Recently I took a trip to visit a close friend. The purpose of my trip was not necessarily for business, but some how I always manage to meet someone during my conversations and interactions with others who wants to do business with me. After meeting probably the tenth person during my travels who was interested in my services, it donned on me that the questions I typically ask during my conversations with others whom I’m meeting for the first time create an infections environment where they become excited about what I have to offer them. This realization is my inspiration for todays blog post.

The Philosophy

Here is the philosophy behind my (mad scientist) methods, muuahahaha!!!

Seriously, the idea behind these methods is nothing new. It is all about becoming a social person and learning how to simply network with and communicate with others. Running an Internet business isn’t strictly done online. Remember, you are still dealing with people and your website is simply a tool to convey your message to them. Learn to meet and greet others, and make a valid effort to meet someone new every day, whether online or off. Get to know them, ask them questions and be a good listener. This can be done most effectively over the Internet, as well as in the real-world.

Everywhere I go, online or not, I always make it a point to talk to at least 10 new people a day. During my conversations with them, I ask certain questions that allow me to better understand who they are and what they’re all about. These questions will not only help you gain a better understanding of who you are talking too, but also allows you to effectively build a strong relationship with them, which ultimately leads to trust. And trust eventually leads to a sale! I’ll discuss these questions in a little bit.

It’s a Conversation

To do this right, you must learn to have conversations with others. I never engage in any interaction with others with the intention to gain new business or to sell them something. I’m genuinely interested in what they have to say. If any business comes out of the conversation, then it is the result of my gaining their trust and nothing more.

As the conversation progresses, the other person will inevitably become more curious about you and ask you to share what you do for a living. And man do I love it when people ask me what I do for a living. Partly because I’m very passionate about it, and partly because I know that almost everyone wants to know more about how to make money online! On the internet, they may ask you directly, or more than likely, they’ll visit your website to get all the dirty details.

Have a Genuine Interest

Having a genuine interest in what the other person is tell you is a must! Listen to them, hear what they are saying. On the Internet, or in any business for that matter, this allows you to clearly identify what your target audience wants and how you can fill that need. Simply trying to sell your products or services to them without listening to what your audience wants is a sure way to set yourself up for dismal sales and potential failure. Know and respect your audience, and they will take you far!

An Example Illustrated

Asking the right questions will open up the conversation for further discussion and allow you to identify whether or not you can provide a solution to the other person, or audience’s problem.

For example, while traveling on a plane to my recent destination, I met an ink salesman. I had asked the salesman, what he did and how he got started in his business, which is how I learned he was an ink salesman. I was able to quickly establish a rapport with the salesman after asking 4 simple questions about what he did for a living. What’s even better, is because I had established a rapport with him, he in turn asked me what I did for a living. I quickly answered:

“I own an internet marketing and online business development consulting business where I help individuals and small to mid-sized businesses create a strong internet presence allowing them to succeed online.”

The conversation progressed which led me to expand upon my business further at his request. This was important to him, because he immediately realized I could help him expand his sales operations online where he could gain greater reach and increased exposure, thus allowing him to sell more product. He even asked me if I could teach his entire sales organization how to better utilize the internet to increase brand awareness and sales, thus resulting in the sale of a $10,000 consulting services package for me and an ongoing business relationship with his company.

What’s crazy is, I ONLY ASKED HIM FOUR SIMPLE QUESTIONS!!!

Questions, Questions, Questions

The questions I ask are simple and nothing new. Really the key to a successful sale is in starting the conversation and treating it like a conversation rather than a sale. So what are the questions I typically ask when having a conversation with others? Well, I’m glad you asked! See, your getting the hang of this already!

I always ask these questions when meeting new people whether in the real-world or through Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or any other social networking or internet based community I’m hanging out in.

1. What do you do for a living?
2. How long have you been doing that?
3. Do you enjoy it?
4. How did you get started?

On the Internet, you could also pose a more direct approach to the questions through your marketing efforts such as landing pages and email campaigns. Here are some examples as they relate to my business:

1. Are you struggling to monetize your blog?
2. How long are you going settle for dismal sales and lack of income?
3. Are you enjoying that much sought after success online?
4. Did the hope of success online not work out for you?

The point is, to ask questions that are primarily open ended and not simply yes or no questions. This allows for expansion of the conversation into other areas enabling you to build the rapport and trust needed to ultimately make a sale. Getting other people to talk about their passions, family or what they do for a living will go a long way to opening up the conversation and will eventually lead to some sort of mutual relationship that may make you money!

Set yourself a goal to meet 10 new people a day, whether online or offline. And always remember, it’s just a conversation!

Sean Smith is that crazy guy over at Powerofmore.net who shares a ridiculous amount of knowledge and expertise about the hottest internet marketing & social media trends of today and tomorrow. And yes, he believes that Johnny B. Truant invented post-it notes!

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Over at TheInfoPreneur.net, I talked about the 80/20 rule briefly in a post and I thought I would expand upon it somewhat today. It is otherwise known as the Pareto principle. Simply put, it says:

80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts.

Now, the exact 80/20 ratio is immaterial here and it may not hold exactly true in all cases. However, I think you will find, across the board, that most of the benefits in your life come from roughly 20% of your work.

The “trick” is simply to focus on the 20% and not get so worked up over the 80%. When you do that, you’ll find that you can work less, but make either the same amount of effect or more.

Let’s look at some examples.

• Answering Email. In almost all cases, dealing with email has no direct impact on your bottom line. Obviously, it can’t be ignored, but chances are email falls within the 80%.
• Social Media. Social media most definitely falls within the 80%. There were plenty of people making money on the Internet before Twitter and Facebook existed. These things are tools. They are good tools. But, they are not direct contributors to the bottom line.
• Writing An Ebook. There is a good chance that this would fall within the 20% for you. An ebook helps you increase your brand. It can help you grow your list. These are clear benefits.

So, the first thing you need to do is define exactly what your targets are. Are you looking to make money? Then money is a target. Perhaps traffic. Brand growth. On the flip side, lots of Twitter followers or high comment numbers probably aren’t end goals as much as they are mere indicators of whether your end goals are progressing.

With your end goals clearly defined, you have a guidepost by which to judge the things you do all day and determine if they are direct contributors to those end goals or not.

You’ll find you might have to be fairly brutal in your evaluations. You might think that answering every blog comment is very important, for example, but is it really? Exactly HOW is that contributing to your end goal? Same with using Twitter. Answering email. Even writing posts!

Realize that just because something might fall within the 80% doesn’t mean you’re not going to do it. It does, however, put some perspective onto its relative importance.

So, if my primary goal is an established blog-based business with a full-time income, let’s run through a sample categorization of some of the routine tasks involved…

* Note that I put blog posting into both categories. Obviously, writing posts is important, however I think many bloggers think that posts are the final product of blogging as a business. They’re not! Most times, blog posts do not DIRECTLY impact income, which is why I put it in the 80% category. At the same time, you’re not going to achieve much reach if you don’t do it, which is why it is in the 20%. So, my point here is to not limit your thinking. You cannot write posts all day and expect to get paid. In fact, your posts won’t make you a dime unless you’re doing the other 20% tasks.

So, how do you apply the 80/20 rule to your own blogging? Try this:

1. Make a list of every type of tasks you do as a blogger.
2. Make a separate list of your end goals.
3. Now, go over the list you made in #1 and categorize them based on whether they have a direct impact on your end goal.

Now, with this information in hand, you can do the following:

1. Readjust your emphasis on the 80% tasks and focus more on the 20% tasks. Sometimes you may find that some things that you do serve no real purpose at all, in which case you can simply eliminate it. Sometimes, the 80% task is important, but doesn’t directly lend itself to the end goal (i.e. email). In this case, you might want to adjust the emphasis on it to allow more time for more important things. For example, instead of having email open all day, keep it closed and only check/reply to email twice per day.
2. Evaluate your 20% tasks and ask yourself this question: Are you even doing those things which will help you achieve the end goals? You might find that you need to add some 20% tasks to your routine and that you were just spinning your wheels beforehand. For example, if your goal is to generate income from your blog and yet you spend all day writing posts and tweeting, then you probably don’t have any 20% tasks because you’re not really doing anything to help you achieve that end goal.

Taking some time to evaluate this for yourself is one of the most important lessons there is in being a successful blogger.

Blogging can be quite overwhelming without a system of evaluation of importances. All tasks are NOT equal. You need to learn to determine which are important and which are not as important, then learn to divide your available time accordingly.

Master this and you’ll be a HUGE step ahead of other bloggers who aren’t doing it.

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Everybody wants to have that one “big” idea. The idea that will generate them a six figure income, change the world and allow them to live the life of their dreams.

Who doesn’t love a big idea? Big ideas are sexy, alluring and dangerous. Everyone is looking to find the next Google or the next Facebook.

But whatever happened to the small idea?

It’s not the size that counts, it’s what you get out of it

Sure, a big idea sounds hot on paper. Billions of dollars in revenue, flying all over the world to conferences and being the pioneer in your industry. But let’s look at why small ideas can be more beneficial than big ones:

• A small idea is harder to copy. Whereas a big idea is heavily advertised, publicized and talked about – you can slip underneath the radar of your competition with a small idea. This makes it much less likely that your idea will be copied. And even if it is, if you were first to market then you already have the competitive advantage and the authority needed to dominate.
• Small ideas are more agile. If you are trying to build something huge, it will take much longer to react. There may be different laws or procedures you need to follow or employees you have to wait for to perform certain tasks before you can change even something as simple as a price.
• Small ideas are less risky. You can take a punt on a small idea and not have it come back to bite you. What if you invested heavily into a huge idea and it went south? Do you fancy losing your mortgage over a failed business venture? I don’t.
• Small ideas are more fun. There isn’t as much stress involved in a small idea. You can have fun with it, be yourself, meet like minded people and enjoy the journey much more than the immense pressure that comes with trying to make a success of a big idea.

I love small ideas. They come to me much more easily and I can act on them right away without investing too much time and effort into them. If they work, I can invest more time and effort into them. If they don’t pan out, well I have plenty more ideas just as small that I can test out.

Below, I’ve come up with five simple ways you can take your small ideas and transform them into big results.

5 Ways to Transform Small Ideas into Big Results

1. Don’t second guess yourself. No idea is too small to generate big results from. The sooner you understand that you can sell ice to an Eskimo Innuit if it’s the right kind of ice, the sooner you’ll realize that there is no idea too small. You can be successful from the tiniest of brainstorms.People make a fortune every day online by selling information products based on specific dog breeds for goodness sake so don’t worry about your idea being too small. It’s not. I’m pretty sure I could find a blog and/or products out there on keeping an ant farm, and that’s got to be one of the smallest ideas going – literally!
2. Be persistent. The beauty of small ideas is that the audience you’re targeting will be highly specific. Because you share a niche passion with them, you’ll connect with them much more deeply and gan influence and authority quite quickly. The downside is that because the audience is smaller, it will take longer to find them.The trick to getting big results from small ideas is sticking with your idea when you don’t get the big result right away. Stick with it and continue to follow through on your idea day in and day out. Eventually, the right people will find you and your idea will grow into something remarkable. Just have a little patience.
3. Get creative. The best way to stand out is to do something nobody else is doing. Make yourself the big fish in the little pond and blow them out of the water. Think of something unique and innovative to offer that nobody else does and you’ll quickly become the go-to guy/girl for your audience.I notice that the Jack Russell guide offers free e-mail consulting with every purchase. Why not go one better and offer an hour of phone or Skype consultation? You never know, the client may like the phone consultation so much because of the personal touch that they book further coaching sessions with you.
4. Maximize every opportunity. Because your idea is small and your audience is laser focused, it is imperative that you make the most of every opportunity available if you want big success. Get comfortable asking for what you want. If it’s subscribers, ask for them. If it’s sales, ask for them too. If you want new clients, go out and approach new leads.I’m not telling you to give them the hard sell, coerce them or trick them into getting what you want. What I am saying is that if you want something, you will never get it unless you ask. Go check out that Jack Russell site again. Not only do they ask you to buy the ebook, they also ask for your email address in exchange for a free e-course. With that, they can build a connection over time and if you don’t buy the book now – they’ll ask you again later when you might be more sold on the idea.
5. Replicate your success. Once you start to achieve results from your small idea, you can extract more from it by repeating the steps you took to get to that point. If you were making four sales a month with an affiliate product from around 15 unique visitors per day, you would replicate whatever strategy it was that you used to get those 15 visitors and use it to ramp up visitors to 150 uniques per day.You may not get the same rate of sales growth as you do traffic, but you will most certainly be getting more sales than you were before. Once you have a formula for success, don’t deviate from it and don’t get distracted by other strategies. You know what works, so replicate that and forget the rest.

My advice to you is to stop worrying about blowing the competition out of the water with a “big” idea. Trust me when I say that you can blow people away, earn a great deal of money, and live a fantastic life; all through the power of small ideas.

What is your next small idea going to be?

Ian Nuttall is a small ideas evangelist and creator of Leash Optional, a blog about creating big results in love, life and business. Subscribe now and follow him on Twitter.

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Developing a consistent writing habit was my biggest obstacle. I had ideas scattered: my proof was notepads filled with article topics and potential project ideas that just had a title and nothing else. I had the missing pieces; I just lacked a way to channel my ideas into action.

I decided to give Mind Mapping a chance and see if it could help organize my music projects and website tasks. I was intrigued by the claims of the process: easier organization, remembering ideas, solving problems better and increasing productivity.

Mind Mapping

Mind Mapping is considered a form of “creative note taking” meant to map out your ideas similar to how your brain processes them. You start with a central topic or bubble and branch out accordingly to categories and sub-categories.

Your ideas all branch out from your center concept, keeping you focused on your mission. Some forms of mind mapping are plain while others include images and multi-colors.  I chose to use a free version of Xmind.

I use Mind Mapping now as a way to jot down thoughts and create specific tasks for them. I was pitching: my ideas were in the windup position, but they lacked the follow thru.

I found myself speaking of plans in the first stage and not offering specific action to get the ball rolling and see if the idea was worth developing. Trying to balance my music projects and blogging tasks became more of a pain. I tried mind mapping on a sheet of paper and began to brainstorm.

Bloggers can relate to musicians. You can find yourself encountering inspirational moments and not writing them down, or assuming you will remember later. It can be a blog topic, hook, melody, lyrics or an idea. Trying to recall those can be painful, especially when you can’t remember where you were going with the original thought.

Now I follow one simple rule: Give detail to your inspiration.

Simple Plan

I wanted to use Mind Mapping with a purpose and keep it simple.

1. I think of areas I want to work on my blog.
2. I add any projects or products I am working on.
3. I add ideas on how to integrate into content.
4. I list specific tasks: Article Topics, To Do List, Promotional Campaigns.
5. I send the tasks to my Calendar.

Content Ideas

In the picture below I used 2 examples of how I can organize my ideas. I created two sections: “Random Article Ideas” and “Keyphrase Article Ideas”. In the random category I like to brainstorm and add any article ideas that come to mind that I’m interested in, be creative.

Click the image for a larger image of this mind map. 

The keyphrases section I like to fill in with some keyphrases found on my control panel stats. I look at keywords with increasing searches and topics that are relevant to my blog and think about expanding on them. Connecting better with your visitors.

This example reaped 6 article ideas. My maps generally have more article ideas and are broken down further, just to make writing the article that much easier. I’m even adding another category next month for “Reader Suggestions/Comments”. I am creating another channel to keep creative ideas flowing in.

Project Ideas

The reason I like this one is it takes a project in development. You can see where your project is in production and still brainstorm on future articles for promotion. My example is an EP I am working on. I am almost done mixing it down but that shouldn’t mean I have to wait till its finished to begin thinking content. I came up with four article ideas for future use.

This is very relevant for bloggers that are working on e-books, newsletters, mailing lists or future products. Think ahead and watch more ideas branch out. The best part here is I am kick starting my project in motion with getting it finalized and I am prepared to integrate it into the blog.

Why I Enjoy Using Mind Mapping

• Ideas get sent to a Content Calendar and are put into action: I have specific article topics I can research and space according to difficulty of topic. Eliminate writer’s block and save time.
• Visualization= Easier Explanation: I showed my friend my mind map and he gave me more ideas after seeing the layout. I received better input and focused ideas coming back once a general idea was laid out. People were able to relate to my thought process better and this led to less misunderstanding, just action.
• Monthly Planning for Multiple Websites: Stay on top of all your projects and keep injecting ideas into your projects.
• Stay 10 Steps Ahead: A project can be in production phase and I could generate possible content idea ahead of time.
• Critique Your Writing Style: Am I too focused on assembly line writing or am I being creative? Is each project getting its due promotion? Mind map lays out your ideas for evaluation.
• Ideas keep focused on your main goal.
• Where is Your Time Being Spent? Keep improving your site. Maybe you are neglecting a vital category on your blog but didn’t realize it.

Take your thoughts and let them breathe. Create a mind map and take a topic you want to fix.  Brainstorm for solutions and think of specific tasks to accomplish that goal.  Send it to your calendar and start writing.

Mario Mendoza is an independent musician and  music marketing blogger.  Hip Hop Distribution was created as a way to help independent musicians sell their music online with free web tools, social networking and developing online marketing strategies.

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The number one thing any new business or start up idea is going to face is critics.  Critics are everywhere and are always going to voice their opinions.  They don’t always necessarily have to be people in your industry, but can also be family members or friends as well.

What I want to leave you with is 10 tips that you should use and implement into your own business so that critics will not get the better of you.

1. This is YOUR business and belongs to nobody else.  You need to take ownership for what is yours and not let someone tell you it can’t be done.  Really, where do they come off saying your business is not going to work?  They don’t know the time and effort you put in and I can guarantee they’ve never tried to start a business themselves to know the first place to start.
2. Take constructive criticism and apply it when necessary because that may be the key stepping stone you need to bring your business to the next level.  However, don’t allow outsiders that rip your work or give you hateful comments to get the better of you.  It’s honestly best to ignore those people.  They aren’t contributing anything positive to what you are doing with your business and aren’t worth your time.  You are going to get “haters” out there and it’s best to not pay attention to them.  They carry negativity wherever they go and it’s not the atmosphere you need surrounding your business.
3. When someone tries to shoot down your philosophy to grow and make money from your business do not be discouraged.  Even if you don’t know the answer, the best thing to do is ASK QUESTIONS!  I always ask people who have accomplished something how to go about implementing it for my business.  They are always willing to help and will help you overcome what critics are saying.
4. Try to remember that for the most part critics are those who call themselves “realists.”  Since when was running your own business not a real thing!  Most people are use to working for someone and being paid every two weeks.  They don’t understand that this life isn’t for everyone. Don’t live for the critics, live for yourself.  You have to be happy, but do it within reason so you can still pay your bills!
5. Critics are those telling you to avoid taking risks.  They don’t believe it’s possible, therefore in their eyes, it can’t be done.  Don’t believe this for one second.  You need to put all your heart and effort into something if you want to see your business achieve success.  Treat your business like you would any other job to make money.  You need to put in the time to see results.  Yes, running your own business is a risk, but it comes with a greater reward!  If you are not going to take risks with your own business, you can never truly succeed.
6. You WANT critics!  It shows that people want to comment on what you are putting out there for the world to see.  If you didn’t have critics, your business would be non existent.  So, it’s not always a bad thing to look at critics as a positive aspect to your business.  They make you want to do better and prove them wrong.
7. Trust yourself with whatever business venture you do.  If you want the critics off your back, you have to be certain and know that what your business does is going to make a difference.  People want results and even though results aren’t immediate, you want to give them something right from the get go that is going to make them want more.  Whether that is a teaser for a new product or mentioning names of other well known people on board with what you are doing, you need to keep the critics interested.
8. Enjoy what you are doing!  Your business although it’s a job needs to be FUN for you. As my Dad once told me, “if you enjoy what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.”  Critics want to find doubt in what you do and if you can take what they say, apply it, and show them that what they say can’t bring you down, you will come out on top!  People always forget to have fun regardless of what it might be.  You need to realize you created this business and you are the foundation!
9. Even when your company reaches the success you hoped for, you need to understand that the critics won’t go away, but if you and your customers are happy with what you offer, that’s the key!  You aren’t going to please everyone and sometimes critics of what you do are never satisfied.  They can’t dictate your business…your customers dictate your business and you sail the ship.
10. You are your worst critic.  I think this is the most important message.  Whatever it is you do in life, you are always going to be hard on yourself.  This is especially true for those that are their own bosses.  You will always expect more of yourself, which is a good thing.  You should always shoot for their stars.  Sometimes, it’s good to take a step back and look at what you’ve accomplished compared to the person sitting next to you.  When you think your product is missing something, your customers may love it and that’s where you don’t want to let your own criticism get the better of you.  Stick to what works and follow through.  Believe in yourself and what you do and your business will succeed.

Frank Angelone is the founder of Social Tech Zone.  He helps individuals and businesses with news and tips for interacting with social networks and technology.  He is also the author of the FREE blueprint on How To Increase Your Computer Speed.

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One of the things I make a point to do every year is sit down for serious, solid strategic planning for the coming year.

I take some time off. I reflect on what I have accomplished in the prior year. I then set forward my plans for the coming year.

The biggest thing that sets apart a successful entrepreneur from an unsuccessful one is that the successful entrepreneur knows how to make a plan, put it into action, and GET IT DONE. In other words, putting a list of hopes down on a piece of paper doesn’t turn any of those hopes into a reality. The job of an executive is to make planning turn into reality.

That is all he does.

It does start, however, with setting forth plans. With the plans in place, you set forth the action it will take to turn those plans into reality.

Let me let you into a system I find works for me…

My System For Getting Things Done

Like a lot of people, I use to-do lists. However, they are lists with a madness behind them.

See, most people make to-do lists which are merely lists of things they HOPE to achieve. The list is very short-term, usually made in the morning for things you want to get done that day. Everything else remains in your head, right?

Not good. Not good at all.

My system has at it’s foundation this very simple concept: Keep as little information in your head as you possibly can.

You want systems in place so that your mind isn’t cluttered with “gotta-do”’s. It is distracting and you’re at risk of forgetting things or feeling overwhelmed. In fact, usually the feeling of being overwhelmed with “so much to do” is because of your lack of a system, not reality.

My system of to-do lists is a simple hierarchy:

1. Goals. Broad, long-range things you want to achieve.
2. Plans. More specific, but still broad plans which will add up to the goals being achieved.
3. Tasks. Steps of your plan.
4. Sub-Tasks. Smaller, finite tasks which will add up to a larger task being completed.

The goal is to have each task doable in a finite amount of time, usually no more than a few hours. You want every single task to be able to be accomplished and checked off your list in a short amount of time. If you cannot sit down and accomplish a task in one sitting, then break it up into more sub-tasks.

Let’s illustrate:

Putting The System Into Action

Start out by listing your main goals. These goals will be long-range plans, perhaps for the next year.

Then, take each goal and create a plan or a set of plans which, when completed, will add up to that goal being accomplished.

Then, take the plans and break them up into action steps (tasks). Then evaluate each task and break it up into sub-tasks (if necessary) such that every task is able to be finished in a short, finite amount of time.

Each morning (or the night before), your daily to-do list will be comprised of tasks or sub-tasks from this overall plan. Each week, you set forth a weekly plan which, too, is comprised of these tasks and sub-tasks. Each month, you should go through another strategy session where you review the tasks you have accomplished, revise the plans as necessary, then move onto the next month.

As you can see, the entire system leads to a structured approach to your day. Your daily to-do lists are no longer coming from the dreamland which is your head. Instead, it is all coordinated. Each and every day, the tasks on your list will all get you further toward your goals being accomplished. You know this because your list comes directly from this strategic planning system.

Wrapping Up

My Blog Masters students have access to more information on this, including the measurement of success in this system and the importance of policies to keep it all moving. If you would like access to the entire thing (plus all 16 modules of the this intense training program for probloggers), then I invite you to stay tuned….

The Blog Masters Club will be reopening soon. I have not allowed anybody into the Club since the first launch back in June. I have two modules left to create for my existing students, then it is time to relaunch.

If you want to be notified when things begin to heat up, I encourage you to sign up for my notification email list for the Club.

For now, however, I encourage you to begin to apply this strategy to your blogging in 2010.

What goals do you have for your blog? Your income? Your traffic?

Great! Next, lay out some plans for doing it, then break those plans into tasks.

Don’t worry if you have questions. Everything is editable.

Lastly, start using to-do lists which are authored using this system rather than short-term lists of things you hope you can get done by the end of the day.

By applying a structured system of GOAL ACCOMPLISHMENT, you can have a truly kick-ass 2010.

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Look around you. You’re neck-deep in other people’s companies.

The computer you’re using to read this? Made by a company. The software that runs your computer? Probably created by a company – even most flavors of Linux. The breakfast you had this morning, the chair you’re sitting on, the roof over your head, even the underwear you’re wearing – all made, distributed, sold, and repaired by other people’s companies.

But there you sit, running your online business as a sole proprietor – me, myself, & I. What do all those other successful businesses know that you don’t? Or, perhaps more important, what are some of the reasons you haven’t gone ahead and formed your own corporation or LLC?

1. You didn’t have 70 bucks.

Incorporation is expensive, you might think. Not true. In Florida, you can form your own corporation for just $70 in state fees. ($125 for an LLC.) You don’t need a lawyer to simply form a company, because you can fill out the forms yourself online and pay the fees by credit card. If you stop reading this and start the process right now, you’d have your own company formed in the time it would have taken you to read the read of this article.

2. You’re not planning on making any money.

Does your business plan involve never making a dime from your online business? Then you’re in luck – forming a corporation doesn’t make sense for you. For everyone else, forming a corporation or an LLC is the first step you’ll need to handle the money – and the tax issues – that will start rolling in when your business takes off. I’m not a tax adviser, but every tax adviser I’ve ever had for my own business needs has advised me to form a corporation or LLC if I was serious about making any money at all. (If you don’t have a tax adviser, you’ll need one. Plan for it.)

3. You’re never, ever going to sell your business.

Ever heard of Blogger? A handful of really smart people started the company – then known as Pyra Labs – and accidentally set the Internet on fire with the software they used for in-house communications. Four years later, they were acquired by Google.

Now, you might not have the next Blogger in your business plan. (They didn’t, either – at first.) But unless you want to work on the same business until you die, you’ll eventually want to sell part or all of your business to someone else. And that’s hard to do if you don’t have a corporate form already in place. It’s much cleaner to sell someone a share of a company that owns all the business assets, than to sell a pile of business assets that you own individually. (Obviously, you can’t sell chunks of You, black market kidneys aside.) So if you hope that, someday, someone might pay you a bunch of money for the business you’ve built, keep the business in a business entity.

4. You’re deliberately keeping your competition off guard by cultivating an amateur image.

Again, look around you. Who’s succeeding out there? Who’s floundering? You’ll notice a clear pattern – the business owner who treats the business like a business will outperform the one who’s treating it like a hobby. Even the biggest “names” in Internet business – the folks who trade on their personal brands – have incorporated their businesses when you look behind the curtain.

David Risley, the Six-Figure Blogger? He’s incorporated. Brian Clark, of Copyblogger? He’s formed an LLC. So has Chris Pearson, creator of the Thesis Theme for Wordpress. Even Dan Kennedy, one of the most famous “personal” brands out there, has his own corporation, although he doesn’t make it obvious. Again, the pattern is clear – successful business owners treat the business like a business – and that means forming a business entity.

5. You like living dangerously.

If you haven’t formed your own company, you’re operating the second most dangerous type of business there is – a sole proprietorship. (The most dangerous, a general partnership, comes when two people do business together without making any kind of legal business entity.)

Corporations and limited liability companies exist to protect business owners from liability beyond what they’ve invested. This is their most important function.

If the business fails, or gets sued, a sole proprietor is personally liable for the debts of the business – that means you could lose your house, your car, and almost anything else you own, too. If you’re in a partnership, you could be liable not only for the business, but for anything your partner does on behalf of the business – whether you agreed to it or not.

If you have a business entity, you get an additional layer of protection between you and any business creditors. As a bonus, a properly set-up business entity can also protect the assets of the business from any personal liability you might incur. So, if you drive your car through a playground full of schoolchildren, and your business owns some valuable assets, a properly-formed business entity might give your business extra protection from your personal follies.

FREE BONUS REASON

6. You couldn’t decide between an S-corp or an LLC.

If you’re a one-man – or one-woman – operation, either an S-corporation or an LLC will meet your needs. The main difference between the two is that – in Florida, at least – an LLC is slightly more flexible and low-maintenance. But LLC’s get treated differently in every state, so if you’re selling products or services outside your home state, you might prefer an S-corp for predictable legal and tax treatment. LLC’s also have slightly different tax implications than S-corps do, so you’ll want to consult your tax advisor before you make a final decision.

Of course, there may be plenty of other reasons – some better than others – why you haven’t formed a corporation for your business. Feel free to leave them in the comments.

Michael Alex Wasylik is a Florida lawyer with the firm of Ricardo, Wasylik & Kaniuk PL. He’s been blogging since 1999 at his personal site, Perpetual Beta. and more recently at the Florida Foreclosure Fraud Weblog.

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The question, though, is WHY did I bother? Is the BBB even relevant anymore?

Is the BBB Relevant?

We most definitely live in a world of information now. Chances are, if you want to find out if a business is reputable, a quick Google search will tell you all you need.

The BBB was formed with the mission of advancing “marketplace trust”. They do this by holding their members accountable to trustworthy business practices, encouraging best practices, and speaking out against bad market behavior. I think it is a worthy mission. However, the questions remains: Does anybody really bother checking the BBB anymore?

What’s interesting, too, is that their fee structure is a bit discriminatory against online businesses. I had to pay them an extra fee to get into the BBBOnline program – only because I am an online business.

Why Did I Bother?

The answer comes down to one word: TRUST.

No doubt, some businesses join the BBB because they’re looking for client referrals. I highly doubt the BBB refers much in the way of clients and I’m not interested in getting clients anyway. However, the logo does still instill a sense of trust. Especially to the the generation who didn’t grow up around the Internet.

See, internet businesses like mine often use things like sales letters. Now, be honest…when you visit a sales letter, do you automatically assume it is a scam? I don’t, but that’s only because I am familiar with how online business works. But, the normal “joe blow” on the street who doesn’t live their life on the Internet is probably not accustomed to long form sales letters. Internet businesses are unproven territory to these people. They look for signs that the business is legit and that they’re not going to take your money and run.

This is why I bothered with the BBB.

It most certainly isn’t going to hurt anything. My expectation is that it will improve conversion rates and make more sales. Especially when I cater to less-online-savvy markets.

I don’t know exactly what they checked with me in all. I know the process took a little more than 2 weeks. They had me sign up for a business occupational license with the county (only cost me $15). They also went over 3 Day Money with a fine-toothed comb to ensure that it was not a disguised “business opportunity” and that my income claims are accurate. I had to send them proof of income to prove that what I say is correct (which it is).

So, that’s why I did it. I’ll keep you informed on any effects on sales I notice.

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The simple truth of human nature is that controversy works.

As much as I hate the news media because of it’s horrible effects on our society as it is currently run, the truth is that much of what they do (causing conflicts and magnifying it on camera for all to gawk at) is done because it works. When people see a controversy, they tend to stick to it like flies on a big pile of steaming crap.

What does this have to do with blogging? Am I telling you to go out and start causing trouble? No, not at all.

As a blogger, it is not always our job to teach and inform. Sometimes, our job is to provoke thought. To get the readers thinking. To cause conversation. Sometimes, in order to do that, you’ve got to go against the grain.

The truth is (and I’ll go deeper into this in my upcoming coaching program) that most people surf the net in a kind of hypnotic trance. In order to get their attention sometimes, you’ve got to reach through their screen, grab them by the sack and twist until it hurts. But, in a nice way, of course!

As a small example, I wrote a post recently where I really dived into the state of our society: The Society of Mediocrity and Your Role as a Blogger. Now, untrue to the title of this particular post, I highly doubt I pissed off anybody with that post and it wasn’t my intention. But, it WAS my intention to get people thinking. So, I held no punches and I even let off a couple of cuss words. In fact, sometimes you will see me use profanity on this blog. It isn’t done haphazardly. It is done for the purposes of a pattern interrupt. Since people are not used to bloggers cussing (especially in this market), sometimes it can be done in order to wake the reader up from their trance and pay more attention to what I’m saying.

In other words, people get grooved into a pattern in things. As long as everything fits nicely into that pattern, they remain in a sort of trance and nothing stands out to them. A pattern interrupt is something which they don’t expect. It wakes them up.

In a completely different application, over on PCMech we sometimes deliberately stoke the flames of Mac versus PC (ssshh….don’t tell anyone! ) Why do we do this? Because it causes conversation and it gets our audience involved. We like that! So, I do a video where I declare that my Mac will kill your PC and I start the video off with me literally licking my Macbook Pro. Do I have romantic desires toward my Macbook? Well, today I don’t. But, I did that in order to fan the flames just a bit through the use of sarcasm and, of course, to act as a pattern interrupt because I highly doubt people on that site expected to see a video of me loving up my computer.

So, what I’m trying to teach you today is this: Don’t be afraid to be edgy!

You don’t want to come out and just piss people off. You don’t want to ever use this tactic in an irresponsible way by causing conflicts or problems. But, strategic use of controversy and pattern interrupts works.

And, as I alluded to, this is something I will go into more later on with my coaching students because psychological tactics can work and do when used appropriately and correctly. Be sure to join my mailing list so you’ll be informed as details emerge about my new coaching program. Or follow me on Twitter and you’ll be sure to know when the pre-launch begins.

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Maybe it’s time to just realize when good is good enough.

Taking action to make things happen is paramount to success in any business. If you spin your wheels thinking too much, nothing happens. I’ve even politely chastised people on this blog about not putting this into practice.

Probably the biggest problem I’ve seen with people (and I’ve been guilty of it, too) is reluctance to go public with something because of the fear that it isn’t good enough. We fear failure. We fear embarrassment. And we want to throw so much stuff into our work that nobody could possibly think these things (at least that’s the idea).

A good friend of mine, Ryan Wade, recently shared a story of how he was putting a business together about how to make money with Myspace (this was years ago, mind you). He was working on it for six months until one day Myspace sent him a “cease and desist” letter and everything stopped. Six months wasted because he was trying to make this perfect product. If he had just written up an e-book or something and offered it, he could have made a bunch of money in those six months prior to the C&D. Ryan used that as a HUGE lesson for business: TAKE ACTION AND DO IT FAST. And, today, I can attest to the fact that Ryan is one hell of an action-taker.

So, if you’re working on a big blog post, a PDF report, a new product – get it to a “good enough” status and launch it. Realize that other people have no idea what you have in your own mind for this thing. They don’t know your intentions. If the product serves the market and helps people, then it is good enough.

Don’t worry. Be crappy. The phrase was first coined by Guy Kawasaki, I believe, and is just awesome advice for anybody.

But!!! And a huge “but”…..

Don’t put out crap. When I say “be crappy”, I’m not meaning that you release junk. You won’t be in business for long if you release crap. So, put out good stuff. The “crap” is going to be in your own head. Like all good business owners, our plans for our products are likely huge. So, if you release anything less than that, you think it is crap. Your market won’t think that, but you have a hard time not thinking it yourself. So, THAT is what I’m referring to.

Keep in mind that you can kick a product out the door even if there is still room for improvement. You can improve it after it is launched.

This stuff is a lot like fishing. The only thing guaranteed about fishing is that you won’t catch a damn thing if your hook isn’t in the water. So, you throw some weird excuse for bait on the hook and throw it into the water. Later on, perhaps you’ll find better bait and you can switch it out. Perhaps you’ll use a higher quality fishing pole. However, in the beginning, cheap tackle and crappy bait still has a chance of catching fish if the hook is in the water.

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