the graphic, i put together elements of it with Omnigraffle.

new referrals

likely my main source of business is referrals. i’m not exactly positive how, but i’m pretty sure i was a poster boy at a recent “Martha Beck” (women coaches) conference because i make sure to give nothing less but superb service to all clients. treat all users like your only users, always. make it easy for those you do business with to share who you are and you’ll see a natural outpouring of referrals, then it’s only a matter of turning that into sales.

i’m now a go to technical resource for adam baker and jonathan mead, high profile bloggers and online entrepreneurs.

new partnerships, co-launch or branding opportunities

previous clients that i’ve helped have noticed packages i offer as useful to their audiences and have asked to collaborate on something custom. nothing live yet, but these are open conversations. i’m finding it tricky to collaborate and be the driving force, but i want to be.

  • ashley – the middle finger project – customized WordPress Trainer
  • stella – crafting a message that makes your cash register sing – custom packages for boosting response or setting up a website
  • stephen – my pocket band – “shortcuts for web entrepreneurs” mostly around what to do after you have an initial “ugly” site up

…and if i can figure out this i might be able enlist a lot more via an affiliate system not tied to a payment checkout system. WordPress Affiliate Platform Plugin – Simple Affiliate Program for WordPress Blog/Site

new 2012 business goals

  • earn 32k
  • $2000 in “passive” or front loaded income
  • co-launch a product or service
  • go to 6 events
  • review 5 business books
  • launch 2 services
  • launch 2 products
  • hit 1000 on my mailing list

…while holding a 9-5

volunteering

a meetup group called “tech volunteers” puts IT workers skills to good use, so far i’ve helped an organization called Depaul USA. i wish i wasn’t so busy when they end up having their live meetups!

 

Money

taxes

first year doing taxes married and with a sole proprietorship. we used HR block’s deluxe online package, and chose not to itemize everything to save time. i keep my usernames and passwords in a spreadsheet so the frustration was limited to a few hours and i felt confident everything went well.

credit card

legitimate business credit card uses abound, as tax laws on what can be a business expense are lenient. i opened a card to net 50k miles toward a planned trip to italy, and to more easily track business expenses throughout the year. the perks of a business card allow for some fun. the business opened up an aadvantage citicard visa and nabbed 50k miles using this trick (actually 150k with my wife’s cards) for free flights.

month average income right now – $2073

 

Side Projects

justanswer.com – i just can’t give it up!

buying old computers, cleaning them up and selling them

 

What’s Not Working

still preparing and not selling

i feel like my good friend regie, who seems to always be studying for a certification every time we talk about business, when i’m saying just go do it! … and yet here i do the same thing in my own way, always preparing an idea to sell, but never actually selling it, much less promoting it. i need to get in my head as soon as i’ve readied something to the point it sale, i need to have avenues to actually tell people about it, but that leads to my next problem.

overload
part of me is worried i’ll get too much business and not be able to handle it, but that’s super lame. i’m glad i’m writing it so i can see how lame that is.

still preparing, not writing (reports/reflection or newsletter)

i’ve come to learn reflection and reporting are so important. they don’t have to be public, but i just have been in survival mode and ignoring this.

too much service, not enough product

i’ve battled back and forth in the past 2 years to build solutions that are more autonomous, meaning self governed and run by themselves. IE. post up a self contained product and no other interaction is needed for purchase and delivery. some online entrepreneurs would argue this is the only way, but i am doing both, and as mentioned making sure if i build something that doesn’t scale, is streamlined as much as possible with systems. despite that, this year needs to show more results in stand alone solutions for a more passive income.

there’s so much more i could be doing

i’m holding fast to superior customer service and referrals, basically whoever walks “through my door” or my inbox is more like it and doing very little “seeker” work…blog posts, marketing campaigns to announce new things, constant social media posts now. although i should state i do post regularly but infrequently to facebook, twitter, linkedin, and i do make sure those that i work with, i write linkedin recommendations for or e-mail personal suggestions for their advancement.

a note I made to myself at the end of Feb

consistency, quality of work, referrals, and “being there” are working, interacting with media, pushing out content or asking for the sale, having/refreshing items on the shelf (instead of customized everything e-mail drudgery), are not working.

i’m relying on my past and need to dig in, stop taking new clients and focus on product dev, and then publishing about those new things in a way that increases my throughput and scalability.

the “does it work, will it sell” period is over, now iterate to be bigger. stop getting stuck in the cycle of  catching up instead of innovating.

 

Tactics that are Working (take these)

scheduled relationship/referral enhancers

i have a weekly calendar occasion to promote someone who has bought from me, touch base with someone in my niche, and answer questions on LinkedIn. this works wonders.

always go above and beyond, it’s your strength when you’re small

icon graphics for landing pages and visuals

a problem i’m always hearing about when actually putting together a website landing page, or a home or about page with some visuals is what to use for images without going to a graphic designer to craft something custom. i find it increasingly easy to search specifically for “icons” or “vectors” in a topic that i need to display, and arrange these in some logical order to my topic. designers give away icons packs much more readily than “stock” images. see the below example i use in my disaster recovery package.


landing page for everything, don’t give them 100 solutions per page, give them 1 on 100 pages

okay maybe not literally 100 pages but there are many ways to sell your product or offering. add “for entrepreneurs” or “for stay at home moms” and you are selling to two different crowds even though the offer is exactly the same. create many different “nets” to catch your audiences and explore them. i’ve been building more and more super specific pages with the same checkout options instead of a more general tech support blanket. it just plain sells better.

thinking about choice while making an offer

sheena lyengar does a TED talk about “choice” that will help you immensely if you’re overwhelmed with options or don’t know where to start when offering something to an audience.

Sheena Iyengar on the art of choosing 

 

Resources/Tools that are Working (use these)

i’ve mentioned several above, here they are listed again with a few others

 

Realizations

  • the speed of business when it comes to service is much slower than products, waiting for responses drags everything out
  • business i just part my life now, and i get out what i put in
  • it’s not just me who struggles with doing work for current project vs. putting something on a website, selling and innovating

 

“Freedoms”

i’m not “financially free” yet, but excess income and plenty of perks are the result so far in combining lifestyle design and online business, and it get’s better and better if the last few years are indicators, here are recent freedoms.

  • services and software paid for by business income
  • a trip to italy later this year, paid for by business income
  • paying off wife’s law school loans that much faster
  • negotiating power in my career
  • access to various training programs and groups for free

i end up saving most of the additional income for later, but it’s fun to think i could lease a sports car or get a massage every week or simply go to chipotle everyday if i wanted to. since i’d like the monthly income to eliminate all my expenses eventually, i keep working on that, and i also generally enjoy being cheap.

although, now that i think about it, i might start getting a massage every week, that sounds pretty good.

 

Reflection

ironically, although immersed with technology to fuel the business, my interactions are more traditional, based off existing relationships, referrals, and those who stumble on me. this is likely because i’m committed to spending limited time slowly building IT Arsenal when i can. this isn’t to say i shouldn’t be efficiently and quickly launching a marketing campaign, or regularly writing updates and posts for search traffic or shareable/sticky funnel content, or paying for advertising…because i should…i’m just not right now.

despite familiarity with the tech; webinars, daily blogging, and the slow drip launch to a limited space/limited time offer haven’t been appealing to me at this point. small series of test and sell, refer and sell, and e-mailing links are just fine, but i don’t think they will continue to be for much longer.

i suspect my aversion has something to do with not wanting to create hype, the multiple time sensitive communication blasts and coordinated actions that need to happen (and my limited time with a job), and the constant sense i need to get over that my core offerings aren’t ready. they are so close, closest they have ever been.

i curse myself for not being able to pick one problem, like “Hosting Migrations” and just do that and only that. painfully, and it serves me right, i’m learning to do that backwards, by creating a business with multiple services (then fighting to display them) and then working backwards until i end up with a big salespage that offers only one thing and marketing material or pitches for only that. as i learned from Jason Cohen http://blog.asmartbear.com/ , one way to get over this hump is to create multiple landing pages until what people actually want or what you should be focusing on is apparent. i seem to be on that path, and that’s working for me.

i’m in a space where i know exactly what i offer, and what i don’t, and where it all belongs or should belong in the shop. now completing and tweaking the items on the shelves will start to come into more focus, and not live in the outskirts of day to day work.

i’m right in the middle of those two places, and it’s fun. i have to balance giving my all to current and new users who are buying from me or being referred to me…and the internal building and testing…which can only happen after i finish with those awesome clients, break free from the 9-5 drudge, make an effort toward my fitness goals, and make sure i’m being an awesome husband!…but that’s life, and so far, those are all still deemed very worthwhile!

keep on keeping on

How to Write Great Newsletters with the Least Amount of Effort

by Robert on April 11, 2012 in Resources, Stage 3: Automation with No comments

i was interested in making newsletters (or autoresponders) with the least amount of effort that still made an impact and used the proven AIDA method.

i made a template and basic instructions based off a free appsumo.com video (wish they would bring those back) and notes on a call i had with stella, a copywriter friend. see below, take and use.

AIDA Enhanced

have something to announce or sell, without that, your message is already bad
don’t overthink this. it could be about a product, an affiliate product, a new post on your blog, a new discovery your audience might find useful

list 10 attributes of the audience
make up a person “bob” who has all these attributes

speak personal, use I’s and you’s and common speak (know your audience)

use simple visual formatting (limit distraction, pictures, colors, etc.)

write within a 540 pixels wide box so you can see how it will look in most viewers

use arial 12 or a basic font – try georgia 12

use this writing structure (AIDA – described below)
Attention
Interest
Desire
Action (1 action, not many)

template

copy paste when writing

<—
possible subject line 1
possible subject line 2
possible subject line 3
possible subject line 4

Attention

Interest

Desire

Action
—>

Attention
headlines and subject lines – how to make good ones?

  • trick 1 -  list things that if you overheard it would turn your heard and go WHAT?
  • trick 2 – go to digg.com type in your topic, thing your selling or promoting. order the list by most dugg and use those headlines and swap in your topic or change things

Interest (if you sell a cheaper product, use short copy, expensive, longer copy)
educate, give something critical or valuable

  • if it’s valuable you can write a lot
  • interesting facts
  • story about the product or offer
  • i’ll tell you a secret…

Desire
“benefits” of what you are promoting

  • more sales
  • more reliable website
  • bigger muscles, more hits

Action

  • we’re running a promotion…
  • get your’s now by clicking
  • check it out now here at this link
  • see the deal here.

make this bigger font, bold, different color

PS. make a claim here, like. after i used this bla bla bla or a guarantee…or, one of my users, jane, has this, and here’s her site…

bonus, how do you hire someone to do this?

make sure they understand the customer, test them on it.

 

…want to add more “flash” and “pizazz”… don’t!… or do only if it appeals to your audience. you are not your audience.

now if you want some help actually figuring how to put your crafted message into a newsletter service like aWeber, Mailchimp, or InfusionSoft, that’s more of a job for a business out to help you understand and use technology.

How To Stop Being My Own Worst Enemy

by Robert on March 7, 2012 in Experiences with No comments

…this is an introspective look on being my own worst enemy and tactics on how to over come it. something i feel many online business builders, and project creators could easily relate to. it’s probably the most re-occuring “issue” i continue to have as i develop.

*this is all based on not having urgent tasks, bodily needs or requirements present while “at work”.

- – - -

push through, flesh it out, get it out there. just do it. procrastination. it’ll be there tomorrow. i’m hungry.

those are the things i’m thinking right now as i sit here stuck staring, literally staring from screen to screen for something mildly entertaining enough to pull my attention.

what i’d like, what i WANT is to update and build out my business services page. i want to unravel more services that i can provide and create the on-boarding forms and announce them to the world. i want to grow. i want to get inspired and create new products…but instead i stare at my print out of the page i want to rework with some scribbled notes, and i look back at my monitors for distraction. it’s not so poignant as to force me to realize i’m avoiding action, it’s just a numbing vague sense that i don’t have to do what really should get done if i scan around long enough.

it’s infuriating when the realization does sets in.

why is it so hard sometimes to do that which we should be doing?

there’s little else in my way at the moment, which is better than most days. i’m mildly enticed by doing some other less important reading, or writing, checking out what other people are into and posting about. what are my peers, friends, and the world “up to” right now. is it something i can use?

i recognize those things aren’t important though so i don’t do them either, i just sit here, in an in-between state, hoping something lights me up and pushes me forward.

i see the mounds of piled information i have organized to be used or re-purposed for my next awesome idea, still more enticement to write something, or save information for some specific purpose instead of holding tanks for a unknown “could be useful” purpose.

i’m doing a lot of waiting for things to happen instead of making things happen. i’m my own worst enemy, and the worst part is the indifference i have about it. the non-action because, no one else will notice, or care, or depends on this.

what an interesting trap.

is this the loneliness of an solo entrepreneur or someone with too many ideas and self created projects?

i’ve even invented a process to unhook myself and get focused. i look at the powerful steps i’ve scanned in from written note cards, and think, those are great ideas. the words hit a lead wall, and slump away without any impact on actions.

 

it’s a cascade, if you want the business adventure and success you’re looking for, you need to finish these pages of text, and groupings of images, and forms, and payment processes, so you can then announce it, promote it, tell your list about it, or finally have a reason to make a list of people to tell about it.

if you don’t get these things presentable, you’re not doing the stuff that really matters, you’re just maintaining status quo.

the status quo isn’t so bad, when it’s not so infuriating i guess.

i love my current projects and clients, but i’m up to date on them at the moment. inbox zero and all that. then why the frustration? maybe because there are ideas left undone, projects half built? that’s part of it. no growth.

there’s a mental barricade that it’s in my way, and i put it there. i can also remove it.

how to stop being my worst enemy?

i can choose to take a break, not physically, (as i’m obviously not making progress right now) but mentally i can stop thinking about these things, take a real break. come back later. immerse myself in something so clarity of mind comes.

i can stop pretending there’s something stopping me and actually start doing that which should be done. this would be letting those words that hit the led wall take effect.

i can simply start anywhere, because it’s leads elsewhere. it’s apparent you (self) don’t want to be “here” thinking about frustration and being your own worst enemy. so choosing anything in the most remote direction of what you want to accomplish, will lead you elsewhere, which has the potential to be forward, or better.

ask for help, start a conversation. start by vulnerably saying i’ve been trying to get this thing done, and i’m failing at it right now, and it’s totally messing me up. see what the conversation does for you.

you can freeze your physical and mental state in your minds eye. now come “out of” youself and look down from above and slightly to the left. identify what things are impacting you. your environment, are you hungry? are you angry at people? are you scared of something? what systems are working against you and can you identify one by one and fix? how can you break apart your problem into tiny pieces and deal with them one at a time? address them, make requests, make promises.

sometimes defeating ourselves, overcoming ourselves as our enemy, leads us to success. it may be a daily battle, a quarterly one, or just a slump.

keep on keeping on.

Others Wisdom: Practice = Trust, Done is Better, Chaos Business

by Robert on March 5, 2012 in Experiences with No comments

 

Readings, quotes, and images I’ve captured to boost your business mind and general operation below…

IMG 0764

i believe this

IMG 0786

innovative artists adapt

IMG 0715

training = trust = ease of action = mastery

IMG 0601

see done is better than perfect. good reminder for procrastination creep

Done is better

Mechanics of Making More and Working Less – Work the System 3

by Robert on February 17, 2012 in Experiences, Stage 4: Business with 3 Comments

Work the system

I just finished reading Work the System for the second time, it’s in it’s 3rd edition printing and I can’t recommend it enough for grasping a concrete sense of how to elevate yourself out of the chaos in business and life, pinpoint the systems that make things work, and set them up to do your bidding.

The book is freeing, but also down to earth with real applicable methodologies. It’s awesome and has been a powerful book for me the last couple years, both in automating life, and my online business income, and just identifying how things work and then working them to my advantage.

It gives you a confidence in almost predicting how things will happen, a la Robert Downy Jr. version of Sherlock Holmes…seeing what’s there, taking it in from an objective angle, and then executing to push things in your favor. Continue reading →

Grow Like This – The Hacker Way Action Excerpt

by Robert on February 15, 2012 in Stage 4: Business with 1 Comment

Hacker Way

I grabbed the excerpt as I found it applicable and similar to Chris Brogans “gate jumping” thoughts. Use this as fuel to forge ahead if you’re stuck.

Find what works, iterate, make it better if the idea proves itself worthy.

Pulled originally from Facebook’s IPO filing, then from my reading of Eric Ries “Startup Lessons Learned” post on it.

http://www.startuplessonslearned.com/2012/02/hacker-way.html

Build your online business like this, there’s too much distraction, too much to get caught up in that without this mindset you just won’t get a chance to make your ideas fly, create income, and see if your business can be a freedom giving enjoyable endeavor. It’s something you can hear over and over as you develop. It’s awesome to see this methodology can be used no matter how small or big you are.

 

The Hacker Way (letter from Zuckerberg)

As part of building a strong company, we work hard at making Facebook the best place for great people to have a big impact on the world and learn from other great people. We have cultivated a unique culture and management approach that we call the Hacker Way.

The word “hacker” has an unfairly negative connotation from being portrayed in the media as people who break into computers. In reality, hacking just means building something quickly or testing the boundaries of what can be done. Like most things, it can be used for good or bad, but the vast majority of hackers I’ve met tend to be idealistic people who want to have a positive impact on the world.

The Hacker Way is an approach to building that involves continuous improvement and iteration. Hackers believe that something can always be better, and that nothing is ever complete. They just have to go fix it — often in the face of people who say it’s impossible or are content with the status quo.

Hackers try to build the best services over the long term by quickly releasing and learning from smaller iterations rather than trying to get everything right all at once. To support this, we have built a testing framework that at any given time can try out thousands of versions of Facebook. We have the words “Done is better than perfect” painted on our walls to remind ourselves to always keep shipping.

Hacking is also an inherently hands-on and active discipline. Instead of debating for days whether a new idea is possible or what the best way to build something is, hackers would rather just prototype something and see what works. There’s a hacker mantra that you’ll hear a lot around Facebook offices: “Code wins arguments.”

 

PS. IT Arsenal’s progress has been slow and steady. I’m the bottleneck, not packaging things up as deliverable digital products, and streamlining work delivery often or well enough. Still, revenue is climbing, hourly investment only slightly higher or fluxuating. A real progress report is due next on what’s working, what’s not working, and some reading inspiration. I really love the projects I’m working on it.

 

“What’s Working” Online Business Report January

by Robert on January 23, 2012 in Experiences, Stage 4: Business with 2 Comments

 

I don’t have tons of free time for my online business.

I don’t go to many online webinars from the “Pros” … I don’t host them either. I rarely send out e-mails to my list (once a month), barely do interviews or guest posting. I don’t have the time to dedicate those methods to my online business growth right now, and I think most would say those a pretty important ones.

It’s not that I don’t like those methods, or they don’t work, they can and do, but not for me while I’m being cut throat with my time, and holding to building IT Arsenal in only a few hours a day or less.

I focus mainly on those people who buy what I have on the shelf, or might, or have already. When I do promote something or get approached, I make sure I’m the winner for that person and they have the best experience possible. Service is my strength.

I’m just making something more obvious for myself that wasn’t previously. I don’t do a lot of popular business builders right now, or if I do, I ease very slowly into them, and it’s okay, there’s no right way and as shown below I can still earn an income without them.

That is something that is consistently mind blowing about business, it’s a human interaction when generally referenced. That’s it. You provide something, and someone pays you for it. There is no specific set of right ways or wrong ways. It’s also what makes it so difficult to grasp and pin down.

These revelations are landing for me as I’ve been in this (business) space for almost a year and a half down and continue to make sense of online business and what’s working for me right now. A beautiful meeting in Laguna Beach, CA helped grant perspective on doing more of what works helped too. Continue reading →

Why Getting Up Early is Better than Staying Up Late for Products and Projects

by Robert on January 12, 2012 in Stage 4: Business with 7 Comments

i’ve been consuming information on productive living for a few years now. i’m by no means an expert, but from experience alone can comment on a few tactics for getting more done in less time, and the optimal actions for achieving results.

i have some challenging information for you today in growing your business based on experience and observation. i hope it benefits you.

i constantly see books, magazines, articles, and highly successful people toting the advantages of getting up early to start your day. i often feel bad about it because i have such a hard time doing it.

you’ve seen the articles, there’s typically an overwhelming outcry usually in the comments section about people who are “night owls” and do their best work or whatever at night.

but the argument has a hinge point that i think get’s overlooked… Continue reading →
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