November 5, 2009

Lessons from a Money Coach... How to Make Money with
Craigslist... Why Timing Is Everything... Even Info Marketers
Can't Satisfy Everyone... and More.

Did you ever play sports growing up?

For most people, there was a time in our lives where we were coached in one way or another. From joining a baseball team to taking piano lessons, a coach (or teacher) was there to help us learn.

Of course, coaches don't just show us how to do something like throwing a ball. They are there to offer even more, a push towards throwing that ball the best we can. Coaches challenge us and get us to act in new and exciting ways.

The problem is, later on in life, many of us no longer have coaches. We've gone to school and entered the real world, where we expect to work long hours and simply figure out how life works on our own.

However, there are other coaches out there. Life coaches can help people learn new ways to live their lives in the happiest and most fulfilling ways possible. They challenge their students to try new things and overcome barriers they may not have even known were in their way.

You've probably even known someone who has met with a life coach. There's one other field that coaches exist in, but it may not be as popular.

While the term "money coach" may not be popular yet, you can expect to hear more about these people in the next few months. With money matters at the front of every person's mind, and managing money right up there as well, more and more people are going to be looking for their own personal money coaches.

This field could be where you find someone to help you manage your money and it could also be a new way for you to make more money offering up your own experience as advice.

I'll provide you with more information on "money coaches" over the upcoming months. You may not find these people listed in the Yellow Pages, but their services could prove to be invaluable as you develop your own moneymaking skills.

Have I told you about my addiction to Craigslist? Now, don't worry, I'm not headed for rehab. On Craigslist, I've found a little extra excitement and, in turn, I've also found a little extra cash.

I've been accused of being a packrat. I'll hold on to items and clothing I may have little intention of using or wearing anytime soon. Maybe I believe that styles will shift and I can wear that strange shirt again, or possibly I'll take up snowboarding and use that jacket that has sat in my closet for years.

Well, when a close friend introduced me to the online classified ad site, Craigslist, I gave it a shot. Within two days, I had sold an old bike that was no longer useful for me. I sold that jacket a week later and then I sold a couple more bicycles for a friend of mine. Now, I'm searching through my place and my friends' and family's homes, looking for things to sell online.

See, it's not that bad of an addiction at all.

If you want to unload some old items, here are my suggestions for using Craigslist:

1. Post photos. Every item that I've sold I've posted one to four photos showing the quality of the item. If there is useful information on a tag, take a photo of this as well. It takes a few minutes to upload photos, but this process is a bit faster if you use a lower quality resolution when taking the photo.

2. Be specific and truthful. One of the bicycles I sold had a wobbly rear wheel. It was probably something that could be easily fixed, but I had neither the time nor the tools to do it myself. I stated in the ad that the wheel was warped and I still sold it within a few days. When your ad lists specifics such as brand names, you're more likely to get a response. And make sure you tell potential buyers what they can expect, because letting them down when they finally see the product will simply waste everyone's time.

3. Suggest a safe meeting place. Some people are willing to ship items across the country to make a sale on Craigslist. I personally prefer to sell locally, as I get to meet some interesting local people. However, I do choose a spot that is in a busy enough area and, as an extra bonus, I make sure there is a bank machine nearby.

4. Be aware of scammers. While they are the minority, there are some people looking to take advantage of sellers on Craigslist. Many of these scams are done through the mail, which is why I prefer to sell face-to-face. The key to your safety is to control the sale by setting the details yourself. And, finally, trust your instincts. If your e-mail communication with a possible buyer seems off, it's best to simply end the conversation and not risk anything.

When it comes to success in the business world, timing is everything. How many times have items or ideas popped up over the years that never initially caught on, but became all the rage only a few years later? In order to ride the wave of success, there are a few things you should know about starting up your own business, and how to make sure it stays successful.

Predicting the right time to go into business for yourself can be quite difficult, but if you look closely, sometimes you can see the writing on the wall. For instance, right now, if you live in Florida, Nevada or California, it might not be the best time to get into the real-estate business. Why not? Well, because the housing markets in those three regions are in serious trouble. No one is buying and people are losing their homes from foreclosure in record numbers. Therefore, it looks like the housing boom has passed and it's now in a slowdown...not the best situation for money making.

If you're looking to get into business for yourself, it's important to pay attention to societal trends. For instance, a couple of years ago, it was house-flipping. Many Americans were making all kinds of money snatching up undervalued properties, investing in them and fixing them up, and then selling them at a nice profit. Why was this business so successful? Well, because it was a great time in the housing market. Banks and lenders were making it easier for Americans to buy homes and the business was booming like a loud bass drum.

A couple of other examples of current trends are healthy lifestyles and gourmet coffee. As you may have noticed, the restaurants in your area have been offering healthy alternatives to traditional, high-fat meals, your grocery store is selling organic produce and there are health food stores and products popping up all over the place. The same can be said for gourmet coffee. Cafes are opening up across town, and even the fast-food mogul McDonald's is breaking into the action.

Paying attention to trends is extremely important for opening up a business. You have to find the right time, and that all depends on what people are doing, and what they want. To know this, you'll have to pay attention to your target market and find out when the best time to get involved is.

For instance, there have always been healthy alternatives, health food stores and organically grown food. The thing is, it was only once the trend became actively promoted by governments and received a large amount of media attention that the industry really exploded. People started becoming more health-conscious and, with that, new business opened in droves and existing businesses altered their strategies to accommodate the new, rapidly expanding market. The earlier you act on a developing trend, the better. The longer you wait, the more you risk just becoming "another face in the crowd."

If you get in on a trend late, however, all is not lost. Finding ways to build on, alter or expose a new characteristic of a trend can be of great benefit as well.

On Monday, I'll talk about how you can go against the grain to come up with a successful business.

** Even Info Marketers Can't Satisfy Everyone
By James Burt, Online Marketing Expert

If you have any kind of recreational pastime, interest, or hobby, you've probably met one of those guys. The guy who knew everything about one thing.

When I was a kid, this sort of fellow -- or lady -- was usually in the Trekkie category. That is, he or she knew all the characters of Gene Roddenberry's classic Star Trek series. At a moment's notice, he or she could tell you even the minutest details of the latest episode.

Later, it was guys who could tell you sports scores or any number of characters from a certain comic book, Harry Potter story, or even the guys in the auto shop detailing all the race car specs they knew. These people may not have done very well on their chemistry exam, but if Jeopardy had a special show just for their area of interest, they would have surely walked away with millions.

I am not disrespecting these folks. Actually, I'm one myself, especially during rugby season or with films. It's a good world when you have people who unabashedly love something enough to get fully informed on it. It's even better when they become information marketers, as they can just apply what they know and get paid for it.

There's only problem that crops up: sometimes the magic fails.

Nobody is perfect and everyone makes mistakes. It's part of life. There is a good chance that if it hasn't happened to you yet, you will at some point deliver some sort of information to your clients that is, well, wrong. Worse yet, a client who is much like someone I mentioned above spotted your error and let you know about. This is going to make your stress level go up and you will not be too happy about any mistake that affects the future of your business. In a phrase, you start to freak out. Understandably, but you shouldn't have to.

Think you really know everything? Are you asking how this could happen? Well, it's simple. For one, information, especially these days, changes like the weather. With the Internet, multi-media outlets, and technology increasing in complexity, information is not static, not even for a second.

The other factor is your business itself. Let's face it: it's really tough running your own business all the time and even tougher to keep up with all the news that could affect it. I've seen my colleagues clock a LOT of hours lately just to keep up the pace with what they do and to go over all new information relative to their business.

With all this change happening everywhere, you're bound to skip important data, not get the most current info you could be giving to your clients, and just not be exposed to the most current developments in your area of expertise. These are all honest mistakes and they can happen to anyone.

So, what do you do if you get called out on some erroneous information that you have sent to your clients? You deal with it like a pro. I have seen past clients send out e-mails of apology for their error with the corrected information included. As well, it's good to thank the client who notified you of the problem with a small gift such as a discount on a product, gift card, etc. From there, you should see what new resources exist and how to use them to stay better informed and to keep your info content up-to-snuff at all times. Above all, it's absolutely essential for you to keep yourself from repeating your errors. Messing up once is forgivable, but repeating errors is not taken as lightly by clients anywhere.

As you get older, you realize you really are human just like everyone else. There will always be good days, bad days, times of happiness, and times when things seem impossible. Too often, people live in a dream world and expect everything to be happy all of the time. When things go wrong or they make a mistake, they often cannot cope. Don't let this happen to you. If you get "busted" in your information marketing business, just accept what you've done and go about solving the problem. Learn how to make your business better and what you can do to deliver the best info possible at all times.