Many business advisors talk about the importance of "systems" and how you should use them to reduce the effort you need to achieve your business (and personal) goals.

People who you have probably heard of who talk explicitly about the importance of systems include:

• Rich Schefren (StrategicProfits.com)
• Robert Kiyosaka ("Rich Dad, Poor Dad")
• Tim Ferris ("The 4 Hour Work Week")

But someone who you may be less familiar with is Sam Carpenter.

The term "4 hour work week" has become a by-word for the ultimate in systematizing your business, based on the huge popularity of Tim Ferris's book. But Sam Carpenter claims he works only half as hard as that!

Watch this interview with Sam where he describes how he turned a 100-hour work week into a 2-hour work week....

....then go get the pdf version of his book....

http://www.workthesystem.com/

I think Sam explains the ideas better than most in terms of mind-set and  practical methods to use. I've just finished re-reading his book, and I have made a very good start on following his recommendations for documentation.

I recommend this book to my mentees as background reading and guidance for both the Visioning and Planning stages of the Internet Professionals Master Agenda.

A word of warning, however. Sam's presentation suggests that his ideas can solve just about any problem. But there are no magic bullets in life, and his ideas do have their limits.

BUT that's not a reason to ignore his approach. Personally, I find it very helpful.

 

 

Alex

 

A recent Group Session on my mentoring program coverd the Assert! stage of the Master Agenda for internet marketers.

The point of the Assert stage is to regain control of time and money.

What we focussed on in particular was gaining control of your inbox, since that can be the starting point of so much wasted time. It's not not just the time spent processing emails, but - more importantly - it's the non-relevant and time-wasting paths we get led down as a result of processing those emails.

We also covered some some simple, but very effective time management techniques. You don't need a massively complex time-management system. Having a few different strategies in place to use under different circumstances is quite enough. We covered what those were.

And finally, we covered some simple strategies for managing your purchases. I know that one of my mentees has already put that idea into practice and was totally shocked by the result. His buying patters will change for sure.

Actually, one of the techniques for purchase control is to know very clearly where you are on the Master Agenda, and that will then tell you which purchases are and are not relevent. That idea is the basis for my Laser Focus Shield product.

 

If you register for my internet marketing mentoring program (if there are places available), you will be able to access all the materials and a recording for this session.

 

Alex

Just a few hours remaining for the better-than-50% discount offer on the IM Index Mind Map, described by one user as "the most idiot-proof organizational system I've seen for organizing folders and doubling or even tripling productivity almost overnight" And another user said this: "Can't say enough nice things about Alex's product. Am raving about it...... Certainly I would rate it the most useful tool I've come across since I came online!" There's not much point in saying more here. Go read about it - and get the discount - on this page: http://IM-Index.com/sep09offer Ends at midnight tonight, Wed 30th September, Eastern time, (or when I get up in the morning!) Don't snooze! Regards Alex

If you're disorganized and you don't mind it - you are lucky (and rare!). But the majority of us disogranized slobs would much prefer to get our acts together. Doing so is an ongoing battle and requires constant vigilance and not an insignificant amount of discipline. It's a strain. And in the internet marketing world, the scope for being disorganized in how we manage our information and downloads and tasks and projects is huge. I mean REALLY BIG! Which is why the value of my IM Index Mind Map product is really SO much more than you would initially think for something that just "helps you get organized". I know from my own experience (I use it extensively throughout my working day) and from many customers that it creates a peace of mind that certainly passes my understanding! Don't get me wrong - I'm not a super-efficient, super-organized whizz (ask my wife!), but without my IM Index Mind Map I would be totally lost amongst the gigabytes of "stuff" and the multiple projects I have to juggle with each day. Which brings me to "Organizational Peace Of Mind" and the 50% Discount. I've been running a September Special Offer which (check your calendar!) has not much more than 24 hours to go at the time of writing this. Till the end of September (Wed midnight Eastern Time), you can get the IM Index Mind Map for just $37 instead of the normal $77. The link to go to is this - which also explains the reason for the Offer... http://im-index.com/sep09offer Do take advantage of this. Regards

Time sensitive - essential tool available Free - TODAY ONLY - 24 May 2009. I don't do that much promotion of other people's products, but here is one of the exceptions. John Delavera's new Delavo. I could the say that the big attraction is that it's free - but that would be misleading. The big attraction is that it constitues a major piece of software that everyone involved in internet sales needs - an ecommerce platform. Specifically, a tool for managing sales, membership site subscriptions and affiliates. You're going to need something like that sooner or later. And you are going to need to use the most feature-rich tool you can afford because, as your business grows, so will your needs. Even though it's free (TODAY ONLY!) Delavo is as feature-rich as you'll need - for now. But you'll also have the option to purchase enhancements as you need them. So this really is an opportunity not to be missed. I expect to be upgrading from my current JV Manager 1 tool (also created by John) to Delavo over time for exactly those reasons. I'll not say more about Delavo here, but strongly encourage you to get it NOW. You need to register on John's list immediately in order to get it because at some time today, this opportunity will disappear. Get eCommerce Tool for FREE There are other things John is selling at the same time - of course - with the same deadline that may or may not be relevant to you, but I'll mention briefly because there a connection with me. 1. Turbo Membership with huge bonuses You can join John's Turbo Membership and get a huge collection of bonuses. Check what's on offer. Despite what John would like to believe, his membership is NOT suitable for everyone. But there is so much on offer, it's quite likely you'll find enough that's relevant to your operation to make it very good value. I should also mention the link between Turbo Membership and the IM Index. John provides his Turbo Members with a DAO Installer each month that contains his core products. This allows IM Index Mind Map owners to download and install those products automatically into the correct locations in their IM Index Mind Map - AND creates a log of what was stored where. If you've ever been a member of a site that provides large quantities of content to be downloaded each month, you'll understand how valuable that is! (P.S. For now at least, I'm the person who creates those DAO Installers, so you can be sure everything is being organized correctly!) 2. Delaverian Marketing Course John also has, what he believes to be, a revolutionary new course coming in June (delayed for various reasons). As a Turbo Member, you'll get 50% discount off of that. I know nothing about that, so I cannot comment on it, other than to say that John is a very smart person and you should expect something out of the ordinary. (Mark Joyner has given John an endorsement, which should count for something!) But whatever you do - get on the list to get Delavo for free! Get eCommerce Tool for FREE Alex

Here's a quick summary of why this article is important to you...

You can get a FREE copy of what is likely to be one of the best and most expandable sales and affiliate eCommerce tools available - provided you act before 9am EST on Tuesday 19th (that's AM not PM!)

Here's the full story.... Master marketer, John Delavera, is celebrating his birthday, as usual, with a major launch. But not content with one launch, he's doing three things at once. Sort of. The trouble is, I think he's confused the hell out of many prospects with his sales site - and the delays have not helped. Nevertheless, when you peel away the confusion, there's some real gold underneath! Here is my understanding of what is going on: 1. Delavo eCommerce for FREE. The launch of John's Delavo eCommerce product is delayed by a day or so. This gives you the chance to get it for FREE provided you register on his notification list BEFORE 9am EST on Tuesday 19th. So even if you do nothing else, get yourself on that list right away, and get hold of that product. It's more advanced than JV Manager (what I currently use), but not as advanced as the very expensive Fantasos (but it could be as advanced.... You'll need to go read about it to understand.) But take it from me - this is one free download that really does have high value and worth taking the time to make use of. I will be upgrading to it, for sure. Click on the graphic under the girl in the t-shirt on this page: http://aa-01.com/delavo 2. Turbo Membership with huge bonuses Next. You can join John's Turbo Membership and get a huge collection of bonuses - provided you join before 24th May. Check what's on offer. Despite what John would like to believe, his membership is NOT suitable for everyone. But there is so much on offer, it's quite likely you'll find enough that's relevant to your operation to make it very good value. I should also mention the link between Turbo Membership and the IM Index. John provides his Turbo Members with a DAO Installer each month that contains his core products. This allows IM Index Mind Map owners to download and install those products automatically into the correct locations in their IM Index Mind Map - AND creates a log of what was stored where. If you've ever been a member of a site that provides large quantities of content to be downloaded each month, you'll understand how valuable that is! (P.S. For now at least, I'm the person who creates those DAO Installers, so you can be sure everything is being organized correctly!) 3. Delaverian Marketing Course Finally, John also has, what he believes to be, a revolutionary new course coming in June (delayed for various reasons). As a Turbo Member, you'll get 50% discount off of that. I know nothing about that, so I cannot comment on it. I hope that makes everything a bit clearer. Remember, at the very least, get on the notification list to get free access to the Delavo eCommerce tool. http://aa-01.com/delavo Alex

Many fortunes have been made selling business blueprints on how to make money through internet marketing. I know, because I have personally contributed to those fortunes! But I have a big problem with these business blueprints. In fact, I have many issues with business blueprints. Here is just ONE of them. The whole marketing approach for selling a business blueprint is to convince the site visitor that "this is THE fastest, easiest way to make money: no-one in their right minds would do anything different". Of course, that's what the person promoting the product is supposed to do. I don't expect them to have an impartial, dispationate viewpoint. But the fact is - it's their job to keep your mind closed and to stop you thinking for yourself! The very LAST thing they want is for you to look at the bigger picture and examine all the options available to you. Whereas, that is, in fact, the very FIRST thing that you DO need to do! There are many, many ways to make an income online, and it's just foolish to jump into anything without really examining your options. Sure, it's great to have a "take action!" attitude and we all understand about the dangers of paralysis by analysis. But too many people jump in, take action, then decide against it, then take other action, then decide against that, and on and on. So step back and understand the bigger picture. Examine all the ways to make an online income and then match them to what YOU are capable of, what YOU are interested in. It's important to NOT be suckered in by a slick sales pitch that fulfills someone else's agenda, but to define and stick to YOUR agenda. And when you look at the options available to you, be creative! By which, I don't just mean "look at many niches". "Niche marketing" itself is just ONE approach to making money online. Affiliate marketing, PPC, Adsense, blogging, product development, eBay, .... the list of options is huge, and actually it's much bigger than you probably realise. In the rather introverted, self-referential world of "internet marketing", we are constantly having the same few ideas re-cyled and re-hashed. Just look around the Web and see what's going on from a businessperson's perspective, and you'll begin to see many new ideas that aren't on the radar for most people. So, my advice is to take a step back, and:

• Understand the context - all the options available to you
• Understand yourself - you goals, abilities, strengths, weaknesses
• ... then put them together and choose your path carefully!

I hope that's helpful. This is one of themes that I'll be expanding on in a forthcoming service / site about being an "online professional". If this topic interests you, please register here to stay informed of how our ideas develop. (You won't get lots of extraneous promotions by doing this, so please make sure you use your primary email address!)

Also, I Twitter a lot! Follow me there: http://AlexGoodall.com/twitter

The question: What is stopping you from creating and operating a profitable internet marketing business? A deceptively simple question - but the the answer could be transforming to your business if you are honest enough with yourself, and act on the answer! I have some ideas about what the most common answer will be - but rather than presume and assume, I'd like to ask and inquire!

If this topic interests you, please register here to stay informed of how our ideas develop. (You won't get lots of extraneous promotions by doing this, so please make sure you use your primary email address!)

This last week I had some exchanges with two subscribers, and without any prompting from me, they revealed that their biggest issues was.... Not traffic... Not lack of know-how... Not product development... Not social marketing... Not traffic conversions; not tracking; not launching a product; not website design ... not ANY of the things about which we all get promoted to multiple times a day. And it wasn't even "how to organize my hard drive"!! No. The common theme was FOCUS. Just sticking to one thing and seeing it through to completion: that was what these two subscribers found the hardest. Now, you probably know that I've already identified this as a huge problem for just about every internet marketer, and I created a small, low-cost product to help in this area - the Laser-Focus Shield But it's clear that the problem is far too big to be solved by a single, small product. In fact, Focus is just one of a range of related issues that can't be picked out and solved in isolation. I've spent some hours sketching out my ideas on this, and I have some (in my opinion) very exciting options. But before saying anything about them, I'd really like to hear from YOU. Put aside issues around traffic and conversion and product development and so on. Just focussing on strategy and planning and operations - what are YOUR biggest issues? Please post your answers below. Here are the sort of things to think about:

• Defining your personal goals
• Defining your business goals
• Deciding on a business model
• Learning new skills
• Building a team
• Finding a "master mind" group
• Not having anyone to be accountable to
• Feeling isolated
• Having to do everything yourself
• Not being able to collaborate online (e.g. in a shared team space)
• Not having a mentor
• Having no deadlines
• Having no-one to brainstorm with / bounce ideas off
• Not being able to create a project plan
• Perfectionism
• Time management
• Distractions from email etc.
• Staying focussed on one project
• Having a disorganized filing system
• anything else!!

So - give me your thoughts on this below: tell me your top THREE issues - either from those above, or anything else. I am VERY interested in what you have to say. (But please - DON'T put down "finding JV partners", "getting traffic", "finding a niche" etc. : you can get information about that in many different places.) Regards Alex

If this topic interests you, please register here to stay informed of how our ideas develop. (You won't get lots of extraneous promotions by doing this, so please make sure you use your primary email address!)

I've just spent a whole day downloading "free stuff" from one of those "Giveaways". Free? Absolutely not! If you factor in the value of my time, those downloads were pretty expensive. Now comes the burning question? What am I going to do with it? Well, in the immediate future - nothing - but I will want to go back later and use some of the content. But the reality is... It's 99% certain I will never use any of that content, and I will have wasted a complete day... because I'll never be able to find it again!

"But Alex - you've got the IM Index Mind Map! Why don't you file it all away in the right places so you'll be able to access it again?"

The truth? I've spend a day downloaing that stuff (and fighting off One Time Offers, and list sign-ups and confirmation page sales pitches etc.etc.), and I really don't want to double the cost of those downloads by spending another day sorting it all out. Actually - I went through that exercise as an experiment: and it was a very successful experiement. I've proved to myself without a shadow of a doubt that the only way to bring sanity into the crazy world of IM downloads is for people to use DAO Installers! By downloading and running 34 DAO Installers (one from each supplier), I would have completed all my downloading in 2-3 hours AND have everything filed away with a record of the location of every file. Compare that with 2 days' work and a dead brain at the end of it! We NEED DAO Installers! So I guess I should stop writing and continue developing! Regards Alex

If you've ever been frustrated about the time it takes to file away the information you download from the internet - even assuming you HAVE a half-decent organizational system - you need to watch these videos!

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I thought I'd solved the organizational problem for Internet Marketers when I created my flagship product - the IM Index Mind Map .
Certainly it solves, once and for all, the problem of how to organize internet marketing downloads on your hard drive. Really, it does! Check it out if you doubt me.
BUT - it doesn't solve the problem of people being too busy to even use it!
That's why I'm developing the idea of DAO Installers ("Download And Organize" Installers) Tell me what you think of this. Please add your comments to this post. Thanks for your interest. By the way: in the video I mentioned John Delavera's Turbo Membership site. I highly recommend you checking that out.
Regards Alex Goodall