I have a point at which I’ll say ‘Nope, I’m not doing that – it’s just not worth it’

But ‘not worth it’ changes for me

It could be that a project isn’t worth the effort compared to the profit.

It could be that the hassle of a project or meeting isn’t worth the headache.

Or it might be that it’s not worth compromising my health, conscience, morals, family or time for.

But whatever way I look at it, ‘not worth it’ is a moving goalpost.

I have to re-assess it with everything I do.

Not just every day…

…but every project.

So the famous line from the supermodel who ‘won’t get out of bed for less than $10,000’ while a great soundbite, suggests that there won’t come a point when her situation changes either for better or worse.

It’s interesting to look back at the projects that were most definitely ‘worth it’ for me a couple of years ago and now I’d have to think twice about putting in the effort for.

It’s  good measuring stick of where you’re at 🙂

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There are a lot of things in life you can’t control.

And by definition because your business is part of your life there will also be a number of things in your business that you can’t control either.

These are the things that you just have to let wash over you.

Just ride the wave, it’ll pass eventually.

You can fire fight, but you can’t control.

You can do damage limitation but you can’t control.

You can solve as many problems as possible as they come in, but you STILL can’t control everything no matter how much you feel you should be able to

That realisation will remove a lot of worthless anxiety from your business.

Better to focus on the things you CAN control.

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Next time you’re about to launch a new product or plugin or service and you get around to checking out what’s already out there in terms of competition

…don’t automatically start to compete on price.

Undercutting their price might work, but is it enough to get existing users to SWAP to your product?

In the UK we had (until recently) a plague of door knocking salesmen trying to get you to swap your gas or electricity service to theirs.

99% of the pitches were based on price comparison.

Some people swapped buy most didn’t because it’s too much of a hassle just to save a few quid a year.

They stuck with what they knew rather than trying something different.

And in our internet marketing marketplace it’s unwise to compete on price for the same reason, unless it’s a seriously BIG price difference.

(And that could play havoc with your profit margins anyway)

Instead why not compete on BETTER?

Give your product more information, or more features or more accessibility to you.

Read blog and forum reviews about your competitors’ products and find out what most of their customers think is lacking from their product.

That’s what you compete on.

Add those, solve those problems a and give those users what they need.

THAT’S what you compete on

Do that and you can charge almost any price you want…

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This was taken from something I posted in my Private Group…

Last year in one of my other businesses (plugins) we made $40,000 in six weeks from an idea we came up with while having lunch at the pub.

It cost nothing to set up, took maybe 30 minutes to put a brief page together (we didn’t need a sales page) and we launched it the next day.

The first day brought in $8,000

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It seems to be accepted that to become really successful like the Bransons, the Trumps and the Gates’ of the world…

…that you need to be totally passionate about what you do.

It’s not about the money, it’s about the DREAM.

Hmmmmmm

Van Gough (if I remember correctly) only sold one painting in his lifetime and died pretty much in poverty.

Now of course he sells for multi-million pound price tags and he’s acknowledged quite rightly as a genius.

But if someone had said to him:

‘Oi Vincent – you can either live in anguish and die in poverty but your name will live on forever as a genius, OR you can have a lot of success and vast wealth in your lifetime but only ever be recognised as a mediocre artist’

Which one would he choose?

Moreover – if we put the same question to me or you…

Which would WE choose?

Are we in it for the money or the dream?

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You can pretty much get ANYTHING you can imagine created these days.

I don’t mean hover boards or a team of Scandinavian blonde sex robots (although maybe next decade)

But pretty much any website, software or product you want

Which brings us to an uncomfortable truth…

Your success is only limited by your own ideas…

…and of course the tenacity to see them through to fruition

I’ve had software created to sell as a product, for list-building/viral purposes and to use for myself because I couldn’t find anything out there that would do what I wanted.

It’s fast, easy and relatively cheap.

You have an idea for that great new social media site? Get it created for $3,000 then it’s over to you.

You want a lead generation site complete with free software to get people to join your list?

Get THAT one created for $400

Shut off your computer, make a coffee and sit down somewhere quiet with a notebook and pencil (the long pointy things your kids use at school) and ask yourself one question…

‘What business do I want to be in?’

Then let your imagination do the rest.

The people who will build your dreams for you are only a click or two away…

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The title of this post might sound slightly offensive to some ears

Especially if your marketing persona was weaned on ‘free giveaways’ and ‘offering content’ to recruit a following.

But if you don’t develop the mindset of getting paid for everything you do then the chances are you won’t get paid anywhere near as much as you deserve.

Your readers need to know that your content has value.

And the most effective way to do that is to charge money for it.

For speaking

For writing

For coaching

For your products

For access to you.

Once you establish that, then you will be able to do both the things below:

1. To sell your products to an eager list of buyers who recognise it’s value

2. To CHOOSE to give away your content for free without compromising your brand

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Just my opinion of course, but I’m probably right 🙂

If you’ve built your business correctly you’ll have access to customers day and night, 365 days a year.

With online businesses this usually means access to customer, subscribers and/or traffic

For me it just means mailing my list with an unbeatable offer and I’ll have cash in the bank within hours.

For sites with heavy traffic this could mean placing a prominent ad or offer

For a software as a service or membership site this could mean offering a huge discount to users who take up a year’s membership up front

For a coder, designer or writer this could mean contacting past clients with a discount offer that lasts just 14 days

But none of these can happen if you don’t keep some kind of list, database  or record of your customers, members, prospects or leads…

…AND have their permission to contact them

It’s as simple as getting an Aweber account and finding a way to get the contact details of as many of the people who come into contact with your business as possible

Just build a contactable list

It’s the equivalent of cash on demand

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Because UK fuel bills are going through the roof?

Because the Russians might decide to switch off the gas pipeline?

Nah – because there’s something distinctly ‘blokey’ about lighting a fire when it’s cold and dark outside (this is Yorkshire so it’s sometimes like that in July) and poking it now and again to see sparks fly and hear wood crackle.

Who needs a Ferrari?

This is my latest toy 🙂

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“There’s no committee that says: 

‘This is the type of person who can change the world – and you can’t.’

…Realizing that anyone can do it is the first step.

The next step is figuring out how you’re going to do it.”

– Adora Svitak

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