HOW TO: Use the New Facebook to See Who Has Unfriended You

HOW TO: Use the New Facebook to See Who Has Unfriended You

via Mashable! by Sarah Kessler on 9/23/11

In addition to showing users a timeline of their activity on the site throughout the years, it turns out that Facebook’s new profile provides a rundown of which friends they’ve lost.

Here’s how you can see which friends you’ve lost:

• 1. Enable the new Facebook timeline.
• 2. Pick a year in the timeline and locate the “Friends” box.
• 3. Click on “Made X New Friends.”
• 4. Scroll through the list. Where you see an “Add Friend” box, you know that you are no longer friends with that person. If you haven’t unfriended them, they’ve unfriended you.

There’s still no real-time Facebook alert for an unfriend. But if you’re really interested in learning more and more quickly about your declining online popularity, a browser plugin like Better Facebook is a good alternative.

[via BuzzFeed]

More About: Facebook, facebook timeline

Ask the Readers: How Would You Sell a Collection?

Ask the Readers: How Would You Sell a Collection?

via Get Rich Slowly - Personal Finance That Makes Sense. by J.D. Roth on 9/23/11

I am a collector. I always have been. When I was a boy, my parents gave me one closet in the trailer house to have as my very own. They called it the “rat’s nest” because I’d fill it up with all the sorts of things a boy might collect: bugs and twigs and baseball cards and comic books, among other things.

As an adult, I’ve remained a collector. It’s both a joy and curse. I love collecting, but I recognize that it’s a drain on my finances and a source of Stuff. (I have a finished post about how to build a collection without breaking the bank, but I’ve never seen fit to publish it. It seems wrong to encourage this sort of hobby.)

That said, the other side of collecting seems like a great topic for Get Rich Slowly. How do you sell a collection? How do you get rid of it? That’s what Jenny wants to know. Here’s her question:

I inherited a large collection of Barbie dolls from my grandmother — more than 300 dolls! They’re stored at my mother’s house about five hours away, but there’s a good chance she will be moving in the next year or two and I need to figure out what to do with them. I’ll probably end up keeping a few for the memories, but I’d like to sell and put the money towards our savings for a down payment on a house. I just don’t even know how to begin to tackling such a project.

Some dolls were originally bought for around $50 and others for only about $10. There are a few that were over $100, but not too many. My grandmother kept copious notes of all these dolls she loved collecting. I’m wondering if you or any of your readers might have some suggestions for how to go about trying to get these dolls appraised and sold? Thanks for any help you can offer!

Selling a collection can be tricky. Collections are rarely worth as much as the owner believes.

Several times a year, a GRS reader will e-mail me for advice on selling his comic book collection. (I’m using “his” here instead of something gender-neutral because these messages are always from men.) “What’s the best way to get top dollar for my collection?” folks want to know. What follows is my advice for selling comics; I suspect much of it is applicable to selling other collectibles. (And I warned Jenny in advance that my advice would be comic-centric.)

General Advice for Selling a Collection
First, it’s important to realize that price guides are mostly meaningless. I’ve never understood where these prices come from. All that matters is what somebody is willing to pay for your collectible. Don’t latch onto prices in books. That’s a sure path to heartbreak.

Second, the market is saturated with comic books from the past twenty years. They’re worth almost nothing. Obviously there are exceptions, but in general, your “Death of Superman” issue is only going to fetch a buck or two. It’s basic supply and demand. There’s a huge supply and no demand. The only comics that are worth anything are those for which there’s a large demand but a small supply. That usually means older material — especially from the 1960s and 1970s.

The same holds true for other collectibles. Your copy of Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumors” on vinyl isn’t worth much because there were a gazillion albums sold. It’s very common. But your early U2 singles might fetch a pretty penny.

Third, condition matters. Your Star Wars figures aren’t worth much if they’re beat up and used; to fetch top dollar, they have to be “mint in box”. In the world of comics, “near mint” means “almost without flaw”. Most “near mint” comics I see for sale are actually just average copies — probably “very good”. A comic that sells for $10 in “near mint” condition might sell for $2 or $3 in “very good” condition.

Fourth, everyone wants three things when selling a collection:

1. They want to do it quickly.
2. They want to do it with little effort.
3. They want to get top dollar.

Well, you can only have two of those things. (And often you can only have one.) If you want to sell quickly and without effort, you’re not going to get much money. If you want to sell quickly and get top dollar, it’s going to take immense effort. If you want to get top dollar with minimal effort, it’s going to take you forever.

If you want to get top dollar, you’re going to have to “piece out” the collection. That is, you’re going to have to sell each comic book separately. If you have copies of Green Lantern #1, #2, and #4 in Good condition, you might get $500 for the lot. But if you sold them separately, you could probably get $750. It’s just going to take more time and effort to do this.

If you want to sell quickly, then sell the entire collection at once. You’ll get much less money this way, but the process will be easier and quicker.

Finally, note that it’s completely irrelevant how much was originally paid for a collection (or any individual piece of it). This is an example of sunk costs. Whether Jenny’s grandmother paid $10 or $100 for a particular doll, all that matters is how much the doll will sell for now. It’s best to ignore sunk costs when selling a collection. Focus on what someone will pay, not what was paid in the past.

Selling Barbie
With that general advice out of the way, I have a few thoughts about Jenny’s specific circumstances. (But only a few.)

I do think it make sense to get an appraisal on a collection this large. Unfortunately, outside of Antiques Roadshow, I don’t know how this is done. If I were in her position, I’d ask around to friends and family to see if anyone knew about antiques. They might be able to provide some sort of lead to an appraiser.

Really, though, I’m not sure an appraisal matters all that much. From my (limited) experience, appraisal values are often high. They’re for insurance purposes, right? So, they tend to come in high. If Jenny wants to sell these dolls, the appraisal values are irrelevant. What matters is what other collectors will pay for them.

To that end, her best bet it to simply sell the dolls in the open market. There are many ways to do this, but I think the best way to maximize her profit is to use eBay (or a similar service). eBay puts the items at auction so that others are competing to buy them, which generally results in the best price.

If she’s looking to get the money quickly, she should sell the dolls as entire collection. By doing so, though, she won’t get as much as she could. On the other hand, Jenny could maximize her income by selling each doll individually. This takes a lot more work, but pays off in the long run.

Another option is to pay somebody else to conduct the auction. There are all sorts of eBay stores that will sell the dolls individually (or in small lots), thus earning as much as possible. The downside? They take a substantial piece of the action.

That’s a lot of typing for very little actionable advice. It’s mostly theory. But surely some of you have sold a collection — or know somebody who has. What about it? If you had a collection of 300+ Barbie dolls, how would you sell them? Where would you go to get them appraised? How would you get the most money for them? What advice can you offer Jenny?

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Related Articles at Get Rich Slowly - Personal Finance That Makes Sense.:

• Word2Word: Free Online Language Tools
• The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse
• The Frugal Collector: 10 Ways to Curb the Habit
• How to Use the Amazon Marketplace for Fun and Profit
• Daily Roundup: Credit Cards and Credit Triggers

What Can LinkedIn Do For You?

What Can LinkedIn Do For You?

via War Room Contributors by Small Business Trends on 9/23/11

When we kissed the 1990s goodbye, none of today’s major social networks existed. LinkedIn was the first to launch, but that wasn’t until 2003, followed by Facebook (founded in 2004), YouTube (founded in 2005) and Twitter (launched in 2006). In a lot of ways these social networks are still “babies.” Their “parents” are working to grow them up in order to see the full potential of what they will become and what they can do for the “family.”

As for us, the small business owner, we often have at least one ear in the game trying to see where we should spend our marketing energy. Well, LinkedIn may be the spot. LinkedIn states that it “operates the world’s largest professional network on the Internet with more than 120 million members in over 200 countries and territories.”  According to comScore, LinkedIn is now the #2 social networking site online. That same comScore study from June of this year shows LinkedIn has had a 63 percent increase in unique visitors (while MySpace continues to drop—experiencing a 50 percent decrease during the same one-year timeframe).

So, what does that mean for you?

You probably need to be on LinkedIn (if you’re not already). But before you dive in, here are a few resources to help you get familiar with and maximize this social network opportunity.

How and Why To Use LinkedIn.com

This is a novice-friendly, 8-minute, SmallBizTrends video produced by Jim Kukral. If LinkedIn is completely new to you or you just want a quick refresher/reminder of some things you should be doing on the site including participating in LinkedIn Answers, then this might be the video for you.

New User Starter Guide and the Small Business User Guide

I have struggled to learn how to use some social network sites because I didn’t read the “instruction manual.”  And I didn’t read the instructions because they were nonexistent or they were wordy and boring-looking. Not so with LinkedIn’s current User Guides and other information about how to maximize the site. The Small Business User Guide is a series of short videos; the New User Starter Guide takes less than 3 minutes to read.

Elements of a Good LinkedIn Recommendation

If you need people to give you a recommendation on LinkedIn but you’re not quite sure about how to do it, Chris Brogan has some tips on what to say and how to ask.

Check out the tools I’ve mentioned here, and you’ll have a greater sense of what LinkedIn can do for you and how to start using it.

From Small Business Trends

What Can LinkedIn Do For You?

Read more posts on Small Business Trends »

Please follow War Room on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

A Look at the Growing “Work From Home” Phenomenon [INFOGRAPHIC]

A Look at the Growing “Work From Home” Phenomenon [INFOGRAPHIC]

via Mashable! by Erica Swallow on 9/17/11

Working from home is more prevalent and more widely accepted than ever. With 26.2 million teleworkers in the U.S. in 2010, the virtual workforce is expected to grow in coming years.

For starters, 56% of senior leaders and hiring managers at Fortune 500 companies believe that the workforce will steadily or greatly increase at their companies, according to a recent survey by WorkSimple.

The study findings outline the changing virtual workforce with a number of compelling stats and findings, as seen in the infographic below.

Have you noticed an increase in the number of employees at your workplace that work remotely? Let us know your story in the comments below.

Infographic courtesy GetWorkSimple; thumbnail graphic courtesy iStockphoto/LajosRepasi

More About: job search series

How To Get Your First Client

How To Get Your First Client

via Toilet Paper Entrepreneur by Mike Michalowicz on 9/6/11

Here are some tips on getting your first client, and some nutrition advice on getting big...like me!.

Another video by Mike Michalowicz, Author of The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur

Payday Should be Everyday

Payday Should be Everyday

via Under30CEO by Under30CEO on 9/7/11

Early in my career, I worked in what is now referred to as the first dotcom bubble. When I think back to those days, I remember it being incredibly fun, hectic, creative and exciting. I also remember working around the clock and feeling like I had no life. In many ways, it was the modern-day equivalent of the Wild West with industry people hoping to strike gold. People were starting new companies daily. Some of the companies became brief success stories, many went out of business and a few are still around today. What characterized the majority of these companies was that they were looking to grow fast and then exit with a big payout in the form of an acquisition or an IPO. The entrepreneurs running these companies were willing to work 24/7 to achieve this goal and expected their employees to make the same sacrifice.  What I witnessed over time was a lot of over-worked and unhappy entrepreneurs whose dream did not come true.

While I was in it, living the frenetic life in the dotcom universe, I barely had time to think. But one question kept coming to mind: Is this the only way to be an entrepreneur? The answer became clearer over the years. It most certainly is not. After working with entrepreneurs for over ten years, I’ve found the most valuable opportunity of entrepreneurship is to be able to create meaningful work on your own terms, on a daily basis. Instead of sacrificing a lot in hopes of scoring it big payoff someday, your payday can be everyday.

Being able to get there requires a bit of a re-think, however. Perhaps one of the most drastic elements is to think beyond the financial rewards of running your own business. It goes without saying that it is important to feel compensated for the work that you do and that level of compensation varies from business owner to business owner. However, instead of exclusively working non stop and making significant sacrifices in your life so that you have a big pot of gold at the end, it’s worth considering ways that you can feel like you are receiving golden nuggets daily.

Consider your personal motivations for becoming an entrepreneur. For some it is a desire for autonomy or creative control. For others, it’s about finding meaning, freedom, or unlimited earning potential or a combination of many of these. Now ask yourself, would you sacrifice this aspect of your business for the next 5 years so that you could receive a big payout? No way! This motivator was a driving force for starting your business in the first place. Its value is worth its weight in gold, so to speak. So there is your first golden nugget. A word of caution here: once you realize the value of these benefits, you need to make sure that your business allows for/honors/accommodates them. Perhaps you need to do a little tweaking to make sure that your business meets your needs.

Next, consider what you do for your business. It is not that common in the professional world to have the opportunity to write your own job description. The beauty of being an entrepreneur is that you can and you do. And part of the thrill of entrepreneurship is that that job description changes. You can create a role for yourself in the business that utilizes your strengths and that allows you to feel energized because you get to do what you do best. Of course, there are some aspects of entrepreneurship that are not glamorous (for example, taking out the trash) or that you are not skilled at or enjoy but you still need to accomplish. There are lots of ways to outsource areas of weakness or areas you dislike over time. So ask yourself, would you be willing to compromise doing what you know you do best? What you most love? Would you take a job that does not utilize your skills and talents in exchange for a big paycheck? Of course not. Many entrepreneurs are motivated to start their own business so that they can enjoy their work on a daily basis. That is the operative word — that everyday your work is meaningful. And there is your second golden nugget.

Finally, it is worth considering how your business can make an impact. Many entrepreneurs start their business with the hope that their business will make a difference. This comes in a lot of forms, most frequently tied to the idea of innovating, changing an industry, blazing a new trail or solving a problem. Making a difference is often something that people refuse to put a price tag on as it fulfills a deeper sense of meaning for the individual. The impact your business can make in this world is a golden nugget unto itself. It is pointless to even question if this is something one would trade for a big payout. Working on daily basis towards making a difference is your daily gold.

The course of entrepreneurship varies greatly. There is no one road to get there. But along the way, there are some fundamental building blocks, some critical milestones that go beyond the tactical measures of business growth and success — the personal elements of satisfaction that help motivate and validate your decision of entrepreneurship, those things that cannot take away.

Amy Abrams is an entrepreneur, speaker and co-author of The Big Enough Company: Creating a Business that Works for You (September 2011, Portfolio/Penguin). She is the co-founder of In Good Company Workplaces, a business community center and co-working space in New York City. Amy is also the co-founder of Artists & Fleas, a weekly marketplace for artists, designers and vintage collectors in Brooklyn. For more information, please visit http://bigenoughcompany.com, and follow the authors on Facebook and Twitter.

Sydney Entrepreneur Matt Barrie Reveals How he Built Australia’s Largest Out...

Sydney Entrepreneur Matt Barrie Reveals How he Built Australia’s Largest Outsourcing Site

via Under30CEO by Under30CEO on 9/14/11

Matt Barrie is an award-winning entrepreneur, technologist and lecturer. He is Chief Executive of Sydney-based Freelancer.com, which is now the world’s largest outsourcing marketplace connecting over 1.5 million professionals from around the globe. In 2011, he was named BRW Entrepreneur of the Year.

Throughout his entrepreneurial journey, Matt has experienced his fair share of ups and downs. In this Q&A interview with Alex Pirouz he explains how a vision much bigger than yourself can make it easier to push through times of uncertainty and hardship.

The main asset of what is now called Freelancer.com was launched in 2004. It wasn’t until 2009 that you took over. How did you build the brand after that so quickly?

“I started purchasing outsourcing sites all around the world, ranging from thousands of users to hundreds of thousands, and put resources behind them such as an engineering team, marketing team, etc.

“I had to see if it was going to be a good fit with the existing websites, if the price was right and if there was something compelling and unique that was going to add value to our existing infrastructure.

“In doing so, two years ago we were placed in the top 5000 biggest website and now we are 240th globally, our users have grown from half a million to 2.5 million and in April 2011 we reached one million projects being listed on our site.”

In your opinion how important is it to recruit the right staff?

“One of the biggest challenges business owners face is finding the right people. When you hire A-grade people, in turn they attract more A-grade people to want to work at the organization. So essentially I look for someone who is A-grade and is able to fit into our culture.

“You only need to look at Google, Facebook and other big companies to notice that people are drawn to them because of their work culture and the people within their organization.

“In striving to be the best in the industry and one day the eBay of services, we have not only been able to attract the right talent but it has also given staff the drive and motivation to always want to expand and look at ways to improve so we stay ahead of everything.

“Whilst some entrepreneurs want to know and control everything within the business, a good manager of a business will hire people smarter than him and delegate certain roles to those people. By getting boggled down with the daily duties and tasks they will never have time to build the business.

“Find people who are better than you and give them that job. If you don’t delegate, you will never build a big company.”

What is the biggest challenge facing entrepreneur’s today?

“Starting is what I believe to be the biggest challenge. For people to transition out of work and go out there and take a risk is the toughest in my eyes.  60% of people think about starting their own business but only 5% do. Getting going is the toughest.

“If you are thinking about starting something, go and do it. It will be one of the most rewarding and challenging things you can do in your life. Just make sure you remain focused, don’t become complacent and always look to be growing as a company.”

As an entrepreneur what drives you on a day to day basis?

“I want to forge my own destiny whilst changing the world. A massive business has never been built in Australia, you have Facebook and Google but nothing has ever been done here so I want to be the first one to do that.

“It can be very tough and you wake up some mornings and think, is this going to be as big as it is, its potential?, and you do have some doubt. Every company has its ups and downs; you just have to persevere, execute, execute and execute. That requires a lot of focus and you just need to push through.”

Alex Pirouz is the founder of RIDC Advisory Pty Ltd. A Business and Sales Advisory firm partnering with Australia’s largest and fastest growing companies to further increase their revenue. Visit www.ridcadvisory.com.au for more details.

Tip: How To Find Great Sales People

Pay attention: If you're out and see a particularly sales-oriented and energetic coffee barista or waiter, this may be an ideal candidate for you. Personality is far more important than experience--you can train someone who is a great salesperson naturally.

via toiletpaperentrepreneur.com

Finding Great Sales People
by LaTonya Shaw

Once your in a position to grow you business via sales people. Instead of placing help wanted ads, like this article on toiletpaperentrepreneur.com suggests, find naturally talented individuals that you know can do a great job because you seen them do it.

7 Ways To Get More Business From Google Places Local Marketing

Local Search Marketing with Google Places: 7 Ways to Get More Clicks & More Business Guaranteed

via Young Entrepreneur Forums by scottharvey on 9/12/11

If you want better search engine results (and more clicks, and more business), and you haven't paid attention to "Google Places," you need to do so right away.

Why You Need to Claim Your Spot on Google Places

* Google has stated that one out of five searches on Google is related to location. That translates to 2.6 billion "local" searches a month, and that number is increasing 50% per year. (Yes, that's "Billion"-with a "B.")

* If you're a family law or divorce attorney in Irvine, CA for example, you want to show up when someone does a Google search for "divorce attorney orange county", or some variant of that-which happened over 56,000 times last month. Maybe your niche or location can't boast that kind of volume, but when you get your Places page set up and positioned correctly, it can still have a dramatic effect.

* A good Google Places listing can provide a valuable bump in your search engine ranking and in your ability to reach and interact with prospects and customers. You can even post real-time updates to your Places page to promote a sale or seminar or other event, put up a coupon, or communicate anything else.

* Google Places has become so important that it has become a marketing niche all on its own, with "local marketing SEO" consultants that do nothing but help businesses use it properly.

Now, that you know why you need to be on Google Places - how can you claim your spot so you can experience improved search engine results and more website traffic?

Claiming Your Google Places Page

If you haven't already claimed your places page, simply go to Google.com/places and work your way through the process, after reading the 7 tips below. If you don't have a Google account, you'll have to create one, but it's easy, and free. For a detailed, step-by-step video guide to the proper set up of your Places page, you can go to: honestwebsitemarketing.com

7 Tips to Help You Get Your Google Places & Other Local Search Directories' Listing Found - Plus Get More Clicks

1. Get consistent in how you list your address and phone number:

When Google crawls the web, and your website, it can read "123 Main Street" as something different than "123 Main St." It will even see "123 Main St." as something different than "123 Main St".

Same thing with phone numbers. "(714) 555-5555" will be seen as being different than "714-555-5555", which is different than "(714) 555 5555."

2. Use a local phone number.

If you have an 800 number, or other toll-free number, show your local number as your primary phone, and show the toll-free number as an additional one.

3. Get consistent in how you list your company name.

If your company name is "Honest Website Marketing" (which we hope it isn't since that's our name) don't show "Honest Website Marketing" in one place, then in another place put "Honest Website Marketing, LLC." Just like with addresses and phone numbers, the search engines may think those are two different companies.

So, look at your website, and be sure you're consistent throughout your site. Then, do it the same way on your "Places" page, and your "YELP" page, and your Chamber of Commerce listing, and on Yellowpages.com and the other hundred local directories you can get yourself listed in.

4. Fill in your website's URL.

This may seem obvious, but people miss it all the time. And if your site shows as yoursite.com/, don't list it in your Places page as yoursite.com . That tiny difference can be a problem.

5. Post reviews.

Posting reviews from happy customers is one of the most powerful things you can do to get your "Places" page ranked well. Encourage your customers to find your Places page and then write a review. Reviews on your Places page are particularly important in pushing it to the top of the search results, which gets you more clicks. Plus, it helps you build credibility so you get more clicks to your website.

6. Get Citations.

I do not mean the ones you get from the Highway Patrol. But, I do mean the ones you get by getting listed in other places and directories, such as Superpages.com, Yelp, Citysearch, your Chamber of Commerce listing, and the other fifty or a hundred directory-type places you ought to get yourself listed in. Every time you get listed someplace and get a citation, you beef up your importance in Google's eyes, which helps you gain higher search engine rankings

7. Post photographs, or better yet, videos, or even better, both.

Pictures and videos are appealing to your visitors and Google loves them. So take full advantage of the ability to post them on your Places page. It's just as important there as it is on your website itself.

These are only a few of the things you can to enhance the effectiveness of your Places page.

These 7 can be done by anyone, even people without a lot of technical knowledge. Of course, you can outsource the task to a website marketing pro who specializes in local search marketing as the expert will save you time.

Feel free to contact us with any questions, or if you would like to discuss having us help you.

Local Search Marketing Expert Scott Harvey works with small-to-medium size local brick-and-mortar business owners who want to improve their search engine results so they can get more local website traffic and sales. Now, as he wants you to capture more clicks, he is offering a 69-page, step-by-step guide to better website performance and he's giving it to you for free. Grab his "Make The Phone Ring" ebook now at: honestwebsitemarketing.com

How a New Design Label Broke into Fashion Week | Video

via entrepreneur.com

Interesting Video From Entrepreneur.com
by LaTonya Shaw

This video confirms there is always a way to get to the top but you have to follow your dreams.

How To Drive Traffic To Your Website

Social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook are the number one feeds to my website! Post interesting facts, tidbits and articles with the direct link so people can click right from their feed.

via toiletpaperentrepreneur.com

I use Google Analytics to gauge where my traffic is coming from and which keywords sent them there. At the top of my report was Twitter and Facebook. Clearly very powerful tools if used often and correctly.

LaTonya Shaw

How I Sold a Million Books on Amazon in 5 Months

How I Sold a Million Books on Amazon in 5 Months

via War Room Contributors by Small Business Trends on 9/10/11

OK, so now I’m going to tell you my dirty little secret.

Since March of 2011, I’ve been secretly downloading and reading $.99 Kindle Singles by John Locke.  There, I’ve said it.  I’m a Donovan Creed junkie.

I had only told a few close friends about this little reading problem because I just didn’t see how a busy, professional, mature woman who normally devours business and marketing books could get caught up in a cheesy spy-like novella featuring the adventures of a handsome, likable CIA assassin.

As it turns out, I had been targeted.  Yes, this was all the result of a well-thought-out marketing plan and a turned-around mind-set that propelled an unknown businessperson turned writer into the first self-published author to have sold 1 million books on Amazon.

You see, when I ran out of Donovan Creed novels to download and wasn’t really into the cowboy-themed series Locke has out now, I downloaded the only other book that was available by John Locke – How I Sold a Million Books on Amazon in 5 Months.

5 Reasons why How I Sold Is a “Download Now” Book

1. It doesn’t have the world’s longest subtitle. This has been a real trend in traditional publishing, and one that I don’t particularly care for because no one can remember a title that’s 26 words long.
2. It’s $4.99. How can you not download a book with the title How I Sold a Million Books on Amazon in 5 Months for $4.99?  You can’t resist, just for the sheer curiosity factor.  Pair that  with the fact that I’d already read the rest of Locke’s books, and the decision was a no-brainer – CLICK.
3. It’s short. You’ll get a lot of information, entertainment and insight in a relatively short period of time.
4. It’s fun to read. Admittedly,  John Locke doesn’t do high-brow writing.  He’s just plain entertaining.  There is something likeable and snappy and ever-so-slightly cheesy about his writing that makes him endearing (to me, anyway).
5. It comes with a pre-written marketing plan. Worth the price of admission right there.  I’m not kidding:  There’s a marketing plan outline right in the book.  All you have to do is copy it, attach some dates and you’re good to go.

If I tell you any more, I’d have to get Donovan Creed to kill you.  But what a way to go.

Who John Locke Is and How His Mind-Set Affected His Success

Here’s the really cool thing about John Locke (@DonovanCreed) – he’s really an entrepreneur turned writer and author.  Locke had already made his fortune starting and selling a couple of businesses when he decided to start writing.

Locke did all the traditional things writers do.  But then he decided to self-publish.  And when he did, he came upon an insidious obstacle put up by traditional publishers to make self-published authors feel somehow “less than” or inferior because they didn’t choose to participate in the publishing machine.

He goes into a priceless entrepreneurial rant on the term “vanity publishing”

“What they are saying, when an author believes in his abilities to the extent that he’s willing to invest his own money to publish a novel, is that he’s writing for pure vanity!….When I invested my own money to start my insurance agency no one accused me of making a vanity investment.  When I invested my own money to buy a life insurance company no one called it a vanity investment.  When I paid cash for my office building no one accused me of making a vanity investment.  When Bill Gates and Paul Allen invested their time and money into developing code for the Altair computer no one accused them of writing vanity code.

But if Bill Gates and Paul Allen invest their own money to write a book, they’re no longer businessmen, they’re vain and any company that charges them money to publish their book is catering to their vanity!  How absurd is that?”

And with that, you get the mind-altering, business-altering epiphany John Locke had that turned the switch on the sales of his existing books on Amazon and influenced every other book he wrote and published.

In case you missed the message, John Locke is a serial entrepreneur who loves to write.  He also loves to earn a profit from his writing.  He sees writing as a business and the selling of books as a marketing effort.  And this is what he shares in this book.

Who Is How I Sold a Million for?

Glad you asked.  John Locke wrote How I Sold a Million for the 700,000 self-published authors and the other thousands of wanna-be authors out there.  He’s very clear about that.   So if you’ve written books or plan on writing a self-published or ebook, you should have downloaded this yesterday.  It’s available in hard copy too, but I think it’s currently sold out.

Anyone who wants to build a loyal community for their company or product should read this book.  Whether you want to selld a book or a cupcake, the principles Locke talks about hold true.

And so there, I’ve shared my secret with you. Now you know about John Locke, and if you read this book maybe you’ll become an OOU, too. (You’ll have to read the book to find out what that means).

From Small Business Trends

How I Sold a Million Books on Amazon in 5 Months

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7 Problems With Purchasing From Chinese Factories

7 Problems With Purchasing From Chinese Factories

via War Room Contributors by Renaud Anjoran on 9/10/11

If you purchase from China, there is one thing you have noticed: prices are going up, often by 10-25% a year. The reason is not that manufacturers are increasing their margins, but that their costs are rising very fast.

Yet, these same factories are under more and more intense pricing pressure from their customers.

Which manufacturers will survive and turn out a profit over the next 10 years? Those who increase their efficiency (by reducing waste in their operations or by increasing throughput) and/or who raise their production quality.

What will it take for them to reach these goals? I see 7 obstacles they will need to address:

1. Short-term focus

Right now, most exporters are focused on surviving, and if possible on getting enough for the boss to get a new car (or for his wife to buy another apartment).

But there also seems to be an aspect of Chinese culture that pushes every one to focus on the short term. It makes it extremely hard for companies to sustain a long-term investment aiming at improving the organization.

2.  No pride of workmanship

Why are they in business? For money, of course. Very few manufacturers here care about a nice workmanship, a new design, or a defect-free production run.

It is very frustrating to explain to factory technicians that products must look better, and to realize that people nod politely (if at all) and actually don’t care. All they want to know is “what is the absolute lowest effort we can make?” Not a great customer retention strategy…

3.  Focus on “making production”

Go inside a factory building, and you will see everyone trying to get the products out of the door. In 95% of cases, the shop floor is an absolute chaos.

The problem is, no one wants to stop the line when they notice bad quality, since they are paid by the number of pieces they make. As long as this attitude subsists, quality will be inconsistent.

4.  No respect of workers

Ten years ago, it seemed like the Chinese workforce was endless. Unskilled workers were easily disposable. Fear was an effective motivator (“follow the rules, or you are out”).

The problem is, the situation has changed much faster than managerial methods. Training the operators and retaining them should become one of the top objectives.

5.  Compartmentalization of activities

It is very common for factories to prepare prototypes in one place, and to produce the corresponding order in another floor (or to subcontract it to a different company). But development, engineering, and production should work hand in hand.

Another problem is the young and aggressive salespeople who say ‘yes’ to all requests, in their search for new orders. In the end, customers are disappointed and look for another source.

6.  No analytical accounting

To reduce costs, it is important to know where they come from. Not only don’t most Chinese companies use analytical accounting tools, but their tax evasion tactics often deprive them of any accurate accounting!

They have no idea how much non-quality (rework, re-order of components, discounts, lost customers) costs them, for example. So why make an effort?

7.  No interest in best practices

Most factory bosses have copied the way another manufacturer — often a previous employer — was organized. To them, the way to make money is to grow up, while keeping costs down… and occasionally screwing a few customers.

They are usually not interested in running experiments or purchasing software/machinery to improve their organization. If there is one thing that makes me pessimistic about Chinese manufacturing, it is this lack of curiosity in new methods.

I guess my 7 “deadly sins” are related. But where does it start? Probably by seeing good examples and copying them. Or maybe by starting new factories from scratch, with better management?

This post originally appeared at Quality Inspection Tips.

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See Also:

• Politicians Talking About "Job Creation" Could Be The Main Impediment To Job Creation
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• Jim Rogers: Buy All The Euros You Can If Greece Defaults