Make Money Online – A Dawn Journal Book Review

Click Here To Buy This Book On Amazon Canada

Today, I am going to take you to my other site Canada Personal Finance Blog where I just posted John’s book review. Please read this review here:

Make Money Online – Roadmap of A Dot Com Mogul

Cheers.

More A Dawn Articles:

Ten Characteristics of Entrepreneurs

How John Chow Used Google Ban To Flourish His Brand Name And Dot Com Lifestyle

Entrepreneur Journey

What Is A Dot Com Lifestyle?

How To Come Up With Great Domain Names

Keep Your Dot Com Lifestyle Simple and Uncomplicated

Personal Finance Guide for Kids Age-by-Age

Ocean View Villas around the world

Some Facts About Brazil’s Economy

Tips For A Successful Business

Many new businesses fail within their first two years. Either the person running them is not working hard enough at being an entrepreneur, or the business is just in the wrong market, or has too much competition around it. This can cause a lot of people to worry about starting a business because they do not know if it is going to be successful or not. So, how do you know if your business is going to be successful? How do you ensure that when the time comes to start a business as an entrepreneur, that the business will be successful and profitable for years to come?

The problem is that there really is no way to know. You can’t say for certain that your business will be successful because there are too many variables. The man who created the pet rock may not have thought his business would be successful but it made him millions. On that same note, many who thought their dot-com business would be successful found that the opposite was going to be true.

The first thing you need to look at is your passion for what you are doing. Do you love what you do? Do you want to succeed at it? If you are not ready to put in the long hours needed, then maybe you should look elsewhere for a business because you must love what you do in order to succeed.

What is the competition like in your area? There is a misconception that no competition means that there is a guaranteed chance of success. For example, if there is no air conditioning supplier competition where you are and you live in the Arctic, well that does not mean you are going to sell air conditioners. It means there is no market for it. You should have a bit of competition, but not too much and you should be able to offer your customers something different from other competitors.

How much money do you need to start your business? If you can start the business out of your home with minimal investment, then you will have a higher chance of success. The reason for this is that the less you pay initially, the less in debt you are and the less you have to make to earn a profit. However, if you have to borrow $500,000 to start your business, well even if your business is not making money, you have to make payments on your loan. That may cause you to fall behind in your payments, which will then cause your business to suffer. It is just not the best idea to borrow large amounts of money unless you know your business is going to be successful.

Sometimes you just have to take the risk and hope your business will be successful. That is what being an entrepreneur is all about, risk and adventure, but that does not mean you should just go into business without thinking about it first. Planning ahead can make things easier for you down the road.

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How to Get Investors for Your Business

Sometimes when you are going to be an entrepreneur, you need to raise money for your business. If you are opening a store, need equipment, or have to buy a shop, then you need money and that is where investors come in. In order to get investors, you need to do a few things, which will show investors that you know what you want and you are willing to show them how you are going to achieve success. Here is a quick guide for how you can get investors for your business.

1. The first thing, and most important thing, to do is put together a business plan. A business plan is very important because it shows your investors how you are going to make money. They want to know how you will make money because if you do not know, then you probably will not make money. Your business plan needs to have items in it that includes a mission statement, a list of your management team, a market summary, a description of your business concept, who your competition is and what your objectives are for the company. In addition, you need to put in financial documents to show how you are going to make money, what you expect to make and what you want to do with the money that you get.
2. At this point, you should look at joining business networking groups so that you can begin to network with people who will either invest, or know who you can invest with. You want to create relationships with people because the better people know you, the more of a chance they will want to invest with you. In addition, you can look at investor groups as a way to gain cash, but you have to be very prepared with these types of groups.
3. Practice makes perfect, so prepare your talk by talking to the mirror. If you go to the meeting and you do not know what you are talking about, or you are very nervous, then investors may not be as keen to invest with you. They want confidence; they want people that are sure of themselves, so you need to really practice what you are talking about before talking to investors.
4. When you go to your meeting with your investors, act as if you already got the investment and dress for success. By doing this, you show you are confident, that you are a professional and that you are taking the fact that you are asking for money very seriously. You want to show them that they are taking a chance on you and you will not let them down. That is what something like dressing in a suit and tie can do for you.

Remember, you may not get the first investors you go with, but don’t give up. You just need to take your time and work until you get investors. Someone will believe in you and then you just have to ensure that you do not let them down.

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How To Be An Entrepreneur

Ten Characteristics of Entrepreneurs

Successful Entrepreneurs in the World

Every field has those who excel, and entrepreneurship is just a further example of that. There are those who do well as entrepreneurs, and then there are those who do amazingly well. They are the ones who excel at what they do, and move forward in life to greatness. So, who are these entrepreneurs and what did they do to make themselves so successful?

• Richard Branson: One of the most famous men on Earth, he is known for his adventures just as much as he is for his business. Branson dropped out of school at the age of 16 and began a magazine called Student Magazine. From there, he went on to form Virgin Records, which signed some of the best bands of the 70s. Moving forward, he then created an entire Virgin brand that has 360 companies within it, including an airline and the world’s first space tourist service.
• Coco Chanel: Growing up as an orphan, Chanel worked as a seamstress to make ends meet. She had a strong drive that pushed her to try new things and learn new things, and that allowed her to create fashion ideas that would revolutionize what people wore. These days, she is known as much for her perfume, Chanel No. 5, as she is for her extremely profitable business.
• Michael Dell: Starting with $1,000 from home, Michael Dell dropped out of college and created PC’s Limited, which would become Dell Inc. From there, he created through drive and determination, one of the most successful computer manufacturing companies on the entire planet.
• Bill Gates: The richest man on Earth from 1995 to 2006, Gates dropped out of college and began Microsoft with a friend. With revolutionary new ways for users to use computers, Gates not only helped start the computer revolution, but helped to change the world in the process.
• Henry Ford: Speaking of changing the world, Henry Ford started off small as an apprentice when he was 16 and would go on to found the Ford Motor Company. Through his amazing concept of assembly line production, Ford not only changed how people made cars, but he made them more affordable for the masses and his concept of assembly lines changed the world in everything from clothing to food.
• Walt Disney: His name is known to all of us, and this high school dropout started off as just an animator who created a company that has become iconic. Thanks to starting off making cartoons with a mouse named Mickey, Disney and his company have gone on to create theme parks around the world, while making an estimated $30 billion a year.

These are just a few of the most successful entrepreneurs in history. If you want to be successful, it would be a good idea to learn their story and see how they were able to find such immense success in the working world. If they can do it, so can you.

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How To Become An Entrepreneur

A lot of people want to start their own business because that allows them to take their career into their own hands. In tough economic times, working for someone else is not always guaranteed and there is often very few jobs to choose from. As a result, many people will start to be an entrepreneur because they want to own their own business and be in charge of their own lives. So, how do you go about being an entrepreneur? Just do the following:

1. Think of a great idea that you believe will be something you are interested in. If you are providing a service, make sure it is something that you are going to love doing. If you are making a product, look at how much it costs to make, whether it will be popular and how long each product takes you to make. You should do a test market for your product or service to determine who will want the product so you can know who to sell to.
2. You need to do up a business plan and this is very important. The business plan is what ensures that you start your business off on the right track. Through the business plan you are stating how you will make money, what you will be selling, who you will be selling to and what you hope to gain from the business. Other things that make up a business plan is an assessment of your competition, your marketing plan, sales forecasts and the analysis of the market you are getting into.
3. If you need money, you should look at getting a small business loan or going to venture capitalists. Not all businesses can be started for nothing, so you may need a loan or investment. However, if you can start a home business without borrowing money, then all the better as you can start making a profit much quicker.
4. It is very important that you do what you can to network with other entrepreneurs. By doing that, you can ensure that you are meeting with people in your industry who can serve as mentors. Networking gives you the ability to tap into a wealth of knowledge that will ensure your business stays successful for many years to come.
5. The last thing you need to remember when you want to know how to be an entrepreneur, is to do everything you can to make your business successful. This means working long hours, talking with people, doing cold calls and more. As an entrepreneur you need to be a public relations expert, a marketer, an innovator, a sales person and more, all rolled into one. It is not always the easiest job in the world, but it does have its rewards and it can be something you truly enjoy.

There is much to remember if you want to be an entrepreneur but it all comes down to doing what you love, knowing how to be successful and having the drive to make yourself successful.

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Why Are Entrepreneurs Different?

Due to the global financial meltdown and corporate downsizing, the concept of entrepreneurship has steadily captured the attention of the general public. Statistics Canada reports that self-employment increased by 4.3 per cent between October 2008 and October 2009. However, the interesting part is the rise in entrepreneurship was not the main cause of people losing jobs due to economic downturn, as the characteristics of those who lost jobs did not resemble the characteristics of those that became entrepreneurs.

There are various factors leading people to become entrepreneurs. However, there are some characteristics entrepreneurs have in common. I contemplate these “special” characteristics all the time; today, I decided to mention some of them I can think of off the top of my head.

Entrepreneurs Go Against The Norms of Society – We are programmed by our society from a young age to go to school, get a job, make someone else (most likely a corporation) rich, and one day retire or die while making that person or entity rich. Entrepreneurs break these traditional societal norms and the vicious cycle of making someone else rich by exiting the traditional comfort zone and trying something beyond the ordinary.

Integrity – Integrity leads the way to becoming courageous and taking necessary risks to becoming successful in a business. Entrepreneurs earn credibility by sticking to their principles and values, thus attracting more business (because people always want to do with business with someone they can trust and feel comfortable dealing with) in their respective fields.

Determination, Dedication, and Hard Work – Determination, dedication, and hard work lead to the bridge to success. The majority of non-entrepreneurs are lacking the combination of these three virtues. Drop any one from these three, and the other two will be meaningless.

A Receptive Mind – Entrepreneurs are always learning new things and they are always on the lookout for new knowledge.

Time Is Precious – Our time is very limited on Earth. We all have two options regarding the use of our limited time: we can make someone else rich by working for someone else, or we can use this limited time to work for ourselves, making ourselves rich and spending this limited time our own way. Entrepreneurs pick the latter one.

Life Starts Now – Entrepreneurs do not want to start life at 69 when they need hip replacement surgery. Regular people wait to start life at 69, once they retire. Entrepreneurs have already started their lives and living their life. The time is NOW, there is no need to wait for life to start at 69 (after having hips replaced).

Higher Degree of Frustration, Rejection, and Criticism Tolerance – Entrepreneurs can tolerate frustrations, rejections, and criticisms a lot better than non-entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs gather feedback from these obstacles and put them into productive use.

Discipline and Self-Control – Entrepreneurs have the ability to manage emotions and live a disciplined life.

Tenacity – Entrepreneurs practise enormous persistency and never give up on their dreams.

Optimism – Entrepreneurs always have a positive outlook about everything and about life in general. They always believe in a positive future and lay out a solid roadmap to reach the future.

Do you have these in you? If you want to be an entrepreneur and think you are missing some or all of them, there is no need to worry. We were not born with these characteristics, and they can be learned. If you are determined to be an entrepreneur and have the willingness to change, you will be an entrepreneur one day. When that happens, it will be my pleasure to greet you saying, “Welcome to the club!” I am looking forward to that day.

 

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Dot Com Lifestyle

Before Google lifted its ban on John Chow, a “dot com lifestyle” search would put my site, A Dawn Journal, as number one on search results on Google’s first page. Once Google lifted the ban, A Dawn Journal began appearing right beneath John’s site on search results pages. The article which is causing the appearance is this one:

What Is A Dot Com Lifestyle?

In the above article, which is a four-part series, I mentioned what a dot come lifestyle means to me. Here are the main five characteristics of a dot com lifestyle:

Work two hours a day and five days a week

Live in a new country for every six months a year (if you have a family, make it two to four months)

The whole world is your office (you can work anywhere as long as you have your laptop and internet connection)

Live on your own terms

Have ridiculously flexible lifestyle choices

These characteristics are not set in stone. You can change or modify them based on your own lifestyle or needs. I get a feeling of living a dot com lifestyle on the weekends only, as I still have to maintain my full time job. Every Saturday, I go to Tim Hortons or Starbucks with my Netbook and Mobile Internet Stick and work 3 – 4 hours writing articles, updating my sites, replying to emails, and so on.

A dot come lifestyle does not have to be complicated and out of the ordinary. I like keeping things simple and hope to live a simple and an ordinary life once I reach my goal of living a full-time dot com lifestyle. This is what the Entrepreneur Journey website is all about and I invite you to be a part of it.

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What Is The International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Forecasting And Multiple Scenario Planning And How To Use Them

Toronto Real Estate – A World Class City Is Still Surprisingly Affordable

Forecasting and Multiple Scenario Plans

No one can predict the future, but that does not stop people from wanting to find ways where they can get an idea of what is to come. Forecast planning and scenario planning work on this principle by giving you the ability to have an idea of what is just around the corner. Forecast planning and scenario planning are used in a wide range of business sectors, as well as in our personal life. If you have thought about asking your boss for a raise and have gone through how this request will go, then you have done forecast planning. When a company releases its budget for the coming year, they are forecasting how their sales will be in relation to the costs that they will need to pay.

It is all about determining, to the greatest degree of accuracy, just what is going to happen down the road.

Forecasting is the process by which you make statements about events when you do not know what the outcome is going to be. It is often called making a best-estimation of what is going to happen. When someone asks you if it is going to rain, you make your best-estimation by saying that it might, but you cannot guarantee that it will. There are plenty of sectors and applications that use forecast planning, including:

1. Supply chain management
2. Meteorology
3. Transport planning
4. Economics
5. Technology
6. Earthquake forecasting
7. Land use forecasting
8. Product forecasting
9. Sport team performance
10. Political forecasting
11. Sales forecasting

Scenario planning is a strategic planning method that many organizations and individuals use to create long-term plans that are typically very flexible. Military intelligence will often do strategic planning through scenarios like simulation games that test whether or not a certain strategy is going to work. Business, which is often a war zone of its own, has latched onto the concept of strategic planning. Royal Dutch/Shell is one company that has done so, using scenario planning to determine changing mindsets from around the world.

The main thing to remember with scenario planning and forecasting is that they are typically wrong. This is not because the forecasters do not know what they are doing, but simply that it is not possible to predict the future with any certainty. There are far too many variables to make any sort of prediction concrete. This is why weather forecasters no longer say “Rain tomorrow”. They say “40 percent chance of precipitation.” They do this because if there is only a light drizzle, they are covered by the precipitation part and if it does not rain, they can show there was only 60 percent chance of it not raining.

Scenarios are very important for business, military and people in their day-to-day lives. The reason for this is that people can determine what course of action is going to be best. Here are some examples:

1. A military campaign against an enemy needs to be run through scenarios. Various tactics will be determined and put against how the enemy is predicted to respond. The tactic that gets the best results over several scenario runs will probably be the campaign that is used.
2. Investors want to know how the market is going to move. So, they run scenarios using specialized tools to determine, based on past data, how the market may move down the road. This gives them a better understanding of how to invest, thereby hopefully lowering the overall risk that they face. With scenario planning and forecasting, investors can see both the upsides and downsides. For example, they may determine there is a good chance that the stock they have is going to fall in price. So, they sell the stock and when it does fall, they have saved themselves from losing money.
3. Weather forecasters will use data from the past to formulate an idea of how the weather is going to turn based on data they have at that moment. What we mean by this is that if a low pressure system is approaching, and it is April, the weather forecasters will look at how low pressures affected April weather in the past and use that as a way to determine what the weather is going to be like.
4. Individuals will use scenario planning to determine how they should respond to things in their life. For example, a person will be looking at buying a car but they will have to run through scenarios of how they are going to pay for it. So, they run a scenario that figures out the costs of having a high-priced sports car, with its lower gas mileage and higher insurance, versus a hybrid that will cost less and save the person money. Through the scenarios, comparing costs with income, the individual can determine if they will be able to afford the sports car. Without this scenario planning, the person may buy the sports car and end up not being able to pay for it.

It is important to remember the difference between scenario planning and forecasting. Scenario planning looks at several different futures that may come about, while forecasting only looks at one. Therefore, scenario planning offers you more of an opportunity to make the right decision since forecasting can only see one future and there is a good chance that future will not happen.

Scenario planning gives us the ability to foresee, plan for and deal with surprises and problems. If we do scenario planning that shows us moving to a new town will cost us more than benefit us, we can eliminate the regret of moving to the town by not moving.

With scenario planning, unlike forecasting, you can have a backup plan. You can have several scenarios so that if one does not pan out, you can move to the next most likely scenario and so on. Remember the adages of ‘Plan for the worst, hope for the best’ and ‘Chance favours the prepared mind.’

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Domain Name Ideas and Tips

One thing I am constantly doing and never fall short of is my relentless pursuit for great domain ideas or domain names. Today, I will share a few things on how to come up with great domain names out of thin air.

Creativity is your number one asset – if you want to be a proud owner of some world-class, high-end domain names. Whenever I don’t need to be attentive and can free up my mind, I put my mind to work questing for domain names. Most people will let their mind wander when on the subway, standing in line, or just wandering around and wasting time; however, I see these moments as an opportunity and concentrate on finding great domain names. Here are a few tips I can share with you. These tips have worked for me and if you use them, they will work for you too.

- Always keep your eye and mind open. Pay attention to details when you are watching TV, reading signboards or store names while walking, reading a newspaper, and so on. Why? Because you may bump into some words or variations of words that can be used as domain names. For example, I came up with Dotcomdiary.com, Earthroadmap.com, and Globalboundaries.com just doing what I just mentioned.

- Keep a notebook and pen handy on your table, next to your bed, in your bag, etc. This happens to me a lot – I wake up in the middle of the night with a domain name burning in my head. Because of keeping a pen and notebook handy everywhere, I am able to write down the domain idea that woke me up in the middle of night and research it later when I get a chance. I came up with domains like beyondyourimaginations.com, greenlivingjourney.com and many others because I was able to write down right away.

- If you are waiting in line or riding the subway and can’t find anything to do, play around with some words and variations domain ideas. For example, one day the word “Roadmap” somehow struck my mind and I got infatuated with this word. Since then, I have been building one after another great domain names with this word “Roadmap.” Some of my Roadmap related domains are: Earthroadmap.com, Roadmaptosaving.com, Roadmaptosaving.com, RoadmaptoChina.com and much more.

- Use domain tools such as Domainbots.com to help you create domains with those words you are enthusiastic about. If you enter a word in Domain Bots search and hit enter, it will give you many variations with that word and also will tell you which are available. For example, I found many domains tied with “Green” and “Travel” from my search results on Domain Bot.

- Many domain names are dropping out of someone’s portfolio because the owner forgot to renew, gave up Internet Entrepreneurship, or simply can’t afford to hold them anymore. There are many sites that list those domain names that are about to expire or have recently expired. Go through these lists and who knows, you may be able to pick up your gem from these dropped-out domains. I found domains like 1timecash.com, 1tourtravel.com, and Realestateexpedition.com because someone else forgot or decided not to renew these domains.

There are many other ways to come up with great domain names. I can think of the above I mentioned right now off the top of my head. If you are into domains, you will come up with your own ways. If you can’t think of something right away, never give up and keep trying. It will all come to you slowly.

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Home Office Tips

As an entrepreneur, you are taking your future into your own hands and making yourself successful. Of course, being successful is not as easy as one would think. There is a great amount of things that need to be done to make it happen and it begins when you start out in a home office with no employees. So, what are some tips to make yourself successful in your home office?

 

1. One of the most important things to do is to separate your home office from the rest of the house. This does not mean you have to be in a shed outside the house, but it does mean that your work stays within your office at all times. You do not want your work moving into the living room, kitchen or anywhere else in the home. Keep your work space separate by keeping your work there. This will help you work more because you will feel as though you are actually going to work when you get in your home office.
2. Establishing hours for work is very important. The great thing about working from home is that you can set your own hours. If you work better from 5 p.m. to midnight, work those hours. If you want more typical work hours, then work 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Just make sure that your work hours are set and you stick with them. You can even take time for lunch and breaks so that it feels like you are working.
3. Going into your home office in pajamas can feel good but it will give your brain trouble as it tries to figure out if you should be working or relaxing. Keep things professional in your home office by keeping the phone off, keeping from browsing the internet and dressing in a casual manner that would be good for an office.
4. Decorate your office in any way that makes you feel comfortable. You need to be professional with your décor, but at least you can put up things to make you smile throughout the day. Also try and choose an office that has good lighting because this will help you enjoy your day more and help you feel as though you are in a happy place when you work. The happier you are the better work you will do and the more you will get done. Having a comfortable chair, soft music and nice pictures can help. Another thing that can help is having a lot of space in your office. You don’t work in a cubicle anymore, so why feel like you are at home?
5. Set up a phone line for your business. You do not want your family answering business calls with “Hello?” You should be answering the phone with “Good morning, <company name>, How May I Help You?” This is professional and it will impress clients who call you. You also won’t have to compete with family members for the phone line, which is very important.

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