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Anne Ahira
"Hey" "Guru Name Here"
You suddenly lose all your money, along with your name and reputation, and only have your marketing know-how left.
You have bills piled high and people harassing you for money over the phone.
Plus, you have a guaranteed roof over your head, a phone line, and an internet connection for only one month.
You no longer have your big guru name or JV partners. Other than your vast marketing experience, you're an unknown newbie.
What would you do, from day 1 to day 30, to save yourself?
Joe Kumar
Answer: By Anne Ahira
Day 1 and 2 -- Take the time to compose myself.
I am not going to panic! I will not attempt to do anything but make myself calm, and I will stay positive. I would probably go for a walk in the park, breathe deeply of the fresh air to cleanse my mind, so that I can think clearly when I come back home. This usually works for me when I have a problem.
Day 3 and 4 -- Contact everyone who is affected by my situation
I will make a list of everyone to whom I am in debt. I will be straightforward and let them know that I am currently experiencing some setbacks but assure them that I will honor my financial commitment with them as soon as I am able. I will make my sincere apologies and ask for their patience as I rebuild my business.
I will make certain I have their full contact information so I can keep in touch with them and send partial or full payment the instant I have the funds available to do so. If I find myself the recipient of anger and harsh words, I will put myself in their place and accept that I would probably feel the same if I were them.
Only after I have done the above can I then give my full concentration to re-building my business.
Day 5 -- Evaluate my errors:
I will start day 5 by evaluating what I did wrong. What had made me fail? I will find out where I was weak. From this analysis I will realize that I have learned valuable lessons which will help me to create much greater success in the future. I now know what to avoid and what I need to better develop.
Okay, here I sit with no big guru name, no JV partners, BUT I will stay positive because I have something much more precious and that is knowledge.
I can take heart knowing that once before I started from 'scratch', with absolutely nothing, and managed to achieve much success. So what's different now? In fact, now I have gained such knowledge and skills from hands-on experience that my journey back to success will be that much faster and easier!
I believe in the power of thought. So, instead of thinking of myself as a 'broke and failed business woman', I would rather think I am a “Professional Newbie", a "Highly Skilled and Experienced business woman” who knows what to do. :-)
Even though the first 30 days are critical and I will drive myself hard, I will ALWAYS allow myself a half an hour a day for physical exercise or aerobics and make certain that I get enough sleep.
If I don't take care of myself properly I will not have the mental and physical energy and creativity necessary to regain my former level of achievement.
Day 6 -- Sit down with paper and pen and start a list for myself
Before I develop a new business plan I need to know the answers to the following questions.
To determine what is the right business for me I need to ask myself:
1. What technical skills I have learned or developed?
2. What do others say I am good at?
3. How much time do I need to spend each day to run a successful new business?
4. Do I have hobbies or interest that are marketable?
Can I identify my "niche market" ?
1. What type of business am I interested in starting?
2. What services or products will I sell?
3. Is my idea practical and does it fill a need? or
4. Can I create a demand for my business?
5. What is my competition?
6. Can I provide quality service for my product?
Once I get this far I need to ask:
1. What will I name my business?
2. What equipment or supplies will I need?
3. What are my current resources?
4. What financing will I eventually need?
5. How much will I be able to compensate myself and when?
When I'm sure I've answered the questions above to the very best of my ability I'll be ready to begin putting ideas on paper!
Day 7 to 9-- Make a Business plan!
A well-thought-out business plan is a detailed description of the business and its goal; describes how the business will be operated, managed and capitalized, and will help to keep the new business on track and within budget. It should include:
An Introduction with:
1. Executive Strategy, which gives a detailed description of the business and its goals
2. Management Structure which will list the skills and experience I bring to the business
A Marketing Plan describing:
1. The products/services I will offer
2. What customer demand exists for my service
3. My market, its size and location
4. How my products/services will be advertised and marketed
5. The pricing strategy
Financial Information including:
1. Source of any capital
2. Monthly operation budget
3. Projected Profit & Loss Statement for the first two years
4. Narrative of Operational Budget explaining how the business will be managed on a day to day basis
5. Provide "what if" statements that address alternatives to any problem that may happen.
A 'Concluding Statement' summarizing my business goals and objectives and expressing my commitment to the success of my business!
Day 10 to 19-- Start To Develop My Own Product.
Once I have completed my business plan, and know what product I will create, and feel comfortable with the content and structure, THEN I will start DOING.
People always need information. With my marketing knowledge and experience, I can easily apply what I know to create an ebook. Writing about something that I know very well I can write about "Effective Marketing Strategies",
I used to study Psychology at University, so I can apply that to my marketing. I can even write an eBook entitled "Prospecting Skills Online: Psychological Selling". I can also write about something more general like "How To Handle Stress".
Okay, so I've decided to write an ebook about "Effective Marketing Strategies". Once I've done my research and have an outline or draft I'll begin composing my book using HTML. For this I usually use 'Dreamweaver' or 'MicrosoftFrontpage'. This is exactly the same thing I would do if I were going to create a website.
My next step is to actually turn this material into an ebook. I do this using 'EBook Lite Compiler'. This is software which you can purchase at http://www.ebookcreatorlite.com/. You will be pleased with the amount of help you can receive at this site; they will teach you step by step how to create an ebook in exe. files.
When my ebook is completed, I will upload it to my server and it is ready to be downloaded!
Not quite done yet. Before I can start promoting my ebook, I will first need to create some really good sales copy. This won't take long, I can generally make copy in a day or two. There is some controversy regarding which is better; short sales copy or long. I personally prefer to do a short but very to-the-point sales letter. Here's an example: http://www.asianbrain.com/That is a FREE mentoring that I have created for people to learn more about internet marketing. My sales copy is very short but to-the-point.
See how simple that was?! Using the knowledge I already have I can easily write a truly useful, marketable eBook within a week or so. You can do the same thing!
Day 20 to 30 -- Promote My New Product
Since I have lost all my money, and have no budget for promotions, one of the best ways to promote my new product will be by finding new "Joint Venture" partners.
A Joint Venture is basically when two people join forces to form a partnership to jointly promote their products. With a JV you can instantly double the exposure of your products and services by tapping into each other's built-in audiences, business relationships and mail lists.
Since I believe so strongly in the benefit of good Joint Venture's, I have created an article which goes into much more detail as to how they can be used. To get your copy go here: http://www.thebestaffiliate.com/articles/jv.html
I am not concerned that I have lost my last JV partners. There are MILLIONS of people online, worldwide and I know a few of them will be eager to do a Joint Venture with me.
Before I start to look for JV partners I need to prepare an email offer to send to them! Following is a letter I have successfully used when contacting potential JV partners:
SAMPLE EMAIL FOR JV PARTNERS PROSPECTS
Hello NAME :-)
My name is Anne Ahira and I am the owner of TheBestAffiliate.com. I am a recent visitor to your site (JV PARTNER PROSPECT WEBSITE HERE) and I must say that you've done a very good job. This site is well thought out and professional looking. I'm writing to you today to see if perhaps we could join together to the benefit of both our websites?
NAME, are your readers interested in Marketing? I'm asking this because I have just made an eBook about "Effective Marketing Strategies"
It's located at http://www.thebestaffiliate.com/ and I would be flattered if you would take the time to check it out. :-)
Here I will give you a copy of the ebook for free!
http://www.thebestaffiliate.com/gift.zip
I make a genuine effort to provide useful information in a simple straightforward fashion and I'm finding that people are delighted with the opportunity to learn more about Marketing Strategies.
If you feel that my new eBook might be of interest to your subscribers, I would be willing to give you a SPECIAL 60% commission to introduce it to them! Let me know how I can help you!
Hopefully we can find a way to work together and I am always open to any ideas you may have. Thank you for your valuable time and whatever your decision I wish you the very best in your business. :-)
Warm Regards,
Anne Ahira
Founder of The Elite Team Asia
Editor The Best Affiliate Newsletter
http://www.eliteteamasia.com/
http://www.thebestaffiliate.com/
http://www.asianbrain.com/
http://www.anneahira.com/
Now that I am ready with my letter for JV partner, I can also start to locate Publishers whose target market is compatible with my product, and who are willing to endorse my new ebook to their list. I am a member of Directory of Ezines for life. You can go here to learn more: http://directoryofezines.com/
In this directory, you can find many ezine Publishers along with the names of their ezines and their email address's. They are listed according to categories such as business, marketing, and web promotion, which makes it a little easier to find exactly what you are looking for. You can also find information about the list they have, what is their target market, how many subscribers they have etc..
Once I find the publishers I would like to approach I will personally email them, and offer to give them my new ebook for free as well as a 50%-60% commission on sales, if they will mention my new ebook in their publication or newsletter.
There are many ways to go about finding appropriate JV partners. I also can go to my favorite search engine, http://www.google.com/ or http://www.yahoo.com/ , and type in the keywords suitable to my product. In this case I type in: "Effective Marketing Strategies".
In Google I found 1,280,000 links to different resources with content about web promotion and marketing! Now I will look for webmasters who have a product related to mine and who are willing to market someone else's product. Once I find them I will email them politely and ask if they would like to do a Joint Venture with me.
Another way for finding JV partners is by going to Forums. I can 'politely' post in the forums and introduce myself. No blasting of advertisements please! That is just not cool or ethical. Instead I will ask them to 'review' my website. When they do, they will see that I have a good product for which they can earn a 50% sales commission.
These type of strategies give me great exposure to several new clients, which means the chance to generate sales but more importantly, the opportunity to continue to build my own opt-in list. Are you wondering how all this will help to build my list? Okay, this is how.
When a JV Partner or a publisher promotes my ebook in their newsletter my website will be mentioned. I know that at least some of the readers will visit my website. When they do, I will have something free to offer them. For example I could have a pop up which says "Get FREE 'Positive Team Course' and a FREE Consultation for YOUR business". If they are interested they will have to fill out a form with their name and email address or I can simply make a popup which when clicked automatically adds them as a subscriber to my list.
ALSO, as people read my ebook they will find links to my site. Once again they will see that they can receive valuable, interesting material if they become subscribers to my newsletter.
In conclusion:
ANYONE in business could suddenly find themselves back at square one but as long as you maintain the right positive mind set and continue to believe in yourself, you will once again achieve success.
Remember, whenever you experience a setback, to evaluate and learn from your mistakes so you can avoid making the same ones again. Success in small business starts with decisive and correct opening moves!
Don't just race off to start anew. Give yourself enough time to KNOW where you are going. I can't stress this enough! When you begin your new business plan be sure you incorporate all you have recently learned from your past errors; this will help to insure your future success.
If I have done my restructuring correctly and have several good products to market, I should begin to see a small income by the second month. Sufficient, at least to keep me online for one more month! Each month will be better than the one before until I reach and finally exceed the income generated by my previous business.
It takes discipline, desire and hard work to regain success. For the coming months, I will need to stay focused on my business plan. To help me do that I will place reminders of my goal everywhere; in my bed room, on the refrigerator door, in my work place. This is an old trick but it usually motivates me to stay on track and work harder.
So there you have it, everything I would do for the first 30 days to 'restructure' my business. Since I would still have my existing client list to draw upon and all the tools I used to operate my previous business, I know that if I followed my own advice and were willing to work hard, that my new business would be even more successful than my last.
This article is supplied for information purposes only and, as experienced in this subject matter as the contributors are, the material herein does not constitute professional business advice.
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher and the contributors are not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional advice. If legal advice or other professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.
The reader is advised to consult with an appropriately qualified business professional before making any business decision. The contributors, Joe Kumar and JoeKumar.com do not accept any responsibility for any liabilities resulting from the business decisions made by readers of this article.
copyright © Joe Kumar and JoeKumar.com
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