There seems to be a fear that investing 5,000, 2,000 or even 500 dollars in a business is dangerous. While the fear of investing that much money is understood if you’re new to being “in business”, it’s only a fraction of what you’d typically invest in a business. Technology now allows you to tap into a world of connected individuals across the globe with practically no expense, in relative terms.

As you struggle to get a job, or for that matter, a better job, why not make a difference for yourself? Today’s technology with the growing number of solutions in nearly every corner of the web, it’s nearly impossible to not find a solution for your technology needs. And with that, comes an abundance of opportunity.

My challenge to you is to open your mind and think outside the box. Everyone has ideas yet those ideas are valueless, until put into action. As Nolan Bushnell is quoted, “Everyone who’s ever taken a shower has an idea. It’s the person who gets out of the shower, dries off and does something about it who makes a difference.” And it’s really the foundation to many areas of our lives.

Over the past several days I’ve chatted with a few friends who’ve mentioned their struggles of being unemployed, not happy with their “job”, or that they have talents bigger than their current career.  And what’s stopping them from stepping it up a notch? Simple answer: Action. Do you have a great idea? Awesome, now take that idea and make something out of it. Are you skilled in creating graphics? Great, find a need for your skill and add a little spin. Or, have you considered a specialized consulting using your skill(s)?

A great example is from Lila Frances (owner, Anna) who turned her childhood enjoyment of twisting and bending items into recognizable shapes to create a custom product around hangers. Who would have thought such a small niche would be worth while? Well, she has so many orders it takes up to 10 weeks to get your own.

Cut out an hour of TV watching per day, using that time to establish a business. You don’t need to become a success overnight nor have all the answers, but start somewhere. You can’t drive across that finish line without first getting out of park.

The past couple weeks have been interesting to say the least as I’ve realized just how many projects, tasks and goals sit on my to-do list. While my summer was filled with great personal experiences and progress in business, the next thing I knew September had already arrived. What happened to July and August?

One of my faults is trying to take on too much. When people say “Why not focus on 1 or 2 things?” my response is “…because I want to do it all!”. It’s tough to turn down opportunities as I tend to see the glass half-full.

My advice, while I may not be a great example, is to create a list of your priorities, and then prioritize them. Seriously, write down everything you need/want to do (and you can always add to the list) and then order them. This would be easier on the computer so you don’t have to constantly rearrange a long list, BUT make sure to print out the list every time you add or rearrange. As you accomplish items, cross them off.

While this may sound very simple or even obvious, there is tremendous value in having a written list staring you in the face. In fact, Justin Ledvina, in a web conference, talked about how he writes out his to-do list and prints it out to hang on the wall next to him. Though he may not (and rarely) get everything on the list completed that day, it pushes him to be productive.

Give it a shot for 4 weeks and let me know if it helps. This is something I’m getting much better at over the past couple weeks, and thus, why I’ve got back in to writing here on my blog.

While this is not meant to bring forth attention to the negative side of news (notice how the majority of it IS negative), I want to open your eyes to a different, abnormal way to listen. It may be unconventional but have you realized that much of the recent success behind so many start-ups is because they have NOT been conventional? They’ve thought out of the box, different than their competitors.

I’ll admit openly that being in business for yourself is certainly not for everyone. However, thinking of positive ways out of a negative situation does not mean you have to be an entrepreneur or start a business. In fact, Career Builder explains 6 success strategies for a poor economy in which they share some simple yet effective tips for those who are concerned with their job security. And on a side note, there really is no job security – I hate to be blunt, but no job is “secure”.

Now, for those who feel they need to cut spending and invest more carefully, I’ve got a tip for you: Stop Listening to the News!As I mentioned, they play a big part of your psyche. Mindset is a major part of how you think, act, react and make decisions. Better yet, absorb material that is exactly opposite of negativity that is the news. For example, listen to/watch this video talking about how attitude can make all the difference by Zig Ziglar.

Sometimes it’s not necessarily as simple as soaking up positive material but the point is your success should not be a reflection of economic “news” reported by media. If they reported tomorrow that a massive shortage of available cash would begin taking place within 3 months from now, would you freak out and stop spending? I sure as hell hope not.

The truth of the matter is you’d want to do whatever it takes to get MORE money into your pocket than ever before. And how can you do that? Hire. Yes, I said it. Add to your sales force – it could be part-time or even on commission-only, but you need more people selling your product/service.

As an entrepreneur, a crappy economy doesn’t hinder my business, it actually offers more opportunities to step over those who hide, waiting for the media to tell them to come out of hiding. I see more opportunities now than I did 5 years ago. Yes, one could say that’s partially attributed to being wiser and more driven to seeing through to my business goals.

Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal. – Henry Ford

So, I challenge you to shut out the negativity, stop bowing down to what media does to your psyche. Instead, spend that time reaching out to more customers, expanding your brand’s awareness, creating better & more attractive products/solutions. Set your mind on milestones, push yourself to complete objectives.

Outsourcing can be a very effective and expense conscious method in hiring talent to perform the needed work for a project, timeframe or budget. It’s no question hiring an employee full-time (or even part-time) can be quite costly compared to outsourcing to a freelance talent…of course variables can play a factor.

What do I think about the value of a team?

Recently I’ve been doing a lot of thinking regarding how to approach business ideas/projects, execution and support. I’m always drumming up ideas on improving web services, sometimes even thinking “…I know how I’d make this better…” when coming across or using online products/services.

In most cases we all work better with a team; different knowledge, talent and experience. Bringing a collection of minds together can open more doors to an idea by empowering passionate individuals to be an asset rather than a one-time freelancer. One example is JomSocial which is a Joomla Community component. It was originally started by one guy who had an idea and then he brought on some other people to be an integral part of the project. Now, it’s a growing business with hundreds (if not thousands) of paying customers. The people behind it are passionate and feel they have a valued role in the success, not just a temporarily, short-term paid freelancer/contractor.

I challenge you to consider building some solid relationships with talented individuals who may not have all the answers but have strong knowledge AND passion in an area that your business or project needs. Approach them about being a partner, discuss how they could add long-term value, and go from there. The web makes working remotely with other individuals powerful, and not too challenging with the right tools.

In the Traffic Exchange industry there are some very basic fundamentals to running a successful operation, one of which is not over-complicating the technology. There are some Traffic Exchange websites that have great solutions without adding bloat. On the other hand there are those which don’t even offer unique selling points beyond changing very basic details and sometimes not even investing time/money to clean up the out-of-box solution so that it’s user friendly.

This “keep it simple” idea isn’t just about Traffic Exchanges. Look at Groupon for example – stupidly simple concept, who would have thought selling discounts to restaurants, spas, etc. would turn into one of the fastest growing businesses in 2 years? Look at Apple, their logo is almost laughable but you know it’s “Apple Inc” when you see it.

In talking with Jon he mentioned that too many websites try to be feature rich, not in those exact words, but I think that’s what he was talking about…and I couldn’t agree more. Of course there are websites that need features like Salesforce or AtTask (Project Management platform) but when it comes to Traffic Exchanges, Downline Builders, Email Advertising platforms like ListJumper and other similar tools, features don’t necessarily make it better. Careful execution of implementing better technology in providing better tools? That’s a different story.

The question comes down to determining if you are simply (no pun intended) adding features just for features sake or actually making your solution better for customers/members to help build their business. Does your product/service keep things simple? Are your customers able to take action without a learning curve? Think about it.

So how do you target customers who don’t eat at your restaurant? Simply answer: give away food for free.

Yup, you read correctly, and Panera Bread has pulled off something unbelievable. As CEO, Ron Shaich, explained at a TED event, Panera Bread “cares” is all about a give-and-take concept. Instead of telling everyone they must pay XX dollars for a sandwich, bowl of soup or cold beverage, they decided to leave it up to the customer. Some people can’t afford a $7.50 sandwich so they give $2.00 (or nothing at all) while others are willing to pay $9.00 for that same sandwich.

But just how successful can this be – wouldn’t everyone just want a free meal? Much to my surprise the concept has worked amazingly. At the beginning, according to Ron, it was certainly a learning experience as people attempted to abuse the system as they didn’t understand the concept. The idea isn’t about taking free food but rather about helping those who are unable to enjoy a Panera meal (or any decent meal).

Click here to view the embedded video.

When you listen to Ron talk about the story and purpose of Panera cares you can’t help but think “You know, this is such a great idea and I hope to see it throughout the country.” Do you think this idea can continue to be a success in many more cities throughout the country?

Based far less on just my opinion, AT&T customers (in the majority) aren’t entirely thrilled with the provider. According to a Consumer Reports release back in early December, among the US carriers, AT&T scored dead last…not even close to 2nd to last. It’s no question that many, many AT&T subscribers will make the change when their contract has ended.

One of the bigger concerns within a couple years after Verizon is opened to iPhone customers is whether or not AT&T can survive. Through lack of customer satisfaction of subscribers it is hard to believe they won’t take a serious hit over the next 2 years as people begin switching to a “better” service provider.

The ultimate question is, how will AT&T change their business, offerings and/or service to not only keep their customers but improve upon what they DO have?

I’m predicting AT&T will suffer a serious loss, possibly dropping from our radar pretty quickly – time will tell.

There’s one thing I know for a fact; you’re not getting any younger. Is there really enough value in watching reality TV shows that you spend a few hours (or more) in front of the television? Now of course some of the shows can be informative but the majority? Definitely not worth the time.

Instead, I challenge you to take an hour, grab a book, and read. I’ll be the first to admit that reading is not my thing. Heck, if I could have everything in video or audio form, that would be sweet! Let’s not kid ourselves – somethings are better in text form anyway. But lately I’ve began doing the unthinkable – picking up a book and swallowing up the content. And I must say that I’m actually enjoying it.

You’re probably wondering what exactly it is that I’m reading, right? As this probably isn’t a shocker, I’m not really reading for “fun” per say but instead for motivation, keeping up my drive, staying connected with other entrepreneurs, and trying to remain up-to-speed.  A couple months ago the book I picked up and read through in a couple days was Crush It by Gary Vaynerchuk, and you can read my Crush It review if you’re interested in hearing about the book. Currently, I’m reading Rework by the co-founder of 37Signals, Jason Fried, and Partner, David Heinemeier Hansson. Seeing as I’m only about 50 pages into the book thus far there isn’t a whole lot I can share, but what I’ve read up to this point is awesome. For the early entrepreneur, the enthusiastic go-getter, the type of person who loves making this happen and seeing the results, this book is  a perfect fit. Generally speaking it’s a testament to those who are trying to build a product, service, and/or business with little money, a team made up of 1-3 people, and even those who think spending 80 hours a week working is crazy. If you fit any of those molds…get this book and then let me know what you find most interesting.

Spending that extra 2 hours a week, flipping open those pages in a book such as Rework or Crush It can absolutely change your life. It’s not about some grand ole’ plan to determine your path but instead get your off your butt, moving towards what you want to accomplish. Life is short and the TV can certainly be put aside.

Anyway, I didn’t come here to spew excuses or anything of that nature. Lately I’ve been shifting my focus. Internet Marketing is a great industry but my direct path I was looking to tackle is slightly different than originally intended. There’s good reason, and no, I’m not going “away”.

Here’s the exact truth: the potential is endless on the web. You can take a small niche idea and turn it into a very successful business. I’ve seen so many awesome start-up products turn widely successful, and it’s mind-boggling. The thing is, I like to stick my hands into lots of projects; that’s me. If I wrote out a list for you…let’s just say you would think I’m nuts!

The point of this message is to share with you that I’m shifting my overall focus. No longer am I just targeting network and internet marketing projects. My interests are pretty wide and, well, I’m not getting any younger. My friends that know me best would agree that I try to tackle a lot, and honestly that’s the only way I want to go.

You’ll see my blog here shift. My refocus effort isn’t a here today gone tomorrow scenario. Instead, my posts will vary quite a bit. You’ll read more into what I’m doing, what I think, what I’ve experienced, and other related areas. As I thought more about this the past couple weeks there were far more good reasons, and thus…I hope you continue to read.

Lastly, I am going to try very hard to write a post at least four times a month. It may be two posts in a given week – let’s see how this goes.

Thanks for checking in here. Feel free to comment and message me.

Whenever you generate a sale for your own products, you claim it as income/revenue in your accounting process. After you’ve made the sale, there may have been an affiliate who “made” the sale for you and thus earned a commission. You would ethically record earning X dollars and paying out Y dollars from that X dollar amount, thus lowering your “profit”. In this case you would record paying that affiliate Y dollars as an expense, profiting the difference between X and Y.

At the end of the year it is important to file the tax paperwork for each of those affiliates to you can inform the IRS where that Y dollar amount went, and why you are not claiming it in your profits. So, why is this important? Imagine if you were audited or contacted by the IRS saying “Where did Y dollars go?” You’d then want to say “Oh, I gave it to so-and-so.” But if you didn’t fill out the tax documents at the beginning of the year, how will the IRS know?

In the case of not filing for those individuals…you’ve got a big problem on your hands. The IRS would hold YOU responsible for all those commissions, requiring you to pay taxes on them – yup, you would pay taxes on money that you didn’t end up claiming as profit.

Imagine paying out 100,000 dollars in commissions and having to pay taxes on them? That’s like throwing money into a fire.

Long story short…collect tax info from your affiliates before you pay them, and file the right paper work during tax season to save yourself a potentially devastating experience.

And, if you think the IRS will say “Oh sure, give us the names of those people you paid, we’ll hunt them down!”…think again.