Darren Contardo's Netrepreneur

Craigslist.org Makes Money

Well, you learn something new everyday. I was wondering how Craigslist.org makes any money, since I've been using their site to buy/sell merchandise I haven't paid a penny to them. So how do they afford to pay their 28 employees? According to numerous articles and of course Wikipedia, they make their cash off of their job listings. At $75 a pop or less they're making about $10 Million a year. Although they are a non-for-profit, they are still generating revenue (secret: all NPOs have to make money to survive). What I found priceless though was their world headquarters in San Fran Bay area...modest at best proving that it pays to stay small, give away want to you want to receive and always, always stay humble.

The Art of the Start

Guy Kawasaki's book The Art of the Start is a fantastic read and if you don't have time then get his manifesto from ChangeThis or Download 11.01.ArtOfTheStart.pdf . We've all become victim to either 1) Procrastination or 2) Analysis Paralysis. I've done both no doubt about it, but when it comes right down to it, there are no excuses, nobody is going to hold your hand, your situation isn't going to change anytime soon, and you DO NOT want to be looking back on your life and wondering 'hmmm, what if I actually tried to pursue that business idea, what would my life have been like?'

Just start, write your DREAM down on paper of what success looks like to you, write down when you want to achieve it (GOAL), and write down some key milestones (PLAN) on how you're going to get it done, and then (EFFORT) just plain old start!

Seth Godin's Bootstrapper's Bible Manifesto

It's great! It's a Godsend! It just makes sense for all of us one-man armies of Entrepreneurs who want to be small, independent and our own visionaries.

Download 81.01.bootstrappersbible.pdf , CUZ IT'S NOT FREE ANYMORE FROM SETH.

Motivation and Visualization

Everyone lacks motivation at one point or another...even me. So how do you overcome a temporary bump in the road to self-actualization? Well, visualization is a great way to do it. Years ago, back in my Quixtar days (sister company of Amway), yes I was one of "those guys", our company leader was talking about seeing success in your minds eye. It seems a bit abstract, but it's very powerful. Imagine what success looks like when you get there, what kind of car are you driving, what is the color, how does the interior smell, how fast does it go, how many cars do you have in your garage to keep it company? These exercises are great to get you motivated. Even better is to find a picture of your dream car, house, or whatever it is you want and cut it out of a magazine or print it off the Internet and put it on a board. Call this your dream board. AND whenever you reach one of your goals, take the item off the board. Once you reach your pinnacle of success, your board should be completely blank! That's when you start a new board and begin setting your sights on new goals and successes. Ah, visualization meets motivation...

Are you still reading this? Get moving and start finding those success images and add them to your board!!!!

Squidoo

Seth Godin's Squidoo is finally out of private beta, which was nice being a part of, but now everyone can take part in the Web 2.0 revolution full force. Squidoo, is like a condensed blog, where you can see through the eyes of your friends or trusted experts. Check out my new Lens.

Tip Jar

So what is a Tip Jar? Well, it is what it is. A donation or appreciation if you will for some of my ideas or tactical advice. I don't make any money off of this blog, it is truly just because I'm passionate about the Digital Marketing arena and like to share my experiences. So, feel free to give a "tip" if you will through your paypal account. the choice is entirely yours. If you do tip...thank you, it will help me pay for this typepad account. If you don't, that's just fine too.

I found a great quote

I found a great quote the other day that I felt embodied what entrepreneurship is really all about. We're all scared that we're going to fail; questions of uncertainty haunt us; should we really risk it all? Well, as they say "fail your way to success". Here's the quote:

"While one person hesitates because he feels inferior, the other is busy making mistakes and becoming superior."
- Henry C. Link

Target your brand at the

Target your brand at the Early Adopters and let the Tipping Point take over...those Early Adopters will influence the Followers and Late Adopters, while your brand cashes in.

Positioning Your Business for Success

Positioning Your Business for Success

So you have the idea of what you want your business to be, but you're not exactly sure how you're going to break through the clutter? Did you know that the average person is exposed to over 3000 advertising messages a day? Guess what? You have to compete with that! Somehow, you have to get your message across to your "target" consumer amongst that clutter!?!?! Well, here's a simple way to do it...POSITIONING. Jack Trout and Al Reis wrote a book many moons ago that will be your saviour!

Basically, think of your customer before you begin your business, position your business directly to benefit your customer and you'll have an easy time at getting your message across. I'll talk about how to break through the clutter more later. But, more importantly, always be consistent with that message otherwise your BRAND will become bogus (no longer trustworthy) and you don't want that to happen. Here's another great resource to help you out with positioning...it's Al's book the 22 Immutable Laws of Branding...good read, take a look.

Top-notch eCommerce Site for Low

Top-notch eCommerce Site for Low Cost?

Here's a good article on how to get up and running right away on your own online store: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/0,4621,309001,00.html

There's usually more to getting up and running online, but the article is very easy to understand.

DC