MITCHPOWELL

“I would like my blog to be visible to everyone, including search engines (like Google, Bing, Technorati) and archivers”

It’s time. I spent way too long trying to learn a very full-featured theme called the Privateer theme, and in doing so, I wanted my privacy settings turned off so that every time I tested something out, or changed a setting, I wouldn’t be “pinging” the search engines, which can be a real detriment to your chances later, of ranking well on search results pages.

Well, I obviously wasn’t ranking anywhere with these privacy settings; and I certainly wasn’t attracting any viewers to my blog – but wait, maybe there are some people who like to read Latin gibberish filler text. Lorem ipsum etc., etc., etc.

No, it’s definitely time. Whatever your idea is for a home-based business, it’s time to just do it. Get started. The sooner you start, the sooner you fail, and the sooner you fail, the sooner you can put that part of your journey behind you. You will definitely learn from your mistakes, but if you’re not publishing anything, you’re certainly not getting anything.

I’m talking as if partly to myself and partly to you and I hear you wondering, “Well, Mitch, do you know what your business is? What is this website here for? Why am I here wasting my time with you? What do you have to give me that’s going to change my life?”

I do know what this business is. It just doesn’t have enough material at this point to key you in on it. I do know that I enjoy tinkering with new technologies and to report back my findings. I tinker and dabble and report back. I mentioned in my previous post about doing what makes you come alive. For me, that’s it. Finding innovative marketing tools and methods and experimenting with them. Does it make money? We’ll have to see. By applying a little creativity, I think it can. I think it’s what will set me apart in this fierce marketplace.

There are more and more people every day pouring on to the internet in the promise of supplementing their income with a home-based business of some sort. Some will latch onto a “system” or franchise of sorts, and begin making money right away. Some will hold out, not sure if something is right for them. Waiting until all their ducks are neatly lined up before they make their debut. The “make-money-online” niche is swarming with piranhas. Perry Marshall warns in his now-famous blog post, “Memo from a Pink Koolaid Drinker,”

The marketing and make-money niche is a game for razor sharp, A-level marketers. Not for entry level people.

All that happens to entry level people is, one way or another their money ends up in the hands of razor sharp, A-level marketers and you have nothing to show for it. All kinds of razor sharp, A-level marketers take advantage of this fact without the slightest twinge of guilt.

(Their rationalization for exploiting peoples’ ignorance is: “Well if I don’t take their money they’ll just waste it on some other equally stupid thing.” Well hey, it’s not like they’re exactly wrong about that…even piranhas have their rightful place in the food chain, right? Hey pal, I’m just saying, if you’re not a piranha, don’t swim with them. Find a pond that just has regular frogs and dragonflies and hang out there.)

Take a lesson from one of the wisest writers in the internet marketing industry, go read that entire post and do the exercise he suggests in it too. In fact, it wouldn’t hurt to sign up for Perry’s newsletter either; but be extremely careful of signing up to too many newsletters. If you’re online to run a business, don’t let the piranhas steal your agenda. Don’t become a professional downloader of freebies, and definitely don’t be a chaser of shiny objects. These guys are good and it’s very hard not to fall under their spell.

I’ll tell you more about that sometime. I’m a downloading machine. I’ve been trained exceptionally well. It’s time for me to break that cycle. The ping is on.

Your home-based business plans are stagnant. You’ve puzzled for months, maybe even years, over what you might bring to this competitive marketplace. Have you been tinkering with this “make-money-online” thing for too long? Are you just not “getting it?” There’s always something holding you back from the actions you know you should take to just get started? You know all the right stuff already; you’ve read it all:

“Ready, fire, aim.” | “It’s all about the list.” | “Content is King.” (ad nauseum)

And maybe you came across this wonderful quote by Harold Thurman Witman at some point:

“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs.
Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do it.
Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

I rediscovered it just a little while ago while I was researching Google images for a visual aid to the concept of “If You Throw Enough Spaghetti at the Wall, Some of It Is Bound to Stick”

I happened upon [Self Made Chick,] Christine OKelly’s blog. Granted, her article, “How To Generate More Clients and More Sales Than You Can Handle” is dated from way back in 2007, but the message remains completely relevant to today. What I’ve taken away from it, and what I’m doing right now in this article, is, really, just throwing a bunch of spaghetti against the wall to see if some of it sticks. It’s what drove my initial image search, and it’s been a concept in my head ever since way back in November when I tore this blog apart to rebuild it, and left all that Latin gibberish filler text on it until I could decide on a theme and on a real business plan.

What is my business plan? Who am I? Allow me to dodge those questions for just a moment, and in all due respect to you, turn that around. What is your business plan? Who are you?

I think you’ve read this far because you a.) figured out where I’m heading with the title and are looking for just that sort of inspiration to get you moving into some action, and b.) are hoping that I will make myself better known to you so you can come to know, like, and trust me.

In my realization of just taking action, and just getting something, anything, posted and out there so people know who I am and that I’m a real person looking to establish myself in my own home-based business, this is the spaghetti I toss against the wall.

My business must be based entirely on what makes me come alive. My business is writing about home-based business strategies, methods, and tools, and creating videos, webinars, and podcasts that involve others in getting them closer to their own business goals.

While I may not be an authority or expert on it, I have gathered a tremendous amount of material, I’ve studied mountains of expert advice, suggestions, and white papers; I’ve installed all manner of scripts and software designed for internet marketers, and I’ve joined every web-based service or social network that appeared to have potential for “taking my online business to the next level;” and what all that means is that I’ve tinkered around the web long enough to know a little about a lot. Does that make me qualified? You be the judge. I’m going to do what makes me come alive and if you like it, please come back for more. If not, go find some flashy squeeze pages with shiny Ferraris and babes with cocktails on beaches. I’m not apologizing for this post.

Welcome to my home base. I like to think of it as where everything connects. Here is where you’ll find useful information related to marketing and networking, online and offline, and strategies to take your online business to the next level.

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