Wizzer Update 4

WIZZER THOUGHTS - The MUST KNOW information

I hope you have given some thought to the points raised in my last update. If so then you will remember I urged you to:

"Decide what you want your life to look like and build your work around that".

Just to recap very briefly.

I do not have a get rich quick "opportunity" or solution. What I do have is some solid, practical advice as to how you can make some changes to your life and earn a good level of income (whatever that means to you personally). I'll give you the benefit of my experience and let you know what works and what doesn't and in particular the things you really must avoid.

As we progress over the coming weeks I'll provide you with details of the services that have worked for me and the facilities I use. I'll let you see a case study of a site I run that ticks along with minimal work from me.

So let's start today with what I call the "ideal business".

OK - I know the ideal business is one where you do absolutely nothing yet the money rolls in everyday. Since that isn't very likely, at least while you are awake :) I'll go into what I think would make the ideal business in the real world.

I've experienced running several real world businesses and the list of problems they present is frightening. You spend most of your time dealing with this "stuff" and very little working on the business.

My conclusion is, therefore, that the ideal business should avoid the following as far as possible:

• 
  Business premises
• 
  Staff
• 
  Stock or inventory
• 
  Credit Card merchant facilities
• 
  Product fulfillment - leading to customer queries
• 
  Long working hours

So what does that leave us with?

• 
  Work from home (or anywhere you chose)
• 
  No need to recruit or rely on anyone else. Just you to answer to
• 
  Sell someone else's product or service
• 
  Let that someone take care of the sale process - collect money, ship goods, provide service
• 
  Work to the level you choose - spare time / full time as you please

Is that possible? Could you build a business like that?

The answer is a categoric "YES". Most certainly you can do it.

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the ideal business is to become an affiliate for somebody else's product(s) or service(s). The only question that has to be answered is what product or service are you going to provide?

I'll be going into affiliate marketing in more detail in my next update but for today I want you to think very carefully about the question above - "what product or service"

This question is critical to your success. If you get this wrong you'll waste your time, lose interest, have no success and ultimately give up.

Most people when they start a business chose to do what they already do but for themselves.

For example a hairdresser decides to open a salon because he or she is particularly good at cutting hair. It doesn't mean they'll be good at running a business.

A plumber or carpenter is disillusioned with the "boss" getting all of the profit from their hard work and decides to go it alone. Now instead of just the trade they have marketing, invoicing, accounts, staff, stock issues to deal with.

These people have simply traded their boss for a new one. But does the new one have the same abilities as the old one? Maybe in certain areas but in running the business? And what about the extra time spent doing all the extra tasks?

I know, I've done this. It looks exciting to start with but over time the extra jobs that can only get done late at night when the real work is done get to you. It's stressfull, tiring and you get to a point where you really wish you'd never started the business.

But what if there was a different way?

What would be the most obvious starting point when deciding what business to go into?

I'd say it was to find a market FULL of people already looking for a product or service.

Once you've found that market it is a straightforward task to fulfill the requirements of those people.

Do you think it would be difficult to sell water to a bus load of people stranded in the desert? Of course it wouldn't.

So the first step is to find a market and then decide on the product or service to meet their needs. If that market is in an area where you have a particular skill or interest so much the better. You already have a head start over most other people as you'll have a good idea what others with a similar interest will be looking for.

I suggest you start by making a list of the things you are particularly interested in. Does anything jump out at you as being a likely good business?

You will almost certainly have heard the term "niche marketing". Simply put this means marketing your particular product or service to people within that "niche".

For example, if you happen to be an expert in tying flies, your niche market may well be fly fishing. Your task is now is to find suitable products for this market and work out whether you could make the money you require from this business.

Don't forget, you won't have to produce the product, you simply find someone else who has already done so and will be happy to pay you for making a sale of their product. Next time I'll be going over ways of identifying whether there really is good potential in your chosen area and how to source suitable products.


WIZZER NEWS - General developments

I'm reviewing a number of products or tools at the moment that promise to be a great help with my business and possibly yours if you decide to follow in my footsteps. I'll be reporting on these in future editions of WizzerNews. You should know, however, that I report on these things as I find them. If there are limitations or problems I'll let you know what they are and will only recommend something I've reviewed and tried in my business with some success.


WIZZER REFLECTIONS - My personal thoughts

I've not played golf this week.Unfortunately my favorite uncle died this week. He had a stroke a few years ago that left him unable to speak and he had another a month ago leaving him virtually paralyzed. The doctors gave him no chance of really leading anything like a normal life so I guess in some ways his passing is a blessing. It's never easy though for the relatives and friends. For me it came quite hard because my own father wasn't around when I was very small and my uncle taught me to swim, took me to my first movie and was "there" for me.

Although we hadn't been particularly close in recent years a part of "me" has also passed. On an upbeat note to end, however, my eldest son will be 10 this week and an electric guitar will be finding it's way into our lives. I may live to regret the decision to buy that for his birthday - only time will tell.

Until next time

Mark "Wizzer" Wilson
"Do It Now"