Ultimate Wealth

Join me for a few minutes to think about honesty in
business. Turn on CNN, and yet another corporate CEO has
the district attorney hounding his doorstep. Why is this
happening? What does this phenomenon mean to you in your
business?

I have been thinking about the best way to put this
withoutsounding like I’m preaching at you. That is not my
intention at all. You see I know that doing business
honestly and ethically will make you more money and make
you feel a whole lot better about yourself.

I know this from personal experience. True, I have never
done anything actually criminal in my internet business,
but I have followed the latest fads and shortcuts, and in
the process have added nothing of value to anyone. One
example would be using a hosted picture of a gorgeous
woman (fully clothed, but you get the point) to draw off
traffic to my website. I also redirected traffic from
unprofitable joke sites to affiliate offer sites for
mortgage loans, cell phones, MLMs, etc. I have even
invited my friends and family to a “party,” only to start
drawing Amway circles on a pad of paper to show them how
they could join up and trick their friends into coming to
Amway “parties” too.

Somehow I finally figured it out for myself. Dishonesty
does not pay… even a teensy amount. Not one of those
“opportunities” exists for me anymore. None of them
created sustained income for me, or any one of my friends.
Plainly speaking, dishonesty does not pay.

Look at the junk ad sites we see all over the internet.
Even with automated software some people are working eight
hour days to continue putting up junk. Why? The search
engines are getting better all the time at removing these
things, which add nothing of value to the universe. I
believe attracting people to your “Information on blue
widgets” site that only contains advertisements and no
content is dishonest. Sure; it’s not a lot of dishonesty.
It is your site and you can do whatever you want with it.
It’s not like you are breaking the law… but it’s not
going to work long-term either.  Dishonesty in any degree
just doesn’t pay in the long run.

Dishonesty is not good for business. You spend all this
time, sweat and sometimes money driving traffic to your
website and then pass them along to a business with a real
product to sell for a tiny 10 cent ad click? When you know
that sometime in the near future your bubble will burst,
what is the point?

Instead, take the same amount of time and create your own
product. Then promote it using the tools you will find
when you look down the right side of the
jamesbrausch(dot)com blog. You get to keep much more than
10 cents and you have a real asset in your business. Even
better… you can feel good about what you do at the end
of the day.

Here is a test for you. Look at your websites as if you
have never seen them before. Now put yourself in the place
of your friends and family. What would they think of those
sites? Are you proud of what you created? No? Now have a
look at the Information Product Creation course. Create
something you can show them all without embarrassment.
Have some pride in what you do. Take some honest action
today.

With her internet marketing background, the author of this
article, Michelle Branst, recommends the Information
Product Creation Online Home Study Course. Go from mere
idea to first sale in just 35 hours. http://www.InfoProdCreation.com

Starting a web business is a daring and exciting journey.
Millions of new web businesses spring up like prairie
dogs on the Internet landscape daily and almost
all of them fail.  The Dot-Com boom of years past is long
gone and the Internet get-rich-quick gold rush is over. It
takes the same hard work, dedication, commitment
and research that owning a physical business demands
and unless a potential web-preneur takes this into
consideration they have failed before they have started.
Although they can not guarantee success, following the
the next few tips can go a long way towards achieving
a successful web business.

Do your homework and evaluate yourself up front. There
are no guarantees. Evaluate your strengths and weaknesses
and decide if you are going to be in this for the very long
haul.

Are you a self-starter?  If you have difficulty getting out
of bed or motivating yourself and staying positive when
things look bleak, web business ownership may not be
for you!  Those who say you can have a successful
business investing only a few hours a week are lying to
you. If success were easy everyone would achieve it.
Dont be fooled- unless you have the substantial money
to invest to pay others to do the grunt work- you will
have to work hard!

Do you have a niche market?  Since the Internet is so
glutted with businesses it is imperative that you market
from a different angle.  Lets say you breed cats.  Since
there are many many cat-breeding sites out there you
might want to narrow it.  Now lets say you breed rare
cats.  Ah -we are getting closer.  So now lets say you
breed Bengal cats.  Wow- rare indeed!  However,
when I googled Bengal cats I still get many websites-
why would I choose yours? Well you might want to
include some things of interest specific to Bengal cat
owners. Perhaps a forum, perhaps an online chat for
other Bengal cat owners, or maybe some research and
history. I have to have a reason to choose your site-
traffic does not just happen. You must research your
keywords thoroughly and carefully.  Using the above
example, I would not use the keyword Cat but perhaps
Purebred Bengal Cats.

Do you have a professional looking website? If you do
not have the technical ability to design your own
website then you will need to hire a true professional
and not just a friend of a cousin.  Presentation is
everything! If your site does not look top notch and
professional then people will not view it that way and
will not feel comfortable and confident spending money
there. There are many websites that even offer pre-made
website templates and this can be a legitimate and viable
alternative to hiring a designer.

Have you heard of  Search Engine Optimization is?
If this sounds foreign to you you need to find out.
Aleternatively, you can hire a professional to optimize
your new site.  Your site in the world is of no value
if it cant be found. Launching a non optimized site is
like taking a canoe across the Atlantic! Some software
programs out there that can assist.  The one I use is
Web CEO.  I am not affiliated with them but I do
think they offer a good product.  In the past they offered
it free but I am not sure if that is the case any longer.

How will you handle advertising?  Pay-per-click can be a
great way to bring traffic or it can be a colossal waste of
money. Every tool works well if you use it for its intended
purpose.  Learn the options and talk to other web owners.
There are a lot of scam artists out there very willing and
eager to take your money. The best way to learn is to join a
forum or news group and speak with other Web owners.

Dont expect too much too soon.  Businesses fail within
the first year.  You only fail if you quit. Remember,
no one ever drown by falling in the ocean but by
staying there.  Stay with it.  Research your market
and network with other website owners.  When I first
started my web business I had the attitude that if I built
it they would come.  That may have worked in the movie
Field of Dreams but trust me, it does not work for websites.
Stay in it for the long haul, and remember, Rome.com was
NOT built in a day!

Michelle McCumber is the epitome of out of
box thinking.  As founder of Creative International
She has a passion for all things creative, which is
clearly seen in her work.  As well as her digital art
she has managed tobuild a collection of free and
originally designed PowerPoint  Presentation
backgrounds which can be viewed at
http://www.creative-International.