New marketing warrior says hi
Posted 11-30-2009 at 06:41 PM by Mr. Enthusiastic
Hello, marketing warriors!
My goal is to learn how to start a new business with online and offline Internet marketing. I also want to encourage other people who are making this transition at the same time as me. And, I want to learn and share great ideas with those who are already experts.
I've worked for many years in the corporate world, as a business analyst, trainer, technical writer, software engineer & technical lead, audiovisual guy, etc.
Recently I figured out that the part I like the best is when I talk with people about big ideas. I can write code, and have been rewarded for that. Really, I'd just as soon figure out the business value of software and let someone else implement it. However, it has been fun or me to start tinkering with Wordpress to learn about it.
I also realized that I'm burned out on trying to climb the corporate ladder, rather than just enjoying the journey of life with a healthy balance. I like variety, and I'm informal, creative, and heartfelt. That's really better suited to starting my own service to small business, rather than empire building in mega-companies - although I do appreciate what I've learned from my time in big business. They have some damn cool big systems, some of which actually work! :-)
For a while I have read everything I can find about Internet marketing, information products, and so on. I signed up for every squeeze page offering a free ebook or newsletter about anything in the field. When I reached over 150 daily subscriptions, I realized it's unlikely that the next email will have a totally unprecedented revelation for me, no matter how compelling the bullet list of benefits. I've also read many business books by people like Jay Abraham and Dan Kennedy. Again, it was somewhere around 150 books that I realized I probably already know enough to really help some local businesses with ideas that will be new to them.
For a while I felt like I was drowning in too much material. Now I finally swam to the surface. Next challenge is to figure out if that light on the horizon is a lighthouse, or a pirate ship!
For a while I considered getting an MBA. But then I realized that what I would like to do with an additional degree - to be an independent consultant and entrepreneur - could be in my reach, without any need for more formal education. I simply need to learn how to present what I can do in a way that gets me connected with clients and projects. I've started to do a little bit of this kind of work on the side, and learned to sell just fine with active listening. But my efforts aren't systematically marketed yet, so the results are more intermittent than I like.
I just discovered the "offline gold" approach, and I think this is perfect for me to start right away. At the same time, I want to learn how to research niches, create small sites, drive traffic, build lists, and make sales. My goal is to see how quickly I can get to at least $1,000 a week with immediate clients around town. I'm in a major city with lots of small businesses, so I think this can happen if I find the right lead generation system. Not sure yet if that should be postcards, seminars, or something else. I sure hope it doesn't take cold calls... that's still something I dread. I also want to learn how the classifieds and joint ventures work here, to see if I could offer some outsourced help to other IM warriors.
The challenge is how to immediately get clients, starting on a shoestring, and with only part time availability for me to do the implementations. Let me explain what I mean by that.
My biggest reason to become a marketing warrior is personal. I am taking care of a late-stage cancer patient who is too sick to work and needs my help part-time throughout the day. I can plan ahead for appointments and work time, but it's impossible to continue a 9 to 5 type of life. Fortunately the doctors seem to have found a heavy-duty treatment that is very effective, but along the way, we have lost all our savings and credit to the medical costs. I'm going to pay for the War Room membership by having more ramen then I'd really like to eat, until I can get clients. We're renting spare rooms above a garage, and the landlord just said he wants the space back by the end of the year.
So I'm really under the gun to make this work instantly, starting on a shoestring. Those of you who believe in the power of prayer, or just positive thinking, I would appreciate your asking for heaven's help and wisdom as I try to sort this all out.
That tells you where I am coming from, and again, I hope to learn and to share in ways the help create success for everyone.
Chris
My goal is to learn how to start a new business with online and offline Internet marketing. I also want to encourage other people who are making this transition at the same time as me. And, I want to learn and share great ideas with those who are already experts.
I've worked for many years in the corporate world, as a business analyst, trainer, technical writer, software engineer & technical lead, audiovisual guy, etc.
Recently I figured out that the part I like the best is when I talk with people about big ideas. I can write code, and have been rewarded for that. Really, I'd just as soon figure out the business value of software and let someone else implement it. However, it has been fun or me to start tinkering with Wordpress to learn about it.
I also realized that I'm burned out on trying to climb the corporate ladder, rather than just enjoying the journey of life with a healthy balance. I like variety, and I'm informal, creative, and heartfelt. That's really better suited to starting my own service to small business, rather than empire building in mega-companies - although I do appreciate what I've learned from my time in big business. They have some damn cool big systems, some of which actually work! :-)
For a while I have read everything I can find about Internet marketing, information products, and so on. I signed up for every squeeze page offering a free ebook or newsletter about anything in the field. When I reached over 150 daily subscriptions, I realized it's unlikely that the next email will have a totally unprecedented revelation for me, no matter how compelling the bullet list of benefits. I've also read many business books by people like Jay Abraham and Dan Kennedy. Again, it was somewhere around 150 books that I realized I probably already know enough to really help some local businesses with ideas that will be new to them.
For a while I felt like I was drowning in too much material. Now I finally swam to the surface. Next challenge is to figure out if that light on the horizon is a lighthouse, or a pirate ship!
For a while I considered getting an MBA. But then I realized that what I would like to do with an additional degree - to be an independent consultant and entrepreneur - could be in my reach, without any need for more formal education. I simply need to learn how to present what I can do in a way that gets me connected with clients and projects. I've started to do a little bit of this kind of work on the side, and learned to sell just fine with active listening. But my efforts aren't systematically marketed yet, so the results are more intermittent than I like.
I just discovered the "offline gold" approach, and I think this is perfect for me to start right away. At the same time, I want to learn how to research niches, create small sites, drive traffic, build lists, and make sales. My goal is to see how quickly I can get to at least $1,000 a week with immediate clients around town. I'm in a major city with lots of small businesses, so I think this can happen if I find the right lead generation system. Not sure yet if that should be postcards, seminars, or something else. I sure hope it doesn't take cold calls... that's still something I dread. I also want to learn how the classifieds and joint ventures work here, to see if I could offer some outsourced help to other IM warriors.
The challenge is how to immediately get clients, starting on a shoestring, and with only part time availability for me to do the implementations. Let me explain what I mean by that.
My biggest reason to become a marketing warrior is personal. I am taking care of a late-stage cancer patient who is too sick to work and needs my help part-time throughout the day. I can plan ahead for appointments and work time, but it's impossible to continue a 9 to 5 type of life. Fortunately the doctors seem to have found a heavy-duty treatment that is very effective, but along the way, we have lost all our savings and credit to the medical costs. I'm going to pay for the War Room membership by having more ramen then I'd really like to eat, until I can get clients. We're renting spare rooms above a garage, and the landlord just said he wants the space back by the end of the year.
So I'm really under the gun to make this work instantly, starting on a shoestring. Those of you who believe in the power of prayer, or just positive thinking, I would appreciate your asking for heaven's help and wisdom as I try to sort this all out.
That tells you where I am coming from, and again, I hope to learn and to share in ways the help create success for everyone.
Chris
Total Comments 0
