Focus and Action for Online Entrepreneurs» Get Motivated Stay Focused

How to Increase Your Income Exponentially

Jackie Lee — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:19:46 +0000

All these years I’ve sat behind my computer screen… all by myself… feeling like I had to do it ALL myself. I felt like I had to figure it out all myself, and just muscle my way through everything until I got it right.

Well… that’s partially my personality, and it’s partially because there weren’t many people out there to follow when I first got started online. That is no longer the case… at all.

You may know I recently switched up my business model. The biggest thing I had to adjust to was being part of a team. Being accountable to other people, celebrating with others, and just plain old leaning on other people. After all these years of stoic aloneness… it was VERY hard for me to adjust to being part of a team, and having a system to follow.

Here’s the deal…. there are people who came before me… they have lots of talent and have been very successful. In fact, they are marketing masters and have created and fine tuned a system I can use! However, being the stubborn internet marketer I am, I went rogue… figured I could do it better, different, my way. I ended up wasting a lot of time… well not a huge amount of time in the scheme of things, but a month or so…

Then I looked around at what other people were doing, and saw they were succeeding. I look at what I was doing, and I wasn’t. I then looked at what they were doing that I was not… they were following the system.

So… at the beginning of January I decided hell or high water I was just going to do what I was told. I was going to follow the system! Guess what?! It worked! I connected with new people, and my team grew, and I got my first promotion which basically doubled my income. WOOT!!

So, what’s the moral of this story if you’re a blogger or an affiliate marketer?

Follow a system. My business is not the only business model that has a system. There are systems for EVERY business model! The thing is, and it definitely has been for me in the past… I keep thinking I’m missing something. So I keep going out there looking for that thing I’m missing, that thing that’s going to “work better”… only to end up wasting a lot of time, effort and ultimately money.

So… where do you find a system?

It depends on what you’re doing. The first thing in finding a system is get clear on what you’re doing. If you’re going to be an affiliate marketer… you’ll need an affiliate marketing system. If you’re a blogger, you’re going to need a blogging system. If you’re not clear on what you want to do though… it’s going to be impossible for you to find the right system.

Once you’ve gotten clear about that… here’s some systems I recommend.

Affiliate marketing ~ Super Affiliate Handbook. It’s hands down the best guide and system to creating an affiliate income. (BTW ~ it’s still on HUGE sale… down from $97 to $27 ~ which is a COMPLETE STEAL).

Blogging ~ Start a blog that matters. If you want to learn how to create a profitable blog that matters there’s no one better to learn from than Corbett Barr ~ and the folks over at ThinkTraffic.net

Those are the two resources I’d recommend over all others… if you’re ready to settle down, get your feet under you, and start making money ~ stop trying to do it alone. Get a system and work the system.

If you’ve given up on mainstream “internet marketing” and you want to try something new ~ join me! I’ve got a great system that works and an amazing team standing behind us! Message me on Facebook! Let’s talk!

If there’s one thing you learn this year… please, please, please realize you’ve got to stop trying new things all the time… choose a system and follow it!

What’s Really Important?

Jackie Lee — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:04:57 +0000

This was going to be a post about social media. That was the plan for today. However, sometimes life has a way of handing you things that get you thinking and doing social media the “right” way seems just a little less important (but I will write that post don’t worry).

Anyway… yesterday a friend of our passed away. It was sudden and unexpected. She was quite young and it got me thinking.

It’s so easy to get all wound up and wrapped up in the computer, in the online world, in how to build backlinks, and what you should write for your content, in how to get more comments, and yet when you look at your LIFE none of that is really all that important.

When we look at the big picture of OUR LIVES what’s really important?

Our health.

Our family.

Our children.

Our happiness.

I know personally it’s been super easy to push all those things to the side in my infinite quest to make a living online, and I’m quite certain I’m not the only one. Hours and hours, days on end spent at the computer trying to identify the secret sauce that makes it work, the things that will make the money flow.

And yet, the most important things in our lives, our health, and our connections, get left by the wayside. Our hineys get wider, our hearts get weaker ~ because sitting in a chair moving our fingers doesn’t help them get strong and in shape.

I know that since I started working from home (granted it was right around the time I had my kiddo) I’ve put on weight. I’ve been lazy, and more interested in figuring out this puzzle than taking care of myself. But that’s got to end.

I’ve got to make my health a priority ~ because without me, my kiddo has no mom, my husband has no wife.

We only have one life and we’ve got to treasure it, take care of it, nurture it, honor it.

Are you honoring your life, your health, your relationships?

I’ve watched everyone create goals for the new year and I see “I wanna make 5K a month” or I want to build more sites and rule the world…

What I don’t see is I want to be healthy. I want to be connected to my loved ones.

That is JUST as much a part of business as setting up new sites ~ if you lose your family and your life what is it all for anyway?!

With that said… and on a happier note ~ I have been working on my health. I started a 90 day health challenge about 67 days ago. I’m following the plan ~ it’s super simple and easy. I’m never hungry and…

I’ve lost 4 pants sizes in that time. I’ve lost 4 inches off my waist and 3 off my hips… in just two months.

I’m thrilled to pieces, and if you’d seen me trying on new pants at the Walmart you’d have thought I was a nut with the happy dance I was doing. I have recently added exercise to my challenge as well. I imagine, if I was able to do all that without exercise I’ll be able to make my goal of a size 7 pants with a little exercise no problem.

This year my goal is to make a shit ton of money ~ don’t get me wrong… but above and beyond that, my goal is to get to know YOU better, really get to know my readers and subscribers, and my facebook friends. It’s to spend more time with the computer OFF and WITH my real life friends and family. It’s to get in shape, lose weight, feel healthy and really truly LIVE my life. Every. Single. Minute of it.

What about you? I’d love to get in shape together ~ if you want to join me in the challenge just give me a shout, hell, call me up (316-350-7429) and let’s talk about it ~ or just shoot me an email. momtohanna [at] gmail [dot] com

It’s important for me to remember WHY I started working from home, and why I don’t just throw it in and just get a job again… it’s because of my FAMILY ~ so it’s time I started treating them like they were the reason ~ and not an afterthought.

What about you? What’s your plan for this year?

Creating an Editorial Calendar for Your Blog

Jackie Lee — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 13:39:07 +0000

Here it is almost a new year, and I’m sure you have big plans for your blog and your business. As we discussed last week having a strategic business plan going into the new year is always key. This week we’re going to take that plan and put it into practice! Because action is where your profits come from.

If you’re creating an authority type site, whether it’s about a niche in general or even product reviews, your content is the foundation of your site. If you’re not creating new content, you’re not going to succeed. Content is KEY!!

What are you going to write about? What if you get writer’s block? What if you run out of ideas? What if you’re just too scared to write anything, and the longer you look at that “hello world” post sitting on your site the harder and harder it gets to even start.

PHEW.

I have a solution.

The first step is this:

Decide content is a non negotiable element of your business.

I can’t even tell you what an important step this is… it will be the difference between success and failure when it comes to your content production this year.

The second step is this:

Decide when you’ll be posting your content to your site.

Once you’ve made those two decisions you can start creating your calendar. Here’s the technique I use to keep myself, and my content creation on track.

1. Set up month long topics/series.

In my handy dandy notebook (if anyone can tell me the reference…), I’ve lined out each month for the next year. I’ve decided on a topic for the month. Now on this site I only post once a week, so I now have to come up with 4 topics related to my monthly series topic and then my content is planned for the month.

I hate to be completely tied into something specific, so I’ll leave the topic rather general, so I can frame it in a way that feels good when I sit down to write.

Here’s an example:

January is going to be social media month here on IMM.

So my four posts might look something like this:

facebook tricks to share content

what not to do on facebook

how to create a community using facebook

how to drive more traffic back to your site with facebook

You see how easy that is?! Now I have a topic, and I can write about it in a way that resonates with me next month or even if this was scheduled 9 months from now, I’m sure I’d have opinions and ideas on those 4 topics.

The other cool thing about this is, I didn’t have any twitter topics, or linkedin topics, or youtube topics, so that just gave me a TON more ideas on topics I could use.

NOTE: If you’re building links and writing articles to use off site, you can take all those extra ideas and turn them into articles.

The key to this working is being organized, and sticking to the plan. Here’s some of the tools I use to stay organized.

1. Day Planner:

I have a day planner on my desk where I write down what blog I’m posting on, and the topic for the day. I also add in any other events/activities for the day, as well as phone calls and follow ups I have for other business matters. I’ve also used Charlie Gilkey’s planners ~ which I liked very much.

2. A handy dandy composition notebook.

I have a composition notebook for each element of my business. So for my blogs, I have a notebook, for the new project I can’t wait to tell you about I have a notebook, and for the other arm of my business I also have a notebook. This is where I write down ideas, make plans, create mind maps, etc… This makes it really easy to find any ideas I’ve had about a particular element of my business. Post it notes get lost. Write it all down in one place specific to that element.

3. Pomodoro Technique

This is relatively new, and I’m not using exactly as originally intended, but here’s the pieces I love.

The daily to do list… I write down everything I want to get done in a day on the list. (A pomodoro is a time period of 25 minutes ~ with 5 minute breaks between sessions, and a 30 minute break after 4.) I don’t necessarily use the timer, but I do in some circumstances.

The unplanned and urgent list: Here’s the key to what makes this work for me… I am easily distracted. So when I get distracted, or something comes into my mind and I think I need to go take care of it RIGHT NOW I write it at the bottom of my to do list. This urgent and unplanned section goes from the bottom up.

I DO NOT deviate from the current task at hand, I simply write this distraction down. When I’m done either with my 25 minutes or with the task at hand I will then go and take a look at the distraction and see if it needs to be added to today’s list, or maybe tomorrow or Friday’s list, or maybe it really wasn’t important at all and my mind was just messing with me because I didn’t really want to do what I was doing. (yeah, it happens!) So that has been VERY helpful for me to start getting more done in less time.

3. Editorial Calendar plugin

I don’t personally use this one, I prefer paper and pen, but there is a free editorial calendar plugin for wordpress where you can just plug your topics into the calendar and it will track it all for you. Easy cheesy and if technology is your cup of tea then it might be a great addition.

When you have productivity tools in place to help you keep on track, as well as an editorial calendar so you know exactly what you should be writing you’ll find it’s much easier to keep your content on track and coming. Trying to wing it with your content is like planning to fail. It’s so easy to let it slide, to leave it to later, to just skip it… but as you know… your content is the KEY to your business. Don’t plan to fail… create a plan.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and how you create an editorial calendar. Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.

If you’d like some personalized help with your blog or ideas for your editorial calendar join us in the KISS Club. Where we keep it simple so you can take action.

Creating a Strategic Business Plan for the New Year

Jackie Lee — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 15:15:55 +0000

It’s that time of year again… the time where I start creating a strategic business plan for the upcoming year. I do it every year… in fact, it’s one of my favorite things to do. It’s also one of the most crucial pieces of the puzzle going in to a new year. I’ve created these business plans a little differently each year I’ve done business, some years have worked better than others.

The one element that’s always stayed the same is looking back over the past year to see what worked, and what didn’t. In my business and with the plan I created for the year.

Last year my business, and I, went through a lot of changes. With Google’s heavy hand I’ve had to rethink some of my business strategies as well as the business models I’ve been using.

At times I felt like I set these big goals (and I’ve written plenty of posts on goals), and when it came down to answering the question “what do I do today…” found the answer lacking. Of course, there’s always plenty of “work” to do to keep me busy through the day ~ but looking back I can definitely see there was a lot of time spent on “non income producing” activities.

So this year, of course I have big goals, but I’ve decided to look at my business as a whole ~ instead of looking at it as “a blog” or “this niche site”, I’m looking at my business as a whole and at the blog, the sites, the facebook accounts as pieces of that business ~ not the business itself.

By taking a bigger picture frame of reference I am able to see where the “pieces” fit in to grow my business as a whole. I also tend to be a very all or nothing thinker ~ so when viewing the pieces as the business it’s easy for me to get swept up in one element and completely ignore another. All this, None of that.

I have several arms to my business, and they all need to be tended to if I’m going to grow my business as a whole.

Now that I have the arms mapped out and the growth expected from them I’m doing something I haven’t really done before.

Breaking it down into the simple, daily, income producing activities.

I’ve absolutely realized it’s taking the small steps, completing the income producing activities regularly, consistently, daily that grows your business. It’s all fine and good to set a goal to be making 100K a year ~ but if you don’t take the correct actions, consistently that goal is really just a pipe dream.

Online business really breaks down into a few simple activities.

1. Produce content

2. Promote content

3. Create connections

4. Nurture those connections

From these activities you can come up with more specific ways YOU can do them, depending on your strengths. It also doesn’t matter what kind of business model you’re running, whether it’s blogging, niche marketing, product creation, network marketing ~ you’re going to need these 4 elements in one way or another. It’s up to you to figure out the specific daily actions you need to take to do those 4 activities.

Here’s an example from my business plan:

For the online marketing arm of my business I’ve got 3 blogs to tend to. Each is in a different niche. I am also starting a new project (that I’ll tell you about soon!) that will also create passive income ~ and ties in perfectly with 2 of the blogs.

So my strategic business plan for that arm of my business looks something like this:

publish blog content daily (I’ve created a publishing schedule and have decided to do monthly topics on two of the blogs so I can easily focus and create content)

promote blog posts via social media

connect with others in my niche on social media, and other blogs

write for the new project daily

promote the new project via forums daily (I have already identified specific forums that will be a good match for the project)

include appropriate calls to action (in blog posts, social media, forums etc) to get people on a list.

These activities all feed into the 4 main income producing activities of my business.

Why did I choose the 4 elements I chose?

Because they, at the very bottom line, are what grow my business.

My business grows by finding new customers, and nurturing current customers.

Creating new content and connecting with people ~ at the VERY base is what this business is all about. That is to be my focus this year. Providing insane value to my customers, creating great stuff that they want, and making them so happy about it they gladly share the word with their friends and online networks.

Now, my business model may be a little different than yours. I’m no longer doing niche sites (in fact, I have a few I’d love to sell so if you have any interest please connect with me) from here on out the online arm of my business is all about creating authority, branding myself, and providing insane value.

Whether this is your plan or not doesn’t really matter… what I hope you take from this post is that to move forward and grow your business you have to be CRYSTAL CLEAR what it is you need to spend your time on every single day. Whether you’ve got an hour or 10 hours to spend, you must, must, must spend it taking the actions that move your business forward. If you don’t know what they are, you can’t do them, and you’ll spend another year spinning your wheels wondering why things aren’t working.

So… take some time before the new year arrives. Think about your business as a whole. Look at the parts of your business as the pieces. Then figure out what steps you need to be taking to make the pieces grow so you can make your business as a whole grow. Creating a strategic business plan for the new year will get you off to a great start, but it will also give you a “center” to come back to when you notice your business has gone off the path and you want to get it back on track. (no worries ~ it happens to all of us, it’s the getting back on track part that differentiates the successful from the not)

I’d love to help you out ~ KISS Club is still in business and will continue to help online entrepreneurs create a plan and take action through the next year. If you need some personalized help or a good kick in the pants join us. We don’t bite.

In case you missed my email yesterday just wanted to let you know I’ve pulled the 2 hour blog blueprint and have replaced it with a rather remarkable (if I do say so myself) Focus and Action Work at Home Business Blueprint ~ it will walk you through all the planning and set up to create a BUSINESS online… not a blog, or a niche site, but a whole business that will be sustainable over the long haul. It’s getting rave reviews. If you’re already on my list and didn’t get a copy just shoot me an email momtohanna [at] gmail [dot] com and I’ll send it to you. If you’re not on the list ~ fill in the blanks (top right corner).

Change Your Mind… Change Your World

Jackie Lee — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 17:55:57 +0000

It’s been said… that to continue to take the same actions and expect different results is the definition of insanity.

However… for the last year or so that’s exactly what I’ve been doing. Taking the same actions… in fact, at times taking even MORE of the same actions ~ and expecting different results.

Just because you do more of something ~ a thing that isn’t producing the results you want ~ does not create the results you desire.

So, not too long ago I decided to sit down and really look at my business. What am I doing? What is working? What’s not working? What do I love about it? What do I hate about it? What do I look forward to doing every day? What do I absolutely dread, and therefore put off and never do ~ even though I know I “need” to?

Yeah, some pretty heavy conversations going on in this lovely head of mine.

I came up with answers. Lots of them.

I identified the things that weren’t working… which turned out to be quite a bit of stuff. I identified the things I loved and the things I didn’t love. I got pretty clear about exactly what was going on with my business.

And then I just kept on doing the same thing I’d been doing.

Until one day I just couldn’t anymore.

I just couldn’t keep doing the things I’d been doing because I didn’t believe in them anymore. I didn’t feel good about teaching them anymore. I just didn’t feel good.

So… I went in search of an answer. This was a physical and existential search, all wrapped up in one.

I found an answer. I started taking new actions. I started getting excited again. I started making more money again.

And then I FREAKED OUT.

and all the little voices in my head started screaming at me… yelling that I didn’t know what the hell I was doing. How could I try something NEW, especially when I’d spent all this TIME doing the OLD thing?! You must be MAD woman.

Those little buggers are pretty frickin’ loud sometimes.

However… I had determination, and faith in my new pursuits. I had BELIEF that I could bring something amazing to the world and I was excited to share it with people.

and yet, those little bastards… sat back there in the corner (and some minutes very forefront) of my mind… and just kept YELLING.

SHUT UP! I yelled back. I started reading books, and doing exercises to exorcise them from my mind. I started telling myself different stories. I started attracting other people who had gone through what I was going through and come out on the other side bigger, better, stronger.

I started attracting RESOURCES that helped me fight the voices, and this one.. I’m going to share with you today. Because it is one that put a MUZZLE on them once and for all.

Turn off the phone… turn off the distractions for the next 10 minutes and follow along with this video. If you’ve never done EFT before you’ll probably think I’m crazy ~ but EFT is the ONE thing that has made the HUGEST shifts in my life. I work with my own EFT coach, (not Brad) but he is a fantastic EFT coach too…

Take 10 minutes.. for yourself… and change your mind. Because when you change your mind… you change your world.

Remember, the big webinar is tomorrow night! I’m going to share with you what all this change is about… and show you how you can make a change too! Sign up now… space is just about gone.

When to Give Up: 5 Easy Questions to Ask to Yourself

Jackie Lee — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 14:17:03 +0000

As internet marketers, and online entrepreneurs we take hits. A lot. We take hits from Google, from family and friends who think we’re scammers, we take hits from a lot of places. Sometimes it can seem like too much. Sometimes it can seem like Google is out to get you… you finally figure out how to rank your pages to get traffic and sales, and they pull the rug out from under you. Sometimes it makes you wonder when to give up.

I’m hearing a lot of this sentiment around the net these days after the latest Google changes… who knows… maybe it is time for you to quit ~ but maybe it’s not.

Maybe it’s just time for you to rethink your business strategy?

Here’s some questions you can ask yourself to see where you might want to head next.

It’s a good idea to hold onto your original intention for your business while you go through these questions. You don’t want to hang on super tightly to the “how” you’ve been doing your business, but do keep in mind the “why”.

Example… if your why for doing business online is to have time and money freedom so you never have to check the bank account before you pick a restaurant or check with the boss before you plan a vacation…

That’s one thing…

Setting up 5 page niche sites, and backlinking using this specific tool to get this keyword ranked on Google…

That’s something totally different… the first is really what you want to find answers for ~ the how will come, and it may not be what you’ve been doing… so be open to creating a solution to meet your why!

1. What is great about this problem?

Yep, sounds crazy… it probably feels like there’s nothing great about the problem. If there’s no way you can come up with something great about this problem add the word “could” to that question.

What could be great about this problem… and let your mind answer.

2. What is not perfect yet?

By adding the word yet, you are telling your mind that it will be “perfect” and your mind will help you figure out how to make it so.

3. What am I willing to do to make it the way I want it?

Really… what are you willing to do? Are you willing to let go of a method that drives you crazy? Are you willing to let go of watching Castle on Monday nights to work instead? Are you willing to get a job so you aren’t so pressured to make this work? What are you willing to do?

4. What am I willing to NO LONGER do in order to make it the way I want it?

This is a big one… we have so many thoughts and habits that don’t really serve us. What are you willing to change, and no longer do to make it the way you want it? Are you willing to no longer complain? Are you willing to no longer blame others, are you willing to no longer question your worthiness? (ooh, that’s a good one!!). Are you willing to no longer rely on Google to drive your traffic?

5. How can I enjoy the process while I do what is necessary to make it the way I want it?

Part of the bliss of working from home is getting to enjoy yourself! If there’s nothing about your business model that you enjoy doing, or nothing you can do to make it more enjoyable, maybe it’s time for some real reflection. There are so many ways to make money from home and create time and money freedom for yourself. It can be really easy to fall into a business strategy simply because it’s what someone else was doing… and you saw they were having success, so you jumped in… however ~ maybe they were a different kind of person than you! If you’re not enjoying your work you might as well go get a job.

If you’re struggling on this one, think about the things you enjoy doing… the things that make you smile, and things you would look forward to doing every day, things you would be almost ashamed to say are “work” because they’re so fun it never feels like work!! That may look like what you’re doing now… it may be something totally different, and that’s ok.

If you answer these 5 questions with an open mind and an open heart you will get answers that will serve you in making decisions about your business, and where to go next.

If you’ve decided that you just can’t put all your eggs in Google’s basket anymore, but don’t know what else there is for you to do, shoot me an email (momtohanna @ gmail . com ~ with no spaces lol), and we’ll talk.

(these questions came from a killer Tony Robbins book called Awaken the Giant Within ~ if you haven’t read it I HIGHLY recommend it!)

Image: aopsan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

5 Questions and an Opportunity

Aim Higher Dammit.

Jackie Lee — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 15:12:05 +0000

I’m guilty of it. I’m sure you are too. Setting “attainable” goals. Isn’t that what all the gurus teach? Here’s what I say to that…

BULLSHIT.

Aim higher.

Attainable goals are mediocrity in the making… set your goals high enough to make you stretch, to give you the willies, to scare the bejeezus out of you!

And mean it.

This week I set a goal for myself… to add 2 new team members to my MPT Today team in 72 hours. That’s a big goal, considering I hadn’t added any new team members in the last 2 months.

However, once the goal was set (and written on the white board in front of my face) the momentum kicked in. The ideas started flowing… how am I going to find two awesome people to join my team? There was no maybe about it. I created a list of ideas, (as outlined by a proven system) and some of them were scary and I didn’t want to do them… and I did them anyway.

I got to 48 hours and started getting worried ~ I hadn’t found either of my 2 team members yet. But I had told people I was going to do this. I’d written it down on paper and sent it to different people. I HAD to accomplish this goal. So I started thinking of more things I could do, and I started actually doing the scary things, and guess what?!

I did it.

Barely, but I did.

If I hadn’t set such a big goal I would have quit at 48 hours. In fact, even if I had set the goal and hadn’t told anyone else what I’d done, I would have quit after 48 hours. It’s SOOOO easy to quit on yourself. BUT… what if I hadn’t added my 2 new team members? What if I had only added 1 new member? Did I fail? NO… I didn’t. I still would have added one new member and that’s one member more than I had.

I shot for the stars… this time I got the stars, but if I hadn’t I probably would have still hit the moon.

However, when we set low expectations of ourselves, it’s super easy to hit nothing.

Ok, that’s my story… and here’s some of the things that helped me do it.

1. Go for No.

I just finished reading a book called Go For No. WOW. Amazing book. Pick it up now. One of the things that freaks me out, and probably does you too, is being told no. I mean, it doesn’t really mean anything, but it still freaks me out. However, I started looking at no differently after reading this book. I started looking at NO as the goal. Instead of looking for how many people I can get to say yes to me… I started counting the people who said no. Suddenly making some calls wasn’t quite as intimidating… if they said no I was just one no closer to my goal. If they said yes, YAY.

However, one thing about going for yeses is this… it cuts you off at the knees. Say you’re on a hot streak. You’ve asked people to do some thing for you, whether it’s be an affiliate for your program, do an interview with you, or even let you do a guest post for them.

If your goal is to have three people say yes to letting you do a guest post what happens when you get those three yeses?

You quit.

However, what happens if you look for 10 people to say NO to your request to do a guest post?

You may end up with 15 guest posts lined up before you even get to 8 NOs.

See how different that is? When you’re on a hot streak and getting yeses you keep moving forward because you’re shooting for NO instead of YES.

2. Add a zero

This is an excellent exercise.

Right now I want you to write down a number. The number is the income you’d like to be earning per month by next year.

Ok, now write down the number you want your total net worth to be 5 years from now.

Got those numbers ON PAPER? (that’s important!)

Now… add a zero to the end of your numbers.

Big difference eh? That’s aiming higher.

When you look at those numbers, do different things start coming to your mind (besides the “OMG I could never do that”)… new and different ideas about how to make it happen? A little more excitement?

It sure did for me.

Post your numbers with the extra zero in front of your desk. That’s your new goal.

3. Change your mind

It’s easy in this online business to spend all your time trying to DO DO DO. However, I believe, that what happens on the outside is a direct reflection of what’s happening on the inside. Your thoughts and beliefs are what drive your success.

Where are your beliefs? All you have to do is take a look around you…where do you live? How much money is in the bank? How is your business doing?

If you don’t see what you hoped to see when you look around… it’s time to start making some changes from the inside out. Start listening to some personal development stuff, start reading books that are about changing your mind. T Harv Eker’s The Secrets of a Millionaire Mind is a great one… for the more analytical people out there The Answer by John Assaraf is excellent. The more quickly you can change your mind, the faster your external world will change as well.

The thing is… we can do do do until we’re blue in the face, but if our internal dialogue and beliefs continue to fall in line with “you’re stupid”, or “you can’t do this” you won’t. You’ve got to change the inside first.

4. Accountability

You’ve got to have it. If you don’t tell anyone your big goals you won’t accomplish them. Period. It’s a big statement, and I’ve yet to see anyone accomplish huge goals without having some sort of accountability. I’ve got a special accountability section set up at KISS Club so people can stay accountable out loud, but in a very supportive environment. The people who are using that piece of the club are moving forward quickly.

5. Do it with friends

Accountability is great, and totally necessary and there’s a certain kind of synergy and energy that builds when a few (or more) people come together to work on big goals. To see this in action all you have to do is check out what’s going on at Think Traffic right now. Corbett and his team have started a $1 Million Blog Challenge. They are going to create a brand new blog and build it up to a site that creates over $1 million dollars in income (over the life of the site). They’re doing it all out in the open (accountability) AND they’re inviting everyone to play along with their OWN blogs. They’re going to be showing exactly how they’re doing it, so we can do it too. They’re going to have accountability written in to the program, and a leaderboard so we can see who is making the most progress etc. It’s also a great way to connect with other bloggers and create those super important relationships. I’m definitely in!

What about you?

Are you willing to let go of mediocrity and small goals and start to aim higher? Are you willing to add a zero? Are you willing to work on yourself as much as, if not more, than you work on your business? Are you willing to start looking at NO in a new light, and stop being afraid of it?

I sure hope so… I can’t wait to hear what you think about these concepts… so please, tell me in the comments. And if you’re joining the $1 Million blog challenge let me know, I might be setting up something to go along with it.

Money Making Systems ~ Are You Following One Or Reinventing the Wheel?

Jackie Lee — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 14:35:39 +0000

Let me ask you a simple question:

Are you creating the level of wealth you want in your online business?

Ok. Second question:

What system are you using to create wealth in your online business?

I have had a serious AHA moment this week, and if you’ll bear with me, you may have one before you finish reading this post.

When I started internet marketing I read and read and read… I learned and learned and learned. Luckily I’m the kind of person who jumps into things half assed without having all the details, figuring I can learn them along the way. However, I know a LOT of people who are still learning ~ years later… trying to wait until they understand everything, and know all the details before they get started.

When I got started I bought a lot of products. (a lot) I went through the products and learned something from each and every one of them… however, what I failed to learn was this:

If I actually follow a proven system I can get ahead a LOT faster.

Yeah, I’d read a guide and pick up a piece here, do a piece there. I’d decide oh that piece doesn’t “feel good to me” or that other piece is too hard, I don’t want to do that piece.

Which is exactly where the problem lies.

All I had to do was just look at the results I’d achieved by trying to do things “my way”. I wasn’t rich. I wasn’t building a killer business. I wasn’t driving enough traffic. I wasn’t making enough money.

Why?! Because I was not willing to follow a proven system. I was not willing to put my ego aside. I was not willing to let go and accept that other people had already figured out the way… they’d done the testing, and the trying, and the revamping. I was not willing to let go of what I wanted to do in favor of accomplishing the goals I’d set for myself and my business.

The gurus have beat the hell out of the phrase “proven system” but if you really think about it at its most simple level, what is a proven money making system?

It is a series of steps that someone who is successfully doing what you want to do takes to get the results they want.

So… if you’re results aren’t where you want them to be… and this other person is taking these exact steps and their results are EXACTLY what you want… why are you being so resistant to doing what they are doing?

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, almost all of the products on the market work. It’s just a question of whether or not you’re willing to work them. ALL of them… not this step that feels “good” but every single step in the plan. The steps that drive you outside of your comfort zone. The steps that make you say “oh that’s not the way I would do it” ~ um.. hello… Remember? you’re way ain’t working…

I talked in a recent video about having to up our goals ~ stop making our goals so small, and this is true. The additional piece I’ve found in setting high goals is finding a proven system that works, and following it to. the. letter.

Whether you’re building niche product sites, building a mailing list, building halloween sites, building supersites, building an authority site, or even getting a network marketing business off the ground… it doesn’t matter what you’re trying to do, someone has come before you and has succeeded. The coolest thing about this whole online marketing thing is those successful people are almost always willing to share their money making system with you. Yes, it may cost you a few dollars, but in the end, not having to figure it out all on your own is well worth the price of admission.

The question is… can you let go and follow the plan?

I know at least part of the reason I’ve failed to follow the plan is I didn’t have a good understanding of WHY I was doing this business. This made it really easy to give in, give up when things got hard. It made it really easy to skip on merrily to the next shiny thing when that other “system” didn’t exactly work. (because I wasn’t actually following the system).

However… this week, I took out a piece of paper and I wrote down my top 3 reasons I’m building this online business.

I then continued and wrote down 20 more reasons I am building this business.

I printed them out… and hung them over my desk where I can see them every single day.

Those moments where I get down, or get off track, or wonder if this works, or wonder why I’m spending all this time for what seems like little reward ~ I look at those reasons… and I remember. Those reasons build up the fire in my spirit. Those reasons make me REMEMBER. Those reasons keep me moving forward. Those reasons push me to take the actions that are part of the proven plan that feel scary and not quite right to me. It’s those reasons that are creating the momentum.

And when the momentum starts to kick in… and you actually do ALL the steps of the plan, and you start to see things move, and happen. Traffic starts coming in. Sales start coming in. Leads start coming in. It builds and builds… but you’ve got to get that push to start and take methodical action from somewhere… and that somewhere is your WHY.

TODAY. NO. RIGHT NOW.

Stop what you’re doing, and write them down.

Top 3 reasons.

Another 20.

It makes all the difference in the world. So do it. If you want to have some accountability for those reasons, and your actions… join Kiss Club. The people inside are doing some AMAZING things. They inspire me daily.

Image: scottchan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Passive Income Means Money While I Sleep, Right?

Do You Know What to Do Today?

Jackie Lee — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 14:01:44 +0000

In every business model there are what I call “money making activities”. These are the tasks that when you do them, they actually move you forward toward making money.

In every business model there are a lot of time suck activities that we use to fill in the day, to make ourselves feel busy, like we’re “working”, but they do not move us forward toward making money.

So… how do you stop filling your days with time sucks and start filling it with your money making activities?

1. Know what your money making activities are!

I know it sounds ridiculous, but you really have to know exactly what you need to do to make money… bottom line. It will be different depending on your business model, but bottom line… what makes you money?

Blogging?

It’s probably creating and maintaining connections. (understanding you already have products available to sell… if you don’t have products, product creation definitely tops this list)

Niche Marketing?

It’s probably TRAFFIC! Getting quality, qualified, passive traffic to your site.

Network Marketing?

Getting prospects into your marketing funnel.

Is that what you would have said?

2. Identify the specific activities you can do to accomplish that goal.

Now that you know what you need you can start figuring out how to get it.

Blogging?

Creating killer content, guest posts, blog commenting, twitter, facebook… those are all great ways to create connection.

Niche Marketing?

You know I’m gonna say it… building backlinks. It’s the key to success here.

Network Marketing?

Getting your opportunity out there so people can call you or opt in or somehow get into your funnel.

3. Create a plan so you know what to do today (and everyday) to make it happen.

It’s all fine and good to know you have to build backlinks… or get your opportunity out there… but do you know exactly what that means for you today?!

Yeah, this is where the rubber meets the road folks. You have to know what you have to do today to move your business forward!

Do you need to contact 5 bloggers (or even 1) you admire and ask if you can write a guest post today?

Do you need to do one round of link building with Backlinking 101 today?

Do you need to put up 50 sticky notes around town about your opportunity today?

Do you need to write a blog post, because today is Tuesday, and on Tuesdays that’s what you do?

Do you need to spin an article and submit it to Unique Article Wizard, because today’s Tuesday and that’s what you do?

Do you need to post your ad on Craigslist in Atlanta today… because today’s Tuesday and that’s what you do?

If you don’t know what YOU need to do today to move your business forward you’re going to find yourself checking email (not a money making activity), checking facebook (hitting the refresh button to see if there’s something new every 30 seconds), reading blogs (if you’re not commenting… it doesn’t count, no one knows you’re there), fiddle farting around in general.

What are you going to do today?

If you don’t have any idea, I suggest that be what you do today… figure it OUT. Write down 5 things you can do today that will move you forward. Write them down… post them in front of your face, and then DO Them.

And then do them again tomorrow.

And the next day.

Taking consistent, daily, money making actions will move you forward… and you’ll see your growth. But you’ve got to be in it to win it.

I’d love to hear what you’re going to do today… tell me in the comments.

image credit:

5 Ways to Beat The Summer Slump

Jackie Lee — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 18:32:32 +0000

There are many wonderful things about Summer, like vacations, and swimming, and hiking, and kyaking, and and and…

You see what all of those things have in common? They are NOT in the house in front of the computer…

As a business owner you may be experiencing what is known as…

The Summer Slump

That time of year, usually around August where everything seems to just. slow. down.

It happens to me, and after talking with some other IM friends I’m pretty sure it happens to just about everybody. Every year I start to freak out this time of year… ahhh, the sky is falling, my business is crumbling, and then I stop and look at the calendar and realize it’s just August.

Things will look up… and if you use the summer slump to your advantage they can not only look up but skyrocket!!

Here’s some tips for taking advantage of the summer slump!

1. Think about Christmas.

Yes, I’m serious. As internet marketers now is the time to start thinking about Christmas. If you have products you’d like to sell for the holidays it’s time to get them posted, and start that linking!

2. Create a surplus.

You know it’s going to get crazy for a while when school starts again. Take this time to create a surplus of posts so you always have something ready to be published. You can do this right in your wp dashboard, and just save as draft. Then whenever you need an emergency post, there it is waiting for you.

3. Map Out the Rest of the Year

Business mapping is one of my favorite things to do in slumping times ~ because it gets me all pumped up and ready to get moving for the remainder of the year. What do you want for the rest of this year? Where do you want your business to be come January 1st? Do you have a product you want to put out? Get it all mapped out!

4. Create a product!

With less interaction happening on your blog, and less going on at Twitter and Facebook take advantage of the lack of distractions and put together your first (or next) product. You’ve got some time to get it done and be able to launch just when people are coming back to their computers.

5. Take a rest.

This may not be what you expect to hear from me, but maybe this slow time is the perfect time for you to take a break from your blog ~ to relax and rejuvenate so you can come back strong and with a new sense of energy and excitement. It’s a great time to take a little break and enjoy the last couple weeks of summer with your kiddos.

What about you? Are you feeling the Summer slump? Are you trying to use it to your advantage, or going with the flow and taking it easy? Please share in the comments.