If I was still working for The Man, I would’ve called in sick today. There was general sneezing to be had by all of us yesterday. Then today Jack decided to wake us up at 5, just to let us know he was stuffed up and hated us and all that we represent.

He also wanted to let me know that the only way he would allow anyone near enough to wipe his nose was if I used the sleeve of my new shirt.

The worst of it was, I have four clocks on one of the walls in my house, representing London, New York, Sydney and LA. When I looked up, I realized that I could totally call Havi in Portland because she was still awake.

So, on to how to take a sick day: Read More

NOTE: If you don’t have time to read this whole post, read this: I’m doing WordPress blog setups FOR FREE until the end of the month, for anyone that fits a few basic criteria and would like their own new blog on their own domain name. On May 1, I’m going to start charging for this service. So if you think you may want a new website anytime soon, check out that link and then email me or leave a comment on this post. Don’t wait. I doubt you’ll find someone doing this for free again.

P.S: If you’re waffling, just ask yourself if you want to be one of those people who would read a series like this and think, “Hey, Johnny started from scratch. I’ll bet I could do what he’s doing and learn how to build an online business,” but then never actually take any action. You don’t want to be that guy or gal. That guy or gal sucks. Read More

Over the last year and a half, it has often seemed to me that instead of being in the business of marketing, I am in the business of buying information products. Audio classes. Ebooks. Courses. Seminars. You name it, I’ve probably bought it.

Add to that the fact that I actually do SELL information products for a living, I know a lot about digital shit.

One of the most frequent questions I get is, “Should I buy this?” Sometimes they’re asking about my own products, sometimes other people’s. As I know The Havinator and the handsome Mr. Navarro get this question all the time, too, I figured I’d do a little public service announcement. Then everybody can link to it from their sales pages and save their customers a shitload of time. Doesn’t that sound fun?

So… Should I Buy This?

Here are the things to consider: Read More

If y’all didn’t know, I was going to SOBCon, Biz School for Bloggers. I was going as a sponsor, commonly referred to as one of those people who pays an event organizer a bunch of money to be treated like a king. (I highly recommend this, by the way. Even if you don’t get any new business or exposure, it feels like a bathtub full of marshmallows.)

I was really looking forward to going, for several reasons. Speaker line-up. Hanging out with Liz Strauss. Doing shooters in a strip club with Brian Clark and Chris Garrett. Good times.

Anyway, it has been brought to my attention that I have a passport problem. I was very politely told by The Powers That Be that I was welcome to go to Chicago but if I did, there was a very good chance I wouldn’t be let back in the country. Read More

You’ve got a little bit of money. Not a lot, sure, but a little. And you know you should be doing more to get people in the door. You don’t relish the idea of hand selling every single buyer. Should you advertise?

Here are some things to think of:

What is the lifetime value of a client or customer?

When people become your client, how much money do they send you now? How much money do they send you over the course of a year? Over the course of their lifetime with you?

This applies for both product and service businesses. If you’re a designer and the average new job gets you $1500 and subsequent ones from the same customer tend to run in the region of $1000, your customer is worth $2500. Unless…

Are you good at your job? Read More