Being Thanksgiving and all, I decided to post some of the things that I am most thankful for in my business. They are not in the order of importance:
- Internet: I am greatful for the flexibility of the internet. As I sit here almost in the middle of the night I am still capable of getting work completed. My wife and I are getting ready to travel to Portland, Oregon tommorrow for thanksgiving and I am just wrapping up on a few projects. I also grew up on dairy farm as a kid, and over the years, noticed just how much my parents are tied to the farm. I can work anywhere in the world whenever I please. Heck I have even started to help my dad out by marketing his holstein embryo’s better. He recently had a World Expo Champion, but just didn’t market them very well outside of the show. Now anyone in the world can view his cows online and purchase their embyro’s or semen. (totally a different world – I know)!
- Outsourcing: The day that I truly understood outsourcing, I will never forget. I was working a full time job at DotComSecrets.com and really got tired of putting in 12 hour days (not to say that I don’t today, just I can spend 12 hrs on my own projects). Spending 8 with him and 4 on my own wasn’t fun, so I decided to take a leap and hire Mary Ann at AOV and have never looked back. After having someone working for me 40hrs/week, I just couldn’t get enough so I have since hired Penny & Sanjeev. You can find out more about Agents of Value here. Sanjeev designs all my sites, which has been a huge asset for my team.
- Affiliate Programs: I am not talking about any original affiliate program that you find online. I am talking about setting up agreements with site/business owners and taking a larger share of the pie. I have an agreement with AOV where I get a 10% discount for all my referrals I send their way. As of this day I have 2 agents completely free. Not bad, meaning they’re putting in 80hrs/week for my sites.
- Mentors: I have had many mentors throughout my life, starting with wrestling coaches Bob Christensen, to business mentors Judd Norman. Some of my later mentors that really helped me get started in this industry Russell Brunson & SEOmoz. Russell has probably made the biggest impact in my life with my year working with him side by side.
- Family: Finally, I am most thankful for my wife and my family. The support they have given me over the last few years has been outstanding. My wife Lani has gone through alot, I have tried a lot of crazy ideas, and most didn’t work at first. Thankfully, the tables have turned and things are very bright in the future. My family has alwasy been a great support system my entire life, and to this day still are.
- Failure: Yup, this is one of the best things in life. You need to learn how to fail in life, before you ever suceed. In my wrestling career at the University of Nebraska I failed miserably (at least for my standards) my senior year, I sat in the stands to look at the 8 All-Americans 4 of which I had beaten that season. I will take that failure with me for the rest of my life. It still burns in me to succeed, I do not want to have that feeling again and I am a better person because of it.
So there you have it, these are just a few of the things I am thankful for this Thanksgiving holiday!
