Web2Freedom.net

“A long journey begins with the first step…”

I’m at a point in my life where entrepreneurial ideas are really becoming a regular for me. But, I have to make the jump from good ideas to implemented tasks. I have had so many ideas over the past few years that I let die by not taking that first step. There are a few that I did implement and one of course is the blog. I started this blog about a year ago…I would say that it has been somewhat successful. My effort level has really dropped here but I plan to pick it up on web2freedom.


I recently learned of the Kauffman Foundation.

The Kauffman Foundation is working to further understand the phenomenon of entrepreneurship, to advance entrepreneurship education and training efforts, to promote entrepreneurship-friendly policies, and to better facilitate the commercialization of new technologies by entrepreneurs and others which have great promise for improving the economic welfare of our nation.

The foundation prides itself on developing minority, college, and all entrepreneurs to help them take their ideas and develop them into long lasting businesses. Their mission focuses on entrepreneurship strategies, education, and awareness of the opportunity to become entrepreneurs to all children and adults:

The Outcomes We Seek:

* Children and adults are aware that entrepreneurship is a choice for their future and understand its importance to the American and global economies.
* Entrepreneurs have the knowledge, skills, networks, and values needed to grow innovative, sustainable enterprises that create jobs and wealth for America.

Anyone looking to gain information on developing their ideas or becoming an entrepreneur needs to check out the Kauffman Foundation. I have been looking at their site and there is valuable information inside.

A little inspiration to help you through those hard days. I think I have seen this posted before, or in a forward, but I always give credit where it is due…

You say, “It’s impossible.”
God says, “All things are possible.”
(Luke 18:27)

You say, “I’m too tired.”
God says, “I will give you rest.”
(Matthew 11:28-30)

You say, “Nobody really loves me.”
God says, “I love you.”
(John 3:16 & Jeremiah 31:3)

You say, “I can’t go on.”
God says, “My grace is sufficient.”
(II Corinthians 12:9 & Psalm 91:15)

You say, “I can’t figure things out.”
God says, “I will direct your steps.”
(Proverbs 3:5-6)

You say, “I can’t do it.”
God says, “You can do all things.”
(Philippians 4:13)

You say, “I’m not able.”
God says, “I am able.”
(II Corinthians 9:8)

You say, “It’s not worth it.”
God says, “It will be worth it.”
(Romans 8:28)

You say, “I can’t forgive myself.”
God says, “I forgive you.”
(I John 1:9 & Romans 8:1)

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I have always had a hard time saying NO. This is a problem that has carried over into many aspects of my life and it is rooted in a character trait that i have…i hate to disappoint people. Call it what you want but it is the way I am. Learning your skills and discovering who you are is not just about finding your strengths but also your weaknesses. And for me not being able to say ‘no’ sometimes is a weakness.

But, this is a common problem

“The disease to please” as it has been called is very common. I pulled an interesting article googling “saying no” and they broke it down the main reasons people can’t say NO:

Why is it that men and women can’t say no — whether to onerous tasks or to enjoyable activities they just don’t have time for? Townsend says the reasons fall into a few categories of fears:

• A fear that we will lose a relationship with the person who is asking us for something if we don’t say yes. “As humans, we are relational creatures, so this can be difficult for us,” Townsend says.

• A fear of someone’s anger. “Most of us want to avoid conflict, so we will give in, not realizing that we are training the person to treat us this way in the future, by them threatening to get mad at us,” he says.

• A fear of hurting people. “This causes more damage than you would think, because we are not treating the person like an adult,” Townsend says. So we end up getting angry or resentful, or show by our attitude that we really didn’t want to say yes.

I ran into a situation at work where I’m caught between two of my managers on a task…a specific task of me traveling from around now until sometime into early December. Just to fully describe the seen my office is kind of like the office in the movie “Office Space”. There are about as many managers as workers and on a given day you can get tasked 3 or 4 times to do the same thing. But, you still have only one “main” manager who you answer to so in most cases you just ignore what everyone tells you and listen to your one main manager. The only problem I have, and where I was stuck between a rock and a hard place, was that my direct manager is leaving in a month and the guy trying to get me to travel will probably be the person I report to once he leaves.
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Your affiliate marketing business is just that … a business. To be successful, you need to treat your business like a business and focus on growth. Your affiliate links are your business; you are the owner of a marketing company, and it is an asset you can grow into more and more assets. Here are three strategies to build your marketing business.

1. Get your own website and domain name.

It looks cheap and marks you as a “newbie” when you post a long affiliate link in your ads. With domain names as inexpensive as they are now you can purchase your own domain name. You can then either forward your URL to your affiliate link or set yourself up with some free hosting and establish more of a web presence. Your best bet is to write a benefit-full description of your affiliate program and link to your program via an HTML link that is part of your description.

2. Build your own list.

Stop relying on one-shot ads to make you money. Real businesses have repeat customers that they cultivate in order to make more profits. You must do the same. Make a commitment to establish relationships with your customers and especially with visitors to your site. Create an email list to keep in touch. Send out periodic tips or articles and focus on helping your customers. Only promote your affiliate links in unobtrusive ways; don’t make your emails one big ad.

One of the best ways to build traffic to your list is to write a short report that describes the benefits of your affiliate program. Make this report available only by email. When someone sends for your report, they are added to your list and you can continue to communicate with them.

3. Build traffic to your own site and list.

This is where you really make your affiliate links your own business. By having your own site and building your own list you are building your own business and brand, not just marketing someone else’s. By doing this, you can market to your own customers over and over again. Do not overlook this point: When your ad redirects a customer to your affiliate link, you have lost that person as your own customer because you lost the ability to communicate with them on a repeat basis. When you direct customers to your own site and list, they build a relationship with you.

There are many ways to build traffic: write articles, post in forums, market in safelists, advertise offline, etc. My advice is to pick one traffic-building method, work on it for awhile, and master it before moving on to something else. If you focus on offline advertising, write and rewrite your ads until you determine how to get the best response. If you market on safelists, make a list of the top 50, and send your ad to 10 each day. Keep testing to make sure your safelists are responsive.

These three strategies will help you build and grow your affiliate marketing business.