SEO and Thanksgiving and Social Media

SEO
This week, we looked into Search Engine Optimization. This is utilizing the algorithm and the complex ways Google, Yahoo, and the other search engines' ways of displaying top rated websites. One aspect of search engines utilized the ad-words tools found with Google. This is a paid way to get incorporated into searches. An other, more cheaper, way to increase traffic to a website is search engine optimization. This is finding the principles that allow an increased and more relative search that would bring one's site to the top of the list. A lot of this has to deal with the idea of using the right words, the right links, and the right titles on a webpage. Altogether, the SEO is a simple configuration that looks at various aspects of a website to increase its relevancy in a search engine.

Thanksgiving
Obviously, another Thanksgiving has come and gone. Now this is a business post, so I want to emphasize the amount of marketing that has happened so that business are able to have successful Black Friday Sales. Many businesses use Black Friday as a way to increase sales in the last quarter of the year and to be able to start the Christmas/Holiday shopping off to a good start. It is not a bad idea to use the theme of Black Friday for one's advantage. Sure it is a capitalistic way to go through inventory as fast as possible, but it is a great way to put sales, and increase foot traffic. I got stuck in traffic, and have found ways to complain about the problems of Black Friday Shopping, but I found myself wanting to shop and save money.

Social Media
WHAT A COOL TOOL! Something that I have come to enjoy, is the idea of businesses trying to communicate with their consumers better, and finding ways to better their reliability and their brand name. If one wants to be successful, they have to find ways to make existing technology work. I have read posts about how a business was able to tend to a concern or problem that a consumer had. A customer representative contacted the individual and was able to get the problem fixed. So that was the week. Now it is time to prepare for Christmas, and to finish getting this website on foot!

Another Week and Analytics

Another Week
I have been going through some style sheets and templates of various websites and many of them are very nice. This week, I have been finding ways to make my website more than black and white. I find that it is a great website, that it will have great potential. So, as of right now, I have been taking a lot of actions for a facelift. What does that mean? I have been using AMPPS on my computer to create my website. It looks really nice, I just need to add more of my own photos, and more content. I haven't put too much into the website and need to put more content and become better organized. But I am grateful for the next tool that has been introduced.

Google Analytics
WOW! This is a great tool. Just so you know, Google Analytics is a script installed on any website that will analyze the activities of an individual on the website. It records important information that will assist the website developer in knowing the important activities related to the website. Statistics, activities, leads, and actions are recorded for the benefits of the owner and developer.

I feel that this tool will be helpful in the utilization of various elements of a website. When a business understands the moods and activities of a customer, then they will be able to tend to their needs a little better. Every website should have this tool, and I cannot wait for the results of the analytic results on my website. 

AMPPS and Branson

Progress with AMPPS…

     As you may have heard, I got myself learning about MAMP. In simple terms, it is a way of creating a webpage right on your computer, using various aspects of a webhosting site, all on your desktop or laptop. Using this has changed a lot of my approach to website creation. I feel that AMPPS is a great tool and will be very handy. (I possibly could start looking into website creation and use this as a new business tool.)

     But as I have delved into PHP, MySQL, Apache, and the enormous amount of tools for websites, I came to one realization. I like easy. Wordpress has been the tool for me. I like it. It is quite simple. I do like Joomla, but I wish I could put more effort into learning, but I do not have the time right now to do that. But my infatuation of AMPPS has taken a lot of my time. I do not mind though, I am trying to create a start-up and am willing to put a lot of effort into it.

Reminders of the Greats...

     I am quickly reminded of one entrepreneur. Richard Branson. He, throughout his entrepreneurial career, has seen a lot of trials and problems. He spread the Virgin brand very thin and created business ventures that failed. But one thing is for sure, he continues to create and innovate. I hope to be able to accomplish my goals in that manner. I do not feel that this business is going to fail. I do need to look for others for guidance, or it could. I’m learning my lesson fast, and learning it really well. And I intend to utilize what help I can get.

Getting Back to Adwords

This week was about getting back to the Google Adwords tool. I have found this to be very useful in creating the website. There are various ways to utilizing this tool. But what was so great for me was the idea of creating a campaign that could be run on Google's search engine, and have an ad for me for people to see and click on. I do find this to be a vary smart tool since many people use Google as their main source of research.

The process was simple. I had to find words related to the product(s) I was going to be selling on my website. The great thing about Google Adwords is that it shows words that relate relate to the word that I want to use and suggests it. Then, if I want to, I can add it to a campaign that I can start. most of the time Google will give other Adword Groups that already have what I want, or it will give me a list of various items that relate really well with search query that I original started with.

LAMP/MAMP/XAMPP...
Now this is a whole lot of gibberish if you ask me, but I am learning what these are. If you know of anyone that could teach this a little more simply to me, then I am willing to learn. But this could be another way to design and "test" webpages on my computer. I don't know too much about this, but I am loading up on the Youtube video training.

The Structure, The Government's Pay, and the Build

The Structure
Because I have already started a business, I have understood the structures of various businesses. I would want to start off my business as a sole prop. That is, me owning the company as a whole, with the me being the legal entity of the business. I am not separated from the business, I essentially am the business. So if the business were to get sued, I would get sued. This structure is simple and there aren't too many fees related to this business structure.

Later, I would want to organize the company as an LLC with me as president. This organization will create itself as the business entity. There won't be too many troubles with registering the company. It will be a lot easier to establish this organization rather than a corporation.

The Government's Pay
Taxes. That is something that is inevitable with living with this country, but that is another discussion. As of right now, the company is organized as an Sole Prop. And because it is, I will be in charge of paying taxes for myself as well as the business. The business will be taxed based upon its income. Another main tax that is paid is a Sales and Use tax. That will be for any product that I sell that should be taxed.

The Build
This week we find a host, a website builder and someone to use for purchases. I find that this exercise, which is us putting our knowledge to the test, very helpful. If we "theoretically" go over the knowledge, we only learn so much. But because we are doing the steps to build a website, I find that this is a great way to be able to get some sort of site up and running. mpnv.co is the website. I hope to get more helpful sites on the website up.

Building and Hosting

Since two weeks ago, I've done a lot of things to get myself started on the webpage. Throughout the week, here are some of the things that I learned.

Weebly
There are various site builders out there. I have found one that there is one site that I like the best. Weebly.com. There are many features that Weebly has that is very beneficial for a website builder. There are many sites that have this, but I think that Weebly has focused on drag-and-drop feature of webpage elements. This makes something complex, into a simpler way to create a website. Mobile phone apps are also really great. There is an app through Weebly that could make website management easier. Those are some items that I found beneficial with the other added benefits.

WordPress
WordPress is another popular website for building a website. It is a little more difficult using the WordPress services. But with given time, WordPress could offer more functionality than Weebly. It also provides a lot of the same services as Weebly. WordPress was originally created for blogging, but it can be manipulated to accomplish basic website design features.

WebHosting
Another activity that we had accomplished this week was finding a host. We had looked through various web hosts and found features that we liked. I have currently been working with Just Host and have been very pleased with their services. I decided that I would be switching to iPage.com. I feel that there might be an edge with choosing that website than my current host.

Another Semester, Another Course, Continuation in Business Growth

From last semester, I have learned a lot of great lesson of starting a business, and the things that I should do to better myself. Currently, I am now in a web creation course, trying to further the reach of my business to accomplish its goals through the web.

Adwords by Google
This week we went into the the great tool of Adwords. We signed up with Google Adwords, using the Planner tool. For any web business looking for some kind of footing in the online marketing, this was a simple tool to used. As we used keywords and their relationship to the world, we found out the competition rate, the demand, and other related keywords that rank high to the topic on hand. Why is this important? Would you want your business to be exposed with highly searched keywords on a popular search engine? It would be very smart to.

So we looked at that, and used a simple exercise that exposed us to the Google tool.

The Beginnings
We also threw out our business ideas to our other students. We talked about each others ideas and how we can better them. It was a great way to expose our potentially disasterous ideas to comrades so that we can biuld our own confidence in what we are wanting to do.

My idea is a personalized cable used for musicians. They would be used for various applications, but the main application is for the use of audio. I do feel that this business would serve a large consumer base here in Las Vegas, and would be a smart business to do. 

My Final Words

Here are some points that I feel have impacted me as I attempted to create my own business this semester. Good luck with your endeavors!

Find a Mentor

There are many entrepreneurs out there. There are those that continue to innovate and create great and marvelous things. We need to look for them for ideas and suggestions. Throughout this semester we looked at Steve Jobs, Richard Branson and others like Robert Kiyosaki. There is much to learn from these great entrepreneurs. Find a book by or about a well-known entrepreneur. Be involved with what they teach, learn and apply their lessons, and find ways to incorporate their lessons with your future business.

Be Ready to Work for Nothing

            Something that I learned from Robert Kiyosaki, was the idea of working for nothing. Kiyosaki explains that as we work for nothing, we realize how rewarding working for nothing can be. It will change one’s life and understanding of money. If we work for nothing, we are then better prepared for the work, time and effort into creating our business. This, in a sense, is serving. When we learn to serve, we learn what it means to sacrifice. Sacrifice is going to be one thing that you can look forward to when starting your business.

Dedication

            Dedication, determination, and commitment are very integral attributes for a successful entrepreneur. As a business starter, we all will come across a lot of trials and problems. If we find ourselves quitting, we may not have been dedicated enough to our hopes and dreams. Richard Branson showed a lot of dedication, determination, and commitment. He attempted to penetrate various markets and industries with the Virgin brand. He found a lot of resistance, failures and successes. He was determined to take a stand in a market that could prove to be successful. In some cases, he wasn’t able to, but with some things, he was able to do what he sought for.

One Tequila, Two Tequila, Three Tequila... FLOOR.

Tom Nall created a tequila brand soon after he retired. There are a lot of things we can learn from his life. His video can be watched here: http://www.actonhero.org/celebrating-heroes/stories-of-heroes/index.php?hero=tom-nall Here are some important things we can learn from this Entrepreneurial Hero. 

• Learn from experience: As Nall has been able to work various job positions, he utilized the skills he learned from each position for his benefit. 
• Change: When life requires us to change or for change, we should do what we can. Entrepreneurs don't repeat others' ideas, they show why they are unique. 
• Entrepreneurs = Calculated Risk Takers. Nall wasn't in the tequila industry because it was a fun idea, he learned the business and referenced important information so that he can make important and calculated decisions.
• Continued Education: To the day, Nall continues to learn from those that he hires and puts on his team. He finds education from many people, no matter their skill level. He tries to find the people that will make his business creative and unique.
• Values: Honesty, integrity, support for others, and hard work is something that Nell and his company focuses on. 

Entrepreneurs and their Example

This week we talked about various entrepreneurs and the things they did to find success. Steve Jobs was one individual that we talked about. Some ideas that I thought was important about Jobs were the following:

• Do what you love. Many times, we do things out of convenience, or ease, but do we ever do anything because we love it? Do what you love, and don't have any regrets doing anything other than that.
• Education. Education can be a defining factor of what we do in life, but don't let it. Take things that excite you, or could be beneficial for your future. 
• Connect Dots. At times, we may do things that we may not understand. Later in life, we will be able to connect dots, and those things we may not have understood at the time, will make more sense to us later.

I also talked about Richard Branson and the Virgin brand. Virgin has taken various attempts to tap into other markets. Why not if you are a well known brand? Branson and the Virgin brand tries to take advantage of their name and the opportunity to penetrate potential markets.

The Challenge
This week we finalized our $100 Challenge. This week I put a PowerPoint presentation together, and broadcasted it through YouTube. I feel very good about the work that I have done, and the work that I plan to do. I feel that this challenge helped me find a good business industry to tap into, and has landed me in a great market to operate the business.
I would have worked more diligently in getting more product out to our customers' friends and connections. But, I did find that our networking efforts will assist us in our future goals in helping other customers. Now, we have a basis for the company, we just need to continue our efforts and make Media Pro what it should be. 

The Hero, The Challenge, and the Family

The Hero and His Family Business

     Erick Slabaugh started young. At the age of 19, he started working for his father’s business in hopes that he would become the next boss in charge. Many of the lessons will keep the family and business relationship healthy.

     ·      Courage. Erick noted that his friends and colleagues were making money, having fun and seeing success. Erick was working and he was not receiving much. He realized that he needed to overcome the fear of failure, and the fear that comparisons would distress the business owner is something Erick learned.

     ·      Mentors. Just like many entrepreneurs we have heard from before, it is important to have someone with a little more wisdom in the industry to help you. It is important to have someone that can keep you in check or in a position that will help the business tremendously.

     ·      Mistakes. Focusing on the core business structure is going to make the business more successful, instead of following risky trends, especially if the business doesn’t have a background in it.

     ·      Values. When one realizes the importance of a family member’s safety, health and well-being, it is smart to protect those feelings and values that will benefit the business and the individual/family member in the long run. Think of this as a way to protect your loved ones.

The Challenge, and Family?

     I have been really busy getting the challenge underway. I have already created the logo, started creating product, starting working with suppliers, and distributors for future sales, and various entities that I feel I have started to make successful strides in creating this business. There are many times where I feel scared, but this past video has reassured me of what it takes to run a business. Values and Courage! Not having good values is not my problem, but having the right values to take me to the next level is my weakness. I have become fearful that what I am doing is not the right thing, but this fear and doubt is going to take the best of me. I, like Erick Slabaugh, need to remember that it isn’t about comparing ourselves to peers that are making money, it is the long-run impact that the business is going to make is what we need to focus on.

     I am getting ready to finalize this project for next week. I feel that I have made important realizes and changes as I was able to create the business and sell the product.
     One thing that I realize is important is how much my family has to take a part in this. I feel since this business is meant to be operated by my family, it is going to be important to start including them in decisions and projects. I do realize that family is important, the business is helpful, and our lives are busy. But, I do know that as a family, we can support each other, just as Erick's father was willing to help him go to school

Franchising, Nicole the Hero, $100 Challenge Update

Franchise, franchise, franchise. Here a franchise, there a franchise, everywhere...a franchise!
How many of you have worked for a franchise? I have. But, my franchise is no ordinary franchise. My franchise that I worked for is infamous Utahan frozen custard store. As I was able to reflect upon my time in the frozen dessert franchise, I was able to understand the ins-and-outs of franchising. I knew that we had to purchase certain product, we were in charge of our own marketing, and we had an owner that worked really hard.

Part of this week was spent analyzing the hands-on manager and how they can be affected if they are meticulously involved or lazily uninvolved. There are many pros and cons from both side of the realm, but the happy medium was always difficult to attain. If there is one thing about franchises that I want to point out, it is the idea of a global standard with all locations and facilities. I'm glad that my favorite burger joint is the same, or closely similar to the others.

Here baby, have a leg warmer!

We were able to look into the life of Nicole Donnely. She is a woman, a mom, and a young entrepreneur, yet, she is able to create a product that is quite useful and beneficial for babies everywhere. Some points that I was able to pick out from her interview were as follows:

• Embrace and control fear. There are many times where we become committed to something in our lives, and in the middle of it, we become fearful and doubtful. Nicole said, that if we embrace fear and control it, we are able to overcome any obstacle and accomplish our tasks.
• Leader versus member. This is a difficult task, but if we focus, watch others in a similar situation, we can lead others successfully.
• We should rely on others that know what they are doing, that help overcome our weaknesses, and understand the basic language of finance and money.
• No matter what our situation, who we are, and what we do, we should always to look and learn for ways to get what we want.
• Give back. Nicole, she saw her company changing the world, but it also gave her a better opportunity to serve more individuals that could use the help.

The Challenge
I have been really busy implementing my product into the market. Because I got really excited with this project, I opened a website, started emailing vendors, and am in the process of attaining inventory. I have come to realize that this challenge was more than just becoming motivated to do something with our entrepreneurial spirit within myself, but it made opening and starting a business   more entertaining and educational. As of right now, I am in the process of acquiring customers to purchase my product (even though I have one main customer which will purchase from me) and finding help with other aspects of the business to get me up and running. This eCommerce business is starting to take shape, and I am the official owner of the company. MPNV.CO. I'm hoping that I am ready for what comes up ahead.

Surround Yourselves, Customer+Relatinoship, and Biting down on the Challenge

Action Hero

This week’s action here is Bud Brigham. He has had a very unique, hard, difficult, and interesting life, and has been able to overcome problems and be one of this country’s success entrepreneurs. Here are some points that I thought were great. (Again, you can follow him here on Action Hero’s site.

• Be the Best You Can Be: No, this is in no way promoting the Army, yet, if you are interested, you are more than welcome to be the best you can be in the US Army. Bud references this as he talks about what his goal in life is. He wants to be the best he could be. We all should! We need to find what is wrong, fix it, and move on from it. We can't be perfect. There is always room for improvement.
• Don't be a prisoner. Bud explains his life as one being the oldest of six, divorced parents, and alcoholic father, who later dies from it. He did not let this limit him from achieving his goals. he moved on, found a supportive wife, and created a life for his own. 
• Surround ourselves with good company. He actually says we should surround ourselves with the smartest and the brightest. I like this point because, we won't improve if we always put ourselves with those that aren't smarter nor brighter. This is profound when wanting to become a better person, one that is the best we could be.

  

The $100 Challenge

With the recent change of my goals with the $100 challenge, I've been able to see a lot more success. I am currently in the production cycle of the business, with hopes to be able to sell. One thing is interesting, we should not be afraid to find support in strange places. I know that my current work does a lot of soldering. I did not realize that they have supplies that they no longer use. So, I just have to ask, and they can provide. 

It takes money to create... NOT! I was able to raise the basic $20 dollar capital. But, I was able to get $100-200 worth of supplies and equipment. This is capital and assets that will assist in the promulgation of the business.

This becomes more exciting everyday!!!

Customer Relationship

Many years ago, when I was the young and stalwart man who was assistant managing a frozen custard shop, I worked with peers. I worked with kids that were one or two years younger than I was. They were friends from school, yet I was their manager. A lot of those times, I was having a hard time realizing what is going wrong everyday. Then it hit me. It was our customer relationship. It soured. It wasn't because of me, but it was because some of our employees had a lack of social skills. 

This week we talked about making our relationships work with our customers. This is something that I have great experience in and is something that we should note. Zappos, a great shoe distributor is known for their services, but most importantly, their customer relationship skills. They are great at making their customers happy. One important thing to note: to allow this to continue, they hire those that really want to help with their culture. Zappos pays potential employees money to quit before they start working. That is to filter those that want money and those that want to ensure culture. 

So to you future Assistant Managers, help your employer find those that are willing to assist with your culture and not their filthy wallets.

Action Hero and Few Steps Back

Action Hero
Phil Romano, the man known for Fuddruckers and Romano's Macaroni Grill, is under the dissection of this week's action hero. He has brought up so may great points in his video, (found here). Some of the principles that I picked up were:

• Create Things: Creativity is important. Phil Romano, in his spare time, spends time doing art. He finds it is a way of tapping into one's own creative sphere. This will allow for logical thinking, creatively. 
• Lesson: Find out what people want and need, and create something off of that idea. He reminisced about a time he delivered paper, and created a personal service, earning $25 dollars a week. 
• Be Serial: Doing the same thing over and over again can be tiresome. He was a serial entrepreneur, finding opportunities and taking advantage of them whenever they came. 
• There is only one life: This is living life to its fullest potential. Not having regrets, and being able to accomplish one's goals and desires. Life is short, life is only once, so take advantage of your time.
• Fear is a great motivator. I thought this was interesting. The idea of fear is the opposite of faith, which I am an adamant believer in. But the idea of fearing failure, and working towards back-up plans, being provided for, and overcoming the idea that failure could be imminent is what fearing is. With this idea, we would want to overcome failure and be able to respond and prepare for failure is utilizing fear as a tool.

So those were some things that I was able to learn from Phil Romano. 

$100 Dollar Challenge
The next step for the $100 Dollar Challenge: Create a Elevator Pitch. As this is the next step for the $100 Dollar challenge, I have put a lot of thought into my current venture. I don't like it, just yet. It is a young idea, and I feel that I need to do more research into it. But, I do have a backup plan. I am changing it into Media Pro. This business will tend to various organizations involved with audio. In the audio industry, not the music industry, there is a need for audio cables. What I want to be able to do is create custom cables and resale that to customers. Audio cables bought at stores run from $10/15 to $45-100+. This is great, if you are looking for a generic spec cables. There are many audio cables, various cable connections, etc. The business would utilize your specific specs, create them, and ship it out. I would also integrate a replacement program to give those that want to replace their cords a discount of a purchase. This plan is more thought out, what do you think?

Budgeting and Debt

This week we talked bout various important elements in starting a business. The following topics and points are ones that stood out to me.

Overcoming Debt.

1.     I am not sure about any of you, but I know this, that God exists and that he is more deserving of me, my time, my energy, and anything that I accomplish. He puts effort into assisting/guiding/putting godly influence in my life, that I may achieve my goals. To support that, I return 10% of my income to Him by way of tithing to my clergy. This act of faith is more than just giving up some of my income, but showing an increased of faith that I know I will be provided for with my expenses and anything else that I have to pay for.

2.     Spending less, learning to save.  This simple notion will help anyone get out of their troubles and be able to accomplish future financial goals that could be achieved.

3.     Teach Children. I feel that this is one important thing to remember. We could be examples to many people around us. Children have the most malleable minds. But it is important to remember that the important lessons that we can teach are better taught when we are the example to what we want them to achieve.

$100.00 Challenge

     As we looked at the challenge this week we focused on getting it started. There was an important raise in $20.00 in capital. I funded the business by bootstrapping. This is when the entrepreneur raises funds for the company on their own. $20 is not that much of an expense for the business. I am planning on spending the capital on supplies. I find that this will be the base of the company. I do want to be able to utilize revenues and sales to be able to send to more vendors, finding customers, and buying more supplies.

Challenges, Dreams, and Reality

The $100 Challenge
The Status: Currently, I am working on drafting the business plan for the Challenge. The idea that I have finally come up with is a Media Mailer for Artists. I feel that this business is not going to take too much initial investment, but it probably will take more time establishing it.

The Needs: I need to find a way to be able to do a lot of research in a short period of time. Most of the research is going to consist of finding business entities, music industry entities, and various outlets/vendors that would want or would not mind unsolicited media mailed to them. The other part of the business, the shipping/mailing aspect of the business will be easily accomplished with a simple label printing machine, or shipping labels printed from a printer.

The Failures: I need a name for the business. I have one in mind, but I would not mind soliciting others with the name.

ActionHero.org
The idea of ActionHero.org or Action Foundation of Entrepreneurial Excellence is a non-profit organization that has established a website/network to allow aspiring entrepreneurs to share ideas, experiences, and information that would assist and prepare the next generation of entrepreneurs in achieving their goals.

This week, we were able to look into the life of Paul Robshaw. As he worked with his father, he learned the importance of working hard. Many factors in life like money, people, and achievements do not mean anything. It is about core values and integrity. Another point that he makes is that it is important to overcome boundaries, it is important to utilize creativity to achieve dreams. For dreams are just realities that have boundaries. You can read more about Paul Robshaw and other Action Heroes by clicking here.

A Baby's First Steps

Have you ever wondered what happens when someone starts a business? Or how an entrepreneur starts their venture, creative process, idea, invention, etc and etc? I am too! I cannot tell you what will help you succeed, nor do I expect to tell you what to do with your money, but this blog is meant to express the ideas and feelings that I get as I try to venture and work on my own business. Just like a baby, I have got some steps that I need to take so that I can get up and running.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad
By Robert T. Kiyosaki
ISBN 978-1-61268-001-9

I understand money, not that well, but I have a general understanding of it. I have taken business courses for 3 years, but the way Robert Kiyosaki teaches about money, the flow of money, and the ideas of assets and liabilities is "out of the norm" but really smart.

As a child, Robert wanted money to fit in with the rest of the students in his school. So, he and his friend Mike talks to Mike's father who is a wealthy individual. He teaches Robert and Mike important lessons to remember for the rest of their lives. The idea to either work for money, or make money work for you is what Mike's father, "Rich Dad" wanted to teach the kids. Robert's own father, "Poor Dad", wanted Robert to get a proper education, get a good paying job, and as Robert defines it, work in the Rat Race.

$100 Challenge
So as we understand how we can make money work for us, we looked at a website www.kiva.org. This website showcases various entrepreneurs around the world. This week, I visited the website and looked at various borrowers. I found one, named Merlinda. She runs a shop and needed a loan to purchase supplies. Although I was successful in supply money to her loan, I found someone else. Her name is Emily, and she is in the same situation as Merlinda. The whole purpose of choosing Emily was to support a country that I am close to, the Philippines. I am of Filipino heritage, but I have not visited the country. So this is a way for me to give back to my "home land".