Talk about doing something you love to do…Gary Vaynerchuk shares his vision about doing what you love to do and making millions with it! Video marketing is something Gary has used to really “spread the word” about everything he does.

Watch the Video!
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What are Performance Goals?

The John Deere explains performance goals:

[Performance goals help you] ensure you clearly understand what is expected of you.  You have the opportunity to learn how what you are doing contributes to your department, unit and ultimately [your online business].

Performance goals define your direct contributions that link to the achievement of business objectives.

Performance goals address the “what” element of your job or the achievements of your projects.

So, now that we all have a better understanding of performance goals, check this out:

5 Performance Goals All Bloggers (and Website Owners) Should Set:

1. Reply to every comment on your blog: if you haven’t noticed lately, I’ve added a wp-plugin called the wp thread comment.  This plugin is a perfect way to create community with your blog.  As readers make comments, I can give feedback, answer questions, and be more involved.  Readers can get in to debates, form friendships, and even flat out disagree.  Now you may ask, “How does this really benefit your website?” Community = Loyalty, Loyalty = Positive Word of Mouth Advertisting, Positive Word of Mouth Advertising = Increased Traffic, Increased Traffic = More Sales and More Money (The Outcome Goal most of us want!) So, set a goal today to Reply to every comment on your blog.
2. Reply to every email: Gary V recommended this at Blog World Expo 2008.  Why? Again, Community!  People – potential customers, current customers, friends, etc. – don’t “care how much you know until they know how much you care” 🙂  Now that’s cheesy, but it’s true!  If I blow off emails left and right, what kind of confidence am I creating for my clients?  Even if the response is, “I’m really busy right now, let’s plan a time when we can talk or get back in touch…” – that is at least acknowledging that the person is important to you.  Now start today and Reply to every email! (hopefully some of the people I manage will read this and take it to heart too LOL)
3. Blog about your passion: I’ve talked about this a lot lately; my passion is being revealed by my increased consistency in blogging about how to start an online business.  Passion is key to your success with this endeavor!
   

   Passion is the underlying force that fuels our strongest emotions. It is the intensity we feel when we engage in activities that interest us deeply. It fills us with energy and enables us to perform at our peak. Just as people can be guided and inspired by their personal passions, so can organizations be driven and defined by their collective passions. Organizations that are driven by the collective passion of their associates reap those same rewards. (source)

4. Pick 5+ blogs within your industry that you read religiously: Educate yourself in your industry.  You may think you know all there is to know.  YOU’RE WRONG!  The best people I’ve listened to and read information from are sponges – they are always networking, talking to others, asking questions, and learning because they know, in order to stay at the top of their game, they have to do more and be more than their competitors.  If not, they’ll get passed up pretty quickly.  Find some blogs you like, subscribe to their email list, and study their success!  Then use that success to form your own patterns.
5. Make valid, thought provoking comments on these blogs: Reading just isn’t enough! You have to get involved in your industry; this is one limitless way to do that.  Make good comments on the blogs you’re reading.  Don’t be afraid to disagree.  Ask direct questions.  Share your experience.  Basically what you are doing here is tapping in to an already established database of your target audience.  You’re also building your name, brand and credibility.  One of the best things I’ve done for the MollerMarketing Blog was to interview Jeremy Schoemaker.  Our interview was published on his blog and boy have my traffic numbers gone up since then! At times you’ll have to break your fears – you’ll have to step out of your comfort zone; but those are the times that separate the “serious from the curious”.

There you have it – 5 Performance Goals All Bloggers Should Set!  Thoughts and comments welcome…

How does this relate to starting an online business?

Marriage really is like a business in many ways: when you propose to your sweetheart, you have to be a great salesman, you have to love what you’re doing, you have to be really committed and self motivated, you have to focus, focus, focus, you have to be creative and unique (aka find your niche), you have to take time off and enjoy life, and at times you have to deal with hard times and look beyond imperfections (small success leads to big success!).

The key is, if you’re doing what you love to do when starting an online business, times like this will be fun to look back on and laugh off. If you’re always looking for the “trophy wife” type business that’s going to make you a lot of money really quick while you sit back and enjoy the sun, a catastrophe like this one will end it all – you’ll fly south and look for any reason to quit or give up.

Any creative thoughts on how you can relate this funny wedding video to your online business endeavor?

Jeremy Schoemaker (ShoeMoney) talks about how he got started in internet marketing.  (This guy made $7K in one blog post!)  Check out the exclusive interview:

Where did you start?

– Created a mobile phone site to get format for phones, upload pictures, share pictures, etc.  Then ring tones, then Google AdSense (did $130K in one month with AdSense), then affiliate marketing, then Pay Per Click, then writing about his own experience, then a marketing company.

How long did this all take you?

15 years of hard work – the last 5 years have been profitable.  When I wasn’t trying to make money, it really started happening.  It’s the little things you never thought would work that make money.  You need to be passionate about it, do something you like…

Advice for get-rich-quick schemes?

If the people are trying to sell you the dream of being rich but they aren’t really doing anything, be skeptical. See this video about making money quickly online.

Write good content over time about something you know about, something you believe in.  The Equation for Success:

Hard work + Time + Passion + Good Content = Recipe for Success!

Why Blog World Expo?

It’s AWESOME!  What a great way to get to know companies and how you can work with them.  Get a break on their product to test it out.  Get the contact information, meet people, get their card so you can follow up with them.  It’s inexpensive, phenominal content and speakers, the people you meet at conferences that you talk with are easier to remember.

Why Google Sucks?

Did he really say “Google Sucks!”?  It’s all about writing for readers, not writing for Google.  Too many people just put content on their site to make money and not provide good, quality content.

Google doesn’t actually suck, it’s that people write for Google and not for quality content – WRITE FOR READERS! Just keep in mind QUALITY CONTENT!  “Google saved my life…”  If it takes saying “Google Sucks” to get people to realize they need to write good stuff, I’ll say Google Sucks to make a point!

Well, what do you think? If you’re starting an online business, do you have any days off?

Is life a living hell once you start your own business?  How do you ever have time to have fun and relax?

I’m in Door County, Wisconsin today working on one of my family vacation destination websites while at the same time attending a wedding of my wife’s best friend from high school. Although the “work” I’m doing is a bit stressful right now – sales, sales, sales – I’ve realized one thing, if you do something you really love and you’re passionate about, your business becomes more a lifestyle than a job.

If you’re doing what you love to do for your business, what does time off really mean then?

I was reading an article about entrepreneurship and success and thought you all might want to hear this:

…I’ve seen a lot of entrepreneurs profiled and interviewed. And countless times I’ve seen entrepreneurs express this sentiment: “I don’t remember the last time I had a vacation.” “I don’t have time to take any time off.” “I hope I make a boatload of money someday so I can ‘make up’ all the time my family has sacrificed.” To all of that, I say: BS. Entrepreneurship doesn’t have to mean the elimination of any other priorities in your life. I used to think that way. But now I make sure I take time for the things in my life that matter (family, community, personal time)…So my advice: If you’re an entrepreneur, for Pete’s Sake, take some time off!

My question to you all is the following:

If your primary reason for starting your own business was to get away from the 9 to 5 grind of working for someone else and to become financially free, how do you manage to keep all the priorities in order (family, community, personal time, etc.)?

Gary Vaynerchuk was one of the highlights at #bwe08! What a passionate, high-energy work horse. One of my favorite quotes from the event:

If you want to build a business you have to work your face off…

Other great tips:

This guy emulates the power of persistence, passion and hard work!

Here’s a video clip of what he shared (beware of language 🙂 – about 60 minutes of great stuff)

Gary Vaynerchuk Blog World Expo Keynote Speech from David Peralty.

This is a guest post by Brooke Peterson, owner of MyBestFurryFriend.com.

The American dream is to be your own boss and own your own business.  Anyone who has thought about starting a business finds that there are so many things to think about and so many things to do.  There are many publications on the steps to create your business entity from filing the legal documents, getting your tax id and determining the type of entity you need to set-up.  But, some of us, who have little or no creativity, need help in determining the product or service our business will provide.

This article is targeting those of us who wants ideas.  What do we need to think about when trying to decide the type of business we can run, afford and stay interested in?  There are several questions to consider:

1. What is my passion in life?  Can I find a service or product that relates to that passion?
2. Is my passion something someone else will purchase?
3. Do I want to produce a product for my business or market a product for another company?
4. What are my skills?  Can I be a manager, a creator, a marketer or all if I need to be?
5. Can I afford the costs of starting a business?
6. Will I have employees or do I want employees?
7. Do I want a small business to supplement my income or do I want to make this a business that I hope to grow and grow?

To get started, get a paper and pen.  You must write everything down.  Then look over your notes, something in those notes will strike a cord.  List all of the things you love to do in your life. Think of things that keep your attention, things that make you happy, things that are in your life every day.  If you are creative and are good with your hands think of things you can make.  If you have a good eye for decorating, good math skills, or are talented  in technology, think about all of your skills a build a business upon those skills.

Once you have found something you believe is a good idea you must verify that it is something that is marketable.

Your test market will be with your family and friends.  If it is a good product or service your ideas will be easily passed by word of mouth and the interest will translate into new sales.  If it is not, the reverse will be true and you will not have sales.

You must consider a few things now: Do I have the ability to mass produce my own product?  Do I have the space to store items I purchase to sell?  Or will I be able to have the product I sell stored by the company I purchase from?

Depending on the size and type of business you decide on, you may need to consider hiring employees.   If you have a baby blanket business you may want to have others do the sewing and you do the selling and managing.  If you have a technology consulting business you may need extra people to manage several clients.  If you’ve decided to sell another company’s product you may want others to box and ship the items for you.  Of course, you will have costs associated with your business.

Be sure to determine the dollars you want to spend on this new business.  The start up costs can surprise you,  from the legal filings for your business name to the new business bank account costs.  And, of course, the costs of any materials needed if you are the manufacturer or if you plan to purchase the products you will then sell.  Do your homework.

If your dream is to build a big business or to have a small operation out of your home, it is your dream.  It all takes work, big or small.  Don’t limit yourself, think positively and work, work, work. This will be the most rewarding adventure you have ever taken.  Take it from me, I did it!!

Brooke Peterson, owner of BIP Enterprises, LLC dba My Best Furry Friend, the maker of the most precious baby blankets on the planet.

Not sure what I can say about this, except that it was all in good Moller family fun!

No, my kids are not weird; no, this isn’t how it is in Utah :); and no, my wife and I don’t teach our kids to do this; but, it is pretty funny!

So, how can you relate this picture to starting an online business?

1. What you see isn’t always what you get? This picture didn’t happen accidentally – it took our photographer quite a few M&Ms to coerce my little boy to actually do this (thank goodness). Nor will starting an online business just happen overnight by coincidence.  It may look really simple – a turn key, get-rich-quick!  However, it’s takes time, effort and lots of energy to create a profitable business, both on and offline.
2. You have to have a niche and be passionate about it. Imitating what someone else is doing may “look” ok, but once you hit a few road blocks, the “rookies” that aren’t passionate about what they are doing will give up and quit!
3. Success breeds Success! 🙂 If you really love what you’re doing (as my wife and I do), others will follow.  The more you associate with the right people who are positive and successful, the better chance you have to succeed with your endeavor.  This is one of the main reasons I still work at Prosper Learning- it’s an entrepreneur’s dream job where we all get to help others while at the same time learning from one another and networking.

I look forward to some creative comments about how this picture relates to starting an online business!