Joined FL in late 2007 w/10K+ in CC Debt. Now biz averages 170K/month. AMAA

[klh6686]

Holy crap, I somehow almost missed this thread, good thing I found it though!

Awesome intro and I love your eagerness to tell it how it is!

Perhaps you can shed a little more light on how the beginnings of your business were? I mean was it pick a product and it blew up over night or what? Just like many others on this site I'm pretty clueless but working on some deals to try to bring some value to a market and build something for myself. It's great to hear about other's first steps as I'm taking mine.

Thanks for your willingness to share with us!

 

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[TropicalGuy]

Sure... it took what felt like forever. Even when we had some success and sales, we had more problems. Like -- we have to hire somebody to do all this customer service. Or: we have to spend all of our money to buy more products! We had to learn about the #'s, watching our inventory turns, and taking big money risks (for us, especially at the time, any money was a big money risk).

I think one of the baked in advantages for us was that we weren't doing software or information products or blog blog blogging. We were building hard goods products that solved a problem for people. Shitty parking equipment? Buy mine. Hate carpeted cat furniture? Check out my cool cat furniture.

No product = no conversation. No information. No money.

Once we decided on our first products, we pushed as hard as we could to get some market assurance they'd sell from our photoshop mock-ups (landing pages with PPC campaigns) and on the development side with suppliers to deliver a workable prototype. Once we got something half-sellable, we got a loan and orded a less than container load first order run. We made just enough money on some sub-par quality stuff to order our second round. Most important thing was that we had customers, and we were in business.

1) Get in business. 2) STAY in business. 3) Keep innovating.

It takes a long time to pay off, generally. Our first 2-3 years were very, very difficult. Constant hustle and cash constraints. Hence the 1,000 Day Principle. Full time focus past your first invoice for 1,000 Days, and that's pretty much what it takes from what I've seen (and in my position I get to see 100's of businesses annually). That's 1,000 days till you come up for some air and make some decent money. That's just the beginning...

I have seen some wizards do it faster

Also, small point but, you aren't trying to build something for yourself.

Holy crap, I somehow almost missed this thread, good thing I found it though!

Awesome intro and I love your eagerness to tell it how it is!

Perhaps you can shed a little more light on how the beginnings of your business were? I mean was it pick a product and it blew up over night or what? Just like many others on this site I'm pretty clueless but working on some deals to try to bring some value to a market and build something for myself. It's great to hear about other's first steps as I'm taking mine.

Thanks for your willingness to share with us!

 

[gogiver8figs]

Speaking of books getting you ahead in life, WOW this one is amazing:

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business

Great Book - thanks for mentioning it. For members of the community interested the science of success habit installation, I invested about 80 hours into researching many of the leading experts. I then made a list. Here are some of them:

The Kaizen Way - Dr. Robert Maurer
BJ Fogg - (Stanford Persuasive Technologies Lab)
Nir Eyal
ZenHabits.com Blog
also:

The Compound Effect
The Slight Edge

Talent Is Overated
The Talent Code

 

[Jake]

Please keep up the good work and maybe I can buy you a brew in Thailand some day.

Look me up. I'll throw in on some beers as well

 

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[Halffull]

Great Book - thanks for mentioning it. For members of the community interested the science of success habit installation, I invested about 80 hours into researching many of the leading experts. I then made a list. Here are some of them:

The Kaizen Way - Dr. Robert Maurer
BJ Fogg - (Stanford Persuasive Technologies Lab)
Nir Eyal
ZenHabits.com Blog
also:

The Compound Effect
The Slight Edge

Talent Is Overated
The Talent Code

One of the top books out there on behavior change that doesn't get enough press is "Changing for Good" by James Prochaska. I think it's not popular because it's not formulated like the top self help books with cool acronyms and dramatic case studies. It's just a concise breakdown by a top researcher in the field of exactly what strategies to use to change, and when to use them.

 

[TK1]

If you allow I have another question for you:

Jason Nazar talks in this video about the one most thing founders need to focus on in their business.

The One Most Important Thing in Your Business

Specifically in your business, what were the most important things (not only the first one after starting your biz) you've done over the years for your business that you know had the biggest impact?

Thanks a lot, I think the community appreciates your effort over here very much :eusa_clap:

 

[TropicalGuy]

I follow this advice: I forget where I got it but I call it "MIT" = "most important task." You want to move your biz forward in some way everyday. For my team members I call it "TWIB" or "this week's big initiative" so weekly they are responsible for reporting on that.

Outside of that it's a really difficult question to answer. I think the biggest thing is to focus on the practice of entrepreneurship. If other entrepreneurs aren't excited to hang out with you, you should ask yourself why.

I love this quote recently pulled out by Paul Graham:

"You want to know how to paint a perfect painting? It's easy. Make yourself perfect and then just paint naturally. " Robert Pirsig

In other words, the practice is more important than the object. Find a way to become an entrepreneur. Hang out with us. Befriend us. Do projects with us. Eventually.....

If I didn't get at it, feel free to ask again

Happy new year !

If you allow I have another question for you:

Jason Nazar talks in this video about the one most thing founders need to focus on in their business.

The One Most Important Thing in Your Business

Specifically in your business, what were the most important things (not only the first one after starting your biz) you've done over the years for your business that you know had the biggest impact?

Thanks a lot, I think the community appreciates your effort over here very much :eusa_clap:

 

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[G_Alexander]

TropicalGuy,

Nice to have you on board. I am interested in your story, even though my primary path is real estate. Outside of my real estate investing, I have dozens of ideas (ideas = non-valuable; opportunities = attract cash), own several domains and have some contacts for a few eCommerce niches I may delve into later this year.

My short to mid-term goals are to get out of my job as soon as possible (gleaning all finance skills I can from it), expand my real estate holdings with the purchase of a 30+ unit apartment building, gain control of two seller financed mobile home parks and begin a non-public real estate fund. Cash flow is currently growing, and once I am at a stable level I will plow all gains into business product opportunities (likely utilizing eCommerce sales channel) and additional value-add multi-family real estate properties.

All information aside; I look forward to learning from you and acting as a sounding board for any real estate ideas you may be curious about. At the end of the day, we are all here to push eachother forward.

Here is to 2013 :cheers:

Best,

G

 

[Yussef]

Dan Dizzle,

I would like your thoughts on a new strategy I am testing. I figure that since I am selling products, services and information online, visibility is critical if I stand any chance at selling anything. My thinking is that it doesn't matter how good your product is if no-one knows it's out there, right?

This is a system I am using.

So I have spent the past 6 months learning how to seek out exact match keywords and phrases related to my niche or products and ranking my sites on the first page of phrases with no less than 2500 local exact match keyword searches per month. My sites always have the exact keyword included in the url as well the description, I then use market samurai (about 5 indicators) to see what the first page SEO competition looks like before I go after the organic first page search spot. I summarized the process a lot here but I intend to apply this to an online furniture store (and a few other sites) that I am starting but noticed that you mentioned cpc.

Do you guys incorporate any SEO strategies for your product sites or is it all CPC? And how do you feel about SEO or is it just more efficient for you to pay to place an add versus going after free traffic?

 

[TropicalGuy]

Thanks G! Biz sounds great best of luck with it and happy new year!!

TropicalGuy,

Nice to have you on board. I am interested in your story, even though my primary path is real estate. Outside of my real estate investing, I have dozens of ideas (ideas = non-valuable; opportunities = attract cash), own several domains and have some contacts for a few eCommerce niches I may delve into later this year.

My short to mid-term goals are to get out of my job as soon as possible (gleaning all finance skills I can from it), expand my real estate holdings with the purchase of a 30+ unit apartment building, gain control of two seller financed mobile home parks and begin a non-public real estate fund. Cash flow is currently growing, and once I am at a stable level I will plow all gains into business product opportunities (likely utilizing eCommerce sales channel) and additional value-add multi-family real estate properties.

All information aside; I look forward to learning from you and acting as a sounding board for any real estate ideas you may be curious about. At the end of the day, we are all here to push eachother forward.

Here is to 2013 :cheers:

Best,

G

 

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[TropicalGuy]

Y-Money,

I think your product is very important. Let's say you ship it to 5 people. Are those 5 people going to sell it (or mention it) to the next 5? If you are still the development stage I would consider baking in a 'viral' element to your products.... something remarkable.... something worth sharing and talking about.

Regarding the SEO strategy-- you are probably over-thinking it. Better to have one article that is interesting and sharable to your target market than 25 covering keywords. That said structure your content well and publish as often as makes sense.

CPC vs. SEO will depend a lot on your product, but generally if one works the other should because they are the same thing. If you can't buy an add for premium SERP placement you can't afford the SEO either. A lot of people will pursue SEO anyway b/c they don't see the cost of it because they are just spending their time on it. That doesn't, however, mean it's free!

Anyway, if you are spending 6 months testing an SEO strategy, you aren't getting into the furniture biz, you are getting into the SEO biz.

Here it is:

Y MONEYZ CONTENT SPREADFIRE SEO MANAGED SERVICES

297/MO for 4 KEYWORD TARGETS

Here's what you get:

-Blah
-Blah
-Blah

See also: SupremacySEO and SEOPartner.com

Dan Dizzle,

I would like your thoughts on a new strategy I am testing. I figure that since I am selling products, services and information online, visibility is critical if I stand any chance at selling anything. My thinking is that it doesn't matter how good your product is if no-one knows it's out there, right?

This is a system I am using.

So I have spent the past 6 months learning how to seek out exact match keywords and phrases related to my niche or products and ranking my sites on the first page of phrases with no less than 2500 local exact match keyword searches per month. My sites always have the exact keyword included in the url as well the description, I then use market samurai (about 5 indicators) to see what the first page SEO competition looks like before I go after the organic first page search spot. I summarized the process a lot here but I intend to apply this to an online furniture store (and a few other sites) that I am starting but noticed that you mentioned cpc.

Do you guys incorporate any SEO strategies for your product sites or is it all CPC? And how do you feel about SEO or is it just more efficient for you to pay to place an add versus going after free traffic?

 

[Eos]

I don't think you need to do it on your own first. It's probably a case of the resistance if you are doing too much prep. You just need to know enough to ask the right questions. Spend some real time sitting with and analyzing their web strategy and sites. I think this is the part people miss: your time won't be wasted. Even if the guy tells you to f-off, you can take that analysis to the next guy and say: check this out.... And so on. So yeah, working for others will be more useful in the beginning because you'll be working on a business that has some momentum and real assets... you'll learn a lot faster ...

Thank you very much.
Where would you advise looking for entrepreneurs receptive to this? I know here on the forum could be a good place to start..
One idea I've had in the past was in setting up a site where entrepreneurs could
outsource work tasks to english speaking apprentices looking for mentoring in return. What do you think of this ? Like tropical MBA virtual internships..

 

[Vick]

Wow! this thread is killer, a lot of good info in here. Thanks for sharing Dan. And congratulations on all your success and continuing success. Very inspiring!

I was wondering if you might have any advice for me? anything at all, would love to know your thoughts. Thanks!

This is my business > Pixel Prints

Cheers,

-Mark

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

I think your product is very important. Let's say you ship it to 5 people. Are those 5 people going to sell it (or mention it) to the next 5? If you are still the development stage I would consider baking in a 'viral' element to your products.... something remarkable.... something worth sharing and talking about.

I think this is one thing that is entirely underestimated by entrepreneurs.

if you don't have a phone number on your website, you are leaving it on the table.

Indeed, I found a tel # will increase conversions.

Thanks for sharing your experiences "AMA" style.

 

[TK1]

I think this is one thing that is entirely underestimated by entrepreneurs.

Yup, it only took one sentence to make Dropbox a billion dollar business:

“For every friend who joins Dropbox, we’ll give you both 250 MB of bonus space.”

or:

“For every company that your company invites that joins Dropbox, we’ll give both companies 50 GB of bonus space.”

 

[JasonR]

Thanks for this thread. I actually listen to your prodcast, and you guys know your stuff. Thanks for doing this!

The only question I have for you, is how do you find the ideas for your products? That's something I seem to struggle with.

 

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[TropicalGuy]

I tried something like this idea and although there was a lot of interest, I found myself being a low-paid baby sitter. Tons of problems as a biz model so I'd skip it if it's your first big run. I actually was email recently from a start-up doing exactly this (and they hand raised a seed round!), and I explained the same to them.

You'll find entrepreneurs through their Twitter, Facebook, Blogs, Forums, etc. The good ones won't be seeking free work or apprentices because they are very busy and they pay people to work for them. The biggest mistake people make when people decide to take this advice is they don't understand how hard it's going to be. This is both the hard and important work in business-- building high level trusting relationships. I'm sure that's part of the reason there is no good push-button service for it (that I know of). I talked a little bit more about this yesterday:

Episode #136

Thank you very much.
Where would you advise looking for entrepreneurs receptive to this? I know here on the forum could be a good place to start..
One idea I've had in the past was in setting up a site where entrepreneurs could
outsource work tasks to english speaking apprentices looking for mentoring in return. What do you think of this ? Like tropical MBA virtual internships..

 

[TropicalGuy]

Hey Jason I actually struggled with this at the beginning too, like how on earth do people pull this stuff out of their asses? Ian my biz partner is one of those guys who goes to the gas station and has 10 ideas on products that would improve it.

5 years later I do the same thing, I think it's a muscle somewhere-- but what I've learned is this: do what you are already doing. What are you already buying and using? Can you copy and improve it? Distribute it to a new market? Who doesn't know about it? And so on...

It's tough to dream up a product out of the blue and get it to market. Instead get a job working for a small product firm where that type of behavior is normal.

Are you currently buying any online services? SEO copywriting? Does it solve all of your problems?

Does my podcast solve all of your problems? Isn't there something it's not doing that the world would find useful?

How about this forum?

And so on....

Look at what is already in your hands and uplevel.

Thanks for this thread. I actually listen to your prodcast, and you guys know your stuff. Thanks for doing this!

The only question I have for you, is how do you find the ideas for your products? That's something I seem to struggle with.

 

[TropicalGuy]

Here's some more info regarding the retention philosophy you and MJ are eluding to and I brought up with Yussef:

Startup Metrics for Pirates: AARRR! - Master of 500 Hats
Episode 112 | Startup Metrics for Pirates | Startups For the Rest of Us


TLDR version is: if your product isn't working for your first 20 users, why spend your resources finding the next 20?

Yup, it only took one sentence to make Dropbox a billion dollar business:

“For every friend who joins Dropbox, we’ll give you both 250 MB of bonus space.”

or:


“For every company that your company invites that joins Dropbox, we’ll give both companies 50 GB of bonus space.”

 

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[TropicalGuy]

Yo Mark looks slick... I'll assume this is a new business?

This website looks like the landing page of a biz that has "made it" and decided to go out and get a website.

At first I didn't scroll down and I was confused as to what you guys did. Then I went down and managed to put it together. Your guarantee is the info that jumps out to me the most... instead I'd look for a headline that pulls in your ideal client.

I'm much more of a direct response guy when trying to get traction with new products. Are you familiar with Dan Kennedy? His "NO BS Guide to Direct Marketing" is the shiz.

Check out this website: DropDeadCopy.com

Very different biz, but in less than 3 seconds you can pretty much figure out exactly what he does.

I think you can do the same and still keep the sweet-looking design.

I actually like the apporach you are taking here: Canvas Art Print much better for your front page. If you led in with the key value proposition (or the key question in your prospects head)... I'm not sure what that is:

Looking for high quality artwork for your home that won't break the bank?
Pixel prints uses state-of-the-art matte printer widgets to print your art on real canvases.
AND we ship everything in 24 hours and guarantee everything. If you don't like it, send it back.

::: off and running with sweet looking iPad-esque long form sales page with alternating photos of product:::

Balla!

Wow! this thread is killer, a lot of good info in here. Thanks for sharing Dan. And congratulations on all your success and continuing success. Very inspiring!

I was wondering if you might have any advice for me? anything at all, would love to know your thoughts. Thanks!

This is my business > Pixel Prints

Cheers,

-Mark

 

[DennisD]

Ian my biz partner is one of those guys who goes to the gas station and has 10 ideas on products that would improve it.

Haha.. This is me. It's difficult for me to go SHOPPING because walking through a single store gives me an overload on viable product ideas. I become frustrated because I know I'll never be able to accomplish 100% of my ideas. It seemed impossible to me that some people could have a lack of product or biz ideas. Threads like "what should I do with my 20K" seem equally ridiculous for the same reason.


Dan: I'm looking to start a weekly podcast.

I have a background in digital media production, and I don't think maintaining an acceptable minimum level of quality would be a problem to start with (I actually emailed you about editing Tropical Talk and LBP a few months ago).

It would be aimed at Small/Medium sized business owners, although if wantrepreneurs and those interested in internet marketing become interested, that would be fine with me. My underlying monetization method is bringing awareness to my marketing services. Hopefully either those that follow or the friends of those who follow will become interested in working with a marketing 'expert' who hosts his own podcast. Becoming #1 in itunes isn't something I'm too worried about as long as I reach the people I want to reach through other means. Even if this means the people I pass my business card out to, when investigating my website notice I have a podcast... I consider that a win.

I will talk about things like effective use of QR codes, why content blogging is important, keeping a re-marketable list of customers (either via facebook or an email list), effectiveness comparison between purchased ppc google/twitter/facebook ads, writing effective direct response newspaper ads, etc.

There are tons of INTERNET marketing podcasts I listen to, but I really want to reflect what I intend my services to eventually become. (right now I only do internet marketing, but once I reach a certain scale I want to move on to television, radio, and print ads.)

I also have outlines for catchy novelty episodes. 'twitter for people who don't get twitter', 'how to run your business like a street gang', 'the fruit tree theory', and many more.

The podcast would only be me behind the mic. I've attempted to start a podcast before with my best friend... only to realize he truly brought no value, I was frustrated having to constantly edit around him, and he was never around when I wanted to record. Just me with occasional guests is a much better format for me to deliver consistently.

Do you have any suggestions on how to gain some initial popularity? I know constantly putting out great content regularly is the best way to gain new followers, but until I can prove myself I want to gain SOME traction, even if it's only 15-20 followers.

Right now I'm hoping to reach out to bloggers on their media platforms and reaching out to them. I don't expect their audience to become instant fans of ME or anything... but I hope that if I appear in multiple places around the same timeframe, the fans which intersect with those multiple platforms will be interested enough to give me a 'shot'. Derek and Dane were able to do this.

1) Reach out to Pat from SPI and hope to do a 'video guest post' where using clever animation (example of such clever animation: KFCs Offensive Ad Campaign ) I explain a concept that relates specifically to his core message/audience (in this case it would be 'offering value: what the heck does it mean")
2) Reach out to Derek from ST and do a similar video guest post on The Kuleshov Effect, a psychological video editing principle.
3) Leave you and Ian an audio message for the LBP. A 'tip/trick/funny joke' all-in-one. It's actually a funny joke that you can tell which builds your confidence levels and increases your selling ability. It's sort-of a long joke, so if I'm unable to edit it for time I'd provide a 'guest video post' similar to above which demonstrates it.
4) Reach out to Tim from FA. Honestly haven't figured out this one yet, but I know I want to do it. Perhaps a tip/trick I've learned for contacting offline clients (considering he's doing the marketing consultant blueprint right now).
5) Jason and Jeremy from IBM. I can submit a 'success story' seeing as how I constantly listened to their podcast constantly while building myself up.

What do you think? would something like this have an effect? would anybody 'go for it'? Do you have any other tips/tricks for making this 'big'?

 

[chipreneur]

Dan,
I’m really glad to find this thread. Thanks very much for sharing your insights and congrats on your success!

I’m a guy in early-30’s, have family/kids, a top-tier MBA, a fancy job with a major oil & gas company in Houston, and a couple of real estate investments. I consider myself a finance/accounting expert. Yet I have always wanted to be an entrepreneur. So I’m actively trying to reengineer my career/life to be a fulltime entrepreneur.

A couple years ago, I started a side business which is an online music instruments retailer (I am an avid musician). It’s a full-blown ecommerce (very little dropship). It’s a lot of work (especially in the beginning), the profit has been so-so (competitive industry, price-conscious customers), but it’s been a great learning experience, lotsa fun, and it's also given me a lot of confidence! I’m currently looking for future ideas/projects.

Btw, I actually grew up in Jakarta and have a ton of contacts there. I go back to visit relatives regularly, and sometimes make an excursion to Bali. Perhaps we can hang out next time I’m there.

Questions for you:
1) Do you make your products in China or Indonesia (or somewhere else)? If not Indonesia, why not (considering you are already there)?
2) Do you have any advice for my music retail business?
3) Also would appreciate any advice, ideas, on how to leverage my Jakarta connections & Houston base to create a future business? If you can be as specific as you can, that will be even better

Regards,
Chip

 

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[Shakeandbake]

Hey Dan,

Just read your thread as I'm a new member here and wanted to get your advice on a dilemma I have about expanding my current business. Would love to hear your input and advice!

Background
I've been in business for about 4 years selling automotive wheels and tires. The business is mainly online selling locally, with no overhead. I've been successful in what I do and have been growing yearly on a consistent basis. I run the show myself, and no other partners or employees at this moment. Sales have grown and I think it is time to expand and open a full retail store to have a further customer reach. I have about 300k in sales, so it definitely has some potential even though I don't have a B&M store front or do it full time, yet.

Dilemma
I've been seriously considering having a partner (which is a friend for a few years -we're not best friends or anything of that nature). He has the technical skills in installing wheels and tires and all the other stuff that is required to run a shop that can do tire/wheel installations. He has years of experience so I trust that he can run the back competently without me helping (I don't want to do labour work).

We've been thinking on how we can do this "partnership" and what type of spit we would do. If we do split 50/50, he is required to bring more capital upfront as I have established a proven company that has a very steady flow of customers and revenue.

On another note, I feel that I will be contributing more as I have to run the front of the shop, and all administration work, networking, marketing, wholesale side and other various roles that would be ontop of the usual sales quotes and customer care. He says the he can help with this, but because he has no experience and I don't want to rely on such a vague solution of "I can try and help", I feel that a 50/50 would be unfair for myself and selling myself short (as I have made a name for myself and the company, and built it from the ground up).

I was thinking along the lines of an equal contribution in capital but not a 50/50 split. Example, 65/35 or something of that nature.

My reason in wanting to do a partnership is because I can rely on him for running the back end of the shop, and I don't have the capital to completely fund this expansion. I would love to just hire someone for cheap, but the back end of the shop has a lot of liability and it's a big responsibility than to hire just anyone. I've heard lots of NOs on parternships and a lot of YESs as well.

Lastly, where do I find information in Industry Profit Margins? Currently, my profit margin is about 15%. A lot of people say its very small, but for tires/wheels, they can be anywhere from $300-1200+. My profit margin would of course increase when I have a B&M store front. I have to keep margins low at this time since I needed to make a name for myself.

Your take? Thanks!

PS: after reading this forum a bit, I've already subscribed to Dan's podcast and am thinking of reading MJs book. I love discussion of business and exchanging ideas and conversation, about improving and innovating....I think I found a forum I can actually increase my intellect and business acumen.

PPS: I just bought the book, can't wait to take a crack at it!

 

[TK1]

I agree.

That's a mistake MANY new businesses make.

Their first homepage is a page that doesn't answer in a few seconds what the site is offering, so the user has to click through the navigation to find out more.

Then there is some page like the one TropicalGuy mentioned that answers all the customer has to know.

Your first home page has to answer all the most important questions for the visitor WITHOUT having to click through etc. The more time passes by that makes your visitor think, the higher the rate of people leaving your site. You have to visit a site and think "Oh, nice, I need that!". Build your site the way your perfect customer understands directly what your offer is, what seperates you from the competition and make it easy and fast for them to buy. Less is more.

Right now your site needs WAY too much thinking, clicking, browsing searching. I would delete like 50% of all the content on it.

- the navigation has way too many options for the beginning - all those strange names when you have the mouse over the menu "gallery". The menu gallery has SEVEN links to other pages. Which potential customer is going to browse through 7 sites and buy?

- I would change the name "gallery" into "SHOP OUR PRODUCTS" or just "Browse", "Buy Art" etc.

- the "product" site needs to be your first basic homepage site. This site has to give every site visitor the feeling "Oh nice, that's what this is about".

- the SIZES menu and site is nice, I like this. Good job! (I would personally have this page linked in my left sticky social media buttons menu and call it something like "How big is my product" Sticky social media buttons menu?? Read the next..)

- Add a sticky social media button menu - visit for example TropicalGuy's website and see the left menu to share his blog posts: Episode #136

- think in general about sticky menus: Sticky Menus Are Quicker To Navigate | Smashing UX Design

- the opt-in form for users to enter there e-mail adress looks ugly and like it's out of place. I would have an opt-in form in a hello bar, maybe think about using a footer sticky bar: Web Toolbar - Get More Clicks with the Hello Bar Notification Bar

- your footer looks not finished, because a footer like this should be completely filled with links etc. to look 100% professional. I would either drop the footer or fill it up by the time with all important pages.

- drop the twitter box 'latest tweets' - or put it into the footer (I would drop it, I think people who buy art for hundreds and thousands care more about professional stylish look and feel than your latest tweets).

- the long, long copy text on your main page looks ugly formated. I don't think anybody will read it really...
very important: don't write a long text etc. describing all your benefits etc. BUT list them with checkmarks like this one: http://www.aspenheating.ca/images/benefits-list.jpg

- use a coupon like this one: http://www.canvasartdesigns.com/skin1/images/BF2012v4.jpg

- think about your most important claim you make and put it right on the top of your page next to your logo etc. See like zappos does it: Shoes, Clothing, and More | Zappos.com "FREE SHIPPING AND FREE RETURNS - 365 days a year"

- overall your website needs to motivate me to browse all your art right after I am on your site, I buy because of look and feel. You need to communicate more with pictures than text, because your customers are design interested - take a look how apple does it.

PS: Read the book "Don't make me think" by Steve Krug

PPS: How I would do a site like this.
#1 TOP - Sticky navigation bar with 3-5 menus - only like "Shop Art" "Questions? Contact us?", cart-my account and search form.
#2 main content page = all your products
#3 FOOTER - sticky navigation bar with "About" "FAQ" and opt-in form to get user e-mails.
#4 LEFT sticky menu with social icons.

List of sites I like and would learn from in your business field:

Box - Signs | Shop DapperFrog.com
Poster, Kunstdrucke und Leinwandbilder bestellen bei ARTFLAKES. Rechnungskauf, schnelle Lieferung und Zufriedenheitsgarantie. - ARTFLAKES.COM (my favorite one)
Wall Art | Canvas Art | Posters, Panoramic Photos | Great Big Canvas
EUROGRAPHICS - The World of Pictures: Home (one of the biggest art dealers in germany, you can find their products in every home improvement store in the country)
Canvas Wall Art & Canvas Prints - iCanvasART.com

Good luck mate, I hope you will be a success story over here

Yo Mark looks slick... I'll assume this is a new business?

This website looks like the landing page of a biz that has "made it" and decided to go out and get a website.

At first I didn't scroll down and I was confused as to what you guys did. Then I went down and managed to put it together. Your guarantee is the info that jumps out to me the most... instead I'd look for a headline that pulls in your ideal client.

I'm much more of a direct response guy when trying to get traction with new products. Are you familiar with Dan Kennedy? His "NO BS Guide to Direct Marketing" is the shiz.

Check out this website: DropDeadCopy.com

Very different biz, but in less than 3 seconds you can pretty much figure out exactly what he does.

I think you can do the same and still keep the sweet-looking design.

I actually like the apporach you are taking here: Canvas Art Print much better for your front page. If you led in with the key value proposition (or the key question in your prospects head)... I'm not sure what that is:

Looking for high quality artwork for your home that won't break the bank?
Pixel prints uses state-of-the-art matte printer widgets to print your art on real canvases.
AND we ship everything in 24 hours and guarantee everything. If you don't like it, send it back.

::: off and running with sweet looking iPad-esque long form sales page with alternating photos of product:::

Balla!

 

[TropicalGuy]

Yo rockin'! Let me know when you are live I'd love to give it a listen.

I'd worry less about marketing tricks and more about angling your content. Why is your show and approach unique? You described yourself basically as just another small biz marketing podcast. I'd have something more angled, even if it's just a catch phrase. Call it your point of view. What is yours? It could be for example that native advertising is the future and the best way to grow small businesses. It could be that content marketing. It could be etc etc...

In the case of the LBP the underlying POV is you can have a "real" business and travel full time too.

All of your strategies below sound great. My focus was always on making the best show possible, that's what will get you respect right out of the gate. Talk about real successes, back your points up with research and data, etc. Set yourself apart with the actual show and influencers will want to listen.

Quick tip regarding marketing-- when you link to somebody else's site always link into a WP podcast so you "ping" them.

Also it doesn't hurt to interview others on your show. They will often promote it. Even if they don't you'll get a chance to talk with them which is invaluable. I always jump on Skype for interviews, I never check to see who it is. Auto-yes!

Haha.. This is me. It's difficult for me to go SHOPPING because walking through a single store gives me an overload on viable product ideas. I become frustrated because I know I'll never be able to accomplish 100% of my ideas. It seemed impossible to me that some people could have a lack of product or biz ideas. Threads like "what should I do with my 20K" seem equally ridiculous for the same reason.


Dan: I'm looking to start a weekly podcast.

I have a background in digital media production, and I don't think maintaining an acceptable minimum level of quality would be a problem to start with (I actually emailed you about editing Tropical Talk and LBP a few months ago).

It would be aimed at Small/Medium sized business owners, although if wantrepreneurs and those interested in internet marketing become interested, that would be fine with me. My underlying monetization method is bringing awareness to my marketing services. Hopefully either those that follow or the friends of those who follow will become interested in working with a marketing 'expert' who hosts his own podcast. Becoming #1 in itunes isn't something I'm too worried about as long as I reach the people I want to reach through other means. Even if this means the people I pass my business card out to, when investigating my website notice I have a podcast... I consider that a win.

I will talk about things like effective use of QR codes, why content blogging is important, keeping a re-marketable list of customers (either via facebook or an email list), effectiveness comparison between purchased ppc google/twitter/facebook ads, writing effective direct response newspaper ads, etc.

There are tons of INTERNET marketing podcasts I listen to, but I really want to reflect what I intend my services to eventually become. (right now I only do internet marketing, but once I reach a certain scale I want to move on to television, radio, and print ads.)

I also have outlines for catchy novelty episodes. 'twitter for people who don't get twitter', 'how to run your business like a street gang', 'the fruit tree theory', and many more.

The podcast would only be me behind the mic. I've attempted to start a podcast before with my best friend... only to realize he truly brought no value, I was frustrated having to constantly edit around him, and he was never around when I wanted to record. Just me with occasional guests is a much better format for me to deliver consistently.

Do you have any suggestions on how to gain some initial popularity? I know constantly putting out great content regularly is the best way to gain new followers, but until I can prove myself I want to gain SOME traction, even if it's only 15-20 followers.

Right now I'm hoping to reach out to bloggers on their media platforms and reaching out to them. I don't expect their audience to become instant fans of ME or anything... but I hope that if I appear in multiple places around the same timeframe, the fans which intersect with those multiple platforms will be interested enough to give me a 'shot'. Derek and Dane were able to do this.

1) Reach out to Pat from SPI and hope to do a 'video guest post' where using clever animation (example of such clever animation: KFCs Offensive Ad Campaign ) I explain a concept that relates specifically to his core message/audience (in this case it would be 'offering value: what the heck does it mean")
2) Reach out to Derek from ST and do a similar video guest post on The Kuleshov Effect, a psychological video editing principle.
3) Leave you and Ian an audio message for the LBP. A 'tip/trick/funny joke' all-in-one. It's actually a funny joke that you can tell which builds your confidence levels and increases your selling ability. It's sort-of a long joke, so if I'm unable to edit it for time I'd provide a 'guest video post' similar to above which demonstrates it.
4) Reach out to Tim from FA. Honestly haven't figured out this one yet, but I know I want to do it. Perhaps a tip/trick I've learned for contacting offline clients (considering he's doing the marketing consultant blueprint right now).
5) Jason and Jeremy from IBM. I can submit a 'success story' seeing as how I constantly listened to their podcast constantly while building myself up.

What do you think? would something like this have an effect? would anybody 'go for it'? Do you have any other tips/tricks for making this 'big'?

 

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[TropicalGuy]

Hey Chip... you sound like the kind of guy who's going to crack this entrepreneurship thing

We MFG in China because of quality/speed/price of plastic molds/welded steel/ and MDF products. Indo can't compare.

Regarding the retail music biz to succeed with margins you'll have to bundle your products with content somehow. Like you could partner (or create) video series' on how to play guitar or how to start a church band and then sell the PAs/kits/etc required to make it happen. So you can remove the commodity effect by walking people through the info. You could try to be a back-end partner for one of the big name YT publishers like Marty Swartz or Justin Guitar. You could position AMP/FX/AXE combos that bundled sell for higher margins plus include autograph and training and that'll give you enough margin to feed the kids and pay commission.

Nothing comes to mind immediately RE: Jakarta, I have a rule that I stay out of local business. I find opportunities on the webz and if those ops dictate a sales team or warehouse or developer I ask: what's the best place to get that?

When you get to Bali drop me a line!

Dan,
I’m really glad to find this thread. Thanks very much for sharing your insights and congrats on your success!

I’m a guy in early-30’s, have family/kids, a top-tier MBA, a fancy job with a major oil & gas company in Houston, and a couple of real estate investments. I consider myself a finance/accounting expert. Yet I have always wanted to be an entrepreneur. So I’m actively trying to reengineer my career/life to be a fulltime entrepreneur.

A couple years ago, I started a side business which is an online music instruments retailer (I am an avid musician). It’s a full-blown ecommerce (very little dropship). It’s a lot of work (especially in the beginning), the profit has been so-so (competitive industry, price-conscious customers), but it’s been a great learning experience, lotsa fun, and it's also given me a lot of confidence! I’m currently looking for future ideas/projects.

Btw, I actually grew up in Jakarta and have a ton of contacts there. I go back to visit relatives regularly, and sometimes make an excursion to Bali. Perhaps we can hang out next time I’m there.

Questions for you:
1) Do you make your products in China or Indonesia (or somewhere else)? If not Indonesia, why not (considering you are already there)?
2) Do you have any advice for my music retail business?
3) Also would appreciate any advice, ideas, on how to leverage my Jakarta connections & Houston base to create a future business? If you can be as specific as you can, that will be even better

Regards,
Chip

 

[TropicalGuy]

HEYO! FO SHO read MJ's book. It's not only useful but it's FUN. Great way to spend a day.

I don't know much here I'm shooting from the hip based on my first read of your post: I'd scrap the partnership. There's a smart biz maxim goes: don't partner for things you can pay cash for. Even if you don't have the cash yet for B&M, it would be better and cheaper to get small biz loan than to bring on partner who contributes less.

Couple other things I thought: Why expand B&M when you could expand online? Why not push into new neighboring markets and own the online. The guy who owns online has the power and will eventually be able to push around B&M guys who missed the boat. You'll be able to deep-partner with them or buy them out.

If your buddy is pumped about B&M sit down at the table with him and tell him you'll send him leads. Negotiate the price and say "have fun with your biz!" A few years down the line, when he's done the hard work and risk that you've done, you can come back to the table and discuss taking over the world together.

Also listen to my podcast Episode #134 – If It Makes You Money, You Shouldn’t Be Doing It (The SOP Episode)

At 45K personal income annually you should take 15 of it and hire front line customer service and website updater for 400 to 1K a month. You should talk to them on Skype every morning and take things to the next level

Hey Dan,

Just read your thread as I'm a new member here and wanted to get your advice on a dilemma I have about expanding my current business. Would love to hear your input and advice!

Background
I've been in business for about 4 years selling automotive wheels and tires. The business is mainly online selling locally, with no overhead. I've been successful in what I do and have been growing yearly on a consistent basis. I run the show myself, and no other partners or employees at this moment. Sales have grown and I think it is time to expand and open a full retail store to have a further customer reach. I have about 300k in sales, so it definitely has some potential even though I don't have a B&M store front or do it full time, yet.

Dilemma
I've been seriously considering having a partner (which is a friend for a few years -we're not best friends or anything of that nature). He has the technical skills in installing wheels and tires and all the other stuff that is required to run a shop that can do tire/wheel installations. He has years of experience so I trust that he can run the back competently without me helping (I don't want to do labour work).

We've been thinking on how we can do this "partnership" and what type of spit we would do. If we do split 50/50, he is required to bring more capital upfront as I have established a proven company that has a very steady flow of customers and revenue.

On another note, I feel that I will be contributing more as I have to run the front of the shop, and all administration work, networking, marketing, wholesale side and other various roles that would be ontop of the usual sales quotes and customer care. He says the he can help with this, but because he has no experience and I don't want to rely on such a vague solution of "I can try and help", I feel that a 50/50 would be unfair for myself and selling myself short (as I have made a name for myself and the company, and built it from the ground up).

I was thinking along the lines of an equal contribution in capital but not a 50/50 split. Example, 65/35 or something of that nature.

My reason in wanting to do a partnership is because I can rely on him for running the back end of the shop, and I don't have the capital to completely fund this expansion. I would love to just hire someone for cheap, but the back end of the shop has a lot of liability and it's a big responsibility than to hire just anyone. I've heard lots of NOs on parternships and a lot of YESs as well.

Lastly, where do I find information in Industry Profit Margins? Currently, my profit margin is about 15%. A lot of people say its very small, but for tires/wheels, they can be anywhere from $300-1200+. My profit margin would of course increase when I have a B&M store front. I have to keep margins low at this time since I needed to make a name for myself.

Your take? Thanks!

PS: after reading this forum a bit, I've already subscribed to Dan's podcast and am thinking of reading MJs book. I love discussion of business and exchanging ideas and conversation, about improving and innovating....I think I found a forum I can actually increase my intellect and business acumen.

PPS: I just bought the book, can't wait to take a crack at it!

 

[OnePerCent]

Also, while I'm on a roll: a "market" shouldn't be confused with a demographic. "Cat owners" are a demographic. They aren't my market. "People who buy cat furniture" are a market. I know it seems academic, but the distinction can prove useful. As a marketer, you aren't seeking to reach certain demographics, you are seeking to reach certain cash-flows.

A basic gem that almost any entrepreneur is missing.
Another great thread to follow TropicalGuy

 

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[TropicalGuy]

In another forum I hang out in we call this type of post a "value bomb."

I agree.

That's a mistake MANY new businesses make.

Their first homepage is a page that doesn't answer in a few seconds what the site is offering, so the user has to click through the navigation to find out more.

Then there is some page like the one TropicalGuy mentioned that answers all the customer has to know.

Your first home page has to answer all the most important questions for the visitor WITHOUT having to click through etc. The more time passes by that makes your visitor think, the higher the rate of people leaving your site. You have to visit a site and think "Oh, nice, I need that!". Build your site the way your perfect customer understands directly what your offer is, what seperates you from the competition and make it easy and fast for them to buy. Less is more.

Right now your site needs WAY too much thinking, clicking, browsing searching. I would delete like 50% of all the content on it.

 

[DennisD]

I'd worry less about marketing tricks and more about angling your content. Why is your show and approach unique? You described yourself basically as just another small biz marketing podcast. I'd have something more angled, even if it's just a catch phrase. Call it your point of view. What is yours? It could be for example that native advertising is the future and the best way to grow small businesses. It could be that content marketing. It could be etc etc...

Been thinking a lot about this. I just sent an email to your 'lifestylebusinesspodcast' address. Subject Line: Podcast Angle Idea Smackdown.

I tried to PM it but it was over xxxx characters... and I don't want to post it here and draw attention away from the value you're offering others. Thanks a lot for your help thus far! I had a sleepless night thinking about podcast topics and angles.