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A Home Based Business Modeled After Google
Probably the most exciting company to not only survive, but come out strong out of the dot-com crash of the late 90's is Google Inc. Having started out small as a company operated in the garage of a friend and employing a staff of three, Google's...
Innovation Management
Innovation is different and distinct from creativity in that it is idea selection, development and commercialisation as opposed to creativity, which is problem identification and idea generation. The core issue with innovation management is,...
Innovation Management – the power of emotional attachment
The mere definition of innovation implies a break from the past, something new. However, one of the crucial aspects that many innovators fail to consider is the power of emotional attachment to existing products, methods and practices.
...
Making Profitable Lemonade From Lemons!
This October 31 turned cold, wet and dreary across Chicago and its suburbs. A rotten night for Halloween. And it could have been a lousy night for this business traveler, cheered only by the prospect of conducting an interactive team session the...
What's the difference between successful businesses and struggling businesses?
Copyright 2005 Attractioneering
Have you ever noticed how some businesses seem to do extremely
well, and go from strength to strength, whilst the majority just
seem to muddle along?
Since starting my own business I've met many small...
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The Micro View
Last time in “The Macro View” we dealt with the big picture,
what the INTERNET could do for you. This week we are going
to look at what YOU can do on the Internet. You may remember
that you were left with these instructions:
Here's what you need to do to get started
1) Learn as much as you possibly can. But don't let this slow
down your involvement
2) Create or find a product or service that you can promote
wholeheartedly.
3) Jump in. Get yourself a solid Internet presence.
4) Get busy! Market that product.
Sounds rather simple doesn't it. In fact it requires a lot of effort,
but the steps are simple enough and the rewards are certainly
worth it.
Let's look at these four points in detail.
1) LEARN AS MUCH AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN
"The great breakthrough in your life comes when you
realize that you can learn anything you need to learn
to accomplish any goal that you set for yourself.
This means there are no limits on what you can be,
have, or do." --Brian Tracy
We can never know too much about marketing on the Web.
If you get to the point where you think you've learned it all, just
wait a couple of days and the rules of the Web will have
changed sufficiently that you will need to relearn what you
thought you already knew.
The basics can be learned by doing a lot of surfing and
employing the search engines. Do a search using the words
Internet Basics, marketing, Web knowledge, etc. An even better
approach is to search specifically for the area of your interest.
The public school systems offer great night school programs
that will teach you not only the basics but more advanced subjects
on marketing, web design, advertising, html, scripts, forms, graphics,
and much, much more. These courses are often priced quite
reasonably and in some cases will even give you credits toward
further education.
You can also get a good education in what's 'working on the Web'
right now by subscribing to some of the thousands and thousands
of ezines that are out there. Many of these electronic newsletters
(like this one) offer tons of valuable information for FREE. You are
also likely to see advertisements for the latest and greatest
innovations in marketing. That's okay too. You want to stay abreast
of what's happening.
I must have subscribed to 50 or more ezines. While I certainly
can't read them all I like to scan through them regularly to see
what's new and to pick up on some marketing advice.
Find a mentor or buddy who won't mind helping you out in your
efforts. These days many of the domain providers or their
representatives offer ongoing assistance to their customers.
This is just good marketing sense. Chat rooms and newsgroups
are also a great way to tap into other people's knowledge. Joining
an affiliate program can also give you the unexpected benefit of
great marketing advice that can be universally applied.
There are certain subjects that you may have to reach into your
pocketbook to acquire specific knowledge on. I offer two suggestions
regarding this: 1) be careful, there are a lot of sharks out there, and
2) don't be afraid to spend a little money to save you a lot of time in
learning.
This may seem slightly contradictory but what it really means is;
if you need to know something and you've found a reputable source
with whom you are comfortable then it does make sense to spend
a couple of dollars.
“Formal education will make you a living; self-education
will make you a fortune.”-- Jim Rohn
2) CREATE OR FIND A PRODUCT OR SERVICE THAT
YOU CAN PROMOTE WHOLEHEARTEDLY
“Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill
of creative effort.”-- Franklin D. Roosevelt
It's a very good idea to have a keen interest in what ever it is
that you are selling. It's really not advisable to jump into some
affiliate program simply because of the promise of riches. All of
the great marketers enjoyed what they were doing long before
they achieved noteworthy success.
The best product or service to offer is one of your own creation
or at least one that you personally had a hand in developing. If
you are not able to do this then take the program that you are
with and make it personal to you. Try to be unique. Find a niche
area that most people are not already covering.
“There is one thing stronger than all the world, and
that is an idea whose time has come.” --Victor Hugo
3) JUMP IN. GET YOURSELF A SOLID
INTERNET PRESENCE
"You'll seldom experience regret for anything that
you've done. It is what you haven't done that will
torment you. The message, therefore, is clear. Do it!
Develop an appreciation for the present moment.
Seize every second of your life and savor it. Value
your present moments. Using them up in any self-
defeating ways means you've lost them forever." -- Wayne Dyer
A solid Internet presence does not include one of those free
pages with address’s that read something like this
www.imtoocheaptogetmyown/members/freepages/myname.htm.
Now I may be exaggerating slightly but not much. My very first
webpage address was 48 characters long. Yes, the page was
FREE, but the results reflected that too (one $5.00 sale). They’re
okay for personal pages and fooling around, but not if you want
to be taken seriously. You really must acquire your own domain.
No ifs, ands or buts about it!
Once you have; decided on a product or service, reserved the
site name, and made your best deal on domain space, you’re
ready to start marketing. The next order of business is to start
the design of the site. Should you do it yourself or hire a
professional? This is a tough question to answer. Some people
have a natural artistic inclination, some don't. Some budgets
don't allow for anything but doing it yourself. In that case the
decision is simple.
I am a big believer in having the best possible first impression.
You might consider hiring a professional to do the default page
and create a template for further pages that you will make on
your own. That being said, there is also a huge feeling of
satisfaction in doing the job yourself from scratch.
My personal experience included learning how and doing it all
myself in the beginning when I could afford the time, and later
hiring a professional (who did a fabulous job), after my time
became better spent focusing on the marketing.
Another absolute necessity for the serious web marketer is to
publish an opt-in newsletter or ezine. This is how you stay in
touch with your prospects and of course remind them to come
back to your site. It could be something as elementary as
alerting people to changes on your site or simple price updates.
Or you could produce a full blown Electronic magaZINE. Again,
you should be subscribing to other ezines for ideas and information.
Sidenote: Always seek out and obtain an authors permission
before using all or part of their work. Plagiarism does not pay!
A lot of EZINES offer the reader information of great value for FREE.
This accomplishes two things.
1) It establishes you as an expert, or at least a source of
expert information.
2) It encourages the subscriber to keep reading your ezine
regularly. Of course when they read the information they
can't help but see the ads for your products or services.
Many successful ezine publishers will accept paid for ads
from related non competing businesses. This can add a
very nice profit center to your online business. A popular
variation of this is to swap ezine ads with your competition.
This will increase your exposure to other readers who may
not have found your site otherwise.
"It's kind of fun to do the impossible." Walt Disney
4) GET BUSY! MARKET THAT PRODUCT.
"The first requisite for success is the ability to
apply your physical and mental energies to one
problem incessantly without growing weary."
--Thomas A. Edison
The number one priority above all else is to get traffic. You can
have the prettiest site, the best ezine, the most education, and
the most fantastic product on the Internet, but it will gain you
nothing if people don't get exposed to it. ‘Build it and they will
come’ might work in the movies, but on the Internet you need
TRAFFIC!
There are many more aspects to managing a successful
Internet presence and we will discuss them in future issues.
These are the basics, the starting point, the Micro View.
You probably have figured out by now that I am a big believer in
motivational quotes. I‘d like to leave you with my all time favorite.....
“DESTINY is...
not a matter of chance, it is a matter of CHOICE;
it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing
...to be ACHIEVED”
William Jennings Bryan
About the Author
Chris Small is a cyber entrepreneur and host of several
successful websites. If you would like to read more articles
like this by Chris go to www.worlddealcenter.com/reports.htm
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| DTI - Welcome to the DTI's Innovation Home Page |
| The DTI is working to stimulate a significant increase in innovation throughout ... It covers Living Innovation, web streaming of a series of high profile ... |
| www.dti.gov.uk |
|
| Innovation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
| An innovation in this light occurs whether or not the act of innovating ... A convenient definition of innovation from an organizational perspective is ... |
| en.wikipedia.org |
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| National Innovation Website |
| The Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources has developed this website to raise awareness of the importance and benefits of innovation and ... |
| www.innovation.gov.au |
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| Innovation, creativity and brainstorming resources from ... |
| A comprehensive site designed to provide busy entrepreneurs with a focused collection of the best resources on innovation, creativity, and brainstorming. |
| www.innovationtools.com |
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| Innovation Weblog - Trends, resources, viewpoints from Chuck Frey ... |
| The Innovation Weblog - Valuable trends, resources and viewpoints in innovation, creativity and brainstorming from Chuck Frey at InnovationTools. |
| www.innovationtools.com |
|
| CORDIS: Innovation Portal: Home |
| This Innovation Portal is supported by DG ENTR of the European Commission, ... European Commission adopts new Communication on Innovation: on 13 September ... |
| cordis.europa.eu |
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| CORDIS: Promotion of Innovation: Home |
| This programme stands at the cross-roads of the Community's policies on Research, Innovation and SMEs. |
| cordis.europa.eu |
|
| Innovation Network... leveraging innovation, creativity and ... |
| The Innovation Network is an association of companies and employees committed to innovation. The site features some interesting articles as well as some fun ... |
| www.thinksmart.com |
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| Business Innovation : Car Reviews, Online Gaming, and Product Branding |
| If your in need of great Online Gaming material, we carry up to the minute news and reviews for all of your favorite games and gaming systems. |
| www.businessweek.com |
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| Innovation - Life, Inspired | PBS |
| Learn about fascinating innovations, explore interactive features, submit questions to our experts, investigate resources and lesson plans, and more. |
| www.pbs.org |
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| Innovation.org - Welcome |
| Impact of Innovation Saving & Improving Lives Controlling Healthcare Costs Strengthening ... Future of Innovation New Medicines in Development Next Wave of ... |
| www.innovation.org |
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| Innovation: See what people are saying right now on Technorati |
| See all blog posts tagged with innovation on Technorati. |
| www.technorati.com |
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| Innovation Relay Centres - The World Largest Network for ... |
| Innovation Relay Centres giving advice on Innovation, Technology Transfer and Exploitation. Major European source for innovative technologies or new ... |
| irc.cordis.lu |
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| The Tech Museum of Innovation | Welcome |
| The Tech Museum of Innovation - Welcome! The Tech Museum inspires and educates the innovators of the future. |
| www.thetech.org |
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| Pages tagged with "innovation" on del.icio.us |
| CoDev 2007 - Co-Development for Business Growth: Open Innovation and Alternatives ... PDMA & IIR's 5th Annual Front End of Innovation ... |
| del.icio.us |
|
| innovation |
| Publication highlighting the research activities of NUS. The site provides snippets of selected articles online, and provides a subscription form online. |
| www.innovationmagazine.com |
|
| Canadian Innovation Centre |
| Services includes invention evaluation, technology due diligence, market research, and education programs. |
| www.innovationcentre.ca |
|
| London INNOVATION :: Home |
| Maximise your business potential through innovation. Learn the secrets of successful business innovation in London. |
| www.london-innovation.org.uk |
|
| Eric Von Hippel's Homepage |
| Downloadable Books. Democratizing Innovation (2005) ... The Sources of Innovation (1988). Free download of the complete book. Permission granted by Oxford ... |
| web.mit.edu |
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| Intel Innovation in Education |
| www.intel.com/education/ - 3k - Cached - Similar pages |
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