Archive for April, 2009

Joining the Work From Home Moms Club

If you have wondered how to join the “Work from Home Moms” club, and thought that you could never do it, Lori Ramsey will inspire you.

Lori Ramsey is a successful work at home mom who raises 6 kids while building her internet business.  She makes a full time income by developing and managing 4 websites, including www.stages-of-pregnancy.com.

On April 17, 2009 I had the opportunity to interview Lori and find out how she does it.  This interview, takes you through Lori’s story–from learning to open an email to eventually creating an income that exceeds her husband’s.  And she tells her story as a chronology of having babies.

Find out how Lori:

  • Started with a retail business site and why that was stressful for her.
  • How SBI changed Lori’s business and gave her back her dining room table.
  • Challenges to being a WAHM.
  • How Lori uses “mother time” writes an article in 10 minutes or less.
  • How long it took for Lori’s business to take off (less than you think)?
  • Lori’s biggest challenge to running her business and what every mom-preneur should know to master it.

Lori’s story is an inspiration to every woman who has dreamed of working from home and caring for her children.

To learn more about Lori Ramsey, please read Work From Home Moms.

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Is Your Business Broken? “This is Broken” by Seth Godin

Seth Godin, one of my favorite marketing philosophies, gave a talk about breaking your relationship with your audience.  “This is Broken” gives examples of communication which try to achieve one goal, but end up achieving something entirely different.

In Seth’s first example, he shows some debit cards which he received from a cell phone company to reward him for signing up.  But the cards expire in 60 days, and are difficult to use.  And the cards were designed for exactly that purpose–to be so difficult to use that many people won’t use them.  Part of the calculus of the “Sign Up Bonus” is hoping that some people won’t get their bonus.

Many companies operate on this principle.  Instead of taking the opportunity to build customer loyalty, to get me so excited about my new cell phone company that I go out and tell me friends, they withhold and offer false benefits.  They “break” the relationship from the beginning.

This is a great lesson.  We can all name times when we have dealt with companies and walk away disgusted with their policies and lies.

And it’s important to ask ourselves as marketers, are we doing the same thing?

This lesson is hard to see when we are talking about ourselves. I’ll give you an example of how it can work.

Right now, the new way to offer internet training is via videos.

But I hate video training.

First of all, you can’t search a video for the part you want to look up the way you can with an e-book.  You can’t skim.  If the video is 46 minutes long, I have to sit their for the whole time, or constantly move my cursor every couple of minutes, hoping to happen upon the section I want to watch.  Videos are dull.

But many people love them.

If I offer trainings, and ignore the desires of clients, and write an e-book, I have broken the relationship from the beginning.  People who want a video must mold themselves into my preferences.  I have made it hard for them.

I can choose to break this relationship or not.  I can choose to cater specifically to people who prefer e-books, and let the video-loving people go elsewhere.  I can tell the e-book people a story about how great e-books are that they will love to hear.

But I have broken the relationship with the video people.

And if my training is about how to make your business available to many people, I have not used my systems in alliance with my goals.

So it’s a choice.

Look at your business and imagine yourself a new person interacting with your systems.  Does it work easily?  Do your systems reflect your goals?

Or will people come to you and say, “This is broken”?

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Internet Overdose and Business Craziness

Watch this hilarious video if you’re sitting at your computer twittering away with people you’ve never met and neglecting your real friends!

My, what have we created??!!

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Seth Godin and the Power of the Tribe

If you want to change the world, get a tribe of 1000 people.

Seth Godin, my marketing hero, recently did an interview with Loic Le Meur.  One of the points that Seth makes, is that if you want to change the world, find your tribe who agree.

He points out that you need a tribe of people who all think like you.  When these people go to their tribes, your message will spread.

Seth Godin is a powerful marketer, but more than that, he is a profound philosopher.

His message is all about how we spread the things we love to one another. Our job as business people is to provide the things people love.

The best marketing is not convincing someone to love what you have, but to have what they love.  After that, they will do the marketing for you.

Be the Best in Your Tribe

Another point Seth makes is that whatever you do–be the best.  Not the second best, not the third best–you must be the best.

He pointed out that in the world of $2000 video cameras, people will buy the best one.  If you are second best, your game is over–no one will buy yours.

This can be applied to everything we do in life, but in particular, to how we do business.

If you are market health products for diabetes, then offer the best help for diabetes.  If you teach people how to blog, give them the best training.

No one will look at your services and say “Gee, she’s not as good as Nancy, but I’ll buy from her anyway.”

You must be the best in your tribe.

…And that also means that you must know your tribe.

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Internet Business Classes for WAHM’s

Many moms (or is it every mom?) dream of working at home while caring for her kids.  But how do you get started?  Internet business classes are the stepping stone to that dream, but how do you find them?

My favorite website building classes, Site Build It, or “SBI”, not only teach about building your business, they show.

As you work, you actually build your business.  Less theory and more practicality.

You learn by doing and at the end of the class, you have a business, not just a certificate.

Now SBI has a new way to learn: e-learning classes.

You get all the convenience of learning at home, on your own, but with a structure that focuses you.

I started my SBI websites on my own.  It has been a great journey, but it has had a long, slow learning curve.   As a beginner, it was easy to get off track or muddled from all the possibilities.

When I started my websites, e-learning classes at SBI did not exist.  If I had it to over again, I would have started with e-learning.

I like the fact that you have an real, experienced instructor to take your through the process.  As much as the e-world offers flexibility and convenience to the WAHM, there is nothing better than working with a real person.

If you are thinking about starting an internet business, check out my Squidoo lends; Internet Business Classes for tips about deciding if its right for you.

And to learn more about this great e-learning program, read about SBI’s New E-learing Classes.

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