If someone asked you how hard you work when you’re working for an employer, what would you say?

If a large company hired you to work on a week-long consulting project and paid you a hefty fee when it was finished – how many hours per day would you work to finish the project?

When I was an elearning consultant I was often hired by large companies to come to their location and work for a week to establish their elearning portal and training program. During the time I was onsite, I was working 10,12, sometimes 16 hours a day. I was totally focused on the task. Because we knew we had a week to get it done.

Those were the client’s expectations. And I knew there was a great reward at the end.

I turned off my cell phone. I would have turned off text messages if they had invented them at that time! I only checked my messages and email in the evenings.

I took care of myself physically, taking planned breaks, walking around to freshen my mind, and eating at regular intervals. And I drank a lot of caffeine. (Okay, you knew there had to be a vice in there!)

The point is I was 100% focused on the outcome. And I was willing to work very hard for a short time because I knew the rewards would be there.

This was all brought back to me recently as I spent a week onsite for a client – just like the old days. But in this case it was an internet marketing client. I spent 8-10 hours a day looking at sales materials, writing autoresponders, and generally fixing up their sales and support process.

And that’s when it occurred to me – I haven’t been working for ME as hard as I worked for THEM!

Sometimes I don’t “get around” to writing a full autoresponder sequence. Sometimes I don’t revisit older products that can be updated and repurposed. Sometimes I don’t streamline and document all of my processes. And many times I don’t focus 100% on a single task until it’s finished. In short, sometimes I get lazy with my own business.

So now it’s your turn. Are you working on your own business – as if you were a paid consultant? Would you pay YOU big bucks to do the work you’re doing?

We’ll talk about WHY you aren’t working as hard for you in an upcoming post. For now, share – are you working as hard for yourself as you would if someone else were paying you?

One of the challenges we all face is the negative input around us. It was brought home to me today as I sat in a waiting room. Some of the comments I heard included:

“You just can’t win.”

“There’s never a solution.”

“I can’t believe how bad it is. Let me tell you…”

“That never works out.”

And I was there less than 10 minutes! I can tell you, I was depressed by the time they called my name for my escape.

Turns out I’ve gotten spoiled hanging around positive people all the time. People who are excited about life. Going somewhere. Have a dream. Sharing good news and great thoughts.

And those are exactly the type of people YOU want to be around as you’re building your online business. Starting a business from scratch is a lot of hard work and it’s tempting to become discouraged. That’s why it’s so important to be surrounded by positive.

If you’re surrounded by negativity all the time, it’s a challenge to find the positive. That’s why I love entrepreneurs – especially the ones online.

So where do you find the positive input you need to keep pursuing your dream? Right here, online. You’ll find many of them making comments below. You’ll find links to their blogs and websites. You’ll find them in groups like the Blog Challenge.

Because birds of a feather DO flock together. And positive people want to spend time with other positive people. Whether we do it online – or at live events – join us! Your life will be better for it.

Warning: Rant Ahead

I know that I’m talking to a handful of my readers here, but you probably know someone who could use this information. Please pass it on. And as always, I would love to hear YOUR comments.

A friend of mine recently offered a webinar. It was a great webinar and she got a lot of very positive comments on it.

But she also got a lot of complaints. Things like

“You tricked us. I thought this was a class and it was a pitch.”

“How dare you try to sell something with that price tag!”

“I was shocked at the price. I cannot justify that price for a course for beginners when I already have experience.”

“I suppose that now that you have my email address you’ll start pitching me all sorts of offer.”

Let’s get real!

If you’re in business online, you should be interested in making money. You also need to recognize that other business owners are in the same business – making money. Here are five tips that will keep you in business without going broke.

1. Just because someone offers a product, doesn’t mean you have to buy it. If you don’t want it or it is not affordable for you at this time – don’t buy it.

The reason they sell Mercedes Benz is that there are some people who both want a luxury car and can afford to drive a Mercedes.

At the same time they also sell a Yugo – because some people want a smaller car and/or can afford a smaller car at this time.

It doesn’t mean that one is right and the other is wrong. It’s part of our free economy – people have choices.

2. If someone offers a free teleseminar or a webinar, assume they are going to make an offer at end of it. If they don’t, they are losing money and will be out of business soon.

Rarely can you find someone who offers one free event after another. Yes, some people “seem” to – but they are either broke or they are using other means to generate revenue.

3. If YOU offer a free teleseminar or webinar, you need to spend at least 80% of the time teaching good content. That way you deliver quality and “earn” the right to tell people how they can continue learning with you.

4. If you join a mailing list (which is always a voluntary action) and don’t like what they talk about or offer to you, unsubscribe. There is always a link at the bottom of every email that lets you do that easily. Be an adult and take responsibility. You are not a helpless “victim” of email being thrown at you!

5. If you listen to the presenter and take their information, please don’t stoop to complaining because they offer you a product. Yes, you can complain if you buy a product and it doesn’t live up to your expectations. But on a free event you haven’t paid a penny. It was a GIFT of information to you.

Remember, it’s always YOUR choice to sign up, to attend, to hang up, to unsubscribe – or to buy.

There seems to be an attitude among many online marketers that “gurus” are mean, bad people. After all, they are making lots more money than the bashers and they are not giving their products away to everyone who asks nicely. So they must be big meanies.

Beware. Often the more vocal the bashing someone is doing, the less successful these bashers are in their own online business.

Don’t fall into the trap of believing all the bad things you read about the gurus.

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