So You Got The Memo . . .

. . . or you have stumbled in wondering what this is all about. In a simple sentence,

it is about what you are going to do with the second half of your life, especially

if you have been unceremoniously chucked from a job you have had for quite

a while, a job you worked hard at, sacrificed for, and relied upon to make the second-half a bit easier. Yup – that worked really well, didn't it? Even the GenXers, watching the Boomers hit the wall at 50-something, have begun to pound in their tent stakes against the time that the hurricane will hit their generation.

We are in a sea-change, where young and cheap is valued above old(er) and more skillful. Other than high-tech (any field) jobs, that require VERY advanced degrees,

we have produced a whole BUNCH of highly-trained hardworking folks who are

finding themselves without a job. No news there. But instead of sending out thousands of resumes over and over, eating more chocolate and calling your

single-malt by it's first name (HEY Glen! How ya doing today?) maybe it is time to switch lanes. Easier said than done, right? No, it is not easier. In fact, on some

levels it is a WHOLE lot harder, but if you succeed the only person who can fire

or retire you is YOU! You get to be 100% responsible for your life, your successes (and your failures – and there will be some) and how you choose to structure the quality of your life.

One of my favorite movie lines comes from “You've Got Mail” (yes guys – it's

a chick flick. Suck it down!) In the movie, as Kathleen Kelly (Meg) tells the table

she has decided to close her shop, Birdie (Jean Stapleton) says “Closing the shop.

It is the BRAVE thing to do.” When Kathleen asks why, Birdie replies

“Because you are daring to imagine a different life, a different future.”

She then equivocates, but that is beside the point. MY point is that you are not what you DO, you are what you KNOW! Start there.

Since I am an entrepreneur to the bone, have started 3 businesses, and have

been entirely self-employed for the last 20 years, I have a unique, if quirky,

way of looking at the creation of a business that actually WORKS, and that generates revenue which contains a net margin (net margin is what you charge

for it, i.e. $10, MINUS what it costs you to do/make including labor i.e. $7 = $3

net margin). We will  explore this process – identifying what you KNOW

so as to make money on the web that actually contains a net margin -

in a later chapter.

One of the classic canards in the wholesale world I inhabited for a decade was presented as a question . . . "Do you know how to make a small fortune in business? 

  Answer:  "Start with a large one."

So first, by way of introduction and so that you understand how I view the web,

and because I don't want to have to keep bringing this up when we begin to

actually TALK about how to think about your website, I am going to tell you

one of the BIG no-nos now.

NEVER get involved in a website where you are offered the opportunity to set-up your own store using one of their templates, for the purpose of going into their

catalog as a “seller” and putting things from their catalog on your “store” website.

They will offer to handle the sale, ship the merchandise, and to send you the

“profit” for the sale. What they have done is turn you into a sales rep who is

PAYING for the web hosting (a revenue stream for them) and selling their

warehouse of virtually mediocre stuff to anyone who accidentally

stumbles into your store, because you are working with the same merchandise as hundreds of other sellers in their program. There will be no KEY WORDS

(how you are found in a search engine) or descriptions (page titles) that

will ever get you closer than page 400 in the search engines. JUST DON'T DO IT.

It is a legal pyramid scheme. You'll be out of it in a year.

The point is to take what you KNOW and LOVE, and apply it to a business you

can create and manage on the web – even if it is a local service – that is designed and styled BY YOU as a match to your abilities and passions. Unless you have

complete ownership over this thing you want to create, it will not succeed.

(I know there are some affiliate renevue streams out there that work for some people, but they are more miss than hit unless you are a techie and find

the right slot).

So our journey together is to help you identify that special ability you have, and

then to decide how to roll it out. You will have the added benefit that whatever

you create will be genuine, and not another template-based punch-card built by

a 14 year old with perfect eyesight (hence the 6 pt type) who lands you on

a page so crammed with junk that you can't find the product or service you had searched for in the first place. That is also, by the way, why marketing people

should not be allowed to build websites. Their mandate is SALES and PITCH,

which often results in one ugly cluttered page. We will get to that too, later.

So go out into the yard, open your arms wide to the sky, and scream

at the top of your lungs NEXT!

I WANT NEXT!!! I AM READY FOR NEXT!!!

When you have done that and finally REALLY believe it, then go to Chapter 1.

My brilliant coder George will be working on the blog format for this, so we can talk.

It will be moderated, as I will allow nothing here but on-topic questions and observations. People will simply have to sell their sex toys elsewhere. In the

meantime I have created a special e-mail where you can send in questions if

you have any that I can post and answer for others to see. For the near-

term if you have questions or something to share send it to:

     TheOldBroadSpeaks@gmail.com

I will be adding more material relatively soon.

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