Entrepreneurs-Journey.com

They kept it secret for a while but now the whole world knows Google has released a new instant messaging (IM) and voice over Internet software product called Google Talk.

The software is clearly aimed at taking on all the various IM and VOIP players in the market including Skype, MSN, Yahoo and AOL and is hoping to leverage it’s already existing user base in Gmail, Google’s web based email service that Google Talk integrates with.

Will it be able to compete? I think yes of course, people will use this product and if Google pulls a Google, it may end up doing IM and VOIP better than any other company has - though it certainly has it’s work cut out for it given Skype’s tremendous lead in the voice category and MSN’s integration with the Windows operating system. Although I’m not certain Google Talk wants to compete as a full service Internet telephony product as Skype does. Time will tell how Google plans to differentiate its software and how this new service will help Google to meet their goal of Internet world domination.

Ever heard of too many options people! I hope this market consolidates soon…

Thanks to Will, Al, Andy and Benjamin for letting me know about this news.

***UPDATE***

Thanks to Matt from PlusOne Marketing for this:

The creators of Google Talk envision it breaking down the walls that exist between different instant messaging systems, which only let users chat with others in the same network.

“Google Talk is the first system that is open,” he said. “We are trying to move people to a different world.”

Google Talk will connect with Jabber and Trillian, software designed to act as a switchboard connecting users of different instant messaging services, according to Mr Harik.

Google is working on alliances with Zip Phone and Internet Service Provider Earthlink, along with Yahoo, America OnLine and Skype.

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Google knows what needs to be done - break down the walls so everyone can chat with everyone. Of course this may look like a ploy by Google to play catch up by having its software compatible with all the other IMs out there but, business competition issues aside, this is where IM and voice services need to go - a completely open platform for global communications by anyone with anyone.

An interesting aside - from a purely speculative intuitive perspective (my own) I feel that Skype will be happy to work with Google provided it creates benefits for both companies. Yahoo might take a little more work but may eventually partner up and open it’s IM software. Microsoft, for some reason, I don’t feel will want to work with Google on this one and will keep it’s software locked up for its network only. Can we take that as a good indication of the public perception of the “attitude” of the companies behind the products? (I am afterall, a member of the public.) Probably not, but like I said we are talking about “feelings” here…

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How to follow your motivation to get things done, working towards the big picture and staying happy.

My motivation tends to go through peaks and troughs as my interest in business projects moves from one focus to another. I’m always interested in business, that’s a given, but I don’t stay focused on one particular business and certainly never stick to one activity for very long. This is because my patience also goes through peaks and troughs and of course like most people, my interests change on a daily basis.

My bet is that you are similar but you struggle through your day repeating the same tasks over and over always looking at your watch waiting for the next break and going home time. Some tasks in your work are stimulating and you enjoy them — if you are in the right mood — but that is a rare combination. If ever your mood doesn’t match the task at hand or you simply don’t want to work it is tough luck, you must struggle to get through the working day.

The web entrepreneur that sets up a good system earns the benefits of flexibility. That is what you are missing when you work for others or you are a slave to your own business.

One of the true perks of being an Internet entrepreneur is being able to be as finicky with your work tasks as you like, to a certain degree. Today I feel like focusing on writing an article. Tomorrow I’ve had enough of the computer so I’m going to head outside and do some ground roots flyer advertising and get some exercise. Wednesday I’m not going to do much besides my laundry, clean the house and meet up with some friends. I wake up Thursday very motivated and finish two sections of an e-course I’m writing. Thursday night I spend a few hours reading a new e-book on the changes to Google AdWords. It’s all random, changing day-by-day as my mood and interests change. Yet things always get done and money keeps coming in.

All these tasks may appear quite scattered, but there is a method to the madness and collectively all work towards growing my business and more importantly, I love each day. Best of all you too can work towards being in charge of your working day provided you follow a few simple but important rules. Let me share a few with you now.

Interest = Motivation

Above all else make sure you choose a business that you are interested in. You don’t have to love the product you sell, but you need to believe in it and more importantly, love the process of selling it. Same deal for services, especially if you plan to provide the services yourself.

Human Balance

Remember you are human so look after the human needs as a priority. This means socialization, food and drink, exercise and time away from work. If you keep your body and mind fresh and stimulated your work output will be that much more productive and enjoyable.

Goal Setting

I’m not going to launch into yet another instructional diatribe about structured goal setting. I’m sick of reading articles and listening to people rave about how important goal setting is. Yes it is very important, goals are great, they give you objectives and help to motivate you but I’ve never been one to carefully plan and dictate every short, medium and long term goal creating a step-by-step diagram leading from little milestone to slightly bigger milestone eventually culminating with the huge milestones.

If you work better with a lot of structure and detailed planning I recommend you visit Steve Pavlina, he is a master of efficient use of time.

I know what I want to achieve at both a micro (daily/weekly/monthly) and macro (quarterly/yearly) level and I work towards these goals each day however I do it by following spontaneity and energy, not a documented plan. Perhaps I’m lucky and things are working out well despite my haphazard goal setting, but I don’t believe that. I believe it’s because I work towards *something* everyday and I’ve been doing it for a long time.

Follow Your Energy

I might spend a big chunk of my day eating out with friends or walking the park or reading a book. On the surface that doesn’t look like productive business output. Indirectly though it is. By following my energy I complete each task effectively rather than struggling from lack of motivation. The times that I spend away from business tasks make me eager to get back to work or provide education that will no doubt be valuable for my business tasks at some point down the line. When the motivation to write, to strategize, to brainstorm, to market, to network, to design or to create hits me it is a strong urge and a lot gets done in a short period of time.

Don’t Be Lazy

There is a fine line between recharging your batteries, living a varied lifestyle and procrastination. If you find yourself always interested in the days off and your energy directs you to endless afternoons sitting in front of the television your business is not going to take off. If you never get the urge to work then perhaps you have selected a business model that doesn’t fit your interests. If you can look back and remember loving article writing, website building, online marketing, search engine optimizing or any aspect of your business process then chances are that no, you do like your business, it’s just that the lazy bug has got you.

The solution? Do something. Work itself is motivating (especially the results from work) and tends to create a desire to complete more work.

Business Time

An Internet business is flexible because your computer is your workspace and as such you have flexibility in where and when you work. There is no 9-5. Provided you meet client needs when they arise you can be proactive with work when you feel like it - in the early mornings or late at night or with a sandwich in your hand at lunch. However not every Internet business has the flexibility of time on their side. The working world works 9-5 and if you service this world chances are you must be available during those times too.

The important thing to remember is that you don’t have to be proactively working on business tasks all the time. If your energy is not there, don’t waste time, move on to another task. It should be easy to tell when you enjoy the work you are doing and when you don’t, so despite being confined to a standard business time schedule your working schedule doesn’t have to be always on 9-5 too.

Have Fun

The main message I’m trying to get across here is to have fun with your time. That includes work time and away from work time. Be proactive. Do something for your business everyday even if it doesn’t directly impact your business. Keep goals in mind because they are motivating and guiding lights, but don’t get bogged down with stringent planning unless you work better that way. Look within yourself for the most productive way you can work and if you experience roadblocks, make changes. It all works out in the end.

Yaro Starak

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My blog post frequency has dropped a bit in the last few days and this is mainly because consistent work has started to come through for BetterEdit.com. I’ve got a few new original articles for this blog almost complete that I intend to have published in the next few days or so but I thought I would do a quick update first on where I am at with my own business projects that have kept me away from blog posting quite as frequently as I’d like.

BetterEdit Blog

In the last PageRank update I mentioned that my old blog where I used to host Entrepreneur’s Journey over at betteredit.com/blog had increased to a PR5. I decided that I may as well make use of that blog and not simply have it sit there so I have reverted it back to what I originally intended it to be - the official BetterEdit.com Blog. I’ve cleaned it up a bit removing the old Entrepreneur’s Journey links but mostly it remains the same and much of my old articles are still there. I won’t be deleting them because they are well indexed within Google and bring in traffic, albeit not the kind of traffic BetterEdit wants but hopefully they will follow the links to find this version of Entrepreneur’s Journey.

I will be writing blog updates at the BetterEdit Blog, mostly news about BetterEdit and articles relating to student essay and thesis writing and editing. Obviously the hopes are that the blog will continue to be well indexed with a high PR and the new articles will start to show up on BetterEdit relevant search terms. It also helps to keep the site fresh and we all know how much search engines like constantly updated websites.

BetterEdit Help

As we near the end of August the Australian student editing work is starting to come through quite consistently and we’ve had a few jobs come through from the UK as well. It should continue to be busy now until December at which point I will turn my energy back to other projects but at the moment certainly BetterEdit is in focus.

I’ve had a few blog readers approach me lately offering help and tips for BetterEdit which I really appreciate. If you do have any suggestions, especially on how to market a student editing service to international students overseas (I’d love to get into the USA/UK markets a lot more significantly) I’m all ears. I still have trouble finding effective and affordable means to reach international students studying at US/UK universities, or even other major Australian cities like Sydney and Melbourne.

I’m open to joint ventures or if you target a similar marketplace or if you happen to run a business with a list of students I’d be happy to discuss cross promotions. If you attend a university campus regularly and would be willing to put up some posters for BetterEdit I’d really appreciate it or any help you are willing to offer. Email me if you think you can help out.

BetterEdit Redesign

Presently Will Swayne and his team from Marketing-Results.com.au are completing the finishing touches on a BetterEdit.com website redesign, which is aimed to simplify, streamline and automate the suspect -> prospect -> conversion sales process. With BetterEdit turning it’s focus to only students the new mantra is “Get Better Grades” and the sales copy will be clean and simple so that international students with English as a second language face as little resistance as possible learning about and using our services. Hopefully the new site will go live in a few weeks so we can start testing and tweaking.

Yaz!

The reincarnation of Yaz.com.au into a new site (which remains secret!) has taken a stumble as Chris Khoo has been forced to leave the project for personal reasons. That leaves Al Fallah as the sole technical designer for the time being. As much as I’d like to see this site ready right now people have commitments so it will hopefully be fully functional for first semester 2006.

Ahh…Posters

And of course I continue to get out there and poster the Brisbane campuses on a regular basis now that university is into week 5 to keep the flow of new clients coming. It’s a wonderful thing postering. You get out into the sunshine, walking around campuses full of beautiful people. Okay, yes, I am getting tired of postering and I would like to find an online marketing method that is just as effective as postering. For the moment to lure new clients I will be using posters.

Internet Business White Paper

Meanwhile behind the scenes of this blog I have been busy working on new sections and articles. I have a grand plan for Entrepreneur’s Journey, I’m just not certain it will be a profitable grand plan, but I hope so and it sure will be fun to implement. To do this I want to do two things - 1. generate an audience and 2. create something of real value to sell to the audience. Obviously I’m interested in Internet business and I feel that is where I have the most value to offer.

At this stage I’m building an audience by creating interesting content for my readership which will hopefully grow over time. Next step is to capture my readership through a newsletter or list of some sorts. Nowadays every tom dick and joe has a newsletter so I want to offer something really unique and compelling to encourage people to join. Something with a Yaro-touch - a personal twist.

I plan to do this by writing a quality white paper or otherwise known as an eBook to giveaway to newsletter subscribers. At the moment I’ve completed the first two parts of the paper which will focus on the crucial elements to start an Internet business and, here’s my unique twist and personal touch, how to stay happy doing it. I think practical advice to create and market an online business is important and I’m definitely going to cover some of that but I want equal amounts of content about staying sane and happy as a person while you start your Internet business. The personal lessons are harder to learn than the practical business lessons and after all your business should make you happy first and wealthy second.

That’s all I’m going to reveal for the moment. Onwards…

Yaro Starak

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I wrote an article titled Trackbacking Lies - How rel=”nofollow” Stops Spreading the Love which outlined how the rel="nofollow" line of code is placed on all comments and trackbacks on many blogs, including by default on any blog running WordPress, such as Entrepreneur’s Journey.

That line of code stops search engines following the link so as to theoretically reduce comment spam. There is an active campaign underway that argues that the nofollow default in blogs is not relevant for stopping comment spam and discourages communication between bloggers, the public and other bloggers.

My nofollow article was recently trackbacked by sw’as who has installed a DoFollow plugin that removes the default nofollow setting on WordPress. On a whim I decided to do the same.

All comments and trackback pings made to this blog will be recognised by search engines and pass on PageRank to any links listed. However because of this I am going to be a little bit less lenient with the type of comments allowed. Comments must offer something genuine and contribute to the topic and not simply be a hit and run SEO tactic designed to create backlinks. Most comments that have been left on this blog so far certainly are of value so I don’t expect there to be much of an impact, and now I will be returning the favour by giving you some backlinks in return for your continued support of this blog.

Yaro

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I have another blog recommendation for you although if you know the blogosphere well then chances are you already know about this blogger. His name is Darren Rowse and of the 20 or so blogs he manages I recommend ProBlogger.net if you are interested in blogging for profits. When I first came across Darren I was pleasantly surprised to see that he is from Melbourne. It’s great that there is an Aussie out there making a living, and a substantial living, via blogging and in fact becoming a celebrity blogger if there really is such a thing.

Ironically ProBlogger.net doesn’t make him the big bucks, but it does educate other bloggers how to make the big bucks by going through various techniques and methods for making money online using blogs. Darren makes a six figure income from his blogs and he was slashdotted in July when he announced that his May Google AdSense cheque was over $14,000 USD.

ProBlogger is a great site for anyone interested in making money online using advertising, affiliate programs, AdSense and using blogs as the vehicle to distribute your content and create an audience. Darren openly admits though that despite all that he teaches from ProBlogger chances are most people won’t come close to the sort of earnings he makes.

Darren is somewhat coy with the specific details about the sites that actually make him the most money. He recently mentioned that there are three sites that he depends on for the lionshare of his income, but the revenue from other sites is growing. He links to a few of his gadget-ware sites such as camera and laptop reviews so it’s safe to assume that sites such as these bring in good money via AdSense if you work long and hard to grow an audience, and long and hard Darren works — 8 to 12 hour days writing content for 20+ blogs.

I find Darren’s situation encouraging in some ways and certainly his income level is something to aspire to, but the amount of work he puts in seems a bit too much for my liking. I’m sure with his current income he could start to reduce his workload and hire some people to create content for him so he can get away from the computer now and then and get that working day down to maybe 6 hours or so. I’m a little discouraged that ProBlogger itself doesn’t make much money since his topic is very similar to Entrepreneur’s Journey. My plans for this blog are to keep it growing as a resource site and use it as a marketing tool for my own projects but it would be nice if it could also bring in more than coffee money on it’s own from advertising and affiliate programs.

Publicity

One of the main reasons I believe Darren has made it from say an everyday average earner from blogging to an above average wealthy man is because of the publicity he has gained. Thanks in part to the blogosphere that has happily linked to his blogs sending a lot of PageRank and traffic (not to mention his own blog network linking together) he probably managed to start bringing in a lot of search traffic (this is speculation mind you). Of course this came from consistently writing good content that people wanted to link to. Imagine attracting 5 incoming links per day to your blogs over 3 years growing exponentially - that builds up over time.

Fast forward to today and now Darren has hit the big time with publicity from mainstream newspapers, Slashdot and even Google calling him asking for feedback because he is one of their biggest AdSense affiliates. All this is great publicity moving him along from the good to great in terms of income and traffic.

More Publicity

Finally Trevor Cook has posted a great article titled Payday for bloggers which he originally wrote for his column in Walkley Magazine. It features a lot about Darren Rowse, blogging and podcasting.

I thought this section was worth quoting for those getting excited about making money from blogging after reading Darren’s story.

The wide disparity in the revenue producing power of blogs, even those maintained by the same blogger, raises some questions about what draws traffic especially from people who will then click on ads.

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