Why Internet Marketing, Business and Finance? – Part 3

Finally we have reached the last installment of the ‘Why Internet Marketing, Business and Finance?’ series. I didn’t really have the intention to drag this on to a 3 parters ala Rambo, but sometimes I can really just go on and on!

Damn….I really got to break this naggy habit of mine. =P

Before I waste more time, let’s move to the ‘Financial’ part, shall we?

Now, when we do business, we all only care about one primary concern - profit.

Profit determines if the business is going to be sustainable in the long term.

Profit tells us if the business is worth the while.

Profit in business is everything. No one wants to go in only to find himself facing a loss before long!

Therefore, essentially, having a profit means getting more money coming in than going out. Clearly, having a good understanding of money matters is going to help tremendously.

And when it comes to money matters, a good grasp of finance is absolutely critical.

Simple things like budgeting, planning for expenses, keeping a emergency back up kitty fund and opportunity fund for investing and expanding are very important for any businesses.

Why Internet Marketing, Business and Finance? – Part 2

Ok we’ve got Business covered, now on to Internet Marketing.

So what exactly is Internet Marketing?

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to find out actually. Well, essentially it is marketing through the Internet. Duh!

 Basically, Internet Marketing = online business or using the Internet as a medium to promote/sell one’s or others’ product.

If you ask me, I think Internet Marketing is a fantastic business model to start off with.

The start up cost is low. For a start, all you basically need is to invest in  a domain name and hosting package. Nowadays these doesn’t amount to much. You can get a domain name (.com) for less than 10 dollars and a good hosting package for just 10 bucks per month. That’s it! You can get free hosting though but that is not really recommended as there are a lot of restrictions and limitations.

You may move on to get more tools and resources, and that will add to your expenses, but nothing that is earth-shatteringly costly.

What you do need is an abundance of will as well as the right attitude to put in loads of effort coupled with the all important step of taking action.

Why Internet Marketing, Business and Finance? – Part 1

 Alright, I assume you have seen the tagline below the title of my blog – Random Musings and Thoughts on the Business, Financial and the Internet Marketing World. Plus a little more.

Let’s forget the ‘plus a little more’ portion for now.

So why did I choose to mainly focus on the 3 areas, namely Internet Marketing. Business and Finance?

Before I go into details, I have to recount to you a book I read years ago. This book in question is ’Cash Flow Quadrant’ by Robert Kiyosaki.

While I’m not exactly a huge fan of his works (those who read other titles by him will find that a lot of the information are really a rehash of one another), I got to admit that book had a profound impact on me at that time.

Yes we are constantly stuck in a never ending rat race, living on the next pay cheque working in a job.

What if you wake up to find that your job has been outsourced to the cheaper foreign labour and that you are no longer needed?

Don’t think too much – Just do it!

Picture this scenario. You chance upon a great idea. You look at it. You scrutinize it. You dissect it, strip it apart, look and relook. Analyze and re-analyze, probing all possibilities and it’s feasibility.

When that is done, you do more research, trying to learn everything and anything under the sun, until you feel so burnt and stressed out that you want to literally smash your own head in the wall.

Sounds familiar?

I know for that matter, many Internet marketers and business owners are often faced with situations.

Ok I don’t deny all these stuffs are essential. Planning for a business is of paramount importance to me. I personally spend weeks of planning and refining until I reach a business plan which I feel is sustainable in the long term and do-able. The planning of the foundation is absolutely crucial

Having said that, more often than not, there is a tendency to over-research and trying to know as much as possible. This is simply impossible.

Scam Alert!

Pic courtesy of Uncle Scam

A while ago, I received an email from a certain Edwin from Cote D’Ivoire. Apparently, he was saying that he comes from a rich and influential family with a distinguished political background.

He moves on to state that his father was killed by the rebels in his country which is currently ravaged in a civil war. He offered me a cut of his fortune worth millions (15%) if I were to help him move his assets out from his country to a safe haven. Wow. How very generous!

Just reading his email makes me want to laugh. Several points in his mail really got my alarm bell ringing.

1. Coming from a ‘distinguished’ background, his command of the English language sure is atrocious.

2. The email was addressed to a nick which I used in an Internet Marketing forum which I frequent. So obviously this guy must have gone around harvesting emails and mass sending everyone, and then waiting for people who bother to respond.

3. The whole thing was very vaguely described. He gave little information about himself. His style of writing is also very incoherent. Hardly did anything to inspire any trust in me.

Internet – Greatest Invention ever or Ticking time bomb?

Pic courtesy of SpookShows

In almost everything we do, we need the Internet. Whether is it to do research for a project, to find out the latest happenings, to trade or even to find love, we just simply cannot escape the influence the Internet have on us.

Businesses too are in great reliance of the Internet. It has made the world smaller, giving unmeasured convenience to everyone. 

Imagine being able to send and receive money at an instance, or waking up to find that the value of your PayPal account has just increased due to a successful sale online. Yes, it is wonderful.

I’ve personally seen close up how on how the Internet can bring people together. People can form partnerships and joint ventures without even having to meet face to face. Physical distance is rendered irrelevant with just a mere click of a mouse.

To many, the Internet has emerged to become like a extension of ourselves. To me, it’s more than that. It’s a vitally pertinent tool to me.

So let’s put aside everything and imagine, what if on one fine day, we all just wake up to find that the Internet is no longer working?