My First Affiliate Checks and How It All Started!

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Affiliate marketing has completely changed the way advertising and business are done on the internet today. What started out as a simple referral-based monetization platform from Amazon, and then soon adopted by Google, quickly spread throughout the industry and is now used by millions of businesses and brands around the internet today. At the same time, affiliate marketing first got its start in the United States, but soon found itself making its way around the world over the years.

One of the most common things United States-based affiliate marketers and brands neglect to focus on is the power of affiliate marketing and targeting towards other countries around the world. Just because you are living in a specific country or region, it doesn’t mean that you should be focusing all of your advertising and online marketing efforts there. This is especially true when you factor in the amazing demographic and geographic targeting options available online today. At the same time, language and translation barriers are really no excuse as well — there are plenty of low-cost services out there that this can be outsourced to.

Affiliate marketing in the U.S. is expected to be worth $6.8 billion over the next five years; in the UK alone it is already worth $1.6 billion. With these two markets already in demand and quite saturated, it might be best to start focusing your efforts on Asia. It was also pointed out that “Asia’s e-commerce spending hit US$1 trillion in 2016 alone”. (source)

With all of this in mind, today we are going to take a look at affiliate marketing in Asia, and why it simply can’t be ignored. Special thanks to Leadbit, an industry leading direct advertiser and affiliate network, for providing the infographic visuals and stats on each of these breakdowns.

Affiliate Marketing in India

Of all the countries and regions in the world today, India is growing at one of the fastest rates — both with people and their technology. More people are getting online than ever before, and with a population of more than 1.3 billion, this market is huge enough for any business or affiliate marketer to see huge results from. At the same time, of those 1.3 billion, less than half of them have access to the internet (whether it be through the internet or mobile devices).

When it comes to internet usage, most Indians are spending their time watching online video and using social networking platforms — both of which offer amazing demographic targeting and advertising options. It’s also important to consider your language usage and targeting as well. While English is one of the main languages in India, it’s just one of many.

As for promoting offers in India, this is something that many affiliate marketers and brands might struggle with, as traffic to individuals with India is usually pretty cheap, but the conversion rate on any type of credit card or payment offer is usually low. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t find success. Evergreen offers like weight loss, health supplements, and anything else that everyday people need on a daily basis is well worth a test in this region.

Affiliate Marketing in Thailand

While India is one of the largest world markets that many brands and affiliate marketers are taking advantage of right now, Thailand is also making its way onto the radar. With a population of around 70 million, and more than half having access to the internet, this demographic is quickly getting online and looking to take advantage of what the internet has to offer.

Just like with promoting offers in India, it will be tough to find winners, but again… traffic costs are also at a fraction of what you would expect to pay to target countries like the United States, Germany, New Zealand and others.

Internet usage in Thailand is mainly focused on search engines, social networks and shopping online. Thailand residents who have access to the internet, are getting online nearly every day.

Affiliate Marketing in Vietnam

The common theme that we are seeing with affiliate marketing across Asia, is that the traffic sources are cheap, and the monetization and affiliate offers are slim. The benefit here is that the competition is low, but if you can master the art of finding success with one offer in an Asian country, you can likely replicate it with others as well.

Next, on the list, we have Vietnam. With a population of almost 100 million people and nearly half of them being online, this market is just waiting to earn affiliate marketers millions of dollars. Like many other countries on this list, social media and search engines are the best ways to reach such audiences.

When it comes to social media in Vietnam, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Google+ Lead the way — which is quite different from what you might be used to seeing in US and English-based markets.

Affiliate Marketing in Singapore

Singapore is one of the most well-known and recognized names in the world, yet they only have a population of around 6 million people, which more than half of them already being online. With an average daily internet usage of seven hours, most users are spending their time in the search results, social networks and watching online videos.

One of the key takeaways to remember about targeting an audience in Singapore, is that 91% of the people in the country are accessing the internet daily. Even though there are less than 10 million people in the country, almost all of them are accessible online.

Affiliate Marketing in Indonesia

As we move away from the small population of Singapore, we jump over the massive population of Indonesia, which is around 262 million. With more than half of the country already having access to the internet, it’s yet another country on our list that will offer an amazing opportunity with demographic and geographic targeting, while also offering low-cost traffic in the process.

Something to consider when marketing to Indonesia, is that Islam is the main religion of the country. Considerations here shouldn’t be just on the language and religion factors, but also what type of offers might better apply to them as well.

Like many other countries, Indonesia is very social media hungry — with more than 106 million people accessing social networks regularly. With Facebook being the number one social platform of choice, it also paves the way for great demographic advertising through the Facebook Ads platform.

Affiliate Marketing in Taiwan

Taiwan is another big name in Asia, and there are currently has more than 23 million people living in the country. What makes this country stand out from others in it’s surrounding areas, is that there is a heavy demand for Facebook, and a great majority of people in the country already have access to the internet.

With more than seven hours of internet browsing taking place daily, most of this time is spent on search engines and social media, while some shopping and emailing, of course, takes place as well.

Affiliate Marketing in Hong Kong

Another well-known name, yet small in population, is Hong Kong. With nearly all of their population already having access to the internet, if you can find a profitable way to market to this audience, you could find some big success.

More than 97% of residents within the country are accessing the internet daily, mostly to use search engines and social networks — while also spending 6 hours a day online in the process. The one demographic stat to point out here is that 38% of the population falls into the 25-34 age range, which is perfect for selling products, services and offers to. However, it’s simply a matter of finding the right offer to promote and squeezing enough profit out in the process.

Affiliate Marketing in China

Last but not least… we have the massive population of China, which currently sits at 1.4 billion. With so many different factors at play, China can be one of the most profitable, yet frustrating, markets to master. Not only will affiliates and brands have to master the art of language and translation, they will also need to cater to a whole new world of regulation, censorship, and limitations that Chinese users have to deal with on a daily basis.

Of all the countries mentioned in our list, China has a steady structure of what users are doing when they get online — which consists of mostly shopping online, checking the weather, communicating through social media and downloading photos online. Something interesting you will also notice is that none of the major social networks are in play here either. (as they are mostly all blocked)

China is a massive multi-billion dollar market, but also one of the most confusing to master. There is also a lot of focus on how affiliate marketing is bringing new brands and businesses into the Chinese market right now as well. Since this method has worked so well in other countries, there is no reason why we shouldn’t continue to see the same success as more brands make their way into China.

How to Find the Best Affiliate Offers to Promote in Asia

While we tried to cover the many different ways affiliate marketing can play a role in Asia, it’s actually more about how to best understand, target, and monetize the audiences around you. With so many traffic sources and demographic targeting options available today, it’s quite easy to run an ad campaign to any of the countries listed below, and also doing a quick split test.

The other factor in play here is to find an affiliate network that provides access to offers for each of these countries. When doing so, be sure to keep an eye out for different ad copy, creatives, and landing pages that are already pre-built to the specifications of each country (ie: in their own language and style).

As mentioned at the beginning of the article, special thanks to Leadbit for the visuals and stats to make this post possible. Affiliate marketing is changing all of the time, and if you want to stay ahead of the curve, you need to start expanding your campaigns to new areas of the world.

Leadbit currently has affiliate offers for all of the countries listed above. Be sure to check out their ad network and explore your options with affiliate marketing in Asia today.

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End of School Party At Monarch Bay Club

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It’s the end of the school year and that mean it’s time to party! And what better place to celebrate end of school than at the private beach of the Monarch Bay Club, where membership starts at $1,500 per month.

How To Live The Ultimate Dot Com Lifestyle

I have many internet products and services that makes me money while I’m sleeping. Continuity affiliate programs like Aweber, LeadPages, ClickFunnel, and others ensure a steady flow of income no matter what I’m doing or where I am in the world.

Click Here To Download John Chow’s New eBook, The Ultimate Online Profit Model!

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How Lauren Bush Lauren Hustled a Customs Agent to Save the First Order of FEED Bags

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The founder of the mission-driven FEED looks back on turning her passion project into a fully formed business operation -- and finding the right partners to help the brand grow.

June 12, 2018

6 min read

In the Women Entrepreneur series My First Moves, we talk to founders about that pivotal moment when they decided to turn their business idea into a reality—and the first steps they took to make it happen.

“I wouldn’t say I’m an accidental entrepreneur, but I definitely didn’t start out with a business plan,” says Lauren Bush Lauren, the founder and CEO of FEED, the social business that sells products—primarily bags and accessories—that fund the distribution of food to children in need across the world. Like many entrepreneurs, Bush Lauren wanted to solve a problem and realized, somewhat by chance, that starting a business was the best way to create a solution. In 2007, she launched FEED, and it’s since grown into a household brand and is responsible for having distributed more than 100 million meals around the world. But in its earliest days, the CEO learned primarily through trial and error.

Step 1: Focus your passions and pitch your idea.

Bush Lauren had gotten involved with the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) early in her college career at Princeton, working as a student ambassador to get young people to engage with the organization. She’d traveled to both Central America and Africa with the WFP, and each time returned feeling inspired but frustrated. “There are so many amazing programs helping so many children around the world, and it made me feel like the issue of hunger is very solvable -- but at the same time, it’s very abstract and difficult for people to engage with,” she says. “It was a shock to see the realities of hunger and poverty, and it was an equal shock to return to America and college life and struggle to engage my peers in conversation on this issue.” Her idea for the FEED bag was to create a covetable item that directly related to the issue of hunger; the burlap material mirrors the rations bags that distribute food around the world. A portion of sales would go back to the organization. She took it to the WFP, which was supportive, if not completely convinced of its potential. “I think the idea seemed outlandish to them, and for the most part, they didn’t quite get it,” she says. “But it just made me think that they’re so great at what they do, and here is something that I can contribute in a space they’re not focused on. Build a separate social business to tell that story.” Today, the WFP is still FEED’s biggest giving partner.

Related: How the Rifle Paper Co. Founders Turned a Side Hustle Into a Thriving Lifestyle Brand

Step 2: Leverage your existing network.

There’s no denying that Bush Lauren is better connected than most budding entrepreneurs. She is, after all, the granddaughter of the 41st president, had a successful modeling career while she was in college and at the time she started working on FEED, was dating her now-husband David Lauren, the son of Ralph Lauren. “I had taken design classes, but I didn’t necessarily know how to bring something to the market,” she says. “But I tapped into those resources in my own network, my friends in the fashion industry and asked around. I got help on technical pieces of design that I didn’t quite know how to perfect. I got proper production contacts. I asked a ton of questions.” She spent eight months working with a potential production partner before her first prototype was perfected. “You’d think a tote bag made of burlap and cotton wouldn’t be complicated,” she says, “but we really wanted to make it a billboard for the brand and message. And we still work with that manufacturer today.”

Related: How Research, Research, and More Research Led the Co-Founder of Billie to a Successful Launch

Step 3: Fight for your product. Literally.

After Bush Lauren had a sample she was happy with, she started taking orders just from friends and family. “Those first sales were pretty grassroots,” she says. “I’d just been talking to people about this bag for so long, they were just like, 'Sign me up for five.'” She had placed an order for a couple hundred items and asked the manufacturer to ship them to her at the UN. “We got a call from customs at JFK Airport asking where our customs broker was,” she recalls. “It’s someone who signs and vouches for products, but it’s very nuanced, and it’s a specific job. But we didn’t have that, because I had no clue that was a thing that existed.” So she and a team member rented a minivan, drove to JFK and unpacked their shipment in front of a customs official. “After four hours of us begging to get our bags out of customs, this poor guy felt so bad for us, he bought one! But I’m pretty sure it was a pity purchase,” she says, laughing. “It was very triumphant.”

Related: How the Founders of LOLA Learned to Talk Up the Feminine Hygiene Market

Step 4: Think big, even if your operation is small.

Feeling empowered, the founder starting talking to “anyone who would listen,” she says. A helpful network of mentors and casual advisors led her to a contact at Amazon, who would prove invaluable to FEED and its future. “At this point, it was 2006, the beginning of the green movement and reusable bag movement, so it was very timely,” Bush Lauren says. She convinced Amazon to do a small test of her product, and the internet giant placed an order for 500 bags. “One of my best friends from college built our first website, and it linked to the product on Amazon, so we never had to fulfill our own orders,” Bush Lauren says, adding that some fashion-world press in publications like Marie Claire helped get the word out about FEED and its mission. “We sold those bags in two or three months, way faster than either party anticipated. After a year and a half, we’d sold 20,000, and they were our exclusive seller.”

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7 Ways to Get Better at Working With Others

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Clarity and kindness go a long way.

June 12, 2018

4 min read

Success is impossible without communication and collaboration. While your business idea might begin in your head, in order to scale your company you’re going to need other people to help realize and execute your vision. But even if you're still in the corporate world, working on your side hustle, teamwork is an essential skill.

Here are seven ways to get better at working with others.

1. Provide clear and constructive feedback.

Group working situations can be fraught, especially when it comes to deadline pressure. But to avoid fights that will only take time away from the task at hand, use this strategy when you come up against a conflict. It’s OK to disagree with someone’s take, but rather than only emphasizing the negative, bring an actionable solution to the table that helps move things forward. That way, the person isn’t just hearing, “I hate this and this is a terrible idea,” but “I’m concerned about this for X reason, what about this instead?

2. Give credit where credit is due.

If someone has a great idea, acknowledge it, not just within the team, but when you’re talking to supervisors or investors. It will make individuals feel valued and more invested in the outcome of the project. It could be something such as a hall of fame wall or an ongoing chat where team members give shoutouts about a job well done. When people feel stressed and exhausted, being able to have a concrete memory of successes can help them keep going.

3. Own up to your mistakes.

If something goes wrong and it’s your fault, be honest about it. Nothing can be fixed unless you're up front about what happened. While you might have an impulse to underplay it or sweep it under the rug -- don’t. It will only cause more problems later. And don’t try to blame someone else. It’s not a good look and worse, it will make people less likely to help you.

Related: 12 Tips for Fostering Teamwork

4. Understand your strengths.

Before launching into a project with a new team, it’s important to take inventory of your and your teammate’s strengths and weaknesses. If you try to do everything and be all things to all people, you could burn out and end up alienating team members that just want to help achieve the same goal. And it’s not just about your particular skill set. It’s important to ask yourself, How do I think about work? Do you lead with facts and figures or a gut feeling? Are you a consensus builder or someone people look to when an executive decision needs to be made? Do you need more freeform time to come up with ideas, or are you more structured? Establishing these approaches early can avoid any surprises down the road.

5. Set a schedule and stick to it.

Emergencies can throw everything out of whack, so from the start establish as a team some ground rules, such as when, where and how long you’re meeting. It is easier to carve out time to devote all your energy to the project instead of being pulled in all sorts of directions. Figure out how people like to convene and talk things out. Are you fans of short daily meetings or a longer weekly or biweekly one? Would you rather do an email or chat update at the end of the day? Just make sure that no matter what you choose, you’re all on the same page.

6. Be realistic about your timetable.

It makes sense that you’d want to do everything that is asked of you, but if someone in the group asks for a deadline that isn’t achievable, say so, and ask for some leeway or help. While at first glance it might seem like they have unreasonable expectations, they may just not know about all the moving parts and how long things take to be completed.

7. Say thank you.

Kindergarten rules still apply. Gratitude goes a long way when you’re working in a potentially stressful situation. A baseline level of courtesy helps with communication, maintaining a positive attitude and building ties among teammates.

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Choose Wisely: Your Logo's Color Could Change How They Perceive You

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People perceive power when they see the color black. Researchers once surveyed the stats for 52,000 professional hockey games. They found that teams who wore black jerseys received more penalties for aggression than teams that didn’t.

While color doesn’t technically exist (without our eyes to interpret, color would merely be light waves), it has a profound effect upon our minds. It can change how hungry we are, whether we find someone attractive, and it can even make us nauseous.

It follows that color in company logos could either attract or deter customers. Ask yourself, why are some logos more attractive than others? Most likely, it has a lot to do with the colors used.

Here’s what your company logo’s color tells your customers.

1. Your Logo Says You Smell Musty

A group of researchers asked 6 different cultural groups what odors they associated with different colors and vice versa. Across all six cultural groups, the answers were strikingly similar.

The group of researchers used smell markers and computer images. None of the colors or smells were labeled. This ensured that no semantic associations arose.

They found that color associations like brown for musty or pink for sweet were fairly universal.

If your business deals in food-based goods, you might want to be careful what colors you choose for marketing and logos.

2. Your Logo Screams GO!

When you take a look at the color orange, how do you feel? Colors often instill a sense that you should or should not do something. Researchers got curious about this kind of arousal and did a study on what kinds of emotions colors could incite.

They found that colors like yellow, red or orange incite feelings of action and arousal. These warm colors create associations in the brain with particular actions.

But the opposite is true of cool colors. If you’re looking to impune a sense of calm choose blue or a similar color. If you’re a psychiatrist who treats anxiety, you probably don’t want to use orange for your logo.

3. Is Your Logo Positive or Negative?

We’re all pretty much done with the Gap, I’m sure. But when you think of the gap, you see bright and airy. Their commercials always underlined this thought with white backgrounds and young people in pastels dancing around like life was nothing but cherry pie.

While their logo could have used a facelift, their general marketing color scheme shouted happy fun times. If you want to do the same with your logo, toss in bright colors.

Another group of researchers studied college students. They asked for associations with either dark or light colors.

The light colors elicited positive responses: happy, relaxed, excited. The dark colors elicited negative responses: anxious, bored, sad.

Unless you’re Hot Topic or a metal band, go for bright colors.

4. Double Up With Color and Letter in Your Logo

A weird and fascinating study found that we associate various letters with colors. They conducted this study on only English-speaking people, but it might have wider application.

We associate some letters with colors due to education. For example, if you’ve read The Scarlet Letter by Hawthorne, you probably associate the letter A with red.

We associate some colors with letters without any education. The researchers found that illiterate children associated X with black. They also found that children associated any nonsensical shape with white.

Illiterate children associate shape with color. This is how we naturally make associations. But once we’ve learned a new association, we re-map our brains and overwrite the natural associations.

If you’re a blogger, you’re targeting a more literate audience. Consider letter and color associations when picking your logo colors. A little bit of research could turn up a host of useful associations.

5.  Strength Vs. Weakness in Your Logo

A study done in 1973 showed a correlation between color and perception of strength. Red and Black are strong colors and they give people a sense of strength. But white, yellow, and grey are weak colors.

If you’re putting on a tough trail race, go ahead and put red and black in your logo. People will feel strong and want to participate.

6. Put Red in Your Logo If You’re Looking to Attract

Researchers have conducted a ton of studies on the color red. They universally agree that it creates a feeling of attraction and desire or at least enhances this effect.

One team showed images of women to men and men to women. They would show the same woman to several men but change the background color alternating between red and white. They did the same with women.

They found that people rated the same person more attractive in the photos with the red background than they did with the white. They tried the same thing with clothing, alternating white shirts and red shirts. Same effect.

Do Your Research

Putting the science of color behind your logos will greatly enhance your brand image. Do your research and be careful how you choose your colors. What works from some regions may not work for others.

 

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Head Into Your Next Male-Dominated Meeting Ready to Contribute by Following These Tips

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The fact that there's no one else who looks like you at the table makes it all the more important that you participate and show your stuff.

June 12, 2018

7 min read

Each edition of this Women Entrepreneur series, Behind the Numbers, presents a stat about a disadvantage women face at work and in business, examines the dynamics at play and provides guidance to help women overcome obstacles.

In meetings where both men and women are present, women speak 25 percent less than men on average, a study published in the American Political Science Review found. The fact that women generally are outnumbered among their professional peers may explain their relative silence: Only 37 percent of managers and 18 percent of C-suite executives are women, according to McKinsey research. Being part of a minority group can make you feel like an outsider -- even more so if your male colleagues are older or more senior than you.

This phenomenon affects women in all types of professions: Even former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who traveled the world as a diplomat, had trouble with it. Some people have turned to tech in an attempt to help women find their voices. A team of developers participating in last year’s BBC 100 Women Challenge created a voice recognition app, which they named All.ai (“ally”), to measure women’s participation in meetings. It generated breakdowns, including what percentage of the comments a user contributed and in what tone of voice.

Meetings are a major opportunity for women to get noticed, says Jill Flynn, a founding partner of Flynn Heath Holt Leadership, a Charlotte, N.C.-based organization focused on developing women leaders. This doesn’t mean women have to prove themselves as the smartest person in the room or on a conference call, but your minority presence is going to make you more noticeable, and, frankly, judged harder by some. “So it’s your chance to shine, so to speak,” Flynn says.

Flynn offers a range of tips for women who want to connect and gain insider status in male-dominated work settings.

1. Remember the ‘meeting before the meeting.’
Do your homework, first of all, Flynn advises. “Treat the meeting as if you’re visiting a foreign country,” and gather as much background information as you can. What is the purpose of the meeting? Does the agenda include a decision to be made? If you already know someone else who’s slated to attend, chat with them about what you might expect before you go in, especially if they’ve attended similar meetings in the past. Get a sense, if you can, of the style of the meeting’s leader. Are their discussions generally structured in a certain way? Finally, even if it’s a routine meeting you attend often, don’t write it off, Flynn says. Think about how others interact in those meetings, and prepare questions or comments accordingly.

Related: For Women Looking to Start a Company, Here Are 3 Ways to Propel Yourself to Success

2. Gear up for some small talk.
Get to the meeting early, whenever possible, and set aside some time to chat with others before it starts. Introduce yourself, and maybe someone will introduce you to others. This will help you figure out the tone for the meeting and break the ice so you’re comfortable. If you’re worried that you have nothing in common with a man 20 years your senior, Flynn insists otherwise. Start by asking questions like, “Have you been on this committee before?” Or mention a company where you used to work. You might find the person you’re chatting with knows someone who used to work there, or that they, themselves, did. (You never know!) Be informal, she says, because that’s how men tend to form relationships. You can even bring up family or travel, but whatever you do, Flynn warns, “Don’t go to the weather. That’s the go-to, which is empty” and impersonal.

3. Show you’re paying attention.
Beyond what you do or do not say in a meeting, your nonverbal body language speaks volumes. Nod, smile and make eye contact with the person who’s speaking. This means, Flynn says, that you shouldn’t take notes. If you need to jot down something to remember for later, that’s fine, but if you’re writing down everything, others will more likely view you as an executive assistant or a junior member of the team. “Women always, when we say this, argue with us,” Flynn says of the advice she and her partners frequently give discouraging note-taking. “But multitasking means that you’re disengaged. It’s a signal.” Avoid looking at your phone or using your laptop, too. Even if others are on their devices, you should still keep yours off the table when possible to avoid getting sucked into your email or distracted in some other way.

4. Contribute beyond your expertise.
Sometimes, “the only time a woman talks in a meeting is if it is on her topic,” Flynn explains. “But that’s not really what leaders do. Leaders have a broad view of the business.” If you’re in the marketing department, for example, don’t just talk about marketing. Ask questions or make suggestions for other departments or the organization at large. Flynn reassures that while you don’t have to master this right away, it’s a skill you should work on over time.

5. Assert yourself.
Use active, authoritative language and don’t qualify or downplay the things you say. Using what Flynn and her partners call “muscular language” will get your point across confidently and concisely. Instead of starting a sentence with “How about …” use a phrase like “I strongly suggest … .” To show agreement, say, “I agree completely, because,” and provide elaboration that shows you know your stuff. Cut out “maybe” and “what if” and be direct. Another aspect of being assertive, Flynn says, is making sure your credentials get mentioned, if those you’re meeting with don’t know your background. If you’re worried about sounding arrogant or awkward, try to find a way to weave in the information organically. For example, Flynn says, you don’t have to say, “I have a Ph.D.” Find an anecdote that makes sense to share in the context of the conversation, like, “While I was working on my doctorate …”

Related: 3 Powerful Lessons From Women With Ambition

6. Know that it’s not over when the meeting’s over.
When the meeting ends, linger if you can, Flynn suggests. Don’t book your calendar back to back so you have to dart off right away, and don’t think of any post-meeting conversations as a waste of time. “Women are so into believing that their real work is back at the desk, doing email, talking to their staff,” Flynn says. “Stay after, because now, you’ve had this meeting, this common experience, and you’ve got more to talk to these people about.” You can connect with people about things you’d like their guidance on or that you’d like to chat more about. Or, you can let someone know that something they said during the meeting interested you, and explain why.

You might pick up on how others viewed the meeting -- maybe someone will mention to you that they thought it was a waste of time. You can observe these reactions and get a better sense of what others think, which will help you in making informal connections. And whether or not you chat with others immediately after the meeting, you can always make a note to yourself about who you want to follow up with, maybe for a one-on-one meeting or to volunteer to work on something with someone. “You can come into the meeting as an outsider,” Flynn says. “Don’t walk out as an outsider.”

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IHOP, #IHOb, And Lying To Your Fans As A Marketing Strategy

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Social media exploded with the news, released June 4, that IHOP (International House of Pancakes) was to change their name  to “IHOb”. Yesterday they announced they aren’t really changing their name. They were lying. It was just a marketing ploy. Ugh.

IHOP announced the “name change” on June 4, 2018 with a new verified Twitter feed at @IHOb and the announcement:

“For 60 pancakin’ years, we’ve been IHOP. Now, we’re flippin’ our name to IHOb. Find out what it could b on 6.11.18. #IHOb”.

Many IHOP fans were concerned

People wanted to know: What’s going on with the brand we love?

Thousands of fans thought the name change was true and they didn’t like it one bit.

Fans said things on social media like:

• "IHOP is changing its name to IHOB and while people think it stands for "breakfast" I'm putting my money on BETRAYAL"


• “just found out ihop is changing their name to ihob and I feel like many of my constitutional rights are being violated”


• “IHOP JUST CHANGED IT'S NAME TO IHOB?! THEY ARE FAMOUS FOR PANCAKES, MAN. PANCAKES!”

Others said things on social media specifically calling out the marketers involved:

• “International House of Bad marketing decisions”


• “I want to be a fly on the wall at the marketing meetings”


• “Dear @IHOb Changing from a proven business model and going in a new direction is a great idea. Regards, New Coke”

“IHOb” even retweeted an image of a crane replacing an IHOP sign with an IHOb one, making the idea that they really are changing their name even more plausible.

Many mainstream media outlets published stories as if the impending name change were true including The Washington Post, Florida’s Sun-Sentinel newspaper, Yahoo, and several local ABC and CBS network affiliated televisions stations.

Some people tryed to guess what “IHOb” could mean. Many guessed “International House of Bacon” and “International House of Breakfast”. Others got cute, suggesting weird things like “International House of Bjork” and “International House of Bitcoin”. Chiquita tweeted “International House of Bananas” and the musician Brian Eno tweeted “International House of Brian Eno”. 

Then, yesterday, IHOb, er… IHOP let the world know the answer. “Just kidding!”

They aren’t really changing their name. It was simply a way to get social media talking about the fact that you can go to IHOP for more than just breakfast and, oh yeah, now we have burgers too.

It turns out that for IHOP, lying is a marketing strategy

Is lying in public is so widespread in America in 2018 that marketers feel compelled to use it as a ploy to get attention?

And don’t even get me started about politicians! It seems that nobody believes what our leaders say. It’s like theater. When they run for election, they make promises that voters know they won’t keep. And when they get to office they say anything they want. 

Here are other statements that I frequently see that I simply don’t believe anymore.

• Your call is important to us.


• Due to higher than expected call volume, your wait time is longer than normal.


• We love our customers.


• This is the best price I can offer.

Sure, this IHOb thing was just a marketing stunt. You might say "Lighten up, David. It was funny." Yes, it certainly got attention.

But the idea of messing with the truth when communicating with the fans of your company and its products isn’t good marketing. It’s deception.

Newsjacking IHOb

Of course, the burger chains got in some clever newsjacking. Burger King even changed their name on social media to Pancake King.

It seems to me that they’re all laughing at IHOb, not with IHOP.

 

Remember when you were like 7 and thought changing your name to Thunder BearSword would be super cool?
Like that, but our cheeseburgers are still better.

— Wendy's (@Wendys) June 11, 2018

 

👦: Grandpa, do you remember the Great Burger Wars?
👴: lol no I was chillin drinkin milkshakes and trying to make sense of Westworld

— Denny's (@DennysDiner) June 11, 2018

 

As much as we love our pancakes, we'd never change our name to Whatapancake

— Whataburger® (@Whataburger) June 11, 2018

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Maximizing Your YouTube Videos – Part 2

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You are now reading Part 2 of the series and we’ll be going over the last two important factors when maximizing your YouTube.com videos. This is important because we all know how important YouTube is when building brand awareness and this can be huge for someone starting out in the industry. The next two I’ll be discussing are very important and many people don’t take these seriously, but they need to be considered so you can maximize the return on your videos. Let’s jump right in and your feedback will be greatly appreciated.

Inner Linking

YouTube allows bloggers to flourish and has a system in place to create playlists and channels. It’s a good practice for bloggers to create videos within the same niche and around the same topic so you can inner-link them all. However, you have to make sure you know what you are doing so it’s important to educate yourself about the entire process. For example, from my experience, there are two cool ways you can internally link videos.

First, you can link by adding text within the video and have the user click through to another video. This is very simple to do and YouTube provides you with the complete interface to get all this done. Next, you can direct people to your personal channel, which will have all your other videos listed. However, if you have multiple channels, then it’s important to send them to relevant channels with related videos. I like creating multiple channels around “1” topic and send people to a corresponding channel if I feel it will provide them with additional information.

Average Time Watched

I was watching a video by Brian Dean from Backlinko.com and he mentioned something very interesting about YouTube videos in reference to ranking them. For example, it’s one thing to have views, but a completely different element is average time watched. The longer a video is watched, the better because this means you are providing more value than your competitors. Many people often use manipulative software to increase the views and time watched, but YouTube has a sophisticated algorithm in place to make sure the views are quality. For example,

First, how many times a person comes back and watches the video is a great way to show you provide value. I have gone back and watched a video 1-3 times when I really enjoyed it. Secondly, the commands of stop, pause, and play all have a very important part because this is natural human behavior. Think about how many times you pause and rewind to go over some information you missed the first time around when you are watching a video. This is all natural human behavior and YouTube is aware of this so use it within their algorithm. Third, interacting with videos while watching and some of these include reading comments, clicking on text, and advertisements within the video at different times.

Wrapping it up…

YouTube is a video sharing platform that has been growing each year and is huge for bloggers looking to expand their brand. I’ll admit I don’t use it as much as I should be, however, I do have some videos that have not only converted into profits, but also send relevant people to my blog. The easy part is uploading your video and the MOST difficult is getting started with research, creating, and editing. The good news about this process is that once you have created a video, then, going forward, you won’t have as much trouble as before. You’ll get use to creating videos just like you have with writing content for your blog.

Here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Average time matters


• Link content


• Find the right video creation tool


• Tweak and test because some videos will work better than others to promote content and products. This applies to anything, like split testing landing pages.

Click Here To Download John Chow’s New eBook, The Ultimate Online Profit Model!

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17 Steps to Creating a Best-Selling Business Book

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As an expert, a book is your ultimate business card.

June 11, 2018

10 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

You're a respected business leader and expert, but there are hundreds of people who aren't aware of your knowledge. You've been thinking about how valuable your life lessons would be to others, and leaving a legacy is one of your deepest desires. There are all these things you want to accomplish; the question is, how or what is the best way to do it?

Related: I Published a Book 5 Years Ago and I'm Still Getting Paid. Here's How to Take Your Book From an Idea to a Source of Passive Income.

The short answer is with a book. It's a powerful way to increase visibility as millions of people have access to books through a variety of channels, such as online through Amazon or in person at the local library. Additionally, foreign publishers, including those in China, are seeking new books to introduce to their markets, which would also increase exposure.

As an expert, a book is your ultimate business card. Nothing increases your authority in the eyes of your customers, employees and strangers as much as being an author.

That said, most books struggle to sell more than a few hundred copies. Ensure your book has the potential of becoming a bestseller and revenue generator by following these 17 steps:

1. Positioning

It's important to start your book writing process with an end goal in mind. What will success look like for you?

In most instances, the key to success is finding an uncrowded niche. One of the top reasons I find that authors fail to meet their goals is not having identified a category where their book could simultaneously fit in and stand out.

With my book How I sold 80,000 Books, I fit into the book marketing niche by answering a key question (how do you sell more books?) while also standing out with my approach using the 4Ps marketing mix framework -- product, place, price and promotion.

Related: How to Use the Book You Wrote to Close Sales

2. Outline

Writers are either pantsers (someone who writes by the seat of her pants) or plotters (someone who plans or outlines her writing). I believe in planning because it's easier to engage your reader and convince them to take action if you know the result you want to achieve in the end.

Start with planning your outline:

1. A "hook," a sentence that's so fascinating that the reader continues on to the next and the next, and so on
2. A 25 percent point of no return
3. A 50 percent midpoint
4. A 75 percent point
5. A satisfying ending (and a call to action)

Readers and film viewers are wired to expect something big to happen at 25, 50 and 75 percent of the way through the movie.

3. Getting the ideas out of your head

Now that you have a goal and an outline, it's time to efficiently start your first draft.

The average adult typing speed is 38 to 40 words per minute. However, the average speaking speed is more than three times faster at 130 words per minute. Instead of spending years writing your book, do it in a couple of months by speaking and recording it.

One of the best things you can do when speaking your draft is to have someone interview you. Based on the interviewer's questions, this exercise can also help you identify any topics you need to better explain.

Related: How to Make Money From Your Book Without Selling a Single Copy

4. Transcript to manuscript

Once the audio file is complete, have it transcribed and then have a professional ghostwriter turn it into a manuscript.

When interviewing ghostwriters, ask candidates to provide work samples so you can get a sense of their style. I recommend that you do several '"test drives," having part of your transcript written by two or three different ghostwriters to see which style you prefer.

It's also equally important to have a good relationship with your ghostwriter. You'll want the person to adapt his or her writing style to your preferences so the book sounds like you.

5. Developmental edit

By now you should have the first draft of your manuscript, but you're not ready to publish it just yet. Double check to see if you followed the 25-50-75 percent framework mentioned in step 2 to identify any missing elements.

This is where a developmental editor is crucial because it's tough to spot your own mistakes or oversights. If the manuscript needs more work, it goes back to the ghostwriter. Otherwise, it's time to move to copy editing.

6. Copy editing

Copy editors will ensure every comma, semicolon and period are in the correct place. Their specialty is grammar and spelling, and although it can be a tedious portion of your editing process it will pay off in the end when you don't have to deal with negative reviews criticizing the quality of your work.

Related: Should Entrepreneurs Write a Book to Become More Influential?

7. Interior layout and formatting

As you work with transcriptionists, ghostwriters and editors, you'll most likely use a Microsoft Word document. That format works for internal communication, but it'll need to be converted for publishing. Sites like Amazon will provide a list of file types acceptable for publishing.

This part can be a challenge because it's technical and often outside an author's area of expertise. I recommend getting it done professionally or you'll risk the chance of receiving negative reviews based on formatting.

8. An attention-grabbing cover

You know that old saying about how you can't judge a book by its cover? Cliché maybe, but in the world of online publishing, definitely false. Work to make your cover visually appealing by focusing on two main elements: title and artwork.

For nonfiction authors, your title should sell people on the results they can achieve after reading it. For example, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey is one of the bestselling personal development books of all time because people know exactly what it can help them do from the title alone.

How-to titles are also great for nonfiction authors. For example, readers buy my book How I Sold 80,000 Books because they're looking for a specific result: selling books.

When creating artwork, be mindful that Amazon and other sites and search engines often only show a thumbnail of your cover. That's why it needs to stand out. The title should take up at least one third of the cover, nowadays even two-thirds, so that it's clearly visible in the thumbnail size.

9. Optimization for online sales

Amazon may look like a digital bookstore, but it's really a search engine. That's why it's vital to optimize your book for online sales by thinking about what readers will search for and optimizing your title and subtitle with keywords to get your book at the top of the search results. Software, such as KDP Rocket can help you determine keywords.

Another aspect of optimization is choosing the right category, such as authorship, so your book will be visible to readers who are searching for books about that topic.

Related: How to Make Over $100,000 a Month From Writing a Book

10. A captivating book description

One thing I commonly see is authors who write a valuable 50,000-word book but write a lackluster book description that doesn't convince a reader to buy the book. Writing a compelling description is essentially copywriting. The best thing you can do is follow the AIDA principle: attention, interest, desire and action.

For example, here's the description I created for How I Sold 80,000 Books:

• Attention: "Discover how you too can sell 80,000 books even if you haven't sold a single copy yet!"
• Interest: "Warning: Reading this 2016 Readers' Favorite Book Award Winner and implementing its strategies may cause a significant income increase."
• Desire: "Get your copy now and discover [compelling bullet points here]."
• Action: "Scroll up to grab your copy now!"

11. An outstanding bio

Now that you have an excellent book with an eye-catching cover and metadata that's optimized for online sales, further sell yourself as an expert by writing an outstanding biography.

With your bio, answer the question of why someone should listen to you or why you're the expert on this topic. The bio is an opportunity to build authority, credibility and likability. People buy from people they know, like and trust.

12. Distribution

When the book is ready for distribution, carefully consider where and when it publishes. Think about casting a wide net to have the book available via all retailers or choosing to focus on just one. There are pros and cons to both and the right decision will depend on your situation and end goal.

Amazon has little to no competition when it comes to online booksellers, which means you should consider its Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) Select program where your book is exclusively available via Amazon in return for specific perks.

Related: 10 Steps to Self-Publish Your Book Like a Bestseller

13. Launch

There are hundreds of thousands of books published every year and the best way to get yours noticed is with a structured launch.

Begin by creating a launch team months before the actual launch. Engage with launch team members, educate and motivate the group to review your book so when it launches it already has dozens of reviews. Those reviews will provide incredible momentum because Amazon's algorithms will notice and promote the book further.

14. Bestseller status

Becoming a bestselling author is every writer's dream. It's not unobtainable if you know the algorithm. First, complete each step up until this point and then, add paid promotions. If you followed these steps correctly, you're almost guaranteed to achieve bestselling author status.

15. Conquering libraries

Once you've achieved bestseller status, it will be easier to make your book available at libraries. Librarians will notice plus you can let them know yourself. Being available in libraries gives you access to millions more potential readers and clients.

Related: No, Books Are NOT 'the New Business Card'

16. Pitching foreign rights agents

Being able to sell licensing rights to foreign publishers is next-level success. With all the hard work that's been done to get to this point, this part could seem easy. To get started, find the right agent or publisher and pitch him, then sell the rights and cash the check.

17. Your sales funnel

Book royalties are great, but you'll almost always generate more revenue on the back end than on the front. For example, the ebook version of How I Sold 80,000 Books is free. That doesn't mean I make zero dollars on it. The free book is the front end to my six-figure sales funnel. The first step in getting this set, is ensuring your sales funnel is in place the moment you publish your book.

If you're ready to expand your skills and share your business expertise as an author, follow these 17 steps to increase your visibility and become a bestselling author.

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You're Missing Opportunities if You Think You're Not Creative

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I can’t stand hearing people say they’re “not creative.”

That happened to me recently, after I sliced a finger and wound up in Urgent Care. When the doctor heard that my fiancé is a graphic designer, he launched into a well-rehearsed monologue:

“Oh, my mom is a graphic designer; she’s so creative! I do some design too, but only really as an outlet. I’m nowhere near as creative as she is. I just do it to relax. I mean, I can’t read medical texts all the time.”

Eventually, his rant became more uncomfortable than my still-bleeding pinkie.

I wanted to ask him if he truly thought medicine wasn’t creative.

Had he never encountered a problem he wasn’t explicitly trained to handle in medical school? Had he never improvised, or developed a different way of doing something?

If he really wanted to get better at graphic design, what was stopping him?

For generations, we’ve drawn a line between logic and emotion, creativity and structure: Spock and Kirk. Holmes and Watson. Sense and Sensibility.

And certainly, the distinction exists. Diagramming sentences is one thing … feeling moved to write an inspiring line of poetry, another.

But we’ve gone much further than classification.

Somehow, creativity and logic have attained a mythical status as two oppositional forces, pitted together in an eternal struggle for dominance. Not only is this myth wrong and unnecessary, it’s damaging.

If you believe creativity is something you’re born with, and that some kinds of tasks are creative while others are not, you’ll miss thousands of opportunities to improve.

Two selves, one writer

Maybe the reason this dichotomy bothers me so much is because I’ve always found myself somewhere between the two.

I’m the daughter of two self-professed “logical” people — my mother is a software developer, my father a medical imaging engineer.

But my dad built beautiful doll beds and full-size playhouses when I was a kid, and my mom loves interior design (though she’d never admit to being any good!).

When I was in sixth grade, I wanted to be like my mom and learn to code. By high school, I was enmeshed in the theater and choir programs and wanted to be a writer.

Let’s not comment on which of my earlier selves had a more prosperous career plan. 😉

I’ve carried both of these “selves” with me, and it’s become obvious that creativity and logic are part of every human endeavor. Every field needs processes, documentation, and structure, just like every field needs innovation, fresh ideas, and creative problem-solving.

Specifically, however, I’ve found that writing requires a particularly delicate balance of both skills.

Writing: a delicate balance

Unlike mathematicians or musicians, writers don’t have one clear stereotype.

On one hand, there’s logical grammar nerds and vocabulary junkies, and on the other there’s creative poets and imaginative novelists.

Writers dance the line between creativity and structure, often so seamlessly we don’t realize we do it. On some days, we find ourselves drawn to routines, processes, and research, while on others we are struck with inspiration and forget our routines exist.

It appears a great writer’s life is a contradiction.

But sometimes, I think the secret to being a great writer is knowing when to fall back on processes, and when to forge ahead with inspiration.

In the end, however, after a piece of writing has been published, it often just appears like the product of sheer creativity.

New writers, especially, fall prey to the “genius” myth. It looks so easy to put words on a page, it can be easy to forget the structure and experience that make a great writer’s words more poignant, more gripping.

Try it for yourself

The next time you’re stuck, go back to basics.

There’s always a reason for writer’s block, and usually it occurs because you need more raw material.

Go do your research: read a book about your topic, talk to your target audience, look at Google Trends for keyword data.

If you want to become a better writer, study the greats. Choose a few passages and copy them by hand, analyze their sentence structures. What does that writer do that you could steal for yourself?

If you want to improve your vocabulary, head to your bookshelf and pull down a few books by authors you admire. Then write down all the words you love, and define them. Keep going. You might not feel any different after you’ve defined 10 words, but after you’ve defined 200, you’ll be getting somewhere.

Inspiration may feel like it comes from nowhere, but it’s really just a part of your creative process that you build over time.

What did you do today to keep in “form?”

In 1972, in a note to herself, Susan Sontag wrote: “A writer, like an athlete, must ‘train’ every day. What did I do today to keep in ‘form?’”

Writing is a creative endeavor, yes. But it’s also a craft that can be learned.

You might be able to become a better writer by sheer force of will, but if you want to get better, faster, you’ll have to embrace the process.

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When Saving Money Actually Costs You More

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Most of the personal finance experts out there will tell you that the first step to getting a handle over your money situation is to curb your unnecessary spending. Sure, getting a fancy drink at the local Starbucks might only cost you a few bucks and, in the grand scheme of things a few bucks is hardly going to make a difference in your life. But your daily latte habit can add up awfully quickly. Five bucks a day, every day of the year, is creeping up to almost $2,000.

That’s enough money to pick up a new iPhone outright, possibly with enough left over to cover your monthly plan for the year too. It’s nothing to sneeze at, so this kind of advice of getting your spending under control is generally sound… but it’s incomplete. Because cutting corners (and cutting costs) purely for the sake of saving money could actually end up costing you more in the long run. Let me illustrate with a few examples.

Free WordPress Themes

WordPress is one of the greatest gifts bestowed upon man since sliced bread. It can be used most commonly to run a blog or other content-based site, but it is equally adaptable to power any number of other types of websites, including forums, business pages and online stores. It’s great and it’s got a huge, supportive community. And best of all, it’s free.

This doesn’t mean that you should necessarily be using it right out of the box, however. If you use the default theme that comes with WordPress, your site is going to look really generic and first impressions matter. And while there is a huge directory of free WordPress themes, you may not want to use those either.

The allure of free is certainly enticing, but unless you are already skilled and knowledgeable in how to adapt and customize these themes, you’re just going to end up spending more time (and money) in turning that theme into something you can really call your own. And even then, many of these free themes do not come with the cleanest of code and you could open up the floodgates to all sorts of other complications and frustrations that just end up costing you more in the long run anyway.

When you invest in a premium theme with strong support or, better still, you invest in a completely custom theme developed by a professional, you get a better end product right out of the gate and you position yourself with a much better shot at success.

The Bulk Buying Binge

I’ll admit that I’ve fallen into this trap more times than I care to recall. Let’s say that you go to your local grocery store to pick up a few things for the week. You’re living on your own, so you don’t actually need that much. When you go to grab your one-liter carton of milk for $2, you notice that the four-liter jug is only $4. On a per-liter basis, the larger jug is half the price, because you’re getting four times as much for only twice as much. It’s the better deal.

So, you decide to pick up the four-liter jug instead… but as mentioned, you live alone. Inevitably, you get closer to the expiration date and you find yourself trying to come up with creative ways to use up all that milk. This is upsetting and you’re certainly not enjoying yourself. In the end, you end up dumping half the jug down the drain anyways because it expired.

You thought you were getting the better deal, because it worked out that way on a per-unit basis, but you ultimately spent $2 more than you probably should have in the first place. Like the latte effect described above, that $2 isn’t going to make a big difference in the grand scheme of things, but all of these little habits and decisions add up. When you think you’re getting a “good deal” on something, you have to ask whether you’re actually getting what you need out of it.

Entry-Level Equipment

Not everyone needs top-of-the-line equipment for everything that they do. Let’s just make this clear. The average person will only use a fraction of the horsepower found under the hood of the top-tier iMac Pro, which costs somewhere in the neighborhood of $17,000. That’s enough money to buy a decent commuter car.

At the same time, you don’t want to cut corners where corners probably shouldn’t be cut. Let’s say that you want to get into vlogging, but your budget is decidedly modest. You get the cheapest camera you can find, you pick up a really cheap Chromebook, and you have the bottom level plan from your ISP. You think you’re saving money.

On the one hand, it’s great that you want to get started. On the other hand, your efforts to save money are ultimately going to cost you in the long run. The cheap camera isn’t going to produce the kind of quality you want to have if you want to be a successful vlogger. The cheap Chromebook can’t run proper video editing software, so you’re stuck using less than ideal web-based applications that are severely limited. And then your cheap Internet plan means your upload speeds are abysmal and your computer is rendered useless for hours at a time.

I’m not saying you should always splurge for the best of the best, but you do want to be strategic with where you spend your money. Upgrading to a more powerful computer and a faster Internet connection could be among the best investments you can make in your online business.

Not All Spending Is Equal

The key takehome lesson here is that you shouldn’t be trying to save money purely for the sake of saving money. If you spend hours on end with compulsive coupon clipping, not only are you wasting your time doing something with minimal ROI (you could be working on your business instead), but you could end up buying things that you don’t actually need. You’re getting them because they’re on sale and that’s it.

Money is a tool. And like any other tool, you have to learn how to use it wisely and for maximum benefit. Oftentimes, it’s worth spending a little more upfront, because it’ll save you from a lot more frustration and expense down the road.

Click Here To Download John Chow’s New eBook, The Ultimate Online Profit Model!

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Just Order a Pizza If America's Crumbling Infrastructure Worries You -- Domino's Is on It

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Where the government is lacking, a pizza company is delivering.

June 11, 2018

2 min read

If you’re worried America’s notoriously pothole-ridden streets will crumble unchecked after the recent $1.5 trillion tax cut, just order a pizza and hope for the best. Domino’s, it what is apparently much more of a publicity stunt than an infrastructure initiative (yet is still more innovative than the typical state highway department) has revealed a “paving for pizza” partnership to repair potholes in towns where it sells pizzas.

“Potholes, cracks and bumps in the road can cause irreversible damage to your pizza during the drive home from Domino’s,’’ the eatery warns. “We can’t stand by and let your cheese slide to one side, your toppings get un-topped, or your boxes flippled. So we’re helping to pave in towns across the country save your good pizza from these bad roads.”

Image credit: Domino's

Related: Domino's and Ford Partner Up to Test Self-Driving Delivery Cars

This could be a very long running ad campaign. According to the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission of the U.S. Congress, it will require spending $185 billion every year for the next 50 years just to keep America’s roads and bridges from getting worse than they are now. The country is collectively spending $68 billion annually on road and bridge repairs, or a bit more than a third of what’s needed.

The Domino’s initiative isn’t promising to fill the gap (so to speak). A quick tally of the stats on the company’s site reveals it's filled 203 potholes, so far, in four cities of varying sizes. Athens, Ga., received by far the most asphalt with 150 filled potholes. In car-crazed Southern California, the Paving for Pizza initiative has filled five potholes, all in Burbank.

Related: The One City in America Where You Can Get Domino's 'Breakfast Pizza'

The program is accepting nominations for towns to assist. The nomination forms makes no guarantees about road work ever getting done (which makes Domino’s no worse than the government on this topic) but does allow for the purchase of a large carry-out pizzas for $7.99.

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One Calendar Tip To Help You Stay Positive, Creative And Engaged In Your Business

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Do you struggle to fit in all your commitments? Is your calendar getting the better of you? Does your schedule make you want to run away from it?

As entrepreneurs we have to manage our time – it is one of the constants in the game. As business owners, the open-ended nature of our time can be daunting, especially when there is usually so much you could be doing!

In this episode, we talk about a new way to look at your schedule and organize your calendar. By thematizing your day or week you can save loads of time and energy. It is a system that we at Fizzle all use to varying degrees and is flexible enough that you can tailor it to your own needs perfectly.

Here on the show today we are joined by Mike Vardy to help us unpack these concepts of time blocking and calendar themes. Mike is a productivity expert and coach who has built a career around improving the systems we use to get things done.

We also talk about splitting your days and weeks into ‘A’ and ‘B’ categories, the disastrous effects that bad planning can have, transition times, and using your schedule to guide your calendar.

So if you would like to up your productivity massively, decrease stress and just make your whole life better, we guarantee this is an episode you are going to want to check out!

 

Key Points From This Episode:

• Steph’s implementation of ‘A’ and ‘B’ weeks with her own business. [0:05:46.7]


• The negligence of planning and the later effects of this. [0:09:26.3]


• Slowing down and taking control of your schedule. [0:12:01.2]


• How to space out your transitions from different work modes. [0:13:11.4]


• Defining your days and weeks and including things other than work. [0:18:19.6]


• Using time blocking and creating a framework for theming your week. [0:22:12.8]


• Working backwards naturally from certainties and obligations. [0:25:41.6]


• The theory behind why batching and theming is beneficial. [0:28:50.4]


• Taking control of your life and getting worked by your calendar in the right way. [0:38:04.2]


• Letting your monthly or weekly themes guide and focus your days. [0:40:23.1]


• Reclaiming a week that is getting the better of you. [0:43:39.4]


• And much more!

 

“If you don’t own your calendar, your calendar will own you. -@Fizzle”
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“Dude you already have goals, we just need to discover what they are!  -@Fizzle”
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“The calendar is just a grid, that’s all it is. It is something you need to leverage. — @Productivityist”
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Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

 

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The Top 10 Mistakes in Online Business

Every week we talk with entrepreneurs. We talk about what’s working and what isn’t. We talk about successes and failures. We spend time with complete newbies, seasoned veterans, and everything in between.

One topic that comes up over and over again with both groups is mistakes made in starting businesses. Newbies love to learn about mistakes so they can avoid them. Veterans love to talk about what they wish they had known when starting out.

These conversations have been fascinating, so we compiled a list of the 10 mistakes we hear most often into a nifty lil' guide. Get the 10 Most Common Mistakes in Starting an Online Business here »

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11 Strategies to Lead and Succeed as a Minority Woman

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Compared to most women, minority women face far greater challenges in their careers.

June 11, 2018

5 min read

This story originally appeared on Ellevate

Compared to most women, minority women face far greater challenges in their careers, including isolation, discrimination and low self-esteem. However, despite the overwhelming odds, there are strategies that minority women can undertake to not only survive, but also succeed.

Related: The Growing Influence of Women Entrepreneurs

1. Know that not everyone will open up to you.

Some people who have what is called “tunnel vision” see what’s directly in front of them and will only be comfortable with the familiar. They may not fancy the idea of mingling with people who seem “different.” These people may not overcome their reservations despite your best efforts, and that’s okay. Nurture your relationships with those who do.

2. Communicate.

Co-workers may initially judge you on stereotypes and biases regarding your minority group. However, once they know you and start seeing you as a valuable team member, acceptance grows and barriers start dissolving. You may even want to consider taking time to explain some of your background or practices -- open communication and awareness is the key to addressing misconceptions and is critical in understanding your colleagues better. Also, focus on identifying common bonds and shared interests and experiences.

3. Deal with discrimination, but avoid being too easily offended.

Differentiate between inadvertent insults and intentional ones. You may consider letting go of unintentional slights, but for the more serious and deliberate acts of prejudice, first take control of your emotions. Detach yourself from the situation and then proceed to address it in the most effective way possible.

Related: 3 Bold Predictions for Women in Corporate America This Year

4. Leverage your uniqueness at work.

Turn your diversity into a competitive advantage and play to your strengths. There are some things that minority women thrive at because of their natural traits -- traits that are gender specific, as well as background specific.

5. Display confidence and make yourself heard.

People who step up, exhibit confidence and demonstrate leadership, no matter what their background is, are more noticeable. Never be afraid to disagree or have an opinion, even if it’s an unpopular one. At the same time, be respectful and tolerant. In other words: disagree, but don’t be disagreeable

6. Don’t be afraid to ask for more.

When it’s time to ask for a promotion or raise, don’t feel intimidated because you are different. Substantiate your case with evidence and do not hesitate to put yourself forward. It is those who vocalize which opportunities and projects they want that will be considered first.

7. Bond and network.

Building a network of the right people will help you move up the corporate social ladder. Try to mix and mingle by creating social interaction opportunities outside work hours as well. Participate in company-sponsored affinity and networking groups, and consider starting your own or joining an existing staff network.

8. Develop a sense of humor.

Humor helps reduce hostility, deflect criticism, relieve tension, improve morale and communicate difficult messages. It also lets the air out of the room and gives us a graceful way out of a tense moment.

Related: 5 Easy Things You Can Do to Be a Better Manager

9. Don’t be the “yes” woman.

Most minorities that have risen to the top have reported that their performance was required to be above and beyond what was normally expected. It’s easy to say yes to all projects just to be seen as the “good employee.” However, It’s important to stand up for the projects that you value and that are in sync with your leaderships brand while refusing those that are not.

10. Stay visible by promoting yourself.

Do not sit passively waiting to be noticed, or for opportunities to drop in your lap. Raise your visibility and showcase your knowledge in every way you can. Once you learn how to own your successes and flaunt your accomplishments, you will become in demand, and your background will become irrelevant.

11. Get a sponsor.

During times of company reorganizations, mergers, and massive layoffs, minorities are often twice as likely to be impacted negatively. So, it is important to align yourself with the right people within your organization and your industry if you want to succeed. Identify sponsors who can promote you within your organization.

If you work hard and are determined, eventually people will start seeing you above and beyond any ethnic barriers. Don’t make your minority status your focus -- if you do, chances are other people will, too. Hold your head high at all times and know that it will always be your work that will speak for you as well as your will to succeed. It’s the latter that will set you apart regardless of whether you are in a minority or not.

(By Hira Ali) 

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5 Lessons I've Learned While Transitioning From Working at Home to a Physical Office

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Here's what you need to know before you open a brick-and-mortar location.

June 11, 2018

4 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Remote setups give startups and small businesses the luxury of operating from anywhere in the world with a team of remote employees, in addition to eliminating a large monthly expense. They can be great -- many companies thrive using this setup and I’ve run a remote setup for years, but as I’m currently pivoting my company, it requires that I transition to a physical office.

I’m converting a new industrial shell into an office/warehouse combination that will allow us to store and fulfill all of the new consumer brands we are launching and do all of the marketing in-house as well. It’s been both exciting and overwhelming. During this period I’ve encountered some realities of transitioning from a remote organization to a physical office.

1. Talent recruitment must be locally focused.

I have some great designers and developers that I use who are located all over the world. While they can still be utilized for some projects, I need to hire the best local talent to handle immediate needs. If a package manufacturer needs an art file edited quickly in order to make a print deadline, we can’t wait until the next day -- it needs to be done on the spot.

The same applies to Facebook advertising and AdWords team members, social media marketers and customer service reps -- everything now must be in-house to support the new direction and anticipated hyper-scaling.

Related: 50 Work-From-Home Jobs Paying as Much or a Lot More Than the Average American Salary

2. Team-building and work-life balance becomes a top priority.

Personally, I struggled with work-life balance in the beginning, and I am very vocal about those struggles. I was afraid that if I wasn’t working 24/7 I would lose momentum and fail. I was very wrong.

It wasn’t until I learned how to unplug from the business and have a life outside of the business, that I truly gained momentum and started to accomplish my goals. With an entire team in-house, team building in and out of the office will become a priority, as will promoting a healthy work-life balance.

Team members as well as the company becomes most profitable when the quality of everyone’s work-life balance is at an optimal level. Life and work, after all, are to be enjoyed, and having struggled with this in the past I need to lead by example from the beginning.

3. Commercial office space comes with more financial responsibilities and potential issues.

During the process of looking at industrial office space, two things became very apparent -- it’s a big commitment and some of these spaces come with potential issues. The more build-out you require, the longer the lease. The older the space, the more potential issues down the line.

Did you know there are multiple categories of commercial water damage? Well there are, and several properties had leaks and water spots -- something I wanted no part of. This is the primary reason that I gravitated toward a brand new industrial development. Not only is it a blank canvas to create my ideal office and warehouse, but it also eliminates a lot of potential issues and headaches down the road.

Related: 5 Full-Time Jobs You Can Do to Make Money Online or From Home

4. It requires additional staff to fully manage.

While some positions and tasks can still be handled by remote team members, and in-house team members will likely have the opportunity to work at least one day a week remotely, a physical office requires some additional positions.

We now have dedicated hours of operation, and the front door and reception area need to be open during those hours in order to receive deliveries and send out daily shipments. A remote operation doesn’t require a happy smiling face to greet delivery drivers, while a physical office does. So, I am now currently on the hunt for someone to fulfill this duty.

5. A local brick-and-mortar operation is more attractive to local investors. 

I’ve always been a fan of bootstrapping, and up until this point I have never taken on an investor. I’m not actively seeking that option, but having a physical location makes landing a private investor much more doable, if that ever becomes a desire.

While out networking in Miami I’ve run into a few people that were interested in what we had in the works, and in terms of scalability, an investment drastically speeds up that process. Fom talking to local investors, it’s become apparent that they really like the idea of having the operation under one roof.

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