DATE: 21 Dec 2007, 1:20 pm / MOOD: Happy

Show Me The Money!

It is never my intention to drive anyone away from community involvement, but I have found that a person needs to be involved for the right reasons. I would also never attempt to discourage one from following their dream but many enter and many leave with few remaining for long. Many will fall for many schemes, many will loose the shirt off their back and many will try many approaches to making their dreams work. For some it will be to do the PPC thing and spend a lot of money with little or no return, some will plaster adds everywhere and some will try to twist as many arms as possible in business communities thinking they will make a lot of money from "being involved" and badger folks into buying into their program (spam).

When it comes to business communities, they are in business to make money the same as anyone else. I haven't come accross any business community where the owners have deep pockets and do it simply out of the goodness of their hearts. They must make money or they can't exist and one of their means of making money is through the paid subscriptions and efforts of others. Much of the internet revolves around prying money from others for one reason or another and often to make someone elses dream of becoming rich a reality.

When it comes to business communities, I believe the secret is to align ones self to be able to use them to your advantage (leveraging your efforts) and ultimately receive at least as much as one puts in and preferably make a profit. If one puts 100 hours per month into any community (and many put this much or more into them) and receives back a mere $10.00 in gratuity, that translates to a mere $.10 per hour. How many would take a job for those wages? Yet many enter into communities with this type of attitude of making substantial money for themselves and are ultimately disallusioned and often leave with a bad taste in their mouths.

I'm not going to pull any punches here. If you are in business and are serious, you must change your way of thinking to one of potential for profit verses investment. If not, you will be greatly disappointed and ultimately quit or jump into something else and be just as disappointed. Yes, it can be argued that in communities you are building relationships that will translate to sales later. But what is the potential for future sales within that community? This the question that every business owner must wrestle with. For the majority of the products, services and programs currently being promoted within communities, the potential is extremely low. and therefore the return will also be low. In my case, I deal with physical products and information. Products that are of interest outside of the internet for folks. Gardening, outdoor living and holiday items are products that folks turn to in order to escape the everyday pressures of their lives. Therefore, the potential is much higher for me than say someone promoting weight-loss products or insurance. For most these are examples of products that remind them of things they do not wish to be reminded of and therfore no escape. So choose your products or programs well and with much consideration.

Business programs are also things that are of interest mainly only to those already involved with them, desperate to escape an uncomfortable situation in their own lives (and probably flat broke to boot) or they are naive and gullible and probably will fall away at the drop of a hat. Therefore you must keep on recruiting one after another, after another, after another in order to keep an income coming in. And all the while, many of these programs are making the owners of the programs filthy rich in the process while you are beating yourself to death, just trying to keep your nose above water. Does this mean they are bad products or programs? Possibly but not neccessarily, but it does probably mean that to much effort is being spent on your part at promoting in the wrong places and to the wrong audience.

Sometimes seeking your money is to receive a product in return as with an online store where folks are shopping for something in particular. Sometimes it is to receive services. But communities all know they must allow a certain amount of free participation in order to draw in members for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it is to allow the member a test drive and then they must upgrade later in order to be able to do anything (like DirectMatches) otherwise they might as well not be a member and sometimes it is to increase activity. Increased activity draws advertising. In any case it is our involvement and money that makes any community successful from a business perspective. But remember, it is someone else's business that is being made successful and in many cases not yours unless you use it for that purpose.

When it comes to our involvement, it is for us as business people to decide why and to what extent we are involved. If it is to make money, normally we will be disappointed, if it is to draw attention to our other endeavors, we also could be disappointed unless we choose the community and our product carefully and have the right attitude toward our involvement. Here again, if we are selling another program like so many others online, we will probably be disappointed. This is because most on-line business people are not buyers. most don't have the money anyway or they've realized this is not how you make money on-line and if they do buy into our programs, they often become what I call "circle money". This one buys from you, you buy from someone else and on and on until it comes back to you. With no one making any money. Each one just passes the same money from one hand to another. MLM's often rely on this as a means of keeping fresh faces in their programs. I know this may anger some, but it doesn't matter. See if the MLM program will let you see a roster of all of their participants and then check it again in 6 months or a year. Few, if any of the original faces will still be there for most of the programs and they know this. That's why they generally will not divulge that information and they rely on your efforts to continually bring in fresh faces.

I have slowly and painstakingly learned that the ones who are successful are those who find one or two niches that are not mainstream and stick with them and them alone. They have learned not to jump into every program that comes along and to avoid them. They also find ways to move out of the mainstream of communities and take their product and/or service outside of communities to the web surfers who are looking for their product. But in any case, they find a way to get outside of the community main stream to generate the bulk of their income.

The successful on-line business person finds the time to get around to many places and gets their name in front of as many faces as possible. This is now called "Branding". The old timers used to call this "Name Recognition". It is a fact that it still is necessary to generate about 100 hits to generate 1 sale. This translates to to roughly 200 to 300 views or more to get 1 hit on average (you can do the math from here). This is why it may be necessary to get outside of the mainstream community traffic and make your presence know to folks who are already potential buyers and not "curiosity lookers". Here your percentages of views to hits usually drops and in communities it generally rises. Traffic exchanges and any other form of reciprocating programs are, in my opinion even worse because while you may see an increase in traffic, the traffic is not there to buy, but rather to fill an obligation in order to receive a small gratuity at your expense and large volumes of traffic without conversions can also work against you and get you a "low-conversion" label.

On-line community owners also know this and thus they know they must give you some form of token thanks for giving them at least some of your time, but it is a token at best, otherwise they themelves make no money. But it is more than you had and if you have had fun in the process, it may be worth it to you. Just be aware that you may be trading promotion for your fun and this usually translates to fewer sales for you.

I personally look at it from a more pragmatic and business-minded approach. I weigh the amount of time needed to be active, versus the potential for sales. In my case, the potential is fair to moderate at best, therefore I am resolved to spend more time outside of business communities this next year and spend more time in areas of specialized interest (my niche market area). It is good if you resolve to spend more time on-line at promoting. Please remember that your true success will be to push yourself to levels that are seemingly out of reach. And when you reach those goals, set a new goal even higher. This is what will make anyone successful in any business, whether on-line or in a brick and mortar business. If we only give that which is easy and convenient, that is what we will receive in return and end up disallusioned. If you give that which you do not believe is in your ability, your return is multiplied and you become able to do that which you thought you could not do.

If you have a product or service that is viable, then at some point sales will begin if you invest in the right manner and right places. As you drive yourself harder and harder to get that name recognition and promote your product properly, then your sales will begin to rise. Continued efforts on your part, if done correctly will continue to raise your sales to a point where  eventually the sales will parallel and equal your efforts. But this all takes time and often a lot of time, both in promotion and in growth. It is as much a fact now as it always has been, that to realize a profit in less than 3 to 5 years is a prodigy and oddity. And then only through extraordinary efforts on an individuals time and skills.

This is a fact that has not changed since the dawn of business dealings and one that I personally often have lost sight of. No amount of creative advertising, deception and manipulation has changed this and never will because the nature of man has not changed and is not likely to do so in the future. It is as much a fact now as it ever was that "A fool and his money are soon parted". "Plan your work and work your plan", "Stay the course", "The man at the top didn't just fall there" - these are all catching cligues that are rooted in foundational truths. Mark your target well, evaluate often and weigh the outcomes, then make your choices of time and talents based on these things. When it comes to communities or offers alike - "Trust, but verify" then choose accordingly and you increase your chances of being happy without surprises and being successful.

the "Hillbilly Gardener" 
Lyndell (Jerry) Miller
(417) 777-2285
plantman.ozarks@yahoo.com
www.jerrysplantsonline.com
www.icelebrateholidays.com

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DATE: 19 Dec 2007, 3:09 pm / MOOD: Confused

A Funny Lot - We Humans

As humans, we have gazed into the heavens with wonder, augh and intrigue since the dawn of mankind. We have puzzled over, debated and argued whether or not we are alone in the vastness of the universe. Countless arguments have been raised both for and against the possibilities. These arguments have ranged from the bizarre to the credible and I wonder - "what if there were intelligent beings on far distant worlds? What if they did visit earth and tried to determine our worth as a race? What would they decide?"

We are indeed a funny lot, us humans. It would appear we don't know what we want or who we want to be. We are an enigma, wrapped in a riddle, punctuated by a question mark. Is it any wonder our children are so confused about life, who they are and what they are to be? We proclaim that a positive attitude is to look at the glass as half-full, yet practice looking at the glass as half-empty.
Do we know what we want?

We complain incessantly about trash, pollution and every ugliness in the world and the foulness that is around us in every place. Yet we have built a an immortalizing obsession around the pursuit of the refuse disposal unit of the body. We have built an entire industry dedicated to the pursuit and promotion of the flactulating exhaust of the human anatomy.
Do we know what we want?

In the face of contradicting evidence we extol the evils of overpopulation and the human condition, and yet we blindly obsess at the prospect of practicing the act of procreation. We self-inflict on ourselves every form of humanly destructive disease, yet we blindly pursue our own wanton destruction through our own self lust and desires. We proclaim the evil intent and deeds of mankind, yet present our bodies as living beacons of advertisement to draw out of mankind, those virtues that lead to evil.
Do we know what we want?

We surround ourselves with advertisements and proclamations of the virtues and necessity of loosing weight and living in a healthy manner. Yet we absorb these while consuming every form of unhealthy consumable imaginable and call it food. And all the while doing so in a high state of inactivity. After which we have the audacity to seriously ask ourselves why we are in such an unhealthy state.
Do we know what we want?

We vilify and prosecute those who harm and abuse animals who have no soul, yet treat our own offspring as a disposable commodity and call it a choice. We go to war, destroy armies and nations in the pursuit of protecting the innocent and allow those who can not decide for themselves at home to be killed and call it just. We interfere with the normal and inevitable course of life and call it protecting the innocent.
Do we know what we want?

We proclaim from the highest mountain the evils done to our fellow man, yet we fail to pass up an opportunity to cut the throats of our neighbor and trample them under foot. We proclaim the virtues of practicing "do unto others as we would have others do unto us" and practice the act of "do unto others before they do unto us".
Do we know what we want?

As a people we spare not expense or effort to belittle, complain and view with an untrusting contempt, every politician and yet most will not even register to vote, let alone do so. We view as evil, governments and the laws that come with them. Yet given the opportunity to practice that which we desire, make anarchy, chaos and every evil intent perfected.
Do we know what we want?

We proclaim to the world that change starts at home and wait for someone else to do it for us. We individually practice deceit, treachery and dishonesty upon our fellow man and call it justified, then wonder why everyone else is so bad. We extol "love thy neighbor" and abuse our own household.

Do we as a race of people called humanity have any idea what we really want?

the "Hillbilly Gardener"
Lyndell (Jerry) Miller
(417) 777-2285
plantman.ozarks@yahoo.com
www.jerrysplantsonline.com
www.icelebrateholidays.com

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DATE: 06 Dec 2007, 7:59 pm / MOOD: Excited

Where Are You Christmas?

Christmas is here again and once again we are bombarded by the ads to buy this or that. "Bah, Humbug" seems to be everywhere and I see person after person simply going through th motions of Christmas and Christmas giving. What happened to us anyway? We used to be a caring and giving people simply because it was the right thing to do. A popular Christmas song asks "Where are you Christmas? Why can't I find you? Why have you gone away?" Have we become so uncaring, callus and self-centered that we are no longer able to see the wonderful opportunity that is before us? I decorate every year both inside and out. My outside decorating is my way of giving something good back to the community at large. It does help to lift the spirit of everyone who passes by and folks slow down to take a look. Folks like to talk about the decorating and a few folks do decorate, but more and more it is common to hear folks say it is "to much trouble". Are we so uncaring and into ourselves that we are unwilling to give a few hours of our time each year to help lift others spirits?

Sure, it takes me a little time to put them up and take them down, but I am constantly amazed at the number of folks who remember us fondly for our decorations so proudly and freely displayed. I get a friendly response from everyone who sees them, not just at Christmas, but throughout the year. Folks seem to remember the nice feeling I helped them to have, if only for a brief period of time, often when they really need it. I have wonderful neighbors for many reasons, but the main reason is a willingness to give without expectation. I give of both at Christmas with a thoughtful gift and give of myself throughout the year. I am not a person of importance by any means and I by myself am nothing, but I do have the spirit of Christmas within my heart. And it is this spirit that attracts others and draws out the best in each of us.

Every year we as a society complain more loudly than the last, about how bad and cruel the world is becoming. We complain about how the world doesn't care anymore, yet we fail to look within ourselves. We point a finger at others and fail to see the three pointing back at us. Few of us take the time to realize that this is not something that just comes over the world without warning. It is an attitude of slow creation and development that we as a society cultivate daily within us. An attitude that originates within each of us to think more of ourselves and less of others. In an effort to help ease our collective consciousness we drop a few coins into a red kettle outside the local store and for the moment we feel better about ourselves. We might even go so far as to pat ourselves on the back and tell ourselves what a good thing we have done. Yet we are not changed. We leave that place and resume our attitude of giving to get or giving not because we desire to do so, but rather because it is expected of us. We give lavish gifts in the expectation of receiving the same in return. When was the last time you gave a gift without expectation, knowing you would not receive the same in return? Is this not what Christmas is really about? We give to those we know and associate with because we know them, yet many of the ones who need and desire the love and generosity of Christmas most are the ones we do not know and probably never will.

In an effort to ease our collective consciousness we make efforts to sponge away any reference to the one who taught us what true giving is. We shackle our ability to enjoy the gift of giving through political correctness, not wishing to offend anyone. Yet we also remove from ourselves the joy of helping others learn and experience the joy of giving without expectation of a gift in return by removing the reason for the season through political correctness. Yes, it is ourselves that we truly hurt by our attitude and unwillingness to share. Christmas is not a holiday of religion, nationality or political creed. It is about an attitude and way of living. An attitude that was manifest through Jesus Christ and is reflected in many religions and cultures. It is about an attitude and way of thinking that transcends all boundaries.

A kind word or act of kindness is often all that is needed to change a persons spirit and attitude and yet, what do these things cost us in mortal terms? How does one measure their worth? Christmas affords us the rare opportunity to act a little kinder. Be a little more generous and tell the world "I still care"! Christmas affords us a chance at a new beginning. A rare opportunity to be and become the kind of person each of us desires to be deep inside us. The true meaning of Christmas is not manifest in expensive gifts lavished on those we know and love, but rather becomes manifest and evident in the generous giving to those we do not know and who can never return the act of kindness to us directly. Yet. it is often not for us to know of the spark of kindness which we may have kindled through someone we may never know. A kindness that will be passed on to others in the same manner we give it. This is what Christmas is about and what the world so hungers for.

There is enough selfish "for me" attitude in the world already. We do not need any more! This year, I extend to you the invitation to kindle a fire that can burn brightly all year long and reap rewards that you can not measure or imagine. I invite you to share with me in starting a new tradition. A tradition that has the power to infect and spread throughout the world and change lives. A spirit of giving, not to receive, but to give so that others also may know and learn of the power of loving and giving to others. An act of kindness, a gift made by hand and given in love with a word of cheer to someone in need cost but little and yet are so powerful to the soul and fabric of mankind.

Most of us know the value of investing when we receive a tangible return. But what about the intangible? When was the last time you made an investment when the return was unknown? For most never. Outdoor decorating and giving to others out of love are investments with intangeable returns. Yet a return is assured. When was the last time you received a guaranty of return on an investment? Yet there is a catch! The more you give without an expectation of return, the more you receive. I know this to be true, because my life is a living testimony of such a fact. And even if a return were not evident, I would still give because the return is indeed assured through others and by helping others, my return ultimately comes back around. And the world becomes a little nicer place because of it. In this way, do we not all benefit as a society?

This year, make an investment that assures a return and put up some decorations to bring joy into someone else's life. Give a gift of love to your neighbor and a stranger without expectation. Give a gift without expectation of a return and your return is assured. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL and a HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR!

 

the "Hillbilly Gardener"
Lyndell (Jerry) Miller
(417) 777-2285
plantman.ozarks@yahoo.com
www.jerrysplantsonline.com
www.icelebrateholidays.com

The "Garden of Weedin" newsletter

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DATE: 06 Nov 2007, 3:42 pm / MOOD: Happy

What Did They Say ??


I've been doing some thinking, reflecting and remembering lately and thought maybe I'd throw it out and see who salutes. Just think of it as me thinking out loud on paper - nothing more.

Speaking to one of our local University English professors the other day (yes I live in a college town), I was asking him how I could make people understand what I was trying to write? He said, "You can't! Because the  English language is the only language in the world that relies as much on tone and inflection for the meaning as it does the words written. That's why good writers add a lot of colorful and graphic language to try to paint a mental image in the readers mind. But even this does guarantee the same mental picture from reader to reader". So I asked  him, Ok, then how do I choose my words more carefully so that others will know what I am saying? He replied by taking a dictionary down from a nearby shelf and handing it to me and said - "Open it". Which I did as he instructed. He then asked, "Now how many of the words in that dictionary have more than one definition". I replied that I had no idea. To this he said "Most of them. And of those words that have  multiple definitions, how many have multiple definitions to are vastly different from each other depending on how it is used? Most of them. Now suppose I use one of those words in a sentence. How do I know know which of those definitions you will apply to that word? I don't, because I do not know how you have grown up to use the word, do I? The same word can mean vastly different things to different people.". To this I said - Point made.

In the written English language, it is a wonder we ever get a point made that we all can agree on. There is a  basic premise of all communication that all parties in the conversation must have a common language, or else we have no way to communicate. But what if all parties involved had a common language, but poured different meanings into the words? Now if we were using one of the many languages used by other peoples of this world, the written language might be little problem because words commonly have only one meaning and everyone speaking that language knows that meaning when they see a particular word and it means only one thing. Often words with the same identical spelling are made into words with totally different meanings  by the use of little pieces of punctuation that changes the word entirely. But the meaning remains the same from person to person. Now if you take a language that relies on tone, inflection and emphasis for much of its meaning and remove the auditory aspects, you are left with having to insert these on your own in order to apply a meaning to the word or sentence.

Therein lies the problem that leads to so much miscommunication and misunderstanding in the written word. This leads to "I read what it said, therefore it said what I read". But is what you read, what the writer said? When anyone writes, they insert these inflections into their words while writing, either  consciously or subconsciously, but we all do it. The problem lies in the fact that these inflections do not carry over to the reader. These inflections are then re-inserted by the reader based on how they  interpret what they read and how they have applied the words in their own life and when we do not apply the same inflections and meanings as the writer used, all to often confusion or misunderstandings occur.

Remember this law of human nature and you will do well - "Perception is reality, and from my reality I shall not be swayed" . All to often, this is what results from  "I read what it said, therefore it said what I read". This brings to mind an old Johnny Carson show I watched many years ago where Carson was interviewing a foreign book writer (no I do not remember the writers name - what was said is what was most important at the time) doing a book tour in New York for a novel he had written:

Carson - "Now I know it is not unusual for books to be written in other countries and then translated into our language, but you have written this one in the  common English language and then translated into yours. Why is that?"

Writer - "In my language, when a reader reads my book - He reads my book and everyone reads the same thing. In your country, when a reader reads my book, they read a library. You see in my country, a word is a word. And everyone reads the same words. In your country, a word is a language, and no two people in your country speak the same language."

A good example of this is:

"I didn't say she was his wife"  Silly little line I know, but what did you hear in your mind when you read the words?

I didn't say she was his wife

I didn't say she was his wife

I didn't say she was his wife

I didn't say she was his wife

I didn't say she was his wife

I didn't say she was his wife

I didn't say she was his wife

Now which line was it that you heard in your mind when you read the line the first time? Read each line emphasizing the word in red each time. Does not each line have a different meaning altogether? Yet the words remain the same. Now, which line was the writer saying when he wrote the line originally? You don't know do you just from the written word.

Merely thinking out loud now, I wonder if it might be a good idea to ask for clarification when what we hear in our mind from the words we read does not fit the context of the topic or what we know about the person writing it? Curiosity makes me wonder if this might lead to fewer misunderstandings and less of  "I read what it said, therefore it said what I read".

Just some thoughts out loud - nothing more.

the "Hillbilly Gardener" 

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