Make money online
Posts Tagged ‘money’
How to attract clients: would you like to drive this?
Sunday, April 27th, 2008Would you like to drive this car? What of you had access to it from the moment you take driving lessons? Would you like to learn how to drive on such a car?
I have a client who is a driving instructor in my city and he taught me how to drive too. He would be our example of the best way to drive clients to your door as a business. He’s done it and maybe we can learn from his experience too, about how to offer our clients something that would make them COME to us and WANT to work with us.
He is a “crazy” guy, he just bought a Peugeot 307 Coupe (135 HP) and he’s using it as a “school car” for the clients who want to learn how to drive a car. And let me tell you: THEY ALL WANT TO DRIVE THIS BABY.
He started with a small car that has no value (as compared to this one). Then he got better cars and he realized that clients are picky and want more and more for their money. 6 months ago, when I took driving lessons he used a Volkswagen Passat car (a great one too) and the reason I chose him (from all the instructors he had there on all kinds of cars) was the fact I’d be able to drive such a nice car.
Sure, in the end I had to learn how to use a car in the city, but I got something more: the chance to “ride” an over 100 horse-power engine on an “almost luxurious car”. It was a blast: a good car is a pleasure to drive.
After some months that “maniac” took his business to an even greater level: got a “jewel” of a car, a coupe that looks amazing and attracts people like a magnet. I drove that “baby” and let me tell you I was in huge ecstasy. Now, he’s not teaching people how to drive (as tens of other similar firms do in my city only), he’s the ONLY one to let his students drive a convertible. Even if the car will have to suffer (it wasn’t new, it cost 13 thousand Euro, just like my new Opel Corsa, 90HP), he’ll be able to make lots of money to cover the car’s “use” and also bring way more clients to his school and secure a good profit.
What did he teach me and all of us now, since you know the story too? That in this business world thinking outside the box and offering something better and different can be the secret to success. Such a “perk” drives people to your door. It brings you recognision (you’re the “crazy” one to offer this and that) and clients who’d kill to work with you.
The only thing is to be able to understand what might make your business special and “push it”.
Do you hate working? Start your own firm!
Wednesday, March 12th, 2008
It was yesterday. I was looking again at some new blogs and scanning through the content. I don’t read, I skim (until I find something worthy of my time and then I am getting more inclined to actualy read). There was a project with an article that would encourage the readers to start their own business, if they really hated working.
What I could understand from that article was something like “Do you hate working? Start your own firm!”.
I couldn’t agree less with this statement and I consider this in the end to be a BAD REASON to start a firm. Why have I started my own firm?
- because I wanted to work more. Yeah, I was feeling like I am not reaching my true potential there and knew I can do more (more…)
You’d like to hire me as a specialist and pay me as the janitor
Tuesday, March 11th, 2008Some days ago I was approached by a friend of mine who’s also got an advertising firm. We had some small projects together and I was offered a job as a web developer in his company. I do have my own small firm, but in the end some more money won’t hurt. Right?
So we met to discuss the conditions of my ‘employment’ and of course the price I am willing to work for. As you can imagine, after 6 years of doing this web design thing, having my own 24 sites and tens of others created for my clients, plus many clients at my door to work with them, my money request wasn’t too small.
I am already a specialist in this field and he knew that. This is the reason I was approached since he knew my portfolio and he needed my services. Still, when we started chatting he realized he cannot afford “hiring” me. He was willing to pay a way lower price for me to work on the firm and I wasn’t willing to work for pennies anymore.
3 years ago I worked for a design firm. I had only 3 years of experience, I was still a so-so designer. My own network was still small (6-7 sites instead of 24 as I own now) and of course my wage couldn’t be too big). Still, in all these years my experience grew exponentialy, I have worked on so many sites it just makes me sick and you can imagine now I know my value on the market.
Here are some small conclusions I drew, maybe they’ll help others too:
1. KNOW your value and be realistic. Don’t ask for a huge salary when you know you are less experienced, don’t sell your skin for less than it’s worth though.
Sell advertising on your site: step by step!
Sunday, March 9th, 2008
Most of the sites we have are created with the purpose of offering good information (since not all of us are interested only in money making spammy sub quality sites) and in time advertising revenue. Working on a good site is a demanding task and we need to make sure that in time we are able to sustain this effort and why not get a return of that investment (money and work at the same time).
We all know about the big “money making” systems: Google Adsense, Yahoo Publisher, Text Link Ads, Linkworth, AdBrite etc. They are excellent for us to start earning revenue and before anything realizing OUR SITES CAN SELL ADVERTISING.
I think it’s at first a mental thing: we work on our sites and lack realizing that they can indeed make money. The traffic and PR can justify the investment in advertising and most important THERE ARE PEOPLE who’d buy such ad placement plans.
After we work as much as we can with such advertising companies it becomes more clear that we can sell advertising on ourselves. It’s not that difficult in the end. Let’s see then how can we start and how can we manage this:
