The mini blog-a-thon was quite fun and I’m glad that I did it. Even though the official blog-a-thon is over, please go down a few posts, click on the graphic, and consider making a donation to Dr. Mani’s worthy cause.
While it’s not any kind of “fallout” from the mini blog-a-thon, as I reflected on yesterday’s activities, I thought that it might be a good time to take a step back and talk a bit about me, my blog, and my business. This blog, and by extension, this website, are basically a “catch-all” place for my online activities. Think of it as a central point of focus for me. Nowhere else do I make it so easy to contact me, allow comments, and do a lot of other things that I simply don’t do on my other websites.
Since this website really gets into more detail and gives you more of a glimpse of who I am and what I do, and since I’m once again asking people to sign up for my blog announcement list, I think it only fair to re-visit a few things.
Perhaps the most surprising thing about my home business is that my office has a door because I seldom close it (although it does get used). Right now it has some recently washed bedsheets hanging from it (yes, my office is in the basement). There are also toys strewn all over the floor, a couple boxes of cookies on my desk, half a shelf full of children’s movies (”Bambi” is playing as I type this and my four year old son is watching it as he makes a serious dent in a bag of chips), and there is a child’s size chair for the toddler and a bare-bones computer with games for the four year old.
Yes, the door does get used, but only when I am recording something or participating in a phone conference as a live participant. I want my children to be able to come in, talk to me, interrupt me, and see how Daddy does his work. That’s an important part of a young child’s development, and while they can’t follow me to my contract “job”, they can see me at work here at home.
First and foremost, my business is not an end in itself. By that I mean that my goal is not to have a successful business. Sure, I work hard on it and put in a lot of hours and love to make money and want to enjoy continued business success, but my ultimate goal is not to make money; it’s to regain total control over my time. As my children grow, if my son has a baseball game at 3:00 PM on a Thursday afternoon, I don’t want to have to tell him that I can’t make it because I have to work. Similarly, my wife — who is several years younger than I — wants to go out, get a job, and build a traditional career. Having control over my time will enable her to do that, and having a business that comfortably provides for us means that she can pursue her career without having to worry about paying the rent or putting food on the table.
There are a lot of things I could be doing to make money but they are simply a bit too “cutthroat” for my tastes. I see lots of people promoting stuff blindly, and while this probably works for most people, I don’t really feel comfortable doing that. As I’ve said before, with only a few exceptions, I only promote products:
1. That I personally own (or review copies have been provided to me) and can recommend with a clear conscience;
2. That are created by somebody I explicity trust — even if I haven’t seen the product (this list is fairly short), or;
3. Have a rock-solid money back guarantee offered by somebody who will, in my sole estimation, actually refund your money without any hassles upon request. In many cases, this list will include people who have given me fast, courteous refunds.
That last case allows me the option of promoting products with 100% commissions as long as I receive instant payment for the product.
Incidentally, if you have a computer security / business protection related product — or a product that is geared towards helping people build their own true business without having to make a huge monetary investment — and want to send me a review copy, use my contact form to ask. Keep in mind that sending me a review copy only entitles you to an honest review, nothing more, and I won’t review products that don’t offer me the opportunity to also promote it for a respectable commission (after all, I want to help people, but this is a business).
I also like to offer products that I can resell from my own website because I can review the products before I offer them for sale. This also gives me the opportunity to offer my own bonus that tells people where I think the product can lead them astray.
I also don’t like seeing people separated from their money under false pretenses. Aside from the obvious scam artists and shysters, I am also becoming convinced that a lot of experienced Internet marketers, perhaps unintentionally, are trying to sell “ease” when they promote their Internet business-building products. People just starting out are forking over large sums of money for an inordinate number of products, yet not making any progress because this work-at-home-at-your-kitchen-table-in-your-underwear-and-make-stupidly-easy-money mentality leads to an unprofessional approach to their nascent business (and remember, most of these people haven’t any idea how to start a business or run one!), not to mention unprofessional results.
I just made a private post in a very exclusive forum (only 41 people in the entire world are authorized access, and there is only one “guru” name that you might recognize hanging out there) about how many Internet marketing products make the promise that you can work from your kitchen table in your underwear. Now what kind of professional business are you going to build with that kind of work environment and attitude? And if you look back at some of the older posts on this blog you’ll catch me thinking out loud and “virtually” scratching my head as I look at stuff that is considered normal by some, yet puzzles me.
I’m an analyst by training (back in my military days) and I seldom take things at face value. Something I like to thing out loud here on this blog because it helps me clarify things. And my thinking — and conclusions — are far from normal and ordinary.
So this blog may not be for you. I’m not going to show you how to build a business that makes a profit at all costs because I firmly believe in the quote from the Bible about “What shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?” (my loose transliteration…). There are enough people like that out there in the world; just sign up to a few mailing lists (don’t forget about signing up for mine while you’re at it) and you’ll see what I’m talking about.
Even this website would be considered unprofessional by some. Just take a look at a few of the pages on it and you’ll see what I mean. But that’s OK; this website just kind of “grows” and I’d rather focus on content than overall design.
Don’t believe me? Then compare these pages:
1. The page your are looking at.
2. My contact page (click here to see it).
3. The page you’re sent to when you first sign up for my blog announcement email list.
4. The page you’re sent to when you confirm your subscription to my blog announcement email list.
For those last two, you’ll simply have to sign up to my email list to see them… but remember that you can unsubscribe at any time, and there’s a link in every email I send that allows you to easily unsubscribe. I wouldn’t have it any other way (see my mini blog-a-thon post about spam for more information on that).
As I ramble to a close, please remember that my ultimate goal is not a Freedom Business. A Freedom Business is simply a step towards my ultimate goal — true time freedom so that I can be there for those that matter most to me. And I’m not about to compromise who I am, nor am I going to peddle junk to my website visitors and customers, to make a quick buck. And should you ever purchase something based on my recommendation that you did not like, please use my contact form to let me know about it.
Thanks for listening (and congratulations for actually reading this post!),
Tom
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