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 time the texting concept caught my attention. Slowly I began to gain more interest in using it. My original thoughts were somewhat lost in my mind as I could no longer heavily weigh the reasons I shouldn’t bother texting over the reasons I should – the tables had turned. It seems now I use SMS messaging every day, with many contacts. Had I simply looked back 4-5 years ago I’d never have thought this would be the case.

The main reasons I’m so fond of texting is pure convenience. Maybe I’m one of the few who think about this but I tend to worry about calling someone because I don’t want to be interrupting their dinner, date or maybe even a nap. Though I shouldn’t feel guilty (they should turn the phone on vibrate) as it’s impossible to know when I can/can’t call, I still do. With texting I can simply send someone a message and get a response when they are able to reply, it’s that easy. On top of that, it barely disrupts what I’m doing…and I can do so practically anywhere without disrupting the people around me.

But, this all brings me to my recent thought. Conversations have changed with technology. In fact, can we even call some of our communication methods conversations? It’s strange to me to say I “had a conversation” with a friend even though I simply texted back and forth. To me, it’s missing a key value of relationship building.

Along with texting of course there are methods such as Skype (text chat), AIM, Facebook chat/messaging, email, Twitter….the list goes on. Do those have the same conversation values? Though technology can be absolutely wonderful, I question if we’re losing the personal touch of having a face-to-face or audible conversation with other people in our lives.

Don’t be afraid to pick up that phone and dial instead of texting. Having a real dialogue is healthy – let’s not lose that skill.

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.

The new layout will show a page in the same format as a user profile. Though it will not be as clear whether you’re looking at a page or a profile, there are still a couple differentiators to distinguish the two; you still “Like” a page and below the name of the page you still see the type such as “Website” or “Public Figure”. So what are the changes? Here’s a list:

• The most recent photos that you post to your Wall or photos that you tag your Page in will appear here. This area will not include any photos posted by your fans.

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.

I, like you, am a victim of my own bad habits. There’s nobody else to blame for the failures. In one hand I typically set the bar pretty high for myself, sometimes to unrealistic challenges, while other times I keep certain things at levels that aren’t even going to require effort to accomplish.

Now that 2011 is upon us, take an approach that may be a bit different than previous years. Grab a full-size piece of paper and a pen, then write out each goal you have in mind. The order doesn’t matter but just make sure you write them all down including as much detail as possible. Once you’ve done so the next step is very important and probably something you’ve never done before. Next to each goal I want you to write the date you wish to accomplish/reach the goal. Getting specific such as “By March 2011″, “June 1st” or another specific date. Do NOT write “Within 90 days” because that does not set a time frame – the start date has no value. Lastly, go into your calendar such as Outlook, Google Calendar, iCal, or whatever program you use the most, and add all your goals with the corresponding dates attached. Be sure to set up a reminder (even multiple) prior to that date to help make sure you’re on track.

You may be surprised but this approach may very well help you stick to those resolutions unlike years past. For me, this is exactly what I’ve done. In years past I’ve been terrible with using a calendar even in my work/business life, but have been trying to make that change. Now adding goals with dates…I KNOW I’ll be more determined. Measuring my success rate will not only be exciting but educational, and I certainly look forward to hearing how this works for you.

Will you stick to your 2011 resolutions? I’d love to hear how it goes for you.