Learn from the past and don't base your business on Google places

I agree if you are centering ALL of your income around Google Places. However, Google Places is top of mind right now and is a great lead in service to all the other marketing services you can provide both online and off.

I think the trouble comes in when you guarantee certain results with Google since it is SO unpredictable.

my $.02

I could not agree more. If you are an offline consultant why would you want the majority of your income based on something that is totally out of your control. There are dozens of services you can provide businesses for which they will pay you hefty sums that don't even involve the internet. My advise to offliners is to diversify your business with a mix of offline and online services. I believe most would find it to be much easier to build and scale. IMHO.

Google Places is the "Foot in the Door" process because its more visual than any other process plus its Google. From there you add local directories such as Yelp, Yellowpages, Topix, etc. the more you add the more you charge but leave room for a bit of over-delivering to make your customer happy more. Because the word of mouth is a very powerful tool for any business. Do a good job that they can refer you to other businesses.

Quentin, I agree, we need to diversify and we need to be careful when we are tempted to promise something to our customers, like Caryduke wrote, but I don't think G will make some crucial changes in the next months. For this reason I would say that now is the best time to invest in this direction and not to hesitate too much. However, each investment has a certain amount of risk and your advice is a very wise one.

You're always setting yourself up for catastrophe when you base your entire business on one central point of failure..

Plain and simple.

I agree with you there.. Much better to create your own business by yourself where you have total control. Google places have been in so many discussion lately.

To me, it's the same for SEO. Add on service, sure. Main business, nope.

I believe the mistake most people make is focusing on the particular service they are providing the client, such as Google Places or SEO. What we should be focused on is getting our clients more business. How can we help them succeed online? SEO and Google Places are hot for that at the moment and I don't see a problem with exploiting those opportunities.

But I suppose I agree with you. There will always be a way to help businesses market themselves better online. Stay on top of your game by following Google, Google developments and SEO forums. Always try to know what is happening and anticipate changes. If you can't anticipate changes, at least be prepared for them.

Another commmon mistake people in this business make is ignoring research and testing. We must evolve as Google is always evolving. This takes time to know the business. unfortunately, research doesn't immediately put money in your pocket so it is often ignored. I set aside time each morning to find out what is going on and what new things are happening.

And that's my .02