If you are working for somebody else now, you can use it to become your company’s most valuable employee. And within six months, here’s what you can expect:

• Your income will increase dramatically.
• Your job satisfaction will skyrocket. (You’ll love coming to work!)
• Opportunities for career advancement will start flowing to you.
• Your boss and coworkers will start treating you as someone special — with admiration and respect.
• Your sense of job security will soar, knowing that you will never, ever be fired.

If you are a business owner, you can give this article to your employees and expect to see at least one of them quickly begin to work at a much higher level.

Imagine how great it will be when you don’t have to be the only person who:

• Comes up with all the marketing ideas
• Keeps a concerned eye on expenses
• Makes all the important deals
• Keeps the vendors honest
• Really, really cares about the bottom line

How does that sound?

Okay. Let me tell you about Uncle Al.

“Show up. Do your job. Keep your nose clean.” Those were the rules that Al Perot, owner of The Maple Avenue Deli, laid down at 6:00 a.m. the first Saturday I worked for him.

At 15, I had little use for maxims — and less for those delivered before I was fully awake. But Al’s three rules, as I kept learning later in my life, were a formula for wealth, health, and happiness.

I ignored them at first because I didn’t truly understand them. But when I finally realized what he meant, my career caught fire.

Uncle Al, as we called him, was an interesting guy — a blue-collar Renaissance man. He read widely. He was a connoisseur of classical music. He coached football. And he mentored his teenage employees.

I was one of his proteges for a summer in 1965. And during that short period of time, I am quite sure I heard Uncle Al repeat his rules no fewer than two dozen times.

“Show up. Do your job. Keep your nose clean.”

So simple. Three imperative sentences — the first consisting of two words, the second three words, the third four.

As an author of self-improvement books, I have contemplated many prescriptions for successful living — from the Ten Commandments to The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People. But I never found one as simple as Uncle Al’s.

Simple, but hardly simple-minded.

I think of his rules now as individually sealed little packages — each one containing a lifetime’s worth of wisdom.

Show up. Woody Allen famously said “Eighty percent of success is showing up.” But Woody didn’t mean just drag your body to work at the appointed time — and neither did Uncle Al.

Do your job. Lots of people consider a good workday to be one where they do as little challenging work as possible. The more idle or fun or lazy time they can get paid for, the better. This belief is amazingly widespread. It is a big part of union mythology, a big part of executive mythology … and even a big part of the Internet business world.

Keep your nose clean. Most people take this to mean “Stay out of trouble.” But Uncle Al was too smart to think you can achieve greatness by avoiding conflict or staying on the beaten path.

Let me show you what Uncle Al’s three rules really mean. To illustrate, I will introduce you to RM, a woman who came to work for one of my clients just three years ago.

Show Up

I remember the day I met her. Her boss, my client, introduced me to her. She stood up, shook my hand, and greeted me with a big smile. “I’ve read all your books,” she said. “I’m a big fan.”

I’ve talked about the power of flattery before. It doesn’t matter whether it’s intended or accidental. So long as it is delivered with enthusiasm, it always works. It works because nobody can get enough of it. Okay, maybe Brad Pitt gets tired of it. But for the rest of us, enough is never really enough.

When you meet someone who has the power to affect your career trajectory, you have a one-time opportunity. Instead of trying to impress the individual by acting smart or smart-alecky, a genuine smile and a sincere compliment will work wonders. The more specific the compliment, the more powerful it will be.

I once met a distinguished Ezra Pound scholar — Hugh Kenner. He gave a lecture at Catholic University, where I was enrolled in a very competitive graduate program. After his speech, I walked up to him with a copy of his most recent book and asked him to sign it. I told him I had read every one of his books, and I mentioned a specific idea from one of them to prove my point.

He was immediately interested in me. We spent a good 10 minutes talking. Correct that. We spent that time talking about him. He talked. I admired what he said.

The next day, the chairman of the English department called me into his office. “What in God’s name did you say to Hugh Kenner?” he asked.

“Why?” I said.

“Because he said you were the most intelligent graduate student he had ever met.”

This is a true story. During that brief conversation with Hugh Kenner I told him I had read all his books, and I cited the one example. Other than that, all I said was, “Yes, I see what you mean. Yes, I never thought of that!”

This is all basic stuff for anyone who has read Dale Carnegie’s classic How to Win Friends and Influence People. (If you haven’t read it, buy a copy today.) It’s all about the power of focusing your attention on the person you are communicating with.

If RM hasn’t read Dale Carnegie, she is Dale Carnegie reincarnated. Because she showed up at that first meeting with a full understanding of Carnegie’s secret of influencing people: Win the friendship first. And every time I have met her since then, she has taken the time to prove to me that she appreciates everything I have to say to her. By making a friend of me, she has gotten all my best ideas and best wishes. At every stage of her career, I have done my best to move her forward.

And don’t think for a moment that I am the only one. RM has this effect on everyone she meets.

But that’s only part of what RM knows about “showing up.” It also means preparing yourself for every important interaction.

Before RM comes to a business meeting, she knows exactly what is expected of her. She has the facts. She’s done her homework. When she speaks, it is clear to everyone that she knows what she’s talking about.

She also makes a great personal presentation. She is always well groomed and well dressed. She is always energetic and cheerful. When problems are discussed, she never gets discouraged. She is the “can do” woman. That has a very positive effect on the people who work with her — her coworkers, her employees, and her bosses.

If you want to become your company’s most valuable employee, you must start by adopting RM’s happy-to-be-here attitude toward work. I know more than a few employees as capable and intelligent as RM, but none that brings so much to the table. In fact, I am thinking of firing a potential superstar right now because she thinks that showing up means just showing up and being smart.

Being smart doesn’t cut it. When you show up, show up the way RM does!

Do Your Job

When RM does a job, she never does what she is asked to do. People who do what they are asked to do are “B” employees. Reliable. Conscientious. Keepers.

But when the boss is thinking of promoting an employee to a responsible position, the last person he wants is someone who is reliable, conscientious, and a keeper. The best jobs are given to people who do more than they are asked. Upward mobility in any organization worth working for is about astonishing the boss. Satisfying him won’t get you anywhere.

In Automatic Wealth for Grads … and Anyone Else Just Starting Out, I put it this way:

“So long as your work performance is ordinary, you can’t expect anything more than an ordinary salary. But if you change your work habits and contribute substantially more than your fellow workers, you can rightly expect to be paid substantially more than they are getting.”

You may be thinking, “My boss is so demanding … I can never satisfy the son of a bitch. How the hell am I going to astonish him?”

But the truth is you can. Demanding businesspeople are dissatisfied with 99 percent of their employees because they have set their standards too high. They want everyone who works for them to be a superstar. That is impossible and self-defeating. But it doesn’t mean you can’t astonish these people. All you have to do is work harder and smarter and with more enthusiasm than anyone else.

You can do it. You really can. It’s just a matter of deciding you should.

And why should you? Because even if your boss is Mephistopheles in an Armani suit, he notices his superstar employees and becomes dependent on them. If you become a superstar, he may not praise you … but he will never let you go. And when you ask for a promotion or raise … he’ll give it to you. Trust me.

RM understands that. She also understands that doing your job is about paying attention to the big picture. And the big picture in any business is focused on two goals:

• Providing exceptional value to your customers.
• Realizing long-term profits from your relationship with them.

Every time RM has been given a challenge, she’s planned her strategy according to those two goals. She would never produce a product unless she was convinced it would be genuinely valuable to the company’s customer base. And she always makes sure the marketing plan she’s working with is one that will produce long-term profits.

Keep Your Nose Clean

RM made her way from a beginning employee making less than $30,000 to a partner in the business making six figures. She did it in less than three years. And she did it by following Uncle Al’s first two rules.

Yes. If you really show up and you really do your job — like RM — you will be really successful. There is absolutely no doubt about that.

So what need is there for another rule?

And such a rule! Keep your nose clean?

Well, it’s not an accident that this rule comes last. Because you can understand it only after you have fully understood the first two.

In fact, I only began to figure it out about 10 years ago, more than 20 years after Uncle Al died.

Briefly, here’s what I think …

Keeping your nose clean is about attending to the small details that make for a more mannerly and considerate life. Keeping your nose clean means taking care of those small details, even if you have achieved great success while ignoring them.

One example: In the information marketing world — ETR’s world — good spelling, punctuation, and grammar will have no impact on your success. So long as you are a master of using the English language to persuade people to buy what you’re selling … it doesn’t matter how you butcher it to achieve your goals.

Time and again I’ve seen mailings go out with terrible mistakes, even on headlines. And never once did I see it have any impact on sales.

If your core ideas are good and your will is good — i.e., you provide exceptional value — your customers will be more than happy to forgive you for making small blunders along the way. If they even notice them. Which they probably won’t.

So the reason you want to keep your nose clean can’t be to achieve more success, right? Right.

Why, then, would you worry about it at all?

You want to keep your nose clean because, in the long run, your career is much less about achieving the status symbols of success — wealth and its trophies — than it is about being spiritually healthy and feeling proud of yourself.

That, it turns out, can be achieved only by keeping your nose clean.

If you think I’m talking out of my butt, don’t fret about it. Just keep working on the first two rules. When you are young and strong and wanting to become rich and powerful, it’s enough to show up and do your job.

But just keep this third rule in mind. And I promise you — after you have achieved everything else, you will say to yourself one day, “You know, Michael Masterson was right about Uncle Al’s third rule. I’m going to start wiping the snot from my nose.”

More from Masterson…

The U.S. Economy Is Going To Start Growing in September … but Don’t Break Open the Champagne Just Yet

If you are inclined to believe the predictions of economists, expect the country’s GDP (gross domestic product) to increase at an annual rate of 2.2 percent between September and the end of this year.

That’s the consensus of 50 business economists interviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

GDP was negative 6.4 percent in the first quarter of 2009 and down 1 percent in the second quarter.

The improvement, according to the economists, is expected to come from two things:

1. Trade. Our imports fell faster than our exports.

2. The massive taxpayer-funded stimulus. When you pump trillions of dollars into an economy, it is likely to do a bit of moving.

Is this good news? The folks at Investor’s Daily Edge don’t think so. “This would be an artificial recovery at best,” says IDE’s Investment Director Bob Irish. “And the inflationary side effects could be catastrophic.”

What To Eat With Espresso

Every afternoon at about 5:00 p.m., I head over to Joe’s cigar bar to enjoy an espresso, a bottle of water, and a small piece of dark chocolate. My favorite is Swedish dark chocolate.

I’ve thought of it as a minor health sin. But it turns out I’m doing something very clever. A joint U.S.-Swedish study found that people who had eaten chocolate at least three times a week before having a heart attack had a 66 percent lower risk of mortality afterward.

I’ve heard about the benefits of dark chocolate before. But these findings are pretty impressive. And, as Total Health Breakthroughs Editor Melanie Segala tells me, Swedish chocolate has a higher percentage of cacao than our dark chocolate. And a high percentage of cacao is what makes dark chocolate more beneficial than milk chocolate.

read the full article

How To Become Your Company’s MVP is a post from: Moolah-Moolah

Everybody loves a bargain! Where should you look for a bargain?

PS
Be sure to check out Software Deal of the Day

Deal of the Day Websites, Where to Find a Bargain? is a post from: Moolah-Moolah

Webmaster Templates

Webmaster Templates is a post from: Moolah-Moolah

I recently spoke with Alexandria Marx from Marketing Department about their website and found out a little more about the services that they offer.

What was the inspiration for launching DM-Creative.com?

Offline, our small company served clients such as Dallas Business Journal, Garland Community Hospital and Pilgrim’s Pride. We wrote ads, designed brochures and conducted print production.

We were inspired to fill a void online, which at that time was an under-served niche of individual and small businesses who needed website development but didn’t have large budgets.

Although you originally launched in 95, you mentioned that the website went through a hiatus and relaunched in 2000. How did the website change during that period of time?

After five years online, the Internet evolved and the site needed to reflect new technologies. The site changed from a static HTML site to include a mix of interactive features. For example, the addition of PHP programming powered by a mySQL database, allowed for the installation of a shopping cart. Visitors could bypass the time it takes to get an estimate and order services online instantly.

This one change shortened the process and made it easier for clients to benefit quickly from professional services, such as copywriting for an email campaign, sales letter or website page.

Most people are not familiar with how to specify a project, such as a website or brochure, in order to get an accurate quote. Of those who are, few people want to take time to go through the process of writing out specifications and waiting for an estimate. The projects listed in our shopping cart include the specifications.

The site navigation was also changed from a long list of static links to a fly-out system using Javascript. This change made is easier for visitors to locate information without clicking through a hierarchy of web pages.

What would you say is the most popular category on your website?

It’s not surprising that copywriting is the most popular category on our website. On the Internet, copywriting can make or break a website. Good copy is like a pancake. One side has to attract web traffic and the flip side has to persuade visitors to take action.

Initially, 6 out of 10 requests were for website design and web hosting. Today, 6 out of 10 requests we get want a rewrite of existing copy. Requests for original copywriting for web pages and brochures are a close second.

Most agree that copywriting is even more important online than it is offline, although our experience in direct response and mail order copywriting might challenge that statement.

Historically, good design has always flowed from good copy, and good copy drives sales.

When the World Wide Web first opened to the public, people would launch a website and ask, “How does it look?”

Now, business wants to know how the website performs. A website must answer the visitor’s unspoken question, “What does this site offer that can make my life better?” Visitors find the answer in the web page copy.

What are some of the key areas you find most people needing the most help in when starting their business?

When it comes to starting a business online, most startups need help understanding how to make the Internet pay off for them. It’s like a roadmap to Disneyland where good times await. But like any road trip, it’s not free, shortcuts can be costly and there are plenty of potholes to avoid.

In the very beginning, a startup focuses on practical matters and later that focus changes to everyone’s goal of making money.

For example, a startup might ask for help finding the best domain name. People new to the whole concept of the Internet ask for help setting up their email account. One of the biggest questions we get concerns the type of website and what should be on it.

After a website has been live for a few months or even a year, many new business people need help attracting more visitors or finding an affordable solution to the problem of no to low sales.

Every person who wants to start a business comes to the table with different knowledge and experiences. Everyone expects to make money.

How much do your services cost?

Our services focus on helping people achieve success online. We believe that the cost of professional services for an online business is an investment in that business’ success.

Like most service providers, our fees are based on an hourly rate, but we go a step further:

a. Many of our services are pre-priced, because small business people generally have a tight budget and want to know their investment upfront.

b. We accept payments.

c. If someone is in need, we defer all or a portion of the payment due for most services.

d. If someone is really in need, we consider providing all or some services at no charge.

e. We also consider trades, partnerships and joint ventures.

Copywriting starts at $30/hr. Pre-priced websites start below $400. Ecommerce solutions start for less than $500 and the site we recommend for those who enroll in our free e-course for startups includes a 30% discount coupon.

In your opinion, what are some of the things about DM-Creative.com that you feel separates it from other websites like it?

We are dedicated to helping people succeed online. But we are not alone. Thankfully, there are other qualified service providers who also want to help people.

I think what sets us apart is our heart. We are not just a website. We are people helping other people. Our clients help us right back. Just the other day, we asked David Franklin, one of our new clients, if we could use him as a reference. He emailed back, “Let’s be a team and help each other.” We appreciate that mindset. It really speaks to how we feel about our clients and how they feel about us.

As we have entered into a new year, do you have any goals for DM-Creative.com that you’d like fulfill in 2009?

Even though there are a few flickers of hope for the economy to spring back, it may take more time. The financial crisis is not over. People are out of work. Mortgage payments are still a burden. So this year, our thoughts and plans focus on helping people survive financial setbacks.

For those who want to start a business on the Internet, our goal focuses on finding these individuals and providing creative business solutions to meet their needs in the shortest timeframe, for the least investment or for a fee they can manage.

Although your website helps others get started in business, what has it taught you about business?

This is a good question. After more than ten years in business online, we notice that there are two kinds of people: People who want success, and people who say they want success. It’s like going on a diet. Some people eat less and exercise more. For others, the extent of their action is to buy a weight-loss book or watch an exercise video.

If more people actually put in the time and effort, more people would find the success they want. Whether it’s to supplement their income or become self-employed, the Internet offers people a golden opportunity. It puts a work-at-home mom on a level playing field with big business. Where else is this possible?

If you had to narrow down all of your advice into one sentence, what would you tell someone interested in launching their own business?

Believe in yourself, because anyone can start a business on the Internet and make money.

Marketing Department Helps Jump Start New Businesses is a post from: Moolah-Moolah

Stock photo websites allow webmasters, marketers and publishers to locate pictures for their marketing and promotional materials without the hassle of organizing a photo shoot. With copyright laws businesses must be very careful in using unlicensed photos.

Royalty Free Stock Photography for Websites

Tips of Royalty Free Stock Photography for Website is a post from: Moolah-Moolah