If You Could Start All Over Again Today...

Honestly I would just do everything I did, but do it faster! I dragged my feet a lot because I didn't believe that it could work. Once I got that first sale, I was hooked, but it took me awhile to get there!

I know it's well-intentioned, but I have to admit, this type of question always bothers me.

Why?

Because it somehow implies that the ability to start over again doesn't exist, but it does.

So, it's not a question of "IF you could start all over again today, what would you do differently", but rather...

You CAN start all over again right now, what are you going to do differently.

For example, the OP mentions that they would do two things, well why not do them now? Change the "I could" to "I am".

It's okay to think about how things could have been different, but don't waste time regretting the past when you could be building a better future.

All the best,
Michael

If I had to start over again would spend my time learning SEO again.... once I got my head round driving traffic to sites actually make money was easy.

If I had my knowledge and still and had to start again I would be building sniper sites still :-)

Affiliate marketing for me has been a brilliant business model that is fairly easy to start from nothing

I agree with getting a good mentoring program and stick to it.

Also it helps a lot to focus on one thing at a time ... hard to do though!

mmmm.... it's an interesting question..
I want to do all things I've done in the past faster, more focus..

Research, research, research...Before you invest in anything--research it. Emotions will take hold of you at a certain time, and pull you towards a concept and its company. There is a time you must get started. But, look for the bugs before you invest your hard earned money.

Once started, get a plan and stick to it. Life tends to get in the way. But, once the commitment is made, the work to make it work must be there. That needs to be an unspoken formality.

I would do the same as I did. The only thing I would change is doing it faster and with better focus.

And I agree with Michael Oksa. We should change the would to the present tense and use "I am" The past is past and only present matters.

I agree with your first point. I'd also focus more on....focusing.
It's amazing how much time you can waste online when you think you're working but you aren't.
I used to spend an hour online thinking that I had done a solid 60 minutes work but as soon as I started tracking what I was doing, I discovered I'd spent most of that time messing around.

So write down your goals/tasks for each day and focus on that. That's what I'd do if I was starting new.

I would have stopped buying the "guides" and go with a mentor.

yep, mentor or coach: that way you don't have to figure out for yourself which information is rehashed/one-off-never-to-be-repeated/hot-air-BS (95% of all info) and which is the good stuff (5%).

and focus on ONE super-simple to dominate project/niche/market/product.

learn how to do it properly by having a quick success in a really simple niche (grow giant pumpkins, shoot a potato gun, ....), then when you know how marketing works, move into the more competitive stuff

Veit

A lot of us info junkies actually DO start again every day, with something shiny and new -- that's why we never get anywhere.

I would take action in researching SEO. I wouldn't try to skip any steps and learn everything from the bottom up. I would also start at a much younger age...maybe 12 - so that by the time i'm 15 I can laugh at my teachers because I make more money than them.

Only look back to see what worked and what didn't. Focus on what did work. Rinse and repeat.

This is what I always did, but I do it faster all the time.

Probably find a qualified mentor or adviser and pay attention to what they said...and I'd expect to pay for that. Paying would make me take it seriously and keep me accountable.

Yeah, have a GOOD mentor, who's been there and done that. And, also focusing on one thing, building a list, and not reading forums that much or not at all.

I wouldn't start again. Because you lose the most vital thing, experience.

I'll tweak the question. My best piece of advice for people starting out is to concentrate on one model and one model only. Don't spread your focus and resources thinly by trying ten systems at once.

If I had done that when I first started out, then I would in a much better position than I am now. Also be patient, because when I first started I wanted to see sales within a day or two, if I didn't then I'd move on.

If I had it all to do over again I would have married a sultry, red-headed woman with fire in her eyes and I would have become a Methodist minister and preached fire and brimstone from the pulpit every Sunday morning to my congregation while she sat in the front row showing "just a little" too much knee.

Wait! --- Wait!-Wait!-Wait! --- I didn't write that! Bill Coffee; my alter ego wrote that! I wish we wouldn't do things like that when I'm not paying attention.

On a serious note, I have to agree with Michael Oksa in post #3 because I believe our ability to start over does indeed exist.

I am on "ErnieMitchell3.0" in my Internet Marketing endeavors.

I wouldn't say that versions 1.0 and 2.0 were failures because they gave me the knowledge and insight to launch 3.0. I guess you could say they were a blessing in disguise --- damned good disguises, but none-the-less, a blessing in disguise.

In ErnieMitchell3.0, I've elected to seek out and stay close to mentors, to concentrate with laser focus on getting good, "really good" on one primary and one secondary non-Google dependent traffic method and, to stop allowing myself to be distracted by shiny new things.

Now, --- where did I put my copy of Revelations! --- I'm off to preach to the fiery-eyed red-head with the cute knees!

Fail much much faster.

Those who have the will to succeed won't mind starting over again and again... As Les Brown put it -- "Grow your wings on your way down..."

Here's 6 things I'd do if I had to start over today.


1. I'd Pick 1 thing and stick with it.

(ppc, seo, article marketing whatever), stick with it, and keep doing it until I made money with it. Then, after I made money with it.. I'd keep doing MORE of it.. then get other people to do it for me. This is how you make millions

Jumping to something else would NEVER be an option.. and that is the ONLY reason why it took me a while to really start making it and become successful.. As soon as I'd learn one thing, I'd jump to something else.. then have to start over.

2. NEVER ASSUME ANYTHING. (Take Fast Immediate Action. Let Results Speak For Themselves).

Instead of making guesses on what would work or what wouldn't work.. I'd simply DO IT. Action is the best teacher. THROW something out. see if it works? I was SO terrified of screwing up or making a mistake that I would research, research, research.. and try to be 100% sure that something was going to work or not.. before taking the leap.

TO HECK WITH THAT. just do it!

There's no sitting on the fence. Don't assume something is not going to work. you have no idea until you do it.. And likewise, don't assume something WILL work..

Every single time I've assumed stuff I was proved wrong. The stuff I thought was going to crush it.. TANKED. and the stuff I thought that was going to bomb.. did awesome.

so moral of the story is... if I had to start over.. I would start fresh and make ZERO assumptions about anything, take FAST IMMEDIATE ACTION, and let the results speak for themselves.


3. Don't Give People What They Need. Give Them What They Want.

A friend of mine said the coolest thing to me.. He said..

"Give people what they WANT... and SNEAK IN what they need "

And it is SO TRUE!

If you try to sell people what they need you will fail and thats the sad reality of it.. people don't buy what they need. they buy what they want.

People need to eat healthy.

Do they? no.

instead they buy fruity pebbles and count-chocula.. that's what they want.

When I started out.. I screwed up.

I was trying to sell acne stuff.. and I was giving people what they NEEDED not what they wanted.. and it did not work.

I had the idea of creating an acne report.. and thought I needed to 'be the expert' in order to write it.. so I literally spent like the next 4 months straight reading every single book and study out on acne. lol it was rediculous.

But here's the problem. The more I looked into acne and what REALLY caused it.. I started to realize that the cream I was trying to sell was not going to really solve their problems. The root cause of acne is 100% internal. It has to do with your diet and internal balance.

So then, in my free report I switched stuff around. I told people that they should get a homeopathic remedy that teaches them how to eat healthy and get rid of acne the natural way.

Guess what? nobody bought it.

In fact. I literally had a section in the book where I did nothing but BASH some of the acne creams out there.. and I thought, what the heck. I'll sign up to their affiliate program and put my links in for what..

And people clicked THOSE links and bought it. I made sales on those creams.. and I did nothing but talk trash on it. lol.

That taught me a very valuable lesson.

People don't want to hear the truth. What people are looking for is a quick fix. an Easy solution. a magic cream. If you want to make money.. you have got to give people what they WANT not what they need.

If you're NOT doing that.. then you are missing out on a lot of money.. because they are buying what they WANT through someone else..


Should you promote stuff you don't believe in? NO WAY...

But why not find the best cream on the market (one that you can actually believe in), THEN sneak in what they need..

Why not throw in a natural way to get rid of acne as a FREE bonus.. and now if they are interested in finding out the truth.. it's there too

#4. I would Outsource Everything.

I've got a nasty habit of trying to do everything myself. And it's STUPID. In fact, it's past stupidity.. it has probably cost me millions of dollars that I could've been making and time I could've spent doing things I love.

Trying to do everything yourself is STUPID. Don't do it.

It's ego. You think you can do it better than everyone else.. so you're afraid to hand it over. and that's whats been keeping you from making ALOT of money.

Or you're afraid to take chances... What if they screw it up? What if they break it? What if.. What if? It's all excuses. And you need to just get over it.


I'd spend 3 days straight trying to figure out how to fix my wordpress blog.. and it was IDIOTIC. I had no business trying to figure it out.. especially when I learned that ALL of this time I could've gone to a place like digital point forums, posted up an ad for FREE, and pay a guy $10 to fix the problem for me..

He would fix my problem in 30 minutes... $10!?!

Is 3 days of your time and your mental sanity worth $10? you tell me. I learned my lesson. I'm never going back.


EVEN if you're broke. that's no excuse.

You could try to learn how to write your own articles and spend the next 2 weeks trying to figure it out... OR, you could just work an extra 2 hours at Mcdonalds and pay someone else (who'se good at it and enjoys writing articles to do it for you!)

And even if you can't find any way to come up with a few extra bucks (which I would still say is a lie. you can mow lawns, pick up a side job, work overtime, or start selling some of your junk that's collecting dust)

you still got options. you can barter with people.

tell them if they write articles for you then you will make them a wordpress blog.. you will bake them a cake. you will do ______ whatever. you fill in the blanks. Trust me. you've got talents, you've got gifts.. you've got things that you can exchange to get everybody else to do stuff for you even if you are broke.

Tell your sister that if she writes articles for you that you will clean her room and cook her breakfast every morning.. she just might take ya up on it

So this is a BIG lesson.. and If I had to start over.. from DAY 1 I would find a way to get other people to do the work for me instead of me trying to do the work.


#5. I would focus on HOT desperate niches.
The fastest way to make money is to promote what's already selling.
It's easy to sell. you know people want it. You know the copy is hot. Why not start there?

I would stay far away from micro small niches... and I advise you do the same =)

#6. I'd sell higher ticket stuff.
It's just as easy to sell something higher ticket as it is to sell something that cost less money...
So why not go after the higher ticket stuff that pays you more?!

In fact, I'd say its EASIER to sell higher ticket stuff.

The people who are interested in high ticket stuff... have money.. they are willing to spend it.. it's not a hard decision for them.

Cheap stuff is a pain in the ass to sell because you are dealing with nothing but broke people.. and they are the most skeptical and hardest to please.

Think about it. Who'se got a harder job? The used car sales man who works in the ghetto or a guy that sells BMW's in a rich neighborhood?

The guy who sells used cars in the ghetto has a MUCH harder job... and he makes way less money..

On the internet.. you have got a choice where you want to set up shop.. so WHY are you setting up your shop in the ghetto? why are you going after poor broke people?

That used car salesman has to worry about people trying to mug him, steal the tires off his car at night, and all other fun stuff..

Those people are going to stand around and HAGGLE him to death on a $2,000 car.. because to them.. that's their savings.. that's a huge hit.

Are people really going to haggle a bmw dealership over a few bucks? not likely. They got money to spend. They want the extras. They don't really care if something costs an extra $500.. its no big deal to them.. It's not a hard sale.. Those guys who come into a bmw dealership are business men. they have busy lives.. they don't want to be there long. they just want to get in, get a car and leave.

Which person would you rather deal with? I'll take the bmw customers anyday! plus the commissions those guys make is WAAY more. think about it

I would not procrastinate and spend an endless amount of hours reading.

I would a) buy Profit Storm and b) follow it to the letter, and ignore every other course that took my eye of the ball. Along with that, I would have also tried different affiliate methods at once, rather than just focussing on Adsense for months and getting frustrated. Also would have outsource practically everything I find annoying!

I would get started faster; less reading, fewer WSOs, more action.

I would've started with a good coach and saved as much money as humanly possible to get a huge sales page with high conversions in a lucrative niche.

I would have started to work closer with JV partners earlier on. The power of JVing is huge.

I lone-wolfed it for far too long.

One thing I would definitely do different would be to stick to my plans and NOT buy all the time and money wasting "quick fixes", that only delayed me and didn't help me build a business.
Tina

Start looking for JVs sooner, realising your weakness and finding a guy who considers that to be their strength and vice versa is absolutely invaluable.

If you're great at seo but struggle with product creation, find a guy who is awesome at creating products but can't do seo.

I'd start looking for JVs straight away, find somebody who considers your weaknesses their strengths and vice versa.

If you're great at seo but struggle with product creation, find a guy who is awesome at creating products but struggles with seo.

Take action now and do not wait!

So far I'm happy with what I'm doing and have done. I think the only thing I would change (and believe me, I'm working on it) is worry less!!

Here are the top 3 three things I would do If I was broke and had to start again.


1) BUILD A LIST

2) BUILD A LIST

3) BUILD A LIST

There is a forth one too.

4) BUILD A LIST

I guess you see where I am going with this.

Get your freebie seekers, gain trust get them to buy, then segregate your buyers list. Once you realise the true raw people of generating leads and helping you list of buyers, you will never have to work a single day in your life again.

Re-invest any money earned from day one, outsource and scale.

definitely leveraging your time and money to produce more time and more money :-)

I guess I've got enough materials here for my focus-board.

I'm just on start but I have problems with focusing on doing in this moment link building.

Everyday is a new day, as a matter of fact every minute is a new time, the future is in your own hands. It's what you make of it, you decide....

I would build more web sites faster, rather than spending my time tweaking the few I made trying to get them to work.

And don't forget this closely related thread:

http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...t-started.html

I would not go to the college. I don't think the study in the college helps me a lot. I reget for that.

I would get some good coaching and concentrate on getting it done faster.
That being said, I would research where to find a "good coach". Not all coaching is created equal - you have to find someone who will fit your style of learning. You can get ripped off with coaching just as well as with anything else. I've experienced it.

I would also stay focused on one thing at a time and spend as much time on it as possible. Dragging it out is a recipe for failure.

Well said and that is exactly what I have done recently.

If I could start over, I would focus on building my knowledge about online marketing instead of investing in multiple sites that have altogether earned me very little. I would also have joined the Warrior Forum earlier on