Infusionsoft Unveils New Business Model

Infusionsoft Eliminates Upfront Fees, Rolls Out New Website and Offers Free Trial of Acclaimed On-Demand Solution to Entire Entrepreneurial Small Business Sector

If you'd like to try Infusionsoft, please complete the form to the right
*For a free trial of Infusionsoft, visit www.tryinfusionsoft.com

Gilbert, Ariz. – July 7, 2009 – Infusionsoft, the leader in automatic follow-up software for small businesses, today announces record quarterly revenue and customer growth as well as a major change to its business model by completely eliminating required up-front fees (which previously ranged from $2,000 to $6,000) for every tier of its service. In addition, the company will offer a 15-day free trial of its product, complete with customer set-up and support. The new model makes it pain-free for any small business owner to learn how Infusionsoft can increase their sales revenue by solving one of the biggest pitfalls facing the small business market today: staying in touch with customers and prospects to convert interest into sales and repeat sales.

The new business model comes after two years of product and business development for the company’s flagship automatic follow-up software. Infusionsoft says that today’s announcement is an important first step toward becoming the ubiquitous marketing and sales software provider in the small business sector. Already established as the leading software by experts in small business marketing and sales, Infusionsoft is now focusing on the mainstream marketplace to help every small business automate their sales and marketing operations in order to fuel growth.

Last year, the company completely redesigned their product to make it more streamlined and user-friendly after extensive customer feedback studies. Infusionsoft then went on to raise $7.9 million in venture capitalist funding from a new investor in an otherwise investment-unfriendly climate. Earlier this year, the company introduced a tiered pricing plan to accommodate the needs of any small business, along with a guarantee to double users’ sales. These changes helped more small businesses than ever get started with Infusionsoft, and resulted in the best quarterly revenue and customer growth for the company to date. In June, Infusionsoft saw a nearly 475% increase in customers over the same month last year, and an increase of more than 225% in new customers compared to the same quarter of 2008. Now the elimination of up-front fees in conjunction with the free trial will make the software accessible to all entrepreneurs who want to grow fast.

“We have big plans for growth in the future and we know that this shift in our business model will move us toward our end goal of liberating and empowering all entrepreneurs,” said Clate Mask, Co-Founder and CEO of Infusionsoft. “This is something we’ve wanted to do for a long time: give every entrepreneur the ability to fix their prospect and lead follow–up, and thus double their sales. That’s our promise to entrepreneurs, and our customers have proven it over and over. Now we’re taking this liberating technology – and our promise – to the entire small business community.”

The eliminated fees and free trial, combined with low monthly subscription rates, means that small businesses will now have greater access to the company’s famous ‘Double Your Sales’ guarantee, a cornerstone of Infusionsoft’s approach to helping entrepreneurs avoid the pitfalls of follow-up failure.

For more Infusionsoft info, please complete the form to the right

About Infusionsoft
Infusionsoft, the leader in automatic follow-up software, helps small businesses grow fast by putting CRM, email marketing and e-commerce on auto-pilot. The privately held Inc. 500 company is based in Gilbert, Ariz. and is funded by Mohr Davidow Ventures and vSpring Capital. For more information, visit www.infusionsoft.com.
Additional marketing and small business insight from Clate Mask and the Infusionsoft team can be found on the Infusionsoft blog at www.infusionblog.com, and the Infusionsoft Twitter feed at www.twitter.com/infusionsoft.

Contact Information:
LaunchSquad
415-625-8555
Infusionsoft(at)LaunchSquad(dot)com

Entrepreneur News

Below are a few articles I found today about Entrepreneurship. We are truly in the Age of the Entrepreneur!

Small Business Owners Anticipate Growth
(From entrepreneur.com)
Study shows the optimism and perseverance of business owners, and their ability to adapt to even the toughest economic conditions.


Do More with Less
(From entrepreneur.com)
New communications and PR tools offer marketers less costly (and equally effective) alternatives for building brand and product awareness


Booms Move to Self Employment
(From Forbes.com)
Over the past decade, the highest rate of new-business creation has been posted by the 55 to 64 age group.


The Power of Not Being Positive
(From Forbes.com)
Failure is an option. It's how you cope with it that matters.

Sales Principles for Entrepreneurs

Anyone had Hawaiian BBQ before? Yummy! Today I went to a local Hawaiian BBQ joint for lunch. I enjoy the food. The atmosphere leaves a lot to be desired. But this caused an unexpected sales lesson today. What I’m about to share will apply to any entrepreneur.

This is a fast food style restaurant. Meaning, you order your food, sit down while they make it, and then they’ll call you to the counter when it’s ready. I was sitting close to the order counter, so I could hear the interactions between the cashier & customers. One in particular stood out. It went like this:

• Customer was looking at the menu.
• Cashier asked, Can I help you?
• Customer said, yeah, in a minute.
• Cashier asked, you been here before, right?
• Customer said yes.
• Cashier said nothing, just smiled
• Customer then ordered.
• Cashier said, what no drink?
• Customer then ordered, but did not order a drink.
• Money changed hands, customer sat down waiting for her order to be cooked.

Now, it’s obvious to me that the cashier really had no sales training, and probably didn’t care. I’m not saying that this was her fault. I’ve been in this place a number of times before and the same cashier is always there. She’s kind and friendly, but certainly doesn’t go out of her way to ensure you have a good experience. Personally, I come back for the food. But, based on the amount of people in the restaurant, not a lot of people do.

There are a few things that the cashier could have done to make this a better experience for her customer. These are ideas you could do as well to help your customers have a better experience when dealing with your business.

• Suggested something to order when customer was looking at menu
• After the customer ordered, suggest that they order a secondary item; fries, rice, desert, etc.
• Ask the customer if they would like a drink when they place their order

Upselling is the easiest way to generate more revenue, yet it’s the least applied sales principle. It really works! If you don’t believe me, go to McDonalds and try to order a Big Mac. 99% of the time, you’ll be asked if you want fries with that. Are you kindly upselling your customers?

Here’s another thing, when you’re leaving and half way out the door the lady behind the counter yells: “Mahalo, Thank You!” That’s nice and all, but I don’t think it’s necessary to yell something to your customer’s backs when they are leaving. That doesn’t feel very warm or friendly.
A simple Mahalo (Thank you in Hawaiian) after ordering would be pleasant enough.

Also, give the customer something to take with them to keep in their card reminding them to come back again. A menu, frequent buyer card, magnet, business card; anything with the restaurant name, phone number location and web site on it, ANYTHING!

These tips will work in any business setting. So try them. Right now, make a list of 3 new things you will do when a customer is buying from you. Then implement them right away.

Entrepreneur Marketing Tips

Below is a collection of some excellent articles & posts I've found specifically for entrepreneurs. There are tons of ideas on for both internet & local marketing for you in this post. Enjoy!

Get the Most for your written testimonials
by: Ivan Misner (from entrepreneur.com)
Make it standard practice to ask clients and contacts for testimonials and you'll build your credibility and your business.

15 Sites for Promoting Your Local Business
by: Kristin Edelhauser (from entrepreneur.com)

Want to get your name out to locals and visitors alike? Take advantage of these online marketing sites and watch your business grow.

10 Powerful Marketing Tips for Small Business
by: Ann Marie Rubertone (from About.com)
Inexpensive, yet effective ways for small businesses to market. Mostly tips designed to spread your message within your local geographic area.

How to Get a Top Listing in Google, Yahoo and Bing
by: Joe Manna (from Infusionsoft.com)
You probably are aware of all the ways that you should perform SEO, maybe even dabble in a bit of paid search engine marketing and even getting yourself noticed in social media. Getting the top listings in search engines such as Google, MSN/Live/Bing and Yahoo are the difference between getting Web leads and no leads.

7 Small Business Marketing Tips
by: Bob Leduc (from businessknowhow.com)
Here are 7 low-cost but highly effective marketing tips to help any small business find customers and generate sales quickly

Infusionsoft News

*For a free Infusionsoft trial, visit www.tryinfusionsoft.com

Infusionsoft is a revolutionary software package designed specifically for Small Business & Entrepreneurs. It combines Contact Relationship Management (CRM), email marketing & e-commerence in one easy to use software package. But, the real magic is in the automatic follow up engine, because it makes it easy for entrepreneurs to fix their follow-up failure.

The company promises to Double Your Sales if you use Infusionsoft. That's a Bold claim. But it works and here's the proof that it works!

If you're interested in learning more about Infusionsoft, please click here.

Recently, I've found a ton of excellent information on the web about Infusionsoft. So below is information on what's new with Infusionsoft and why every entrepreneur should try Infusionsoft.

____________________________________________________________________

Straight talk about email marketing, shopping carts and CRM software
Double your sales guarantee: "If you use Infusionsoft for 1 year and don't double your sales, Infusionsoft will give you $1000 back when you cancel." * Used by Dan Kennedy, Frank Kern, Rich Shefren, Michael Gerber… and me ...

Big Business (Tries to) Go Small
by Tyler Garns
A couple weeks ago, Dave and I were invited to attend the Warrillow Summit in Las Vegas, which focused on connecting big business companies around small.

My Visit to Zappos: Great Company Culture | Infusionsoft Blog
by Clate Mask
I had a great visit last week to Zappos where I took a tour of their facility and had lunch with CEO, Tony Hseih. We took a trip out there to see how Tony keeps.

Looking for Answers In an Infusionsoft Review
By: dpthailand.com
There are a number of the that have the features that I am looking for, but I am very impressed by the guarantee that Infusionsoft provides. I am seriously considering purchasing this program, but would like to find an honest review ...

Marketing automatic software with Infusionsoft | Sharing Information
Sharing information about how to make money online with affiliate marketing, internet marketing, get paid to blog, pay per click, SEO, and more.

The Face of the American Entrepreneur

by Dean

“It turned out that our idea for the project was perfectly in line with Infusionsoft's message - that this is the age of the entrepreneur and that small business growth will be the key to bringing the country out of our current economic ...

Do's & Dont's of Marketing Hype

Saw a Tweet the other day that said, “How to be a successful entrepreneur in 10 minutes.” 10 minutes, really? I suppose you could reach some sort of level of success in 10 minutes. But I don’t think many entrepreneurs would be happy there.

Real success takes time & effort. I don’t know of a single company or solo entrepreneur who became successful in 10 minutes. For many, they may have had a 10 minute period that launched them into a new level of success. But, that is generally preceded by an extended period of effort.

Point is, I get sick of the hype. It gives entrepreneurs & internet marketing a bad rap. For example, while writing this I pulled off of Twitter a few 'hype' tweets. Have you seen any of them before?

• Get RICH in just 3 easy steps
• So easy, even my blind Grandmother could do it
• Home Business Tips: How To Make Money
• Guaranteed $125 within 24 hrs signup now
• Win a FREE iPod Touch
• Sign up Free and earn $125 cash
• The SEXIEST term to a network marketer's ear

I'm not even sure how a term can be sexy.

Each was accompanied with a hyper link that I’m sure led to some magical place that will immediately make me a successful entrepreneur. Yeah right!

As an entrepreneur, do you over hype yourself and your products? If so, why? I’ve found that most people really relate to down to earth people who are selling a product or service of real value. Few fall in love with the over-hype guys. Presenting your product as effective, exciting and beneficial is certainly vital. But over-hyping it shows to me that your too desperate to sell something.

So my challenge to you is this; keep the hype to a minimum. Be yourself and accurately present who you are are and what your trying to accomplish.


That being said, my next post will give you 7 easy steps on how to make your mother in law happy, make you rich beyond your wildest dreams and cure cancer in only 3 minutes! ;-)

Zig Ziglar Goal Setting

The other day I listened to Zig Ziglar’s Audio book called; How To Be A Winner. Zig truly is the sales & motivation master. His insights are inspiring and if followed and executed, they will truly help you lead a successful life.

On this particular CD, he gave a few outstanding tips on goals which I’d like to share. Entrepreneurs by nature are generally goal oriented. Not all entrepreneurs will formally write out their goals, but they generally have them. Often those goals are financially based. Nearly always they are performance based. For example, this month I'll sell x amount of new units. Or, this week I will introduce my service to 10 new prospects.

Ultimately, creating the goal properly is essential. Zig outlined 6 steps for creating a goal, as well as 4 characteristics of goals. They are:

6 steps of creating goals

1. Identify your goal. What do you want to accomplish?
2. Set a deadline for reaching your goal
3. Make a list of obstacles that must be overcome to reach your goal.
4. Identify people who can help you overcome those obstacles.
5. Makes a list of all skills you have and those you need to obtain in order to achieve your goals
6. Develop a plan to achieve this goal.

Also, there are specific characteristics that each goal must possess. This will help you set the correct type of goal.

Characteristics of a Goal

1. To be effective, the goal must effect change
2. You must have big goals as well as long term goals
3. If you don’t have daily objectives you qualify as a dreamer and not as a doer. Daily action toward goal achievement is essential! Zig added, The difference between great and near great is the awareness that making it big means working every day to your long term objectives.
4. Goals must be specific, not vague or general. If you want to reach your goal you must be able to see touch & smell it.

Goals don't have to be complicated or overly lofty. I've found the most effective goals are simple, achievable, yet will stretch you slightly outside of your comfort zone.

I encourage you to follow these goal setting tips. Try it right now. Create a goal for something you'd like to achieve in the next week. Then, leave a comment to this blog post and tell us how you did.

Always remember, Whether you think you can or think you can’t you are generally right!

An Unplanned Infusionsoft Roadtrip

I spent the past few days on an amazing road trip with my family. We visited tons of little towns and tourist spots in Utah. Little did I know that it would turn into an entrepreneurial voyage which taught me more about the small businesses in America.

Many of the people we visited were entrepreneurs. We visited a house painter, a small business marketing expert, a nutrition product reseller, an artist and the marketing director for a small chemical business. Some of these were long time friends while others are new faces.

It’s always fun and refreshing for me to meet with entrepreneurs. I love their can-do attitude. They always seem to be working through challenges & obstacles, rather than letting life run them. They lead great lives. This doesn’t mean that they are all rich, but rather they are all fulfilled with what life has to offer.

I made a point with each visit to ask each what their biggest challenges in business were. Each had the same answer; they are good at what they do, but they have no idea how to market themselves or their businesses. Their follow up ranged from non-existent to minimal. They needed help, but as with most entrepreneurs they had little extra finances to hire the necessary assistance.

This lead to many good conversations about Infusionsoft. Infusionsoft combines CRM, email marketing and ecommerce into one system. But, the real magic is in the automatic follow-up engine. It makes it easy for entrepreneurs to fix their follow up failure. I was able to coach these friends on how to properly follow-up with each prospect & customer, without taking time away from their core business functions.

All were very interested in what Infusionsoft had to offer. I was excited to help my friends grow their businesses through Infusionsoft!

This wasn't intended to be a work trip, but I’m sure glad it turned into one. I guess that's what happens when you love and live your work.

Entrepreneurship is not only the back bone, but also the heart & soul of American business.

Rich Schefren & Stephen Pierce Seminar

Some exciting news.....There is a marketing and business building seminar being held June 26 -27 in Los Angeles, featuring world-renowned author and speaker Michael Gerber, business genius and marketing phenomenon Rich Schefren, “World’s #1 Wealth Advocate”, Stephen Pierce, and sales and marketing automation experts from Infusionsoft that will rock your world and make you look at your business in an entirely new way.

Are you a slave to your business, working 80 plus hours a week and not having the results that you want? This is the place to be to get off that treadmill and learn the secrets many businesses are using to automate many of your most time consuming tasks and ending the riddle of follow up with customers and prospects.

You will see how implementing just a couple of these strategies will give you more time in the day, and picking up new customers quickly and easily with the magic of automation!

The seminar is not free, but admission is set at an embarrassingly low $199 per person. With an admission fee, you weed out tire kickers, seminar junkies and the like, and the attendees are people you would actually WANT to meet and network with.

There are only a very finite number of seats available so register NOW.

Register Here

The exact location will only be given to people who register. It will be in LA at one of the larger hotels near LAX, that’s the only hint we can give!

You are going to see, hear, and learn:

• How ‘set it and forget it’ automation strategies will deliver more new customers in a month than you now get all year.
• How to ‘re-activate’ you dead list and find value where you thought there was none.
• The single most important ‘number’ you MUST know and use in your business – there is a 98% probability that you are NOT using it now.
• 4 break through strategies to make your business immune to the recession and current market conditions in your business area.
• And so much more!

Many entrepreneurs can fall into the ‘blaming the economy’ for all your problems, and become a self-fulfilling prophesy where you can begin accepting poor sales and profitability. I guarantee after attending this seminar, you will never feel that way again.

So while this is fresh in your mind, register now!

Register Here

This is a rare opportunity to learn from the masters themselves….people who run businesses NOW and not in their dimmest memories…..who can provide you with easy-to-use tools to completely re-invent your business plan and results!

P.S. A FREE lunch will be provided for both days of the seminar!

Register Here

Tips to manage Business & Life

If you're like most entrepreneurs, you have more to do than time to do it. Let’s face it, that’s part of the thrill of entrepreneurship, but it’s also a major downfall.

I've found that too many entrepreneurs get so wrapped up in their businesses, and forget to take care of the other aspects of their lives. (Stop & think, how many overweight entrepreneurs do you know? ) When you focus too much on your business a lot of negative effects result. Families are neglected, friends are lost, and the physical and mental health of the small business owner declines. (Just to name a few.)

So here are some tips for being able to successfully manage your business & your life:

• Automate your business- I love business automation! It's the best kept secret in the business world. Too many entrepreneurs I work with aren't automating. They are doing everything manually. You've got to stop this! When you put your business on auto-pilot you have more time for other things.

Here are three easy to use automation tools to try:

1. For your Business
2. For Twitter
3. Website Design

• Put systems into place. If you repeatedly do something the same way, you'll make few mistakes. In other words, it becomes a habit. Write a list of everything that you do. Figure out a process for everything you do. Then follow it religiously.
• Be More educated. Working smarter could mean working less. Spend time taking classes & reading books about your industry. You will learn tips on how to be more effective. Click here to view useful educational products.
  
• Take time for you. Believe it or not, taking a day off can add to your productivity. Your health improve, your personal life will be happier and you'll be more focused when working.
  
• Go home- set a time schedule for yourself. Schedule the number of hours you will work and stick to that plan.
• Set your priorities- Every day, create a task list & prioritize the list. Do your most important products first. One word of advice, be sure sure to add time with friends and family as a top priority.
  

Follow these tips you'll be more product and will have more of your precious time back.

One final thought, remember; nobody ever lay on their deathbed wishing they had spent more time at the office!

How I'm Getting Followers on Twitter

So it seems like half of the free world is on Twitter these days. I keep waiting for Grandma to email and tell me she's made it. The other night I was at a Diamondbacks game here in Arizona. One of the stadium banners had a Twitter ad and there was another Twitter ad over the P.A. system. I guess Twitter is here to stay.

Twitter is an online community that's mixed with people trying to make a buck, share something profound, be completely useless or some combination of the three. But, most people seem to have one common theme, and that is to get lots of followers.

Recently, I've had some success growing my Twitter account. My account is growing at a rate of over 150+ per day. (Check out Twitter Counter for proof.) My total follower count is still retentively low, but if this trend continues, then I should be seeing massive growth soon! So let me give you a few hints & tips on how to grow your followers.

First, you really need to buy Twitter Traffic Machine. I can't begin to explain how valuable this is. Put it this way, when I started using Twitter Traffic Machine, I had about 1500 followers. A week later, I had 1,000 more! That brought my Twitter follower count to only 2,500. That's a 40% growth of followers in 1 week. Not bad. I can't stress it enough, buy Twitter Traffic Machine. If you want to have a bunch of followers, it's worth the small investment ($27.00)

Next, follow some sort of strategic schedule. My week goes something like this:

Sunday: Follow about 500 people (Below, I'll list ways to follow people easily without having to click on the follow button a million times)
Monday: Same, follow about 500 people
Tuesday: Follow about 500
Wednesday: Follow about 500
Thursday: Do not follow anyone! Just Tweet. have conversations with people. @reply to strategic people who are not following you, but you'd like them to. I also use Tweet Later and schedule Tweets to be sent during the upcoming week. This is a great way to put your marketing on auto-pilot.
Friday: Same as Thursday.
Saturday: Unfollow everyone who isn't following me. Here is the best tool I've found for that: Karma

Finally, there are tons of tools to use to help you be more effective with Twitter. Here are a few cool sites for you to try out. Use these well and you'll grow your own little Twitter Empire in no time!

Twitter Traffic Machine - Again, well work the investment. Get it!
Tweet Later - Easy to use system that will allow you to automate twitter. I suggest buying the professional package.
Easy Tweet
Twollow - Easy site to find followers within your niche.
Twellow - Good directory service. be sure to place yourself in all 10 categories allotted to you.
TwitSeeker - Another easy tool to find like minded Tweeters

Hope this all helps. Now it's your turn. What works for you? What tools do you use with Twitter?

Easy Tweets - Yes, it is easy

Just wanted to take a quick second today and tell you about anew service I've been trying. It's called Easy Tweets.

This is perhaps the best Twitter-organizer service out there. The companies slogan is to "Take Complete Control of Twitter." Here are a few of their highlights


It's very easy to use. The reporting tools are excellent. Very easy to incorporate RSS feeds and you can even use Google Analytics! Their Tweet Deck view will make you forget all about Tweet-Deck.

This program is cheap & easy. Try it today. You'll be happy you did! Click here to sign up.

4 Step Plan Every Entrepreneur Must Follow

There is a lot of flexibility in being an entrepreneur. That’s part of the thrill! But, there is one fact that every entrepreneur must live by. That is that Every Entrepreneur must have a plan!

Let me share with you a very simple method that will help you design, implement and stick with your plan.

I call this method the DNA of business. I call it that because this should be the core of every business you run and venture your pursue. I use this method to execute for my overall business plan, but also for specific projects to measure their effectiveness.

There are 4 simple steps:

1. Define Why – Why are you in business? What is your dream, vision, purpose, & mission? Why are you selling your product or providing your service? Why are you attempting this project?
2. Understanding What – This is where you will better understand your performance expectations. You will need to define your behaviors & start understanding their results. What do you hope to accomplish? What does success look like?
3. How is it measured – I find that entrepreneurs generally are very poor at this step. They have tons of ideas to try, but often do not do enough measure their success. To be successful, you must be able to accurately measure something’s effectiveness. In this step, define how you will know if you are successful or unsuccessful? What specific things can you measure to ensure that you are succeed and providing your why?
4. So What? – This is simply 2 if/then statements. If I am doing well, then what? If I am not doing well, then what? In other words, how will I adjust what I am doing?

Let’s give this a trial run to better prove my point. Let’s say you find a new product you’d like to promote & sell. Here is how I’d follow these steps to prepare me in promoting this product.

Project: Quickly & Rapidly Grow Twitter Followers
Product: Twitter Traffic Machine (This is an actual product I suggest trying. Click here for more info)
Plan of action: Send the affiliate link to follow Tweeters who follow me. Add link to my website. Send mass email to email list

1. Define Why – I am doing this 1) Give value to others by teaching them a valuable tool. 2) Generate another stream of income. 3) Grow my twitter list.
2. Understanding what – I hope to double my Twitter followers in 30 days and generate $500 in affiliate money through this program.
3. How is it measured – I have 1,620 Twitter followers today. My goal is to have 3,240 by May 24, 2009. This will be measures by Twitter & Twitter Counter. Affiliate income will be tracked through my affiliate website.
4. So What? – If I meet both of these goals, then I will continue this program. If I exceed these goals by 25%, then I will increase my marketing of this. If I miss these goals by 25%, then I will discontinue this program.

It’s as easy as that! That plan took me about 5 minutes to write. But now I know why I want to attempt this new project. What I am going to do. How I will measure it. And what I will do based on those results.

Easy! Now try it! You’ll be glad you did.

As always, I welcome your comments and questions. Please try this and tell me how it works for you.

The Curse of the Entrepreneur

Let me tell you a quick story that I hear time and time again. The main character changes, but the story remains the same. It goes something like this…..

I’m not sure that I know what I want to do when I grow up. So far, I’ve bounced from job to job, making just enough to support my family. However, I get bored easily with each job and start looking for the next best thing.

As a result, I’ve run though my life feeling unfulfilled. I don't really know what I want to do. I have lots of ideas, but I don't really know which one to pursue

I think I want to do something on my own. I may want to own my own business. I’d like to be my own boss. In my previous jobs, I’ve loved building something new within my role and I’d love to do that with my own company. But, that takes a lot of work and money. I don't really know how to do it or how to get started. I guess I'll keep looking for the perfect job for me.

The reality is that this person does know what they want to do when the grow up - THEY WANT TO BE AN ENTREPRENEUR!

Here's the really cool news about this......You can be an entrepreneur just by deciding that you are one. That's it! No school to complete, entrance exam to pass or interview to ace.

So, why do I call this a curse? Well, because frequently there is something holding wanna-be entrepreneurs back from pursing their dreams. For instance, you've got to support your family and yourself financially. Frequently when you stop working at your ‘regular’ job and start an entrepreneurial-venture there is a period of time where you make little to no money.

Or, it may be fear holding you back. The fear of failure, the fear of getting in over your head, or the fear of the unknown.

That's generally the curse.....money and/or fear. You're cursed because you want to be an entrepreneur, but are stuck in a job and can't be.

Personally, I don't believe in the curse. We live in the age of the entrepreneur! With the internet, it's easier than ever to follow your individual entrepreneur dream.

You’ve got to start somewhere. If you think you have the entrepreneur-spirit within you, then go for it! Decide that you are an entrepreneur and find a way to apply that to your life. Don’t go through life saying, I don’t really know what I want to do. The reality is that you do know…..you’re just afraid to try it.

Here are a few resources that I recommend to help you get started.

So let me ask you this, how do you cure this curse? How do you get started? How can you follow your dreams? In a few days, I'll add another post with some of my ideas. But, I'd like to hear from you.

If you are an entrepreneur, how did you get started? If you would like to be an entrepreneur, what's holding you back?

Twitter Grader Review - Worth Trying

Twitter Grader is one of the dozens of free tools available to help Twitter users. Like most Twitter tools, it's pretty easy to use and seems to be aimed at everyone's #1 goal on Twitter......GETTING LOTS OF FOLLOWERS! But, there is more to Twitter Grader than meets the eye.

Let's start with the basics. When you first go to www.twittergrader.com (or http://twitter.grader.com/) a very simple & clean looking interface is presented asking you to enter your Twitter username. Once you do, the grader is off and running a few few quirky, yet funny phrases while you wait. Once the 'grading' is complete, the following screen will appear.

Tons of information is returned to you. It's very easy to read & use. A few highlights:
Tweet Cloud: Located towards the middle of the screen. This shows commonly user words in your Tweets with the most commonly used in larger print. This is very beneficial because its a 2 second overview of your content. Good visual way to see what you're talking about most.

Suggest Followers: This is at the bottom of your profile screen. I'm not sure how they determine this, but for the most part the list seems to be of people with similar interests based on your Twitter profile.

Other cool features are:
TwitSnip - Nifty little tool the lives in your browser. It allows you to quickly tweet content from a web page you are currently on.
TweetIt Button Creator - Very easy to use tool to create Tweet-it links for web content. (See the Tweet it Link at the end of this article)
Badge - Tool that provides html code to show your Twitter Grade or your current followers. (See right hand column of this site)

One last feature is the Twitter Elite links at the top right of the screen. This shows top rated Tweeters and are organized by location. It's nice to see who is most active in different areas of the world. Also, if you want to be the best, you need to do what the best are doing. Here are the account this site feels are top rated on Twitter. Spend some time studying what they do.

A few negatives about the site.....The grading doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. There seems to be a world of difference between someone who ranks at 98.6 versus 99.0. It seems like they get as many people as close to 100 as possible. Perhaps this is by design. Also, it occasionally will take forever to load your Twitter Grade and other information. Sometimes, it will freeze my browser (Firefox.) Occasionally, the site wil not load.

All in all, I really like this site. Check it out and use what you learn from it to continue creating your own little Twitter Empire. Go ahead and check out my stats there as well.

Twitter Tools For Success

I've spent a good chunk of time recently playing with Twitter and the many free Twitter-related services that are out there. There are tons. I love the Twitter concept. Give everyone a few lines to share what's on their mind. I love even more that they have an open API and literally hundreds or Twitter related applications have been created as a result.

So, the question is, which ones should you use? If you Tweet at all (and if your an entrepreneur you certainly should) using applications can help you develop your brand & business. Here is a list of a few tools that will help you be organized, personal in your tweets & will help you grow your followers:

1. Twellow.com - This is a great directory to help you find fellow Twitter accounts of similar interests. Also is an excellent place to list yourself so you can be found. Can be used to tie together your other social media profiles as well.
2. TweetLater.com - Allows you to run tons of automation through Twitter. Things like, automatic following of individuals who follow you, write Tweets to be posted later, have @replies emailed to you and more. Great free version. I suggest buying the upgraded version.
3. TwitterCounter.com - Can't say it overly useful, but it's a fun tool to show how much your followers have grown.
4. Twitter Search - Very easy & powerful to use. Will search for any words recently Tweeted. Will show you who Tweeted the word or phrase and gives you an option to view their profile.
5. TwitterGetter.com - This is a new tool that I recently tried. Essentially it's a tool that will attempt to bring you tons of followers. Frankly, I can't make a recommendation on this because I haven't' sufficiently tested it.
6. TwitterGrader.com - I like this one. The tool will give you a score of your Twitterness (that's a word I just made up) Will also show you a word Cloud of recently used words. This is good way for you to see what you tweet about most. Also will show you a list of Tweeters to follow based on your Tweets. Really good tool. And Free!
7. TweetDeck - This is an application you download to your desktop. It's a tool that will organization your followers into customizable groups. A great way to stay organized and on top of your Tweets.

One final note, make sure you respect your followers by not posting too often and only promoting things in your tweets. Instead share things of interest & value. No one wants to be advertised to all day long.

Your turn......what tools do you use? Which do you like and dislike? Comment and tells us what works.

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Money Saving Tips

Too often as we're trying to improve our financial situation we focus too much on making more money. Focusing on saving what we're already spending is just as important.

Here are a few sites I found on excellent money Saving Tips

Feed the Pig - Funny site. Tons of education and ideas you probably haven't thought of.
Keep your house from leaking cash - Great article on saving money & energy at home.
SRP home Energy - Cool site put together by SRP (energy company based in Phoenix) Gives great tips and is very interactive.
SaveMoney.com - Tons of advice on saving money