Conquer Entertainment UnLabel Presentation

Your are invited to explore Conquer Entertainment where artists and bands can set up their own UnLabel and sell their music and merchandise directly to fans while generating income from commissions on products and services through their own SHOP.COM site. Conquer Entertainment's UnLabel system provides artists and bands with a turnkey solution to own and successfully operate an independent label for the purpose of creating music, branding artists, building a music career and generating income. For more information about Conquer Entertainment, and to submit your BIO, contact Bruce Swartz via email bruce@growonlinenow.com.

How Facebook Friends Influence Purchasing Habits

So how does Facebook really effect your business? We’re going to talk about how friends influence purchasing habits with a really cool infographic.

At one point or another, we have ALL based a decision to purchase something on the recommendation from one of our friends. Or maybe you didn't purchase something because one of your friends had a bad experience with the product and advised you against buying it. Whether we realize it or not, our friends – the “real life” kind and connections we have on Facebook – are extremely influential on our purchasing habits. How influential? Check out this nifty infographic created by PPC Associates to find out!

What does this infographic tell us?
Females in the 25-44 age bracket are most likely to make a purchase based on a Facebook friend’s recommendation. Men 18-24 and 45-54, however, are not as easily swayed, and are the least likely to make a purchase based on a friend’s recommendation. However, that does not mean that they don’t, they just do it less frequently.

And get this: the Northeast has the highest percentage of people who don’t use Facebook, but it also has the highest percentage of people who are most likely to make a purchase based on a Facebook friend’s recommendation. Go figure!

Something else we found interesting was that people in rural areas of the U.S are most likely to use Facebook, but when it comes to making purchases based on a Facebook friend’s recommendation, suburbanites took the cake.

Hold on a sec! What is considered a “recommendation from a friend”?
Recommendations from friends can be direct or indirect. For example, let’s say you’re planning a camping trip but don’t have any camping gear or supplies. Instead of turning to ads on TV or Google search, you put up a post on Facebook asking your friends to comment on their favorite outdoor equipment store. In this instance, the suggestions you receive from your friends would be considered direct recommendations (you asked, they recommended). If your friend uploads a photo of a supplement they love (Isotonix® OPC-3, maybe?) along with the caption “Love this stuff! Don’t know how I lived without it before!” and you just happen to see it in your feed, that’s an indirect recommendation. You didn't ask for it, but you saw it, and since you trust your friend’s opinions more than ads on TV or signs on billboards, you consider purchasing that product, too. Both types of recommendations can be equally influential on our purchasing habits.

I love the KISS principle... how simple can this be? 

Now that you know how influential Facebook friends’ recommendations can be, how will you use this information to build your business with social media? Post your answer in the comment section below! Share so others see how you build your business. Answers will be shared on my Facebook and LinkedIn network. What better way to help build your business than by networking?

Great Reads for Entrepreneurs

Whether you’re just starting out as an entrepreneur or are a seasoned go-getter, it’s always a good idea to seek advice from others in your field. Maybe others will have encouraging words for you as you begin to build your business. Perhaps someone else has a unique take on something you've been doing the same way for years! Whether you are a Franchise Owner, UnFranchise Owner, or other traditional Business Owner or Entrepreneur, here are some great picks for the books you need to be reading as you further your career:

What it Takes to be an Entrepreneur 

In today’s economic uncertainties and scant job prospects, a great many opportunities avail themselves for those who decide to take charge of their future however, the challenge is in knowing what to look out for. There are a lot of things people just don’t know and questions that should be asked but if you don’t know what you don’t know, how can you ask the right questions?

This book navigates the challenges you’ll likely encounter as you set your sights on becoming your own boss.

The Rebel Entrepreneur

To the mainstream business world we entrepreneurs are extremely unusual. The mainstream business world doesn't understand us. They don’t understand how we do business. They don’t understand our creativity. Our drive. Our ambition. The risks we take every day. And how in the world could we be successful doing some of the things we do?!

We may not wear expensive suits. We may not be comfortable at a cocktail party or at the country club. And we may not be people who everyone in town knows. But we are the people who make this country strong. We are the driving force to the economy. - Howard Lewinter

Taking a different approach, The Rebel Entrepreneur tells you why you’ve been getting the wrong advice about starting your own business and shares real-life examples of successful entrepreneurs who did things differently.

How to be a Social Entrepreneur: Make Money & Change the World

As the description for this book states, “Don’t just make money… change the world.” There is so much good that you can do in this world with your power of entrepreneurship. Don’t forget to make a lasting impression for generations to come. Robert Ashton helps individuals, organisations and communities achieve greater social impact through economic self-sufficiency.

Who better to help with you help others... is there a better way to help others during challenging times than as a creative social entrepreneur?

7 Habits of Highly Effective People

“Treat a man as he is and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he can and should be and he will become as he can and should be.” - Stephen Covey

Here is a step-by-step pathway for living with fairness, integrity, service and human dignity -- principles that give us the security to adapt to change and the wisdom and power to take advantage of the opportunities that change creates. These are inspirational and aspirational standards for anyone who seeks to live a full, purposeful and a good life, and are applicable today more than ever.

Haven’t read this one yet? What are you waiting for? It’s a classic! Make sure you’re exhibiting these traits as you approach new potential business partners and customers.

New Ideas from Dead CEO’s: Lasting Lessons from the Corner Office

Here are some questions to ask: Why did Ray Kroc's plan for McDonald's thrive when many burger joints failed? How did Krispy Kreme fail to heed Kroc's hard-won lessons? How did Walt Disney's most dismal day as a young cartoonist radically change his career? When Estée Lauder was a child in Queens, New York, the average American spent $8 a year on toiletries. Why did she spot an opportunity in selling high-priced cosmetics, and why did she pound on Saks's doors? How did Thomas Watson Jr. decide to roll the dice and put all of IBM's chips on computing, when his father thought it could be a losing idea?

New Ideas from Dead CEO's uncovers the challenges, failures, and how each of these well-known CEO’s successfully rode the waves of demographic and technological changes and examines their successes and failures. If you feel like you've backtracked in your business, consider this a resource to help you climb back to the top!

This is our quick list - do you have others? Leave reading suggestions in the comments section for your fellow entrepreneurs!

Words of Advice from the Founder of Sony

If you are in business, small, medium or large, and have never visited Addicted 2 Success, you are missing out on some excellent articles. On April 12th, Joel Brown, CEO and Founder of Addicted2Success.com, wrote a piece on Japanese businessman and co-founder of Sony Akio Morita. In 1966 Mr. Morita wrote a book titled Gakureki Muyō Ron, translated means “Never Mind School Records". How many times have we heard just how important getting good grades are, or getting a good college degree is however, Mr. Morita emphasizes that success or one’s business skills is not a direct result of one’s school record.

Akio Morita’s Success Advice? Here is Joel's breakdown for us:

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Why Akio Morita Believes Sony Succeeded:

1. "Established the rule that once we hire an employee, his schools records are a matter of the past, and are no longer used to evaluate his work or decide on his promotion.”
2. “My solution to the problem of unleashing creativity is always to set up a target.”
3. “I believe one of the reasons we went through such a remarkable growth period was that we had this atmosphere of free discussion. A company will get nowhere if all of the thinking is left to management.”
4. “I have always made it a point to know our employees, to visit every facility of our company, and to try to meet and know every single employee.”
5. “The company must not throw money away on huge bonuses for executives or other frivolities but must share its fate with the workers.”

Akio Morita’s Business Advice:

1. “Advertising and promotion alone will not sustain a bad product or a product that is not right for the times.”
2. “From a management standpoint, it is very important to know how to unleash people’s inborn creativity. My concept is that anybody has creative ability, but very few people know how to use it.”
3. “I believe people work for satisfaction. I believe it is a big mistake to think that money is the only way to compensate a person for his work. People need money, but they also want to be happy in their work and proud of it.”
4. “There is no secret ingredient or hidden formula responsible for the success of the best Japanese companies.”
5. “There are three creativities: creativity in technology, in product planning, and in marketing. To have any one of these without the others is self defeating in business.”

On Being Humble:

If you go through life convinced that your way is always best, all the new ideas in the world will pass you by.

Thoughts On Innovation:

Carefully watch how people live, get an intuitive sense as to what they might want and then go with it. Don’t do market research. I knew we needed a weapon to break through to the U.S. market, and it had to be something different, something that nobody else was making.

Do’s & Don’ts:

Don’t be afraid to make a mistake. But make sure you don’t make the same mistake twice.

Thoughts On Success:

We all learn by imitating, as children, as students, as novices in the world of business. And then we grow up and learn to blend our innate abilities with the rules or principles we have learned.

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What are some takeaways? 

First, and probably the most obvious, a person’s scholastic abilities should not be used as “the” benchmark in determining their abilities. I personally have seen college students having extremely high grade averages lack common sense, unable to work autonomously at the simplest of tasks. And then I have experienced people who never even graduate high school run circles around college graduates. Creative abilities cannot be taught at any school; as a matter of fact schools often stifle creativity. Mr. Morita’s approach in identifying and encouraging this natural ability was certainly ahead of its time, and it is too bad it is not used by most companies.

Then there are the challenges in finding jobs. Why do so many focus only on finding a job? Why not take those years of experience in developing their own job or profession? I highly encourage people to take advantage of their natural capabilities however people often believe they either do not have creative abilities, or just don’t have the drive. For those who don’t believe they have abilities, simply plug into an organization or a business having intern programs in order to build confidence before going out on their own. Don’t look at the past, focus on the future, set goals and reach for the stars.

In the wisdom of Mr. Morita “Never Mind School Records”! 

You can achieve anything you put your mind and heart into. 

Creating Your Own Economy? What's That?

Surrendering to the Recession?

I recently read something that compelled me to write this post: "When the economy is doing poorly, people “cocoon” and turn to less expensive pleasures.  But rather than surrendering to the recession, what can we do to empower ourselves and create a better life?"

An NBC News Economy Watch story titled 'Discouraged' workers face tough road back to employment, white collar and blue collar workers, people from all levels of education levels and professions are facing difficulties in this grueling down economy. One person in the article spent five months chasing a job only to be disappointed and now he works odd jobs while trying to get the career he wants. Another person who lost her job has a degree in molecular biology, an MB and a master’s in accounting and spent 18 months working temporary jobs until landing a full-time position only to again be laid off after 11 months. Since then she’s had temporary jobs, but her search for full-time work has run into a major roadblock. “You can’t get the job you’re qualified for," she said. “But you can’t get a job you’re overqualified for because they think you’re going to quit as soon as you find something else.” She doubts she'll ever land full-time work and now focuses on just making enough money to pay the bills.

There is a great deal of concern about what to do, frustration in not being able to find a job, and as a result many have just given up even looking, surrendering rather than giving it a good fight. After all, our fathers, and their fathers fought for our country. Isn't that what made America great?

Stable Jobs in America - Gone!

Millions of Americans believe this is the worst economic recovery since World War II, leaving too many sidelined and unable to replace the job they lost. Gone are the stable jobs in America yet people seem paralyzed in doing anything other than looking for jobs which just aren't out there. So what are their options; what are people doing to save their family, their homes, their lifestyle?

• Some simply give up and live off the government, if they can, but how long will that last – how long can those who are working afford more people living off of them, the hard working Americans?
• Others are not giving up; they are the ones with their backs up against the wall who seek out and work the odd jobs and even attempt in starting up their own business. They know the risks are high yet they refuse to back down and give in. Harvard Business School estimates 95 percent of new businesses fail. And what causes failure? How many remember their first days and weeks on the job? I know I made many mistakes, and who was there to guide and train me on what to do and what not to do? Someone who had the experience, who had been working there for a long time. When starting a conventional business that safety net isn’t there and to make matters worse, the competition is doing everything they can to make sure the new business owner fails.

What about Retirement?

And what about the baby boomers who retired? According to NBC, “… relatively few boomers approaching the phase of life traditionally called “retirement” can look forward to the pension checks that helped past generations pay the bills in their "golden years." For many, the individual retirement accounts that were supposed to replace pension incomes have been severely damaged by the financial collapse and by the drain on savings from extended unemployment since.”

My recommendation is “Not” to give up. Yes, there are safety nets out there but do not give into relying solely on anyone other than yourself. What are some options?

So What can We Do? – What about Creating Your Own Economy?

If we know and understand what causes the 95% failure rate in start-up businesses, then what can be done to change the success rate? Search for and identify ways that will give you better odds in your success. Be diligent in your search, fully explore all the benefits, look for pitfalls, in other words, do your due diligence in finding a way to create your own economy. 

• What do you like to do? Identify what you enjoy doing and find a way to create a business around it.
• If you are unsure about starting a business without experience, find an internship program that mentors and teaches a profession or business which will expedite your development

The below video goes into great depth in explaining an alternative franchise business called the UnFranchise. A business model that has seen over 80 quarters (21 years) of continuous growth. But it is not the business model alone that has created this highly unusual success record during this grueling economy... it is also the incredible people, support, and professional training which has created thousands of highly successful business owners who successfully created their own economy.

Explore! Investigate! Do Your Due Diligence & Get Answers!

Once you have viewed the video, visit Explore Grow Online Now and view the many options available for development. Having so many diverse industries and professions to choose, we provide guidance based upon each individuals goals, needs, and requirements, customizing a solution that best their needs. When contacting us for a consultation to assist with the evaluation process, ask about our internship program designed to financially support and professorially training each person, removing all obstacles in starting a business and reducing risk of failure. Learn how to create your own economy.