The focus of my membership site, SurviveAndConquerCoaching, is to help offline businesses move online. This can be frightening and overwhelming… just one more problem to address in a busy work day. My goal is to provide the resources to minimize the stress, avoid the mistakes, and achieve an easy transition.

I wanted to share a recent email I got from a SurviveAndConquerCoaching member:

Subject: just took lesson 1 for Strategies for Online Retail Success!

I signed up for your basic level membership when you first talked about this on the quiltdesigners list… then it was ‘later’, ‘I dont have time right now’, etc.  I really wish I had MADE the time from the beginning.

You have really opened my eyes, just in the first lesson!  I just wanted to thank you for starting this up!  As soon as I have the funds available I’ll be upgrading.

Thanks Tink!!

Angela R McIntyre

Laughing Cat Designs Etc.!

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NOW! On to what’s new this week at SurviveAndConquerCoaching.com:

Tactic # 7 has been added to the series on List Building called List Building Tactics and Tactic # 6 has been removed from the BASIC Level Membership. There are 24 Tactics in this series.

This week’s Cheat Sheet is *Why Blog?* It will be available to BASIC members for just a week.

A NEW Video Tutorial has been added to the BASIC-Video Vault. It explains *How to Create a PDF file Using Free Software*. It will be available to BASIC Level members for about a  week.

Don’t forget to download the October 2008 WordPress Plugin Report, while it is available.

If you haven’t downloaded the newest Short Report – The Offline Business Owner’s Guide to Making the MOST of Local Portals & Directories! — grab it now! It is 11 pages with 10 question you should be asking about your Portal and Directory opportunities. There are more and more of these coming online, and they represent excellent marketing opportunities… IF you know the right questions to ask.

Just a reminder, if you are using WordPress for ANY type of site, the new Survival Course – Create an Effective Web Site YOU can Operate Yourself (even if you know NOTHING about the Internet) is a worthwhile read. It is available in Web Page format as part of Academy – Basic or as a PDF download.

http://surviveandconquercoaching.com

Sharing the Road to Success

Tink

After months of work, my new membership site, SurviveAndConquerCoaching.com is open and accepting members!

I have a specific Premier Level, just for the Needlework and Quilting industry, Y&T-PREMIER.

The BASIC Level is for everybody, no matter what offline industry they are in.

I am adding new information and resources weekly. The biggest challenge for me has been organizing all of the topics I will be covering. I have reams of paper (yes, I know I could do it digitally, but I visualize better on paper — with color coded ink!LOL) with the next 12 months laid out. As long as Guido doesn’t eat them, all will be well!

Until the end of August, Y&T-PREMIER and the regular PREMIER Level have a special introductory price.

To compare memberships, check out the Compare Membership page.

Sharing the Road to Success!

Tink

Among the most valuable, yet overlooked tools a web site owner can have are Web Site Statistics.

When talking with my clients, I find that many of the less technical minded site owners don't even know how to access their stats, let alone interpret them.

The truth of the matter is that web site stats can help a savvy business owner overcome one of the most daunting differences between Offline and Online business — getting to know your customer!

The other unpalatable truth it that YOU, the business owner, are the person best placed to interpret those stats!

Believe me when I say that I can relate to the eye rolling numbness that can overtake you when trying to make sense of all of those numbers, charts, and graphs — I am a designer by training — I like and understand pretty pictures, but numbers are my downfall!

The good news is that as Google and the other Search Engine become more and more focused on giving a web surfer a positive and useful internet experience, the tools that they are creating to do this are providing more and more interesting and useful data for those of us who are numerically challenged.

Long tail and organic search are our friends, and being an intuitive thinker is an advantage when following those stats.

The only way to learn to interpret your web site stats is to look at them regularly… and often. I liken it to watching a slow train wreck! LOL

Each time you look, the less fuzzy the overall picture will be! One of my long term goals for 2008 has been to watch my site stats carefully and regularly, and what I am observing has been a real eye opener.

I won't be teaching my Search, Search Engines and Web Site Statistics in June at TNNA, but the ebook covers most of the class material — you just don't have me at the front of the room nattering on! *VeryBigGrin*.

To encourage y'all to start following your site stats, I have given a special discount on the ebook.

Go here: http://surviveandconqueronline.com/Special.htm and use the coupon: AprilShowers

Feel free to pass the link and coupon along to others in the industries. I'll probably leave this offer up 'til the end of the month.

Sharing the Road to Success!

Tink

I got the letter last week…

I’ll be teaching at Columbus!

I submitted a large number of classes, so I am waiting for the official announcement about what I will be teaching. In January, I was scheduled to teach one class twice. It will be interesting to see if that is the case this time.

I DID submit several new classes — depending on which, if any, get chosen, I may be a busy bee, between now and then!

I really enjoy teaching at TNNA, so no matter what classes, I am looking forward to it.

I got an email last week from one of my January 2008 students. She said:

*quote*

I took your class about software for shopping carts at TNNA in Long Beach. Loved your class by the way, it was like taking a college class in 3 hrs. You rock. You’re so full of it!

*end quote*

Needless to say, I smiled for hours!

Sharing the Road to Success!

Tink

I just spent 5 days in CA at TNNA‘s Winter Market, answering lots of internet related questions and teaching a marathon of 3 hour classes about doing business online.

In the course of the show, I was asked many questions about doing business on the internet… in my classes, in the aisles, and at my booth. Often the questions are regarding how business is set up within common internet industry business models.

A common example is that most web designers handle all of the details regarding the web sites they design/develop, including registering the domain and providing the hosting. From the designer/developer’s point of view, this business model is very attractive and a good money producer.

However, from the point of view of a small business owner, this scenario can be fraught with many hidden dangers!

So… what do I do as a business consultant? Do I go with the flow and offer advice based on the common business models?

I always answer every question by first asking myself *What would I tell Lisa?*.

Lisa is my BF/Cousin and a single mom with 2 daughters in college and no financial help other than from her own business.

Lisa was the inspiration for my Disaster-Proof Your Online Business Survival Guide and Workbook.

She called me at midnight (my time) to say that she didn’t have access to her web site to change the registration for an offline workshop. Her workshops are the financial backbone of her business, so this was a MAJOR business crisis!

As it turned out, we were able to get the issues resolved. Lisa’s web developer had sent Lisa the important info when she changed web hosts, so SHE had acted responsibly. Lisa had carefully kept the email that was sent, even though she wasn’t sure exactly what it all meant, so SHE had acted responsibly.

The problems had arisen because Lisa had not realized the importance of being the person controlling the information, decision-making, and action-taking concerning her web site.

So, there you have Lisa’s story, but this post was actually prompted by a question on a quilt industry business group and the answer I gave.

Someone was asking which of two reputable companies she should entrust with her online business. She was looking at it from both the financial aspect, and from the point of view of the different services offered and benefits derived. These certainly are important considerations, but, in my opinion, they are not the deciding factors I would use to evaluate things if Lisa called with the same question…

Any way… what would I tell Lisa?

For a serious business person such as Lisa (meaning her family’s finances depend on the business), I would recommend that Lisa operate her web site from her own hosting account, being sure that LISA owns her domain AND the hosting account and that they are NOT with the same company.

If Lisa owns and controls the domain registration and hosting (at separate companies), she would be able to move her site to a different hosting company, should the need arise for whatever reason. While it may be a PITA, her business has an excellent chance of surviving long term…

If everything is is someone else’s hands, she would most likely be starting over from scratch.

If Lisa were to decide to use one of the above mentioned companies, I would tell her to register and maintain her domains herself. I would tell her to have the company involved tell her what the new nameservers need to be and then Lisa should go in and make the changes!

When it is YOUR business, YOU need to control ALL aspects of it, whether you are Lisa or some other business owner!

Most small business owners are clueless about the internet and it becomes easy to allow someone else to take control and *just handle it* . I tell my clients to think about this in the same way they think about their bank accounts. They may not know all of the Ins and Outs of banking, but they certainly make sure that they are in control!

Sharing the Road to Success!

Tink