The whole UBD team went, and it was a great opportunity to meet a lot of folks in the blogging world and expose the UBD brand. We networked with a slew of elite bloggers, business owners and managers, and new clients. On top of that, we were able to listen to some great speakers and learn cutting edge techniques for success. Blog World was a total win for UBD.

This year, we’ll be attending another convention in addition to Blog World…

From what it looks like, these guys know how to have a good time!

Headed by Ted Murphy, Izea is a social media powerhouse. They are well known within the industry and offer great products and services to bloggers. Check out a full list of their blogging services.

This conference is going to be all about making bloggers more successful. UBD seems like a natural fit to attend because our goal has always been to help serious bloggers take their game to the next level.

I’ll be there, speaking on the blog design makeover panel. My goal is to help attendees avoid the banality of mainstream blog design! Overshadowing my wimpy online presence, speakers by the likes of John Chow, Shoemoney, Neil Patel, Merlin Mann, and many other ridiculously qualified individuals.

All in all, this should be an awesome conference. Oh ya… I forgot to mention…

The day after the conference, everyone will be heading to Universal Studios Orlando! Like I said, Ted Murphy and clan know how to have fun. Hope you see you all there!!

In general, these static activities are going to have little-to-no benefit to you directly generating profits. You will be going nowhere in a hurry with most of these activities, so lets take a look at the good stuff. Profiting tasks may include:

When you are profitable, you are doing what you set out to do as an entrepreneur; make money. The more time you spend being profitable, you will be able to spend less time working hard, and your profits will hopefully soar. So I have to ask you, how are you spending your time?

It has been a personal goal of mine to increase my profitable time to the point that it encompasses most of my work days. Well it has come to fruition, to say the least. I have been extremely busy ever since the launch of Unique Blog Designs.

Unfortunately, my blog has fallen into the static time category lately. I am not monetizing my blog yet because I don’t want to seem disingenuous by spamming you with ads, so therefore it is a branding tool that can at most be used to promote UBD.

Excuses, excuses… so what’s the point of this post?

I can’t reiterate enough how important it is to maximize your profitable time. There are so many distractions to choose from, and if you aren’t careful in how you choose to allocate your time you will fall victim to dry income streams.

Forcing myself to take a step back from the blog and refocus my daily goals on UBD has been a monumental step in my entrepreneurial career. The business is BOOMING with clients and we have begun hiring designers and coders to take on the workload. Speaking of hiring…

If you are a competent designer and/or coder that has experience in wordpress, PLEASE shoot me an email.

How are you spending your time?

I have to pose this question again, and I am more interested this time because my readership has grown significantly. Are you standing still? Has static time wasting become habitual, or are you the type of person who is focused on really succeeding and making money online? I hope you are the latter!

1. Write 25 Posts – Judging by my democracy poll, most of my readers appreciate frequent posting. 65% of you are posting 5+ days per week, with 42% of you posting 7+ days per week. What a revelation, huh? It’s no secret that consistent, quality posting is a pillar to successful blogging, so this leaves me with a clear goal of providing that to you.
2. Improve the content of my writing – I had some relatively good posts last month, and it definitely aided in strengthening my reader base.

   Writing basic “make money online” articles is a great way to get new readers to stick, but at the same time I don’t want to disillusion my veteran readers by not stepping up the quality. Along with a few make money online gems, I will go into detail this month not only on how to make money, but how to effectively plan and manage the marketing of your idea.

3. Reach 55 RSS Subscribers – The number of readers that are subscribing to my feed has exceeded my expectations to this point. As I write this, I have 35 RSS subscribers. I am very confident that this goal will be reached within the month.

Goal setting can be precarious if you aren’t careful. Sometimes I see people setting goals that are just plain unreasonable, and they end up failing because of poor planning.

It would have been extremely fanciful of me to set goals like writing 50 posts or achieving 150 RSS subscribers. All of my blog’s data shows that I will not be growing that quickly, and I certainly can’t say that I am planning a massive marketing strategy.

Also, two of the three goals that I have set are under my direct control. Improving my content (although it may be subjective) and writing 25 posts will be achievable only by me, not my readers. In this strategy, I have allowed myself to take control, and ensure success. The bar hasn’t been set at an unattainable height, and the only factor that I can’t directly control is how you, my readers, will react to my posting.

Now, it’s not to be said that setting your goals high is foolish. There are many situations in which you can set your bar high and then leap over it, but in this case I don’t see the value. I would like to keep on the trend of steady, loyal subscriber-ship, and growth.

How do you go about logically setting goals? Do you use logic and strategy or are you setting arbitrary goals that leave your success up to chance?

Success
1. Encourage Personal Networking and Link Building – I have spent WAY too much time on MyBlogLog this last month. MyBlogLog is a great networking site that can lead you to hundreds, if not thousands of blogs in your niche. I am calling it a success because I have met a lot of people online this last month, and have improved my traffic directly from networking. As far as link building goes, I didn’t do any link-exchanges or paid links. I can still call it a success because of how many trackbacks that am receiving on my posts though.

Success

2. Improve the Quality of My Posts – Being as this is subjective, I can’t really gauge the success of this from my own opinion. What I can do, though, is use the number of comments on my posts and the direct feedback I’ve gotten to gauge how my readers are responding to the content. I have had several posts climb above ten comments, and one is at 16! For a blog that is as new as mine, reaching those numbers can be considered a success. A few posts this month (Adsense Arbitrage, Wordpress Themes, and Bootstrapping) got some great feedback and a lot of trackbacks.

Success

3. Reach 30 RSS Subscribers – Short and Sweet. I accomplished this on the LAST day. I officially had 30 RSS readers on the 31st of August. Let’s take a look at the RSS graph to see the progression.

Failure

4. Make Improvements to the Design of the Blog – I didn’t take the time to take on any designing for the blog this month. Even though it is a failure here on the blog, the time that would have been used to design my own blog was put to good use elsewhere. Unique Blog Designs launched late last month, and I have been busy doing design work for other bloggers.

All in all, August was a pretty successful month here at the blog. I would like to thank everyone who has subscribed or is just reading the blog, it makes my time worth it to have you all here. I will be setting a new group of goals for the blog tomorrow, so stay tuned.

There has been some buzz going around about the BlogWorld Expo coming up in November. I figured that I would add to it and give you five reasons to show up!

1. Networking

At an expo like BlogWorld, you can expect to find some of the leaders in blogging, some of the stragglers, and a lot of people in-between. This presents great opportunity for anyone looking to network. You will be able to get your face out there and actually talk to people that might be reading your blog, which is a very powerful tool when building long-lasting relationships. You can meet Nate, Josh, and I there, for sure!

2. Seminars
Experts in blogging will be presenting on topics that are not only interesting, but potentially profitable. Here is a list of some seminars that will be available:

• Future Business: Online Tactics & Strategies
• Building Your On-line Reputation
• Good to Great: Blogging & Profit Potential
• The Long Tail … Or Not?
• Making a Living Podcasting
• Social Media vs. Corporate Blogging
• How On-line Conversations Change Markets
• Badges, Widgets, Plugins & Gizmos, Oh My!
• The Psychology of Blogging
• Syndicating Your Blog for Profit
• Profiting from Podcasts
• Keeping Your Blog Out of Court
• Maximizing the Benefits of Small Business Blogs
• On Writing Well
• Bloggers for Hire / Hiring Bloggers
• Making Money with Affiliate Programs
• Podcasting as Marketing

3. Market Yourself
If you are branding a product that is aimed at bloggers… talk about target marketing! Events like this could be your opportunity to make a splash and start the ripple effect that could take your brand to the next level of market penetration. You can either rent out a booth or do some door-to-door type selling… I would do the former.

4. The Leading Edge of Blogging
You will be previewed to most corners of the blogospere. There is a real opportunity to get ahead and prepare yourself and your blog for the next evolutions and add-ons to blogging

The BlogWorld exhibit floor will provide an extensive selection of products and services for the experienced and first-time blogger alike. Companies will include publishing platforms, design companies, web/blog/podcast hosting companies, aggregators, add-on services, plug-ins, widgets, computer hardware & software, wireless services, podcasting products, wireless & high speed ISPs, VOIP companies, on-line advertising networks, news readers, RSS/syndication services, search engines, consulting companies, affiliate program partners, new media products and services … and many more.

5. It’s Vegas

If I’m not making a strong enough argument with the blog-related reasons for attending, come to the Expo because it is VEGAS. I have personally never been, but if you’re like me, you’ve been told many times that Vegas is one of the coolest cities to be in! Although I don’t recommend you spend your time gambling and getting tipsy, if you can’t resist, you can always go crazy and have one of those “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” type trips. ^_-

I hope to see you all at BlogWorld. You can sign up through the link(affiliate) on the sidebar.

Credibility Counts

I often base the credibility of the blogs I visit on the longevity of their blog, how many feed readers they have, and the quality of their content. If I feel like I am visiting a new blog that is more interested in opportunistic advertising than really giving their readers something useful, I won’t be subscribing. I know I am not the only person out there in the blogosphere that feels this way. On this blog, I will be building credibility and authority through great content, a solid amount of readers, and referrals from credible blogs. Thanks to Christine for linking me btw!

The stronger the readership, the stronger the marketing event.

When you blog, your readers are of utmost importance. Whether it is a church, newspaper, or a blog, the people who participate in your service are your advocates. The effect of a marketing event like a contest at a blog with 500 rss subscribers would be extremely amplified compared to a new blog with under 30 rss subscribers. When I decide to launch my first contest, it is going to be huge. Also, when you do things to reward people that have subscribed over a long period of time, you only strengthen the bond.

Getting noticed on bigger blogs comes with networking and credibility.

Networking takes time. I have been blogging for a little less than a month now, and I know few people on the blogosphere personally. I am still taking in the sites, finding the right blogs, and settling into social niches. Once my name and face have made it around enough people outside of my regular readership, the volume of people that will be interested in a contest will be huge.

Some sound advice I’ve picked up

I have noticed that most blogs take 1-3 months to build up a solid readership (100 RSS Subscribers or so). I am sitting around 10-15 rss subscribers as of right now, but I have only been blogging for about 3 1/2 weeks. I am anxious for the blog to explode with readers, but I will take the advice I have picked up, and wait it out.

I am definitely not trying to say that every event like a contest or Review Me is a bad thing for new blogs. If successful, it can launch you to the next level of readership. I have just chosen an alternate route.

How long did you wait until you held your first event? Have you decided to not hold one at all? Tell me about your blogs and strategies, I am interested in how successful you have all been.

We have all heard the phrase, “time is money” before . Once again, a cliche blurb not only happens to be true, but an extremely powerful concept in itself. Take a second to analyze your daily routine. Try to look at each individual activity throughout your day as either static, or profiting. Here are some things that you would consider a static activity:

• junk email (any email that isn’t directly related to you making profits)
• junk phone calls
• chatting with friends
• web surfing
• blogging (unless you are marketing and profiting with it)

In general, these static activities are going to have little-to-no benefit to you directly generating profits. You will be going nowhere in a hurry with most of these activities, so lets take a look at the good stuff. Profiting tasks may include:

• developing a new product
• streamlining you and your business financially
• marketing your business
• building profitable relationships

When you are profitable, you are doing what you set out to do as an entrepreneur; make money. The more time you spend being profitable, you will be able to spend less time working hard, and your profits will hopefully soar. So I have to ask you, how are you spending your time?

1. Encourage Personal Networking and Link Building
   • I can do this is several ways. I can begin searching out the readers and incoming traffic, and leave comments.
   • I can also begin reviewing people’s blogs and posts, while giving them a link. This will encourage them to perhaps read my blog, and better yet, link back to me.
   • Begin having conversations with other bloggers at my level, and hopefully more experienced and popular bloggers as well.
2. Improve the quality of my posts
   I will be doing my best to write more interesting articles this month. Another thing that I will be holding myself accountable for is my consistency. Sometimes it is hard to find inspiration for writing, but this blog needs to be consistent.
3. Reach 30 RSS Subscribers
   I am setting the bar pretty low for this month. I am currently at nine readers, and I figure three times that would be a good start. Nate wrote a great article about his RSS subscriber growth. If I can achieve that level of success in the same time frame, I will be happy.
4. Make Improvements to the Design of the blog I will be making some design changes this month, with the goal being to launch on September 1st.

Have you thought about what goals you can set for your own blog? Let me know if you can think up some other goals for me. If I get a really good idea, I will give you a link on my blog!

You are feeling what a large number of people feel. You happen to be in a position that isn’t very favorable to you, and so you end up being affected by it. Even though you might have to get up and go to a job that you don’t enjoy, you don’t have to let it affect the rest of your day. I happen to love what I do for a living, but even if you don’t you can take heed to this article. Here are some things that I try to do everyday to rid myself of negative thoughts.

Where to Start

How your morning shapes up can influence your entire day. Try to plan out what you will do the second you wake up, that way you don’t feel like you are wasting time. The most healthy thing to do is to grab a proper breakfast and get full of liquids. You will be building the energy you need to pull off that 12-hour day. Try to get the little tidbits of entertainment (digg.com, break.com, youtube.com, etc.) done while you are eating your breakfast, so you aren’t feeling any urge during your workday. Get going on a strong note, and keep building the momentum!

Daily Plan

Make it a point to plan out your objectives for the day. If you have ten things to do, but only time for five, plan accordingly. Try your best to build blocks of time where productivity can reach 110 percent.

Pay Attention to Detail

Don’t let the little things bog you down in the muck. Paying bills, filling your car up with gas, renewing your tabs, etc., can get in your way of being on time. Be proactive in getting these things out of your way so that you are free to achieve your daily business goals.

Exercise

Staying physically healthy is one of the most underestimated methods to keeping yourself proficient. Do your best to block one hour of your day for exercise. This will keep you energized, healthy, and attractive. If you would like to give yourself an ego boost, spend a year in the gym. Mental health can be affected severely by your looks, and how you feel about them, so do the right thing and stay in shape!

Communicate

Stay in touch with the people that matter to you. Business colleagues, family, and friends, can all be great sources to keep yourself grounded. Take a few minutes to chat about daily happenings and other small talk. Who you talk to on a regular basis is very important, as you know, because you are the company you keep.

Stay Focused and Dedicated to Your Goals

This is vital to your daily success. Stay focused on the goals you have set! Period. If you need to make adjustments, or work around things to keep focused, do it. Avoid the television, don’t take pointless phone calls, don’t get involved in too much wasteful conversation. Your goals have been set because you believe them to be vital to your success. Take it seriously and you will be rewarded for your efforts. Good luck!

Be Ready To Work Hard

You must be prepared to work hard. I believe in working smart as well, but working at full capacity can be coupled with a great method to be a sum greater than its parts. If you think you can, you can find a job or build a business in a field that drives your desire to work hard. Finding motivation in business isn’t difficult (e.g., profits, personal finances, etc.), but enjoying the means to those ends is a crucial part of finding the energy to work hard. A feeling of great success and accomplishment coupled with a bulging pocket book is what we entrepreneurs are after, isn’t it? Setting yourself up in a field that you truly love can bring that extra 10% effort that can outdo your competition.

You Must Embrace Risk

You must accept the fact that taking risks is a part of being in business. Luckily, with proper management, you can prepare yourself for any contingencies that may arise.

Risk management is a vital tool to enable your business to identify, assess, and then address risks that can be foreseen. This concept will make the bounce-back from negative issues go more smoothly because you will have planned ahead, and prepared resources and strategies to overcome the issue. If your business is in its initial development stage, take heed to the potential risks of doing something new.

Let’s say you are launching a new product into a new market. What kind of risks are associated with this? Financial, operational, strategic, and compliance. If I were launching a new product, regardless of the type, I would like to at least consider these potential issues. You can get specific within these categories, but they cover most concepts. Let me give you an example in each vertical.

• Financial – Let’s say you are incurring large amounts of non-payment from your customers. Where will you come up with the capital to offset that potential loss? What should you do if your interest rates double on your long-term loan?
• Operational- How will you deal with the unexpected loss of key production equipment due to breakdown or theft? What should you do if your office building burns to the ground and you have to move your entire staff to a temporary location?
• Strategic- You are a small software development firm that has just finished production of a revolutionary product. You have carved out a completely new market and large firms such as Microsoft and Google would like to enter in as your competitor. How will you differentiate yourself to dominate the market that you created?
• Compliance- Let’s say that you manufacture small toys for children. You coat the toys in a lead-based paint because it is being supplied at a lower cost compared to water-base. Unfortunately, children have decided to chew on these toys that you manufacture. Reports start to come in that your customers are having to deal with lead poisoning and begin to complain to Congress. It has now become illegal to produce toys that contain lead-based paints. Will you be able to compensate for the rise in production costs and a potential recall?

Risk is inevitable. Take the necessary steps to foresee potential problems. I will be diving into this subject in later posts because I find it particularly interesting. ^_^

Failures and Loss

A business is considered a failure if it closes or one of its creditors ends up at a loss. There are many reasons for failure. Macro issues include things like poor planning, bad management, inattention to risks and potential roadblocks, insufficient cash flow, etc. That being said, there is a good chance that you will experience failure to some degree during your entrepreneurial career.

Let’s focus on what failure can do to you professionally and personally, and how you can bounce back to success. Failure in business can shake you up to the extreme. It can be as emotionally intense as the loss of a loved one. You might experience a sharp drop in your self-esteem and confidence. It makes perfect sense as to why you might feel this way being as that you put your entire being into becoming a business success.

So now that you’ve taken a ride down the expected shame-spiral, what on earth should you do? Well, if you had taken the advice in the previous section, you would have planned for potential failure. You are ready to pick your feet up and charge into it all again. If it is that easy for you, you sound like you have what it takes to be a real success. Let’s say that you hadn’t prepared for a catastrophe and you are blind-sided by failure. You feel like the puzzle that was your entrepreneurial career was knocked off of the table, and now you are in pieces. What to do…what to do…?

First and foremost, you must decompress. Forgive yourself for your failure, and try your hardest to understand exactly why it happened. You must rethink your strategies and then recharge your batteries for your next try. Don’t be foolish and rush into something based on your pride. Next time, you will be prepared for success, so make sure that you have all of your bases covered. Recharge yourself with confidence and vigor. When you have prepared for your next venture, GO FOR IT!