Internet Fuse Blog

More and more people in the world today want to change little things that don’t make a difference. The last few years around the holidays is a great example. People who don’t celebrate Christmas all of the sudden take offense when someone says “Merry Christmas”. WHAT? Get over yourself!

It’s promted many retailers to not ‘allow’ their employees to wish a customer “Merry Christmas” but instead, a more general “Happy Holidays”. Now, it’s the holiday season for sure. With Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. And my birthday is right in the middle, but for some reason the world doesn’t acknowledge this event to a level of my satisfaction.

Now, this is pointless, and stupid, and bad marketing. How is it bad marketing? Because the truth of the matter is most people celebrate Christmas. I recently even heard on the radio that as much as 91% of us do! So, if I’m a business retailer and 91% of people celebrate Christmas, and 9% don’t…then why would I cater to the 9%?

Look, I’m not here to offend anyone nor do I care if I do. But if the majority wants to have a Merry Christmas, then employees should be allowed to wish them one. The majority rules, period. Especially in this case, when it’s an overwhelming majority.

Too often big businesses give in to a little group who has nothing better to do with their life than to bitch about something. So if you’re a customer of mine, I wish you a Merry Christmas.

Have you ever tried to help a friend but they don’t seem willing to help themselves? Well, I’m in that boat right now. I have a friend who is an entrepreneur with an interesting business. His business is less than a year old so naturally it’s still in the growth phase and he has a lot of work ahead of him. But recently his business is going down-hill fast!

One of the reasons is a lack of capital. He’s very short on the green stuff (I mean cash, not other green stuff!) So he’s to the point of packing it in and calling it quits. I can’t believe it!

There’s a lot of things he can do to promote his business without spending money. He has a nice size email list to market to, a nice group of current members he could ask for referrals, and many more. But he’s focused on all the resources and opportunities that he lacks. THAT is his problem!

Do you do this?

You have to ignore whatever it isn’t you lack or don’t have and focus on what you’ve got. USE what you’ve got. In my friends case he has plenty of time, and education. That’s two excellent resources right there if you ask me! It’s obvious we’d all do things differently with our businesses if we had unlimited marketing budgets, resources, etc.

But we don’t. So use what you have right now. Take action TODAY! There’s just no excuse for doing anything else. Change the direction of your focus.

I’ve talked before on this blog about the importance of masterminding with like-minded individuals. But I want to dig a little deeper and talk about your true strategic alliances. Who are your go-to people for ideas and inspiration? Sometimes they’re right in front of you.

Just today I was talking to a friend of mine who lives a few states away. I briefly mentioned something new I’m doing in my business and he immediately gave me an excellent idea to easily take it to the next level. It wasn’t something planned or forced…it was just two entrepreneurs chatting about business.

Do you have some people in your life or business that you can share ideas with and brainstorm together? A fresh set of eyes looking at your business can be very rewarding. Of course, you have to be strategic about who you align with. Don’t take ideas from idiots!

I find that I have a few friends I can always count on for sound business advice and quality ideas. People who have my best interest at heart. As entrepreneurs we tend to think we can do everything ourselves. But the best entrepreneurs surround themselves with great people and don’t mind relying on them. I know I sure do.

If you’ve watched any of the Olympics then you’ve no doubt seen what Michael Phelps has done. He now holds more Gold Medals than any other Olympian in history. He’s 6 for 6 so far and set a world record in EACH event. It’s truly impressive. Many people including Phelps, contribute his success to his intense focus. He’s much like Tiger Woods in that way.

But what I love about Phelps is his goals. He and his coach have written goals and they go beyond “win gold medal”. In fact, Phelps has goals of what he wants his time to be. He doesn’t just want to win gold or break world records…he wants to shatter them.

Interestingly enough when practicing there was a whiteboard next to the pool that read: “In business, words are words, explanations are explanations, promises are promises but only performance is reality.” It came from a business book and it’s a fantastic quote. Phelps was relating it to sports but it is true in business.

You can’t deposit what you’re gonna do. Excuses and promises won’t make you rich. It’s about performance. Actions speak louder than words. A goal is just a goal until it’s acted upon. My question for you is Are you taking daily action towards your goals?

Michael Phelps trained every day for years for these Olympics. He is focused on one thing and one thing only: achieving his goals. He and his coaches created a plan and he’s acted on that plan…every day. It’s true he’s a gifted athlete, but it’s his focus, determine, action, and performance that make him the best ever. What does your performance say about you?

As many of you know I’m a big golf fan. I’m also a fan of Sergio Garcia’s. For those that don’t know Sergio is my age (28 at the time of writing this) and he’s one of the best golfers in the world. However, he’s never won a Major which in golf is what you strive for. He’s come in 2nd place many times, 3rd more than a hand-full, and finished in the top 10 in more than I can count. But he’s never closed the deal on Sunday.

Yesterday at the PGA Championship it was looking like his day. He was playing well and seemed mentally fit to finish strong. But in the end he finished 2nd place…again.

In the post media interviews he said he had no regrets. He did his best and that was all he could ask for. He then said the good news is when you keep coming close you know you’re day is coming. I like that he isn’t crying or running away. He’s learning from the experience and going to the next major with motivation and determination.

So how do you handle failures? Is coming in 2nd even failing? That depends on your goal. But as an entrepreneur you are going to fail. And you’re going to fail a lot. How’s that for motivation? But it’s how you come back after the mistakes that counts. You have to stay focused and know you’re on the right track. You have to keep your drive.

It’s not about the little bumps in the road or the 2nd place finishes. It’s about finishing strong and giving it your all. You only truly fail when you quit. Sergio isn’t quitting. And by the time his hall of fame career is done he’ll likely have won several majors. He knows he can do it, and sometimes that’s all it takes.

Okay, let me warn you this post has absolutely nothing to do with internet marketing or business. It’s completely personal but I had to get this out. The last few days have been crazy!

So, Wednesday my Granddad went in for some heart tests because he had some shortness of breath. They quickly discovered he needed to have bypass surgery and he needed to have it right away. So he gets moved from one hospital to another and the whole family is rushing to go to the hospital for him to have the surgery that night.

Brooklyn and I finish work, get ready, grab a quick bite to eat on the road and we were on our way. We get to the hospital find parking, and then find the rest of my family. I’m normally good in these situations but honestly I wasn’t handling it good. I’m in no way ready to lose my grandfather and really want him to see my son who’s due in October.

About 25 minutes after we were at the hospital they tell us the surgery won’t be that night and will be on Thursday instead. So we spend some time with him and head home. Earlier that day we bought the crib for our baby. So I decided to put it together when we got home.

Of course, it was storming very bad and I was waiting for the lights to go out at any time. I get all the parts out and start looking for the directions and realized there weren’t any! So we went online to find some to print off. After a few minutes of searching Brooklyn found some and printed them off.

So I start putting together the crib and while I usually don’t do a good job putting stuff together I made sure to put the crib together good. We read online that assembly should only take 30 minutes. Hah! 30 minutes my ass!

Two hours later the crib was finished and it was late. Brooklyn was super-excited of course and wanted to put the sheets and bedding stuff on it. When she walked over to it somehow she hit her pinky toe on the foot of the crib. I heard it and thought she had hit her knee. She said it was hurting bad and I thought she lost the nail or something.

I went in for a closer look and she had split the end of her toe wide open! It was gross and we debated taking her to the hospital. But since I know as much as any doctor I put on some rubber gloves, grabbed a lot of gauze and about 8 band-aids. I wrapped her toe up and we’ll see how it does.

So it’s been crazy the last few days, but my granddad had the surgery and everything went great. He’s recovering now and is in good spirits. Hopefully he’ll be better than new and he and I will be playing golf again in the future.

For some reason testimonials are still dramatically under-used. It puzzles me because testimonials are much easier to obtain than people realize. So I thought I talk about some ways to beef-up your testimonials and make the most of them.

1. Make them believable. Include the persons full name, the town and state they live in, and even what they do for a living or company they work for. It makes them much more real than “K. Johnson”.

2. Add a photo! A picture is worth a thousand words or something like that. A photo lets people know it’s a “real” person. While not every client will be happy to put their photo out there, you’d be surprised at how many will.

3. Go a step further and add video! If a picture testimonial is the ultimate then I don’t know how to describe a video testimonial. They are obviously believable and have a huge impact. This is an excellent addition to your website and sadly most people don’t ever do this.

4. Relate your testimonials to a dollar number! A testimonial that says “John really motivated me and was a big help” may make my mom happy but doesn’t have a big impact. Make them specific and tied to results. A better testimonial would be “One single strategy I learned from John added $32,611 to my bank account” or “John helped me increase my conversion by 33%!”

There’s a lot of ways to use testimonials in your marketing. If you’re not using them then go out and get them! They are easier to get than you’d think. Make it easy on your customers by writing the testimonial for them and have them sign off on it.

The point is to use testimonials. They have a BIG impact!

I found myself watching The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch last night. It’s not a show I watch regularly but I do watch when I have the time and there’s something interesting on it. Anyways, they were talking about being an SOB or something…I’m not sure…I wasn’t really paying attention.

But Pat Croce who used to own the NBA’s Philadelphia 76’s was one of what seemed to be 42 guests. Someone mentioned that goal setting was crap and over-rated. Basically they said it was a slow way to achieve success and you’d only be taking little baby steps.

This caught my attention because I’m friends with a multi-millionaire in New Hampshire who once showed me 2 lists he keeps in his wallet. One was full of goals he set years ago which had all been reached and then some. The 2nd was his list of current and future goals that he’s working on. Clearly goal setting works for him.

That’s where Pat Croce comes in. Pat responded to the guy who didn’t like goal setting with something I had never heard but love. He said there’s steps to goal setting. He said:

1. Set the goal and then 2. create a strategy for it. 3. Create action steps and 4. get off your ass!

I agree 100%. Goal setting alone isn’t enough. You must take action. I’m not a big goal setter. I mean I don’t always write them down and review them and all that jazz. But I do get off my ass.

Follow these steps with your goals. They become easily attainable and less stressful. Just remember to get off your ass about it otherwise goal setting sucks.

I’m loved and hated for my no bs style. I say what I feel and don’t really sugar-coat things. It’s a blessing and a curse. I like to get my way. I can’t help that. I also can’t stand it and don’t tolerate it when people annoy me. If you get on my nerves then I try to avoid you at all costs. I don’t have time to waste you know

Well, apparently my son is going to be just like me! This makes my wife very nervous! My wife and I are expecting our first child this October. We’re extremely excited about it and can’t wait. A few weeks ago we went in for an ultra-sound and little Jack decided he didn’t want his picture taken.

He wouldn’t move in the right position or angle to see his face. What was supposed to be a 30 minute appointment turned into a 2 hour ordeal that consisted of my wife walking up and down stairs and drinking a lot of juice to try to get the little fella to move.

After all the walking and poking and juice he decided he was fed up. He was done with us and he let us know by lifting his hand and giving us the finger! We got the message and called it quits.

I’m very proud to see he’s going to be like his dad!

A new domain ending has just become available and it could be a great opportunity for you. Rather than the traditional .com, .net, .org, etc, the new domain ends with .me

GoDaddy has exclusive rights to offer domains ending with .me. Anyone can register a .me site and this one has been highly anticipated due to the desirable domain names that can be created from it.

There’s a lot of good variations still available so consider your industry and see what type of .me name you could register.

Here’s some examples:

coach.me

protect.me

help.me

call.me

You get the idea. You may even come up with one you don’t have a need for. It’s not uncommon to get offers for an appealing domain name, so you may want to consider purchasing it.

Now, GoDaddy.com has thrown in a ‘catch’. The cost is $20 per year with a 2 year minimum for each domain.