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Resources to Begin Building an Online Enterprise With

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17 Jun, 2009
annebolender
Online Business, Technical Skills, Travel

There is scads of resources available to anyone who is looking to build an online business. You just need to browse through Amazon.com, or through any local bookstore to see masses of “Build it and they will come” books on becoming a virtual entrepreneur.

And then there’s the Internet – there’s a new expert being born every day, with most promising untold riches for little or no effort.

Fortunately, mixed in with this lot are some really knowledgeable experts and some really great books.

But how can you tell if the material is worth even the cost of the paper needed to print it out, or the effort required to go to the bookstore to buy the book??

Well, in most cases, you can’t tell if the material is any good just by looking at it, or by reading a summary of it. But there is a way to help reduce your choice, with a resulting increase in your chances of finding materials that right for you and for what you want to accomplish.

For me, I am starting an online business from scratch, and am at the very beginning of the process.  The objective of my business is to sell educational information products and perhaps offer a bit of coaching. My target audience is basically any individual that is interested in designing a lifestyle that is supported by a virtual, or online, enterprise. However, because of the unique issues and situations that baby boomers face, special focus will be given to this niche audience.

What I have decided to do is to focus on resources that were being created by, created for, or extensively used by entrepreneurs with similar goals and objectives. However, because I will also be giving special attention to baby boomers, its unlikely that I will be able to find many resources for this specific audience, so I will be looking at the location independent professional lifestyle in general. As a result, I have chosen to focus on the following resources that should be able to help me get started developing the skills I need for this endeavor to be a success.

By focusing on materials produced by someone in the field you intend to set up your enterprise in, you should be able to find at least some useful information. You can always refocus the material to suit specific characteristics that your target audience has.

The first skill I want to develop is to gain an understanding of how I want to monetize my website. There are at least a couple of models that can be followed, for example, you can go after joint ventures (you sell someone else’s product, and they sell yours); you can build a strong affiliate-based business; or you can sell products through drop-shipping; etc.

The monetization model I have chosen to follow is the one used by Chris Guillebeau. Chris is a writer, blogger and world traveler, and supports his lifestyle through selling information products from his blog, and through freelance writing.  Chris’ excellent “How-to” guides are available from his “The Art Of Non-Conformity” blog, located on the  http://www.chrisguillebeau.com website/blog.

The second skill I need to work on is to learn how to build and develop a really good blog/website. There are a couple of resources that I will be using for this:
1.    ProBloggers: Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett have published several excellent and popular resources that I will be using. The first is their book: Problogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income (who could resist a book with a title like this ☺). Their second resource is an email program they developed recently, 31 Days to Build a Better Blog (they have recently expanded this program into an ebook and offer it for sale on their website). Their third resource is their website/email posts that are available at http://www.problogger.net.
2.    In addition to the ProBlogger information, I will be also be using two programs that I purchased from the American Writers and Artists Institute (AWAI), located online at http://www.awaionline.com:

a.) SEO Copywriting Success
b.) How to Write Your Own Money-Making Websites

My game plan is to follow the ProBloggers book and the 31-day Build a Better Blog program to begin with, using information from the two AWAI programs as needed.

I will let you know in my next post, which will be posted Monday June 22, how things are going.

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The Difference Between a Traveler and a Tourist

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12 Jun, 2009
annebolender
Lifestyle Design Skills, Travel

Isn’t a ‘Traveler’ the same as a ‘Tourist’?

At first glance there doesn’t seem to be much difference between a ‘Traveler” and a ‘Tourist’. Both pack their bags and leave the comforts of home to explore the world. Both are vacationers, trekking off to different places to experience the sights, sounds and tastes of a variety of locations, cameras in hand, sending postcard wishing friends and family members they were here.

But when you think about them for a few minutes, subtle (and not so subtle) differences begin to become apparent.

A tourist heads to a destination. The typical destination is usually one that reminds the tourist of ‘home’ in one way or another. Usually the strangers they meet in hotels and restaurants are other tourists from around the world; the food they eat has a familiar taste to it; and the shops, well, the shops are there specially for them and filled with special items that tourists like to buy.

A traveler enjoys the journey. And the journey generally takes travelers to places where locals live, eat, work and play. To places where very few, if any, tourists go. Where the language is unfamiliar, and the tastes, smells and sounds are new and exciting. Travelers learn about different cultures, and as a result, are changed by them. The photos are memories of experiences they have had – not just places they have been.

Are you a traveler through life – or just a tourist??

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What’s This All About?

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4 Jun, 2009
annebolender
Entrepreneurial Skills, Lifestyle Design Skills, Online Business, Technical Skills, Transformation, Travel

Two interesting trends have begun converging recently, providing a very interesting set of lifestyle options for individuals who are interested in taking advantage of them.

Firstly, information, communications, collaboration and social networking media have become easier to use, cheaper to buy, and more stable and secure. The result of this trend is that more people of all ages have become adept at using these media for a variety of personal and business reasons.

The second major trend that is occurring is that baby boomers are ‘getting ready to retire in droves’. Well, not quite. There are an amazing number of individuals reaching the age where they could retire, but not very many of these individuals want to retire – or even can afford to retire. Studies are showing that what baby boomers want to do is to continue working, just under different circumstances.

What baby boomers are looking for is a more balanced lifestyle – less effort on work and more effort on other things, like travel, volunteering, learning, participating in sports, etc. Even the type of work studies are indicating that baby boomers are looking for is changing – away from the high pressure, high income corporate world, to the slower-paced, more purpose-driven careers. In fact, an increasing number of boomers are opting for self-employment, even if it means becoming technologically literate to do so.

A lily pad on a sunny day.

A lily pad on a sunny day.

This isn’t really surprising, considering that baby boomer women have already affected considerable change on the workplace over the past couple of decades. There is every reason to believe that boomer men and women will achieve the changes in the workplace they are looking for – including greater flexibility to become remote or tele-workers.

At the same time that these two social trends are taking place, baby boomer’s kids, the twenty- and thirty-year olds known as Generation Y, are also taking advantage of the increased freedom and flexibility that new media and technologies provide. This generation is the highly prized “Creative Class”. Intelligent, creative, demanding and impatient, many members of this generation are not willing to play the traditional corporate game, and are also increasingly taking their skills on-line and becoming self-employed.

The great thing about running an online or virtual business is that you can run it from anywhere! Anywhere in the world!! And many baby boomers and Gen Y’ers are doing just that. Financially and personally successful careers can be run from remote locations, small towns, medieval villages; from recreational vehicles and sailboats; or from cottage country.

This website/blog is my action research project – I am setting up a location independent lifestyle that is supported by a virtual enterprise. You are very welcome to follow along and learn from my mistakes.

The website/blog Ageless Explorer, located at http://www.agelessexplorer.com, is devoted to exploring more general lifestyle design, and is particularly focused on Baby Boomers who might be struggling to deal with their current or impending retirement.

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