Notice my site … changed a bit hasn’t it.

Used to look consistent.  Now … not so much. Used to be a mix-mash of traditional html, WordPress blog and forum. But at least it looked consistent.

Now not so much.

That’s not the least of it. I use WordPress to drive a number of sites that are part of the TrainingNOW family and a number of other companies (e.g. VProz) that I’m either involved in or otherwise have a relationship with (i.e. maintain). The problem is that WordPress broke all my sites in the last update.

Yes, I said broke my sites.

As a “former” techie, this ticks me off. But then again, I come from a platform that doesn’t EVER have legacy code in the way PCs do. Upgrade? Cool. But it had better not break what went before or it’s back to the drawing board. Which means there’s always new stuff to learn without unlearning the old. But that’s a heck of a lot easier than rewriting a million dollars in application code. (For the techies in the group, any html in pages was lost, workarounds around the menu stopped working around, and plugin options suddenly stopped the plugin from working. And oh yes, the theme I was using is no longer maintained so I couldn’t even keep the look consistent.)

But, since we’re all internet marketers here, I’m going to ignore the details and focus on the business effects.

Yesterday, was supposed to be a day of writing a new course. This week is turning into a write-off as appointments get in the way of producing. What was supposed to be a day of squeezing production between the appointments ended up being a day of fixing webpages. Including one that allowed my customers to download a product they had paid for. (At least it didn’t affect LearningCreators!). What really hurt was that this download was actually hit three times by the “changes”. No sooner did I fix one problem but another further down the stream appeared.

So what can we learn from this?

1. Being able to download product is critical. (That means test it in full and fix it immediately).
2. Don’t upgrade WordPress (or its plugins and theme’s) unless you have time to verify it hasn’t broken anything.
3. If the pages need to appear consistent, then use WordPress for the whole site (not just the blog).  Replacing a theme is easy. Replacing a theme and customizing it to look like your brand is not that hard. Replacing a theme and then customizing it to look identical to the html version is a major pain. (Technically, you can use a common CSS. But since WordPress has added improved Page handling, it isn’t necessary).
4. Identify your critical processes (such as product delivery). Always have a backup ready to go at a moment’s notice. The backup should appear as transparent to the user as possible.
5. Be flexible with release dates for product. Build in lots of time between completion and release. Then hope and work toward not needing that time.
6. Watch the upgrade sequence. All themes and plugins should be upgraded shortly after a major WordPress release. If not, you need to check that they aren’t obsolete. If they are then you need to start the process of replacing them.
7. Be flexible. Stuff happens. And always at the worst possible time.
8. Don’t overcommit. You’re running a business (and have a life). That means you need to make appointments. But don’t let the number of appointments overload your ability to work on the business.
9. Balance is needed in your business. Too much production and not enough marketing and you won’t sell. Too much marketing and not enough production and you won’t have enough product to sell. Too much production and/or marketing, at the expense of not enough administration and you could find yourself not being able to deliver what you sell. Or know what has sold and what you should produce. (Okay, I’m cheating here. This is actually something I’ve learned over the last six months. I just had it reinforced.)
10. Project management rules are really business rules. The good habits that I’ve learned as a project manager are the same habits I need to remember as a business manager and entrepreneur. (Or vice versa)

Good luck with your business!

Oh darn,  I didn’t catch my post on Wednesday …

You see, I didn’t actually want to post it. Why? Because on Wednesday I published a blog post on a different blog!

Yup … go to OurLittleBooks.com and check out my article.  

We’ve made arrangements with a publisher (Our Little Books) and a marketer to share posts. So over the next couple of months you’ll see articles on publishing and on marketing your book appear in this column. And you’ll see articles on why you need to write “how to” books and how to write “how to” books (and other non-fiction) appear in their columns.

All for you, to help you become a better entrepreneur.

(For those of you looking forward to my series … we return to the regularly scheduled series on Monday … check back and enjoy!)

It’s been a real excercise in frustration splitting up TrainingNOW into three seperate pieces plus  (A publisher of online training & books, a creator of information products, and a copywriting, web SEO and SEM, and ghostwriting company plus a seperate course site for writing how to books and information products). Let’s just say that it’s been a difficult birth. And now it’s going to be an even more difficult period raising these poor children!

Just to be mean, some of them don’t seem to want to get born!

We’ve talked about some of the hard parts (see the series: Lessons Learned) mostly in just getting a website up. But I haven’t really talked about one of the other issues … learning to talk about yourself.

You see, the latest site to come up is ContentCreators.  Well, hopefully up by the time this is published. Now recognize that ContentCreators is our outlet for selling our writing services — traditional copywriting, web copywriting (including SEO and SEM), ghostwriting, and editing.  It’s not like it’s new or anything. I’ve been doing half of it for oh … umm, oh s**t, geez I really am that old! (FYI, I literally learned entrepreneurship at my great-grandfather’s knee – and I was writing copy by age 10. Which was a few years ago). And Paul’s been doing the other half for more than most internet marketers have been alive! But I’ve always done it for other people more than for myself. Check out Can Da Software if you don’t believe me. Even ignoring the fact that it’s needed a graphical redesign for oh, 10 years now.  Let’s face it, the copy was iffy when it was written some 15 years ago. Yes, it was as soon as the web hit Toronto – don’t remind me!

But I learned something from this.

I learned that I hate copywriting for myself because it’s just too much like tooting my own horn.

But, as an entrepreneur, it has to be done.  And I know it. And I know I’m good at it. You see, the other half of the story, is that I just recently spoke to two of my clients.

One is Newport Funding (I did their website, coached them through SEO selection and coached them through writing their own copy). Even at one remove, I was able to boost their search engine rankings – and the proof is that their new website was able to generate 2 new contracts this week.  (That’s a lot in their business).

The other is ThreeO Project Solutions (I co-wrote the AceIt! textbook).  I was setting up a deal with him and he mentioned that his customers have complimented the book and that he believes I’m largely to blame!

Now the point is that in both cases, both clients are overjoyed with the work, and have promised that they will write a testimonial. After all, testimonials are the life-blood of the internet marketer.

Do I look like I’m holding my breath?

The sad truth is that less than 10% of the people who promise you testimonials will ever sit down and write one for you. Why? Because it’s too much like work. (Most ask me to write the testimonial and they’ll sign it – which I won’t do).

So where does that leave people like you and me?

Having to toot our own horn. Having to say how good we are and why people want to buy from us. And frankly, yes, it feels like bragging.  And, yes, you may be lucky and able to hire someone else to write your copy for you.

But the bottom line is … if you’re going to be an entrepreneur, you need to learn to sell. Not just “solution-selling” where you listen to someone with a problem then solve it. But “hey, I’m great, my products are wonderful, and this is why you should buy” selling. If you don’t then you’ll never succeed, and you’ll never get ahead. If you don’t promote yourself then noone else will! That’s the essence of marketing.

Yes, it feels like bragging. Yes, it goes against a life time of hearing your mother say “Nobody likes a braggart”. But if you want to succeed you need to draw attention to yourself. And you need to convince people that you are as good as you are. And that means you need to tell them just how good you really are.

But man it’s hard!

Up until lately, I had thought that the sense of entitlement was limited to those who were younger than me. That my generation had created this sense as part of our growing up.

I was wrong.

My wife’s aunt demonstrated that very clearly. Because that was what was at the basis of her actions. She felt that she was entitled to anything Gerry had left behind.

As entrepreneurs we need to guard ourselves against this attitude … in ourselves, in our employees and in our clients. And learn to use it ethically.

So what is the sense of entitlement? It is a belief that for whatever reason, a person is entitled to something. That they have earned it, and they deserve it. That they should have it.

The truth, of course, is different. Yes, we may have worked for something. Yes, we may have, in the eyes of a rational God have earned it. But that is no guarantee that we actually will or should have it.

An entrepreneur sees this in their own actions. After all, we all work hard to build a business. We give up our time, energy and sweat. For those foolish enough we may even give up our family and health. But that is no guarantee of success. If it were far more people would be successful. And far fewer of the people who are, would be.

Life isn’t fair.

As entrepreneurs we need to leave the sense of entitlement behind. We need to try and try and try again. Sometimes succeeding, sometimes not. Sometimes failing through our own faults and sometimes suceeding despite them.

But never letting our sense of entitlement fool us into believing that we should stop or that we’ve earned our position. Because we haven’t. We may have paid for it, but we haven’t earned it.

We see it in our treatment of our suppliers. How many times have you said to a supplier … that’s too expensive, I can’t afford it. You should work for this amount. As if it’s their problem that you haven’t earned enough to pay the price. As Dan Kennedy recently remarked, “It’s not that the price is too high, it’s that your earnings are too low for it.”

We see it in our employees (or ourselves in that role).  We see it in how they treat customers. Do the customers owe us their custom just for having the products? Do they have to buy just because we’ve gone out of our way? We’ve all seen this sense of entitlement in the poor treatment we’ve had in major department stores. Clerks who were more interested in discussing their latest date than in serving the customer.

We see it in our customers. We see them believing that we should give them free information just because we did so in the past. We see them wanting to pay rates well below fair market. We see them chasing the cheapest price without regard for the quality of the product.

This sense of entitlement is a failing we all need to fight against. Both in ourselves and in others. The truth is much less pleasant but at least we deserve the result.

It was James M Barrie through his character Peter Pan that said “I’ll never grow up”. (Well, actually I believe it was Disney that first paraphrased him).

But there comes a time when everyone needs to grow up. And a time when everyone needs to not grow up!

From an entrepreneur’s viewpoint growing up is a two edged sword. Well, make that a triple-edged sword!

An entrepreneur must grow up enough to recognize and accept his own mistakes. After all, risk is the name of the game being played. And sometimes the other half of the risk game (impact) is in the negative when the risk bill needs to be paid.

There are two parts to the risk equation. Unfortunately, most people don’t understand the equation. An entrepreneur must understand the equation because he’s going to be playing the risk game.

What’s the equation? Risk times impact equals exposure. In every day English, risk is this bad, bad thing. We expose ourselves to risk. We’re caught by risk. He risked everything!

But risk really only means a probability not equal to one.  In short, if it isn’t certain, it’s a risk.  Good, bad, doesn’t matter. (Webster’s defines it wrong btw it has a very precise mathematical/probabilistic meaning). The good or bad is part of the risk impact (which can be good or bad). So winning the lottery has a risk associated with it (about the same as being hit by lightning) plus a good impact. So it has a net good exposure … if nearing zero can be called good! Until you buy the ticket … then it has a bad net exposure. Why? The cost of the ticket is usually higher than the exposure.

The point is that if you are going to play the game, you better grow up quick and realize you aren’t going to win all the time! That’s the other half of the game, you see. Sometimes when the impact is good (or even great) the risk just doesn’t come through. And sometimes, when the impact is bad it does. The key is to learn how to manipulate the risk so that it happens more often when the impact is good and less often when the impact is bad.

And that just because you’ve failed doesn’t mean that you did it wrong, or you’re wrong or anything else. It just means you weren’t lucky this time.

Of course, you also need to learn from what you’ve done. Which takes maturity.

The other cutting edge is emotional maturity. Learning to accept others’ failings. Learning to accept your own failings. In short, growing up emotionally.

The final cutting edge is the back edge.

Learning to NOT grow up.

Keeping that sense of wonder that opens your mind to new experiences.

Keeping that sense of exploration that what happens if … that opens your mind to constant learning.

Keeping that sense of fun, that is its own reward.

It’s this last blade that is the true cutting edge of entrepreneurial thought. The edge that cuts through the calcification that seeks to stratify those who do not understand the true entrepreneurial spirit.

Okay, up to this point I’ve kind of kept to just how to books. After all, my book and course focus on how to books.

How to Write Your How To Book in 24 hrs or Less

… sort of obvious eh?

But what is a how to book? It’s just a particular form or media to carry learning content.

In other words, we happen to be using it to teach but we could as easily be using another format for teaching the same material.

In fact, we often want to.

Why?

Two principle reasons … other forms are easier to learn from and easier to generate. Duh? So why are we even bothering with books? The answer is twofold. First, some people need to have it in writing in order to learn (actually a small but important percentage).  But more importantly from the entrepreneur and consultant’s point of view, people value books more. Publish a book and gain instant credibility! A book needs to be one of the cornerstones of your expert marketing effort.

But that’s not the topic of this post. (Do some hunting … I’ve discussed it before and will again later.)

The point of all that is that some of the other types of learning content are like articles and blog posts. Short and quick and easy to get out. And really, really hungry for topics!

So how do you come up with topics for these topic munchers.  Now I’m not talking about the alternative forms of the material. That’s where the book is repeated in book, webinar, video and audio formats. I’m more talking about the small “articles” you’ll need around the topic for marketing purposes and blogs.

First start with your topic …. say writing how to books (self serving ain’t I?).

Then ask 7 to 9 questions about the topic that you think you’re audience might like to know.  Of course, asking your audience is the best way to create this list. And easier too! But you can create your own list by adding words and deleting words. Start your questions off with How, why, when, where, what, who. Try to concentrate on the things that would be important to your customers/audience. Things like money are always important.

So let’s say I make up the following list …

1. How do I write how to books?
2. Why should I write how to books?
3. When should I write how to books?
4. Where should I write how to books?
5. What topics should I write how to books about?
6. Who should write how to books?
7. How can I make money writing how to books?
8. How can I make a difference writing how to books?

Once you’ve got that list, you’ve should be able to pick out at least 5-7 which are suitable. By suitable I mean small and reasonably tight. After all “How do I write how to books?” kind of covers the whole topic! But doing a short summary might work.

Now take that list and come up with some related questions your audience might have about the topic.  Keep in mind Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

So for example, if I take “How do I write how to books?” and expand on that I might get

1. How do I write well
2. How do I develop topics
3. How do I determine chapters
4. How do I create a content map
5. How do I determine what my audience really wants
6. How do I make money with books
7. How do I edit books

I could go on but you get the idea. By the time you finish the second level you’ll have at least 49 topics.  Now expand on those and you’ll be somewhere in the area of 343 topics.

See … there’s lots of topics. And I haven’t even mentioned the lists (top 10,  7 ways to, the 5 things you must know).

Of course, there’s one problem with this method.

Okay, two problems; the amount of work involved, and the fact that you may or may not hit the problems your reader is interested in.

If you ask your audience – and they bother to tell you — you’ll get a much better list of the problems they’re encountering.  Address those problems and you’ll have a much better list of topics.

The key is getting audience involvement.

Hint, hint!

My background is in IT. I’ve been creating websites since the web was initially opened to the public. I even know why HTML is scripting not programming,  what the initials mean and where it came from. (HyperText Markup Language was a subset/supraset of  Standard Graphics Markup Language. SGML was a statndardized set of codes which controlled the big printing presses. Think typsetters marks).

In fact, my consulting business is in IT. Most of the training we do is in IT (or management skills).

But in this business I am first and foremost a business manager. An entrepreneur.

And at some point I need to decide. Is the work that needs to be done worth my time to do it? Would I be better off hiring someone and letting them do the work for me? Even though I can do it, it may not be worth my time. Better to throw $$$ at it than the one asset I can’t replace or increase – my time.

Lesson Learned #9:

Money or Time

If you want to play, you’ve got to pay. Your time is always more valuable than the guy beside you. The key to success is to know what you need to do, what you shouldn’t do and who to hire to do it instead. The corolllary is that hiring the cheapest isn’t necessarily the best way to get the job done. Sometimes, paying more is a better investment.