Update

So, no new posts for a while. In my second business I paid for a mentor, and the preparation took a lot of time. Now that is past, and I have made a lot of progress. I have also completed my taxes for 2007 so now I am back to a regimented schedule which means more time for my internet business.

SEO / SEM

It looks like I am making a little progress, my contact form on one of my sites had its first submission today. I am optimized for somewhat long tail keywords (common keyword + state + town) and I have not found a way to test the specific search frequency. I am not sure if I should focus on improving content on the site, or searching for ways to drive in traffic.

Video intro

I put together a quick video intro to dtAlpha - I have started a couple more sessions, hope to post them soon.

http://www.jeremiahstover.com/spierce/

Status - update

Well folks, as you can tell, I fell in love with dtAlpha's talkback as soon as I saw it. I must admit I am addicted to information. The talkback format is great, imagine being able to get an actionable thought from a master marketer, and then be able to ask him questions and get responses, and see other peoples questions and answers. I look forward to using this resource more as my business expands to include for-sale products.

Do You Fumble Your Sales By Doing This?

I don't have product selection yet, but I like the idea. Marketing to your existing customers has so many advantages. Stephen provides an insight into maximizing your customers purchasing experience, providing them with as much as they want. I had never considered the implications of droping a customer before they were done but I can see the importance.

Read More...

3 Ways To Whack Your Business Into Profitable Shape

Back with another issue, this time not so challenging to existing thought processes. Stephen provides a framework for building a successful product. The core concept is to find an existing successful product and add value to it. He provides three different ways that value can be added. This has given me several ideas and I am off to work on them.

Read More..

Here’s How To REALLY Win In Business and Life

what is the real strategic goal of your business. Every person has a different response, but we do need to have an answer to this so we can focus our resources properly.

This is an awesome message by Stephen. I believe his purpose is to hone our focus so we can concentrate on the single most important thing to succeed. How do you deal with opportunity, what impact will your response have on your future? Listen to this 30 min audio and prepare to be challenged

Read More...

United We Fall, Divided We Stand…

Stephen's second installment as he tries to help us redefine our thinking on what we should focus on to make our businesses successfully. He has done a good job of taking the concept he introduced last time and expanding on it.
Your understanding of business and methods will define your comfort level. Unless you are always pushing the envelope, you will not be flexible enough to keep up with the changes in the market. A static presence will make your business fail. Much food for thought.
Full article

Planning vs Strategizing

This morning I read an article by Stephen Pierce that could very well end up being another defining element of my life. 'Fail to plan, plan to succeed' is an eye catching takeoff on a well know statement (fail to plan, plan to fail). After such a bold statement, it is hard to make the content live up to the promise, but I think he succeeded. His concept is that a plan is not flexible enough to ensure success in a business (the other guy has a plan too). To succeed you must have a strategy. The more I think about this concept, the more I realize that it lies behind my lack of success to date. I put way too much time into trying to perfect my system / plan when I should be moving forward, taking action. I am afraid that old habits die hard, so now I have a plan to learn about strategy so I can take action :-)

First thoughts - news ticker

DT-Alpha plans on becoming the next generation of online marketing training. It provides articles on marketing changes as soon as they are written, always staying up to date.

I find that concept quite interesting, but was quite skeptical that it would work. After the install you have a scrolling ticker across the top of your screen that shows article titles from one of the host authors. I am still not sure how well this will work, time will tell :-)

My previous method of study has been to do a topic search when I find I need some information. It will be interesting to see how this new technique will complement my current method.

dtAlpha Beta - Internet Marketing resource deluxe!

dt-Alpha is Stephen Pierce's latest venture, when I got the email announcing the BETA, I started checking my email twice as often waiting for an invitation. I was so worried I would miss the sign up as all of Stephen's products have exceeded my expectations. The concept of having all the resources I need for keeping up with the changes in the field of Internet marketing all located in one place is fascinating for me. I am looking forward to using this new resource and hope that I will be able to accelerate my online business to profitability using the new things I discover.

(As a side note, I enjoy learning just for learning sake, I don't have to apply the knowledge to appreciate it, this may explain some of my perspective).

Background

I'm 24 this year, and the oldest of a family of 9 children.

We all dream of owning our own homes one day, but are seeing that the usual J.O.B. won't let us get there. This has lead all of us to look at Self Employment where we can leverage our skills to improve our income. My specialty is computers so it did not take me long to start looking at the internet. I had the advantage of finding Stephen Pierce early on, and he introduced me to the concept of Internet Marketing. In many ways he (Stephen) is an ideal match for me, the thing that I appreciate most is his high integrity. As I have studied his materials, I have not found the technical aspects challenging (I face worse every day) but the product side is proving difficult.
I am fairly a-typical in my spending habits so I have a lot of trouble analyzing what people want, what they buy and thus what I should market. The learning process is a little slow, but I think I am making progress and I hope that someday (soon) I will know enough to start making some money online.

Back to blogging

I am a geek, I know, not a flattering description but true nonetheless. So my writing style is probably a bit technical and I suspect I miss some important usability issues. I am trying to improve my style, so please do let me know how I am doing. I worry that I provide

• too much detail
  
• too little detail
  
• use too much jargon
  
• leave my readers confused
  

Any feedback is appreciated.

May 30 blog entry

It has been quite a while since my last post. I am working at CSC still. I am now a programmer / developer for several web applications. I am brining a few personal websites online. There is so much to learn.

Second Page

I have started using a new browser interface (still Mozilla engine) called Flock. This browser is making progress.. it is worth keeping an eye on it and see what addins they develop.
I am editing this post from inside Flock - very interesting

2

Page 1

This is my first blog page - I want to see how it works
I am currently working at Computer Sciences Corporation as a Level 2 Helpdesk analyst (well it is called Remote Resolution Analyst). I am doing fairly well, but the job can be a little mundane at times. I am currently in training for UNIX support (06/21/05) - on Friday my instructor leaves for another job so I will be pretty much on my own then.

10/19/05 – I am now one of two people that manage UNIX support at the Level 2 helpdesk for all of Pratt Whitney – For the rest of the week the other person is out so I am on my own (. I have pretty much completed the learning stage for the support and am really looking for something more challenging.

06/25/05 I am currently reading several books including "Streams of living water" by Ruth Paxson - a good book on the deeper christian life.

10/19/05 – I am currently reading “Learning maps and memory skills” on mind mapping. It is proving interesting and I hope to implement some of the idas

10/19/05 I am reading “Goals” by Brian Tracy – this book is very good and full of excellent ideas – I am over half way through and have just purchased my own copy.

06/21/05 Cashflow Quadrant - a good read on the theory of money and how we are to handle it. (follow up book to "Rich Dad Poor Dad").

10/19/05 – I am reading “Business school for people that like to help people” By Robert Kiyosaki – this book is on MLM – and it appears that he highly recommends MLM (of the right kind) for building finances and business knowledge. Currently Looking into USANA and Legal. USANA does not appear to have quite enough product differentiation.

06/21/05 We are currently watching a set of video's from AIG (www.answersingenesis.org) which are quite good. I reccomend their book "Professor Fuzzy" as an excelent introduction to the basic philiosphical differences around us today and how we as christians need to view these "worldviews".    

10/19/05 Still trying to get my hands on a full set of videos by Major Ian Thomas – need to make contact with publisher again.

10/19/05 Just Purchased an Axim X5 300 palmtop – no accessories – should get it inside of a week – hope this helps with my scheduling

10/19/05 Cashflow 101 by Kiyosaki was pretty good – trying to get a copy of Cashflow 202 now without paying an arm and a leg. Looks like it will be all of $100 – hope to have it in time for this holiday season.

10/19/05 – nex day off is the 25th – family planning day – making a list of things about which we should talk
10/19/05 Putting together a list of foods for a large Salad bar. Eating out with the grandparents was very nice but the Salad bar was disappointing so I am working on creating our own. May even buy one every other month. It sounds so good I can hardly wait for the fast to be over.

10/19/05 Orcutts visit scheduled on the 29th (I think) may have their PC fixed by then if they will let me know what they want to do about its problems.