Personal Improvement

Most entrepreneurs fail because they don’t think like businesspeople. Especially online, those who say they want to make money think and act more like desperate homeless people than savvy marketers. A prime example is how a majority of start-up entrepreneurs look for what they think is a killer product first, when indeed they shoudl find their potential customers before even considering a product or service!

Naturally you’ll want a great product, but that comes later. The first order of business is to identify a group of people with a very specific want or need.

This is called finding your niche market. And it takes only a small amount of focus and effort to achieve.

Your first step is to list a few general areas you’d like to explore. Start with things you like, know something about, or simply find interesting.

For instance, do you enjoy camping, playing the saxophone, the latest and greatest DVD releases, or fixing up old cars? Make a list of anywhere from 10 to 25 general areas you want to explore.

Once you have a basic idea of the kind of market you might want to explore, you’re ready to find some numbers and data to back up your initial idea. Thanks to the invention of keyword research tools, it’s actually quite easy to figure out what people are looking for online.

All keyword research tools work from the same basic interface. This is a form where you enter a word or group of words and click a submit button.

The keyword tool then finds data on how many times the terms were queried at sites like Google over the past 1 to 30 days. Good keyword tools will also come up with a list of terms similar to the keywords you entered, and this of course will lead you to ideas you may not have even considered before.

Your goal with basic keyword research is simply to get a better idea of what people are looking for relative to your initial list of concepts. You may have to spend some time brainstorming or looking into the suggested terms that come up during your research before you really hit on anything solid.

As an example, let’s say you know something about remodeling kitchens. You might start your keyword research with terms like “kitchen remodel”.

The tool you are using could indicate people are doing a good deal of searching for terms like “kitchen remodel under $1,000” or “remodel kitchen cabinets” or “do it yourself kitchen remodel”. As you begin to sift through more and more specific data you will see an emerging pattern and come up with a more refined idea of what people are looking for in terms of information about remodeling their kitchens.

Ultimately, you’ll want to make a list of the more popular search terms. And you’ll want to go to your favorite search engine and do your own direct searches on these exact terms.

The results pages will tell you whether or not a substantial amount of competition currently exists in these areas. By finding out what information and services currently exist you’ll be able to determine where you can fit into things; i.e. you’ll get an idea of where your potential niche might be.

You can also browse sites like Ebay, Amazon, and Buy.com to get an idea of what people are currently spending money on, relative to your area of focus. And you can browse popular blogs and forums to discover what Internet users are saying about the current marketplace.

In particular look for questions being asked. If you can identify a few core questions being posed in a variety of places you will be well on your way to finding a solid niche market.

It’s beyond the scope of this article to go into complete detail about the research process, but just by following the steps above you’ll be able to target a potentially profitable niche market. Once you understand what people are looking for, all that remains is to figure out how you can offer these people what they want and/or need.

Recommended Resources

For an in-depth, easy to follow blueprint on how to generate great money-making ideas and find winning markets and niches I strongly recommend my Idea Goldmine special report. Also, once you’re ready to think about owning your own site be sure to review this free article on basic Webmaster tools.

Whether you’re an entrepreneur or just want to use the Web to communicate more effectively to your personal contacts, owning a Website is a fun and powerful way to get connected. Of course you can hire a pro to tackle the whole project for you, but many people enjoy the process of getting hands-on and putting their own Web presence together.

I have a background in professional Web development and marketing, so I’ll be including some really great tips on this blog to help people get rolling with their own Websites. But first let’s take a look at some basic tools you might need.

BASIC WEBMASTER TOOLS TO HELP WITH YOUR WEBSITE PROJECT

There’s no need to spend a fortune on quality Web tools. I’ve owned an online business since 2005 and many of the resources I use are very affordable or even free.

Here’s a quick list of essential Web tools I use and recommend.

HTML Editor - Obviously you’ll need a good editing software to build and update your Web pages with. You’ll use this tool to construct your Web pages on your computer and then upload them to the Web (your host) once the changes are complete.

You can get a great, free HTML editor called 1st Page from this site.

FTP software - An FTP, or file transfer protocol, tool is what you’ll use to move files from your computer to the Web and vice versa. It sounds complex but it’s really not.

You can download a free - and very good - FTP utility at Core FTP. Be sure to get the totally free version and not the free trial!

Web Effects Software - It’s also nice to have a special effects wizard to help you easily generate cool features like dropdown menus, image rotators, frames, and other cool stuff. These tools basically prevent your having to learn and remember complex javascript code, and allow you to make all kinds of groovy effects with a few clicks of your mouse.

Please accept a free copy of the Black Label Web Wizard from me by hitting this link. Be aware, however, this item only works with Windows software (executable file); sorry Mac users, I’ll try to find something for you as well.

Domain Name - This of course is your Web address. You can register a good domain for around $10 per year, and I recommend Lots More Hosting for this service.

Hosting Service - A Web host is the service that stores the files and data that actually make up your site. You’ll get access to a powerful server that runs 24 hours every day, and you’ll upload all your Web pages and other files to this server. Then you’ll synchronize your domain and server by setting the DNS (most hosts explain this in their welcome email); once this is done an Internet user can type in your domain name and connect with your host machine.

Again I recommend Lots More Hosting for your Web hosting service.

This list of essential tools will get you off to a solid start. I’ll post some tips for actually building and running your site over the next few weeks.

As you’ll see, being a Webmaster is nowhere near as difficult as many people think. In fact it’s both easy and fun once you get the hang of it.

You see the world around you through the lens of self. And if you don’t have a healthy self-image, all of your efforts to achieve your goals will suffer.

If you don’t love yourself, how can you honestly hope to give yourself nice things? And if you don’t feel worthy of greatness, what good is it to try and manifest your dreams?

Remember: You are a genius and and you are most worthy of love and respect!

This should be obvious, but many times people will try to move forward with the practice of attraction before addressing crucial issues of self-image. Experts tend to agree that self-esteem is often the most underrated element in a comprehensive self-development program.

This is ironic, since many times when a person fails to create the wealth, health, or relationship they claim to want, the cause of their failure is a lack of self worth. By overcoming any negative feelings you have toward yourself you will greatly increase your odds of attracting to you all the things you desire.

Now that you understand why self-esteem is so important, how can you set about to improve your own self-image? Here are a few things you can start doing right away.

Get Some Perspective

Start seeing yourself as another person. Look at yourself often in the mirror, and form a positive opinion of yourself as if you were thinking about a friend or family member. This mindset exercise will allow you to step away from your internal prejudices and focus loving energy on yourself on a regular basis.

Celebrate Your Victories

Another thing you can do is create a victory log. This is a simple journal that contains all of the positive achievements you have made in your lifetime. By continually updating this list as you create new successes, you will be creating a written record of personal greatness.

Completely Forgive Yourself Right Now

Perhaps the most important thing you can do toward restoring your self-esteem is to actively forgive yourself. Take the time to sit down and think of all the times you have been angry or disappointed with yourself; go back as far into your childhood as your memory will allow.

Focus on all of the silly, embarrassing, even detrimental things you have done in the past. Acknowledge that you are a human being and mistakes are a natural and fully acceptable part of life. One by one, bring up the events of your past and forgive yourself for each one of them. Let these things go and decide to immediately forgive yourself again should they ever come to mind in the future.

These exercises will have you well on the way to feeling great about yourself and believing in your ability to do amazing things once again.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE:

I welcome you to claim your totally free Self Esteem System through this special link. My personal friend and best-selling author Joe Rubino has created this amazing suite of empowering material for the sole purpose of helping you restore and fortify your magnificent self so don’t pass this up.

Get your free self-esteem boost now!