Blueprinting Your Web Business

Great post. Simplicity and focus are absolutely critical to the success of any business. Admittedly it's not something I have done very well over the past 3.5 years -- but we're constantly improving -- mainly because we've forced ourselves to answer seemingly simple (yet very hard) questions:

1. what do people do on the Internet (answer = search, find, try, buy)
2. what do SMBs want from their internet pipe (answer = inbound leads from google)

Love the insight, but I think that so much money can still be made around search. Consider that SMBs Plan to Increase Ad Spending 26% in 2009. SMBs are having a hard time being found and search is easy once mastered, but very foreign to those just starting out. Yes there are a ton of blogs, books, etc about Search and how to make yourself be found, but this takes focus, time and dedication. Here is a great analogy for that Why Local Search is Like Raking Leaves
Bottom line, there is a lot of opportunity out there and I agree with Scott Williams above that a key opportunity is simplicity.

So true - I kind of just jumped into the blogosphere without getting a sense of what was going on or where I would fit in.
I'm slowly starting to 'get it' but only after I've researched and read other blogs and articles.

That is what I did when I started my blog. I asked my self on how I could help this community or be a part of it and what people really were interested in.

Senior Brogan -

Simplifying the reasons you're doing business or communicating with your audience does clear things up. In trying to find a voice online, I'm in the same boat. I have to go back and ask myself, "What is my goal/How can I help people?"

I like what Linda M. Lopeke said - in that business (be it online or brick & mortar) should boil down to the fundamentals. Why are you doing this? Then, How will you do it?

Also, Mack Collier really hits it on the head with social media and its application to business. Where are your customers? How do THEY use Social Media? Then, figure out how to enable your customers and participate in the conversation.

Hey Chris!

It really all comes down to the fundamentals, doesn't it?

If you don't know the *why*, the *how* will always elude you. Success requires dedicated effort, taking consistent and regular action, and knowing what it looks like at the end of the day. Without the *knowing* you're wasting your time.

At the start of the day it's all about possibilities. But, at the end of the day, it's only about results.

Linda M. Lopeke
The SMARTSTART Coach

If you want your business to succeed, you'll have to work at it
like it's a real job. Only when you treat it like a real job and not as
a hobby or game, will your efforts bring you profits.

Sometimes this is all it takes. While I made a ton of money running a celebrity blog, I had to ask myself... "am I bringing anything to the table?" I was providing entertainment, but it wasn't unique. I was in an overcrowded niche and pushing 100,000 pageviews daily, but it was a joke. The money was nice, but I couldn't simplify my reasons for doing what I did. So I walked away from it to start something where I think I could make a difference.

I think about this all the time. People come back to my site because they know what they are going to get (sort of like going to Starbucks in a foreign town or country). They know I try to help and they can trust that I'm not trying to BS them when I write about something. On every posts, I ask myself whether it's of use to anyone and if not, I scrap it. Do the right thing, and eventually someone will notice.

You (and Maki @ Dosh Dosh) have gone straight to the "heart" of the matter yet again.

When you start driving your business (on line or offline) with the end consumer in mind - it changes the way you implement your strategies whether they be web strategies - marketing strategies or even product development strategies.

Asking "How are my customers using the web?" is an essential "foundation" question for any business with a web presence. If your customers are using the web for entertainment - then it makes sense to create a "web site as entertainment portal". If your customers are there to buy - then creating a "web site as entertainment portal" might not be the best investment of your time, energy or development dollars.

Great post Chris to get us thinking. I see this a lot with companies wanting to add social media. They rarely step back and think about how the people they want to reach are using social media. They don't think about what motivates people to use these tools, or the way in which they are using them.

The ones that do, usually start off with better efforts. The ones that don't, usually try to use social media in a way that's best for them, and not best for the people they are trying to connect with.

Mike, you have great points. May I add that we also are trying to match what we are trying to achieve with what users are trying to receive and to do so at the same time!

For instance, my business is so micro-niche that I have to develop a global market. I sell $10,000-30,000 bicycles to the most discriminating clients in the world. We both want to achieve mirror images of the same thing. This includes a relationship with a trusted artisan, a network of ultra successful people with like interests, a shared passion for beautiful bicycles, the expertise of the fitter combined with the increasing need for accurate fitting as clients get older.

The 64 dollar question is, how can we transform business, consumer, economic and emotional needs into communication pathways that are successful?

I am using a website, blog, twitter, facebook, LinkedIn, flickr and a lot of energy to create this connection. I am beginning to believe that persistence is the biggest predictor of success once all this media is harnessed. If somebody has a better way, I am all ears!

Hey Chris,

2009 is the year I'm brushing up my skills to blog.

I started to blog, but the heavy marketing part will be done from October, when I finish the first year of my master's. For now, providing value twice a week. From October, providing value every day -- and letting others know about it.

I plan to monetize my blog with a paid newsletter. That should happen only around next year. I also want to offer a international travel package to my readers: sort of business travel and diplomacy. It fits my niche.

I want to bring information to people. I also want to connect them and help foster new business.

Cheers, D.

Well said... It's not rocket science; however the results and outcomes can be rocket science(ish)! I am all about simplifying; as a matter of fact I just posted a blog on my site this week entitled "Simplicity."

Simplicity: http://bigisthenewsmall.com/?p=832

It always comes back to the fundamental question: "What are we trying to achieve?" or in this case, "What are users trying to achieve?"

Answer that question, and a whole bunch of things become evident and what makes sense and what doesn't is so much clearer.