Letters From Dan

So you’ve got a website and you’re proud of it. In fact, many of you were probably excited to tell people once it was up and going.  I’ve got some questions for you. What is it for? What does it do? How do people find it? How do people use it? Do you know the answers to any of these questions?

(See the comments section for the list of retailers thriving in 2009)

This was originally compiled after seeing a forwarded e-mail back in January. Since then, I’ve updated it as news came out. If there are more, please tell me and I’ll add them to the list.

We grew up watching sitcoms, movies, hearing stories and reading books about the 10 and 20 year reunions. Typically they’re giant surprise parties. “Can you believe how much weight she gained?”, “He’s still living at home?”, “I never thought he of all people would be that successful”. That’s the kind of stuff we grew up hearing. But now that slide show of pictures that was going to guffaw everyone is played out everyday. The weight, the jobs, the families – they’re common knowledge. Putting the surprise party away, what does the reunion become?

So you’ve got this idea or special knowledge or hobby and you want to turn it into money. It’s done millions of times and I highly recommend it. If it is something you like to do, why not profit by sharing it with others who need it. So I’ve put together this little guide on how to get from A to Z. I hope you find it useful.

What is Social Media, otherwise known as Web 2.0? It’s where the internet has evolved at this point – it has become a medium of social interaction. Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn and lots of other sites do nothing other than connect people. And their popularity has changed the web forever.

Why even write this article?  Mainly because most people don’t realize what kinds of businesses are available and most don’t realize that successful home businesses require some work. So that being the case, some advice on how to make this decision could be life changing and lead you closer to making a successful decision.