A F*REE electronic magazine... April 9, 2003
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B I G B U C K S I N A B A T H R O B E
Make More Money & Have More Fun With Your Small Business!
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Publisher: Dave Balch, "The Stay-at-Home CEO"(tm)
" David made over $5 million at home and wants to help
you do the same or more "
Mark Victor Hanson, co-creator of the #1 best
selling "Chicken Soup for the Soul" series
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I n T h i s I s s u e . . .
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1. Feature: The Stay-at-Home CEO Recommends
2. A "Quickie" - Personal Observation
3. Feature: Article
"Big Deal"
4. Feature: "Ask Dave" - My take on your business problems
"Won't spend the money..."
5. Feature: "Meanwhile, back at the ranch..."
"Kelly and the Vacuum"
6. About "Big Bucks in a Bathrobe" Newsletter
7. Who the heck am I, anyway?
8. How to get on or get off of this list
You are on our list as <$email$>
(To be added/deleted from this list scroll to end for link.)
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PLEASE FORWARD THIS issue to each of your friends who have
small or home-based businesses; they'll LOVE you for it!
(Be sure they know it's from you, or they'll think I sent
it without asking, which is a big no-no!) Thanks!
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(c) Copyright 2003, A Few Good People, Inc. ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED.
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11111 The Stay-at-Home CEO Recommends:
According to my recent subscriber survey, many of
you wanted my recommendations on various books
and products.
You can read past recommendations here:
http://www.TheStayAtHomeCEO.com/reviews.htm
(While it is true that I may make small amounts of
money on some of these recommendations, my integrity
is NOT for sale: I would never recommend something I
didn't believe-in 100%, just to make a buck or two.)
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"The Stay at Home CEO Marketing Tips" Newsletter
... and it's FR'EE
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I am very excited to announce a new newsletter focused on
Internet marketing.
"The Stay at Home CEO Marketing Tips" will be delivered
to you by email twice a month, containing lots of tips and
tricks that will help you increase your business and exposure
on the Internet.
Read all about it here:
http://www.TheStayAtHomeCEO.com/nl/bbbmt.htm
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Boost Business with Your Own Ezine
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There is no question that an ezine is a terrific
cost-effective way to build customer awareness and loyalty,
and there is also no question that there's a lot more to it
than just typing something up and emailing it.
I have been sending out my ezine for 18 months; I have over
3,200 subscribers in more than 30 countries and I still
learned one heckava lot from this eBook from Alexandria
Brown, "The Ezine Queen."
She walks you through the entire process from conception to
launch to promotion in an easy-to-read and easy-to-follow
style. Good, solid information presented in bite-sized
chunks, with specific examples to make everything crystal
clear.
Whether you are just starting out or have already begun, you
will learn something new from this package, and I highly
recommend it.
Get more information about this great resource now:
http://www.TheStayAtHomeCEO.com/nl/ezine.htm
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22222 A "Quickie" - Personal Observation
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Due to an extended drought in our mountains and a lot of
bark beetles, we are losing tens of thousands of trees.
Yes, you read that right... TENS of THOUSANDS of trees.
(The number is actually much higher than that, but I didn't
think you'd take me seriously if I said "950,000" trees,
although that is more accurate...)
With so many dead trees (we're talking large, 80 to 100-foot
pine trees here) there is great danger not only from them
falling but from fire, so it is imperative that they be
removed as quickly as possible. This situation has brought
a large number of tree removal companies to the area and
they basically compete on price alone.
Except one.
They not only give a good price but, as part of the deal,
they plant a seedling for every tree they cut down.
A nice little extra that doesn't cost much and rockets them
above the competition. Does this give you any ideas??
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SIGN-UP FOR MY F^REE MIN-E-SEMINAR:
"Secrets of an Actual $5 Million Home Business"
Eight e-mails in eight days that will change the way you run your
small business!
http://www.TheStayAtHomeCEO.com/secrets/mine1.htm
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33333 A r t i c l e "Big Deal"
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By Dave Balch, "The Stay-at-Home CEO(tm)"
As you may know, I am an avid eclipse chaser. I have been
to 9 total eclipses all over the world and intend to go to
every eclipse for the rest of my life no matter where they
occur.
The last eclipse was in Africa in December of last year, and
I planned on seeing it from a cruise ship in the Indian
Ocean. (Hey, it's a dirty job but someone has to do it!) I
put a tremendous amount of mental and physical energy into
preparing; making sure that my obligations at home were
covered, getting the right clothes together, bringing the
right equipment to observe the eclipse, the right kind and
amount of film, preparing my computer so I could work on the
plane, tickets, and so on. It occupied my thoughts every
day for weeks, and it was a really big deal.
To me.
It struck me as odd that I didn't hear anything about it on
the news. Life was pretty much normal for the rest of the
world. It seems that it wasn't a big deal to anyone else.
My mother died suddenly several years ago and I got yanked
out of my world into a nightmare, having to identify her
body in the morgue of a hospital near her home. My head was
spinning and I felt pretty much numb inside after seeing
her, and I went to a nearby restaurant. While I was waiting
to be seated, I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone; this
incredible tragedy had just befallen me and everyone was
acting, well, so normal. It was a really big deal, but only
to me. Life continued to go on as usual.
After contemplating these two situations it occurred to me
that I have done this in my business, and the results were
not good. When I was working on my software, I spent hours
and hours coding up a slick new feature that, as it turned
out, nobody cared about except me. Sure, it was way cool
when it was finished. Sure, I was proud of the results.
But it did nothing to further my business interests. It did
nothing to increase the value of my product. And it did
nothing to add value for my customers.
Are you sure that your efforts are well placed? I'm sure
that you're spending your time on things that you think are
important, but are they? Will anybody care about the
results of your efforts besides you? Are you increasing
value for your customers and building your business
sensibly, or are you doing something that you think is cool
or fun, but which nobody else really cares about? Ask
yourself honestly what your underlying reasons are for doing
what you're doing. If the answer isn't that the customer
will benefit, you may be making a big mistake.
Here's the hard truth: it doesn't matter what you consider
to be important. What matters is what your customers think
is important.
If you don't know what your customers think is important,
you should start spending your time finding out. The best
way, in my opinion, is to simply ask them. Conduct a
survey, send evaluations with your product, call them on the
phone; do whatever it takes. Find out what they don't like,
what they like, and what they would like to see in the
future. That way you can fix the problems, emphasize the
good points in your marketing, and build your business based
on what THEY think is important.
That IS a big deal!
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44444 "A s k D a v e"
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(Can I help you with a business problem? I will field
business questions in every issue. Send them to
mailto:Dave@DaveBalch.com )
Ask whatever you'd like... all letters will remain anonymous.
Maybe my 2-cents'-worth will help you make "Big Bucks"!
(Maybe not!)
Today's question:
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My wife wants to start an Internet business, but won't spend
the money for the internet marketing course that you
suggested, or for any other course either. She doesn't want
to part with the cash and is afraid to use her credit card
on the Internet. What do you suggest?
P.C., Los Angeles
Dear P.C.
My suggestion is that you focus elsewhere and stay away
from the Internet. Frankly, it makes me angry to hear
that someone wants to start a business in a medium that
they don't even trust themselves.
How can she expect her customers to pay HER on the
Internet when she won't use the technology herself? The
fact of the matter is that you are taking a bigger risk by
giving your credit card to a server in a restaurant or to
a mail order company over the phone than you are by giving
a credit card over the internet. Besides, the most you
would be liable for is $50, so it's not like someone could
use your card and drive you into bankruptcy.
Perhaps the answer is to start more slowly; instead of
jumping into a full-blown course, try the f*ree newsletter
below or the very inexpensive subscription to interviews
of other people who ARE successful. Once she gets a taste
of it, she may decide that it is something she really
wants to pursue and will then take the next step.
Here are three resources for learning about doing business
on the Internet, starting with f*ree, then very
inexpensive, and then a little more expensive (but still a
tremendous value)
1. This one is f*ree, so there are no excuses! Sign-up for
this newsletter that focuses on Internet marketing:
http://www.TheStayAtHomeCEO.com/nl/bbbmt.htm
2. For just a few dollars a month this service interviews,
in detail, the owners of two SUCCESSFUL Internet
businesses (more than $100,000 per year), and analyzes
someone's website. Learning from other people's successes
is the very best way to get new ideas for your own
business. Even if you only try it for a month or two, you
will get a good idea of what it takes to be successful on
the Internet.
http://www.TheStayAtHomeCEO.com/nl/ssecrets.htm
3. Simply the best darned general course on Internet
marketing I've ever seen. It covers everything you need
to know and, considering all it covers, the price is a
bargain:
http://www.TheStayAtHomeCEO.com/nl/isecrets.htm
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55555 "M e a n w h i l e, b a c k at the r a n c h..."
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A glimpse into the life of this "Stay-at-Home CEO"
(Photos and short bios of the complete "cast of characters"
are posted at http://www.TheStayAtHomeCEO.com/theranch.htm )
Kelly tends to be moody, a little unpredictable, and
sometimes downright bitchy. You just never know with her,
but then mares are like that.
One thing you can count on, though, is that she is
"bombproof," meaning that she doesn't frighten easily. Many
horses are terribly frightened by something as simple as a
paper bag on the ground (I'm not kidding) but I can run the
gas-powered snow thrower, which is very noisy and has lots
of scary moving parts, right up to her and she barely even
lifts her head to look my way.
Another thing you can count on is that Kelly HATES being
brushed. She fusses and sometimes even tries to bite Chris
when Chris tries to brush out her coat. An animal
communicator told us that Kelly's nerve endings are close
to the surface and the brush is very irritating, so Chris
uses the softest brush available. Still no good.
The other day, Chris was using a small, portable vacuum in
the barn to pick up some of the dust that accumulates in
great quantities, and Kelly came over to see what she was
doing. Chris took the vacuum hose and started vacuuming
Kelly's face, just to see what she would do. You can always
tell how relaxed a horse is by their body language:
Kelly's head was very low, sleepy eyes, ears forward... she
was lovin' it. So Chris kept going and vacuumed her entire
body!
...and this is the horse that hates to be brushed. Go
figure.
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66666 A b o u t "Big Bucks in a Bathrobe"
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Welcome! You are receiving this because either:
-You requested it on my website or after seeing me at a
speaking engagement
-I know you personally and thought you'd like it
-I asked you if I could send it and you said "Yes"
-Someone forwarded it to you because they thought you'd
like it.
If you don't want to receive future issues, scroll to the
bottom for instructions on how to be removed from the list.
No harm, no foul, no hurt feelings!
My goal is a bi-weekly newsletter that will:
-help you with your small or home-based business
-share articles of interest
-be informal and informative
-answer specific questions asked by readers
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77777 W h o t h e H e c k a m I, A n y w a y ?
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I've generated over $5 million (so far!) from my own
home-based software business and I have a lot to share with
you about how I did it and what I learned along the way.
Now, as a professional speaker, I offer programs that will
help you and your employees "Make More Money and Have More
Fun" with your small or home-based business!
Visit me at http://www.TheStayAtHomeCEO.com for descriptions
of the programs and educational resources that I offer.
The "Big Bucks Boutique" offers resources and materials that
will help you "Make More Money and Have More Fun" with your
business. Take a look at
http://www.TheStayAtHomeCEO.com/boutique.htm
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88888 H o w to S u b s c r i b e / U n s u b s c r i b e
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Please note:
- This newsletter is sent every other week.
- Comments and suggestions are always welcome!
- Your information is NEVER intentionally shared with
ANYone for ANY reason. PERIOD.
- Contact me at mailto:Dave@DaveBalch.com
- HOW TO GET ON OUR LIST: If this issue was forwarded to
you and you would like to receive your own copy (and OF
COURSE you DO!), you can sign-up here:
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A Few Good People, Inc.
P.O. Box 824
Twin Peaks, CA 92391
1-800-366-2347
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