Please Don't Buy Anything From MeThis week I had one customer threaten to hunt be down and shoot me like a dog. Another said that if she could get her hands around my neck she'd strangle the life out of me. And still another sincerely hoped that I 'burn in Hell for all eternity.' What did I do to deserve these threats? That, my friend, is the rest of the story...
What's Your Company's Email Policy?Does your company have an email policy? Did you even know there was such a thing? Well, there is, and if your company doesn't have one you are not only risking the professional image of your firm, but also risking potential liability issues that may arise from the misuse of your company email system.
What Do Your Business Emails Reveal About You?Why should you worry about how your emails are reviewed by their recipients? Because in business, you are constantly being judged by your customers, your employees, your investors, your partners, and your peers.
The 8 Things You Must Know To Build A Great WebsiteLast week we talked about how a bad website can do your business more harm than good. That column brought several emails asking what is the key to building an effective business website. I replied with the same answer I always give: building an effective business website is a simple matter of definition.
The Bad Guys Are Phishing For Your Personal InformationThe latest attempt by phishers (identity thieves) to steal the personal information of eBay members hit my inbox earlier this week and I have to say, this one is pretty convincing. Even this old dog did a double-take before realizing that the identity thieves were phishing for my personal information again.
Dropship Your Way To eBay SuccessDropshipping has been around since Sears first started selling goods from its mail order catalogs over a hundred years ago. However, the idea of dropshipping still confuses many people who don't understand exactly how the process works.
What Makes A Good Leader? Ask Uncle SamIn a recent study conducted by the Army War College, subordinates of the major generals who are leading the war efforts in Iraq were asked to rate the performance of their superiors.
The 'E' In Ebusiness Does Not Mean ExemptI've gotten quite a few emails recently from ebusiness owners who seem to think that just because their business is conducted online or from the comfort of home that the rules and regulations that govern brick and mortar businesses do not apply to them. The ebusiness questions I get most often do not involve building websites or conducting ecommerce...
How To Boost Your Bottom Line With Just Two Little WordsI hate to sound like one of those cheesy get-rich-quick commercials, but this week I am going to let you in on a little secret that is so powerful that it will immediately change the way you do business. In fact, this little secret is so powerful that you will be amazed at its immediate effect on you, your employees, and your bottom line. This little secret is guaranteed to improve your relationsh
How To Profit Using eBay's Saved Search FeatureDid you know that eBay will help you locate products you can buy cheap, then flip for a quick profit? No? Then listen up, because I am about to let you in on a little known feature of eBay that can literally stuff wads of cash in your wallet in less than 24 hours.
Are You Mentor Material?Typically, there are three things every good mentor should have: time, patience, and a genuine desire to help another person succeed without expecting anything in return. If you have an abundance of those things, then being a mentor can be a highly rewarding experience. If not, please see the rubber plant reference.
An Entrepreneur and a Life To Be RememberedMost of you who read this column probably have no idea who Corey Rudl was or what he accomplished during his short life, and that's OK. You also have no idea of the imprint he made on me and millions of others who make our living (at least in part) as online marketers. Again, that's OK. For all his accomplishments, those who knew him well have said that Corey was more concerned about building his
The Latest Email Scam Is Nothing NewThe eBay scam is just the latest in a long line of sophisticated attempts to steal personal information through online means. Customers of PayPal, Amazon, Dell Computer, eTrade, Bank One, and many other online merchants have been the target of such scams in recent years.
Is Brick and Mortar A Passing Fad?During the dot-com boom the mantra was 'Brick and mortar is dead!' Then when most of the dot-com's crashed like an elephant sitting on a wicker chair, the mantra suddenly changed back to 'The Internet is dead! Long live brick and mortar!'
For Entrepreneurs A SIMPLE Plan May Be BestLet me give you a quick overview of a few of the retirement plans available to small businesses so you at least have an idea of what's out there before you start your search for a good financial advisor.
To Go or No Go, That Is The QuestionMany entrepreneurs would rather have their front teeth pulled without anesthetic than go to the time and trouble of creating a feasibility plan; often because they are afraid of what it will reveal.
How Good Is Your Big IdeaEvery business idea, no matter how good it sounds while bouncing around inside your head, should be put to the test before you invest time and money into its execution. Success lies not in what you think of your idea, but what the buying public will think. Many entrepreneurs find out too late that the public's opinion of their idea differs greatly from their own.
Veteran Entrepreneurs Are Growing In RanksWhat my eldest offspring doesn't understand is I have a great life. In fact, I am living the life I have always dreamed of living. My life just happens to revolve around Planet Business. I am an entrepreneurial addict, a business junkie. Business is my chocolate, my Krispy Kreme donut, my nicotine, my caffeine, my crack. Maybe I'll start a 12 step program for entrepreneurs who want to kick the hab
Opportunity Does Not KnockI can tell you that as a breed, entrepreneurs are an impatient lot and many jump on the first business bandwagon that comes along just for the sake of being in business. That's a big mistake that usually comes back to bite them in their entrepreneurial behinds.
Teaching The Big Boys To Think SmallLast week I told you about a recent report from The Conference Board that has a lot of big company CEOs concerned about competition from smaller, more innovative and entrepreneurially-minded companies. To refresh your memory, The Conference Board's CEO Challenge 2004 reported that 87% of the 540 global businesses surveyed cited innovation and enabling entrepreneurship as priorities for their compa
Teaching Large Companies To Think Like The Little GuysThe fact that innovation and entrepreneurship run rampant in smaller companies, but is often suppressed in larger companies is nothing new. Management guru Peter Drucker first addressed the issue in his 1985 book, Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Drucker wrote that one of the most often-asked questions in many a 1985 boardroom was, 'How can we overcome the resistance to innovation that plagues mos
Don't Be Afraid To Give Problem Customers The BootWe have all had customers who expected far more than was their due: customers who were unreasonable, overly-demanding, condescending, hard to please and sometimes, even dishonest in their dealings with you. When a customer's reasonable expectations become unreasonable demands you must decide whether or not that customer is doing more harm to your business than good.
Build A High Profit Business With Online Affiliate ProgramsAn affiliate program simply means that you sign on as an affiliate marketer for someone else's product. It's your job to market the product, send the company customers, and get a cut each time a sale is made from your efforts. Affiliate program commissions can range from as little as 2% for high ticket items up to 50% for ebooks and informational type products.
Business Is No Guarantee of RichesMany entrepreneurs build solid businesses that provide a very comfortable living and many others do indeed get rich. Others simply find out that they have traded one job for another and still others discover that business really wasn't for them.
Do You Pay Taxes On eBay Income?Last week's column on whether you were required to report income earned from eBay sales to the IRS sparked a number of additional questions and comments from eBay sellers who were hoping that I could somehow validate that their eBay activities were mere hobbies instead of actual businesses and therefore not susceptible to IRS taxation.
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