Menu

• Dictionary
• Hot Shots

Directory

• Sponsors
• Billing Options
• Content Providers
• Web Hosting
• Traffic Counters
• Website Designers
• Resource Sites

If you're a regular reader of my columns here at Rated Hot you may have formed the opinion, after reading what I've written over the last few days, that I'm fairly gloomy about the future of this industry and the future of the small people who are involved in this industry. And, to be perfectly candid, I have to say that the immediate future really doesn't look good.

Yesterday I spent some time talking to the owners of several small paysites. These are guys who run your average 'mom and pop' sites; they put a lot of effort into their sites every week, they invest a lot of money to produce a quality product and target some great niches that should attract lots of sales ... yet they're struggling because signups are dwindling. At the same time that they're struggling they see that signups to the big sites seem to be growing.

I also saw yesterday that various financial institutions in the United States are really beginning to raise interest rates as well as tightening up on their lending policies. While that may be a great thing in the long term it's not good news for the immediate future and of course yesterday the US dollar dropped more and that means less money in the pockets of overseas webmasters.

But all that does not mean that I'm gloomy about the future and nor should you be.

Yesterday Steve and I also spent some time with a local businessman who is really on fire with optimism and a drive to succeed. To look at him you wouldn't think that he was anything other than your average man in the street yet he has already built up at least two very successful businesses and now he's ready to work on his third ... and this time it's going to be online.

Yesterday we looked at the world from his point of view and it really was like a breath of fresh air. A lot of the business people that we come across tend to be rather negative ... they see the problems that they're facing and they know that they can overcome them but they're not enthusiastic ... they simply do it because they have to.

Yet this guy sees what's happening in financial markets around the world. He knows what effect the falling dollar and the rising interest rates are going to have on his business but he refuses to let those things stop him. He's looked at other business models for what he is doing and what he wants to do and he knows he can do it better and that he can succeed even though times are tough.

He surrounds himself with positive people ... not 'yes men' but people like him who understand what's going on around the world but who are still sure they can help him turn his vision into reality and help him achieve his goals. He knows that he's going to have to go way out of his comfort zone if he wants to go on making money and the people he works with are going to have to go way out of their comfort zone too.

And that's scary ... he's already challenged us to do things for him that we've never done before. Suddenly he wants us to go way beyond what we ever thought we would be doing but we're going there and we're going to succeed because we know we can.

And that's the sort of attitude you need to have if you want to succeed in the difficult times that are ahead of us. You need to be positive ... you need to be optimistic ... and you need to have your feet planted firmly in the real world.

You need to surround yourself with others who are optimistic yet realistic and you need to be prepared to go out of your comfort zone and be prepared to do things that you have never done before. Even as a small-time affiliate marketer you need to be prepared to do things in ways that you've never even dared think of before.

Look at new ways of marketing your product ... look at new ways of attracting traffic ... look beyond the tired old business plans of those who are now struggling in this industry and see if you can't do it better. Think about ways that you can cut your costs and at the same time increase your income too.

In the next few weeks we'll be moving into some new premises in a great location but our overheads are still way below that of our competitors. That means we don't have to charge as much simply to pay the rent so our margins don't have to be as high as those we compete with and that makes us far more attractive to those who are looking for what we can provide.

You also need to be prepared to work hard to achieve your goals. The guy we are working with spends long hours working on his business rather than working in it. That means that while others see nothing but the coal face in front of them our guy is looking over the horizon at the bigger picture ... and that's what you need to be doing too.

You should try it ... we've been doing that for quite some time now and it's amazing how invigorating that can be. Don't be fooled though ... you will have to spend time working in your business but don't let that be the only thing you're doing day after day.

So things don't have to be all gloom and doom even though times are getting tougher. If you want to succeed then be positive, and be realistic and you too can soar with the eagles instead of running around on the ground with the turkeys.