Young Entrepreneur, Internet Marketer, Adventurer and Blogger, Michael Dunlop!
August 13, 2009 by Justin
At just 20 years old, Michael earns a full time income from the internet on barely half time hours. Michael Dunlop is the founder of IncomeDiary.com, Retireat21.com and Webdesigndev.com
Adam: You launched your first website at 16 - what prompted you to do this, where did the idea come from?
Michael: I first started looking at creating websites just before my 15th birthday, we have a program in the UK called the Young Enterprise which lets young people at school set up a business for a year and you compete against schools around the country. There were 14 people in our business and I was nominated as Managing Director, but when our IT manager brought me a Geocitys website after 5 months of development I thought I would take it into my own hands. I quickly learnt how to use Dreamweaver and we won first prize for the best website, as well as best finances, best sales, best marketing and second best company, we lost by 1 mark because we were the only people not to submit a business plan. After the Young Enterprise I decided to buy any old stock we had and went online trying to sell it myself.
Adam: What did your family think of your decision to leave college at such a young age and become an Entrepreneur?
Michael: I only went to college ( high school for you Americans ) because my parents wanted me to give it a try. I never did very well at school, only passing 4 out of a dozen exams so I struggled to go to college. I had a lot of highs and lows with making money online, sometimes I wasn’t making much, sometimes I was doing very well. My parents wanted me to at least give it a go so I have something to fall back on.
Adam: You have met several famous internet entrepreneurs - who has been a real inspiration to you?
Michael: I enjoyed meeting Bob Parson as I really liked the business plan behind GoDaddy and could apply what he did to my own business. Bob has had a lot of highs and a lot of lows and I think we can all learn from them, definitely a man worth checking out. I also highly respect Yanik Silver and Tim Schmidt.
Adam: You have a very slick looking site www.IncomeDiary.com, do you have a lot of design input into your blogs & site designs?
Michael: When ever I get anything designed I work very closely with my designers, I do worry if sometimes the designers get fed up with me but perfection is important to me. Always get the best designers you can, don’t settle for second best and make sure you are clear with every design feature.
Adam: What 4 pieces of advice would you give to aspiring young entrepreneurs?
Michael: Just do it, so many people just don’t start so first thing you need to do is take action.
Move on quickly, you will have plenty of people put you down and things will go wrong, just move on and don’t worry about it because it will affect your business.
Don’t get comfortable, make sure you challenge yourself and your business every day.
Don’t spend money you don’t have, so many people will rush out and spend their earnings, save it for a rainy day, invest it into your business and make sure you pay your tax!
Adam: Describe/outline your typical day?
Michael: I do have to admit that I take the day very easy, I will wake up around 10am and check over my emails and my forums. Will do between 1 and 4 hours a day of work, mainly emails, working with my team to make sure they are doing their jobs and interview people for my sites.
As I write this interview, I am in Cyprus enjoying a 2 week break in very hot weather, and some days I don’t even go online, yet I have made more than most people working full time, just from my passive income online.
Adam: In one word, characterize your life as an entrepreneur.
Michael: Roller-coaster
Adam: What do you know now, that you wish someone had told you when you were just starting out?
Michael: I think one of the most important things for me was to learn that what I think the website should be like, isn’t always what my readers will want it to be like. You’ve got to always be testing things and asking your readers what they want. See how different parts of your website are performing, which pages and posts everyone likes the most and be working on adding more value to your site with that in mind.
Also make sure your business is your passion otherwise you will struggle to provide value and make it a success.
Adam: Do you have a business plan or do you go with the flow?
Michael: A lot of my business has came straight from the top of my head as I work with programmers and designers. I have never written a business plan, it’s all in my head.
Adam: Who has influenced you most and been your greatest inspiration?
Michael: I work quite closely with my dad on my projects so he does influence my business a lot. Apart from that I like how Yaro Starak and Bob Parsons do business so a mixture between them to has inspired a lot of my work.
Adam: Where do you see yourself and your business in 5 years from now?
Michael: I plan to have sold my network of websites for 7 figures and to have started on my own extreme clothing company, FIKED.
Adam Toren
15 Helpful Business Tips to THRIVE in Tough Times!
May 11, 2009 by Justin
I was thinking a lot this weekend about the downturn which almost every country throughout the world in going through. I was also thinking how this can have an impact on the performance of so many businesses. It’s only natural that entrepreneurs of small and large companies are feeling the pinch during these challenging economic times. But rather than viewing the tough economy as a bad thing, look at it as an opportunity to improve your business practices so you can not only survive the tough times, but thrive during them. Here are 15 ways you can position your business to face any type of diversity that comes its way.
1. Streamline Business Practices.
This is an opportune time to review your business procedures for effectiveness. Consider areas that can be combined into one or structured differently to reduce costs. Think about sharing resources, like administrative or payroll work, with other entrepreneurs to reduce overhead. The goal is to streamline operations so you can still provide a quality product or service, yet realize a greater profit by reducing the expenses to produce it.
2. Work Smarter.
As a successful entrepreneur, you know you have to work smart to maximize business potential. But are you using the latest advances in technology to their potential? Look at all areas of business operation where you can cut waste or work faster and better by investing in automation software, new equipment, or web based applications.
3. Customer Appreciation.
Remember that your customers are going through a tough time, too. In order to retain their business, implement measures to express your appreciation. This could be a one-time price reduction, a customer loyalty card, or a referral incentive. Whatever the strategy may be, it should be something of value to the customer and within your marketing budget.
4. Evaluate Marketing Tactics.
If you are conducting marketing activities that cannot be measured for effectiveness, then it’s time to evaluate your approach. It is essential for an entrepreneur, regardless of their type of business, to conduct marketing efforts that show measured results. For example, if you run an ad in a newspaper without a coupon, then there’s no way to determine its effectiveness in growing your business. With marketing, it’s important to know what is and isn’t working for your business.
5. Get The Most From The Web.
The Internet offers a multitude of opportunities, many of which are entrepreneur focused. There are free services that can help you streamline administrative functions, enhance selling strategies and expand marketing efforts. For starters, ask yourself if your company website is making the most of email marketing, keywords, search engine optimization and other online marketing efforts. Attracting online buyers goes well beyond a company website. In these challenging times, it’s worthwhile to tap into entrepreneur blogs to learn about ways to enhance your online presence.
6. Expand Your Customer Base.
Rather than rely on the traditional avenues for attracting customers, it’s time to think of other ways where you can reach a whole new segment of the population. Target your product or service to a particular age group, lifestyle interests, or income group. By refocusing your reach, you can increase your customer base.
7. Position Yourself As An Entrepreneur Expert.
Chances are your local media is doing a lot of stories on how businesses and people are surviving these tough economic times. Here’s your opportunity to be a resource for their story or article by providing a quote and getting free exposure for your company at the same time. Keep your message positive and portray the entrepreneur spirit of optimism! Use the Internet to get national recognition from email publishers of entrepreneur and business publications. You can also become a speaker in your area of expertise at seminars, conferences, or conventions in exchange for advertisement in the event booklet.
8. Get Involved.
When business slows, it’s time to let everyone know that you’re still around with a valuable product or service. The most effective business comes from word of mouth. So become more involved in community functions, events or organization. As an entrepreneur, you should also tap into any trade organizations, such as your local chamber of commerce, small business forum, associations related to your line of business, and entrepreneur groups.
9. Focus on the Core.
If you’ve branched out into different areas over the years to improve market reach, it might be time to regroup and focus on the core of your business and outsource the rest. Evaluate what is and isn’t working and put more efforts into what started you out as a successful entrepreneur in the first place. It’s important to get in touch with your core business and make sure it continues to meet the changing needs of customers.
10. Change Pricing Strategies.
Depending on the financial outlook for your business, you might need to consider revising your pricing strategies in order to thrive long-term in an unfavorable economy.
11. Evaluate Vendors.
If you use vendors for packaging, labeling, distribution, or in other areas of your business, this is a good time to do some price comparisons. There is a lot of competition among vendors to attract new business, so you could realize some serious savings in this area. Since no one wants to lose business during a bad economy, chances are good that your current vendors will meet the competitor’s price. If not, it’s time to move your business to the lowest bidder, just as long as you’re not sacrificing quality!
12. Keep An Eye on the Budget.
Be more diligent in how you are spending money. It’s important to be frugal and aware of your income and expenses. By doing a line item cost for each expense, you will be able to identify areas that need greater attention. It’s also important to get a handle on any debt or to manage inventory.
13. Develop Staffing Strategies.
No one wants to layoff people during a rough economy, but there are other options that might better suit your business operations. Consider reducing hours, shortening the workweek, or job sharing. You might also want to introduce incentive strategies that award employees for generating business or reducing expenses.
14. Tap Into New Marketing Opportunities.
Many great entrepreneur ideas come out of adversity. For example, a joint marketing campaign with another entrepreneur that offers a product or service that complements yours without competing with it is one proven way to grow a business. Another affordable marketing effort is a text messaging campaign. Utilize all forms of media when brainstorming ideas.
15. Enhance Sales, Distribution and Customer Service.
Focus your support on the areas of your business that bring in customers and retain them. Develop cross selling ideas to help your sales force, implement measures to ensure customer service goes above and beyond customer expectations, and enhance your distribution methods so that your product or service is delivered as promised. Create ways that make it easier for everyone to do business with you.
The world has faced tough economic times before and many a company has survived and even thrived during them. The successful ones are those that are led by an entrepreneur who understands the value of their business and is proactive in meeting a challenge head on with a positive and motivating attitude.
Do you have anymore tips to add? Leave them in a comment!
Happy Monday! have a great week.
Adam Toren
Making the Most of Your Affiliate Networks
March 5, 2009 by Justin
If you have any kind of Pay Per Click or Pay Per Action advertising on your blog, you’re already familiar with affiliate networks. Basically, these organizations offer individual website owners and bloggers the opportunity to place ads from a huge range of companies—from Amazon.com to small independent retailers—on their webpages. The affiliate network assigns a special code to your blog, and when the customer clicks through your ad and buys something, you earn either a commission on the sale or a flat fee (depending on the specific agreement you have).
If you’re new to affiliate marketing, here is one of the most comprehensive lists of affiliate networks I’ve found: http://www.paulsonmanagementgroup.com/affiliate_center/affiliate_networks.php. Most of these networks require that you apply to them before you can use the ads; but this is just a way to make sure you aren’t misusing the ads and that your website is not doing anything illegal that would affect the retailers’ reputations.
Assuming you have already joined a network or ten and you’ve chosen some ads, how can you make the most of your network to ensure you’re earning money on your blog? One of the best ways is to stay in contact with your affiliate marketing rep. The majority of these companies assign each site owner to a live person who manages your account with them. These individuals work on a commission as well, and they are highly motivated to help you earn money from advertising. Once you develop a relationship with them, they will make sure you get the best information about the ads in your network; and this includes inviting you to be part of special promotions that will earn you higher rates per click or per action.
Another important tip is to review your affiliate networks daily for new promotions and banner art. Changing up your ads on your site can help keep things fresh and catch the eyes of visitors who come there regularly. You want to shy away from making your site into a single wall of blinking, rotating graphic banner ads. The reader will be overwhelmed and it will end up defeating the purpose of the ads by causing them to lose focus on your website. A couple wisely chosen and placed ads can be just the thing to augment your site design, and grab attention.
If you have other forms of electronic communication with your readers or members, such as a regular newsletter, ezine, or email list, you can incorporate links to your affiliates in these as well. Each program within an affiliate network offers several choices in links—banners of every shape and size, text links, and even codes to build forms so that you can be creative with your advertising.
Of course, the most important element in making money with affiliate advertising is getting enough traffic to your site. These ads are absolutely a numbers game, and you need to do everything in your power to get people to you website to view them in the first place.
The bottom line is that earning money from affiliate marketing isn’t just about throwing up a few banners here and there. You need to think strategically and make sure you are using all the tools provided to you. You also want to make sure you stay in compliance with any regulations that the retailers have about advertising. You will void your affiliate network membership if you engage in spam or other unscrupulous advertising practices.
Here are my Top 3 favorite affiliate networks to join and would highly recommend you join (the customer service and product network are top notch!):
The Best Of Blogtrepreneur In 2007
January 3, 2008 by Justin
Here at Blogtrepreneur, posting has been pretty sporadic. I know I’ve said in the past that bloggers should never apologize for their lack of regular posting, however I feel that I must say sorry for the way things have been around here.
Since the beginning of October 2007, there have only been 15 articles for you to read (some of them weren’t even written by me) and as a result, I’ve seen traffic numbers fall and RSS numbers have also decreased a tiny bit. The main reason for the lack of posting, was the fact that I appeared to be selling the site.
So, Is The Site Sold?
Well after a month and a half, the site is still with me and has not been sold to anyone. There were a few reasons for this. Firstly, I encountered many non-serious buyers, who shot me the one-off email in the hope that I was selling the site for $3k. Secondly, my traffic levels were (and still are) really low in comparison to what they were a few months back, and this put people off quite a bit. And finally, most of the potential buyers generally thought that I had put too big a price on the site.
However, I wasn’t prepared to sell for anything under $9,000 as it turned out.
What’s Next
These Christmas Holidays, I’ve had quite a think through about where I want Blogtrepreneur to be in 2008. Many of these ideas will be heard in my next post about my goals for this year, however, to let you guys know, I will continue to press on with the site as far as I know (and there could be other plans for me around the corner which I have no control over).
Therefore, I urge everyone to get subscribed back to my RSS feed (if you decided to go for a little wander) as Blogtrepreneur is going big in 2008!
The Best Of Blogtrepreneur In 2007
In the meantime, and in the usual spirit of the New Year (oh yeah, Happy New Year by the way!), I would like to present you with the best parts of 2007 for this blog. I’ve broken it down month by month listing the best posts in that timeframe - so grab something to drink and read on!
January
- Minimize the scale of your dependency
- Breaking the $100 Adsense Barrier - a great achievement for the young entrepreneur
- Babysitting - Is It Easier Than Online Income?
February
- Boosting Online Productivity: Google Reader
- Review - NorthxEast Business Blog - and to think that it’s so big now (maybe because of my review
) - 1 Quick Tip To Get More ReviewMe Reviews
Adnan’s Temporary Absence
November 29, 2007 by Justin
This is Connor Wilson (the designer here), doing some house cleaning in terms of approving comments and keeping things running while Adnan works out some problems.
Regarding the Sale
If you have any questions about the sale, keep emailing them to Adnan via the contact form, but for those of you awaiting a response: don’t worry. You have not been forgotten!
Adnan’s internet has crashed amidst his big sale. It likely won’t be back until tomorrow or Saturday with the repairmen being apathetic and all.
He has some access to the net via school computers, but there’s not much you can do from there. If you have an outstanding question or email and are wondering where your response is, just know that you’ll get it soon.
Plan B?
Having a backup plan, in case of such an emergency is always a good idea. Adnan suggested to me that this post could serve as a post detailing such things, but sometimes there is nothing you can do. Going to a school computer lab or local internet café to stay on top of things as best you can is a good idea, however.
It’s always unfortunate that your problem is in the hands of someone else (like the service technicians in this case) and the only thing to really do is wait.
In a case like this, as a blogger, you can still write. You may not get to write online, but fire up your favourite word processor and have at it. Just because you have some setbacks doesn’t mean you can’t come back with a boom!
You Have not been Forgotten!
Just to recap, due to extenuating circumstances, Adnan might have fallen behind on emails and posting. All will be well in a few days, and those potential buyers should not be disgruntled.
