Internet Money Maker

Trying Out New Things

2009-01-28T13:21:00.000-08:00

One of the perks of selling online is that every once in a while you get to try new things, things you probably never would have purchased had you not thought of selling them. That's what happened to me two years ago when I decided to work with a new company. In order to drop ship with this particular company, I had to purchase $500 of their stuff to either review and sell, or keep as part of educational studies. Well, I did buy that stuff and some of it is still in boxes.

However, the other day, I took out my box cutter and opened two of the boxes. I found that I had two very nice wall clocks that I would never have purchased since, one, they cost too much and two, they didn't really fit in with my decor. Anyway, after opening one, I found that it didn't work. Bummer! I'm glad I didn't sell that one. It's too late to return it too. Lesson learned. That's the reason I opened the second box. That clock worked just fine and as I said, it's beautiful.

So, if nothing else, once you get a little profit under your belt, it's nice to benefit from those types of perks.

Detoxing Your Websites

2009-01-24T17:18:00.000-08:00

Have you ever been on a detox program for your health? I mean, for example, that the Orovo detox pill assists in cleansing the system so that it can lose the toxic buildup over a period and thus assist in losing unwanted weight. Have you ever submitted your body to a program of that sort? I have and so has my husband. It does actually work for a time as long as you support it and back it up with proper eating habits that work toward the ultimate goal of the pills to begin with instead of sabotaging it by not changing the way you put toxins in your system.

The reason I mention this is that I find it very helpful for business to go through a toxic products review and then a detox program to get rid of products that don't do your business any good. It's almost like hulling out the bad stuff to make room for new stuff to try out. Oh, would you also call that spring cleaning?

Either way, if you have a website or websites and haven't continuously made changes to keep the toxins away, so to speak, then now is the time to do it. That's my plan for the next week or so after I get my W-2s and 1099s done.

What do you think?

Lot's to do, but no business.

2009-01-23T19:08:00.000-08:00

I can definitely say that my websites are on a serious business diet. It looks like they've taken the best diet pill on the market and left me hanging. The nice thing about being in business during the first quarter of the year is that, since it is slow, I can catch up on some serious organizing. I have so much to do and no motivation. I'm burned out.

Let's see. I have to go through my inventory and update my out of stock list. I have to prepare 1099s for my independent contractors. I have to complete my bookkeeping. I have to organize and file my sales receipts.

In short, I'm drowning in stuff to do, so much so, that I don't want to do any of it. I want to pretend it doesn't exist. However, the fact remains that the work must be done. I'm going to make it a point to make a serious start on Monday. Let's see how I end up at the end of the week.

How to Capitalize on Selling a Popular Product

2009-01-04T04:09:00.000-08:00

One of the biggest ticket items on my car website is the Ferrari. These cars are just awesome. I also have this great Ferrari FXX Go Kart that I love and wish I had one too. Maybe I should start selling Ferrari parts too. Well, when you see that you are selling a particular item or items more than the other items on your site, how do you capitalize on that?

What I have done is made a page that highlights just this product. I have also put a link to that page on my home page and written a blog about it and added a "Best Sellers" list to my home page featuring said product as well. All of this has made selling more of that product more possible. For instance, as it is in more places for customers to see while browsing through your website, the idea of it is presented more often, planting the seed to buy. It is also more easily found by search bots.

I'm no expert and I have said that before, many times, but I can tell you that these little changes have worked for me.

End of the Year and Going on a Diet

2008-12-22T07:15:00.001-08:00

So it's the end of the year and the parties are almost at an end. What are you planning for the New Year? Are you like many considering going on a diet? That's like the most famous New Year's Resolution that I think exists on the planet. I'm no expert, but it's what the media gears towards. You'll see! In the coming weeks, the dieting advertisements in magazines and commercials on t.v. are going to surge. Not only will they encourage you to buy exercise equipment, but pills, lots of pills, pills like Leptovox and Hoodia.

Of course, it goes without saying that you should consult your doctor before starting any new diet regimen, but lots of people don't do that! They just start a diet hoping for the best when it might actually make things worse. Either way, be safe about it, huh! I'd recommend that if you are thinking about taking diet pills you check into diet pill reviews. Speak to friends and neighbors and yes, even your doctor to ask for recommendations. It's the only way to fly!

I Need a Big Break!

2008-12-21T14:44:00.000-08:00

Aren't you ready for a bigggg break. This last quarter has been a bear. It's been fun! It's been busy! and It's been TIRING! I'm exhausted. Where would you go? I mean, I know that family takes precedence at this time of year, but let's say after the holidays, wouldn't you love to make las vegas hotel reservations? OK, well maybe if you don't like Las Vegas, what about New York. Ooooo! How about some place exotic? Of course, this is all in my dreams, LOL! One day I will take a big trip and won't have to worry about the money. So, yeah, what about you?

Holiday Internet Sale Rush Coming to a Close.

2008-12-18T03:02:00.000-08:00

Well, the time for the holiday rush is coming to a close and whatever sales you made this month can start to be counted. I was very surprised by the number of buyers who were unhindered by the economic downturn. Overall, I did read that those who had internet stores would do o.k. considering, but I had only hoped in my case since my stores are still in relatively beginning stages, babies really on the internet scene.

However, they did do enough for me so that I can probably pay myself a little bonus and I am happy about that. I even felt comfortable going to Red Lobster to celebrate. I hope I didn't do that too soon. There are still a few more shipping days left if buyers are willing to pay.

Remember that watch and purse I keep mentioning that I want to get for myself, but haven't dared to spend the money. I found a watch that I really like. It's called a Patek Philippe watch and it has an annual calendar with a brown leather bracelet. Oh Yeah! Maybe someone who knows me and is reading will get this for me. LOL!

So, I start where I began. Having internet stores has saved my family yet again. I hope you really consider building a store or two this coming year. I will never regret doing it myself.

A Step in the Direction of Success

2008-12-11T14:06:00.000-08:00

While you are busy with your business this last few good shipping days before Christmas, I'm busy too. In comparison to last year, I'm not as busy as I was. How about you? Do you notice a definite decline in sales or is it relatively comparable? I'm still in the relatively comparable stage, but am slowly leaning towards the definite decline. We'll see what the next few days brings.

In the meantime, one of the major 2009 issues that I'm in need of making a decision on is getting insurance quotes for my health insurance. I've been covered under my husband's health policy, but I believe my business might be able to handle that bill for me, so I can't believe I'm going to be able to do this, but it looks like I'm actually going to be the one controlling what health insurance I get under my own company.

That is a huge step for me. It means that I've been doing well consistently enough that I can start adding more expenses. It's scary and at the same time exciting. It's scary because I don't really know what the future is going to bring. Anyway, I jumped almost without looking when I started making money online and I have not looked back with regret. Shouldn't I continue to look ahead?

Customer Service at Odd Times

2008-12-07T18:21:00.001-08:00

I just received a call from a disgruntled customer who received a damaged product. I understood her plight and helped her as much as I could until tomorrow. Considering it is late Sunday night, my husband said she was fortunate that I answered the phone. I answered him by saying that I am going to answer the phone for the next two weeks at whatever time it is necessary to get the sale. Is this crazy?

For the most part, throughout the year, I usually answer the phone whenever I'm available. I don't mind this since throughout the day, the phone is nowhere near ringing off the hook. This is a home business. The flexibility is amazing, so I have to be flexible with my customers as well.

Whether you are selling door hardware to handymen or fancy diamonds to superstars, I believe that providing good customer service is key to making sure your customers come back or refer you to their friends. You should believe that too and act accordingly.

Two Good Weeks Left - Holiday Shopping.

2008-12-07T18:10:00.000-08:00

Well, we have two good weeks of selling left to go before things start to either go haywire or slow all the way down. Are you ready. I remember feeling so stressed last year because as the only person handling all business coming in and going out, I had nothing left to give at the end of such a busy season. My husband helped a lot, but it still wasn't enough. I needed more people.

However, considering the way things have been going economically, I didn't expect this past week to be crazy even though I hoped. So, what did happen? It was awesome as much as it was busy. I might even be able to go out and buy myself some sexy lingerie to celebrate at the end of the year, LOL! I'm not going to count my chickens before they hatch as it were, but things are good so far.

Here's my tip. Offer something FREE to your customers. It doesn't have to be something expensive, but everyone loves a free gift. You'll be surprised at how this little change can boost your sales!

Are You Ready For The Next Big One?

2008-12-03T08:33:00.000-08:00

The holidays are almost over and planning has already begun for the next big one, Valentines Day. I know, I'm sure there are other holidays in between, but Valentines Day brings in lots of sales. Are you preparing?

I wonder what having a new president will do to the economy over the next few months. Do you think there will be more weddings, more house buying and more babies? I guess those are things that happen no matter what, but whenever there is a big world event going on, some things seem to increase.

Anyway, men, get your engagement rings ready. Women, make sure you're taking in lots of Folic Acid and Couples, now's the time to buy a home. I wish I had waited four years. The house prices have gone so far down that I know I would've been able to buy one with a low low mortgage. Oh Well! Hind sight is always 20/20 as they say.

Saving Your Business In Sparse Times!

2008-12-03T08:28:00.000-08:00

WOW! It feels like forever since being able to come on here and write to you. I've been so busy. I can't say that I wouldn't like to be busier. I have noticed a significant decrease in sales compared to last year. Even so, I am busy, so I have to thank God for that! I know money is tight and that's why I'm not surprised by the drop in my bottom line. I really expected Cyber Monday to bring in more money. We didn't do too bad over the weekend.

How have things been going with you?

One thing I believe I'd like to pass on to you who are thinking about e-commerce. You must build more than one website. In the sparse times, that is what has always saved me. When one product line isn't doing too hot, the others seem to kick in. The market is so fickle and so you have to be fickle too. When in Rome....

Profit in the Month of November Despite Economic Woes

2008-11-20T20:12:00.001-08:00

I was almost certain after the last few days that my websites had taken some kind of cyber diet pills. I had the visitors like it was going out of style, but my conversion ratio was horrible. I keep going back to last year and comparing the days and sales to see if sales are keeping up with last year or if they're going down the drain with the rest of the economy.

So far, it's still all good. I'm relatively busy although not overly so. I'd like to be busier, but so would everyone else in retail at this time of year. How are things with you? Has November been good to you so far. There are only ten more days left to do what you must to make ends meet and see a little profit for the month of November.

Business is Picking Up!

2008-11-15T04:28:00.000-08:00

I just had to share that business has been picking up over the last day or so. I haven't been as busy as I expected, but it's still not too bad considering. I started to think I wasn't going to be able to give myself a bonus this year. Hopefully, I will be able to. Lord knows I need it. So how have things been on your end?

Business Going Going Gone

2008-11-11T18:21:00.000-08:00

The end of the year is finally here, so where are the sales? As you may know, this is the best time of the year for retail sales. Things are usually hot, pumping, jumping and all the rest. However, economically things aren't sitting too well for lots of us and so spending is on the down low.

I don't know about you, but I've actually been hesitating on when to fill up my gas tank, because I'm hoping for lower prices. I've actually seen $1.99 once in the last few days. I think I was dreaming, because I haven't seen it since. At the time that I saw it, I didn't need it being that I had a full tank of gas.

Anyway, I sell toys, if you didn't know it already and sales are down. I'm wondering if things will get better once black Friday shows up. We'll see. I'm looking forward to it. Now, I'm just working to keep the customers from leaving my store. Once they leave, if they abandon cart, I'm sending them emails and calling to see if there is anything I can do for them. Are you following up on your abandoned cart sales?

I recently got news that I can sell little Harley Davidson diecasts. They are pretty cool too. They don't come with Harley parts, but they're awesome gifts. One of the things I like about selling toys is that there is a great range from babies to adults. You know, some adults just never grow up, LOL! Oh well, I haven't added the little Harleys to my site yet, but I will be doing so before Black Friday.

How are you preparing your website to retain customers and maximize conversions? I'd really like to know.

On Vacation and Still Making Money

2008-10-25T17:56:00.001-07:00

I'm very happy to report that I have had a whole week of vacation and was able to close several deals in the process. I have a laptop and an air card. I have a cell phone and access to an outlet. All and all, I was able to bring my business on vacation with me. It wasn't like I was tied down, but I did get a chance to make several sales. That's why I love being my own boss. Of course, I don't have to tell you that there were many times when I didn't communicate at all with the purchaser. I made the sale just the same. One of the most important things you can do for an online business is to give the customer immediate access to making a payment right when they are interested in a product. Do you have that?

My Bed Broke!

2008-10-25T17:51:00.000-07:00

Oh man, the other day, just before I left on vacation, I woke up to my bed flattening with a crash. I had forgotten that our luggage was holding up the bed on one side, so when I went to sleep that night, I did so with the same expectations as always, that my bed would be just fine in the morning. However, noooo. It was not like that. What a way to wake up. I got one of those adjustable bed frames about a month ago, but procrastination made me have that horrible wake up call. LOL! It was crazy. It happened at a good time though since I was suppose to be waking up early and the alarm had yet to sound.

I Want to Lose More Weight!

2008-10-24T05:56:00.000-07:00

I've been working on my health and fitness now for almost a year and I've lost a good amount of weight, but I want to lose more! I keep hearing this green tea fat burner advertisement on t.v. that is sounding better and better to me. I hear that green tea is an excellent food source for losing weight. Have you tried it? I haven't read up on it, but I wonder what it is in the green tea that makes it good for you. I've heard that black tea is good for stomach ailments, but green tea? It's all over the stores. Maybe I'm just noticing it more, but when I was growing up, I didn't see much about one tea being better than others.

Anyway, the whole point is that I want to Lose more weight. Green tea should help, but more importantly exercise and diet are the key ingredients to losing weight. It'll happen. I'm hoping so anyway. I'm going to make it happen. January is right around the corner. I gotta stop sitting on my rump and get up and out! Gotta run....:-)

I'm on Vacation!

2008-10-24T05:53:00.000-07:00

Are you a workaholic? I don't consider myself one, but having an online business, I must say that it is hard sometimes to separate oneself from work. For the most part, I'm suppose to be on vacation. However, in these hard economic times, when the phone rings, I'm still picking it up. When I get emails asking about products, I'm still answering them. The bottom line is that I'm not really getting a work free vacation. I miss those. I've heard about these "freedom systems" that allow you to have the freedom to do whatever it is you want while your business continues to run. You need workers for that. I'm not there yet, but one day...

Getting a Flat Screen High Definition TV

2008-10-24T05:06:00.000-07:00

You may have been reading my blog and noticed that I recently purchased a flat screen tv. When you buy a flat screen tv with all of the latest and greatest abilities, such as high definition picture and sound, hook ups for HDMI switches and the like, you come to realize that it's not just about the tv, but more likely about what it would take to get the tv to function most effectively. I mean, what's the point of spending all of that money on a new tv with all these functions and at the same time, have no way to use those capabilities. So, when you're buying a high definition tv, remember that you are also going to have to invest a pretty penny every month in other stuff like Directv or Dish Network or cable. That's where you're really going to start spending.

Want To Build a New Website

2008-10-24T05:01:00.000-07:00

Recently, I've been thinking about building a new website. Earlier this year, I told myself that I wasn't going to put up a new website for the coming year. I said I'd clean up my already published sites and work on making them work better for my business as a whole. However, one of the manufacturers that I work with has some new products that I think will be easy to sell.

Considering I strictly work with drop shippers, this happens fairly regularly. On the whole, about every six months or so, we have new products that we can sell. They usually are in line with what the company is already selling, so there is no need to start a whole new website for a whole new product line.

So, it's almost the end of the year and a whole new year is coming in which to make my business better, more grand, more user friendly, more everything or start a new website and divide my focus. Hmmmm.... which would you do?

While the Markets Tumble...

2008-10-16T05:22:00.000-07:00

While the markets tumble all over the world, it is imperative that online business stay at the top of their game. How do we do that? We make sure we are communicating to the public in a way that draws them to our products. I have never been big on advertising for many reasons, one being that I'm not educated enough to do it right without needlessly spending a whole lot of money to get little results. It may not be the right way to do things, but I'd rather do little advertising while I'm learning how to advertise because I simply can't afford the losses.

It would be nice if online businesses could just have one of those complete casserole recipes for how to make things work successfully. In fact, I'm sure there are lots of books and software products out there that purport to offer just that. I have lots of those books and software programs myself. They only work if you use them though and who has the time these days to delve into every little instruction on how to make things work. There never seems to be enough time in the day!

However, one thing I have always thought it good to invest in is great text. Why? Because search engines love it. It is almost like free advertising since, with the right amount of text filled with the appropriate amount of keywords and keyword phrases, this will get you on the front page with search engines. Isn't that where you want to be? Every single product should have search engine friendly descriptions specific to that product. I know this works, because the bulk of my business comes from this and I have been consistently paying myself for over a year now.

It is true that a full time income is still just within my grasp, but with the economy being what it is, I am thankful for the knowledge I have gained to stay afloat. I am hoping it will pull me through. We'll see though, right! Either way, one thing is sure, staying on top of the market even in hard economic times is a challenge. We have to meet the challenge fighting tooth and nail.

Great Start to the Last Quarter!

2008-10-11T17:16:00.000-07:00

I am very concerned about how the economy will effect online sales over the last quarter of the year. I've actually scaled down my expectations to allow for a slow quarter even though things are looking up so far this past week and a half. Today was very slow though.

I was just talking to an acquaintance today who said that the best fields to be in right now are the health field and probably the legal field. Speaking of health, I think it's true. I am constantly hearing about dieting, clean living, new medications on the market, etc. I am constantly coming across diet pill reviews and you know there's a pill for just about every ailment out there.

Anyway, I digress, I'd love to know how you're doing so far this quarter. Please leave a comment below.

Thank Goodness for the Little Things!

2008-10-09T18:12:00.000-07:00

We're finally and already in the last quarter of the year. Wow! Not only are my business taxes due, but I have to make sure my home owner insurance premium has been paid. Don't you love paying bills (said completely tongue in cheek)?

Well, what I'd like to say is that, after completing my numbers for the last quarter, I did actually do a little better than last year. Sales were down, but profits were up. I'm very proud of my little online businesses and, if you have an online business that is succeeding in this day and age, then you should be proud too! Thank goodness for the little things. They all add up!

Taking a Hit in These Erratic Economic Times?

2008-10-04T19:43:00.000-07:00

I have a few websites that as a whole make up the majority of my online business. For the most part, I try very hard to pay attention to all of them, but it isn't always easy. Sometimes I feel like two of them are more like step children or like they have some kind of acne that I have to deal with even though I don't want to. I feel badly about treating those websites that way. I'd like to be able to spend more time creating and making them work to their best potential. The only thing to do in a situation like that is to hire someone to help you or to neglect your other websites.

On top of that, I'm thinking of building two more websites. However, in this struggling economy, I'm already seeing a bit of a hit to my bottom line. I'm actually thinking about how to prepare to be satisfied with the minimum potential instead of the maximum potential. I have to face the facts! I sell things. That's the truth. In order to make money, people have to buy the things I sell. If there is no money, there will be no sales and then I will make no money.

So far, I'm not having to actually face that situation, but I do have to prepare for it. It is in no way at the point where that is inevitable and I'm happy for that. I feel like I'm already in a depression. Nah!!! What am I saying. Things are still good. This past year has seen an increase in sales overall and an increase in our bottom line. If I were a bigger corporation, I'd say that I need to adjust my projected bottom line down a little, but one cannot forecast so stringently in these crazy erratic economic times, can one?