Wow…

A lot of people want to start their own business but don’t know where to start. I don’t mean how to start making money but how to get started at square one by actually picking a business. Hopefully, an entrepreneur picks the right business. Not the right business according to me or anyone else. But what is the right business according to that entrepreneur. Even if you are the already operating a business, perhaps you can maximize your fun and profits by taking on a different function within the business.

This is where Steve Little comes in. Steve Little is the President of Zero Limits, Inc. He is truly a renaissance man. He has been an entrepreneur since 13, he’s a champion athlete, and has made tens of millions of dollars and he’s still going! He’s been rocking and rolling as a successful entrepreneur for more than 40 years now. Steve’s mentoring has helped hundreds of people to break the barriers sabotaging their success and have created their dream life as a result. He has put his knowledge into a program called The Perfect Biz Finder. What it does is help you find your perfect business in 21 days or less. Step by step resources and blog take you by the hand and show you the perfect business that is genetically matched to your DNA.

You can take a free psychoanalytic survey (valued at $297) on his site at www.PickTheRightBizForYou.com.

Check out this 45-minute interview that I did with Steve on Tuesday, November 10th, 2009. You have GOT TO give this a listen.

Make sure to bookmark Steve’s site and to take the survey. He has some exciting announcements in the weeks ahead.

To your success,

Wow…

Scott Fox is a real-deal small biz success story.

Scott Fox is a successful online entrepreneur, an expert on online small business social media marketing and e-business startup strategies, and now an author, radio talk show host, motivational speaker, and e-commerce startup advisor. He is the author of two books: Internet Riches, the best-selling guide to starting a business online, and also e-Riches 2.0, the leading guide to Web 2.0 online marketing strategies, and regular free email newsletters, too.

His expertise as an author is based on personal experience and success: Scott Fox has built multi-million dollar e-businesses ranging from small web site startups, to web sites for celebrities like Bill O’Reilly and Larry King, to the online division of a major corporation. His work and books have been covered by press outlets including the Boston Globe, LA Business Journal, Toronto’s Globe & Mail, Wall Street Journal, Philadelphia Inquirer, Orange County Register, Smart Money and SUCCESS magazines, and many, many radio programs and blogs worldwide.

He recently launched an online success coaching community designed to help small business owners succeed online. The goal of this new social network of online marketers, e-commerce startup execs, and work-at-home entrepreneurs is to help people achieve a “Click Millionaire” lifestyle of personal success.

I really enjoyed interviewing him on Wednesday, October 28th, 2009.

Click on the player below to listen to the interview.

Make sure to check out Scott’s sites at www.ScottFox.com to subscribe to his free newsletters and such, and for those that would like to receive coaching from Scott for less than $1 per day, go to www.ClickMillionaires.com.

May you prosper on the road to Internet riches.

Sincerely,

All I got to say, social media ain’t my grandfather’s radio.

Check this video out and draw your own conclusions.

As Perry Belcher said, “Hey, you can’t put the @#!% back in the horse.”

Talk to you soon.

Sometimes, we feel overwhelmed and that we don’t have a snowball’s chance in Hell to have success or some other desirable outcome. But the fact of the matter is, you are still here so as long as you can look up, you can get up.

Lean on your faith – believe in yourself, believe in the righteousness of your goal; believe in your allies; and have faith in a higher power.

Be inspired by these words from Laurence Fishburne in his portrayal of Morpheus in the movie The Matrix Reloaded.

Just follow these six steps, and what you desire will be your’s in uncommon hours:

1. THINK about what you want
2. SPEAK about what you want
3. Take ACTIONS toward getting it
4. Make your pursuit a HABIT – do something every day to put yourself closer
5. NEVER QUIT no matter what happens
6. Enjoy the RESULTS of your labor

Be advised, that these six steps always yield results, but make sure that you start with positive, desirable thoughts, or you may be quite displeased with the results.

Remember the old-school computer jargon – ‘GIGO’ – garbage in, garbage out.

“Don’t have stinking thinking.” ~ Zig Ziglar

See you at the top, folks…

I met Stow, Ohio-based (FYI, Stow, OH is between Akron and Cleveland) Mike Sheehan on a BlitzTime event, and he really struck me as a definite cut above most insurance agents that I’ve met. Life insurance is not the sexiest thing to talk about, but Mike is extremely passionate about what he does. If the average entrepreneur or sales professional had a ounce of the enthusiasm that Mike Sheehan does, they would go a very, very long way.

Insurance is a very competitive, crowded industry. Some would even say that life insurance is a vanilla product. However, someone like Mike Sheehan will show you what is the best solution for you so in effect, he adds hot caramel, nuts, whip cream, and cherries to your insurance!

What I like most about Mike Sheehan is that he has very successfully used high tech tools like video email, social media, his website, face-to-face, and the speed networking over the phone to grow his business.

Check out this podcast from Friday, October 16th, 2009.

Make sure to visit Mike’s website at www.YourInsurance411.com. Even though he is based in Ohio, with the power of the Internet he can help you no matter where you are in the USA.

Remember, it is better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

All the best,

On Wednesday, October 14th, 2009, I had the extreme pleasure of interviewing America’s #1 Sales Coach for Introverts (and Extroverts who don’t like to sell), Patricia Weber, and it was an eye-opening experience.

I first met Pat on a BlitzTime event a few months ago and I’ve been trying to get her to do a podcast for a good while now. Well, when you’re good you’re good and she IS good and very hard to catch.

Here are some of the things that jumped out at me during the interview:

• People do not know how to network
• Networking can be fun, it depends on the kind of group you join. For instance, Pat does a lot of networking with her exotic car pals
• Social media is NOT a replacement for face-to-face networking – especially in you’re a network marketer or a personal services provider (e.g., chiropractor, bookkeeper, etc.)
• Use LinkedIn to display your work history and to develop professional credibility; use Twitter share information; use Facebook to let people take a peek into your personal world; and use BlitzTime to “put the rubber on the road

With the tough times that our economy is going through, Pat mentioned that it is so important for people to learn how to market, sell, and how to network. She really broke-down what the difference between marketing and selling is, and how to do them both effectively.

This was probably one of the best interviews that I’ve had on the show to date, so make sure that you give it a listen. Just click on the player below to listen to the interview.

To learn more about Pat Weber and her services, go to her site at www.ProStrategies.com.

*** As of Wednesday, October 14th, 2009, she has a special promotion going on. CLICK HERE for the details. ***

Folks, we are committed to bring you the best and brightest. Make sure to tell people about this blog.

See you next time around.

Kyle Nichols is the owner of a wonderful Internet marketing and coaching company, and what they have done is combine high-quality training and coaching from some of the best online marketers along with a very lucrative money-making referral program.

A member can truly earn while she learns. What is so pleasantly surprising is how affordable the program is, yet powerful enough for members to build an immediate and substantial long-term recurring income stream.

Kyle shared some tips on how we can become web marketing whiz kids by leveraging his latest product/program, You Can’t Say No.

What is really appealing (to me, anyway) about this program is that it compliments whatever you’re already working on by giving you more ‘How To’ online marketing knowledge. The catalog of training audios, videos, and the community of other online marketers that share best practices is extremely impressive. I can’t believe that a person can have access to this program for less than $1.75 per day – unbelievable. Hey, You Can’t Say No to that (pun intended).

To learn more about this product/program, visit www.WebMarketingWhizKids.com.

Click on the player below to listen to the interview that I did with Mr. Nichols on Wednesday, October 7th, 2009.

As Internet Marketing heavy-hitter, Perry Belcher, would say, “Hey man, the poops is out and you can’t shove it back into the horse, so get with it because Internet marketing is not going anywhere and is only going to get bigger.”

Hmmm…spoken like a true Texan.

With appreciation,

What in blue blazes am I talking about?

When you’re out networking, be it face-to-face or virtual, you can stand out from the crowd if you use Survey Monkey when you follow-up. Survey Monkey is a free service that you can use to gather information from your new contacts. You can ask up to 10 questions on the free version (there is a subscription version that has additional features) and use those answers to truly add value to your new contact. It is like a lead capture page on steroids. Go to www.SurveyMonkey.com to set up your free account.

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You can and should add a ‘bubble comment’ to your survey. This is also a free service that allows you to add a personal touch to your websites.

For those of you that are network marketers, you add a bubble comment to your company’s replicated website to add your personality to it.

To get your free account, go to www.BubbleComment.com.

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Go get ‘em, tigers and tigresses!

All the best,

ReferQuest was founded by Camille Landau. The site was inspired by her desire to speed various transactions (finding a nanny, selling a car, finding office space) she was attempting to broker online. She had the idea when she noticed that the various searches were inefficient, and could benefit from the support of a third-party network. She believed that offering a referral reward would help speed the transactions, by bringing out a broader base of valid leads. ReferQuest was created to make e-commerce more efficient, and to help busy users make the most of their time.

I know that I’m supposed to be a neutral reporter, but please pardon my enthusiasm about this service – I absolutely LOVE this concept! It is going to help average peopled, ‘grassroots captitalists’, and Fortune 500 executives alike. You can join for FREE and you only have to pay a reward when you are satisfied with the referral you were given. This is truly a Web 2.0 service.

What also jumps off the page at me is that prolific networkers with huge databases can now be paid for giving referrals. These folks were already giving referrals to others and now they can get paid for doing so.

How ReferQuest Works

Overview:

Online customers waste time in search of buyers and sellers for their time-sensitive transactions. ReferQuest increases e-commerce’s efficiency by providing incentives for refer-ers to match buyers & sellers. Clients post referral fees on ReferQuest to provide incentive for uncovering the connections they seek. Visitors refer the requests on to their own contacts. ReferQuest brokers the messages and tracks the dealings between the parties. ReferQuest updates and publishes star ratings of participants, supporting mutual accountability. When transactions close, ReferQuest collects the commission the client had posted, disbursing it to the person who provided the successful referral, and taking its own commission.

Using ReferQuest as a client:

ReferQuest allows you to post notices regarding what you’re looking for, and how much you’re willing to pay when someone (a “connector”) helps you find it. The referral fee you post will attract connectors to assist you as you seek or sell a service or item.

ReferQuest doesn’t take any payment upfront; when you’re satisfied that you’ve found what you’re looking for, the site trusts you to pay the referral fee you set. You can indicate that the transaction is closed by clicking on the status update button that appears next to the record of your posting in your Dashboard.

Paying the referral fee when you’ve finished a transaction will help you gain and maintain your standing as a highly-starred requester. A high rating will help ensure that highly-starred participants will want to work with you. It’s up to you to decide how much you’ll pay as a reward to find what you’re looking for.

ReferQuest does not charge fees to post. It does charge by taking a 20% commission of the commission you post. For example, if you post a $20 reward, ReferQuest will take $4, leaving $16 for the connector. If you want the net fee you offer a refer-er to be $20, you would commit to pay $24.

Working with ReferQuest as a connector:

Anyone can make referrals on ReferQuest. Connectors (people who make referrals) don’t have to be professionals. If you see a posting and know someone who could fulfill the request, you can send them an message through the ReferQuest system. Your friend will then have a chance to contact the requester via ReferQuest. If the requester chooses your friend, they will be expected to report the transaction as closed, at which point they will be prompted to pay you the reward they promised.

All members of ReferQuest are on the honor system, and honest participation helps members gain, and maintain, higher star ratings. When the requester closes the transaction (that you helped to set up), you are due the referral reward that they offered . It’s easy for the requester to pay the reward through the site. If you’re the connector and want to make sure you get paid, or if you were referred, and want to make sure the friend who connected you got paid, then you can send a note to the requester through the site, prompting them to pay. Keep in mind that ultimately, however, ReferQuest can’t force the requester to pay… so, when choosing among requesters whose requests you can serve, check to see that they have a good rating.

Getting paid as a connector:

Payments on ReferQuest are made through PayPal.

Check out the interview I did with Camille on Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009 by clicking on the player below.

Make sure to check out ReferQuest’s website at www.ReferQuest.com and sign-up TODAY.

See you at the top!

All the best,

I hear a lot of talk about building a sales funnel — recycling your customers to maximize profit for yourself and to add benefit to the customer by introducing them to related products or services. Your sales funnel may also include introducing them to various people that provide a given product or service. You don’t always have to be the one profiting, and as a matter of fact, you’ll be more of a ‘go-giver’ if you were not the only person generating revenue.

Remember, it is always easier to keep a customer and resell her/him rather than go out and get a new customer.

Also, keep in mind that the products/services in your portfolio should be related so that you will not be all over the place.

Let me give you an example of how I set up the sales funnel for my business. Perhaps my example will give you some ideas on how to create your very own sales funnel based on your target niche(s) and your product/service offerings.

Grassroots Business Network, LLC’s Sales Funnel

We help sole proprietors and home-based entreprenerus put the pieces together. This is done creating environments that are conducive to networking (face-to-face and over the phone) and the teaching of specific skills, how to use certain tools, and 1-on-1 coaching to develop a customized system to help them accomplish their business goals.

For more information on the networking events, go to the www.Meetup.com/NYCSocialMedia, and visit www.SpeedNetworkingOverThePhone.com.

We are also an independent broker of various products and services that gives our customers access to top-notch resources. Here are some of the products and services that we promote that are relevant to our niches:

• Pick the right biz for YOU
• Business consulting and legal advice
• Quality, affordable health plans
• The ultimate permission-based marketing tool

Okay, folks, I hope that made sense to you. Let me know what you have in your sales funnel as I may be able to send business your way.

Thank you.

All the best,