I didn’t start my business to change the world, I started it to pay the bills. I had been laid off, and I needed to find a way to replace my income. The past 18 months of becoming an entrepreneur have challenged me to do things that I never had to do before: sell my…
As entrepreneurs, our beautifully-designed PDF eBooks have too often been languishing in silos, distributed via our own isolated websites. We haven’t had a good way to see what other authorpreneurs like us have to offer, in a marketplace environment. Until now. Enter Ebookling — a new kind of eBook marketplace Ebookling is a wish come…
Good design lets people know you’re serious (or seriously fun). I’m going to bet many people reading this have heard of Chris Guillebeau from the ArtOfNonConformity.com. Chris made a big splash when he first appeared on the scene with his manifesto, 279 Days to World Domination. Chris has a writing style that is fresh and…
Chambered Nautilus Fossil ©2011 Hitchster It recently occurred to me that when I thought about my business challenges or spoke about them with others, we were often discussing underlying issues of personal growth. Becoming an entrepreneur, you soon realize that you — your strengths, weaknesses, skills, fears, limitations — are intricately connected to the growth…
Stockade Tavern in Kingston, N.Y., recently won the title of best drink selection in a recent reader poll by a local paper. They have been open for less than a year. Stockade is not a typical bar, it is an exceptional bar. The owners, Paul and Jenny, are absolutely obsessed with making perfect Prohibition-era cocktails….
I stole the title of this post from Pam Slim’s post about the client-centered business model. She had a realization that being helpful and interesting is great, but people do actually want to pay for effective solutions to their problems. For the search traffic hounds and affiliate marketers of the world, endlessly tweaking their SEO…
We all talk a lot about content, how you need it, how it should be meaningful, how it should be all that and a bag of chips. But how do you know if all this stuff you’re thinking up is really going to draw in the people you want to reach? If you were like…
(Note: There are no affiliate links in this post.) What if the Wright brothers sat around tweaking blueprints and talking about flight instead of testing their ideas? Information is wonderful, but we all know the implementation is what matters. I said earlier this week in my post about the conscious consumption of info-products that I…
Last week I read Pace and Kyeli’s thought provoking post about their 2011 Info Product Buying Ban. I create and sell info-products and help others do the same, and it really resonated with me, because we’ve all been there, buying things we don’t need or use. I purchased several info-products in 2010 that I didn’t…
Recently, I was in a bit of a funk, as you may well know. You see, I’ve always struggled with focusing on just one thing. I get crushes on ideas, I love the promise of a new project. While this joie de vivre has made for an interesting life, as an entrepreneur I’m realizing that…
I think of all the things I’ve experienced as a digital entrepreneur, launching a paid product has taught me the most about myself. Because of the large number of variables in the success of a launch — when you launch, the price point, your affiliates’ responsiveness, the title of the product, so forth — putting…
I’m often asked how eBook Evolution differs from this or that other eBook-centric product. So here’s my attempt at a cheat sheet and hopefully it will help you find what works for you. Disclaimer: I’ve included eBook Evolution in this roundup. Sure, I’m biased, also it’s not truly an eBook (there are lots of pieces to it)….
…free or paid. Figure out which ideas you’re most passionate about sharing. Discover which ideas resonate with your audience. Test and get feedback on your solutions. Learn how to break down your information into bite size pieces. Give bloggers a reason to interview you. Give bloggers something to review and generate affiliate income. Add “author…