Pleasure into Profit
Many people who know we have an e-commerce business ask us how we got into our niche, and what would be a good idea for them. This is as big of a question as you can possibly ask. Our niche came very naturally; it is part of our heritage. But, what could you possibly have to sell? Currently we are working with a few customers who have taken their hobbies to the next level, and are going to be selling their crafts and their hobby wares on their websites. What is your special hobby or craft you think people like me (a functional craft illiterate) might like to buy? Think that is a silly idea, selling crafts on line? Don’t tell Etsy.Com . They have been in business since 2005 making a space on the internet for people all over the world to sell and buy crafts, home- made and vintage items, and they host eight hundred thousand sellers and twelve million buyer accounts.
Etsy does have some rules about the age of their vintage items, but again, while Etsy has a great platform, you don’t need to sell there if your items don’t fit their criteria. Perhaps you are a button collector and you have jars and jars and envelopes and Tupperware© containers full of beautiful buttons you have clipped from clothing going to the rag bag. While you might really enjoy seeing and collecting the buttons at some point you realize you have to get rid of the buttons that now are taking over the back bedroom. What a better way to do it then to showcase their beauty on a website, and allow someone who also thinks they are just as special as you do, to buy and use them
Now don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of week-ends we work all week-end. Mostly these days we do work week-ends, nights, when ever we can. This is a function of the economy as well as a function when ever you are beginning new endeavors. However, this week-end, the work was nice. We attended the Hype Free Internet Marketing and Joint Ventures BootCamp in Tampa over the week-end. It didn’t hurt that it was set at the Crown Plaza. There is nothing better than when you need to try and think and absorb what you were learning, to be able to go to the fantastic balcony sit, stare at the pool and let the information formulate. The week-end was so great, so many ideas and new concepts and information was presented, it will take months to implement. That being said, we are excited at the MyNightSchool headquarters. We believe we have some new plans for websites that are going to be blinding!
Some of the most brilliant minds were at this event, people like Adam Kapple , Charles Blair, Walter Woffard, Anthony Kovac and of course Dan Stojadinovic. There were other speakers there also, just as fascinating. We will be adding what we have learned at this boot camp, as well as in forums and other places we spend time into the membership site. If you are a paid member it will be easy to access our new information and experiences.
Now on the more serious side. We don’t work so hard we haven’t raised our head to see what is going on in the world and in the Middle East and North Africa currently. We see how in the USA we have felt these are troubled times, raising costs, lowering incomes, jobs still in short supply. Beyond that, now we have people who are dying in the streets for many of these same reasons, but they are living under dictatorships. We realize this is a simplistic comment on what is going on in the world, but we want the people of the world to know, the people in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Iran, Bahrain, the people who are putting their lives on the line for what they believe in, our thoughts are with you.
We are still looking at the books, but it is obvious life has changed.
While we have relied on our one e-commerce store, the question if we should diversify further is brought up about every third or fourth office meeting.
There are good reasons on both sides, to diversify or not to diversify. What about you? What are your plans this year. Will you work to spread yourself out a bit to diversify your income producing activities? Some people will taken on a new job, some folks will reduce (yet again) their spending, and others will begin a new venture. Over the next few weeks we are going to be setting our 2011 business plan in stone. We will work on it for the first quarter of the year, re-evaluate and then go on. We build in milestones such as time, income generated, expense cost and our final criteria, the H-Factor. Each of these milestones and criteria must be met or must have a chance of being met if we are to continue on with a product, project or even pursuing a direction in which to take the any of our companies. What is the H-Factor? In our office we have a very strict guideline that require all company activities to meet the “Happiness Factor”. This doesn’t mean we are always happy, nor does it mean we are happy with every task we undertake. It does mean however if something is ¯ H, that it dropped immediately. 
However, if the activity, product or project can not be restructured into at least H or +H then it must go. The past year has taught us that there are so many things in the world we can not control (what a surprise), that when it comes to what we can control they must fall under one of two headings. Those things that do not lessen our happiness and those things that increase our happiness. Obviously there are things we can not control, that aren’t the happiest moments of the week such as paying taxes or sweeping floors. But, working with certain people, products and projects, that simply cause any of us to be miserable is no longer acceptable. How is your H-Factor? Get rid of the miserable people, projects and products in your life. Mostly, the only difference you will notice is your happiness going up.
Merry Christmas to all of our readers! Remember the most important part of any endeavor you do, is what is most
Thank you Garry Knight for Sharing your beautiful pictures.
important to you. We read lots of different blogs and advertisements and right now, all of them remind us how important our families and friends are, and how with out those elements in our lives, what we do would not matter as much. While we agree, we want you to decide for yourself, why do you do the things you do? So, Merry Christmas, don’t over think things and thank you for reading our blog!
I think the guy in the Cruiser is texting…
I’m fortunate, I know this. Luckily I can work from anywhere I want, and the times that I am required to be at someone’s office or out for an appointment, I have skillfully scheduled around “drive time”, until last night. On a project that has taken way too long (although in this case, the longer it takes the better), I found myself having to drive right around 6:00pm. I thought, well, rush hour has to be over by now. Guess again. Now, I would not say this is the best reason to move your office home, start a home office, or just start a home based business,
I will say, it is one of the benefits of working out of a home office.
Most of us who aren’t generally out around this time of day think to ourselves, where are these people going?, or coming from? and what about the unemployment rate, shouldn’t that have cleared out some of these cars? Actually, it was semi entertaining, not being a daily commuter, I could see the lighter side of being stuck in traffic, bumper to bumper, lights laid out like a red carpet extending a few miles in front of me. It only took about an hour and I soon lost my humor!
Lately I have been listening to some different Pod-Casts and reading some new Blogs. One of my favorite ones spent a bit of time debunking the 4HWW premise that you can work four hours a week and live the life you want. While they agree with Tim Ferris, author of The Four Hour Work Week, that you can greatly reduce the amount of work you must do, and still lead a very happy and fulfilling lifestyle, they have a few points. Mostly, they discuss how the 4HWW did not discuss the effort and the 60 hour work weeks that led up to achieving a business that allows you to put in 4-10 hours per week.
Many of us left our J-O-B’s (no matter how prestigious they were, they are still four letter words) with bleary eyes and knowing we were finally going to get eight hours of sleep. After all, we were at work for 8-10 hours each day, then coming home and holding vigil on the computer emailing customers, creating websites, packing, shipping and doing all of the things needed as we started our new venture. It just felt like, given another 8-10 hours a day, we could certainly have a normal work life and personal life, or at least an almost normal life. What a surprise! Not only did many of us just add that additional ten hours right into our work day, but some of us show up in our pj’s, eliminating the entire shower, shave, dress wasted part of our day. While this might be necessary at times, after the first 4 or 5 years, you start to wonder if there is some secret StarBucks club that meets at 1:30 am every night. Maybe all of the self-employed dreamers run over to Starbucks to grab a cappuccino (too late for espresso) and possibly bump into another mid-night warrior who is also on break. I call it the self-employed person’s water fountain. Being self employed can be a bit lonely at times, especially when there is no one else working in the office. We only have extra staff on at certain times of the year, and the main support staff person works virtually, so during the rest of the time, it gets pretty quiet.
No matter if you will work alone, or you will work 60 hours a week for a few years, or if you maintain your job while you are building your new business, or you keep the job and just build a stream of independent income, forge ahead. Forge ahead as is your life depended upon it. Understand, economically, no one is off limits to the affects of this recession. It may not have hit you, or your family, but it could, and easily. Understand your efforts provide a role model for your children, teaching them how to be independent thinkers, and doers. Finally, understand, your effort provides your community and your close friends an example and a standard to live up to. No longer can anyone sit down, point their finger and lament they lost their job, their job was taken. Well, they can for a little bit, and I will give them that time. Life has been and will continue to be hard. It’s tough being unemployed, but just as tough being self employed. So, rub the sleep from your eyes, put in 30 more minutes, and then get some good sleep.
John Claflin was born in 1850 and died in 1938. He was the leading dry goods merchant in the US in the early part of the 20th century.
What is the best home based internet business for any entrepreneur to start? At MNS we love internet business opportunities that provide physical products instead of informational products. Informational products are great, and our hats go off to those who are engaged in selling and creating them. We have created a few ourselves and while we enjoy them, the hardest part always seems to be the marketing.
Physical products seem much more intuitive to market. If you need new Nike shoes, a ticket to the Hannah Montana concert, a Halloween costume, or just about anything else, you can find it online. We think the beauty of your own online business is you are able to move at your own pace, you can start slow and grow. Compared to a physical store, an internet store allows you to make many more mistakes without breaking the bank.
Physical products will require storage, inventory management, quality control, shipping and return management. While this can be somewhat daunting at the thought, if you are are a member of MNS you know there are solutions for all of these situations.
No matter how you decide to earn money on the internet, understand you can
have a successful internet business.
We love to hear from entrepreneurs and hear about their success. Add your comments below.
Good Morning!
I am looking at all of the things I am setting out to accomplish in the next 2 months, and it struck me that we haven’t spoken much about your team.
As we all work in our businesses we find there are certain tasks we love and some we don’t care so much for. Often times we find we like the type of thing we did as our “job” in the 9-5 world, and some of the management or owner tasks are not as interesting to us, as they should be. Remember, first, you aren’t a technician any longer. Even if you are doing the “job” or task a worker should do, you are a business owner, who is shipping their own products, not a shipping clerk who runs a business. This mind set is very important!
Next, what kind of tasks do you need done and who should be on your team. I just made a quick list this morning, but I think you will get the idea, and probably add some folks to it.
If you are a subscriber, respond to this and add who you also need on your business team.
A Team to manage these aspects of your business is great. Most of us will start with the familiar team, me, myself and I, but look to begin outsourcing these tasks as soon as possible so you can concentrate more fully on growing your business.
Home Based Business Team Building
1. Website Management/ Email Marketing
2. Accounting and Bookkeeping
3. Purchasing
4. Customer Service, Telephone/Email
5. Advertising/Marketing
6. Inventory Management
7. Manufacturing
8. Shipping/Supplies
These may or may not be on your list. Many people who do a drop ship business or an information business won’t worry about manufacturing or inventory. Keep in mind, the most important thing is to get an overall view of what is needed in the general components of your business and then, begin to look at outsourcing or assigning these tasks to others.
Remember, we are looking forward to Cyber Monday, Christmas and After Christmas Sales. On your Marks, Get Ready, GO!
My gosh, it is 2 am again and here I am at the computer. Why, what
possible reason can I have to be up this late on such a nice autumn
evening. I should have the windows open with a cool breeze slicing the
air as I sleep and dream of ….well that’s just the problem. I go to
sleep and I dream about business, I am awake and I think about
business. This could be your problem too, or your privilege. However
you see this. At times, I think it is a problem, because sometimes I
want to say, enough already, go, relax. Other times, I know it is a
privilege. Not everyone is as lucky as we are in the USA, and is able
to do what they want, basically when they want.
Lately I have been listening to an Educational CD, The Science of
Getting Rich. It was written by Wallace D. Wattles, and published in1910. Even in 1910 people were studying how to get rich. Why is this so important? Wattles puts it very eloquently. When you are
going to miss out on many of life’s experiences, and what all the creator has made for you to enjoy, that is truly sad. Being rich, simply means you are going to experience more, enjoy more and be able to live life more
fully. Wattles also talks about the class people are in. He talks about the working class, and how they, are no more pre-determined to be in the working class, than a rich man is pre-determined to be wealthy. This is a great book if you get a chance to read it. I listen to the CD, a bit more attention grabbing for some of us who have ADID, Attention Deficit due to Internet Disorder. If it isn’t quick, it is hard to keep our concentration. Currently in the On-line store we are working on getting ready for; Cyber-Monday, Christmas and events that we are attending through July
4th, 2011. What are you getting ready for in your store? Do you have a big plan for Cyber Monday, will it be your first Cyber Monday? Please tell me the new store is up by now, and that you are moving along on your plans and you see progress.
If you haven’t done anything yet, or if you have had several false starts, can you identify what is the problem? Are you ready to quit the race with out even getting on the starting block? Is it like you bought all the ingredients at the store to make the perfect dinner but by the time you got home, you were so tired you settled for chips and salsa?
Don’t give up, don’t give in. We all know the story about Edison, how he failed to make the light bulb after about 1000 tries. However, on 1001, ….what try are you up to? Could you be quitting when you are almost there? Read some of the material in the membership site, if you aren’t a member, join and reach out to others. Don’t give up, really, if you were my own sister, (brother) I would say, you can do this, don’t give up. Have the same faith in yourself as others have in you, or have MORE faith then others.
Either way, don’t quit.
For those of you who are still reading and still thinking about Internet Business,
I hope you have moved further than just thinking about it. I really hope you have made some efforts towards your own business, no matter how you are going ahead. Many people work on info products, many will do affiliate marketing, some will do drop shipping and some will do a full blown company on the web.
I was truly the accidental business person for many reasons, but after having spent the past 10 years in the mortgage industry, I sat today and wondered what would have happened, had I not began in my on line business. Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s been tough, but, I hear it’s been tough for everyone these days.
Of course this is “my season” and it has been so nice to see the orders come in and get shipped out, new products and new strategies formulated, you know what they say, hope springs eternal.
I won’t say this is the end all business at this point, because of many personal reasons I am in the position of building it back up. But today, like several other days I have had this season, was a $900 plus sales day. This isn’t the record breaker for the season but it certainly feels good when you see those kind of numbers and you realize, you also spent the day, getting groceries, doing some laundry, ran to the bank and used the gift card to Starbucks that a customer gave me in appreciation. This is the kind of day I can live with!
No matter what you are doing, no matter if your numbers are 5 times bigger or one tenth of any of the numbers I ever speak about, it only matters that you begin. Good Luck to everyone and I hope you are all working to find what truly makes you happy and brings you passive income!
Internet Marketing Requires Testing
I hope everyone has either begun or is continuing in their Internet Ventures! While it is important to see projects through, it is also important to know when to quit. Sometimes, we get “married” to an idea. We might think it is a fantastic product or method when we initially see it, only later to think ehh not so much. It is ok to change your mind about a product. It is ok to change your mind, to change your direction. In business they call that testing. Not every product ever created goes to market, and they shouldn’t. Face it, some products are really bad. Some of the projects I have started, were really really bad!! Some of them I worked for a long time, and then, suddenly , in the light of
day, I realized, I was way off base.
How are you doing? Are you far enough to know if you are working on a project that will float or are you finding out you have a sinker? Probably one of the best things you can do for yourself is to ask yourself a few questions, and then refer back to these as you take on new projects and even at the stage where you are entertaining new projects.
You need to ask:
1. What am I doing this for (money, prestige, learning experience,
charitable reasons…or?)
2. How quickly will I begin to recoup my investment? Can I live with
this or should it be sooner?
3. How much of the work on this project will I be required to do, and
am I ok with that, or am I looking to create
income on the internet that is more hands off?
4. What will this project look like in 5 years? Am I creating
something I won’t want in 5 years, is it a sellable creation or will I
tire of it and move on to something else.
5. What am I really trying to learn by understanding E-Commerce
projects.
Do I want do to these, or do I want to learn how so I am
able to hire the work out and oversee the efforts of those I hire to
create what I want?
Finally:
Am I going about learning or am I going about creating this project in
the best way? Could I do it better and do I know how to do it better?
If I need help, do I know where to turn for help?
Remember, ask yourself why you are doing the things you are involved with, make sure they suit your needs and when they honestly no longer suit you, feel ok about quitting. If you don’t stop doing what is not successful you never have time to be successful.
Let us know if we can help you
I wanted to make a short post and talk about….Starting…where to
begin. If you are already a member of our MyNightSchool group and have purchased the product, I recommend downloading the pdf called: Starting Your E-
Commerce Checklist first. This will give you a blueprint of things
that need to be done as you start your business. Many of you already
have a business, or several and would want to do this for each
business.
Beyond that, the number one question I get is, how do I decide on what
to sell?
I would start by listing out what you like, what you find enjoyable
and what you know about. Then I would begin to apply some tests to
that subject to find out how viable it is. Remember we aren’t starting
by seeing if 10 million people would buy our product but in fact if
perhaps 1000 will.
In addition to that, you don’t need to sell 500 products, you could
choose to sell only one or two and have a few varieties of these.
Many people create a website with just one product, and work to sell
it, to create a smaller amount of income but also to find out how the
process goes, and to see if they like e-commerce, if they will apply
the necessary steps to making it successful, and to shorten up the
entire process.
If after putting up the information on one or two products, creating
the website and doing the marketing and the associated activities, if
then you find out this is not for you, it’s a whole lot simpler to get
rid of it.
There will be an article on picking your product soon, but please read
the other articles and let’s see some people start an idea, do the
work, and make their first $.
I will be reminding people, gently, when our online ventures make
money, relationships and more. I only do this because if you are in
the position, this money will be extra, you will begin to see these
sales could begin to fund your lawn man, your pool guy, your cable
guy, perhaps this week’s grocery bill…..or what have you given up in
the recession that you would like back?
This week we made sales in our retail store and we were contacted by a
blogger to do a link exchange. I don’t do link exchanges just for the
sake of doing it (or i would have a ton of unrelated links). This is a
blogger who lives over seas and is in the same general niche I am. If
he agrees to doing an article on my website, then we will talk.
Remember, it isn’t all about YOU. However, that being said, it should
be a win win for everyone.
Photo by Frank Kovalchek
used through Creative Commons license
Home Based Business Education
Increase Your Existing Business with an On-Line Store or Start a New E-Commerce Website
If you find the entire task of starting an on-line business just a bit daunting, but you really want to do it, this is a great place to start! If you look to the top of the page, you will see Free Report. This report discusses a few of the things to think about while considering an on-line business. After you read this, if you want more information, the Free Report shown at the top right hand side of this page, will provide you a link for even more information we are giving away.
Do you know how to use email marketing lists to create an email campaign? How about picking suppliers, understanding websites, organizing a home office or any of the tasks necessary when you go into business. Many people will begin a home based business to make money on-line but don’t know where to start to build their internet business. Information is everywhere, too much information at times. If you want to make money and start a home based business, take the time to read, study and investigate. Not everyone will decide to do business online, but anyone can work on the internet. All the skills necessary can be learned, or outsourced. Your job is to create the map. Our job is to provide you the compass!
Enjoy the Report and we hope you sign up for the Free Mini-Course afterwords!
MyNightSchool.Com
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