Someone asked me what my resolutions are for this year. I didn’t have any - at least not the traditional ones (such as “go on a diet”, “start exercising”, etc.). Sure, I want to get into better shape and I want to be healthier this upcoming year - but I didn’t think I would get in shape by making a resolution to “get in shape”. I’ve seen too many resolutions go unresolved from past years - my own, and others’.

So, I determined that specific resolutions won’t necessarily help me - what I really need is to change the way I approach my goals throughout the year. As a result, what I’m doing isn’t really a specific resolution - what it is, is an attempt to change my attitude and way of thinking as well as my way of approaching things throughout the year. I think I can benefit most by taking measures to not procrastinate when I decide that I want or need to do something during this upcoming year.

First, I am going to order a pinup calendar. (Yes, this is going to improve 2009 and I’ll explain why.) It doesn’t really matter what kind of calendar I use actually, but I am a vintage (1930s-1960s) pin-up buff and I admire the artwork of some of the old-timers like Gil Elvgren and especially the Louisiana-born pin-up artist George Petty. So I’ll probably get this 2009 Wall Calendar or this 2009 Mini Wall Calendar.

Second, I am going to write down at least twelve things must do in 2009. I have a few already, but I want to spread some do-able goals through the whole year. Some are easy while others are a bit more challenging. For instance, I have one goal which is simply “finish installing flooring” because I have a half-finished job to do in my house. Not too hard, really. But it’s a goal - and I want to set a date for it and mark it on my calendar. However I have another goal which will require a bit more discipline, planning, and time - “Pay off credit card”. This goal is set for the end of 2009, and there are smaller steps (sub-goals) that lead up to it. Another large goal I have is to send a book manuscript to an an agent, because I wrote a book and never quite did anything with it. So, for each of the things I really want to accomplish or I have thus far procrastinated on doing - I will put them on the list along with dates on which they must be complete.

Third, I will go through the calendar and mark the calendar dates of each goal. If I get the mini calendar, I will probably have to write small. But it won’t matter too much since I know what my goals are for the year. If I get the larger wall calendar, I can write each goal a bit larger.

Fourth, I will place the calendar where I will see it daily. I want to be reminded of my goals, often. So I will probably hang the calendar somewhere where I do work daily - or above the coffee-maker. I haven’t decided yet. But I want to see the date on the calendar each and every day, so I can see the pinup and so I can read my goal and know what must be done by which date during that month.

Fifth, I will set reminders on my phone to pop up throughout the year. Since we have so many tools at our disposal in this ago of technology, why not use them? The calendar is one that I can glance at and use as a daily reminder, but for it to be more effective I am setting a few reminders to pop up on my cell phone. All these are for is to remind me of the goals on my calendar. My Razr can be set with alarms or reminders, so I can use this feature to “annoy” myself and prevent myself from forgetting the upcoming things that must be finished.

So, while I’m not classifying any of my goals as a “resolution”, maybe they are. But resolutions often fail - and I don’t want that, so I refuse to use the word “resolution”. Whatever you wanna call my system - the Pinup Calendar System, the Incremental Resolution Reminder System, the DIY Dollars Goal System - it doesn’t matter too much to me. As long as it stops procrastination from stopping me in 2009.

Now, excuse me - I have a calendar to order from Amazon.

Update - Instead, I ended up getting a very cool blues calendar…check it out…

If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time (the first post is from April ‘07), you realize that my main topic has been making money online. I’ve written about a few other subjects, and some posts have been more closely tied to the subject of money-making than other posts. So you shouldn’t be surprised that today’s post might appear to be a major departure from the subject of accumulating money - but in fact it might be one of the most important posts to ever appear on this site.

Not many weeks ago, I read a little book that impressed me greatly - which means a lot, since I’m a book addict. The good ones tend to stick out, and this one was good - it’s called The Top 10 Distinctions Between Millionaires and the Middle Class. It took me a couple of hours (tops) to read, cover-to-cover. It’s a brief, simple book and was written by what appears to be a simple but good man - who happens to be a millionaire.

If you were to distill this book down to it’s vital pieces, it would end up being a ten-point list. I won’t get into all ten points here (that’s for another day), but there is one particular point he makes in his book that applies now more than ever. It is one of the most glaring distinctions between “those who never make much money” and “those who enjoy significant gains in wealth” and it might sound counter-intuitive…but it apparently is a cornerstone of not only gaining wealth but of good karma. It’s simple: giving to others. To use the author’s words…

“Millionaires believe they must be generous.”

Now, my question is: What do you believe?

Do you believe in generosity? Do you have the same millionaire belief about giving? Or…are you a real-life, actual Scrooge? Seriously. What are you, and what do practice? Because if you want to become a millionaire…you should do what the millionaires do.

Now… let me tell you a story.

There was a little boy, and he liked to play. Just like any four year old, he loved his mommy and daddy and he even loved his brothers and sisters - all five of them! Because he had a good family, life was full of learning and fun and happiness and love. And the little boy was full of laughter.

But one day the mommy and daddy noticed something unusual about the little boy. Their son wasn’t acting like himself - he wasn’t the happy little man he usually was. He wasn’t laughing as much as he used to.

“It looks like he’s got a bad sinus infection,” they thought, like most parents would think. But the little boy had something far more serious than a sinus infection. They soon brought him to the hospital to see a doctor.

The doctors knew they had to test the Little boy, Kendrick, and find out exactly what type of illness he had. They performed a CAT scan. When they got the results, the doctors flew him to Cook’s Children’s Hospital in Texas. The doctors at that hospital subjected Kendrick to more tests. They performed an MRI. Then, they performed surgery.

Allen, Alicia, and Kendrick Little

Kendrick Little, the little boy, was very ill. The doctors - some of the very best at what they do - found (and removed most of) something called an Intrinsic Brain Stem High-grade Glioma. It’s a very serious cancer of the brain stem, and in Kendrick’s case it was graded at a 3 or 4 on a scale of 1-4.

These doctors say that Kendrick has about a year to live.

This is where my story ends, for the moment. And there’s something I didn’t tell you: Kendrick is now five years old. He just had his birthday. In the hospital.

Kendrick with Santa - Cook Children's Hospital

So, dear reader, you may be asking a question like: “Why did Shawn share the story of Kendrick Little on this blog?” or “Why isn’t this article about online marketing or making money?” or “Why did this guy write such a sad story that made me cry?”

The answers (in order) are: 1) Kendrick’s dad, Allen Little, is a friend of mine - and I care about this family deeply. 2) This article is actually about the concept of giving, which does relate to the theme of this blog. 3) And I wrote a story that I can only hope made someone cry…so they react - and give some money to the Little family. Yes, I know I tried to manipulate you and pull at your heart strings. But I am serious about giving to them, because they have a serious financial need right now.

I am so serious in fact, that I am going to start off what I hope is a trend of giving by sending the family a certain amount of money via PayPal, tonight. I won’t tell you readers exactly how much - except to say I was planning on buying an Xbox 360. But I figure that since the dad hasn’t been able to work for a few weeks, and his kids deserve a good Christmas, I’d like to give them that money. And I plan to give another chunk of change to them after Christmas, as well. (So there goes the Rock Band 2 package I was planning to get.)

I’ve known Allen Little for years, and he is one of the most giving people I’ve ever met. So I don’t feel bad at all about giving to him, his family, and especially little Kendrick. In fact, I feel honored to be able to do it. I believe I should be generous, in fact. And I hope you do, too.

If you want to give to them, I have set up a donation button linked to Allen & Alicia Little’s PayPal account. If you give to them it goes right to their account. They will receive it and be able to spend it on the things they can’t afford right now. I’m sure they will be thankful and surprised! (And BTW - no, they did not ask me to do this.)

Let’s make it a little merrier of a Christmas than what it would otherwise be…just click the button below.

If you want to read more about Kendrick Little, or if you want to send the Little family your regards or Holiday wishes, here are the two places to do so…

Kendrick Little CarePage (at Cook Children’s Hospital)
Kendrick Little Facebook Group

Oh…and back to the premise with which I started this post: yes, the book is excellent and most millionaires put a priority on giving. And who knows, maybe what goes around comes around. But generosity is a good thing to practice whether it makes you a millionaire or not. So do what the millionaires do - and give to others.

How to Buy a Website

If you’re an online entrepreneur, you might realize that you need multiple streams of income to significantly make money online. Just like having multiple hooks in the water increases your chances of catching something when fishing, having multiple websites increases your chances of making some money via the internet.

This blog is but one of many online ventures I have, and it basically relies on AdSense to make a few bucks each month. But it’s not a real money-maker. I have a few sites that are far uglier and far less interesting…but far more profitable. In fact, I would never sell them or the domain names - because they are established money-makers for me.

Which brings me to today’s topic. What if I bought other people’s websites in order to increase my online portfolio? There are some interesting reasons for doing so…

• The owner might not have time to maintain his site
• The site might be one of many sites the owner has, and he wants to clean house
• The site might not have been profitable for the owner
• The owner might have simply grown tired of keeping up with the site
• The owner might have moved on to other vertical markets (niches) and wants to sell off certain sites
• The owner might have tried making money with the site, but simply didn’t know how

There are many possible reasons why someone might sell their web site - just like with any business. Your job, as the prospective buyer, is to buy smart and buy something that can make you money. You might not know how to get there though…so here are some things to ask when considering purchasing someone else’s website…

Why are they selling?

This is the first thing you need to find out. What reason do they have for trying to dump a website onto the market? Is there something wrong with the site? Or, is there something else going on with the site owner? It can make a huge difference in how you bargain for the site when you are discussing the price with the owner. If they need to sell due to some outside factor, they might be a “motivated seller” and you might get a great deal. Or, they might have created the site solely with the goal of selling - and you are being set up! Another possible reason they might be selling is that they were doing some unethical promotional techniques for their site, and got de-indexed by Google. (Awwww…boo-hoo!) There are all sorts of possibilities - in your favor or against you - so you must find out why they want to sell and what is prompting them to put their site on the market. Be wary of the “profitable, established” sites for sale on eBay. Be wary of people who are asking ridiculous pricess for a “so-so” website. Why are they selling…and how did they arrive at their asking price? Find out. (The value of a site is only what a buyer is willing to pay, by the way…there is no formula for calculating a site’s intrinsic price value.)

What is the state of the site?

This ties into my last point, in that you must investigate the site’s state of health before even considering a purchase. Whether the site is indexed or not is one issue. Also, you’ll want to find out how the site ranks for it’s main keywords - is it in the top 10 or 20 results, or is it off the radar for Google searchers? What does the traffic look like for this site, and how long have the numbers held up? I would personally ask to see their server stats as well as their Google Analytics or StatCounter numbers. (Preferably I would want access to log in and look for myself, but most people are gonna want to send you screen shots probably.) Hey, if you’re going to pay them money - perhaps a lot of money - for a property, you need to have access to look around first. It’s only reasonable. You should also check the PageRank, the backlinks, and if the site sells something you should get the stats on their sales. You should look at the age of the site. How long has it been around? Look at the archives of the site. How long has it looked the way it does? Oh…and look at the actual coding of the site too - is it sloppy, or well-coded? These things matter to a smart buyer.

What is the ROI for the site?

You’re not in this business because it feels good or because it’s helping change the world. You’re trying to make some cash. If you’re an affiliate marketer like me, you might sell everything from stupid blankets that people wear like Jedi robes (have you seen these hideous things?) to cell phones for the elderly (named after a dance they used to do back in the olden times) to other stuff you might actually be interested in yourself. I sell web hosting, domain registration, vintage pin-up images, SEO software, ummm…”plant seeds”, baby and toddler clothing, trendy t-shirts (you know, like da college kids wear), books, DVDs…you name it, I’ve probably tried selling it via an affiliate program at least. But all I’ve ever cared about is pretty much one thing: is this campaign or site or product converting? And, how much money am I making? For the things that are profitable, I keep ‘em. For things that are dead - I abandon them, and if a domain name is involved I turn off automatic renewal and let it expire (in most cases). I believe every site should pay for itself, and if that means I make a measly few bucks with AdSense and that’s all…well, fine. But I want to know how much a site makes. If it’s ZERO, it’s worthless. So…I said all that so you make sure and find out how much money the site will pay you. You don’t necessarily have to get rich off the site, but you should see a return on your investment within a reasonable amount of time. So let’s say the seller wants $1200 for their site, and the site sells propeller beanies for $10 each. You look at their sales records, and see that they sell an average of ten per month. The numbers are consistent, and there have been two years of records. Based on those numbers, you can feel pretty confident you’ll pay for the site in a year, and then it’s all profit. Make sense? You need to see the ROI and know how long it’s gonna take to pay for the site.

Now, some final website-buying advice. If you find an acceptable site to purchase…

• Don’t pay the asking price…but just like buying a car or a house, make an offer you can live with and that is fair to the seller. If you try to low-ball them, you’re being unfair. And if they’re trying to ream you, they’re being unfair - don’t entertain their rudeness.
• Try to keep as much as possible the same. This means content, design, web host, contact info, registrar, and whatever else can change. The reason is so you don’t upset the site’s rankings. (Unless the rankings stink, then who cares - you’re starting from scratch anyway.)
• Use a third-party escrow service if you don’t know/trust the seller. The two best and most well-known are Sedo and Escrow.com. (Here is an article about a teen who sold a site using Escrow.com. His site was about the Zune, which sucks, but it sold for $62k!)

So, if you’re planning on updating your “online real-estate” holdings by buying sites, I wish you the best and I encourage you to do it smart and ask the right questions as you make your decisions.

OK. I am not about to get political here and tell you who to vote for or even to write a long post about either presidential candidate. And I won’t even get into the pros and cons of the Democrats or the Republicans. Hopefully you have done your research and have an idea of what each candidate represents and who will be better for small businesses and entrepreneurs.

Tomorrow is election day and to tell you the truth, I am not too pleased with either candidate. Both Obama and McCain are trying to get elected and are therefore making many promises. Both have differing agendas and viewpoints on problems and their solutions. And I am sure everyone can find some things they like about each candidate and some they dislike. On November 4th, it’s time to decide who you think will be best suited to promote the success of the United States. But voting is not only a privelege, but what I also consider my duty- to myself.

So I am going to go out there tomorrow and vote for the candidate I think will be best for me, as an enterprising and hard working American. Because while I may be disappointed in some of the policies of both candidates, I feel an obligation to myself and my country to vote for the candidate who will best protect and promote the rights of the small business owner. After all, our great country and the American Dream are founded on free enterprise and the idea that success is a reward of hard work and ingenuity.

www.DIYdollars.com is all about entrepreneurship. This is not a political blog, but as entrepreneurs, we all need to get out there and vote for the candidate who will encourage free enterprise and promote a healthy economy for business.

Lessons in How to Run a Business

Over the course of having a few jobs, and paying close attention to each of my bosses or managers, I’ve observed a few methods of running a business. Some of the things were great, and some were horrendous. Some of the things I saw resulted in the business continuing to make money, while I’ve also seen a couple of businesses shut down due (in part) to bad management methods. So here are a few.

“If you give something a certain level of importance, that is the level of importance it will have to the rest of the organization.”

Does that make sense? It should. If the boss says something matters (or doesn’t matter too much), it stands to reason that the employees will have the same priority - or lower. You see, most of the time followers do not rise to a higher level than their leader. So what is a leader (i.e. manager or boss) to do? Quite simply, he is to learn to prioritize tasks and let his wishes be known throughout the organization.

“Give your employees the right tools for the job.”

A very good manager told me this. In his experience, people become frustrated and will quit when they are given a job yet not provided good tools to do the job. The tool could be a real tool like a wrench or a hammer, or it could be a good projector, or it could be the proper kind of computer, or it could be a telephone headpiece, or it could be a software program. Whatever the job is, the tool(s) given to the employee should work well and help them get the job done better. If not, the employee will become unhappy and leave.

“Prepare your employees for their next job.”

More organizations are on the lookout for keeping employees “stuck” right where they are than anything else. In fact I’ve been in many organizations where I (and others) were jealously guarded. Then I worked for a company in which the boss told me (paraphrase) “I’m going to lose 100% of these employees, including you, eventually. Every one moves on to something else. So while they’re here, one of my jobs is to improve them as people and as employees.” This was a guy who genuinely cared about the lives of his people, and it showed. He was always available to give good advice when asked, and I’ve seen that he’s kept in touch with employees over the years even after they’ve gone to other companies in different states. It makes sense to me: it’s better to have your employees leave as friends who respect you than just “past employees”.

“Let your employees exercise their strengths within the company.”

This is the habit of managers who know how to assemble a great team: they put together a group of people who can do certain things, and then they allow them to do those things. Not only that, they encourage the team members to push their own limits, to exercise creativity, and to experiment. Does a boss wind up with a lot of mistakes on his hands, when he allows this sort of behavior? Sometimes. But he also ends up with a lot of innovation, a lot of energy within the company, and lot of happy employees!

“Focus on doing what you know how to do.” 

This might seem like the opposite of innovation, but what it’s a lesson taken from the book Good to Great and it’s actually a good thing to keep in mind. While innovation often means venturing into unknown territory, the majority of the time a company (and an employee) should focus on what they really are good at doing. They (and the company) will experience more success in that regard than in the occasional discoveries and innovations that come their way. So - trying new things is wonderful, but the bread-and-butter is in the doing one thing really well.

There are many things we can learn from our colleagues, and I’m always observing new lessons. The ones I’ve shared here are just a few that I’ve learned. What have you learned, in your own observations?