News By Tom Brownsword

Balance.

Any questions?

On the one hand, we have The Internet Marketing Cure side of things (look down a few posts if you haven’t heard about it; the ebook is a free download and you can help disadvantaged children by getting the ebook through my link). On the other side we have what I’ll call the “Business As Usual” crowd.

They’re both right and they’re both wrong. As usual, the answer lies somewhere in the middle.

Right about the same time that I read The Internet Marketing Cure (TIMC for short), I also got my hands on John Delavera’s Turbo Big Bang — which contained a copy of The Delaverian Marketing Method (or TDMM for short). Scott, who distributed TIMC, basically says that the gurus are banding together and getting richer by promoting each other’s products and that’s a new paradigm is on the horizon (and it does smell like a lead-in to a product launch, but that’s OK with me).

John, on the other hand, says in TDMM that you’ll never grow past a certain point if you don’t have a network and a team. Furthermore, I think he says that it’s INEVITABLE that you’ll form these joint venture partnerships if you want to continue growing your business.

The solution? Yes, form your teams, but form them carefully. Don’t just join forces with “anybody and everybody”; instead, find individuals and entities that can strengthen you and your business. In turn, you have something to offer the others with whom you band together.

I’m 110% convinced that you can make a living online by yourself. I’m also convinced that you’ll never grow your business past a certain point without relying on others for help (hey, brick and mortar businesses do it! Do you see restaurant owners making their own napkins? Didn’t think so…). I’m also convinced that you have to choose your associates very carefully.

Above all, as TIMC pointed out, you have to provide value or everybody loses. In fact, that’s one of the most beneficial parts of TIMC — if you aren’t getting value from something, then why do you bother doing anything with it? Get rid of it? Stop wasting your time. Unsubscribe. Delete the ebook. Stop hanging out at the forum. Whatever. Just do something that’s going to be adding value to both you and your customers and your partners.

And if you’re wondering what you can do to offer value, then read my last post (and get the materials that I recommend) or go check out my Business Action Steps blog; I just made a post there about my new, short-term focus projects (the link is in my blogroll).

So, as always, exercise balance and provide value. And thanks to both John and Scott for TDMM and TIMC!

Thanks for listening,
Tom