If you haven’t heard about Jeremy Lin yet, you will.

Jeremy Lin is a new Asian American player on the New York Knicks basketball team who is also a Harvard graduate.  Coming from complete obscurity, Jeremy Lin has lifted the spirits New York Knicks fans and sports enthusiast alike.  His passion and drive has provide inspiration to many.

1. Have an underdog mentality
By conventional standards Jeremy Lin should never have a problem getting any job of his choosing. He has a degree in economics from Harvard; however he was not seeking a position at Goldman Sachs he was looking for a job with the National Basketball Association and in that arena a degree from Harvard didn’t help him with his jump shot. In fact, his Harvard degree may have held him back. When he finally got the chance to prove himself, Jeremy worked harder than any million dollar player.
Small business owners are often underdogs compared to the large stores, while this may seem like a bad situation being an underdog will give you the drive to work that much harder to succeed. Being an underdog gives you the hunger to always try your best, work harder and never become complacent.
2. Buck the system

In a sport that does not have many Asians, not to mention Harvard grads. Jeremy Lin goes against all conventional wisdom when it comes to the NBA. He never let that stop him, he knew what he wanted to do and decided not to listen to what people told him he should be but played on his own terms.
As entrepreneurs we are not required to conform to any system or what others think, be what you want and be passionate about that and the rest will fall into place.

3. Stick to your core beliefs and values

Like Tim Tebow Jeremy Lin is another sports player who is not afraid to admit that he is religious. In the sports arena it is not always favorable to express religious beliefs, yet Jeremy Lin shows his faith with pride.
No matter what your belief is, it is important for entrepreneurs to be ethical and strong in their beliefs. Customers who may have the same values will trust you and feel a greater connection beyond your service or product. This may also lead to greater customer loyalty.
4. Be tenacious
Tenacity is a life lesson in any arena. No matter what life throws at you, make sure that you keep pushing and never give up. Jeremy Lin was bounced all around the league, yet he knew is dream and never gave up on it.
5. Stay Humble
One of the best things about the Jeremy Lin story is his attitude, that’s what makes him so likeable. He seems like an honest humble person who simply loves what he does and feels truly blessed to be put into the position. Beyond the hype, that is what many seem to like about him the most.
This concept is basic business lesson, “People buy from people they like” plain and simple. If you have a bad attitude it will reflect in your sales nothing more nothing less.
Hopefully these tips have helped you learn a little more about the true spirit of the Jeremy Lin story or if you are simply a Jeremy Lin fan and you want to leave a comment go right ahead. Maybe I will see you at one of the games I just got my tickets can’t wait!

Filed under: Personal Development

Many people realize that they can earn extra income through blogging.

They put up sites and start to write about different topics. After that, they put advertisements on their sites. They continue to do the same thing over and over until they see no results – no traffic and no money, and ultimately quit. The thing is, there is a lot more to do than just that. Here is a guide on how to make money with a blog:

The first thing to understand if you really want to know how to make money with a blog is that it is not easy to make money while blogging.

You have to be passionate, persistent and patient.

You cannot just expect to make money after writing one blog. Many successful bloggers have written hundreds of articles before getting a decent amount of money.

You can start by using sites that offer free hosting of blogs. Search the internet and you will see a plethora of choices. The advantages of using these free sites are that you get to have a feel of how to make money with a blog and give you time to know what you really want to write about, without the worry of spending a single penny. You can observe which topics interest you. This helps a lot because if you want to blog for a long time, you need to be passionate about writing or you will just end up quitting. The downside here is that some of these sites have some mechanism that splits revenue. As a result you will not have the opportunity to make an optimal amount of cash.

Alternatively, you can choose to have your own domain and pay for the hosting of your site. Having your own site gives you a unique feeling of identity. You are in control of everything and you can customize your design and layout according to your taste. Of course, you get all the revenue. However, if you did not work hard enough, you might end up losing money for the site’s hosting and maintenance.

When thinking about how to make money with a blog people often only think about those traditional ways to do it.  When done via the traditional ad stream route it is often difficult to create the solid and substantial income stream we are all really looking for. The Empower Network has put an end to that problem by making blogging a legitimate business for bloggers and non bloggers alike who want to know how to make money with a blog and take their income to the next level.  The blog is also backed by plenty of “juice” so that your posts can be picked up by the search engines.  While many bloggers often get small percentages by being an affiliate of many systems maybe 20%, 30% or if you a lucky and entire 50% commission of your sales, Empower Network gives you a cool 100% on what you sell, so you are no longer working hard to make someone else money you are working to make yourself cold cash.

Many people find it difficult to have a steady and decent cash flow even if they have already written many articles. If you really want to find out how to make money with a blog, understand that it is not just writing. Sure, anyone can write about any topic under the sun. The question is, will these topics capture a wide audience. You can’t expect thousands of people to visit your site if all you write about are personal blogs. The real secret is to write evergreen – timeless topics which will attract viewers any time of the year. When you write evergreen topics, you are sure to generate a lot of traffic which means more income.

The secret to learning how to make money with a blog is to focus on your writing and everything is secondary.

If you write quality articles, your ads, affiliates and other programs will do its work for you.

Filed under: Blog Tips

Filed under: Marketing Tools

With high unemployment and people losing their jobs almost daily many people have decided to take their destiny and financial success into their own hands and start a home based business.

Anyone who decides to start a home based business knows the great adventure they are about to embark on.

Before beginning any adventure, it’s important to ensure that you have packed the necessary tools you will need to succeed. I have come up with a few necessary tools that you will need to stock up on before you begin your journey:

Computer: This seems obvious right? Well I did say start a home based business so this should be a no brainer. Believe it or not all home based businesses specifically involve using a computer. SHOCKER! Imagine a hairstylist who decides to cut and color hair from his/her home. These people will not necessarily need to have a computer right? WRONG Again. While you obviously do not need a computer to add color to someone’s hair,

a computer will provide efficiency and professionalism.

Instead of listing your appointments into some outdated book you can quickly add all of your customer’s appointments to a database on your hard drive. You can also store important events in your clients lives such as birthdays and anniversaries to remind you so that you can acknowledge these special days. This way you are providing extra special customer service for your clients. A computer is a great tool in marketing that you can use to build your clientele, for example via facebook, twitter or other social media sites. And the list goes on.

Scanner/Printer: I would have added a fax machine but really does anyone still use a fax machine? This is an important tool that some people often try to avoid. This is actually very important. Although many things are done online now, having a printer and scanner can come in handy when you have items that’s not online that you may need a copy of immediate or have hard copy signatures of items that you need to send to someone immediately.

Private Home Office: When youstart a home based business, that’s exactly where you are at home. However your clients don’t need to know that do they? There is nothing more unprofessional than listening to dogs barking or screaming kids in the background while talking about business. While to you it may seem endearing and adds to your “personal/homely” persona, a client doesn’t care about our dog or your crying child all he/she cares about is how you will solve their problem, or deliver their service.

Use these simple tips to help provide the professionalism and quality you need to make your company seem larger than life.

Tagged with: Empower Network • home based business • how to make money online • start a home based business • work from home

Filed under: Social Media

If you are considering joining the Empower Network now is the time to do it!

This movement is flying faster than the speed of light. The Empowered Network is causing such a ruckus, if you are in the sales industry and not a part of it, you are seriously missing out. Maybe you are the type of person that doesn’t care about the buzz or the excitement and just want to know the meat and potatoes explaining why you need to join the Empower Network. The Empower Network is not simply some get rich quick scam, this is a legitimate opportunity for the average person to make money online.

Here are 4 reasons why you need to be a part of this movement.

Product

On the surface what outsiders see is a blog, but what you get is so much greater. What you really get is a fully functioning wordpress blog. You do not have to purchase a domain then buy a wordpress template and then pay monthly hosting fees; this process doesn’t even include your SEO marketing that you will most likely have to pay a company or person to do for you. This is a fully functioning blog with plenty of “juice” behind it and all you have to do is sign in and write about what you want to write about. You don’t have to know or worry about html or those other blog building terms. This is a simple turn-key system that you can start in minutes. You also get a high converting lead capture page that sells for you.

Leadership

Created by David Wood and David Sharpe; two online marketing dynamos. Through Empower Network you will learn firsthand their tactics for creating an online empire worth millions that you can implement into your business immediately.

Training

There are many systems out there that provide all sorts of training however these systems training tend to be very confusing and highly technical. Empower Network provides simple streamlined training that even your 80 year old grandmother can use. There are a series of short concise videos that are simple and to the point. The training also provides steps so that you know what order you should go in and provide greater guidance for you to succeed.

Compensation

This is actually the best part of Empower Network, and the part that everyone wants to know about.

There are many affiliate programs that may give you a percentage of commission on what you sell; you can sometimes get 30% or even 50% if you are lucky. Empower Network however, doesn’t give you a measly 50% on your earnings, Empower Network gives you 100% of what you sell, you read correctly 100% where else can you get 100% of what you sell? Can you think of any industry that gives you 100% commission on what you sell? I addition, to getting all of the money that you put in back, the money will go directly into your bank account of your choice because you are given a merchant account from the largest merchant account company in the United States, this is the same merchant account company that many of the stores that you shop at daily uses. The structure allows you to be profitable quickly at any level.

There you have it 4 reasons why you need to be a part of the Empower Network, this is not simply a system this is a movement.

If you are ready to generate unbelievable leads for your business and be a part of something that only happens once in a lifetime, then don’t stand on the sidelines, be a person of action and join now!

Tagged with: Empower Network

Filed under: Blog Tips • Social Media

Ok so brief disclaimer, I am in no way endorsing bank robbery or telling you to ACTUALLY  rob a bank, so please don’t, this is only for example purposes.  Now I can get back to my post. 

What I am trying to say is that if you are working a traditional 9-5 it is as if you are in prison.  You laugh but if you really think about it, you live your life as if you have committed a crime.  The prison controls when the prisoners go to bed, when they wake up, when they eat, if they get to go outside and if they defy those rules prisoners are reprimanded.  If they want to do anything out of the ordinary they have to request permission to do so. If they want to be transferred to another prison or cell block they have to formally request via the “system” filling out paper work.  Hmm sounds a little familiar?

So what time do you have to get up in the morning to make sure that get to work on time so that you’re not late 5am, 6am? Your job controls what time you wake up.  What time do you have to go to sleep so that you get a good night rest so that you can be focused at work, your job now controls when you go to sleep.

What about lunch, how long of a break do you get, 30 minutes, 40, minutes 1 hour?  Your boss controls how long it takes for you to eat.  You know what I mean when you try to get everything done including eat in one hour (getting heart burn at the same time) just so you can get back to work on time because you don’t want to hear you boss say anything to you.  (Imagine the scene in Office Space when Peter tried to hide from his boss when he didn’t want his Lunbergh to make him work over the weekend, ahh love that movie) Anyway, I am sure that you get my drift.

Now tell me how different is your life from a prisoners?  The only difference is, you have bills to pay and have to pay for food when prisoners don’t have that responsibility.  So actually they have it easier than you do.  Hmm

Sounds a little extreme but is that really the life you want to live, a life just 1 notch above being a prisoner?

Tagged with: job • Prison • prisoner • work

Filed under: Personal Development

So I was thinking this past weekend about leadership and the role it plays in the overall success of an organization.   After all of the work we do trying to get leads what do we do after they actually become business partners?  More importantly, am I really ready to be a leader and help the next person achieve success, or am I just content with getting person to become a partner and leaving them out to the fend for themselves.

When considering the question of whether or not we possess the skills necessary to be a leader, most people will immediately say yes, and why not.  Many of us are confident in ourselves and believe that we are capable of being successful  in whatever arena we choose to take part.  But have you really thought about what it takes to be a leader?  It’s not simply telling others what to do in the hopes that they will listen to what you said.  Being a leader is about having genuine concern for the welfare of those who follow you by not only telling someone what to do, but by taking actionable measures and showing them how to achieve  goals that are specific to their abilities.

This concept makes me think about a quote my John Adams “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader”.

A true leader understands and lives by these ideals.  SO if you are not among a true leader and feel like you have been left out to sea with the sharks on your own, it may be a good idea for you to reevaluate your surroundings and associate yourself with people who can help you succeed and has a genuine interested in your success.

I can honestly say that I have found a leader and a business partners who a genuine and honest and provides a wealth of knowledge.

I hope that you get to be so lucky.

P.S. If you are ready to associate yourself with a leader who truly cares about your success and be a member of a team of top earners  who can assist you throughout your growth, send me an email we can immediately  get you started on the right path.

Filed under: Personal Development

So this week the U.S. markets have taken a nose dive, over a 1,200 point drop within the week.  On August 4^th the markets ended the day with an over 500 point drop in one day.  This negative activity in the market is causing a lot of talk and concern about our nation’s economy and whether or not we are headed for a double dip recession.  With the unemployment rate staying at around 9.1% there is little hope for increased consumer spending, thus manufacturers aren’t producing and companies aren’t hiring because they want to hold on to cash and the list goes on (that was the brief version).

Have you really thought about what that means for you?  Maybe you are one of the lucy people who actually have a job right now and are quite content with where you are and that’s great, but what happens if a deeper recession means your company can no longer make payroll, what do you have planned?

For those of you that are on the verge of retiring, (I wouldn’t even suggest you look at your 401K right now, it’s not pretty).  I am sure you have spent several years adding to your retirement (don’t even think about social security because that’s a joke, but I digress) right.  I am sure that you felt great about what it has accumulated and now is has simply crashed and burned in a matter of days.

You mean to tell me that you have left your entire life in the hands of people who have no idea about your life, personal needs and goals, REALLY?  You take control and action in every other part of your life, why not your financial future.

I know what are thinking, Fana you are seriously depressing my with all of this doom and gloom.  This is really not depressing, this is REALITY, the reality that millions of people are living with right now, but is afraid to take action.  Content with leaving their future in the hands of someone else, that is what the really scary part is.   So I employ you take action today, decide that future speculation in the stock market and potential double dip recession won’t control every aspect of your future.

Tagged with: Inflation • the recession

Filed under: Personal Development

I know what you are thinking, business flyer advertising is for old school marketers who don’t know how to use technology

; you could not be further from the truth. A Business flyer provides a great way for you to market to your local area without having to spend a lot of money. While is a fantastic way to market any business, it takes time before you can build up enough of a following online to make serious cash. Thus, if you wanted my business to grow faster, you may need to pound the pavement.

Here are a few tips when embarking on a business flyer marketing campaign:

Printing: To start, you can create a cheap flyers from any printer you choose, a home printer, you can go to Staples or Fedex, heck if you work you can use your work printer (just make sure not to get caught). If you can’t afford to use colored ink you can purchase bright neon colored paper from Staples for about $12 and print black wording and images this way your business flyer is still attractive to your market.
Target Marketing: Like you would your PPC campaign or your article marketing campaign, keywords are very important, in order to attract your market. During my testing I learned that the phrase “work at home” was very popular. How did I learn this you ask? I simply asked my prospect when I spoke with them. Notice that I said “asked my prospect”, this actually means that there were leads from my flyer advertising that I could actually speak with.
Business Flyer Type: Through testing the business flyer that produced the best results were tab flyers. These are the flyers that you often see taped or thumb tacked onto a wall or light post etc., with little tabs that can be torn off. This way I could leave a flyer up and two weeks later people would still see my flyer and simply tear off a tab and take my number with them. Even when I am not around my flyers still worked for me.
So while you are still doing your internet and social media marketing, why not make up a few flyers and post them around your neighborhood (be sure to ask permission before posting on private property) and see the results.

Have you considered business flyer advertising in this internet age?

Tagged with: business flyers • cheap flyers • flyer advertising • print flyers • promotional advertising

Filed under: Leads

So this weekend my husband invited me to join him on Google +.  Like a child who just got a new gift, I was totally excited.  I had been listening all week to different news stations talking about this new Google + so I was very intrigued to learn more about it.  While I was excited to learn, I was still a bit skeptical; I mean really, is this supposed to challenge Facebook?  Keep in mind, this was not Google’s first attempt at a social network remember Buzz and Orkut? If you haven’t that’s my point.

So I get on and it looks pretty neat and it’s totally user friendly.  I was able to figure it out in about 10 minutes.  My husband absolutely loves it; he has been predicting the fall of Facebook for some time now.  While I think it’s a great system, I am still not fully convinced yet, I still need to give it some time.  As a user of Facebook for several years now, I have established relationships over the years via Facebook, not to mention all my pics that I have uploaded.  Do I really want to go through the process of starting all over again?  Well here are few reasons why my husband thinks it’s the FB Killer

Hang out. So there is a feature on Google + that allows you to “Hang Out” this is like Skype on steroids.  You can have a video chat with up to 10 people, so our video chats just got a little more interesting.

On Stop Shop. Since many of us already have gmail accounts you only have to sign into one place to get your email and see what your friends are doing all at the same time. It’s pretty much a one stop shop.  With all of the Google apps finance, docs, calendar etc.  You no longer need to have two different browsers up to check email and socialize with your friends.  Everything is at your fingertips with one click of your mouse

Circles. Google has created the idea of separating your content much easier.  Unlike Facebook where everyone can pretty much see your wall (unless you adjust your privacy settings).  Google+ allows you to have circles of family, acquaintances, friends and those you can customize, this way you can keep your messages separate among each group.

Huddle. If you use Google+ on your mobile device there is a tool called Huddle that allows you to do a mass text with many people at once.

So have you been invited to Google+ yet?  If so, what are your thoughts?  Do you think that this is the end of Facebook?

P.S. Become a fan on Facebook at http://on.fb.me/jmoLwp and follow me on Twitter @FanaTaylor

Tagged with: Circle • Facebook • Fana Taylor • Google + • Hang Out • Huddle • Social Media

Filed under: Social Media