Entrepreneurs-Journey.com

This is going to be slightly off topic from the usual business and blogging but I’ve had a bunch of people ask for photos from my trip overseas, so I thought I’d stick some up here.

As I mentioned in my previous post - Life Portability: Mixing Travel, Business and Pleasure In One Seamless Lifestyle - I’m presently doing some island hopping, making my way from Australia to Canada for a six month stay.

Arriving in Fiji

Fiji was the first port of call on my trip, a mere three hours flight off the coast from my home of Brisbane. Having never been to Fiji I was curious what the island would be like.

We landed in Nadi and it was hot. Nothing too extreme, but since Brisbane didn’t really have a summer this year it was the first time I had felt humidity in a while. Temperatures in Fiji are quite constant and what you would expect for a tropical island. The days max out at about 30C and the nights drop to low twenties.

Upon landing at Nadi airport and quickly clearing customs we were shuffled into a taxi with a driver who turned out to be more than just your average cabbie - he also masqueraded as a tourist guide to make extra money.

He offered us a more extensive tour of Nadi city as a detour before our hotel for an “extra fee” of whatever we felt was appropriate. We accepted and he showed us around the city area before taking us to the resort. We gave him an extra $15 as payment for the short tour, which as it turned out was equivalent to nearly a days pay in Fiji.

On our taxi tour we were informed that there is high unemployment in Fiji and thus high crime too. Nadi and the surrounding area is quite run down, old buildings and a lot of Fijians that seem to be just hanging around, which is probably because of the unemployment.

The contrast upon entering the man-made island resort area, which includes several luxury hotels, a golf course and restaurants, was extreme. Clearly there is a big division between the average Fijian lifestyle and how some tourist experience Fiji.

The Fijian dollar is about 70% of the Aussie dollar and with a tiny economy I was expecting cheap everything. That rule was thrown out after entering the resort island. Meals were $20 and up, bottled water is $8 and chocolate bars $4. If you leave the resort area prices drop about 75% - that is some serious mark-up! Even with the 30% discount on the currency exchange, it was not cheap living in the resort area.

Eating and Reading

I managed to contract a throat infection that erupted the day after landing in Fiji, so unfortunately most activities were out of the question for me. Instead I focused on low-key things to give my body a chance to recover - eating, reading, and eating some more.

Buffet breakfast every morning - lots of fresh fruit in Fiji

I went to six different restaurants, some were good, some were not so good and no matter whether it was pasta, BBQ, Japanese or pizza - it was all made by Fijians.

Bula

I’m not sure if it is because Fijians are naturally friendly or they are instructed to greet every single tourist with a traditional hello to keep the atmosphere friendly at the resort, but I very quickly learned the word “bula” and repeated it several times a day.

Bula, as far as I can tell, is sort of like Aloha/Mahalo in Hawaii. I’m sure there is more to it and I’m showing my ignorant tourist side here, but needless to say it’s a word you have to quickly become very comfortable with.

Every single time I pass by a Fijian working at the resort they let out a bula. Strangely enough, Fijians don’t seem to greet each other with quite as effusive use of the greeting, so I do feel as if I’m getting a decidedly tourist experience.

I had intentions to see more of the island away from the resort area but my body simply did not comply so I’ll have to save my exploring for Hawaii instead.

Tropical Paradise

Fiji, from the perspective of a tourist at least, appeals to those who like to sit by the pool and read or head out and get into water sports. The vibe is laid back (even more than in Australia) and Fijians seem to be very chilled to the point of boredom sometimes, but I suspect that’s just because of the monotony of the jobs they perform every day at the resort.

The sunsets in Fiji are amazing

Unfortunately I wasn’t really able to give Fiji a proper look around, so I’ll withhold judgement for now. Based on the resort I stayed out, I’d opt for a trip to local Australian beaches before Fiji, but that’s probably because I never had a chance to see any of the outer islands, which are apparently very beautiful.

Next stop is Hawaii, an equally beautiful place, but with a distinctly different vibe. I’ll be blogging from Waikiki next.

Yaro Starak
Island Hopping

[ Add Your Comment | 38 Comments ]

*** UPDATE ***

The call recording is now available for download [ Zip file - save as ]

******

Anik Singal and I are doing an interview call this Thursday the 24th at 8 PM ET. The topic is blogging, however Anik has a few unusual questions lined up so I don’t think this interview will be quite like any of the interviews I have done so far.

Here’s a sample of the topics we will dive into -

• How To Start Out Your Blog
• How To Drive Traffic
• Is It Worth Paying For Traffic?
• What Are The Best Tools For Traffic In The Beginning
• How To Build Over 25,000 subscribers

It’s 100% content and all about building a popular and profitable blog. If you like blogging and you like my training materials on the subject, you will enjoy this call.

A downloadable recording of the call will be available post interview.

Here is the link with details -

http://blogclassroom.com/yaro/

Blog Classroom

Anik and well known affiliate marketer Rosalind Gardner are launching a blog training program called Blog Classroom and my interview is part of the lead-up to the release of the course on April 29th.

I haven’t had a chance to take a look inside Blog Classroom because I’m in Fiji, but I can tell you one thing - Anik is VERY excited about blogging.

There’s currently a popular pre-course running that is completely free, so if you are curious and have an insatiable appetite for blog training resources, Blog Classroom is worth investigating.

You can take the free pre-course by signing up at the same page with details about my interview -

http://blogclassroom.com/yaro/

Let me know what you think of the course if you decide to join.

[ Add Your Comment | 20 Comments ]

Recently I was the willing target of several audio interviews. The topic of course, was blogging, however as is customary, most interviews begin with a little background study of the person in question.

As a result of telling my recent business history I found myself reminiscing about some of the ventures I was involved in during the previous 8 years or so. Most of them were online enterprises, but there was one experience where I was running a start-up based in the real world, an English tutoring school called “Aussie Tutor”.

If you dig into my earlier archives you will find several posts and podcasts were I mentioned my English school. It was an interesting time in my life, which taught me many lessons about business and in particular what I want from a business and what I don’t want.

Working 9 to 5 by Choice

While in charge of my school I came to fully realize what I had always known - I do not like having to be anywhere nine-to-five, five days a week.

Before I avoided a full time job specifically because of not wanting to be anywhere for such long periods of time to work for someone else. Not surprisingly, despite working for myself, I still did not like that I had to be somewhere during working hours.

Unfortunately, as a business with a physical premises, the English school demanded my presence every day unless I was willing to forgo any possible patronage that might walk in off the street. Ironically, despite my immaculate attendance, many days my English school was empty and I spent the time working online.

It didn’t take long for me to realize, despite my passion for the idea and my entrepreneurial spirit, my tutoring service was not going to work unless I made a significant commitment to it. I would need to either shut it down, or invest money and time and treat it like a true start-up.

At the time I had a growing Internet based business demanding my attention that was profitable (BetterEdit - an online proofreading service I sold in 2007). It wasn’t too hard to decide what to do next. I closed down Aussie Tutor, broke my lease and went back to working at home.

A Web Based Life

I am very thankful that I grew up during a period where the Internet also grew up. My very first casual job was web based (crafting websites for the business school at university) and my very first self created income stream came from the Internet too.

I can’t remember what life was like before the Internet, but I know it wasn’t nearly as good as it is now.

Tomorrow I hop on a plane and fly to Fiji. I’ll be there for 5 days before I board another plane where I’ll head to Hawaii. I’ll spend a week in the land of aloha, before jumping on another flight, this time to Vancouver, where a week of fun awaits. I’ll then make a short flight to Winnipeg, visit my grandmother, before settling in Toronto for 5 months. I intend to visit the USA for conferences and other fun things during my time in Canada too.

In Fiji I will be in a hotel but during the rest of my travels I’m staying in rented apartments with kitchens, private double beds and all the usual trimmings, at two thirds the price of equivalent standard hotels (I’m practicing a little 4-Hour Work Week accommodation hunting). I’ll have ample time and funds to do what I want and it’s all thanks to the World Wide Web. There’s not many occupations today that grant you this much freedom.

Ever present during this trip will be my laptop. My computer that connects me to the online world will serve as a communication tool to keep in touch with friends, family and colleagues. I’ll blog, create content, work on products, market, network and effectively live a very similar life to what I usually do at home in Brisbane.

The scenery might change, but the purpose and lifestyle doesn’t - and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Live the Stereotype - Laptop on the Beach

We all know the archetypical image of the entrepreneur sitting on the beach with their laptop, logging on to check how much money they made during the previous night and then settling back to a day full of sun, sand and sleep - a perpetual holiday.

I’ve already written about my disdain for the traditional non-working holiday, however the gist of the laptop on the beach image is definitely something I appreciate because it represents fantastic freedom. A business that can function - and even grow - despite your absence or location in the world, and the freedom to choose when to work, how to work and what to work on, is a great business.

This is a far cry from waking up at 8am to open the doors to a 3rd floor English tutoring school.

How To Build a Framework for Life Portability

Read the rest of this entry >>

[ Add Your Comment | 56 Comments ]

I’m in the middle of madly recording some videos so I don’t have to worry about video set-up while island hopping from Brisbane to Fiji to Hawaii then on to Canada. It’s crazy all the things you have to do when you leave home for six months.

I have a great post coming up later this week on the topic of Internet business and travel freedom, but it’s not quite done cooking yet. I’ll have it out to you before I board the plane next week.

In the meantime, a couple of short updates for you today…

AdSense Secrets For $10

Joel Comm zapped me an email a few days ago to let me know he’s got his new updated version of AdSense Secrets, his very popular book on making money with Google AdSense coming out today.

He’s decided to drop the price from $97 to $9.95 for the latest version, which in my opinion is a darn good price. When you order there is a membership continuity program you are automatically enrolled in (the first month is free), so just be careful to read everything when purchasing (you don’t have to spend any more than $9.95 if you don’t want to).

I’m not an AdSense specialist, but Joel is definitely someone who has been in the AdSense game for a long, long time and I’ve heard good things about his previous books on the subject. It’s also worth checking out the order page to see how Joel presents the video (you have to expect something polished from the guy who did the Next Internet Millionaire web reality show).

To grab a copy of the book go to www.adsense-secrets.com

Two Forums Merge And You Get Prizes

Lee Dodd, who I call “the forum guy” is pretty much the only person I refer to when it comes to monetizing forums.

He’s busy again, this time merging two large forums together. Lee passed on this notice to me about the merger news and a special competition he is running to celebrate -

Two of the Top 10 webmaster forums have merged! Webmaster-Talk and Earners Forum have joined forces to create much more than just a forum – now users have access to an enhanced marketplace, informative articles, blogs, interviews, and valuable tools. Along with the new features, Webmaster-Talk.com has also gained thousands of new members.

And what better way to celebrate a huge merger than with a huge contest! That’s exactly what we’re doing, offering over $25,000 in prizes!

There will be 5 winners, and each one will receive this prize package:

• Macbook Air
• Flip Camera
• $500 Cash in Max Bounty Account
• iPod Touch
• Nintendo DS Lite from RevResponse.com
• $250 Cash in Pepperjam Network Account
• $500 Gift Certificate from Text Link Ads
• 24 Custom Shirts for the site of your choice from N Designs (4-color, you pick the color t-shirt, front side printing only)
• Revolution Theme Multiple Use Package from WordPress ($199.95 regular price)
• Interspire Premium Shopping Cart Package

The contest is at Webmaster-Talk.com, and ends May 13th at midnight.

[ Add Your Comment | 23 Comments ]

A quick short post today as I’m busy getting ready with my final preparations to head for Canada (more on this soon).

If you are into search engine optimization you know the importance of back links. In a newsletter I sent out to my email subscribers back in February (you have to be on my blog tips newsletter) I told you about a neat little software tool from Neil Shearing called Real Link Finder.

The software lets you search the blogosphere for blogs that do not use the “no follow” tag (which makes links near useless for search engine optimization purposes - see this for more). I had a play with it and while it was okay at finding blogs, it was a bit hit and miss with the how on-topic the results were.

Just this week the “Jasons” (Jason Katzenback and Jason Potash) released a very similar software tool called CommentKahuna. There’s not much different with this tool compared to Neil’s in terms of functions, but since it runs its own search engine and queries a few other sites, the results can be different.

If you are looking to run a comment marketing campaign to build links and traffic, or if you just want to isolate blogs related to yours that do not use the no follow tag, both these tools are useful. The creators of the software do ask you to opt-in with your name and email address, but the program itself doesn’t cost any money.

You can get CommentKahuna here.

The Jason’s have a follow up product (surprise!) released today called TrafficKahuna, which I haven’t had a chance to play with just yet, but is some form of community traffic building resource. It’s not free and since I haven’t had a chance to actually use it I will reserve judgment for now.

You can find out more about TrafficKahuna here.

[ Add Your Comment | 29 Comments ]