On Being a Good Business Partner
“He that plants thorns must never expect to gather roses.” – Fables of Bidpai, circa 750) I do business with a lot of very accomplished businesspeople — entrepreneurs and executives who understand how business really works, who are expert in financially valuable skills, and who emphasize sales and marketing as…
READ MOREAre You Deluding Yourself About Your Chance of Success?
“The most common sort of lie is the one uttered to one’s self.” – Nietzsche (The Antichrist, 1888) A study I saw in USA Today a few months ago said that most people rate themselves as “hard” to “very hard” workers. Yet any reference book of statistics will tell you…
READ MOREThe Most Universal Marketing Strategy In The World
I’ve been writing advertising, editing copywriters, and advising marketing mavens for more than 20 years. During that time, I’ve seen a lot of clever and effective marketing techniques. Most of the best of those have been explained in past ETRs. Those that pertain to direct marketing are contained in the Michael Masterson Accelerated Six-Figure…
READ MOREBuy Into an Existing Franchise – Or Turn Your Business Into One
“How sweet an emotion is possession! What charm is inherent in ownership!” – David Grayson (Adventures in Contentment, 1907) It’s an interesting problem er opportunity. Investing in a franchise — as this person correctly guesses — isa very different ball of wax than owning your own business. Have…
READ MOREThe Big Schlep
“Can they ever retire?” – Time Magazine (July 21, 2002) Poor Martha Parry. The New York woman sold her insurance company and thought she had it made. According to Time magazine’s July 21 cover story, she had $1 million in the stock market two years ago and was looking…
READ MOREHow Wealthy People Get Wealthier
It’s a common misconception that borrowing money is bad. I’ve had students proudly tell me at seminars that their only debt is their mortgage and that they pay cash for everything else. While it’s good that they have no consumer or credit-card liabilities, these people are not going to get…
READ MOREPummel Your Best Prospecs with Direct Mail
“Much effort, much prosperity.” – Euripides (Hippolytus, 428 B.C.) Your customer list should be mailed to at least twice a year. If the list is good and reasonably large, you can mail to it once a week — even once a day. Prime prospects are people who, for one reason…
READ MOREGetting Back What’s Gone
“If only God would give me a clear sign! Like making a deposit in my name in a Swiss bank account.” – Woody Allen “Steve, I lost over $100,000 in Lucent,” Bill told me. “If I’d been following your advice two years ago, I’d still have most of…
READ MOREWhy You Don’t Want Your Employee-Turnover Rate at Zero
“Always do right. It will gratify some people and astonish the rest.” – Mark Twain Employment experts will sometimes tell you that the lower your employee turnover is, the stronger your company is. If you accept this claim, you are going to be attracted to all kinds of schemes that…
READ MOREEarly Retirement: Get Paid for Doing What You Want
“What you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.” – Goethe One reason we often envy professional actors, athletes, and artists is that they seem to be doing what we’d like to be doing — but instead of paying for it…
READ MOREHow To Write Better Copy By Being Honest
“Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.” – Thomas Jefferson The unflinching principle of all successful advertising … of all marketing … of all business … of all relationships … is one of the oldest success secrets in the world: “Do unto others as you would have…
READ MOREA Simple Way to Make Your Business Memorable
“Memory is a net; one finds it full of fish when he takes it from the brook; but a dozen miles of water have run through it without sticking.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. (The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table, 1858) “People spend $185 on a bed-and-breakfast and remember the…
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