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Home Business News
As I ramble around the Internet or read books and magazines, I find useful resources and information of value to owners of home businesses. I'll pass some of them along here.
Question: Why do you have so **many** websites and blogs?
Posted by johndilbeck on Monday, April 25 2005 at 11:03 AM
Category: home_business
That's a very good question and I think I should tell you some of my reasons.
I sell the services that I use and I think it is incumbent upon me to know what I'm offering to you so that I am aware of both the strengths and weaknesses of the products.
A long time ago, I learned that price should not be the reason to make a purchase for business services. Quality, reliability, and support are much more important. If the difference between a web hosting service at $7.99 and $30 per month is important to you, then you don't really have a business. Any business can purchase the more expensive hosting service and appreciate the advantages of superior service -- if it does, indeed, offer superior service, and some don't.
Webhosting Services
I test a lot of web hosting services and there are only a few that I continue to use. I recommend them highly. They are:
Site Build It! -- This site offers the best mix of site research, design, hosting, and promotion that can be found on the planet, and the price is more than reasonable. Before you host your site anywhere, check out the features and tools Site Build It! offers. I use what I've learned from Ken Evoy and all the people on the private SBI forums to make all my websites better. I'd pay the price of an SBI account to get access to all the information and research, even if I didn't host a site with them. But, they offer proof that no other hosting service can offer. See for yourself.
Assorted Internet -- this company hosts JohnDilbeck.com, GeorgiaDragRacing.com, and several other domains. I have been working with this company for years and while there have been technical problems now and then, their support staff always sorted out the problem and corrected it. They offer outstanding pricing and you can even design your own hosting plan. I look for great support as the number one priority for a hosting company and I've always been happy with Assorted Internet. And, to top it off, I won a free iPod Shuffle from them in March, 2005 just by signing up for their new newsletter! Thanks, guys!
HostingWithUs -- I found out about this service because I'm a Cognigen agent and I signed up for a reseller account to test it out. I host DilbeckCommunications.com, CherokeeCountyNC.com, ResidualIncomeGazette.com, and other domains on this service and it, too, has proven to be a great value. I've always gotten fast responses to questions and outstanding technical support. I recommend them highly, and their sister company, DomainsWithUs is where I've been registering all my new domains. They offer great pricing, outstanding support, lots of extras, and a forum where their customers can help each other.
Marketing Hosting and Training
I maintain accounts on a couple of services, not because of their webhosting services, but because of all the ancillary marketing being done on the site, and that is like getting a private marketing education for a very low price.
I first found Stone Evans because he is always one of the top producers in the SFI Marketing Group and I wanted to learn what he's doing that is making him so successful. So, I did some searching and learned about his Plug-In Profit Site (commonly called PIPS).
I urge you to go read Stone's Plug-In Profit Site offer now. Even though I already knew a lot about webhosting, I learned much from Stone that I've been able to put in play on the website he built for me at 21stCenturySales.com. I've modified it since he built it and have moved in a different direction than the new PIPS sites.
To make full use of Stone's system and to set in motion your earnings potential, you should be prepared to invest about $100 per month in the services Stone requires and recommends, and you should be able to invest at least 8 - 10 hours per week in building your online marketing business. If you have no time and no money to invest in this, it is not for you.
On the other hand, if you can invest about $3 and an hour of work per day, you will learn a great deal about online marketing in a short time.
Home Business
I want to remind you that not everyone has the personality, experience, ambition, and resources to run their own business, whether it is a home business or any other kind, so many people will not benefit from Stone's or any other help. However, if you're willing to invest the time and effort in learning and putting what you learn to work and you can afford to invest the price of a cheap lunch every day in starting a business, you can learn how to make it work. It will not happen overnight and there is no such thing as a system that will make you rich with no effort on your part. If that's what you want, you're better off buying a lottery ticket.
The very best skill you can learn is how to market and sell your products and services. Once you learn this skill it will serve you very well in just about any business or job you try.
Site Builders
Another reason I build so many websites is to learn various site builders and content management systems.
An example of a site builder I really like is the one I use to build and manage 21stCenturySmallBusiness.com. This is a service provided by Webmax Studio and I first tried it because I'm a Cognigen agent and I can sell this service and earn a commission. I originally intended to take advantage of the 10-day free trial they offer so I could learn the system and then delete the site. However, after trying it, I liked it enough to pay the very reasonable $19 monthly fee and continue building it. The sitebuilder works on my old Macintosh system (over 10 years old and still going strong) or a brand new computer with just about any operating system. Even a beginner can build a site with this system.
(But, let me reiterate, there's more to a successful site than just building it -- you have to attract visitors and that's why I recommend Site Build It! so highly.)
Content Management Systems
I test a variety of content management systems to see how they work for me and to help me be able to advise you better. You'll be seeing a lot of articles from me in the coming months about these topics.
I'm using PHP-Nuke to build and manage my portals at DilbeckCommunications.com and CherokeeCountyNC.com. I like PHP-Nuke, but it has a rather steep learning curve and it helps if you have a good background in both HTML and PHP to make use of it. If you know PHP and have a basic grounding in using the MySQL database, then PHP-Nuke offers a lot of power and there are many ways to extend your site to make it do just what you want. These sites are designed for interaction by an entire community.
Last year, Mambo won the award for the best content management system, and I didn't know anything about it. So, I decided I should learn.
Recently, I started ResidualIncomeGazette.com where I'll be talking about how to build a nice residual income through online marketing. Some forms of residual income include getting ongoing royalties from writing books, composing music, starring in movies, and other similar ways. You can also build residual income through online marketing. I get checks every month for work I did many months ago, and the more I add to my sites and blogs, the more the income grows. But that may or may not be residual income.
I define residual income as selling something once and getting paid every time the customer reorders or renews, whether I have anything further to do with it or not. An example is referring someone to a service where they can register a domain or build a website and then I get paid every year when they renew their domain and every month or year when they renew their hosting service.
Others are earning money every month because they referred me to services I use and I'm happy they are because the services are helping me earn a living, too. I'm earning from the people I refer. Some of them have recognized the opportunity and are now earning money themselves. You don't have to participate in the business to enjoy the benefits of a particular webhosting company (for instance), but you can if you want. If you refer a few people who use the service, you're webhosting becomes free and once you earn enough to pay your fees, you'll earn a profit every month, without a lot of effort.
Getting back to ResidualIncomeGazette.com...
The Residual Income Gazette is powered by the free, open-source version of Mambo that is included free in almost all HostingWithUs accounts. I have it installed and I'm currently working to customize it so I can start adding content over the coming months. I already like the system and I look forward to really being able to fully use the power built into it to manage a dynamic site.
I'll probably continue with some of the services I'm currently using for the rest of my life. If a site is earning a profit, I don't even consider the cost of hosting into the business equation.
Online Marketing Business
If your site doesn't produce at least $1 more than your hosting fees, you need to seriously reconsider what you're doing. Do you have a business or a hobby?
I wouldn't care if web hosting cost me $1,000 per month, as long as I was earning at least $1,100 every month using that service. This is a 10% return on my investment and I'll do that every day of the month and do more and more as I have time and energy.
But, in reality, it probably costs less than $40 to host that site and it would not return $100 in profit, but -- hypothetically at least -- $1,060 in profit.
Let's see, hmmm, $1,060 divided by $40 equals 26.5, or stated in another way, a 2,650% ROI (return on investment). And, once that site is built, it will continue to make a profit for an indefinite period with only ocassional maintenance and updates.
Look at it another way. If I'm paying $30 a month for hosting (see Site Build It! which is the best site building, hosting, and marketing service I've been able to find) and I'm earning $31 in Google Adsense revenue, then, effectively, I have a free website with which I can do whatever I want. Once it earns $62 a month, in Adsense and other revenue, I can reinvest that additional profit in another site and start the cycle all over again. When I reach the income level I'm targeting, then I can stop building sites and work on making the ones I have more useful, informative and profitable.
If I end up with 100 websites that earn $130 per month, each, then I'm going to have $100 profit from each site multiplied by 100 sites and that's a total monthly income of $10,000. That's what I call a business and a full-time income. Of course, I'm not going to try to limit the profit from each of those sites to just $100 -- more is better in this case.
Looking at this another way, $130 income divided by $30 expense equals 433.33% ROI -- and that beats the heck out of what I can get from a savings account or CD.
Right now, I'm reinvesting almost all of my profits back into growing the business. Once I have all of this done, I'll be pulling in a steady stream of residual income for work I did months previously -- then I can concentrate on showing you how I did it so you can see if you can duplicate my success.
Or, you can check out Stone Evan's Plug-In Profit Site and start learning today from someone who is already doing what I'm working on accomplishing.
But, I'll guarantee you this right now -- you will never be able to do this unless you get started. Even if you have to get a part-time job to afford it, set aside extra money until you can afford to spend $300 to get your Site Build It! account and start learning how to duplicate the success of others who are changing their lives for the better.
You gotta get started -- now -- or you just won't do it.
Of course, not everyone wants to approach this the way I do. I love building websites and blogs, so it is business, hobby, and recreation for me.
Perhaps you want to build one site and put all your effort into making it a success. This would certainly take less time and effort -- and money -- than approaching it the way I do. I think for most people, this would be the desired approach. If you have a particular topic in which you have a passionate interest, Site Build It! can help you succeed at building a website devoted to your interest and making it a success. Many people have done so. You can read their case studies and see for yourself.
You waste more than $30 every month. Why not try investing it into something you really love and see if you can earn a profit doing it. If you can build a nice residual income stream, so much the better.
That's why I have so many websites and blogs, and I'll be building more until I reach my income goals.
Context Tag: home business
New home business link added to directory at JohnDilbeck.com
Posted by johndilbeck on Thursday, February 24 2005 at 11:22 PM
Category: home_business
I just added links to two sites related to working at home on the Small Business page in my directory.
In the Home Business section, I added:
Work at Home -- Biz-whiz.com is a community website for work at home related information and resources. Includes articles, directory, a very busy forum, and more.
21st Century Sales -- home business hints, tips, opportunites, and resources.
Are you serious about building a home business?
Posted by johndilbeck on Friday, January 7 2005 at 4:05 AM
Category: home_business
If not, stop reading.
I'm looking for serious people who are willing to spend at least one hour per day marketing their home-based business and at least one dollar per day investing in it.
21st Century Sales website updated and expanded
Posted by johndilbeck on Monday, June 7 2004 at 11:59 AM
Category: home_business
Over the last couple of weeks, I've been redesigning my 21st Century Sales site. I'm busily expanding it to offer great resources for people who want to build profitable home businesses.
While there are many types of home businesses, this site is targeted towards online marketing and sales, with an emphasis on earning income by marketing affiliate programs. I've found this to be an excellent way to build extra streams of income without having to invest a lot of money.
Of course, as with any business, it takes time, effort and some money to build a business to the point where it starts returning a profit. Normally, I expect to put in three to five years and a lot of time and money before I start earning a profit. This has gone faster than any other business I've ever started or helped to start.
In the past, I've had to invest many thousands of dollars up-front and then put in the time and effort to make things work.
With this business -- my home-based online marketing business -- I've been able to invest as little as three or four dollars every day (around $100 per month) and I'm already earning a growing profit all without incurring any debt. It's not financed by loans or credit cards, and that's a first for me. I love being out of debt.
Now that it has reached the breakeven point, I don't even have to invest the small amount I was spending out of pocket each month. Overhead, advertising, and promotional expenses are now coming out of revenue, and as I reinvest a substantial portion of that revenue, I look forward to watching the business grow even faster.
You, my customer, have made this possible and I appreciate it. I'll continue to offer the best opportunities I can find along with tips and advice based on my continuing research.
I appreciate your business. Thank you!
21st Century Sales is one site in my growing network of Dilbeck Marketing websites. There are several more on the drawing board and I'll be introducing them over the next several months.
Home Business Tips Newsletter -- May 1, 2004 -- Posted
Posted by johndilbeck on Sunday, May 2 2004 at 5:31 PM
Category: home_business
The May 1, 2004 edition of my Home Business Tips newsletter has been posted.
Congratulations to my SFI sales team for growing their businesses in April!
IAHBE goes all digital!
Posted by johndilbeck on Tuesday, March 2 2004 at 12:59 PM
Category: home_business
Gery Carson, President of SFI Marketing Group announced some important changes in the International Association of Home Business Entrepreneurs.
Since its inception in January 2003, the International Association of Home Business Entrepreneurs (www.iahbe.org) has dedicated itself to providing the timely advice, information, and resources home-business owners around the world need to launch, operate, and grow a successful business. This commitment to excellence continues in 2004 with some exciting enhancements to the Association--enhancements designed to bring even more value from an IAHBE membership.
On March 1, 2004, the IAHBE moved to an all-digital format. According to feedback IAHBE members provided in the recent Association survey, a vast majority prefer getting their business materials online.
This new emphasis on online access has already resulted in a brand new look, feel, and organization for the IAHBE website.
Updated with a cleaner, more user-friendly interface, the newly redesigned IAHBE site now makes navigating to the material you're looking for easier than ever. Articles and reports are now organized by topic, for example, while audio seminars, book and tool reviews, interviews, and other resources are listed in their own easy-access directories.
Here's another MAJOR new bonus: The doors to the IAHBE archives have been swung wide open to ALL members of the IAHBE. This means that, as a member, you now have access to the entire IAHBE library, containing over 150 exclusive articles and expert reports, hours and hours of expert audio seminars, dozens of SFI-related business-building resources, and much more.
That's not all! The IAHBE site will now be updated WEEKLY with fresh, new content, giving you a never-ending supply of new exclusive articles, expert reports, audio seminars, SFI resources, special IAHBE-exclusive offers, and more!
If you haven't stopped by the IAHBE website lately, you owe it to yourself to check it out now.
After you visit the site and look it over, I'd like to invite you to become a member today.
Home Business Tips - February 13, 2004 has been archived.
Posted by johndilbeck on Sunday, February 15 2004 at 6:21 AM
Category: home_business
The February 13, 2004 issue of the Home Business Tips newsletter was sent to all subscribers on Friday and now has been archived on JohnDilbeck.com.
News included a preview of MadisonDynamics, Inc and an invitation to explore their site to see for yourself what it's all about.
Resources discussed include: USCounties.com, PRWeb.com, Ryze Business Networking, AdlandPro Community, GetResponse.com, Host4Profit.com, and CBMall.com.
You are invited to read the archived issue and subscribe to future issues. I welcome all feedback.
Free Business Plan Templates from SCORE
Posted by johndilbeck on Wednesday, January 14 2004 at 4:31 AM
Category: home_business
Templates for your business. You've been told many times about the importance of having a written business plan, but how do you get started? SCORE offers several templates for creating your plan. There are templates for new and for existing businesses as well as several templates for providing further information. All are available as free downloads in .pdf format. They are also available in MS Word or MS Excel format, depending upon the type of template.
Choose the right broker
Posted by johndilbeck on Friday, January 2 2004 at 3:19 AM
Category: home_business
Choose the Right Broker. What should you consider when comparing brokerages? [The Motley Fool]
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