In the closing remarks of my last update, I promised to share the "secret" to my success in building an online business that generated $300,000 in revenue.

To be honest, there is no secret, per se. There never are. There's only what you do and don't do, know and don't know. In terms of online business, a "secret" is merely just a piece of information you didn't have before. It's not a magic bullet, and it doesn't guarantee success, though by calling it a secret, marketers are able to allude to something potentially unheard of or never before seen. And to be honest, how many times have you wanted to learn someone's "secret" only to find out it's very similar to what you already know, have heard or are currently doing? (Happens a lot doesn't it?)

If you've read my previous post, you might say that I got lucky in my success. Because most people who follow an unproven path often find themselves lost and stuck, and eventually they quit or move on to something else. But I'll give you my "secret" as to why this worked for me, and why it MAY work for you as well.

My secret was keeping a trained focus on four things:
Simplicity
Speed
Sales
Sustainability

That's it. That's how I grew a a simple, unprofessional ebook, into a 6-figure business.

There's no magic involved, no special formula, hacks or tactics to employ.

Here's a brief (and rough) outline of how I did it. (If you want the full and complete version, please join the wait list for Start Build Profit -- a FREE website where I'll walk you through the process, from start to finish, of how I grew from a simple ebook to a business generating over $300,000 in sales.)

1. Simplicity
Simplicity is essentially breaking something down into as few steps as possible. One example is that I wanted to grow my email list and subscriber base. How do you do that? In short, you create valuable content. But valuable to whom? Valuable to the people you want to market to and do business with.

At the time, my business focused on helping new digital marketers, bloggers and entrepreneurs improve conversions and drive massive growth in their websites and online businesses. So I set up a site on blogger, and began writing in-depth, long form content on everything from steps to using Facebook and Twitter to drive traffic to a website, to building an email list, to affiliate marketing tips, to the strategies I've personally used to grow my own website traffic, while sharing the data to support it. I didn't publish many articles to the site because I wanted people to signup for the newsletter. So I created just enough content to get them familiar with myself and my brand, and if they wanted more, they would have to sign up for the newsletter. Simple.

Did this mean that everyone who came to my site signed up for my email list? No. But I created an environment to encourage the action I wanted, and from that I was able to grow my list.

2. Speed
I only focused on things that would allow me to attain the results I desired in the least amount of time, with the least amount of effort. Using the example of growing my list, instead of trying to create ads to send targeted traffic to a specific landing page on my site, I used the content from my brand's blog to share links throughout social media and the Internet. This is loosely what is refereed to as "backlinking", and is an extremely effective marketing tactic, when done right. So all I would do is share my links, and I made sure that every link was to a page of in-depth content on a particular subject, which also included a signup form in key positions on the page. In short, the only work I needed to do was share the link. The content had already been previously written and crafted to encourage more email signups. So instead of trying to build the "perfect funnel", I simply gave people what they wanted, and offered an easy, no-hassle and cost effective means for them to get more of it.

3. Sales
If it wasn't making money, or leading me to a means to make money, I didn't do it. Period.

Here's an example: let's look at Facebook. You use Facebook, I assume. And you follow the pages of your favorite brands, products, services etc, right? Now, out of all the pages you "Like" and follow, how many of them do you visit on a regular basis? And of that number of pages you visit on a regular basis, how often do you follow their links from their Facebook page to their website? And of the brands whose links you follow from their FB pages to their website, how often do you buy anything once you land on that page? Again, I'm only guessing, but I would bet that number is very close to ZERO if it is not in fact already zero. Point is, social media follows in and of themselves translate to very low sales, if they generate sales at all. But you wouldn't know this, because of the large numbers of people who create content telling you why you should be on Facebook or whatever social media platform is trending at the time. Don't fall for this hype.

Simple truth: Social media followers rarely become paying customers.

If social media is generating revenue FOR YOU, then by all means, build a strategy around it, but if it isn't, don't waste your time. Leverage your time only doing the things that increase revenue, whatever they may be.

4. Sustainability.
Do what can be maintained over long periods of time. Ideally for the life of the business. This doesn't necessarily pertain only to your business model, but also what you're capable of doing within that business.

How many times have you clicked the links to someone's "business" from the comments of article or older blog post, and found yourself staring at a 404-Page or parked website because the domain address was dead? This happens a lot in marketing and online business, and many times, it's because people engage in business models that aren't sustainable. It most commonly happens among people who are trying to build niche affiliate sites and blogging about making money online. In reality, while these business models are sustainable models in and of themselves, they aren't sustainable for everyone. Here's what I mean.

Affiliate marketing, and blogging as well, are two very powerful means of generating an online income. Which is why so many people turn to them when trying to make money online. But what they fail to realize or acknowledge, is that they also require a tremendous amount of work to be successful. And for a lot of people, they simply don't have the time, energy or understanding of knowledge to make these avenues profitable.

You see, sustainability is simply being able to do something for an extended period of time, without much or any loss of growth, be it financial, personal, emotional, whatever. As I was transitioning from ebook to business, I focused only on the strategies that I knew I was capable of repeating over long periods of time. For example, speaking engagements are a great way to make money and promote your brand, but they require a level of commitment I was not willing to give. Thus, speaking engagements were not a sustainable business model for me, though they are, unto themselves, very and HIGHLY sustainable and profitable.

When choosing an online business, or any business venture for that matter, while it's important to choose something that can and will be profitable for a long period of time, it's also equally important to make sure that you're capable of seeing things through for that duration. Otherwise you're bound to fail.

_______________________________

And there it is. My "secret" to generating $300,000 from an online business.

It's not a hard or complicated process to follow. There's no special magic to it or complicated framework. Anyone can do this, but too often most people don't because they're so stuck on following the advice of "experts" they're either afraid or too dependent on others to figure things out on their own.

When you look at the most successful people in business, online or off, it's not the people who are following every marketer on YouTube, it's not the people who are subscribed to every newsletter of every successful Internet entrepreneur, and it's not the people who read thousands of books on entrepreneurship every year. It's the people who are out there engaging the online populace, promoting their brands and products, testing their strategies, and applying what they learned to grow their businesses.

If you're learning more than you're doing, you'll never be successful in anything. It doesn't matter how hard you train or how often you practice your shot, until you get on the field and get into the game, you will NEVER score any points. It can be scary and very intimidating (trust me I know, because I've been there) but it is necessary step in your evolution as an entrepreneur.

Yes, anyone can be successful in online business, but not everyone is willing to get out there and make it happen. But I believe, that by showing people exactly what I've done, what's worked, and what didn't, it will not only allow me to help more people start, build and grow blogs, websites and businesses of their own.

Take care, and be blessed!

Ra

(NOTE: This is only a short and abridged version of my strategy, but it worked wonders for me. If you want to learn how I was able to utilize this strategy to build an online business, please sign up for my newsletter and updates. I'll tell you not only how I grew the business, but also offer tips and insight to help you get ahead in business and life.)

Bros I think "building a list" comprising mostly of Nigerians may not give you much.
Nigerians are freebie seekers.
My 2 cents.cheers

phantom:
Bros I think "building a list" comprising mostly of Nigerians may not give you much.
Nigerians are freebie seekers.
My 2 cents.cheers

Hi, and thanks for commenting!

Currently, I have a list of about 4,000 people, most of whom are not Nigerian. For the most part, I've received quite a few sign ups through my posts on Nairaland. But I assume that's because the offer is free. But wanting something for free isn't a Nigerian trait. It's a people thing. Happens a lot when I target the US also. But that's just a part of the game. Some will buy and some won't. I just have to find and connect with those who will, then curate a line of products that solve their particular problems. It'll take a bit of effort, but I'm confident I'll figure it out eventually.

Be blessed!

more grace to you.
i currently have lots of IM material and getting more daily.

if you need any internet marketing course,let me know.)
i can get any course at all(even the high ticket courses selling for above $500....no jokes ...just mention ANY COURSE and ill get it. cheers.

phantom:
more grace to you.
i currently have lots of IM material and getting more daily.

if you need any internet marketing course,let me know.)
i can get any course at all(even the high ticket courses selling for above $500....no jokes ...just mention ANY COURSE and ill get it. cheers.

Thanks, but I'm not in need of anything at this time. If things change I will let you know.

Be blessed!

Anyway you need this also.

How to Connect with Influential People when You are deadly broke (With no money).

http://www.careerlinko.com/2016/04/18/how-to-connect-with-influential-people-when-you-are-deadly-broke-with-no-money/

superstr:
Anyway you need this also.

How to Connect with Influential People when You are deadly broke (With no money).

http://www.careerlinko.com/2016/04/18/how-to-connect-with-influential-people-when-you-are-deadly-broke-with-no-money/

Thanks for commenting and contributing to the thread.

While I welcome suggestions and opposing points of view and strategy, I have no need for strategies like that. In fact, I a little about my reasons why in this post. There's a lot of advice on the Internet about making money online, growing a business or connecting with influential people, and yet, I followed very little of it and was still able to build a successful business.

My point is, no matter what someone says has led them to success, doesn't mean it's what you also must do to be successful. True success and satisfaction comes from thinking for yourself, and figuring out what BEST allows YOU to move closer and achieve the results and outcomes YOU desire.

Be blessed!

radragan:


Thanks for commenting and contributing to the thread.

While I welcome suggestions and opposing points of view and strategy, I have no need for strategies like that. In fact, I a little about my reasons why in this post. There's a lot of advice on the Internet about making money online, growing a business or connecting with influential people, and yet, I followed very little of it and was still able to build a successful business.

My point is, no matter what someone says has led them to success, doesn't mean it's what you also must do to be successful. True success and satisfaction comes from thinking for yourself, and figuring out what BEST allows YOU to move closer and achieve the results and outcomes YOU desire.

Be blessed!

Hey there... I am very sure you have connected with highly and lowly people.

Imagine that!

Who will buy from you if you don't connect with your customers.

Don't be onesided. There is nothing wrong in connecting except you are inexperience or want to struggle to survive.

You maybe making money but is not enough; you have to connect will so called highly or lowly placed people for development.

Pls break down your sales revenue and point out ur profit.

Don't tell me all is yours except you hate economics.

superstr:


Hey there... I am very sure you have connected with highly and lowly people.

Imagine that!

Who will buy from you if you don't connect with your customers.

Don't be onesided. There is nothing wrong in connecting except you are inexperience or want to struggle to survive.

You maybe making money but is not enough; you have to connect will so called highly or lowly placed people for development.

Pls break down your sales revenue and point out ur profit.

Don't tell me all is yours except you hate economics.

I never said I don't connect with people. I said I don't spend my time pursuing "influencers", which usually means connecting with people who have more reach or a broader audience than you, in the hope they will promote your business to their audience, in exchange for something you provide for them.

There are a number of people in the entrepreneurship arena (particularly Internet entrepreneurship) who have adopted the belief that they cannot start or grow a business unless they pursue/connect with so-called influencers in their field. And that is absolutely false. Yes, it does help, but it will NOT determine the success of your business. That is determined, mostly, by your business model and the systems you employ.

On the other hand, I do network and connect with people, but only as it pertains to my business. For example, just recently I was able to add a new member of my publishing side-business, who was introduced to me by a client. She has a relative in need of more work as an editor, and seeing how I needed an additional editor for my team, I offered to interview her relative for the position. I never asked the client about her relative, nor did I ask her whether she knew anyone in the publishing and editing field. She merely overhead me talking to another member of my team, and then she made the offer, and I accepted.

So yes, connecting with people is important, I just don't have to employ it as an active business strategy to generate revenue.

Using 2016's numbers only, to-date, we've done around $242,000 in revenue. I have 5 members of my team (it will be 6 in a few days when the new editor starts), who are paid an average of about $20-$30 an hour. Working 40 hours a week, their pay is roughly $5,000 a month. X 5 people, and that equals $24k a month in payroll. X 4 months and that totals to about $96k for payroll. Add in marketing and other business expenses and I've spent about $30k there, which leaves me with $116K business profit. That's in 3 and a half months work from a business that was built from the ground up, without utilizing the tactic of networking with influencers.

If that is working for you, then great! Continue to do what brings your business life and revenue. But employing generalized strategies can be disastrous for a business. I will listen to different ideas and points of view, but the only strategies I will ever implement in my business, are those that have proven to generate more customers or revenue.

radragan:


I never said I don't connect with people. I said I don't spend my time pursuing "influencers", which usually means connecting with people who have more reach or a broader audience than you, in the hope they will promote your business to their audience, in exchange for something you provide for them.

There are a number of people in the entrepreneurship arena (particularly Internet entrepreneurship) who have adopted the belief that they cannot start or grow a business unless they pursue/connect with so-called influencers in their field. And that is absolutely false. Yes, it does help, but it will NOT determine the success of your business. That is determined, mostly, by your business model and the systems you employ.

On the other hand, I do network and connect with people, but only as it pertains to my business. For example, just recently I was able to add a new member of my publishing side-business, who was introduced to me by a client. She has a relative in need of more work as an editor, and seeing how I needed an additional editor for my team, I offered to interview her relative for the position. I never asked the client about her relative, nor did I ask her whether she knew anyone in the publishing and editing field. She merely overhead me talking to another member of my team, and then she made the offer, and I accepted.

So yes, connecting with people is important, I just don't have to employ it as an active business strategy to generate revenue.

Using 2016's numbers only, to-date, we've done around $242,000 in revenue. I have 5 members of my team (it will be 6 in a few days when the new editor starts), who are paid an average of about $20-$30 an hour. Working 40 hours a week, their pay is roughly $5,000 a month. X 5 people, and that equals $24k a month in payroll. X 4 months and that totals to about $96k for payroll. Add in marketing and other business expenses and I've spent about $30k there, which leaves me with $116K business profit. That's in 3 and a half months work from a business that was built from the ground up, without utilizing the tactic of networking with influencers.

If that is working for you, then great! Continue to do what brings your business life and revenue. But employing generalized strategies can be disastrous for a business. I will listen to different ideas and points of view, but the only strategies I will ever implement in my business, are those that have proven to generate more customers or revenue.

You are right, you don't have to since your business does not need it --

Mind you! Your stuff is also dangerous because it generalises a lot without step by step of doing it. Even if it works for you, how are you so sure it will work for other (as put above)?

On your figure, either of us knows something is wrong; it is easy for you to know, but difficult for me to prove the point because you are in control.

Show your valid data - maybe screenshot - don't just write. Give solid evidence.

superstr:


You are right, you don't have to since your business does not need it --

Mind you! Your stuff is also dangerous because it generalises a lot without step by step of doing it. Even if it works for you, how are you so sure it will work for other (as put above)?

On your figure, either of us knows something is wrong; it is easy for you to know, but difficult for me to prove the point because you are in control.

Show your valid data - maybe screenshot - don't just write. Give solid evidence.

To address your points individually...

"Mind you! Your stuff is also dangerous because it generalises a lot without step by step of doing it."

The original post of this thread was to offer brief insight into a part of my process. Otherwise, the thread would have been considerably much longer. Also, though you feel the post is too general, it offers some telling insight into how I run my business. Too many online entrepreneurs get caught up in the "process" as it pertains to tangible actions in the business, and overlook (or ignore) the fact that 'process' also includes mindset and thought.

This post wasn't to highlight specific steps but to give you a glimpse at how I think, and how that mode of thinking led me to desired results. Every business is different in the way it's run, it's customer base, and it's overall business model. What worked for me may not work for you simply because we target a different customer. But that doesn't mean you can't take my approach of focusing on Simplicity, Speed, Sales and Sustainability. It's really all about the questions you ask yourself about your business.

"How I can I simplify my strategy?" "What can I do to move faster?" "What can I do to encourage more sales?" "What can I do over the long-term to keep my business growing?"

My goal is to get people to focus MORE on WHY I do something as opposed to HOW I do it. Because understanding the 'why' in business is what makes all the difference. For example, everyone knows an email list is advantageous to a business, and lots of people offer steps in how to create one and deliver content to subscribers. But very few people will tell you WHY they choose to market as they do through email. Why they only offer certain kinds of content, and not others. Or WHY they choose the subject lines they do. Or WHY they only target a specific segment of their overall audience to subscribe for their email lists.

The WHY is the "secret sauce" to a business. Otherwise, you're just another face in the crowd.



"On your figure, either of us knows something is wrong; it is easy for you to know, but difficult for me to prove the point because you are in control. Show your valid data - maybe screenshot - don't just write. Give solid evidence."


[img=http://www.startbuildprofit.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/prf4212016.png][/img]

The image above is a screen shot of one of the accounts I use for my business. (If the image doesn't display, use THIS LINK to view it on my website.) Specifically, it's the account I use for deposits from business transactions. These are only deposits from the merchant providers I use. This shot is of deposits reported within the past 10 days of business.

To break things down further, the deposits using the descriptor 'Propay Transfer' are associated with charges made to clients for services rendered. This could be anything from basic consulting, to strategy sessions, to business analytical services. I charge a $2,200 fee per consulting session, and additional fees based on any additional work or services they require. Depending on the nature of that work, I will either charge a flat fee, or an hourly fee.

The next set of descriptors comes in as 'Third Party SALES'. These deposits are from charges associated with one hour coaching sessions. It's something we've started this month, and are experimenting with it to see how the service can add value to our existing business model. It's available on a trial basis only to members of our client's firms and businesses. I charge $99.97 for each 1 hour session.

The last descriptor, 'BANKCARD BTOT' are associated with purchases made to an experimental subscription-based product we're offering. This membership offers some of the same insight as my hourly sessions, but in a more simplified form. Think of it like this... If the hourly sessions are the audiobook and live interview with an author, this smaller service would be like receiving only the ebook version of the material with a few extra, text-based bonus materials. The services costs $9.99 a month, and there are no commitments. Users may sign up and cancel their subscriptions whenever they wish.

To the far left is a list of all of my accounts with this bank. I started to only show the list of transactions, but I thought showing the other account balances might help as well so you can see how my money is dispersed. I designate an account for almost everything.

Overall, this business does about $45k - $80k a month, depending on the time of year and the amount of clients we see. My team only works Monday thru Friday, though sometimes we will occasionally host workshops and classes on Saturday mornings. Maybe once or twice a month.

This business is an elevated and evolved form of the business I'm referring to when I talk about Start Build Profit.

Can I help people build businesses that are just as successful? I would like to think that I can. But the truth is, there are no guarantees of that. All I can do is share what I've done and learned along the way, and do what I can to help others find ways to discover effective methods in their own businesses. Business is hard, and it's even harder when you have no focus or direction that is uniquely your own. I think a lot of people struggle in business because they spend more time trying to replicate someone else's success, as opposed to figuring out what they need to do to achieve the results they want from the business they are running.

True, these are only my personal opinions and thoughts, but I see it far too often. But rather than complain, criticize or talk about what people don't do, should do or need to do (the way some people do online), I thought it would be best (and more constructive) to setup a website, and write about one of my own experiences in online business. And offer details on how I went from 'there' to 'here'.

I don't know if, or how well it will help. But at least it's something. A step in the right direction.

I hope this answered your questions. If not, feel free to ask.

Be blessed!

waiting for you to update on your website

stephen2020:
waiting for you to update on your website

I'm in the process of redesigning the site. A lot of people have told me their mobiles won't pull it up. It either takes too long to load or it stalls and forces their phone to close the web browser. A set back, but I'm working through it. I hope to have it figured out as soon as possible.

stephen2020:
waiting for you to update on your website

I've tried to resolve the issue, but I've been unable to. I'm not sure why, but I can't seem to get around the loading issue. So rather than tear the site completely down and rebuild it, I'm just going to host the idea on another of my websites, until I can figure out what the issue is. I know it has something to do with some of the scripts and multimedia files, I just can't figure out which files are the issue.

The move should take me no more than a few hours to complete, and we should be ready to go by Wednesday evening at the latest, but more than likely I will be ready to start introducing updates well before then.

Sorry to have to post such disappointing news, but I'd rather be open and honest about the situation, rather than try to spin a story that might blow up in my face anyway.

Be blessed!