Letting Your Business Outgrow Itself... Tiny Lists Can Be Fun... Upside-Down Marketing... and Much, Much More
By Michael Masterson
In today's essay, I explain why your favorite restaurant -- the one with a two-hour wait every night -- will close as soon as they add more tables. Also in this issue, I share how I snuck into a museum during a busy workday. And then I tell you about the only healthcare provider you can trust. Later in the week... From success mentor Brian Tracy, we hear why your grandfather could afford to be lazy at work -- and why you don't have that luxury. Julie Broad, Internet Money Club member and founder of Revnyou.com, reveals how having "backup" saved two years' worth of work on her Internet business. And she's not talking about an IT gizmo. Paul Lawrence, creator of several programs for ETR, shows you how to harness the "power of the guru" to develop profitable products. And, finally, Internet Money Club Director Brian Edmondson tells us why going to Penn State helped him make six figures annually as an Internet marketer. -----------------------------------------------------Highly Recommended ----------------------------------------------------- A Surprise on the Table for NEXT Thanksgiving... Picture yourself 12 months from now... Sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner in 2010... You're thankful for food on your table and family and friends. But you're also grateful for much more... Perhaps it's the second stream of income that's sending $500 to $5,000 bucks into your bank account each week... Or perhaps the $25,000... $50,000... or even $100,000 or more you've added to your current business... Or maybe you give thanks for finally being able to leave your current job behind... run your own six- or seven-figure Internet business... work on your own terms... do something you love... and make money doing it! ETR can help you make that Thanksgiving dream a reality. We've put together a special "Thanksgiving Wealth Collection": 7 of ETR's top wealth- and business-building programs for up to 52% off the full price. Any one of these programs could help you add $500 to $5,000 or more to your monthly income by this time next year. But act fast. These deep discounts end Monday at 5:00 pm.
"Business, more than any other occupation, is a continual dealing with the future; it is a continual calculation, an instinctive exercise in foresight." Henry R. Luce Understanding the "Optimal Selling Strategy" of Your Business
By Michael Masterson
Norm Brodsky wrote something in Inc. magazine several years ago that has stuck with me. It echoes a belief I share with him about the fundamental nature of business: "If you don't really know what's driving your success, you have to be careful about the strategy you adopt. There's a risk, after all, that you may accidentally undermine whatever made your company successful in the first place." Brodsky cites, as an example, a friend of his who sold trendy jeans and other casual clothing to young women. He wanted to increase the size of his store. When the space next door became available, he wanted to take it, knock down the adjoining wall, and double his inventory. It sounded like a good idea -- given how busy his store was. But when Brodsky questioned him, it became clear that his friend hadn't the vaguest idea why people liked to shop there. When Brodsky analyzed the plan in detail and considered, among other things, the higher per-foot rate the landlord wanted to charge, he realized that his friend would need more than $1 million in extra sales each year just to break even. Since his friend admitted that he wasn't losing any sales to overcrowding, Brodsky advised against the move. That was good advice. How many times have you seen a successful restaurant expand, only to see its business become attenuated and eventually disappear? The same holds true for many retail businesses. Bigger isn't always better. But you won't know if that holds true for your business until you have figured out how and why the business works. There comes a time when the lights come on and you feel like you truly understand your business. This is not likely to happen right away. For some, it takes years and years. But when that "Aha!" moment comes, it brings with it a sense of confidence and energy that makes your successes come more often and more easily. Often, the secret you discover is disturbingly simple. It is something basic to every business that I call the "optimal selling strategy." By that, I mean the fundamental things you have to know to make a profitable sale: where to advertise, how much to spend on advertising, how to position your product in terms of the competition, how to price it, what kind of guarantee to give, etc. In a nutshell, understanding the optimal selling strategy means understanding how to acquire a customer for a reasonable cost. Until you get that working, the future of your business is uncertain. You are running your business scared, because you sense, deep down inside, that you don't really "get it." As the top guy, you do the best you can. You judge each situation on its own merits. But you long for some general principle that can make your decisions simpler. And that comes with the "Aha!" moment. If you are a top-guy-in-waiting, it's important to try to get to the "Aha!" moment before you are put in charge. There's nothing worse than taking on a fast-growing business and watching it sputter and stall under your leadership. Conversely, there's nothing better than taking on a stalled operation and making it work. But unless you really know what you are doing, you will never be sure you can make it keep working. And that means you will never lead with confidence. Wherever you are in your career, you have to do this: You have to understand what makes your business grow and what the secrets are to making it profitable. Do you understand the optimal selling strategy of your business? Don't answer too quickly. It's more than just knowing how things are usually done. I'm asking if you think you understand the underlying equation that allows you to attract prospects to your product, sell them, deliver your product, and then sell them other things too -- all at an acceptable profit. If you do, good. If you don't, get to work. May the "Aha!" moment find you soon. P.S. Want to start your own business? I recommend you go online. It's cheaper, easier, and the profit margins can be huge. But before you'll see true success, you must discover your optimal selling strategy. In the Internet Money Club, Director Brian Edmondson gives you not only a top-notch education in Internet marketing, he helps you discover that fundamental truth about your business. The class of 2010 is launching tomorrow to a select group of ETR readers. It's not too late. You can still sign up for the IMC "hotlist" here. -----------------------------------------------------Highly Recommended ----------------------------------------------------- Do You Make the Most of Your Time? - Michael Masterson has a super-busy schedule. But he can still make time to do what he loves. Can you do the same? If you feel hemmed in by deadlines and obligations... and never have time for yourself... let success mentor Bob Cox show you his proven time management techniques. Read more...
Living Rich: Traveling to an Appointment My Way
By Michael Masterson
I have a lunch appointment in Baltimore. I take an early flight to D.C. and get into the city (one of America's greatest) three hours before my appointment. I go directly to the National Gallery of Art. Just before I enter the main exhibition gallery, I see a room full of George Bellows's work. I love George Bellows. In the center of the room is a comfortable couch. I sit in front of "New York," a big, energetic painting of what looks like downtown on a gray day (like today) in 1911. In the foreground, a throng of pedestrians, walking in that bent-forward way New Yorkers have. In the center, trucks and horse-drawn wagons and buses and cars. In the background, a park -- and then those tall, tired buildings. I sit there very happily for 20 minutes. In a little while, I'll be on the train heading north to my meeting. For the moment, I'm richer than Bill Gates. I've stolen an hour of my precious life's time. It's all mine. You are having a problem with a member of your team. It's affecting everybody. Your instinct is to call a meeting and give a speech that addresses the problem in general. You won't mention names or point fingers. You figure the message will get through. It will, but maybe not in a positive way. He'll realize that it's "about him" and will (a) freeze up from embarrassment or (b) freeze up from resentment. It's much better to solve a problem with an individual employee privately. Have a one-on-one meeting. Or write him a personal memo. If necessary, make two or three attempts. After three attempts, if you don't have a significantly positive response, you will probably have to get rid of him. Here's my jaundiced view (after having been in the health-publishing business for almost 20 years): When it comes to relying on your doctor's advice... don't. Most GPs are too busy rushing from patient to patient to be able to keep up with current medical knowledge. It's an impossible task for a generalist. Specialists are like highly trained mechanics. They have made their reputation doing a certain procedure reasonably well. And they'll just keep doing that same thing so long as it will make them money. Of the dozens of doctors I've worked with over the years, I've trusted the advice of only a few. Based on that, here are my recommendations: - When it's important, get a second opinion.
- Be leery of conventional doctors, especially when they recommend drugs or surgery without considering alternatives. (Alternative practitioners are not perfect either.)
- Ask questions. If the doctor seems annoyed, get a new one.
Latest News -
The launch of the next Internet Money Club is just around the corner. We've been building what we call a "hot list" for months now. The folks on the list are going to get first dibs on the limited spots available. They'll have the opportunity to sign up before the rest of our 450,000 or so subscribers. If you are serious about creating a second income online, you need to be on that list.
"This, indeed, is a thought provoking write up. And I surely gained a lot by revisiting these words of wisdom. I felt enriched. I had been straying a bit. But this essay was enough to bring me back on track."
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Today's Words That Work: Attenuate To attenuate (un-TEN-yoo-ate) -- from the Latin for "to reduce" -- is to weaken or diminish in strength, value, amount, or degree. Example (as used by Michael Masterson today): "How many times have you seen a successful restaurant expand, only to see its business become attenuated and eventually disappear?"
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