Reading, Writing and Entrepreneurship?

http://eat-healthy-every-day.blogspot.com/

Wish you could've taken entrepreneurship instead of arithmetic in elementary school? You'll be jealous of the kids at Jean Parker Elementary School in San Francisco. It's not that they're foregoing a traditional education, but the fifth graders are getting supplemental classes in business from Salesforce.com and the BizWorld Foundation, which includes hands-on experience running their own small companies and competing for business from fourth-grade clients.

Kids in other schools are getting this type of experience, too, from the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, which sponsors business programs for students ages 11 through 18 in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and other cities. Gerald Richards, head of the Bay Area NFTE says, "Business curriculum engages students in learning much more than the basic '2-plus-2-is-4' system, and it gives them a way to connect to their education."

Of course, not all kids will want careers in business. And some critics say that these programs corporatize the classroom a bit too much or are mere advertisements for their corporate sponsors. But these programs may be the only real glimpse some kids get into the business world.

If you think business education is a good idea, maybe you can find a local program and get involved in entrepreneurship education in your community.

Top 25 Personal Finance Myths
Keeping Costs Low For an Internet Business
Inventor passes on his tips

How To Be A Better Animal Or Is Capitalism JUST A SCAM?

How the "Lord of the Rings" movies should have en...

Man, it’s like deja vu all over again.

There are a ton of marketers making a ton of money, both online and offline right now… selling pure, uncut crap.

Nothing new about this. Back when the first caveman discovered the art of salesmanship while convincing another caveman to buy his old cave for a slab of mastadon meat… the next transaction to happen was probably a scam.

Like maybe trying to sell a fake cave. Or a cave with a bear sleeping in it. “Oh, didn’t I mention that bear? Sorry. And no, you can’t have your slab of meat back.”

The thing is, our capitalistic system allows for rapid financial reward regardless of whether you’re selling quality goods… or crap.

That’s why there’s never really been a truly “free” market. The moment someone with any power got scammed, laws were written and scofflaws were tossed into newly constructed hoosegows. (Did you know, by the way, that the early European settlers in New England didn’t have anything resembling a jail for over a century? One colony tried digging a pit, but the prisoner escaped. We’ve come a long way, now with more folks per capita behind bars than any other civilized nation on the planet. Just something to chew on…)

Anyway, when you’ve been around business as long as I have — and I’ve been around a loooooong damn time — then you start to notice certain things that keep happening.

Like, for example… the cyclical return of the predatory multi-level marketing monster.

I’m not gonna name the current MLM goop out there, cuz it’s irrelevant. If it wasn’t this particular recipe of selected tangy herbs and zombie-ized crap, they would have found something else.

I’ve lived through three or four of these cycles. Lots and lots of money is made by some folks, and the buzz on the goop gets so hot that eventually stories appear in all the major magazines. (The same stories, pretty much, too. “Is this stuff for real?” the writers ask, all agog at the money and perplexed about the claims. God forbid they do any actual research on the goop…)

During the last go-round — in the late ’80s — the company behind that particular goop even bought a huge skyscraper in Los Angeles, and was drawing up plans for world domination just before the roof caved in on them. (MLM health-goop crashes happen just like the Dot-Com bust seven years ago — suddenly, taking whole groups of people down in financial chaos… and later, when the dust settles, it all seemed so obviously dumb…)

So allow me to set you straight here, in case you’re a little unclear on the concept: When it comes to maximum health, there are just 3 factors.

1. Good genes.

2. Good living.

3. And good information.

I hate to bust your bubble… but there ain’t no magic concoction out there that will cure your ills and make you live forever. At best, you may be coaxed away from your bad lifestyle, and introduced to the fundamental nutrients you’ve been avoiding, which may help a lot. (Amazingly, leading an unhealthy lifestyle actually contributes to ill health!)

At worst, you will be engaging in the power of suggestion and placebo… which also can work wonders for someone who strongly believes in magic.

In the end, however, if what you desire is good health and long life, you need to get hip to your body’s schematic. For every uncle you had who lived to 101 guzzling whiskey and chain smoking, you’ve got to factor in the four other relatives who dropped dead at 40 from heart attacks. That’s infomation.

Good living can be defined however you like… but in the end, it has to translate to being a better animal. Exercise, eating well, indulging in a full life… we all slack off on the things we intuitively know can make us happier and healthier. So stop it.

Pot-bellied grouches die early. Smart, fit, upbeat people have a better shot at becoming Rip Van Winkle.

Finally, if you need a little magic to make sense of the world, then by all means go for it.

Whatever floats your boat.

But please — don’t fall for the scams.

Right now, the money flowing into that huge multi-level marketing monster roaming the country is just shocking.

So listen carefully: This type of magic elixir comes around like clockwork every generation.

And here’s how it works:

The goop is irrelevant. It could be (and sometimes has been) pureed compost heap. (The term “snake oil” comes from the common mid-18th century potions made from fermented rattlesnake heads and alcohol. Yummy.)

The ingredients do not matter.

What does matter… is the pitch…

…and the choice of marketing organization.

The easiest way to generate a lot of money, fast, is to use the multi-level organization. I swear to you that many of these guys set the organization up first… and THEN go looking for some goop to plausibly fill the minor role of “product”. (They stay with herbs and “natural” ingredients to avoid the wrath of the FDA.)

MLM success is based not on actually selling the product… but on convincing others to sell it for you. So you sit at the top of your own private pyramid, doing nothing but cashing checks, while your minions scurry about below either hawking the goop… or creating their own little pyramids of sub-sellers.

And you get a piece of all the action filtering up through your seat on the pyramid.

Most level-headed people, upon hearing of how the MLM scheme plays out, pause.

The organization seems to defy a basic law of the marketplace — if the goop is really as good as the pitch says it is… then why is the emphasis not on selling it, but rather on getting other people to sell it for you?

To go into the logical curli-ques of the MLM pitch would take many pages.

Because, after the organizational set-up, the next most important part of the scheme is the pitch.

And, when done right, that pitch will exhaust your brain, murder your intuition, and leave you believing that black is white. Reality and fact be damned.

It’s only job is to generate enthusiasm. Enthusiasm for all the money you’ll make, so fast and easy, coupled with your new ability to live forever by guzzling this delicious new goop.

Whatever the goop is.

Doesn’t matter.

MLM is all about the suspension of belief… so, in your fevered excitement, you begin to believe that YOU — yes, YOU, among all the people who have sought it from the dawn of time — have been chosen to be among the blessed few to finally — FINALLY — discover the Fountain of Youth.

And you deserve to made rich for doing so.

You may as well join a cult. Because the brainwashing will never cease, and you are in for a ride that will not end until you are forced to face reality again.

Some people will get rich. That’s a given — it’s the reason the “snake oil” miracle remedy has been part of civilization since cockroaches decided to partner up with us.

We all want that simple, easy answer to our problems.

We all want magic in our lives again.

We really, really, really want it.

And we’ll PAY for it, by golly.

MLM schemes have a half-life of many years. Unless they are careless — and a good organization will avoid saying anything in their pitch exposing them to easy prosecution — they will not be brought down by any legal action. You can’t legislate the yearning for magic.

Mostly, they just peter out. Some hang around in the shadows for generations.

Hell, some even have some half-way decent product to sell.

But if you’re paying someone, who’s paying someone else, who’s paying someone else, etc., for the right to sell your share of this wondrous goop to friends and family… then you’re not the rebel marketer you believe you are.

You’re just part of an MLM organization.

Hey, for some people, it’s a way to dip their toes into the business world, I suppose. Maybe a way to make a few extra bucks. (Though studies confirm that the average MLMer never makes back their initial investment.) (Which they probably paid to a relative, or someone at work.)

The thing is… you gotta get clear on how you define “success”.

If all you care about is making money, then go smuggle drugs. Tons of cash in that line of work.

If you want to have a legitimate biz, then strive to make it a good one. And watch who you’re learning from.

Just know this: There are mobs of marketers out there earning boatloads of money… selling crap. Not just the MLMer’s, either.

If your chosen mentor or teacher bases his pitch to you on the idea that he has made a lot of money, then do a little digging. Especially now, with the globalized reach of the online business world, it’s EASY to make a bundle selling shoddy, screwed up goods and services.

Because, again, the product often doesn’t matter. The pitch hits your hot buttons… and the organization attaches an umbilical cord to your wallet and starts siphoning up money.

Look for quality. Look for honesty, integrity, and a product that does what the pitch promised.

You can admire an organization’s ability to round up a herd of prospects, and a pitch’s masterful way of harnessing cash.

But you don’t have to admire the people behind it all when they’re selling crap.

We live in a world filled with illusion and greed and clever thieves.

Watch your ass. And skip the goop. Go buy a blender and some cheap but good protein powder, eat more fruits and veggies, and get off your butt more and go do stuff that makes you sweat.

No one’s gonna live forever.

And if you truly desire to get rich, you can do it with your head held high, selling quality products and offering damn good services.

I shouldn’t have to keep reminding you of this, you know…

Stay frosty,

John Carlton, http://www.marketingrebelrant.com/

Baking: From My Home to YoursStates' Health Plans May Aid Small Firms
Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change

High Performer Series: Appliancepartspros.com

Sun surprises with GPL for open source Java

Roman Kagan has built a successful niche business selling hard-to-find appliance parts to do-it-yourself types around the country. The site was launched in 1999 featuring about 300 products and in seven years has grown to showcase more than 1 million parts for 170,000 appliance models. Along the way, the business has grown to about $5 million in annual sales with the site having about 150,000 unique visitors per month.

Why sell appliance parts?
I first had the idea of selling appliance parts online in 1997 while working for a local parts distributor and right after I placed my first order with Amazon. It was not until the end of 1999 that our first order was shipped. It took me about a month to make the first version of our site. There was no shopping cart. Orders were placed through a contact form. It's funny and maybe a little embarrassing looking back now, but I was very proud of it at the time.

What was it like for you in the early days with the business?
I was also working as an appliance technician back then. I would print out the orders from the site in the morning and then, during my lunch break, I would stop by my local parts store to fill them. Then on to UPS to ship them out. I did this for a couple of years.

In 2002, I was better prepared both mentally and financially to get more serious with the business. I quit my job, rented a small warehouse and hired a programmer. We began to work on the new version of the site.

A 16-hour work day was the norm, and I am very thankful for my wife's support and understanding. She's a very talented person and besides holding a full time job, she was (and still is) taking care of the financial aspect of the business, something I am really not good at. Everything we did was through trial and error and by watching and studying the "big shots" like Amazon. We spent countless hours trying to figure out the reason behind every aspect of their business and their websites. We took their sites for a spin, placing test orders to see how their system worked. It was an interesting process and I think we've learned a lot from it.

When you redesigned the site in 2002, what did you change?
It took about four months to finish the new site. We were very excited and anxious to see the results. We finally had a shopping cart. In addition, the site offered a searchable database of almost 1 million parts for about 170,000 appliance models, near real-time inventory, "my account" features and order tracking. There was also a pretty powerful backend program.

But as the new site was near its completion, I knew this was only the beginning. More functionality was needed, things to make it easier for both us and our customers. I also knew that it would take time and money, and I did not want to get stuck in the never-ending development stage.

So, the decision was made to launch the site, begin to acquire market share, gain experience and plan for the future. As the business began to grow, I was fortunate enough to convince my friend, Matt, to join the company. We used to work together for an appliance parts distributor some years back. He's one of the most knowledgeable people in the industry, but more importantly, he is someone I can trust and rely on completely.

Did you design the site yourself or hire a designer?
I designed every version of our site and our developer wrote all the script. I plan to have a professional designer in on the next version, but I assure you, I will be greatly involved in the process. After all, it is my baby.

Do you sell at online locations other than your website?
We haven't tried any channels other than our site. We do have a fairly large number of affiliates. More focus will be put on growing our affiliate program and utilizing shopping comparison sites in 2007.

How do you market your store?
We use pay-per-click extensively. In the beginning I was setting up and managing campaigns myself, and I'm probably pretty good at it. But then again, I was trying to do everything myself, because I didn't have money to hire someone, and because I didn't trust anyone.

I found that it's a very lonely and, more importantly, a slow way to grow your business. Now, I try to outsource as much as possible, I just make sure that I spend the time to find the best company or person for the job. We now have a reputable firm taking care of our pay-per-click campaigns, and I couldn't be happier. Traffic is up, while cost-per-click is down. Can't ask for much more.

Do you incorporate any email marketing?
One of the biggest mistakes I've made is not paying attention to email marketing. Lesson learned. This year, it will be a big part of our marketing efforts.

How does Appliance Parts Pros distinguish itself from other companies in the marketplace?
I think the main difference between us and our competition is that we have always put our customers and their repair problems first. Every business is out there to make money and be profitable. However, there are different approaches. It's always been my belief to do your best to take care of the customer, and the financial rewards will follow. And, I've yet to be proven wrong.

Do you manufacture any of your products?
We do not manufacture any product. Instead we sell the highest-quality, original appliance parts.

How do you acquire products for so many older appliances?
I think it takes a certain knowledge and experience and a willingness to go the extra mile. It is very easy to tell the customer, "Sorry, it's not available‚" especially when there is really not much demand for those old parts.

However, that's not the case when your business model calls for putting the customer first. So we make sure that first, we know what your 1950 O'Keefe & Merritt stove uses, and second, we make our suppliers stock it.

Do you offer a catalog of products?
We find that because of the nature of our business it would not be very helpful to publish a catalog. Most parts are model-specific, and our site does a very good job of locating the right part. We may be publishing a catalog for some of our wholesale customers though — for example, apartment maintenance companies or hardware stores.

What types of software/technology have you deployed to improve customer experiences?
We've been using live chat since 2002. It is very effective and our customers love it.

Our part search is extremely functional. By entering your appliance model, you will see it broken down by categories, with breakdown diagrams and a parts list for each category. This makes finding the right part very easy. Our customers tell us it takes them 3-5 minutes to find what they're looking for, less time than it takes just to sit on hold trying to contact the manufacturer or a local parts store.

Our cross-reference database is very powerful as well. Manufacturers may change part numbers for a part 10-12 times in 20 years. Let's say you take a part number off your 20-year-old dryer timer and put it in our part number search. It will go through every change and bring back the most current and correct information. I've been told that part distributors across the country are using our search on a regular basis.

What shopping cart do you use?
We built our own shopping cart. It made sense, since we built the rest of the site ourselves. However, I know there are excellent shopping cart scripts out there and I wouldn't think twice about using one of them under different circumstances.

Is search engine optimization a priority for your site?
SEO is a very high priority to us, especially with extremely high pay-per-click costs. ‚"White hat" SEO is the only way to go. It may be more difficult and it may take much longer to achieve good results, but it makes much more sense to be patient and see great results long term than to try to get results overnight — only to see your site banned from the search engines.

Also, find a reputable SEO company or person and pay them what they want. Don't even ask for a discount. One hundred thousand dollars a year? Fine. Just make sure they are good.

Any particular struggles in the early days you can share that can serve as an inspiration to young companies building a business?
I think the most important thing is to stay focused. Plan everything out, then work according to your plan. Do not expect quick results. Something you do today may not bring any results until six months from now. This is especially true with SEO and bringing traffic to your site. It can get a little frustrating, so telling yourself to be patient and stay focused will help greatly.

I found that there are a lot of advice- and opinion-givers out there, whether you asked for it or not. And, more often than not, their opinion and advice are based on their experiences and set of mind. Obviously, there are a lot more losers than winners out there, people that had given up but need to justify their failure to everyone in a form of an advice. They may actually think they're trying to help you.

I can't tell you how many times I've been told to quit, get a job, do something this way or that way, and that's from people who never owned a business or achieved any success. You may be the type that likes to hear things like that, if only to prove them wrong, but I prefer to keep away and stay focused instead. I've been very lucky, though, to have a supportive wife and parents.

Were there any mentors that helped you along the way?
Back when I was working for a local parts distributor, my manager, Dan Doti, really taught me a lot both about the parts business and, more importantly, how to run a store. I was 18 to 19 years old and foolish at the time, and I really didn't have any business discipline or knowledge. He really helped me a lot with that and showed me the ropes. Most of the things that helped me with this business I probably picked up from him. He's been in the parts business for a long time, and I really appreciate what he's done. I probably couldn't have done it without him.

What advice would you give to an ecommerce novice trying to decide which direction to take?
Take care of your customers. Be honest with them. They will spread the word and be your best sales team. Don't give up. The Internet is a wonderful thing. With so many opportunities, I wouldn't dream of doing business any other way.

Go to source.

300 by Frank Miller, Lynn VarleyEnough Bullshitting… Let’s Make Money In 24hrs Or Less!!!
Increase PageRank Fast with Quality Backlinks