Base business on passion

Yesterday I received an inquiry that asked “What kind of home-based business can I start in Atlanta for little or no cost”. This struck me as a strange way to find a business, as he provided no inkling about his personality, experience, training, hobbies, interests, or passions. My response was that he should start by doing a self-examination to determine what he really likes and wants to do.

What business will be more productive and satisfying (and ultimately profitable) – a business that seems to be a good idea but for which there is no passion, or a business about which a person is truly passionate?

Will Limkemann
www.doublewarepub.com

Take a hike

Feeling a little burned out? A walk around the block might be just what the doctor ordered.

Walking may be good for business. Small business owners and entrepreneurs tend to work long hours and perform many varied tasks. Walking is a great way to clear your mind, reduce stress, increase creativity, and provide you with an increased sense of well-being.

Even a fifteen-minute walk around the block can help you to let go of your stress. The change of scenery and fresh air can help you find a new perspective on your work. As you clear your mind and relax, you may find that creative solutions for your business simply present themselves.

For this and other articles in my summer newsletter, visit http://tiny.cc/ZsUsF

Will Limkemann

eMarketing

I had the opportunity, at the last minute, to attend a fabulous one-day seminar on eMarketing. It was the third annual eMarketing Technologies seminar put on by the Key Entrepreneurial Development Center at Cleveland’s Corporate College. Although I had not attended the prior two seminars, I can well appreciate that the content of this one had changed considerably due to the rapid development of all technologies relating to marketing. Consider, for example, that a year ago Twitter was virtually unknown, yet most people in Friday’s audience now have Twitter accounts.

The tone of the conference was set by Rick Burnes of Hub Spot, whose premise was that inbound marketing has largely replaced outbound marketing. People want to find what they need rather than be blasted by advertising, mail, and phone calls. To make his point Rick asked how many people in the last month made purchasing decisions based on newspaper, radio, or TV advertisments. Just a few hands were raised for each media. When asked how many made purchasing decisions based upon Internet searches, almost all hands were raised.

Breakout sessions included workshops on on-line PR, social media, webinars, search engine optimization, blogging, e-mail marketing, and Google tips and techniques.

Kudos to the staff of KEDC for an outstanding event which attracted well over 200 people.

Will Limkemann

Internet marketing

During the past month I have devoted most of my waking hours to finding ways of promoting, selling, and distributing my new book, The Successful Home Business Guide. I must say it has been an educational experience.

What I have learned is that, using the Internet, there is an unlimited supply of resources (and time drains). In addition to networking sites, there are sites for posting and distributing news releases (some free, some at a significant cost), there are too many sites to count with free and dubious advice, there are sites filled with valuable resource material, there are on-line and brick-and-mortar bookstore sites, and sites all too willing to participate in selling my product (or at least participate in extracting money from my checkbook).

A little over two weeks ago I created my Twitter account and to date have sent out 46 updates. Through a trusted friend’s site I yesterday discovered a site called www.twello.com, which is a complementary site to Twitter and other social networking sites. Twello allows you to set up an account linked to your Twitter account and create Twittering categories. Now I really don’t have a clue as to the relationship between Twello and Twitter. What I do know is that as of yesterday morning I had amassed 79 followers. I created a Twello account yesterday and today I have 140 followers.

Will twittering and having people follow me result in book sales or consulting service? I don’t have a clue, but twittering is but one of many on-line marketing techniques I’m trying out. I’ll let you know what works.

By the way, you probably won’t be hearing from me next week as I have been called up for jury duty.

Will Limkemann
www.doublewarepub.com