I am so impressed with the innovators of this world.  People have taken the frown of a down economy and turned it upside down with some fantastic ideas.  Their ideas are saving bundles of money and helping small time or new writers hang with the big boys.  One such idea is a blog tour.

As an author, I have learned that starting out is tough.  When no one knows who you are, you don’t sell books.  On top of that, I can tell everyone how great of a writer I am, but why should they believe me?  In fact if I am so great, why aren’t other people telling you how great I am?  Self promoters are a dime a dozen these days and through avenues likes Twitter and Facebook, they are well…annoying.

As I was working a deal for my new site, I noticed this writer was going on a blog tour.  That sounded awesome, and I wanted more details.  I was floored with what she said.

A blog tour is the Internet version of a book tour.  Instead of paying thousands to run around the country and promote your book, bloggers do it for you.  People are spending more and more time on the Internet these days and usually frequent a few blogs for entertainment, news or even inspiration.  Blog tours take advantage of this.

The host or a writer for that site does a book review, interview and some even host videos about the book or its content.  These writers know the language of the daily traffic that comes through there and relate the book to them.  More importantly, these are the writers that readers know and trust.  They are giving their endorsement, not you giving yourself an endorsement.  Then naturally, there is information on where to buy the book.  Some bloggers just want the content and free book; others ask for a commission.

Writers have tour dates where the post will go to each site.  Writers can tour the world in their pajamas with the only cost being the books for the sites to review.

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When you’re starting a new venture or even a new website you have to create a brand.  This is how your customers will know you and why they’ll come to you over your competition.  Most people look at branding as if it’s a game of bowling, but it’s really more like a round of darts.

What do I mean by a game of bowling?  We start our new business by trying to reach as many customers as we can and trying to please everyone.  It is like we are trying to knock down all of the pins.  The problem with this is that this takes an intense amount of focus.  In reality, you are trying to target ten different markets at one time, and none really know exactly what you are really about.

When I started my writing career, I launched a website www.inspiretomorrow.com to help my readers grow spiritually, mentally and physically.  I wrote on every single topic that I could and learned a lot.  However, it took me a couple of years to build enough content to drive any real traffic.  If I had been depending on making a profit, I would have went under in the first six months.

I decided this was not the path I originally set out on and wanted to revamp the site.  It was not an easy decision to give up on the 7,000-9,000 hits I received each month.  What did make the decision easier is that I did not have a dedicated following just a bunch of Google hits.

Instead, I got out the old dart board and pinpointed my target.  I aimed, and we will see if the dart hit the right number with my new design and branding.  I decided to focus on one audience, Christians.  The site was totally revamped to hit this one market and my one true passion.

So far, I’m optimistic.  With zero advertising, I already have hits from three continents and 13 dedicated viewers in just one week.  Once I officially launch, I am expecting to grow very quickly not because of me, rather the focus.

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Before we even start, let me be clear about this one thing: the earthquake in Haiti and the resulting devastation was a terrible, terrible thing. We Americans, individually and collectively, should do what we can to help the people of Haiti recover from this disaster. I am not in the Rush Limbaugh, “Let ‘em take care of themselves” camp.

Having said that, this is a business blog, not a humanitarian aid blog or a general current events blog. So, it is appropriate that we take a look at the long term impact that this disaster may have on business, divorced from the tragedy itself.

In the short term, there are a few companies and industries that will benefit from the devastation of a small island nation within spitting distance of US airspace.  The same old, big players who rush to the rescue, to the benefit of both the victims and the company’s bottom line.  They know who they are.

A less obvious, longer term impact on the US economy will be the certain influx of many thousands of Haitians to the United States.  There will be a sudden and pronounced increase in the pool of unskilled and unemployed workers, which already is pushing maximum capacity.  Southern states, Florida in particular, are likely to be hit the hardest by the influx of Haitian immigrants.

While that’s good news for citrus farmers and housekeeping services, it’s not so great for those currently looking for a job or those workers in unskilled jobs fighting to cling to their current position.  There is a very real possibility of a flood of immigrants so extreme that it overwhelms the capacity of some municipalities to deliver services to those in need.

The writing is on the wall.  The influx is coming.  The question remains: how can you position yourself or your business to profit, or at least not suffer, from the coming events?  By proactively considering the impact that this disaster will have in your area, you can put yourself in the best possible place to reap the rewards of looking ahead and being prepared.

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Just the other night, Chris Hubinsky, my friend and co-founder of H&L Ventures, and I laid out our first quarter stock investments.  I wanted to share our stocks and re-iterate our investment strategy.  Also, I am going to talk about a stock from our last strategy meeting.

We started this very small investment company in January of 2007.  H&L Ventures, Ltd. has been blessed with a 20% profit margin in the first two years.  We believe the credit can be awarded to our strategy, “free money”.  The majority of stock we purchase is high dividend yielding stocks or giant corporations.  We chase after companies with dividends because not only do we have shares in their company, they are giving us free money.

Dividend investing is when you re-distribute the funds for more stock.  So, instead of collecting a check for dividend payouts, we buy more shares, which means more dividends on the next payout.  We aim for companies with 3% yield or higher.

One such stock was (HTE) Harvest Energy Trust.  This was an energy investing company who paid monthly dividends over 3%.  Most dividend paying companies only do so quarterly.  Not only did we get dividends and more stocks, but this stock more than doubled at a rate of 230%!  Recently, they were bought out for $10 (Canadian) per share and we got $9.46 a share.  All those who listened to me last year enjoyed the profits.

This time around we decided to go after a high dividend stock.  This is Frontier Communications (FTR) with a 13% yield paid quarterly.  For those having trouble grasping this, the Law of 72 has you divide 72 by the yield.  The result is how many years it would take to double your initial investment as long as dividends are redistributed.  Every 5.5 years this investment will double.  Not too bad considering most companies have yields below 3%, which would take at least 24 years to double.

Naturally, we jumped on this stock.  I suspect the yield is high because they just started paying dividends in 2008, and they will not remain this high.  However, we couldn’t pass this one up and sleep at night.  Can you?

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There’s an old adage that says when life hands you lemons, you should make lemonade. Well, the current job market is a bunch of lemons, if I’ve ever seen one.  But if you plan carefully and take a long term view, you can position yourself to come out of this better off than your competitors.

If you’ve got a job, hold onto it.  For nearly every skill set and every industry, this is not a good time to be looking for a new job.  There’s virtually no one doing any hiring, and those few that are looking are being swamped with qualified, unemployed, and desperate prospects.  It’s hard to compete when you’ve got a position in your back pocket.

If you’ve got a reasonable gig right now, you may do well to stay put and put your job hunting energies to another direction.  You may, dare I suggest, put that effort into doing your current job really well.  You may be shocked to find that by the time the economy crawls back up out of the toilet, you will have moved up with your current employer.

Another possible use for that time and energy that you previously spent looking for a better job is advancing your education.  Whether it’s an Associate’s, Bachelor’s, Master’s, Doctorate – whatever the next step is in your educational path - if you are in position to go on to get a higher degree, now is the time.  There are a lot of options, including night, weekend, and online classes that make it easier and more convenient (although not cheaper) to get a degree than ever before.

The bottom line is that those of us who don’t NEED a new job right now (even if you WANT one) probably won’t be getting one any time soon.  So, why not take a long range view and spend the next year or so positioning yourself to be ready when the job market picks back up?

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I recently was reading an article by one of my favorite authors, Mike Holmes, about how the Bible is needed in the business world today.  His article got me thinking about the universal applications of the Christian message.

Mike wrote about how doing business wrong has no long term sustainability.  Those doing business wrong eventually get discovered and have to pay the cost.  They are going to prison and paying major fines.  Careers are being squashed, and company reputations are smeared.

The Bible teaches wisdom on how to associate with others, such as the popular Golden Rule.  There are many other verses and parables about relationships with others.  Teachings are not only about love but also about dealing with other business people.  For example, Proverbs 27:12 states the wise sees the evil in others and avoids them and those who don’t pay the penalty.  Had that warning from King Solomon been listened to there would be much less economic turmoil.

There are values of hard work highlighted, like Proverbs 6:6-8.  This verse talks about modeling our work ethics after the ant.  The ant labors during the good times to prepare for the bad.  We have seasons of prosperity and then blow it, thinking they will never end.  When the tide rolls out, we are stuck with nothing.

Proverbs 27:23 gives us some advice on our workforce.  We are told to know the face of our flocks and to tend to our herds.  We need to get to know our employees and learn their needs.  If their needs are not being met, they will seek to have them met elsewhere.  They might steal or gossip to others running your name into the ground.

Obviously, the book of Proverbs is my favorite when discussing the business world.  That is because the author, King Solomon, was considered the richest and wisest man ever.  He built massive fortune for the nation of Israel because of his wise ways.  Even those who are not believers would benefit from reading this book of the Bible.  You will be amazed at how implementing some age old wisdom could transform your company.

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In my past four articles, I have honed in a concept I created called the learning process. It is a system designed around five parts that most people experience when learning something new. The first three of struggle, capable and comfortable are the most common for any skill you are currently performing.

Complacency is the fourth stage that many people experience when they are “too comfortable.” This is combated with paying more attention to the details. The last stage is one that most people will not achieve. It is reserved for the most dedicated of pupils. It is the mastery stage.

Masters have gone through the first three and possibly (but not necessarily) the fourth stages and have thrived. These are the people who have seen it all and are able to do the process blind-folded. The masters are often the people who create the systems you learned from and designed the equipment or process. Books quote them and people in the sport or science know who they are and listen when they speak.

To achieve this level you have to have experienced the skill from multiple areas. Maybe you were a teacher or leader of many people performing the task. To get here you have to be a student of the task. You need to research all the methods. You need to be able to talk people through these methods.

Mastery is doing the same thing many times until you are as close to perfect as humanly possible. Pro athletes are masters of their sport. CEOs are masters of their trade. They didn’t just learn how to do something and relax in the comfortable zone. These experts pushed the game to the next level and continued refining the skill.

They are necessary to evolve the skill or task and pass it on to the next generation. Michael Jordan revolutionized the way kids look at basketball. The same thing goes for Tiger Woods and Lance Armstrong. Professors at leading universities discover new research, and new sciences are formed overnight.

Masters aren’t practitioners in the field, they are tomorrow’s pioneers.

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Technology is ever evolving. But as technology changes, we are changing, too. Every aspect of our lives is being modified to keep pace with the changes in technology.  There have been a number of reports recently suggesting that companies are checking up on potential employees by Googling them.  More than a few candidates have been rejected based on incriminating photographs posted on their Facebook pages.

It seems that the evolution of technology has gone where the younger generation thought it would never go: their parents’ generation.  HR Managers have caught on to the fact that the twenty somethings they’re interviewing are irrevocably intertwined with the online world, so why not hit ‘em where they live?  ”Passed the drug test.  Passed the typing test.  Good handshake.  Friendly demeanor.  Did well in the interview.  But what’s this?  A picture of her topless licking tequila off a Chippendale dancer’s navel?  Next!”

But your web presence doesn’t have to be a negative. A company called BFG Communications recently hired a candidate based on a single tweet.  For those readers over forty, a tweet is a post of 140 characters or less on a web service called Twitter.  For more information on Twitter, go ask a twelve year old.

To be fair, the position BFG needed to fill was a social networking job.  But still, if they based their decision on a 140 word tweet, other companies will follow suit.  It won’t be long before resumes –  you know, the kind printed on paper – will be a distant memory.  Only the old fogies would consider using Snail Mail to deliver a sliver of a dead tree with ink on it to a potential employer when a tweet sent from the Lady GaGa concert (go ask a twelve year old) via the cell phone will do the trick.

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This week I am going to dive into part four of a concept I created called the Learning Phase.  This is part four of the five part series, and this one covers complacency.  The first three phases of struggle, capable and comfortable are required to gain a new skill or learn a new task; this one is not required.

Complacency is more of a pitfall in the road to learning.  However, it can be a great teacher, too.  Quick review.  We struggle to learn a new task and are clueless.  Then we become capable and still need to have our hand held. Then finally we are comfortable and can do a task on our own with very few problems.

This comfortable feeling is what leads to the complacent behavior.  We get the feeling that we can do the task with our eyes closed, and sometimes we even give it a try.  Remember when you first learned to drive.  You got your license and maintained the ten and two death grip on the wheel.  Every time a car entered your radar, you straightened your posture and focused big time.

After awhile you got used to other cars and were comfortable on the road.  You even were not scared to drive closer than the three car lengths behind anymore.  Why should you?  Nothing has ever happened yet.  Then one day while you are changing the song on your iPod…CRASH! Right into the back of another.  You got complacent.

This is so easy to do, especially when you are good or think you’re good at a task.  You take away your inner coach telling you the steps to do and start to bend the rules.  Something I find amazing is that the true greats in each field are the ones who continue to develop the basics.  Have you ever seen a racecar driver driving with one hand or changing the tunes during a race?

We need to do the task to the same standard each time while mastering the basics.  When we master them, we actually do them faster and more efficiently.

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Commercials used to be a very cost effective and measurable way for businesses to get their messages out to consumers. Thanks to tracking systems such as the Nielsen ratings, advertisers could tailor their message to their specific target market watching certain programs and then measure the results in terms of eyeballs (and ultimately sales).

But things have changed recently.  The introduction of the Digital Video Recorder (DVR) has completely rewritten the rules of engagement for television advertising.  It used to be that advertisers could count on the bulk of viewers to sit through the commercials, with allowances for bathroom breaks, kitchen runs, and channel flipping.  Not anymore.  Now more and more viewers are DVRing the programs and watching them later, sans commercials.  Now advertisers are not only losing eyeballs, they can’t even accurately track how many.

A few bold advertisers have moved forward into this brave new world by jumping back to the past.  Product placement has snuck in here and there.  An episode of The Office prominently mentioned a product on sale at Staples.  Smallville featured Stride gum prominently in one episode.

But the use of product placement has not, as of yet, caught on.  There are several likely suspects in the lack of implementation.  The fear of negative feedback, actual negative feedback, and resistance from show runners afraid of losing artistic credibility are all possible reasons to keep product placement out.  But I think there is a more likely culprit: syndication.

Product placement would forever tie the program to the advertiser, limiting the marketability of the show for later syndication and tipping the balance of power away from the Hollywood elite and toward big business.  Syndication is big money for the TV studios: high reward, low risk money.  That isn’t something that they are likely to give up without a fight.

So while the obvious solution sits on the shelf, the turf war rages on.  Meanwhile we, the people, ignore the commercials and fast forward to the good stuff.

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