In developing your online and offline business one needs to answer the questions:
What Business Am I In?
Am I Passionate About This Business?
Am I Willing To Do What It Takes To Be Successful?
Any Business Is Hard Work, If You Are Under The Belief That Internet
Business Building Is The "Easy Person's Road To Wealth", You Need To
Stop Here.
What Value Do I Bring To The Market?
What Is My Niche?
Who Is My Target Market? (Broad Market, Market Segments, Target Profile)
How Large Is This Market?
Who Is My Competition?
What Is There Share Of The Market?
How Can I Position Myself In This Market?
Why Should They Do Business With Me Over My Competition?
What Is My Cost and Profitability?
What Is The Market-up On My Product/Service?
What Are My Fixed Costs?
What Are My Variable Costs?
What Is The Difference? (Remember: A 100% Mark-up=A 50%
Discount To Breakeven)
How Am I Going To Promote?
People Don't Care How Much You Know, Until They Know How Much You
Care. They Are Looking At You Squarely In The Face, Saying:
I don't know who you are.
I don't know your company.
I don't know your company's products/services.
I don't know what your company stands for.
I don't know your company's customers.
I don't know your company's record.
I don't know your company's reputation.
Now-what was it you wanted to sell me?
This is the beginning of your objectives (What):
Gain more prospects
Increase your conversion rates of prospects to customers/clients
Increase the lifetime value of the customer, by:
Increasing the average transaction value per visit
Increasing the number of transactions or times the
customer visits
Strategies (How)
Tactics (Actions)
A military strategy refers to how an objective will be achieved. The
strategy determines what you will be shooting at. The weapons
used to hit your target are the tactics. If you are shooting at
fighter planes, you will choose weapons, like missiles, that are
effective at bringing down planes. You won't choose grenades,
rifles or ground troops that will not have an effect on planes.
You will learn these strategies and tactics here...don't hesitate to ask questions.
Why?
In order for any business to work, it must become a system, so the business works exactly the same way every time, down to the very last detail...The your really have a business, not a hobby.
Hope this helped, Until next time...

Great post Michael:

Far to many of us go into a business without ever asking these questions. How many people have you seen purchase Internet businesses that promise immediate riches who have never stopped to consider if this is a good business model with a hungry market? It happens way too often.

Imagine the heartache they would avoid if they took time to consider what you're asking them to do.

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Very well said.

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Michael, very good post sounds like you are well on your way to developing your business plan, one note: I would suggest if you are just starting out to look at article marketing as a very low cost very effective marketing campaign. You can submit to blogs and to article sites and get some very effective traffic to your online business

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fleagle999

Thank you for your post and comments. What I am trying to do with this post is offer the very first step in the process of developing a business, online or offline or both.

Article marketing is a tactic that will be used later in developing a business.

What I have found is a lot of confusion with people wanting to start an internet business. They purchase sites, stores, programs, etc., promising that they will get rich over night. Most people have the desire, but no body offers a starting point and blue print to follow.

I have found that even the largest of corporations, let alone HR people don't have a clue of what marketing is. They only use a few strategies, as sales and advertising..finding that they don't work any longer. I have been trying to teach this for years, but the marketing degree, think they have learned it all. They learn from people who have never been there done that. If one would just study Google consistantly they would not only have a PhD in marketing, but continuing education.

A good marketer understands all strategies, tactics, analytics to the daily marketing plan. They must also understand the development of business modeling, mind mapping, brainstorming, activity based accounting, general accounting, operations, distribution, to name a few. I will cover these subjects in the order of importance, and in later posts.

Keep coming back, I welcome your comments and brainstorming.

Thanks again for your great post.

Having attended many, very expensive seminars (Jay Abraham Bootcamp - $25,000) I would like to share some of the things from those seminars with the members of this forum, but also the memberships that I have currently, where ideas, products, systems, etc. are actually used and tested.
I have purchase many things that were "crap" wasting a lot of money. After years of this, I have found the people who are the absolute best..where I place my money.
When people attend a seminar, they learn, but more importantly they meet people..network and develop joint venture partners. If you notice, that is how the internet has built "big time". This leads to many means of traffic..covered in another subject heading later.
The purpose of this forum, I think, is to bring this knowledge to you, you build your business model and joint venture with other members of this forum..that is where the leverage and real money will come from.
Invest you money wisely...till the next time

you are absolutely right about the confusion issue i have had a business online for over six years, have tried many different things. i finally found a affiliate program that I am passionate about which is fishing. I right fishing articles and enjoy what I am doing because I love to fish. Fishing as a business is a very niche business I and I have found that article marketing fits my business needs perfectly. good luck in setting your business.

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For newbies who have purchased a site or blog and want to know the easiest way to learn how to make money, I would start by studying everything that Bob and Josh have done to build the recognizedexpert.com site. You will find a very good model to study. But you will also find to be successful, one need to do research, define your purpose, find the values to offer, set your goals and study, study, study. Your money investment is going to be beyond your initial investment you have made in your already up and running site.
until next time...

That is one thing I tend to have difficulty with, but I completely agree on its importance.

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