Income Solutions For The Times We Live In

Yes, I'm Still Kicking

noreply@blogger.com (Blake Johansen) — Thu, 08 May 2008 17:56:00 +0000

I haven't posted lately. My "other" job, family, homeowner responsibilities and such have been keeping me very busy. In the next couple of weeks, I'll be putting the finishing touches on the results of some new research that I've been conducting. Thanks for stopping by and please check back soon.

Making Yourself Known

noreply@blogger.com (Blake Johansen) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 18:49:00 +0000

As a new internet entrepreneur, one of the most daunting challenges one will face is "creating a presence" on the web. We wander in, look around and try to figure out what to do next. I have been focusing lately on message boards (forums) that relate to online marketing.

Participating in these forums can bring an enormous amount of exposure to the newbie marketer, but there are certainly some guidelines to follow. Different forum communities have different "cultures" so to speak and it will take some time to get accustomed to the peculiarities of each one. Spend some time reading and "lurking" before you make any posts. This will give you some ideas about how to approach the community. If you do nothing else, read the forum rules carefully before posting. You may be surprised at just how much the rules can vary between communities.

Once you've gotten "settled in" go ahead and put your link(s)(IF they're allowed) in your signature line and start participating in a meaningful way. Don't put your links in the body of your posts and make every effort to avoid giving the impression that you're a spammer. A great rule of thumb to stay in the good graces of any forum is to resist the urge to post unless you beleive that you have something to say that will add value to the community.

What many eager newbies tend to forget is that doing business online is all about building relationships. Take your time, interact, learn and grow.

Web 2.0 Social Marketing

noreply@blogger.com (Blake Johansen) — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 16:17:00 +0000

Ask ten different people just exactly what Web 2.0 is, and you're likely to get ten different answers. In a nutshell, with all the new features online today, the web is becoming a more interactive, social place. With sites such as MySpace, YouTube, FaceBook and many others, the opportunity to reach out and interact with other web users is exploding.

Possibly the most unique of these relatively new "social sites" is Squidoo. I like Squidoo. It's sort of like a blog, but not exactly. You make "lenses" instead of blog posts and the community is very interactive. As an example, here is one of MY Lenses. Be warned though, Squidoo is addictive! Not only id Squidoo an excellent platform to supplement a well rounded marketing strategy, it's fun! To get the most out of the Squidoo experience, click the banner in this post to learn how to maximize Squidoo's potential.

Neat Tools for Searching

noreply@blogger.com (Blake Johansen) — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 14:34:00 +0000

I was doing my usual perusing of the net the other day, looking for anything that may be of interest, and I came across a couple of things that may be of use to other bloggers and internet entrepreneurs out there. I spend a large part of every day that I'm on the net searching for countless things. As you all know, the task of searching on a topic of interest can be daunting and the search results are sometimes less than satisfactory. Both of the resources I'm going to give you are simply gifts. Nuggets of usefulness that I've found, and I have no affiliation with either site. The first is a directory of resources for "deep searching". Some of the resources on this site will go FAR beyond what you'll find with the typical Google or Yahoo! search. Check it out HERE.
The other site I've found pulls many of the popular search engines into one user-friendly portal of sorts. Kind of a one-stop-shop for you searching needs. Check It Out!

Back Again

noreply@blogger.com (Blake Johansen) — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 17:02:00 +0000

Between posts, I'm making myself VERY busy running all over the net scouring the nooks and crannies looking for the few non-scam opportunities out there. I've come to realize through contact with many new-found friends and acquaintances on the net that every last person who has actually made money online has one thing in common. They have an effective plan and they WORK at it. The work part is not so hard for me, but I needed help with EXACTLY what to do and how to do it. I've found the most complete, detailed and up-to-date guide available today. It's not a "system", "turn-key cash machine" or anything like that, but it has the potential to produce great results given plenty of effort and some time. My best description of this course is that it is a VERY good road map. Very beneficial for me and anyone else who is relatively new at this stuff. Check it out here. Thanks for stopping by.

Privacy Policy

noreply@blogger.com (Blake Johansen) — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 23:44:00 +0000

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I respect your privacy and I am committed to safeguarding your privacy while online at this site incomelive.blogspot.com The following discloses how I gather and disseminate information for this Blog.

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Contact Information

If you have any questions or concerns please contact Blake Johansen at Blake@BlakeJohansen.com. This privacy policy updated February 2008

So Many Choices

noreply@blogger.com (Blake Johansen) — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 15:35:00 +0000

If you've ever done any poking around at all on ways to make money on the net, you know what a minefield of information there is out there. I've not written here for several days, mainly because I've been plowing, mining, investigating (whatever else you want to call it) the net for LEGITIMATE business opportunities. In the last week or so, I've looked at literally hundreds of programs, "systems" and what-not promising to be the end-all solution for making a fortune online. There is a small handful that may have potential. Of that handful, a few could actually have rather big potential. I'm still looking into those and looking for others. The process of sorting through all the "bovine-generated solid waste" out there is a very time consuming ordeal indeed. For every real piece of valuable information I find, I have to wade through dozens of "get-rich-quick" sales pitches. I promised when I started this blog that it would not turn into another cluttered page full of links to junk systems. While I reserve the right to include a few links to help pay the rent, I intend to keep my word on that. As I do more research, I'll post back here with what I find. If you'd like to keep abreast of my progress, just click on the button to the right and add my blog to your favorite feed and get notified whenever I Come up with something new. Thanks for stopping by.

One Offer I had

noreply@blogger.com (Blake Johansen) — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 00:43:00 +0000

I was approached via private message on a message board about an opportunity that the individual promoting it was very excited about. He even gave me his toll-free phone number, so I gave him a call. I had a nice conversation with him and he gave me a PIN to get in on a national q&a call. I did that and I must say that I came away with very mixed feelings. This company, known as sixfigureincomeschool.com (I am not connected with them in any way), sells educational products via digital download. I found out that they want you to buy into one or more of 3 different "levels" of representation. The first level is about $1295 to get into. The second is about $6000 and the third is somewhere around $13000. The thing is, you have to "buy in" at each level before you can then resell that level of product. On top of that, your first two "training sales" go to your sponsor and after that, you're a "director" yourself and you can then sell for the big commissions, which are %75. My thoughts are first of all, if a product is truly phenomenal, then shouldn't the product stand on its own? Shouldn't someone be allowed to sell this product without paying a lot of money for the privilege? I know that the requirement to "buy up front" is a powerful motivator for new "distributors" to produce, but in my opinion, that also would tend to make new distributors say almost anything to move through the "training" stage and then in turn produce sales just to get their money back. They say that the program is not MLM, but there certainly do seem to be components of it in the system, at least until the new recruit gets the "two-up" training sales out of the way. After that, it seems that the new rep would then be in direct competition with his or her mentor. I don't know, but the jury is still out on this one.

Things Past

noreply@blogger.com (Blake Johansen) — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 22:47:00 +0000

I have been on this rock for a pretty long time and have tried numerous income opportunities over the years. Way back in the 80's, my wife and I went the Amway route. That was our first effort in MLM. While there were and are plenty of people making a go of Amway, I can't say that we had any success. Even 20 years ago, the "stigma" associated with what is probably the most recognized MLM of all time proved to be a major stumbling block for us. Additionally, I was uncomfortable using some of the methods my upline suggested for getting past people's initial resistance. I felt that I was always bothering my friends and family and before too long, we washed out. Failure in that venture certainly wasn't due to a lack of effort either. We hosted dinner parties, attended meetings, made cold calls and everything else we could think of. The dinner parties were particularly difficult for me because of the way we were coached to go about them. We were supposed to get friends over for a "friendly get-together" and then "spring the opportunity" on them once they were a captive audience. I never could bring myself to do that. I would always tip everyone off about what we were up to and as a result, attendance to these events always suffered. I've never been any good at deception. A few years later, we gave A.L Williams (now Primerica) a try. Went to school, got the license to sell insurance and everything. I truly feel that this was a legitimate opportunity. Circumstances of the time along with my lack of sales skills contributed to less than spectacular results. Around the time we were getting started, A.L. Williams was under a LOT of negative publicity mainly funded and fueled by the insurance industry. A.L. Williams was selling term insurance and teaching people how to save on insurance and invest the savings. A very solid plan at the time, but they were just too big of a threat to the mainstream insurance companies who were selling universal life and whole life products with ridiculous comissions. As a result, the industry soiled the name so much that they eventually changed their name to Primerica, but by that time, much of the damage was already done. I know Primerica is still around, but I don't know much about them these days. Fast-forward a few years to the late 90's and I found myself approached by an educated professional gentleman and he convinced me to give Nikken a try. For those of you who don't know, they're a Japanese MLM company whose products are mostly based around magnetic therapy. The presentations were first class, the literature was slick, the products were extremely well made, but it's magnetic therapy for crying out loud. Long story short, I don't know what the heck I was thinking. Fast forward to today. We now have this extremely powerful tool known as the internet that was not available during most of my previous ventures. I'm still looking for a better way. Through this blog, I'll keep everyone posted on my progress in my quest for financial freedom.

FTC Disclosure Statement

noreply@blogger.com (Blake Johansen) — Fri, 29 Mar 2002 21:17:00 +0000

FTC Disclosure Statement

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The owner of this website may receive compensation for recommendations made in reference to the products or services on this website. This compensation may be in the form of money, services or complimentary products and could exist without any action from a website visitor. Should you purchase a product or service that was recommended by this website, it is understood that some form of compensation might be made to the website owner. For example, if you click on an affiliate link at this website and then make a purchase of the recommended product or service, the website owner may receive compensation.

4. This Compensation disclosure statement has been made to inform you of the possibility that a material connection between a product or service mentioned, reviewed or recommended by this website and the product or service owner exist and that compensation to the website owner may be made should you purchase such product or service. Every effort has been made to provide true and accurate statements in regards to any and all products or services mentioned, reviewed or recommended by this website. Should you have any questions, comments or concerns and would like to receive an answer or ask a question prior to purchasing any product or service mentioned on this website you can contact the website owner directly at: Blake@BlakeJohansen.com