Outside the Box
Robert Thompson discusses the importance of thinking
outside the box in order to compete in today's business
world. Learn how to create a niche market and how this will
help you compete with others especially if you are new to
online businesses.
Think Outside The Box!
One of the things that I like to do with my spare time is visit
various business forums and chat rooms. It is interesting to see
what others are thinking, and once in awhile, I run across a question
or post that makes for a good article.
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Here is a good example from the SMC Members
Forum. I have changed the name to protect the identity and
privacy of the user. This post represents a very common
sentiment throughout the stay at home job community.
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From Jennifer
I just started SMC not to long ago and I have mostly heard
negative things in this forum. When I say negative I mean
people who have been in 3-4 months and have not had any
luck. That is very discouraging. I also noticed their are
a lot of SMC members competing for business. This is also
discouraging. Is there no one else that has success from
this business with any marketing method? I think I'm going
to ask for a refund. People these days are cruel.
Hello Jennifer,
Hang in there. You are just getting started, and you still
haven't even paid for a business education yet. Once you
spend a few hundred bucks on a promotion that fails to bring
in a sale, you will understand why I say this. I don't think
of my screwups as failures. Instead, I think of the money
spent as tuition for a new business lesson. LOL
Here are a few things to think about:
1. You are right about the level of competition amongst
SMC members. With several members selling items on Ebay,
for example. Your chances of earning a decent profit there
is limited by your knowledge of the little things (jacking
up the shipping costs to cover the cost of the item sold,
or how to effectively follow up with another offer to the
customers who do buy).
Regardless of whether you are selling products from a large
wholesaler, such as SMC, or promoting an affiliate program,
such as SFI or Empowerment, you will find this to be true.
Since the competition is so heavy in the more traditional
venues, it is best to avoid them until you have a better
understanding of the unwritten rules of the game.
2. Think outside of the box. For example, if you develop
a niche market for a small selection of items, you can earn
just as much, if not more than if you were adding all 4,000
items to your website.
About five years ago, I needed an additional $1500.00 in
order to pay for all of the deposits that I owed on the
new store that I was about to open. I thought about it a
bit, and identified a niche in my community that no one
else was targeting.
=> It was about three weeks before Memorial Day, 2000
a very patriotic holiday
=> I am a retired veteran of the USAF
=> I am a member of the VFW
One plus one plus one equals $1500.00.
What I did was to take an SMC eagle statue to my VFW post
after contacting the Quartermaster to get permission to
solicit the post. He welcomed me.
I ended up selling him 15 eagle statues at twice the wholesale
price. I was so emboldened by this bit of success, that
I called every VFW and American Legion post in Anchorage
to make appointments. I didn't get my foot into every door,
but I still had the most fun that I ever had, and earned
all of the $1500.00 that I needed in just a few hours.
Like I said, THINK OUTSIDE OF THE BOX.
3. Ignore anyone who is negative about what you are trying
to do with your home business. Whiners and Snivellers never
do anything but try to drag others down to their level in
order to justify their miserable existance. Since they haven't
figured out the secret code, they want to make sure that
someone else doesn't either.
Stay positive, have fun with your business, and be tenacious!
Never give up because of a setback. Because, that is all
it is. Setbacks are not failures, they are opportunities
to learn and refine.
Thomas Edison screwed up a lot of blown glass bulbs before
he finally figured out the light bulb. He took tremendous
amounts of notes concerning his failures and learned from
each of them. You should do the same thing in your business.
Every time that you try a new tactic that doesn't work out,
learn a lesson from it and apply it to the next attempt.
Eventually, the light bulb will come on, and you will earn
a profit.
About the Author
Robert Thompson is retired from the United States Air Force
and has operated several successful businesses. He is a
proud Team Leader with SFI and enjoys helping others to
create wealth from the comfort of their homes. For information
on how you can share in the multi-billion dollar home business
industry, visit http://www.stay-home-and-earn.com For a
free copy of the Stay at Home Jobs Newsletter, send a blank
Email to News@badbobrst.par32.com
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