Good News and Better News…

A Note from the Coach

Ok, Well, I have good news and even better news J The good news is that our call earlier this week “The Three Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make and How to Avoid Them” was maxed out. Over 170 people were registered. The even better news is that we overloaded the lines and ended up having to go to a back up system to hold the call. So if you didn’t get in, not to worry, we have the audio. Click here to listen…. The even BETTER news is that we will be hosting another call in the next week or two, so keep your eye on this space! I will be announcing it soon! Love and Success, Monikah J. Ogando, ‘The Entrepreneur’s Explosion Coach’ Feature Article Who Is On Your Team? As a business coach, I often use a lot of sports analogies, mostly because people can relate to them, and it makes the world of business a bit more “approachable”. But the one pervasive myth that I still haven’t been able to debunk is that solopreneurs (one-person businesses) work alone. You are not alone! Just because you are in business FOR yourself doesn’t mean you are in business BY yourself. So what can you do to create a powerful team of professionals that support your business growth? Here are five helpful tips: 1)        Leave your ego out of your business. You can either be right and broke, or be humble and successful. Pick one. Don’t become the ceiling to your business’s success. Your business deserves to soar, and you deserve to profit from it, and to do that, you may need to get out of your own way. Be open to new ideas, new ways of doing things. This doesn’t mean jumping from one opportunity to another, but when you are open to learning from others and from your own journey, you can create explosive growth.  2)    Figure out your core strengths and weaknesses. Let’s face it: You may not be an organized person. And that’s FINE! Stop making yourself wrong about it. Instead, create a system to organize yourself that doesn’t depend on you, for example hiring an assistant to come into your office once or twice a week to help with filing or bookkeeping. Or if one of your strengths is connecting with people and as soon as they meet you they want to buy from you, then stop hiding behind your desk. Go out there and make a difference for people!  3)        Figure out the revenue-generating activities of your business – and DO THEM! As much as we love color-coded files and a perfectly balanced checkbook, these are activities that, while they are necessary to the smooth running of your business, are not what bring in the money. Take one hour of your day and do some strategic thinking: What activities do you do in your business that generate revenue? What activities don’t? Then figure out a schedule to complete those activities, and make a list of the kind of person that would handle the non-revenue items, or the name of the person if you already have someone in mind. 4)        Assign your list of activities (the ones that generate revenue, and the ones that don’t necessarily generate revenue but must be done) to your Dream Team. But wait, you don’t have a team yet!? Well, what your mind can conceive it can achieve! So write down who would be ideal to handle each activity, whether it’s administrative, bookkeeping, sales, marketing, etc. 5)    Create Your Team! Now, check your resources. Ask for support from those in your network. Hire a college student or a stay at home mom as an intern or part time help. Let’s say for example your time is worth $300 an hour… wouldn’t you rather pay $15/hr to someone to handle non-revenue tasks, and who could probably do it (imagine this!) better than you (see Step 1)! Do you need to finish that business plan? Finally buckle down and hire your business coach? Make the commitment and connect to a Mastermind Team that will support you every step of the way? Whatever it is for you, declare it, create a game plan, then get to work. The best is yet to come!

If I were a betting woman….

A Note from the Coach

Howdy! I’ve been told I’m a pretty intuitive person. Not a fortune teller, certainly not a mind reader. But if I were a betting woman, and you told me you’re struggling with your business right now, I am almost 100% sure I can guess the mistake you’re making.Why? Because 99% of entrepreneurs who struggle are making the EXACT same mistake. And this deadly mistake can sacrifice both your sanity AND your bottom line. Want to know what it is? Then tune in for a FREE 60-minute tele-class on Tuesday, Oct 24, at 7 pm EST. Sign up here: http://www.ogandoassociates.com.com/previewcall.htm I’ll not only share what this mistake is but how you can avoid it. PLUS I’ll also be giving you a preview of my step by step formula to skyrocketing into six and seven figure success!Go here to sign up: http://www.ogandoassociates.com.com/previewcall.htm Can’t make it? Not a problem, sign up anyway and you’ll have access to the audio: http://www.ogandoassociates.com.com/previewcall.htm Love and Success, Monikah J. Ogando, “The Entrepreneur’s Explosion Coach” Feature Article Planning to Fail: 7 Tips for A Fundable Business Plan Are you planning to fail? That sounds like a funny question, doesn’t it? Who would plan to fail? Especially when you work so hard on your business. But what if I told you two-thirds of small business owners do plan to fail. It’s a documented truth. (According to the latest Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index, 69 percent of new business owners do not have a business plan.) The facts are in: Every business that runs without a plan is a business that plans to fail. Often without even knowing it. The old saying, “Failing to plan is a plan to fail” is true. The Small Business Administration (SBA) reports that the odds of failure are much greater for business owners who do not have a written plan. In fact, the SBA cites the lack of a written plan as one of the top three reasons for not succeeding. Are you without a plan? If so, here are some questions to spur your thinking as you get started on writing your plan: 1)  What is your vision for the company? In other words, if “your work here is done”, what would be possible in your industry, in your customers’ lives, in your target market that is currently not a reality? 2)  What is your mission? Why are you in business? What is so important and so impactful that it compels you to get out of your comfort zone every day in order to make it happen? 3)  Given that you are clear on your vision and mission, what are some tangible objectives for your business? For example, you may want to establish a client base of 100 customers, or grow your annual revenue to $1.2M. 4)  What strategies will you use to meet those objectives? Will you reduce expenses? By how much? Will you train a sales team so they can go out there and drum up new business? What about creating brand awareness? How will you accomplish that? 5)  What are the steps to carry out your strategies? These tasks must have deadlines and a person responsible for them. Outline what exactly needs to get done and by when so that you know when you meet your milestones. 6)  How much money does your business need to start up? To break even? To reach a certain profit level? How much minimum does your business need to produce in order to meet your living expenses? At the very least, this is your baseline goal. 7)  If someone handed you a check for $1,000,000 to invest into your business, what would you do with it? Where would the money go? To training? New equipment? Brand new marketing plan? How will this investor recoup his money, and what would his Return on Investment (ROI) be? How can you ensure that ROI? This is all introspection. Notice I didn’t mention anything about who your target market is, or your competition, or the industry as a whole, etc. Stay tuned in this space because I’ll be talking more about your business planning in the coming weeks, especially as the end of the year draws to a close, and your new year begins. It’s time to create UNPRECEDENTED results in your business!

Are you stretching yet?

 

Good morning!  When was the last time you felt uncomfortable? In your life, your business, or both? If you haven’t felt uncomfortable – in a good way – for a while, it might be that you haven’t been stretching a lot lately. Not that discomfort of the truly uncomfortable kind is something to seek out, but just like shedding an old skin, growth can be itchy and feel a little like a rash, even. So this is an invitation. For all of you who are in business, especially those of you who’ve recently joined the Master Mind Your Business to Success Program (or the waiting list for it)… I challenge you! Post here an answer or comment to one of these questions: (1) What could you use help with right now, today, in your business? Remember that the ability to receive help is the #1 most underdeveloped skill in most businesses. (2) What’s going phenomenally well right now? How and why does that reflect what you truly want in your business? (3) If you’re a Master Mind participant, either with us or through your own Master Mind group, which one of the 9 steps is staying with you most and why? Sometimes the most important shifts can feel like splinters in our mind. We want to know what they are because they can lead to business breakthroughs.  Write me to tell me what you’re committing to. Better yet, post it on the blog so everyone can support you in your BOLD declaration! Now, after you’re done reading this week’s issue of Start It Up, get off your butt and go do it! Love and Success, Monikah J. Ogando, “The Entrepreneur’s Explosion Coach” Feature Article Deciding What to Do Each Day                                                                                                     Guest Author: Rich Schefren Gee, what do I want to do today? If you ever started your day by asking yourself that question, then pay very close attention because the question above is the beginning of an ineffective day. Strategic entrepreneurs don’t start out their day asking “what do I want to do?” They ask themselves “What are the most important, highest leverage activities that need to get done?” and create a list of the most important activities that answer the question. After that, they estimate the amount of time each activity should take. Next, they analyze the list of important activities that must get done and determine which activities they should do themselves and who they are going to get to do the remaining activities. Then when they start work they tackle the most important, highest leverage task or activity first. They do not ask the question of themselves “which one of these task do I want to do now?” Remember no entrepreneur is born effective you have to cultivate it and you do that by practicing the habits of effectiveness. You wouldn’t want an employee who worked on what they chose and you should respect your business at the very least as much as you want your team to. Here’s a quote from the Harvard Business Review, June 2004 p59 “Jack Welch realized that what needed to be done at General Electric when he took over as chief executive was not the overseas expansion HE WANTED to launch. It was getting rid of businesses that, no matter how profitable, could not be number one or number two in their industries.” So, today, be conscious of the choices you make when deciding what to work on. Are you picking tasks based on what you want or are you picking your activities based on what your company needs from you? If you pick the most important task to work on first you’ll be more effective, your company will be more profitable, and you’ll be able to work less so you can actually pick fun things to do outside of work instead of the poor substitutes you’ve been using to fill your work days. So remember – it’s not what you want to do – it’s what your business needs done. At age 22, Rich Schefren’s very first business involved taking over a failing clothing store, which at that time, was doing 1.5 million dollars in sales (even though the breakeven was a whopping $3 million!) Within three years, the store was cranking in well over $6.5 million — with 25% of it dropping directly to the bottom line! He’s been profiled on the front page of the Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Entertainment Tonight, ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, MSNBC, Vogue, GQ, MTV, VH1, The Discovery Channel, The Learning Channel, Cosmopolitan, The Daily News, The New York Post and many others. He lives in Boca Raton, Florida, with his wife and two daughters.

Are you stretching yet?

Transform Your World

A Note from the Coach

Good morning! Normally, you get our ezine on Thursday afternoon or evening, depending on where in the world you are (and if you’re in Australia, usually Friday morning! ). But today I couldn’t wait until the afternoon. A lot of you that know me personally know that I just won’t shut up about transformational trainings. In fact, soon I’ll be studying to become a transformational trainer myself (WOO HOO!) If you don’t know what I’m talking about, (and please forgive the overly simplified description) transformational trainings are a curriculum of personal development workshops that have you look at the beliefs out of which you live your life, so that you can then choose actions consistent with what you say matters to you. For example, have you ever known a person (not you, of course!) that said they wanted the relationship of their dreams, but then went around mistrusting people and having a pessimistic outlook? Well, transformation is about honoring your commitments and having consistency in your being and doing. When you honor who you authentically are, you immediately create others doing the same. There are dozens of training centers around the world that offer such curriculum. One in particular, Summit Education, right here in South Florida is my absolute favorite! Anyway, I digress. My point is that when I saw this video on You Tube, it struck me how transformation begins with one person. One person deciding, today will be different. Today I will impact the world around me. There is a scene in the video that literally had me in tears. I was like, Wow, I want to live in a world like THAT! Click below to watch the video. So, what will YOU do today to have your business transformed? How will your family, your work, your clients’ life, your finances be different just because you chose to take a stand today and do something about it? Write me to tell me what you’re committing to. Better yet, leave a comment here on the blog so everyone can support you in your BOLD declaration! Now, after you’re done reading this week’s issue of Start It Up, get off your butt and go do it! Love and Success, Monikah J. Ogando, “The Entrepreneur’s Explosion Coach”

Feature Article

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OUR VERY FIRST Q & A COLUMN! So many of you have emailed and phoned me with questions about how to start and grow your business, that I decided to put together our very first Q & A coaching session.Now, you have to let me know if this is something you want to see again. You can post your questions here on the blog, or email them to us. I can’t guarantee I will answer each and every question, but wouldn’t it be sweet to see your answer before thousands of other entrepreneurs ?’ QUESTION: Where can I find “start up” money? ANSWER: That depends on the amount of money you need, the length of time you have been in business, your geographic location, your personal credit rating, your ability to provide collateral, the viability of your business idea, whether you are looking for debt or equity financing, etc. Explore the following sources of capital: banks (developing a relationship with a bank and a banker is key); small business development centers (while they may not have access to funds, they will almost certainly have resources and contacts); the “Friends and Family” bank (this is probably the most common and most successful source of funds for start ups); community development centers (many of them have money to lend); venture capital (for those who don’t mind giving up “control” of their business); angel investors; the use of supplier/vendor financing (have a supplier extend 120 – day terms instead of the usual 30 while you extend only 30-day terms to your customers); seller financing; end-user funding (having the ultimate customer finance the research and development of the product). Here’s a handy FREE report on Financing Options for Your Business! QUESTION: I’m a woman entrepreneur, where do I find help to build my business? ANSWER: Did you know that women made up about 40% (or 10.4 million) of all small business owners in the United States this year, according to the Center for Women’s Business Research? But only 3% of women-owned companies generated more than $1 million in yearly revenue. Well, that just won’t do! Below are some resources you are sure to find helpful: SBA Office of Women’s Business Ownership National Association of Women Business Owners Count Me In Make Mine a Million Ladies Who Launch Golden Seeds Center for Women’s Business Research If you need more information, send me an email. I have TONS of resources! QUESTION: What magazines or websites should I be reading to get educated on entrepreneurship and building my business? I feel like I’m missing out on valuable information. ANSWER: I could tell you to subscribe to Entrepreneur Magazine, Business Week, Fast Company, to name a few, but I have a caveat: The problem is not missing out on valuable information. The key is really about USING the information already at your fingertips in a STRATEGIC way. That’s why people join my coaching programs, and look for my home-study courses… because I give you a step by step process to follow so you don’t have to feel overwhelmed with “all the information out there”. Watch for this space because I’ll be announcing some major developments in the coming weeks so that you can LEVERAGE what you already know into profits for your business. In the meantime, you’re welcome to borrow my magazines . Got more questions? We have answers! Don’t forget to post your questions here so we can get to them! WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Business Coach Monikah Ogando publishes the award-winning ‘Start It Up!’ weekly ezine with thousands of subscribers. If you’re ready to jump-start your business, make more money, and have more fun in your small business, get started now!

Peace Keeper/Peace Makers

(CAVEAT: I have had this conversation with more than one person, so I am by no means singling out anyone in particular.)

She walked out fuming. How dare that spineless “colleague” of hers make decisions without consulting with her first? She called her coach (i.e., me) to vent and get clarity. Her blood pressure is up, her breathing is shallow, her stomach is queasy, and she can’t concentrate. She is what I like to call, a peace keeper.

People who like to keep the peace usually avoid conflict, evade discomfort, leave things unsaid, and “let things pass”… And they pay heavy prices. For the sake of keeping the peace, some people are willing to lose money, risk their physical health, step over other people’s feelings (although they’d never see it that way because they’re “just keeping the peace”), even forego a soul mate and soul purpose. Somewhere, viscerally, it makes sense: If I keep the peace, I won’t have to risk, I won’t have to be rejected, I won’t have to deal with the maddening uncertainty of life, I won’t have to be wrong or feel “out of control.”

A peace maker, on the other hand, is willing to step through it all, to get to peace. What I mean is this: If peace is the safe, clean, integrous place where people are free to be 100% themselves by themselves or with each other, pursuing their highest/deepest truth, then a peace-maker is someone who is willing to go through discomfort, conflict, speak the uncomfortable truth, bring up and deal with emotions we often want to hide from, risk rejection, be okay with uncertainty, be willing to not have to be right or in control all the time, all for the sake of enjoying peace within themselves and with the people surrounding them.

Hey, don’t get me wrong. Peace makers pay some prices too. They may not hear the answer the want to hear when they bring up an uncomfortable conversation. They may face rejection, or failure. The thrill of uncertainty as they jump the chasm to their dreams may end up by falling flat on their face. It can be frustrating when you do not see possibilities or solutions, even when you really want to. Peace keepers sit in no-possibility because that’s all they see, and it’s easier to navigate (faith, after all, is evidence of things unseen). Peace makers are willing to go at it blind, bump into things, for the sake of reaching that which up til now they have only imagined.

Quick quiz: Is there someone in your life right now with whom you haven’t said everything there is to say? Do you owe someone money and have been avoiding them? Do you cut a conversation short because you don’t want to “have to go there” with a particular person sooner or later? Or even deeper, are you believing/feeling something that you haven’t even admitted to yourself?

It’s time for integrity.

Make peace.

Peace is not a cheap harlot, to be kept, bought or bribed, and then turned away when it gets ugly.

It is a precious gift to be made and offered to those you touch and who touch you. If for nothing/no one else, because YOU deserve peace.

Paralyzing or Liberating?

I have been quite busy putting together the final touches for an amazing Master Mind Your Business Program (what? You don’t know about Masterminding? Have you heard of Napoleon Hill’s book, “Think and Grow Rich?! Go here right now to learn more!).Now, if you don’t know about Masterminding, let me tell you, you are missing out on a powerful spiritual boost.

You know how the bible says “Where two or more are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them.” (Matt 18:19-20)? People have been using that principle for years, centuries! It’s how Charles Wrigley created the Wrigley empire, how Ford popularized the automobile industry, and how many entrepreneurs today are creating unprecedented results in their businesses.

In most of the Mastermind groups I have participated in or facilitated, the number one obstacle to creating the business/relationship/wealth/(insert your dream here) of your dreams is never the external obstacle itself.

It’s fear.

Fear of rejection. Fear of the worst possible scenario. Fear of success. Fear of failure. Fear that it might not work out. Fear that it might after all. Fear that it’s too much work. Fear that I’m wrong. Fear that I’m right. Fear. Fear. Fear!

Usually, fear is the LAST MONSTER to overcome before you achieve extraordinary breakthroughs. When you come face to face with your fear, you have two options: You can either stop, turn around, walk away and try a different route (usually, a different version of the same schpeel). Or you can step right through it.

I’m willing to assert that fear is just the unwillingness to look at evidence that proves our point. Here’s what I mean: When you are afraid of rejection, in your mind, you have already been rejected. And insofar as you are already experiencing the feeling/thought of being rejected, fear is just the hesitation to “make it official.”

So, here’s my suggestion:

Go ahead. Make it official!

You’re already feeling rejected! So go ahead and be rejected for real!

The other possibility is that you might experience acceptance, love, success, even if it’s “incremental”.

We might meet the perfect mate, and then come face to face with fears we may not have even realized you had. And we sabotage it in the most subtle and sneaky of ways: We make it THEIR problem: S/he lives too far away, is too busy, has too much attention from the opposite sex anyway, is a commitment-phobe anyway, etc. Or else, we make ourselves the convenient villain, justifying all the reasons why such a decent human being shouldn’t get involved with a monster such as I.

When in reality, what we are covering up is “Wow, I’m feeling really vulnerable here and if this person rejects me, I’m going to feel very hurt.”

Here’s how I coached someone on this recently, and how I invite YOU to re-frame whatever current situation may be generating fear in you now:

1)    What are you afraid might happen?

I’m afraid that if I go for this business deal, it might not work out and I’ll end up losing my investment money.

2)    And if it happens, what might it mean about you?

That I don’t know what I’m doing. That I’m not a good business owner/investor, and that I’m too stupid to make good decisions.

3)    Is that absolutely true? Do you have evidence of the opposite?

No. It’s not absolutely true. There are plenty of times when I’ve made great decisions and it turned out wonderfully. This opportunity wouldn’t have come to me if the person hadn’t trusted that I have solid experience and know what I’m doing.

4)    Who would you be without this train of thought?

Oh, wow! I’d be free, I’d feel certain, confident in my own abilities, happy that opportunities come to me apparently out of nowhere. It means I must be doing something right.

5)    So if you were that person: the free, certain, confident person for whom opportunities just seem to flow, what would your train of thought be, and what actions would you take?

….

You get where I’m going… If you don’t, email me so you can experience coaching for yourself! In the meantime, write me a comment on the blog, let me know what you did TODAY to break through a particular fear… even if it’s a small step, it doesn’t matter. A small step in the right direction is better than standing still and going nowhere.

Go for it!

You Are NOT Important

A couple of weeks ago, a colleague of mine had an issue with a vendor he was using. He knows the company’s owner personally and has always been catered to by the owner herself. So when he called her to let her know of the problems he was having, he was surprised to get her voice mail, and then voice mail again, and then no response to his emails. Nothing.

He finally called her from an unknown number (sneaky one) and she DID respond. Her answer: Sorry I haven’t gotten back to you. I’ve been too busy.

Subtext: You are not important enough for me to take 60 seconds out of my life and explain to you what’s been going on in my end, and ensure you are a happy customer even though you haven’t been getting what you wanted.

When he told me the story I was incensed! Family: You know how I feel about relationships. How human beings relate to one another is the foundation, the sine qua non, of business, of life! So for someone to be so nonchalant about how they relate to another human being… man… that just gets my blood boiling! Personally, it would be far more honest to say to someone “You’re not important enough for me to deal with right now. I’ll get at you later”, than to euphemize it with “I’m too busy.” C’mon, don’t insult people’s intelligence!

I have been watching this story unfold for my colleague, and I’ve learned some lessons (where would a Coach Mo column be without lessons?):

1)      The issue was complex and needed several people’s involvement in order to be resolved. So “one phone call” wasn’t going to do the trick. And even when everyone that needed to be involved DID get involved, some people were frankly at a loss as to how to fix the problem. Lesson: It behooves all parties involved to be realistic, understanding and patient with each other.

2)      My colleague is what I like to call “Circle of influence”. His reach is wide, and when he opened his big mouth to speak his mind about how he’d been treated, this vendor’s business PLUMMETTED. Lesson: The ripple effect is real. You may think you are only affecting one person, but you are affecting those that said person affects too. We are far more powerful and connected than we give ourselves credit for.

 

3)      My colleague is also a very understanding person. If the vendor had just called, kept in touch, given him some updates, anything to let him know that she was not ignoring/avoiding/evading her client, all would have been well. If she had just called and been constant in her communication, he could have waited until the end of time for whatever resolution was in store. Lesson: A simple 3-minute phone call can prevent hours, even years of headaches, and can prevent the demise of a relationship.

 

4)      The biggest beef that my colleague had was the feeling of indignation at being made to feel at first like such an important client to this vendor (especially when he was just “a prospect” and not yet a client), and then the utter disregard with which he was treated afterwards. He felt used, disregarded, and unimportant. Lesson: We’re all going to have problems or issues in our business and personal relationships. The most important thing is not THAT we have them, but HOW we deal with them. Problems by definition always have an answer (even if you can’t see it yet), but people don’t always heal as easily.

 

5)      I actually spoke to the vendor too, to get her side of the story, and part of her lack of communication was due to how badly she felt that the more time passed by, the worst she felt about not communicating. A vicious cycle of sorts. And yet, all her client wanted was to connect. Lesson: Avoiding communication because “the issue” is uncomfortable or painful to face is NEVER the answer. In fact, it usually makes the situation worse.

Homework from the Coach:

I know, you haven’t seen homework from me in a while, but here goes: Make a list of 5-10 people that you KNOW you should call/follow up with… even if it’s just to say hello. You know who I’m talking about, the ones that when you think of them, you say to yourself, Dang, I should give so-and-so a call.

Call them within the next 24 hours. Don’t prepare a script. Don’t come up with excuses as to why you haven’t called. Just call. Speak the truth from your heart. Start a new beginning. You’ll be glad you did.

The worst that could happen is that the person won’t ever want to hear from you again, in which case, you just got yourself some peace and clarity as to where you stand and can go on about your business without a cloud over your head. The best that could happen… that’s up to you! J

Til next time,

Coach Mo

Post-Labor Day Blues :)

I hope you have enjoyed your ‘Labor Day’ weekend…

It’s kind of ironic that this weekend is celebrating
a holiday about WORK because I want to teach you
how to work less and make more money in your
online business -  a lot more.

*** SOME EXCITING NEWS ***

Not long after August 18, 2003, which was
my now famous ‘START IT UP DAY’ when
I released my ‘Start Your Business in 30 Days
or Less’ course, I started getting asked the same question…

‘Monikah, so when’s your next course coming out?’

It’s been just over three years since
‘Start it Up’ was released and not a
week has gone by without someone asking
me the same question.  And up until today
my answer has always been the same…

‘I don’t know.’

But notice how I said ‘up until today.’

I am very happy to be able to announce…

My Next Course Is Finally Ready For Release

Actually…  that’s not 100% accurate.  Let
me explain…

What I am getting ready to release is not
really a ‘course.’  At least not like what
you are used to seeing.  It’s not a bundle
of stuff that you’ll have delivered in a box
to your front door step.

What I am doing is actually teaching a
LIVE COURSE over the Internet.  It will
be a multi-week training program and it
will be complete with handouts, homework
assignments, and more.

It has been designed for maximum
intensity and FAST results.  So it’s
only for people that actually want
to experience results very very quickly –
and, of course, are willing to take action
and follow what I teach them to do.

‘What’s The Course About?’

This Live Training Program is going to be
teaching you…

‘How to Build a FUNDABLE, SELLABLE Business’

If you’ve been part of my business coaching
in the past, then you know that I am a firm
believer in building a business you can sell
to someone else for profits (even if you are
never planning to sell your baby), or at the very least,
building a business someone would want to FUND
(like a bank or an investor!).

We’re going to teach you how to structure
your business for maximum growth, how
to decide what opportunities to go
after, what you should be doing each
week with your time, when you should
hire other people and/or outsource
certain tasks for maximum growth
and scability, and much much more.

I am going to share with you a lot
about my own MINDSET and how to
find and decide what online opportunities
to go after — and then how to build
real cash-producing businesses out of
them and structure them to ideally
produce cash FOREVER.  Or at least
for many years.

So we’re not talking about one-shot
deals here that make a little bit of
cash.  We’re talking about building
‘cash cows’ (so to speak) that continue
to produce income for you month-after-month.

I hope to transform the way you think
about making money and how
you approach your business — forever.

You will walk away with an actionable business
plan that you can take to the bank or the
investor for a capital infusion into your
business, or use it to build this business
and sky rocket your own success without any
outside help!

* Most of this is stuff I’ve never
taught *anywhere* before.

One quick comment…

If you saw the brilliant marketing campaign
that Rich Schefren recently put on for
his coaching program (including his
great ‘manifesto’ reports) then you
might be wondering how much of this
is like what he is teaching — in case
you are in his program.

I actually am in Rich’s program
and have been exposed to his great
coaching. I know he knows his stuff. 

While I will be covering some of those
things, I will be covering a lot of other
things that have more to do with…

The Entrepreneurial Success Mindset

It’s the mindset and major decision-making
strategy that has made me build a one-person
coaching business into a entrepreneurial system
on the Internet.

If you’ve ever wondered what to do on
a daily basis, what to look for in
an opportunity, and then how to
start something from scratch
and then build it, then you’ll want
to be a part of my new training
‘class.’

HOWEVER…

I will tell you what this class is NOT
about…

It’s not going to get into marketing
tricks and tactics, etc.  We’re not
going to go over how to setup AdWords
ads, or how SEO works, or how to
write copy, or how to setup VRE sites,
or tricks for higher conversions, etc.

This valuable (and powerful) info
goes wayyyy beyond all of that.  This
is the more important stuff that has
everything to do with how big your
business gets and how fast.  Period.

If you don’t have a solid foundation
for how to start, manage, and grow
a cash-producing Internet business then all
the tricks on how to beat the search
engines or other little tricks are
meaningless.

Whether you already have a hugely
successful business online or you
have no business yet, I guarantee
my course can GREATLY improve
your success.

Okay So Here’s The Deal…

I hope to start this class VERY SOON.
Which means less than a month from now. 
It all depends on when
I finish putting the final touches on
the course curriculum.

But I Need Your Help!

Before I can start this new course
I need your help PLEASE…

The course curriculum is 95% complete
(and it’s really some AWESOME stuff)
but that’s not good enough for me…

As you probably know by now, I am
a bit of a perfectionist.  So I want to make
sure that I am also addressing every
major problem or need when it comes
to helping you start, grow, and manage
your business projects.

In order to do this, I need you to take
a couple of minutes of your time
RIGHT NOW and just do something
for me real quick…

I’ve setup a simple web page that simply
has a box and asks you to enter your
questions about any of this.  Just go
right now and let me know what you need
help with when it comes to really building
wealth from the Internet — the challenges
or problems you may have with growing
a business to a HUGE level.

Please go here right now and just answer
the question on this page:
http://www.ogandoassociates.com/bizsurvey.html

I would sincerely appreciate it!  It will
definitely help me finalize the teaching
materials for the class — because it will
let me know that I am addressing all of your
major needs.

AS A ‘THANK YOU’ BONUS…

To thank you for submitting your comments
for me I am going to give you VIP ACCESS
when it comes down to who gets into this class.

When I officially release the class registration
page (which will be in the next few days)
you will get a full 24-HOUR headstart before
I make the registration page public.

I fully expect this class will sell-out quickly
so this is a major advantage for you.  And
it’s the least I can do since you are helping
me out.

* Make sure to properly submit your
FULL NAME and email address on that
survey page, though, or I won’t know
to give you the VIP ACCESS.

As for when the class registration will be
released and all the other details…

Check your email throughout this week
since I will be emailing it to you.

JUST TO LET YOU KNOW…

This class isn’t being offered through
affiliates and JV partners, etc.  I don’t
even have enough spots available for
all of MY OWN customers and subscribers!

So you aren’t going to see a bunch of
other marketers promoting this class.
This is it.  The only communication
you will receive about this very special
class is from me like this email.

Unfortunately, something like
98.72% of my list won’t be able to
get into the class.

So it will come down to ‘first come,
first served.’

That’s the only fair way to do it.

And, frankly, I like rewarding those
that TAKE ACTION and will do what
it takes to make sure they get in.

Training my customers to take action
is ultimately what will make them
more money anyway!

And another thing… there will be no
fancy sales letter and other marketing
‘stuff.’  I am going to set-up a basic web
page that will cover the course
curriculum, but it’s not going to be
a massive scrolling page that tries to
‘convince’ you to take the class.

When you see the details of the
class you should ‘just know’
how much this is going to benefit
you.  If you don’t, well, that’s up
to you.  I’m certainly not going to
beg you to take my class.

(Someone else will be happy to
take the extra spot.)

Here’s the page again for the survey:
http://www.ogandoassociates.com/bizsurvey.html

Keep a look out for another email about
this class in the next few days…

NOW GET BACK TO WORK!

Enjoy the rest of your holiday weekend.

Here’s to your explosive success,

How Can You Market for Free?

Although I’ve been covering a plethora of ways to market for free, there are several that you might overlook if I don’t point them out to you. Some of these are obvious, but others are easy to miss. As an entrepreneur, I don’t want you missing out on anything, so here goes some ways you can market for free:

1.  Make it easy for your customers to pay: Offer monthly payments on high ticket items, or any similar partial payment plan (no down payment, no payments until 2008). Accept credit cards, automate your billing by getting a merchant account you can link up to your website  (for more information go to www.ogandocart.com and sign up for the 30 day free trial).

2.  Feature your competitive advantage. There are many Subway delis where I live. They all offer the same quality, selection and prices, but I only go to one — because they know my name and they NEVER let me walk out of there without my favorite (chocolate chip cookies). In fact, one time they ran out, and because I was there, they baked a fresh batch. You should center your marketing on your competitive advantage. If you don’t have one, create one, then live up to it. All things being equal, the business with the most competitive advantages wins out every time.

3. Get the best possible response through email. Email gets better response rates than snail mail, costs less and allows you to test faster. This can be a topic in and of itself, which I’ll talk about later. But suffice it to say that when you use your subject line effectively, creating a killer opening line and keeping the email itself short, you are well on your way to emailing your business to the bank.

4. Make guarantees. Remove the risk in the eyes of your prospect. How big, specific and outrageous a guarantee can you think of? What would keep your competitors up all night worrying about you? That’s the kind of guarantee you want to create.

5. Offer gift certificates. Especially if you’ve never offered them before, or it is unusual for your industry, and especially around holidays such as Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, and they work all year long.

6.  Use the free classified ads on the internet. The last time I Googled “free classified ads”, I got 86 pages of 10 sites each. So if you truly want to market for free, take advantage of these. Follow their guidelines and post often. Unlike paid advertising, people who get free classified ads are LOOKING for you, instead of you imposing your presence on them.

7.  Spy on your competitor — and yourself. Call a competitor up, request some information. See how you’re treated on the phone, how your information request is processed and how long it takes, if there is any follow up and how good it is. Then call your own company and request the same. If your competitors are doing anything better than you, make the changes so that you are doing everything better than they are.

8. Enhance your business card. Don’t just include contact information, offer them something that would entice them to keep in touch with you: a free report, a free estimate, a powerful offer. Enclose it in all your mailings, always carry some cards with you. When handing it to someone, be sure to ask for his or hers.

9. Make appearances in talk shows. If you’re not ready for Oprah yet (or Oprah is not ready for you!), then get on your local TV or radio station, have a great sound bite and prepare five main points to cover in every interview. Practice in front of a mirror or with a friend. Interviews are like alligators: You don’t have to love them or even like them, but you do have to feed them.

10.  Always follow up. Marketing is NOT over once you’ve made the sale. It’s just beginning. It costs up to six times more to sell something to a new customer than to an existing customer. Send a thank you note within 48 hours, then another 30 days later to see that everything is going allright. Then another 60 days later to let them know of any new products or offers. Always always always follow up!

11. Biggie size it. Offer opportunities to upgrade.  Perhaps they’ll buy a companion product, or the deluxe model of the economy version of your product. The cost to market your upgrade offer is nil. All profits go right to your bottom line.

Do you have ideas about how to market for free? Send them to me and I’ll feature them in my next blog. Send me an email at myspaceblog@ogandoassociates.com. I’ll make sure you give you a shout-out!

Til next time,

Coach Mo