Hi Rich:

As you know, I am transitioning from a ‘bricks and mortar’ operation to a totally online presence as an extension of what I have always done best – being a purveyor of information. I am selfish in wanting to share everything that I have learned when I get excited about something and know it will benefit others.

When I began my business many years ago it was with the realization that we (as consumers) were truly suckers for the publishing industry, that everything was ‘known’ but it was just a matter of putting it in front of our face – that every trendy and new ‘thing’ was just a strand, a thread if you will, of a true source document. I always thought that if people weren’t so lazy, and would just go to the original source documents, the original works that it would put the publishing industry out of business.

Now I find on the internet the same proliferation of theories and trends and the ‘next new thing’. Soon you too will be the next big thing to be copied.

My personal passion and fascination is business and the study of marketing and the mind of the consumer and the study of behavior.

I have a vast horizon of interest in areas of information and I make the assumption that others will also be interested in them as well.

In person, people are always fascinated and eager to participate in a conversation about the newest area of my interest as it relates to the internet.

At what point does this become a marketable product? At what point can I start to ask people to start to pony up for the endless hours of research I do to meet my personal passions? How does one overcome the notion that “if I know about this, then certainly everybody else does?” Is this doable?

How does one overcome and undo the socialization of being polite and “don’t bother those people?” with endless email marketing?

As usual, always get a full meal from the scraps and crumbs which fall from your table!

Cheryl C. Cigan
http://www.known.com

PS: Realized the next day that The Lone Ranger had the horse named “Silver”…….

Hi Rich,

I don’t have a great deal of business experience, and I currently have a job in the public sector. I have some business ideas that I would like to develop into a real business.

How can I evaluate the financial value of a business idea before I establish a business around it?

The reason I ask is this: if I intend to quit my job to fully dedicate myself to a particular business idea, how can I ensure that the business would be profitable?

Will you go through a way for us to determine the value of a business idea in the GPS program?

Hey Rich!

I really really appreciate you having another conference and love what you doing. My question is:

I’m starting an online personal training & Health and fitness subscription website. There are so many things that I can offer people and so many ways to advertise word of mouth, conferences, articles, but I guess my problem is there is so much that can be done that I don’t know where to begin. Is there a general way to begin my business? I know people will benefit from my service I just feel like I’m paralyzed if you can believe that. I just need a way to light the fire and keep it burning! Thank you so much again

Hello again Rich

You answered my previous question about trying many programs, failing, no website or business yet, etc.

Will you please suggest which of your GPS programs (Elite or Silver) would be a better choice for someone like me who has some knowledge of IM, but does not have a current website or business right now?

Thank you for all your help!

I have a Web2.0 membership site and it was going very well for the first 1, 5 yrs in terms of getting tons of members and content from the members. Then I changed it to be a partly paid service due to the growth – but no one is interested in paying.
What can I do? Do I have to change it back to being free or is there another option, besides giving them a guarantee and bonuses?

Hi Rich,

Love how in your recent email you wrote about “personal economies” in a period when everyone is so focused on the national & global economy. Fear can be debilitating, but the truth is we do have the potential to create our own economies, now more than ever.

As a self-employed individual, I’ve been doing my best to get a successful business off the ground for much longer than I ever expected: 8 years! Of course, I’ve made plenty of mistakes and have had tons of missteps, including not being clear on the kind of business I wanted to create, only that it would bring in consistent cash flow and be something that I enjoyed.

As a documentary filmmaker, I’ve been excited to see the proliferation of online video, and have finally found a niche providing video products for internet marketers. I’m still in the product development phase with many of these, though, and in the meantime my cash flow has dried up and become a very real issue, to the detriment of not just my business, but my living conditions as well.

Obviously my focus now needs to be on opening up the faucet to my cash flow.

How would you approach this need, while at the same time moving forward with other projects that will also generate income once they are rolled out?

I do have one active site with affiliates promoting, but there is not enough traffic yet. I also want to improve that site by offering an additional product to the lineup that I know would increase conversions.

So another question is… should I be more focused at first on getting traffic, or increasing conversions (which would mean a delay as I finish up the new product)?

I’ll be in the chat room (FemmeFilmmaker) if you have any questions about my query.

Thanks, Rich. And thanks for all the valuable input and advice!

Kathleen Donaghy

How do you cut through the clutter to figure out what
are the best uses of your time when marketing on the Internet?

In a way, it seems that Google is one of my biggest constraints.

As they change how they rank articles, Squidoo lenses,
hub pages, blogs, and just general SEO for your website, I and
many other marketers I know jump from one activity to
another trying to get high rankings in the SERPs,
backlinks, and all this other nonsense that doesn’t really
directly connect with customers–at least not in an
efficient way.

When I worked in business offline, I had no problem focusing
on the activities that would bring in revenue and profit. I
would never think of wasting hours a day creating all these
separate sites and articles, etc., like
we do for the Internet.

Or spending the hours learning how to work with these new
types of sites.

Of course, you can outsource if you can afford it.

But even if you outsource, there’s the question of whether
you could use your resources in a better way.

Is there a more efficient way to approach marketing on
the Internet besides chasing all these new ways to get
Google rankings?

My contraint is networking. I know it needs to be done. I am limited on time. Where do I place my focus, to get the most value. I want visitors to my website, but I want people to purchase, whether its the affiliates or the products. Thanks Alice.

Hello Rich.

I really would like to get into your program, but unfornatly I have absolutely no way financially paying for at this time. If you can of anyway to alleviate this problem, then let me know.

Sincerly,

Wayne

Hello Rich,

I am part of Maven Marketing, BGS and signed up for the original elite GPS. Just taking advantage of you answering questions.

I am presently working on launching an health-related information business. I have two opportunities, and this is what has prevented me from taking action.

The first one is a more general health/lifestyle related website that would have the advantage of positioning me as a Maven. However, there is so much opportunities for product creation that I have a heard time choosing where to start. I also feel it could lead to “jack of all trade, master of none”, because I would be trying to present a broad perspective when most people look for specific health issues.

The second opportunity is more niche-specific (related to natural management of ADHD). It is more focused and would be easier to start. My concerned is that it would position me as a Maven in that field and then it would be difficult to extend to other markets.

Which would you recommend?

Thank you Rich,
Yannick

Hello,
I only just found this blog. From what I have seen so far you really are a guru and I shall bookmark and subscribe to your blog for future reference.

In answer to your question “What more can I do for you?” and your assumption that it has to do with the economy, here is the email I attempted to send you:

Hi Rich,

I love what you have to offer and I know I need it badly. I wish I had met someone like you 15 years ago.

Why am I not taking you up on your offer? Because after 15 years of loosing money instead of making money, and not getting rid of constraints, I’m so flat broke you wouldn’t believe it.

So I’m using what you are offering for free and I hope that will bring me into enough money that I can afford your coaching later on. Right now, it’s impossible.

So no, it’s not just the global economy. Just yesterday I gave a friend of mine exactly the same answer you did: in times of crisis, there are alsways people who still make money. I know one person who became very rich in 1930 by helping people who had lost a lot.

What you offer is very good, so I’m sure your group will fill up and your coaching will be a success. Hang on there!

Have a great day!

Rich,

To answer your question, what more can you do? Prove that you are for real.

It all looks great and I did listen in. You seem to have some great advice and insights. But I gotta ask…

What makes you different from the other marketing gurus who claim to have THE coaching package, THE answer, THE program? I could spend my entire business development bankroll (and then some) on these programs and be no better off than talking to the SBA or reading a book or two.

Each of you gurus claim huge success in developing businesses and creating wealth for you and your clients.

Each of you guys have conference calls and seminars featuring other gurus who you endorse and who endorse you. But in the end, where’s the proof?

Each of you has programs that I “can’t afford to miss” and “must buy NOW during this never to be repeated exclusive offer”.

I see testimonials from others who have purchased these programs and they rave about them, sure. Its human nature to place a high value on what you spend a lot of time and money on. No one likes to admit they wasted money (if indeed they did). But my concern with all these raving fans (yours and those of other gurus) is that their businesses seem to be largely about selling marketing or business advice or work from home programs and not “real” businesses that have broad appeal, huge market potential and real world success that’s easily verifiable.

How do I know your programs (any of you gurus) are based on real success and create real wealth for real businesses? Reading all the hype and marketing material, it would be easy to conclude that most of you gurus, make money selling get rich marketing advice to folks hoping to find the key to a better life, hoping to to make their ideas pay off rather than actually making any of these things happen. In other words, how do I know any of you aren’t just selling hopes and dreams instead of solutions?

Searching the web for any of you gurus turns up one guru recommending another or some half baked review site that has EXACTLY the same review as another supposedly “independent” review site. Never do I see the CEO of Proctor and Gamble or ZAPPOS or ANYONE not in the marketing or copywriting or advice field praise any of you gurus. It;s easy to verify a Tony Robbins or someone like that has helped companies grow and re-invent themselves. But when it comes to this group of gurus, its hard not to conclude that its not just a close knit community of people taking advantage of other people and producing few to no “real results”

Sure you reportedly grew a clothing store into a remarkable operation. Was that your skill and ingenuity or was it simply that you caught a fad at the right time? The pet rock and waky wall walker guys made a fortune. I wouldn’t necessarily take business advice from them on the strength of that one success however.

YES, I would like to grow my online businesses. YES, I would like to be able to make a good living for myself and my family with them. YES, I do have unique products and services. YES, I expect to work hard at it and not that some guru will hand me magic beans. YES, I could use some real coaching to take me to the next level.

But how do I know any of you are not hiding behind smoke and mirrors? How do I know you are the Real Deal?

No offence intended.

Bob

I will check out the links you provided.

Thanks for taking my questions seriously. I posted something similar to another “guru” site one time. The attacks, vitriol, defensiveness and slander generated in response spoke volumes. Judging by the comments of what I can only define as his “cult like” followers, he had a lot of them snowed.

I will be on the lookout for your next gem of wisdom or program. Perhaps I will be your next happy client. You never know.

Fantastic …….greatest practical tips .
Thank u so much