I’ve thanked members of the commenting community who visit this blog a few times. And while I’m extremely grateful for their support, I realise that thousands of you visit this blog each week and read while keeping your mouth firmly shut.

Thank you - I really appreciate having you as readers. The first few months of writing on this blog were incredibly lonely. And as I announced the other day - 150,000 of my pages are read each month. I would not have been lucky to reach so many readers, if people like you hadn’t kept showing up.

I often link out to other sites - especially to members of my commenting community. But today, I want to share some articles that have inspired me this week, by folk who don’t drop by here regularly to join in the discussion.

First off is Erica Douglass who started her own webhosting company when she was 20 and sold it 6 years later for $1.1 million. She explains how she did it here: How To Make A Million Dollars. And here: How I Turned My Mediocre Website Into A Million Dollar Business.

Jeremy Schoemaker is one of the most inspirational bloggers I have ever read. In fact, I first started reading his blog and saw this post, I thought he was “too real” to be real: I Used To Be Fat Until I Had A Duodenal Switch. And I was having a pretty shit day, when this brilliant post by Jeremy cheered me up. He explains how, when you hit rock bottom, there’s often something even better around the corner: Have You Ever Lost It All?

The Bag Lady has written an interesting article, on why she believes the Silicon Valley is a better place since the dot com bubble bursts. And she explains why this recession may also have a positive impact on the housing market and the banking industry in: Thank Goodness For The Dot Com Bubble.

And if you want to know the secrets to building a massive company, check out these excellent article by Manish Pandey, written for Dumb Little Man: Steve Jobs’ 10 Secrets To Building A Huge Empire.

This post was inspired by/pinched from Brad Shore of Word Sell Inc. and Joanna Young of Confident Writing.

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Did I Offend You?

Would you feel comfortable profiting from the misery of others? It’s something you’ve got to consider seriously, when you’re trying to come up with business ideas. You see, I’ve been in the business of profiting from other people’s disasters. And given the choice between running a business which helps folk in a crisis, or doing something which has a positive impact on people’s lives in general, I’d take the latter everytime.

Now I wasn’t taking advantage of people, as some ambulance chasers do. And I was providing a solution to their problems. There will always be a demand for the type of business that helps folk who are in the shit, but there’s a few things you need to know before you consider this type of business.

Isn’t It Rewarding To Help Folk Who Are In Dire Need?

If you’re a caring type, the idea of saving folk in desperate sitations may seem appealing. When I first went into fire and flood restoration, I thought it would be a lot like nursing, in fact an associate told me it was. I guess she must have worked in some strange hospitals.

You see, there’s a massive difference. Nurses get paid a wage, a low one at that - to help folk who are suffering. They’re not profiting every time they care for someone who’s broken their neck, or been diagnosed with some life threatening disease. And that makes a huge difference.

And The Sad Things Is - You Actually Find Yourself Hoping Folk Will Have Disasters

When I had a fire and flood restoration business, I made money through people having a disaster, caused by burst pipes or flooding. And while I felt really bad that their homes and contents had been wrecked, I can’t deny that I welcomed those floods every time.

When you’re relying on your customers to suffer severe problems before they need you, your business can leave you feeling a bit tainted. Because the truth is, you want folk to have these huge, life interrupting problems. It may sound callous - but when it’s the only thing that’s putting food on your table, you find yourself hoping for heavy downpours, or some nice freezing weather, to burst a few pipes.

How Could Anybody Be So Mean To Wish That Other Folk Would Have Disasters?

It’s terrible isn’t it? Before I went into that business, I was an extremely caring person. But when you’re under pressure to perform, it’s easy to tell yourself that it’s ok to wish these disasters on people. I just told myself it was only material things that were damaged and people who got upset over them were just plain weak. It may sound heartless - but when you’re profiting from these type of things, you’ll tell yourself anything to make it feel ok.

So What Happens If You’re Profiting In A Situation Where Folk Die?

I guess some businesses are profiting from death - parlours of repose, for example. In fact, I spoke to a guy who’d just set up that type of business and I was shocked when he joked that he was actually hoping for a huge disaster, to give his business a good start. What he actually said was far worse but I won’t repeat it here, as I don’t want folk sending him hate mail via me.

Anyway, it occured to me - I had no right to judge the guy. He wasn’t doing anything different to me. The only difference was that I didn’t need my customers to pop their clogs, to make a profit. But we also did fire restoration and some people did die. Even when they didn’t - the thought that they’d came so close made my stomach churn.

I just didn’t like dealing with fires at all. I’d have preferred to educate the victims on the dangers of using chip pans, or doing something incredibly stupid like leaving a hot water bottle on an oven ring which was switched on. But I’d probably have been in big trouble if a customer had gone back to their insurance company and said I’d told them they were stupid. And the trouble was - many of them were.

If You’re Profiting From Misery - Never Employ A Victim

I would have been happy if we’d never had to deal with another fire again. But I didn’t feel the same way about floods. And after really bad flooding in a nearby city, I took a flood victim on as an admin assistant. She was really keen, as she wanted to help folk who found themselves in the same situation as she was. And naively, I thought it would be a great idea.

It was a massive mistake and definitely a turning point for me. She was stressed out since the floods. Her home and all her possessions had been wrecked and she was still living in a rented property. And whenever there was a heavy downpour, it was difficult not to notice the worried look on her face, which was understandable. If her home was flooded again, there’s a good chance it would be demolished.

But while I tried my best to be tactful, it was difficult to disguise my upbeat mood when the heavens opened, or the fact that my homepage was Floodwatch. Although I did try to make sure she never caught me praying for rain.

Eventually, she went off sick with stress and didn’t come back. I wasn’t surprised. It must be difficult to work for a business that profits from other people’s suffering - especially when most of the customers are going through what you went through.

That made me think a lot. We weren’t just dealing with damaged properties and furniture anymore. These were real people who had lost treasured possessions that couldn’t be replaced - like family photos. And some people were actually drowning when there was severe floods, which made the business seem all the more depressing.

So Is It Wrong To Profit From The Misery Of Others?

I would never saying profiting from the misery of others is wrong. There will always be a need for the likes of fire and flood restoration companies, undertakers etc. And of course they’re going to expect to make a profit. These types of business aren’t easy. The hours can be unpredictable and most of the time you’re dealing with customers who are under stress.

What I am asking you to consider is how it would make you feel to be in the business of profiting from other people’s hardships. Because you’d be far better off deciding now, than later.

Have you had a business, or worked for a business, which was profiting from the misfortune of others? If so, how did you feel about it? And could you run a business which profited when other people had a disaster?

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An Entrepreneur Interview with Davina Haisell

Welcome to my first entrepreneur interview with Davina Haisell of Crimson Compass. Some of you may already know Davina, as an active member of this community and a popular blogger at Loving Pulse.

And whether you’re thinking about starting a business, or you’ve already done so, it’s always interesting and inspiring to read interviews with other entrepreneurs.

Davina - What did you find most difficult about becoming an entrepreneur?

Moving out of my comfort zone and balancing the time spent on building the business with my personal life.

Who are your ideal customers – what type of people look for the services of a life coach? And what problems do they have?

My ideal customers are those who give themselves permission to fail in whatever way failure looks like to them. That permission encourages a person to step beyond their comfort zone and that is where the learning takes place. I also appreciate working with clients who are willing to explore their shadow self as well as their brilliance, and who acknowledge and trust the power of listening to their intuition.

It is my belief that the people who employ the services of a life coach are those who are looking for answers to their problems. However, I wouldn’t necessarily make their “problems” the focus of the coaching. The real problem is in believing that they don’t have the answers and that understandably so, comes from being too close to the problem. A life coach is able to be objective and help their client recognize their answers.

You mentioned that the Canadian government sort of force folk who’ve been made redundant to start a business. Did that make it easier, or did you feel pressurised?

I wasn’t actually forced to start a business. I chose to. After being unemployed from my job as a proofreader for a few months, and following a half-hearted and unsuccessful job search, I decided to enroll in a self-employment program. During that process I felt forced, but now I realize it was because my vision was not clear to begin with. They were supporting me, but I was pushing myself in the wrong direction. I made it hard for myself.

Having said that, there were things I didn’t enjoy doing throughout the program. Things such as filling out the necessary forms to prove to the government that I was indeed working on my business, and worthy of receiving the financial benefits they were paying me. That part felt forced because I was trying to contain myself to regulations.

Everyone has business activities they prefer more than others – I love marketing but I don’t like accounts. What are your most and least favourite parts of being an entrepreneur?

That’s easy. My most favourite part of business is working with the vision, creating the direction and expressing it. And like you, I’m not fond of the administrative work and the accounting.

You ended a business to start Crimson Compass. That was a bold move. What made you change direction?

This is interesting, because the phrase I was using in my advertising materials for that business was “follow your gut” and that is what eventually led to its closure. That business was a nutrition-based consulting business focused specifically on the gluten-free diet. After almost a year spent developing the marketing materials, writing the business plan, networking and marketing myself, I was disappointed by the lack of response in the marketplace. My business advisor and other supporters told me I “was doing everything right” and that I would see results from my efforts.

I continued to push myself into building the business. Hours before my first open house I developed a migraine and had to cancel at the last minute. I was devastated and felt like quitting. I’m not a quitter and so I explored this feeling. I had been enthusiastic about creating the business: writing and designing the marketing materials, clarifying the vision, and the thrill of living outside of my comfort zone.

But, when I sat down and visualized customers calling me to set up consultations I hit a brick wall. Yes, there was fear there. But more importantly, I didn’t want to move past that fear. How could I attract customers when I didn’t really want them? Talk about sending mixed messages.

During this time I enrolled in training to become a life coach because I wanted to offer this service to my clients. I understood that it’s not enough to consult with someone, give them handouts and suggest what actions they can take to eat a healthier diet. People need someone to hold them accountable for their actions and to keep them on track. They need someone to challenge them to move forward past their own walls. Making change in one’s life can be difficult and old habits are hard to break.

During my training as a life coach and from the experience of building the nutrition business, I recognized what kind of person I am. I learned that although nutrition was an interest, it was not a passion for me. I am passionate about writing, creativity, vision and personal development. I learned that employing my passions is enough to keep me moving past that wall of fear.

Do you plan to expand Crimson Compass? If so, how do you plan to do that? Will you employ people, outsource, add new products and services or what?

Thank you for asking this question. I have no immediate plans to employ people or outsource services. However, I am inclined to see Crimson Compass outsourcing to a team of expert coaches once the business is further established. The reality is that a coach cannot coach everyone. They have different talents and use different techniques, and ideally there needs to be a good connection between a coach and their client. For this reason it would be beneficial for Crimson Compass to offer the services of a varied number of coaches.

I do have plans to offer an additional service that will include coaching people who are starting their own business. I will coach clients through the process of developing their business profile. This will help them to draw a clear picture who they are and where they want to take their business. It will save them time and money when it comes to developing marketing materials such as a business card and a website. They will also receive a business profile written by myself that they can use in their future marketing efforts.

In what way is being an entrepreneur easier than having a day job?

It’s not easier, but there are benefits. I appreciate having flexible hours and the freedom to do more of what I enjoy and what I am good at. That contributes to self-worth and confidence. So often while working in a day job a person’s talents and skills become dusty because their job description does not give them the opportunity to exercise them. That kills the spirit.

In what way is running a business harder than having a day job?

In my current situation, being a sole proprietor is challenging. Doing it all: working with the vision as it unfolds (and this is continuous), doing the marketing and accounting, working with clients, and taking care of the general day-to-day administration duties. It is a lot for one person to handle.

Crimson Compass is a brilliant name for a business. How did you come up with it?

Thank you! It was difficult to uncover this name. I wasn’t sure about it at first until my own life coach said it back to me. Then it resonated.

I love to work with words and so I played with them for a while to come up with this name. When I reflected on my life coach training I saw how I had experimented with trying on new perspectives; how these perspectives gave me more clarity about the “right” direction in which to move.

And what better instrument than a compass to point you in the “right” direction. I also reflected on how excited I was to have found what brought me joy and how much energy that gave me. To me crimson red is all about living. It symbolizes energy, passion and action — life. Living life is what life coaching is all about.

What advice would you give to entrepreneurs who are just starting out?

Do a business plan. Although I dragged my way (ass) through mine, I kept up with it because it opened up ideas that I wouldn’t normally have thought of. It helps you to see the big picture. I read that IBM started with the big picture and developed the business through knowing what steps they needed to take to create that big picture. The business plan will take care of the business.

As for the person behind the business and based on my experience, I recommend a person takes a long hard look at not just their interests, skills and credentials, but what is important to them at their core. What lights up their lives. If they are building their business on that foundation it will carry them through the tough times.

Thanks for sharing your experience as an entrepreneur with us Davina. I wish you every success with your business in the future - I know you can make it.

If you enjoyed Davina’s interview, do take the time to check out her Crimson Compass website. And if you have any questions for Davina - please feel free to ask in the comments section.

And if you’d like to be a subject of the entrepreneur interview series, please email me at cath at cathlawson dot com, with the heading “Entrepreneur Interview”.

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Getting as many web page views as you can, is important if you have a blog or website. After all, more page views equals more sales opportunities, or more revenue from advertisers.

The number of page views I get on this blog has been increasing steadily and it currently gets around 150,000 web page views a month. I haven’t done lots to market this blog and you could probably grow your blog or website far faster if you wanted to. And the good news is, it’s not difficult.

Why Are Page Views More Important Than Number Of Visitors?

Up until a few months ago, I believed that an increasing number of visitors to a blog or website was more important than anything. Then it occurred to me that anyone who turned up at my site, decided it sucked and left without reading a single paragraph was counted as a visitor. So that wasn’t a particularly useful way of measuring the popularity or effectiveness of my blog.

But, if the average number of web page views was high - it meant folk were hanging around to read more. So there was a good chance they’d come back.

Do You Need Thousands Of Subscribers To Get Lots Of Web Page Views?

Recently, Monika at Writers Manifesto asked “Do You Really Care About Your RSS Feed?” And Hunter Nuttall commented that he didn’t understand how this blog got so many page views, with seemingly few subscribers. Was I doing lots of search engine optimization, or getting heaps of traffic from social networking?

The truth is, until a few months ago, I did very little SEO at all. I should have been doing much more, as it’s one of the best ways to get targeted traffic to your blog or website. And because I’m not particularly active in social networking (I’m banned from StumbleUpon) my posts only get voted when I’ve written something great.

Around 75% of my visitors are repeat visitors. I can only assume that these folk either type my url into their web browser: www.cathlawson.com, as it’s fairly easy to remember, or they bookmark me, under good old fashioned favourites.

I do think some webmasters over-estimate the number of people who use an RSS reader. Lots of folk I know can’t differentiate between a blog page and a web page, so I doubt whether many non-bloggers know what an RSS feed reader is, let alone use one.

Posting Regularly Brings Visitors Back More Often

Like most other things, it’s a numbers game. If visitors to your blog or website know you update once or twice a day, they’re more likely to come back often. And this can make a huge difference to the number of web page views you get. For example, if you and I both have 1000 regular visitors and I update my site daily, I may have 7000 visitors a week, while you get only 2000.

Make Your Blog Or Website User Friendly

A few months ago, I took advice I’d read on other blogs and minimized the clutter I had on this site. Trouble is, some of that “clutter” was helping folk to find their way round. And the average number of web page views per visitor decreased dramatically. In fact, things got so bad that I couldn’t even find articles I’d written - it became easier to Google them than search this site.

So, I read through the archives on Blogging Without A Blog and Problogger, to discover the best ways to improve the navigation on my blog. And as I added new things, the number of page views per visitor rocketed. Here’s how you can do the same:

Offer Related Reading: At the end of each article, I began to add links to a handful of related posts I’d written already. And I also linked keywords from posts I’d written to related articles on this site. This works well because folk who are interested in a particular subject will often want to find out more, so they’ll read more pages.

Most Popular Posts: I got a plug-in to showcase my most popular posts. This has been effective, as your visitors are curious about what other folk enjoyed. Trouble is, since I installed it, neither the most popular posts or number of visits has changed, so I’m on the lookout for a better plug-in.

Top 20 Posts: I chose the posts that I considered to be the 20 best pages on this blog and I update this regularly. These differ from the popular posts and I try to pick a mixture. Some posts are more popular with social networking sites, others get more comments and some are just more sticky than others, with fewer people leaving this blog after they’ve read them.

Tagging: You may have seen tag clouds on other blogs. They’re small sections with a jumble of different words and phrases that vary in size. Readers can click on topics of interest and view all the pages that are tagged with that word or phrase. This is something I haven’t experimented with yet, as I haven’t tagged all my web pages.

Writing For Everyone: I try my best to write a mixture of posts, for the different types of readers who come to my site. It’s all too easy to write articles that appeal mostly to members of your commenting community. The trouble is, they are likely to be a minute fraction of the visitors you get to your website.

Keep a careful eye on your website statistics. You’ll notice what type of pages attract folk who visit after typing a keyphrase into a search engine and which post they choose to read after that. You’ll get used to writing the type of topics that attract commenters. And you’ll get used to the types of posts social networkers like.

Don’t Overlook The Benefits Of Social Networking

I’d be the first to admit that most people from social networking sites don’t hang round for long. And many will never return to your blog again. But because the number of visitors who visit your blog can be huge, if you are heavily Stumbled or Dugg, bringing back a small percentage of those readers can make a significant difference.

Plus, these are the people who will often tell their friends about something your wrote. If you have a good search on forums, MySpace and Facebook, you may be surprised at the number of people who are telling friends about your website.

There is another benefit to social networking traffic too. Most social networking sites are searchable. For example - if you receive a lot of votes on StumbleUpon for your post and it has been tagged with “business”, then anyone looking for blogs or sites on business is liable to come across your article first.

Don’t Forget The Importance Of Search Engine Optimization

Getting lots of web page views is only half the battle. If they’re not looking for what you’re offering, it’s a bit like inviting mormons to a beer festival. Good search engine optimization will bring visitors to your blog or website, who want to buy what you are selling. If you don’t understand Search Engine Optimization, check out the SEO bible - SEO book by Aaron Wall.

And don’t forget, Kathy from Virtual Impax is offering a free copy of her analysis of the $15 million blog, if you download it by Friday 10th October and use CathRocks in the discount code box.

Would you like to increase the number of web page views you get? Or have you discovered any great ways to get people reading more of your web pages? Please share in the comments section.

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Have you tried to increase your blog traffic and got nowhere? Or, have you managed to get more visitors to your blog but none of them are clicking on your ads, or buying a single thing from you?

Trouble is, not all blog traffic is created equal and an increase in visitors to your blog isn’t much use, if they have no interest in what you’re selling.

Are you writing for real people instead of the search engines? I did that for a long time. I thought it was great. No more keywords stuffed content for me. I could write whatever I wanted and use cool titles to attract people’sattention and bring them to my blog.

And it worked, I managed to increase traffic to my blog. I also managed to attract some complete nutters. Can you believe folk actually search Google for “Richard Branson swimming naked”? So much for writing for people instead of search engines.

If you read the article about the guy who just sold his banking blog for $15 million - you’re probably wondering how he did it. Well, no prizes for guessing that he didn’t do what I did.

Luckily, you don’t have to guess at all. Kathy from Virtual Impax has analysed his blog and several others, to show you what you need to do to increase your blog traffic and attract customers who want to buy what you sell.

And the good news is, Kathy has offered to give all CathLawson.com readers a free copy of her wonderful report, so long as you download it by Friday 10th October(if you’re too late, it’ll cost you $25). Just click this link, type CathRocks into the discount code section and download the report for free.

Kathy has also just released “8 Week Power Blog Launch” for folk who are serious about building a successful blog. You can read about it here

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You can be a business success story, no matter how old you are. Online business has broken all age barriers that may have limited your chances of success in the past. And now, everybody from teenagers to pensioners has a level playing ground.

Recently, I read this amazing story about 75 year old Jerrold Foutz. He added Google Adsense to his website - Smpstech.com four years ago and makes $25,000 a year, which equals his Boeing retirement cheque. You should check out his site. It’s another great example of how even the worst looking websites can make money.

And Hope Pryor didn’t let “empty nest syndrome” get her down after her kids left home. Instead, she achieved business success by putting her favourite recipes online at her Cooks Recipe site and now makes $90,000 a year, mostly from Google Adsense.

But it’s not just the oldies who’ve found online business success. The story of Ashley Qualls hit the headlines last year. At seventeen years old, she became a millionaire, through her online business, WhateverLife, which she started at the age of 14, with $8.

Ben Cathers wasn’t even a teenager when he started his first online advertising agency. The twelve year old built the business until he had two offices and ten employees then sold it. Since then, he’s had several business successes - he also owned a syndicated radio show and a search engine technology company - all before he was twenty years old. Ben is 24 now and he has more projects on the go than most folk would take on in a lifetime.

There’s no doubt that the Internet has made it possible for folk of all ages to become a business success story. After all - we don’t often see the face of a person behind an online business we’re dealing with.

If you were making a major purchase online, would it worry you if you discovered the business owner was 13 years old, or pushing 80? Or would you be willing to give the business a chance, so long as they delivered what they promised?

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If you’ve ever had your website content scraped you’ll know how annoying it is. But I was doing some reputation management and I found this site: Aboutus.org

I checked the entry under my blog name and they had some well monetized bullshit that was supposed to be an excerpt from this blog. So I decided to see what they’d written about other folk too. Some of the entries were already there and others weren’t, so the site automatically “created” a listing. Trouble is, it seems anyone can edit these listings, so you don’t have a lot of control over your own stuff:

Problogger.com - Problogger.com - Under Development - An 11 Pixel Studios Project.

Excerpt: Problogger will be a new type of blogging community. Offering innovative technology, fully customizeable layouts, image hosting, and many other features, Problogger is sure to breath new life into the blogging community. Check back for updates.

This Problogger guy sounds interesting. I’m looking forward to hearing how he’s going to breath new life into the blogging community - aren’t you?

Men With Pens: Men with Pens Web Content Writers and Freelance Writing Services.

Excerpt: Shooting from the hip: to react to a situation very quickly and with a lot of force, without thinking about the possible effects of your actions.

Ok - I guess James does that sometimes. But it isn’t what it says on the packet.

Steve Pavlina: Description: “Steve Pavlina is a blue-eyed, colorblind, left-handed, well educated, vegan, lucid dreaming, purpose driven, happily jobless, reality manipulating”………. “Simply put, Steve is one of life’s runaway experiments who goes around scaring people until they either ascend to a higher level of consciousness or flee naked into the desert screaming, The horror, the horror!

Well, it doesn’t mention anything about needing to run into the desert screaming in Steve’s new book. I wonder if I missed a chapter?

Dosh Dosh: The listing seemed pretty normal. The contact details were very odd though: doshdosh@divegirl.com

Does Maki run another site giving advice such as How To Wee At Sea and Snog The Instructor - Good Move or Bad Move, or is this just a practical joke?

I checked on the listings for other folk including, like Barbara Swafford, Vered DeLeeuw, Liz Strauss, Kelly Rigby and they seemed pretty normal. So, some folk are doing some sneaky editing.

On the one hand - I suppose it’s a good link baiting technique. If folk write crap about you, you’re obviously going to want to edit your own listing. And it does give you another inbound link to your blog. But on the other hand, it’s really nothing more than a sophisticated scraper site - a busy one at that and they’re making money by scraping together stuff from our sites and allowing anyone and everyone to edit them.

What do you reckon - would you amend your listing and accept the inbound link? Or would you ask for your listing to be removed, so this site can’t profit from it? Or would you think screw it - and go do some creative editing on your competitors listings?

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To become successful in business, you’ve got to give value. True - you may be able to exchange crap for money in the short term but you won’t get the repeat business, or referrals that are essential to the survival of your business. And you’ll probably kill your reputation too.

So how do you go about finding a way to give value? Well, for a start, I think you’ve got to forget about what you want for a minute and work out a way to give others what they want.

Mark Hayward recently asked the following question on Twitter: “What Is Your Ultimate Job Or Life Description?” And most folk responded with the things they wanted to do to help others. Few mentioned what they wanted for themselves, without explaining what they were going to give to get it.

Which ones do you think have the most chance of success? I’m betting it’s going to be the ones who intend to make money by giving value to others.

Finding a way to give value is as simple as finding out what people need and finding a way to make money by giving it to them.

This doesn’t mean ignoring your passions. It just means focusing on a niche you’re passionate about and finding out what other folk who are interested in that niche want. What problems do they have that need solving? What gaps in the market need to be filled?

Which companies give you great value? What do they do that makes them use again? Have you had bad experiences with businesses that didn’t give good value? Please share in the comments section.

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It’s official, some bloggers make as much money as footballers and rock stars. Bankaholic.com - a blog on banking, has been acquired by Bankrate.com for $15 million. I heard the news on Virtual Impax (if you’re not already subscribed you should, because Kathy knows her stuff).

I checked on the Wayback Machine and it looks like Bankaholic has only been around for 26 months. And what is even more surprising, is that the blog is a one man show - no employees, or outsourcing. It looks like founder John Wu does everything himself.

This is truly amazing, because aside from money he already makes from his blog, the cash from the sale is equivalent to $133,928 a week, for the time he’s put in, or $3348 per hour.

I’m guessing we’ll see hundreds of copycat banking blogs launch over the next few weeks, by folks who are desperate to make lots of money. But what about other sectors? Which industries can you see snapping up related blogs in the future? Is this acquisition a one off, or a taste of things to come? And would you start a blog with the intention of selling it for millions?

I personally can see the attraction, so long as you’re blogging on a topic you’re interested in. But I would want to make a heap of money from the sale of my blog as I wouldn’t just be giving up the brand, I suspect I’d also be giving up the rights to use my name. And I guess that if a blog relies on one person, writing under their own name, it will sell for less, as there’s a risk that the blogger could get knocked down by a truck.

Share your thoughts on flogging your blogs - I’d love to hear them.

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I don’t use Ebay heaps. But I’ve been a member for a few years and it’s been really handy when I’ve wanted to buy and sell particular things.

And I know Ebay changed a few policies recently, which caused many sellers to boycott their service. So I really didn’t expect them to do anything to piss people off further. And it was a bit of a surprise when I listed an item for sale and saw a message which said I had to use Paypal as a buying option, as I didn’t have a long enough trading history.

I’ve been a member since 1999, so I don’t know how long you’ve got to be a member for to have had a “long trading history”. Anyway, I thought, bugger it - I prefer Paypal anyway. But the biggest blow was yet to come - I discovered that I may not get paid for my item for a month.

Paypal have put the payment “on hold” until either - I receive positive feedback from the buyer, or 21 days have passed. Well, this is more than just a bit annoying. I’ve sold heaps of items where the buyer hasn’t left feedback - a lot of buyers don’t use Ebay on a regular basis, so I guess they just don’t bother.

It usually takes around a week for payments to hit my account from Paypal to begin with and now they’re adding an extra three weeks. I guess it will be great for Ebay though - since they own Paypal, they’ll accumulate a hefty amount of interest by withholding these payments. Also, they’ll be making a lot of additional commission on the Paypal transactions.

Now, I’m wondering how this will affect folk who sell on a regular basis, or use Ebay to make a living. I’m guessing it’s really going to bugger up some people’s cashflow.

Do you sell on Ebay? Is Ebay your main source of income? Has this new rule put you off trading on there? And do you think all these changes would make it easier for a competitor to set up and take a lot of trade from Ebay?

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