Your Entrepreneur Lifestyle Awaits! Life the Life of Your Dreams by Building a Successful Business

Education Finder Site Update

June 14, 2009 – 11:34 pm

Education Finder has been updated. It’s got a new look, a new system, and it will soon have more content. For those of you unfamiliar with the site, it’s a portal to colleges and technical schools. Through that site, you can get in touch with a school’s admissions office, and learn everything you want to know about it, right from them.

So go check it out, bookmark it, and subscribe to the rss feed so you get regular updates. The rss icon is that cube in the footer. Remember, you need a marketable skill of some kind if you want to start a successful business.

Check it out: Education Finder - Colleges, Universities, Technical Schools

By Caleb | Posted in Education | Tagged career, Education, school, training | Comments (0)

Seven Dangers of Working from Home

June 9, 2009 – 7:36 pm

Working from home presents many dangers to the solo entrepreneur. I’m going to outline seven of these dangers, hoping that you won’t make these mistakes. You see, I’ve recently moved to working from home full time. Before this, I did a combination of on-site contractor work and working from home. Now that I am at home full time, I’ve come across some trouble spots that could affect your business.

Read these, think on them, and see how these dangers fit into your own situation. If you haven’t yet made the transition to moving from your office to your home office, these items are of special importance.

1. You will be able to wake up when your body is ready to do so. What’s better: Getting enough sleep every night, or sitting at your desk at a certain time?

2. The TV calls. That television is just sitting there, calling you to it with movies, your favorite DVR’d shows, or your gaming console of choice. It’s there and it’s hard to resist. What’s the harm in a little indulgence? NOTHING. Well, so long as it doesn’t interfere with your daily cashflow. I watch TV or play a little bit of my current video game when I’m eating or just taking a break to clear my head. And I do that whenever I need to, not on someone else’s clock. Honestly, what’s the harm in goofing off in front of the TV if that’s what you need to do to maintain your own personal efficiency.

As a side note, I once knew a guy that — I swear — had the word “efficiency” confused with the phrase “work constantly without stopping no matter what.” Now that’s a seriously messed up outlook. If you need to give the TV some attention to give yourself a break and maintain efficiency, do it.

3. Hygiene. What’s the point? When you don’t have to be anywhere, why shower or brush your teeth? Until you can’t stand your own smell, is there really a point? OK, a couple of things come to mind: Cavities, fungus growing in weird places on your body, and burning holes in your clothing from your stench and the aforementioned fungus (also bacteria). Basically, you will become gross.

Don’t worry, though. You can shower and brush your teeth whenever you want. I usually wait until mid-morning. I get up, take some coffee, goof off, work some, then clean myself up. It works. Don’t neglect your personal hygiene, but keep in mind that you can do it whenever you want.

4. You will be tempted to buy things with all that gas money and lunch money you no longer have to spend. Those two things add up to a lot. What are you going to do with that extra money? Go out to eat every day anyway? Blow it on a new $60 video game each week, and then buy a bunch of candy just because you can?

No. Although all that is tempting, you should instead invest that money in your business. Either just save it as operating cash, or spend it on marketing.

5. You’re going to have time on your hands. Crave interruptions and useless meetings? You won’t find any here. When you work from your home office, you don’t get distractions or time wasters. You just get your work done and then live the lifestyle you want with all the “free time” you create by cutting out the nonsense.

6. Your stress levels will decrease to unheard-of levels. Never before has your stress been so low. This can cause some people to panic, as they are used to being in a state of “near-stroke” all the time. If you find yourself panicking, don’t worry. Just take a moment, watch some TV, take a nap, and forget about it. You’ll feel better. Not having to deal with all the crap associated with the modern workplace can drastically reduce your stress levels. Your body may react…strangely, but don’t worry. It will pass. There is hope, and you can learn to live with your decreased stress levels. People do it every day. You can, too.

7. What are you going to do with all that earning potential? That’s right, now that you are working from home, you can remove that earning cap previously placed on you by your corporate overlords (aka your “Boss”). How much you earn is up to you, and how much you pay yourself is also up to you. There are no limits except those you place on yourself.

If you haven’t yet broken free and started to work from home, make it your primary life goal. It’s so much better on the outside. It really is.

By Caleb | Posted in Business, Entrepreneur, Lifestyle Design, Workplace | Tagged dangers, Entrepreneur, working from home | Comments (1)

Stop Losing Money at your Dead-End Job

March 29, 2009 – 8:42 am

This is going to be largely theoretical, but bear with me. This should make sense to you by the end. You get paid at your job, right? Are you losing money by being there, getting paid?

Maybe.

How can you lose money while you are getting paid? Simple: If you could be making more outside your job, then you are potentially losing the difference between what you could be making and what you are making. If your earning potential is more than what you are currently earning, wouldn’t your time be better spent elsewhere?

Let’s run some numbers to put this into perspective. We’ll say that you are the following fictitious employee in this example situation:

Job: 3D Computer Animator
Status: Employee of mid-sized company
Pay Rate: $20 per hour
Time on the job: 8 hours + 1 hour lunch + 45 minute round-trip commute

$20 per hour for 8 hours is $160 per day. But your day isn’t just 8 hours long. Once you add in your lunch — which is part of the work day — and your commute, your day ends up being 9.75 hours long. When you look at the total time of your work day, you are really making $16.41 per hour, instead of $20. If your commute was an hour each way, your hourly rate would be even less. Remember, your commute and lunch break are really part of your work day because they are part of your daily money-wheel routine.

So, if you are making $16.41 per hour, how are you losing money? Well, literally speaking, you aren’t losing money, but you are losing potential earnings. I’ll explain.

Say that you hear about a guy who does the same thing you do, but he gets paid $100 per hour. When you find out about this, you want to know all the details. Since you’re only making (let’s round up) $17 per hour, you find the possibility of making $100 an hour very interesting. Upon further research, you find out that this individual works as a freelance computer animator, and he’s so busy that he turns away work.

Even more interested now, you dig a little deeper and find out that there is a whole market for independent computer animators. Furthermore, they make anywhere from $30 - $150 an hour, and sometimes more (I have no idea if this is accurate…remember, this is just an example). Even at the low end, freelance computer animators make more than you do. And this is where the concept of earning potential fits in.

After doing some research, you determine that your current skill level warrants a rate of $55 per hour. This puts you somewhere in the mid-range as far as rates go. If you were to go freelance, your starting hourly rate would be $55. Right now you are making $17 an hour, so this jump in pay — even when taking taxes into consideration — is big.

You then decide to test the market to see if jumping to freelancing full-time is a viable option. You create an online portfolio, business cards, and join a couple of freelance job sites. After a bit of work, you manage to land and complete a few small jobs. You have some extra cash in your pocket, and you’re feeling pretty good about it. After seeing the volume of work out there you’re capable of completing, and at your current rates, you determine that it’s a viable option.

The following week, while sitting at your desk, a thought strikes you: “I’m losing money right now.” Technically speaking, you aren’t losing money, because you’re making $17 per hour. What you are losing is the potential earnings of $55 per hour. This nets you a total loss potential of $38 per hour. That’s a lot of money that you are potentially losing.

You’ve already proven to yourself that you can make more money per hour by working freelance. Theoretically, every hour you spend at your “job” loses you $38. Could you use that time more wisely? Is keeping your current employment the best thing you can do for your own financial security?

Based on these example numbers, I feel safe saying the answer is no. Ultimately, it’s up to you. You’ll have to decide if your earning potential is enough of a change to push you to take action. I encourage you to take a long look at your situation to see if you could be better off by yourself. If you could be earning more, what would the smart move be?

My own experience is this: Working freelance got me more money per hour than working for someone else.

By Caleb | Posted in Business, Entrepreneur, Freelance | Tagged Business, Entrepreneur, Freelance | Comments (0)

Cube Escape #17: An Introduction to Starting a Business

January 15, 2009 – 8:46 pm

Thinking about starting your own business, but you don’t know where to begin? Start here, with this episode of Cube Escape.

In it, I talk about 7 simple steps to getting starting with your own business. Listen to them, put them into practice, and start on the road to personal and professional freedom.

Download the episode here: Cube Escape #17: An Introduction to Starting a Business

Cube Escape#17: An Introduction to Starting a Business [20:16m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (387)

By Caleb | Posted in Podcast | Tagged Entrepreneur, starting a business | Comments (0)

The Holidays are Over - Plan to Grow Your Business in 2009

December 29, 2008 – 1:44 pm

Do you have growth plans for your business for the coming year? I’ve got plans for mine — I have plans for steady (and substantial) growth for this coming year. What are you going to do to grow your business?

I’ve got a couple of things cooking that I am going to work on and launch in the spring. Why this spring? Why not at the beginning of the year? It’s simple, really. Spring is when all new projects should start. I say that because it just matches well with the season.

Spring is when life starts showing its face again out there in what I like to call “nature.” You are familiar with “nature,” aren’t you? You do get out and enjoy the trees, grass, and a breeze rustling your hair? When spring starts, life starts to show up all around you. And with that life comes positive energy. Life is all around you and everything is new. It’s the perfect time to launch a new project.

I’ve got a couple of things I’m working on right now — getting them ready for a spring launch. If you don’t have any plans to launch anything this spring, I encourage you to think of some. Find a nice quiet spot and just start thinking. Before long, ideas will start to flow so fast that you’ll need to start filtering them. Pick out one or two good ones, get them ready, and launch them in the spring.

Focus on growth in 2009 for your business. Everyone is saying the economy is down and we’re in rough times. Try to think of it in another (more positive) way. Gas prices are down so low that most of us have an additional $25 - $50 each week to spend. From this perspective, the economy is looking up!

Find some new growth-oriented projects, plan them, and launch them in the spring.

By Caleb | Posted in Business, Goals | Tagged 2009, Business, new projects, spring | Comments (0)

Cube Escape #16: Rest and Relax this Holiday Season

December 18, 2008 – 10:48 pm

It’s important to get enough rest and relaxation. Why not start right now? The holiday season is upon us, and I think it’s time for some R&R.

You’ll also learn the best time to start on your new projects. And…it’s not the first of the year. Dump your New Year’s Resolutions and try this instead.

Here is the link I mention in the professional training section:

Programming and IT Training Programs

Download this episode: Cube Escape #16

Cube Escape #16: Rest and Relax This Holiday Season [12:12m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (282)

By Caleb | Posted in Podcast | Tagged new projects, relaxation, rest | Comments (0)

Get A Job!

December 15, 2008 – 10:54 pm

Anyone ever tell you to get a job? Have you ever said those words to yourself? I have before, but not any more. I’m going to share with you just a little bit of the outlook I’ve developed over the last few years…relating specifically to getting a job.

You see, I have rejected the system. I’ve done this for one simple reason: It doesn’t work for me. So, why not adapt to it? I am pretty flexible. But I’m not going to adapt to that way of life. Why should I let someone else’s seemingly arbitrary idea of how my life should play out run my day to day existence? I reject the system.

What about you? How do you feel about a “job?” My mom — well rooted in the Industrial Age — is alwasy asking me about benefits and insurance. What’s the big deal? Why should I have a job to get health care? Do I really need some corporate “parent” to take care of me? My mom always asks, “what about benefits?” when I tell her about running my own company. She’s always talking about health insurance.

For those of you wondering, yes, there are plenty of ways to get affordable health care without resorting to getting a job or going on welfare. But that’s a topic for another post, so I’m not going to go into it now.

What I want you to do is to change how you think, and how you react to certain situations. Don’t count on some company to take care of you. Instead, take care of yourself. You’re not a child any more. In our society, we have become dependent on some institution — someone is always going to be there to take care of us. They give us a check, they give us health coverage, they give us this and that…but for what? A just-barely-enough paycheck?

I reject the system.

Change your mode of thinking. When times are tough and you need some money, don’t say, “I need to get a job,” or, ” I need a better paying job.” You should be saying things like, “I need to start my own company,” or, “I should expand my product line to increase my monthly cash flow.”

What I’m suggesting to you is self-reliance. Take care of yourself and dictate your own future.

By Caleb | Posted in Employment, Entrepreneur | Tagged jobs, self-reliance, the system | Comments (2)

Cube Escape #15: The Importance of Rest and Relaxation for the New Business Owner

December 4, 2008 – 7:23 pm

Episode 15 of the Cube Escape Podcast is all about the importance of finding rest and relaxation, especially for the new business owner. I talk about…

Why you need rest
How to go about making yourself rest

And then I move into this episode’s professional training section. This time, I point you to a school where you can learn Massage Therapy — for those of you who are interested in starting a Massage Therapy clinic as a business.

Here is the link to the school in the Los Angeles, CA area: American Career College.

You can download the episode here: Cube Escape #15

Cube Escape #15: The Importance of Rest and Relaxation [16:46m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (266)

By Caleb | Posted in Podcast | Tagged cube escape, massage therapy, relaxation, rest | Comments (0)

How To Set Up an Email Newsletter on Your Site

December 3, 2008 – 10:27 pm

Setting up an email newsletter on your site is pretty easy. Previously, I explained why you should put a newsletter on your site: here and here. Now I’m going to give you simple step-by-step instructions for doing it yourself. Don’t worry. If you have any trouble, there are plenty of freelancers who can do it for cheap.

Step 1: Sign Up with Aweber

When dealing with email newsletters, there’s a lot to keep track of. Spam laws, subscriber metrics, autoresponders, and so on can eat up a lot of your time if you try to do it yourself.

Sign up with Aweber, and they’ll take care of all the details for you. Aweber is the only newsletter service I use, and I’m very pleased with them. They take all the work out of managing an email newsletter.

Once you sign up, the very first thing you should do is read the Get Started Guide. Look for it at the top of the page, to the right.

Step 2: Realize That Your List is Your Friend

According to every single Internet Marketing guru I’ve ever talked to or listened to, email newsletters are the best thing you can do to grow your business. Fortunately, setting up a list is easy.

If you haven’t set up your Aweber account yet, do that before you continue: Aweber signup.

Step 3: Create a Web Form

Start your list by clicking Add New in the upper left area of your management page. Alternatively, you can just alter the default list, which comes with every Aweber account. Make sure you follow all the instructions and set up the return email address and such.

Then, hover over List Settings and click on Web Form. Click the button that says Create New Web Form, follow the on-screen instructions, and you’ll be ready to go.

Once you get it set up, you’ll get some javascript that you can insert into your page code to display the form on your site.

Step 4: Set Up an Autoresponder Series

The next step is to set up autoresponders. These are messages that are sent out to your subscribers. The first one will go out immediately after they confirm their subscription. Then, if you have more (which is highly recommended), they will be sent out automatically at intervals you choose. So, if you set up some messages to go out four days apart, they’ll do it. You can find the autoresponder creation area by hovering over Messages and clicking Follow Up.

I recommend a welcome email to be sent immediately, and then six or seven messages spaced out every three to eight days. These messages probably shouldn’t sell right away. They need to provide information of value to your readers so they A) don’t unsubscribe, and B) start to see you as an expert on the subject.

Step 5: Create or Acquire Your Free Sign-Up Bonus

To get sign-ups, you really need to offer something for free, like an ebook, report, or how-to guide of some kind. People don’t like giving out their contact information for no reason. Give them some incentive. You can upload it to your web server and link to it from your welcome message.

When people see a free bonus for signing up, they are more likely to do so. When you keep sending them valuable information, your prospects are less likely to unsubscribe, and more likely to buy from you in the future.

Step 6: Create Your First Broadcast Message

Once you have at least one subscriber, you need to start creating Broadcast Messages. These are going to be special announcements and your regular newsletter. Basically, anything that doesn’t qualify as an autoresponder should be sent out as a broadcast.

Broadcast messages are sent out at once — and just one time — to every member of your list, old and new. To set one up, hover over Messages at the top navigation area of your Aweber admin page. Click on Broadcast, and you’ll end up on your broadcast messages page. Here you will be able to view your past broadcasts, as well as create a new one.

Just click on the Create Broadcast Message, and make it. You can use just plain text, plain HTML, or you can use an HTML template to create some great-looking messages. Create it, save it, test it, and then send it out to your list.

Step 7: Test and Tweak to Maximize Sign-Ups

Having an email newsletter is all about creating a relationship with your readers, listeners, and prospects. Your goal should be to have as big a list as possible. The more people you have that want to hear what you have to say or offer, the more success you’ll find.

Just like any marketing efforts, you’ll need to test and tweak until your results get better and better. Never stop testing, and never stop improving. Some ways that you can test your sign-ups and list is to change the offer, change the way you ask for sign-ups, and change the location of the sign-up form.

If you find something that increases your sign-ups, stick with it for a while and then start looking for ways to improve it.

Bonus Info: How I Went From Zero to Several Sign-ups a Day

On one of my sites, I went from zero sign-ups to several a day. I have an online shop that sells outdoor and survival gear, and I was getting anywhere from 150 to 200 page views a day. Not much traffic for a shop, and I wasn’t getting anyone to sign up. So I made some changes and things started coming together.

First, I offered a free ebook with the purchase. The sign-up form was on the bottom of every page, and it didn’t get anything. No one signed up. I quickly decided to do something different. So I did some research and borrowed some strategies from more successful list owners.

Since I wanted to promote my shop, I decided to offer a coupon as the sign-up bonus. Everyone that signs up gets a 15% off coupon they can use once. I created a lightbox pop-over form (a lightbox is a cool effect…check out my shop to see it), and also kept the form at the bottom of the page.

I started getting sign-ups the first day. After a little while, I began to get three or four sign-ups a day, with about the same amount of traffic. I get at least one a day still, and my traffic is increasing, too. Additionally, those coupons have turned into sales…which is good. Overall, I’ve seen an increase in traffic and sales, and the only thing I’ve done is institute an email newsletter.

Do it now if you haven’t already. It’s worth a few minutes of your time.

Extra Bonus Info: Where to Find Help When You Need It

And if you don’t have any idea how to do this, or if you just don’t have the time, hire someone to set it up for you. Go to Elance or Guru.com and find a freelancer to do it for you. You should be able to find someone who can set it up quickly and for a reasonable rate.

If you don’t have an email newsletter on your site(s), you need to start now. Get a newsletter going, start collecting leads, and grow your business.

Aweber is the only service I use and recommend. Use them and you’ll be happy.

By Caleb | Posted in Business, Internet Marketing, Marketing | Tagged autoresponder, aweber, email newsletter | Comments (0)

Blogging to the Bank 3 Review

November 17, 2008 – 10:25 pm

Say you’re a blogger, writing about whatever interests you. Then you hear about some people making money with their blogs. Why not you? That’s what crosses your mind, but does the thought go any further?

Can you make money with your blog? Can you create a network of blogs designed to both inform and engage the reader and pull money in your direction?

Yes.

But how? My first foray into Google AdSense netted me about $2.46 after the first 6 months. My dreams of making money were quickly dying. But then I learned a few things. I learned that there’s more to blogging that writing stuff no one cares about and throwing Google ads around it.

Real money – serious amounts of money – can be made by blogging. But you’ve got to know how to do it, and you’ve got to have the right system…a system set up from the beginning to pull prospects and money to your blogs.

The funny thing is that everyone can do this, but not a lot of people will. Do you know why? Because it takes some work. Making money with blogs isn’t a scheme, and it’s not life of luxury (well, not at first…). It’s work. But you can get paid handsomely for that work, and enjoy what you do every day.

I’ve just finished reading Blogging to the Bank by Rob Benwell. It’s pretty good. I’ve been blogging for a while now, and I still learned some stuff. If you haven’t been blogging for long, or if you’re totally new to blogging, then this book is definitely for you.

You can take the concepts in this book, apply them to your own situation, and start making some money. You might not make money right away, but you can do it. You can create a blog, or a network of blogs, that turns a profit for you.

Wouldn’t that be nice? I remember when one of my sites started turning a profit. It was small, but it was greater than the operating costs, and I loved it.

To get that sense of joy and the satisfaction of a job well done – not to mention the cash! – just go get Blogging to the Bank 3. I really don’t think you’ll regret it.

Get the book. Use it. Profit.

By Caleb | Posted in Blogging, Business, Entrepreneur, Internet Business, Internet Marketing | Tagged Blogging, blogging to the bank, Internet Business | Comments (0)

Teaching You to Start and Grow a Successful Business that You Love