Welcome to the April 29, 2008 edition of internet marketing mentors.
This has to be our longest and biggest blog carnival with well over 130 posts covering topics related to internet marketing and all from experts who proudly wear the “inter…

Welcome to the April 2, 2008 edition of electronic commerce. (Vol 2, No. 7, 2008)

Hi,
Every week, getting the Blog Carnival assembled and edited down to the final list gets easier.  You can easily tell the submitters that use services to post — since they always submit the same item; so it’s easy to screen the wheat f…

I have a few hobby blogs that I am a bit fanatical about and love creating posts for. I also love to network with other like minded people.

I am not a sales person but when I love something I can’t stop talking about it and have brought in many people as far as my hobbies go.

It’s not like work, well not like the jobs I had in the real world.

My wife and friends laugh at me because I get up before 5am every single day and without an alarm clock of any kind.

I get pretty excited about what I do and sometimes just find it hard to stay asleep. Of course if I plan to go out in the evening I pretty much have to take a nap or I’m done for at about 9pm.

My office faces our backyard where I get to see all the seasons and watch our new flowers and veggies grow. Well they will once all this snow is gone.

I keep my MMO blog just to share what I learn but that’s not my passion. My passion and what gets me up in the morning are my hobby blogs.

I have to have a notepad with me everywhere I go because I constantly think of things I want to blog about and if I don’t write them down their gone in seconds.

So one more time:

I love to blog about my hobbies and only take time off to enjoy my hobbies. Life is great.

I couldn’t agree with you more. I am 61 years old and tired of my career in sales. I have been attempting to create an online income without success…so far. I will not give up until I succeed!

Tom

One thing I’ve learned though is that if I force myself to take a break then I become much more productive. I just wish I’d take my own advice sometime!

Hi Leah – thanks for reading

Obviously I’d enjoy a million too, but only because it would allow me to do more of the things that I enjoy.

I don’t know many people who actually enjoy just watching their money. It’s what it allows you to do that brings the real pleasure.

My eye is currently very firmly on a large around the world trip, hence my current focus on automated business systems.

(sunny beaches here I come!!)

Hi Jim – nice post!

One advantage with choosing ‘affinity’ markets is that at first you’ll be able to create more output in a shorter space of time.

However, you make an excellent point. Using the proceeds from your business to enjoy the rest of your time is an excellent way to go about things.

I never advise people to choose markets just based on their passions, although it can certainly be a decision making factor.

But I do advise people to concentrate on the tasks that they enjoy.

In my view it’s better to be working on tasks you love in a profitable market that might not be a hobby, than working on tasks you hate in a niche you love.

Does that make sense? Thanks for a great post!

Lee McIntyre

I agree with everything you said especially regarding freedom but I saw a post on another forum recently that recommended combining your hobby (passion) with your business so you can enjoy your work & make more money… here was my response…

“…Please don’t take this personally but in my opinion more time & money has been lost by people who follow your advice than any strategy that I can think of.

I operate my businesses from a totally different perspective. I rarely make a decision to enter a market based on my interest in the subject matter.

In fact, I stay away from businesses that are my hobbies because I tend to get wrapped up in activies that divert me from my objectives which is to make money.

I follow the classic strategy of finding a “starving market” and then giving them exactly what they want. It has served me well and I rarely feel the sting of wasted time or money.

My advice to all new marketers is to keep your interests & hobbies (passions)seperate from your business (decisions) and take the money you earn and enjoy it however you like…”