Building a business and keeping your sanity

August 22nd, 2007

I wonder if I’m the only one that gets this feeling of accomplishing a lot but at the same time thinking that you are still at the zero stage.

So far I have done research on all the Shaklee™ distributor websites I found. So far I haven’t found anything that moving. I was wondering if someone out there was doing something truly innovative and attractive for the public. But I can’t say that the sites that I found were innovative or useful. Everyone seems to think that a successful Shaklee™ referral site includes a few lines, random pictures and direct links to their Shaklee™ online store. I say random pictures because they’re generic pictures of people smiling or laughing. The information provided is too brief to really inform or it is placed in a format a bit difficult to follow. So the reader doesn’t bother to read it. Now this is not because they think that their readers are brain dead. I think it’s because they were told by someone maybe next to them or above them in the organization that it is how you attract new prospects to you. It could also be that they just don’t know.

I know that an experienced website owner who brings at least $3,000 per month in sales knows that few text and links don’t bring the response or income desired. What I found is that you need to have a little bit of knowledge about this term called “optimization.” Optimization is making your site attractive to the search engines, especially Google since it is currently the most popular search engine. When you optimize your site you have to also consider making it useful and unique to your visitors. I learned that you want to make your website “sticky”. This is content that will make your customers want to come back again and again. A great example is blogs for everything! People come back to blogs again and again or subscribe because they want to keep getting whatever that blog does for them. Websites also have a lot of great and addictive content like up to date news, flash movies, image galleries, and so on.

Currently I am going to sleep at 7:30pm and waking up at 11:30pm to work until 4:30 am. I set a goal on my home page that my site will be ready by September 13th. My site will be filled with information that I am gathering and will post in my own style. I will place links to news articles, videos, audio, etc to make it useful to the visitor. In a way I believe it will gradually become very user friendly and resourceful in terms of health and related current events. I have come up with an attractive and professional design and the content will be extensive. There will be a lot of info to read and ways to continue to explore each topic, product, or health condition. Sometimes while I’m working I get sleepy and I lay down on my desk! Or I’ll sneak out of the office and go lay down on a box for about 5 minutes. Those five minutes feel like half hour. My mind is full of ideas and questions that I’m constantly asking myself: what else I can do to make things better. It can be stressful because I’m not there yet!

But I’m not going to stop either.

Photo Gallery

August 22nd, 2007

Still deciding which pictures to share…

The Time Has Come

August 17th, 2007

Now we’re going to get whole business idea started. This segment of my enterprises is more of an observation, so people get to share with me how it feels to really get started with an idea. To make things happen, not wait for things to happen.

So what I did is: I got my website set up and it’s live now so I will begin to promote it everywhere! Yay! It wasn’t even that expensive. Less than $30 and $15 per month. What do you have to say about that? This is so exciting because I have seen that my website even though it’s got nothing it is indexed by google and yahoo! I guess because I’ve had several attepts at trying to make it happen. But this time is solid. In fact I made a commitment that by September 13th 9 sites will be completed. Well, actually three websites: my mom’s site www.hurleyhealth.com my site, www.hurleywellness.com, and sauld.hurleywellenss.com! Phew! But it’s revolutionary. I haven’t found any other Shaklee person doing so much online. One actually, Cyndy Mcasey. She’s amazing and that’s why I’m making a link to her. Not that you won’t find her by simply typing her name.

So To all of you who are trying to come to a decision as to how to pursue your dream and be independent, I say to you Go GO GO!

Mario H

This is for all you dreamers

July 1st, 2007

Welcome to my blog! I plan to document my development as I attempt to build my Shaklee™ business by harnessing the power of the internet. There are a few other thousand people in the world that are trying to do something similar. So, it takes a true optimist, and a true visionary to make ideas into viable businesses. Don’t worry, I have thought about this for a long time. In fact it’s been more than five years since I said to myself “I think I can grow my Shaklee™ business.” It wasn’t that I was procrastinating, it is the many factors that are involved in building a business that I needed to explore before taking off with everyone else. I’m 27-years old, and that’s a young age for someone to want to start a business instead of just sticking to a job or continue to go to college. Yet there are exceptions, and we hear about them daily. I may be the next exception. My whole premise is that we are witnessing many changes that make living more expensive and with less choices. This applies to those of us who are skilled but don’t have a strong monetary power. Come one now! Don’t try to philosophize or make up stories. This is a fact, and you don’t need to take my word for it. The gap is getting wider and it’s up to the individual to prepare for times of scarcity, political corruption, religious persecution, or financial hardships. I even dare to ask you, what are you doing to ensure a stable future for yourself? Read the rest of this entry »