Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Creating change

Things are changing very rapidly in my life right now. It seems that everywhere I turn, something is different than it was before. I'm very excited about this time in my life because I like change. I think that change is life's way of telling us a new chapter is about to begin. However, I've noticed something special about change. You have the power to create change. You can't just wait around and hope that things will change. You need to create change by causing movement. If you're causing movement you might as well move things in the direction you want to go in life. If you're an entrepreneur, make new contacts, develop new products, build new ventures. The key to causing movement is to do something, anything. Once you create movement you'll soon notice that the world will change and new opportunities will emerge.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Men's Grooming Handbook update

Here's an update on my promotional campaign for The Men's Grooming Handbook. As of today, I have sold a total of 4 books. The Men's Grooming Handbook has been available on Mobipocket.com for about one week. I checked Amazon.com and my product was made available yesterday. An interesting note about Amazon is that they are offering my book as a Kindle product. Kindle is a product that Amazon is largely promoting. The product is supposed to change the way customers approach digital books. With a Kindle, you can read digital books anywhere you go. You can learn more about Kindle here.

All of my sales have come directly from Mobipocket. I have not received any sales from Amazon, but I believe that will change if customers begin to adopt the Kindle and gain a new appreciation for e-books.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Growing industries

I'm doing research for my next business venture. I had a chance to have lunch today with a great businessman and mentor. We talked about business and he gave me some great advice. When we discussed the idea of starting a new company, he told me to focus on industries that are growing and have great growth potential. He said, "You wouldn't start a company that made stage coaches . It just wouldn't make sense." In business, why focus on industries that are declining. Focus on industries with potential for growth


Here are Fortune's five fastest growing industries:

1. Securities
2. Oil and Gas Equipment, Services
3. Internet Services and Retailing
4. Commercial Banks
5. Engineering, Construction

Monday, April 14, 2008

Promotional campaign

I'm currently in the process of rolling out a big promotional campaign for my niche product, The Men's Grooming Handbook http://www.mensgroominghandbook.com/.

I have decided to sell my book through a distributor who partners with Amazon.com. After a bit more paperwork, The Men's Grooming Handbook will be available to a mass audience via the largest book seller on the internet. Besides the distributor, I will focus on article marketing to drive extra traffic to my site. The articles will be excerpts from my book, but will contain links to my website. The extra traffic should produce more direct sales.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Are we in a recession?

Recently, I've heard talk about a recession. Some people say we're already in a recession while others say the U.S. is not in a recession. With so many opinions and false facts, who are you to believe? I believe that in order to be successful, you must deal in facts not opinions.

The U.S. is not technically in a recession. A recession is technically confirmed when there are two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth. While we are not technically experiencing a recession, there are indicators that help determine whether we are approaching or have approached a turn in the economy.

According to the Economist, an economic cycle can be understood with three types of indicators: leading indicators, coincidental indicators, and lagging indicators. Leading indicators turn before the cycle, Coincidental indicators turn with the cycle, and lagging indicators turn after the cycle. Examples of leading, coincidental, and lagging indicators include:

Leading indicators:

  • interest rates
  • manufacturing orders
  • business confidence
  • Unemployment

Coincident indicators:

  • Measure of GDP

Lagging indicators:

  • Job vacancies
  • Manufacturing capacity

By understanding what the facts are saying, you'll seperate yourself from the pack and be better equiped to make investment decisions.

Monday, April 7, 2008

Online Marketing

I had the opportunity to hear a presentation from the creators of ibreadcrumbs.com. The presentation discussed the importance of having a presence on the web and how the world is transitioning from old media to new media.

Old Media includes:

  • newspapers
  • magazines
  • radio
  • television

New Media includes:

  • Forums
  • Social networking (myspace, linkedin.com)
  • Online newsletters
  • Discussion forums
  • Podcasts

New media is allowing information to travel faster than ever. Reviews about a product are instantly known and shared on sites such as myspace.com. New media is allowing the world to operate on a global scale. Websites like elance.com allow users to outsource almost everything from virtual assistance to legal advice.

Entrepreneurs need to learn how to use new media for their advantage. By leveraging these media outlets, entrepreneurs will be able to reach global markets and get their messages out faster than ever.