Weekend Entrepreneur:

In 1998 Jack Humphrey started getting serious about breaking away from bosses of any kind. He dabbled and made mistakes trying to find the illusive “easy way out” and didn’t start full time until 2002 when he launched his first ebook “Power Linking” which became the seminal guide to link-building on the web.

Today, his company is on the leading edge of what’s new and what’s hot online in connecting directly to your online audience. They deliver membership services and consulting for marketing, branding, social marketing, search engine optimization and link building.

Take it away Jack…

Tell us about your business?

Humphrey: Our main project now is Social Power Linking which is a membership that contains all of our social marketing training.

Authority Site Center is a 3 year-old membership site where we train people to build “authority” sites with social media, blogs, and professional marketing and content development tactics along with exclusive software.

NetSmartMedia.com is our PR firm which handles full-service social marketing, branding, and publicity for clients who are too busy for the do-it-yourself option.

Did you go straight from corporate employee to full-time entrepreneur or did you transition from part-time to full-time entrepreneur?

Humphrey: It was a transition. I was never a corporate player. I was a professional in the environmental movement as an executive director and activist for 11 years right out of college.

How long did it take you to go full-time and what were some of the challenges you had?

Humphrey: It took 4 years to become serious enough to transition by realizing I needed to do something remarkable to get noticed and start gaining momentum as a player in my niche. Once I figured out my angle (no one was talking about link building the way I was and I saw my “in” by writing Power Linking) I quickly went full time “overnight.” It just took 4 years for that overnight success to be realized. I don’t recommend anyone take that long and today no one has to if they follow the right people and have a good work ethic.

Tell us about your first years as a corporate employee turned entrepreneur .What did you learn from those early years that helped you to move your business forward?

Humphrey: It is definitely about who you know. Once you have something to offer in a market niche, the way to explode on the scene is to diligently network among the players in that niche to get them to give you a leg up via a joint venture or publicity in front of their people.

What do you know now, that you wish you would have known then?

Humphrey: That there is no such thing as a “cookie-cutter” way to make money online. I kept thinking I could sign up for a network marketing program or other money-making scheme and get by with the tools they gave me to market their products. Problem is, all 10000 of the other people in the company are doing the exact same thing and to really win, you have to be remarkable. Stand out. Blaze your own trail and be different.

Approximately how much money did you have to invest before your business became profitable?

Humphrey: I worked for non profits for 11 years. I had nothing to invest and no savings, 401 k, nada. I literally started with an internet connection and an idea and followed it through by leveraging joint ventures and getting any kind of publicity I could get for free.

What is the single most important piece of advice you would give to a current corporate employee who wants to become a “weekend entrepreneur” first, then grow a business?

Humphrey: To never doubt whether you are cut out for it. At one point in history the corporate gig was what everyone did until they retired with a gold watch and a pat on the back. These days all the rules are completely obliterated and the only thing I can imagine that holds people in the cororate world is the regular paycheck and lack of entrepreneurial spirit.

If you aren’t comfortable with forcing yourself to take a risk now and then, you can’t get very far working for yourself. Practice by starting on weekends and days off and see how you like what you can produce in profits and go from there.

I find it funny that people will leave their cubicles for the weekends and sky dive, bungie jump, or hike in bear country, but when asked if they’d risk the “security” of corporate life to venture out on their own, they don’t like the prospect of that risk.

My feeling is you either have it in you or you don’t, but even the people who don’t have the gumption to go full time can make extra money on the weekends.

Many of those people eventually find that they like it so much, or their ideas, products, or services are so good, they have to go full time.

Who should read your “Authority Black Book 2008” eBook?

Humphrey: Anyone who wants traffic. The alternatives to social marketing are heavy search engine optimization (big learning curve) and other traditional, less effective marketing tactics. Social marketing is more effective than any other form of marketing and especially for beginners who don’t want to spend a year or two mastering harder tactics.

What’s next?

Humphrey: For me, it is growing both our memberships into the thousands and doing far more offline publicity for the businesses. I continue to hang off the edge of the web looking for nuggets from the future to bring back to my members and clients. The real power of the web is being out front and being first.

For your readers? Getting started. Do it gently and take your time on weekends and evenings to see all the possibilities the web offers for all kinds of businesses you could get into. If you don’t explore and allow yourself the time to get familiar with how others have “made it” you will become discouraged very quickly.

Read the Black Book and immerse yourself in the social scene. Have fun learning. And know that at some point you are going to come up with an idea that is going to be worth pursuing and just might be the idea that launches you into total independence. I can tell you that, for me, there is absolutely nothing in the world I would rather do to make a living.

===

And so dear readers, there you have it. You can start out with no capital investment except your time, and you can do it in your spare time, and on weekends. And from the looks of what Jack is up to, there is no better time than now to just get started.

“100% of the shots you never take, don’t go in”
–Wayne Gretzky

Michelle Price

Once upon a time Nancy McCord held a position in the colorful world of interior design. Nowadays she taps into the same type of skill sets, as the owner of a web design firm. What we found valuable about her journey from corporate life to becoming an entrepreneur in May of 2001, was the process she went through to determine how to transfer her years of corporate experience, knowledge, skills and passion to a new profession. Her sales enjoyed a 50 percent increase in 2007 from 2006 sales by expanding her services, staying true to her concept and adding independent contractors to her operation.

McCord Web Services offers its clients creativity and marketing which include web design, e-newsletter design, content creation and subscriber management to name a few. Of course, a big motivating factor in her life was the fact that she’d taken a two-year break to have and raise her… triplets.

Tell us about those first few years as a “corporate employee turned entrepreneur”. What did you learn from those early years that helped you move forward?

McCord: Planning yet staying nimble is important.

I tried not to create any corporate overhead before I could afford it. I strived to stay profitable by bootstrapping the resources that I had. When I had money, I carefully invested in the training and products that I really needed (not wanted) to be able to be more productive.

We have selected the services we offer slowly over time as our clients’ needs became apparent. We started only as a web design firm. Then clients asked if we could do newsletters or how about updating their website? Then it was what about updating their friend’s website when we did not do the design–and so on.

In fact, we will be rolling out a new service next month on release writing and circulation.

Typically a new service plan starts first with a client or two or three asking if we can do it. Sometimes the service seems like a good match, but before we roll anything out to clients, we test it on ourselves first. How easy or hard is it to perform? How much time does it take? We check with our staff and encourage their feedback on pricing and requirements. Only then do we introduce a new service.

Copywriting for articles and magazines is a relatively new service for us and sprang out of our clients’ blog writing needs. So from my perspective, it is important to listen to clients and then evaluate what is a good match for you. Not all services clients have asked for have turned into services that our business provides. We want to offer the best value and top-notch service level when we choose to provide something, not make a quick buck just to satisfy a customer once.

I have also found that if I cannot step in and do a service–in case a contractor cannot follow through–that I should not offer the service. I must understand what it takes for my contractors to provide a service in order to offer the service. This helps my contractors to be loyal to me and accept my guidance, as I am experienced and have walked in their shoes, but also keeps me from disappointing a customer. If there is an illness or accident, I can step in and still make a client deadline.

This is one reason why I do not provide programming services, as I do not have strong programming skills even though several of my contractors do. I feel that I must always be focused on exceeding a client’s expectations and, in doing so, have aggressively grown my business.

Approximately how much money did you have to invest before your business became profitable?

McCord: My first year I broke even, and every year after that I’ve made a profit. I have low overhead, as I work out of my own home office and have not taken on undue expenses until I had the money to pay for them.

What resources were most helpful to you when you were starting your business?

McCord: I used our local community college and went to free business startup seminars and asked lots of questions. I went to the state tax office and asked lots of questions.

What is the single most important piece of advice you would give to a current corporate employee who wants to become a “weekend entrepreneur” first, then grow a business?

McCord: Don’t start with a corporate mentality. Startups cannot typically afford high-powered consultants, the best software or glamorous offices. Spend what you can afford and plan for the future. Work to own your local market and then spread your sights. I harvested word of mouth traffic initially and then moved into the national sphere and then globally. Start with baby steps and build a strong foundation that builds customer loyalty and good repeat business and referrals.

I already had a college degree and a strong entrepreneurial background as well as management background. I had been in interior design and furniture sales management as well as [being] a licensed interior designer.

I thought that a web design career would allow me to work at home to be near my kids, use my strong color and design skills, and leverage opportunity from my strong selling background.

I knew that I needed web design and web graphics training, yet not a degree. I went to the local community college and took not-for-credit night classes to get a certificate in web design. I worked hard for nine months and created a portfolio while in class so I could hit the ground running and get special help from instructors when I needed it.

I was also able to buy some of my most expensive software while in school as a student using the college’s student discount (Photoshop at a 50 percent discount).

I was thirsty for knowledge and really worked hard at developing my skills outside of class. I practiced, practiced, practiced.

I created my own website for my business as my last project so I could hit the ground running. My first customers were neighbors and family members. My first employees were family members as well, as I could trust them to help me and to work cheaply in a desire to help me succeed.

Do you have a book or information product?

McCord: I have a free informational download section on my website where you can pick up our top white papers on a variety of topics.

Our newest whitepaper is “The Tangible Benefits of Blogging.” This in-depth analysis reviews statistical results of web traffic, site stickiness and organic search placement of websites that use blogging as a way to build content and authority on their selected topic. You will walk away from reading it knowing that blogging is the new medium for your marketing arsenal for your own business.

http://www.mccordweb.com/newsletters/2007/white-paper.html

McCord: Our most popular white paper that has been downloaded [more than] 800 times is “Google & Yahoo Advertising Comparison White Paper.“

This in-depth analysis compares Google AdWords to Yahoo Sponsored Search and, in easy-to-understand terms, helps you to decide which program is best suited for your needs. We compare results for users of both products for click traffic, expense and the number of impressions. You will walk away from reading this white paper having a clearer understanding of what each offers, the pros and cons of each, and a better idea of which vehicle will be best for your needs.

http://www.mccordweb.com/newsletters/2006/white-paper.html

Our kudos to Nancy for taking that leap to entrepreneurship and sustaining it for seven years and counting (and all while raising triplets).

Our question to you, dear readers–what skills, knowledge, experience and passions can you leverage to create the lifestyle of your dreams?

While some employees simply dream of starting their own business, others actually put a plan into place and get into action, even if only on the weekends or in their spare time.

Melanie Benson-Strick is our Weekend Entrepreneur poster child this week, and we congratulate her for not only making the escape from cubicle nation, but for persisting until she got it right, and then creating a template and system for other motivated, would-be entrepreneurs to follow her footsteps.

What does your business, Success Connections, do?

Benson-Strick: We help busy, overwhelmed entrepreneurs discover simple strategies to exponentially grow their business while creating more time and money freedom.

One of the key secret weapons we teach is leverage.

Through learning how to leverage our time, money and resources, we can discover how easy it is to delegate more, create passive revenue and make money without lifting a finger. Sounds good, huh? Who wouldn’t want to do that?

When did you start your business?

Benson-Strick: I started my business in 2001. I officially left my corporate job two weeks before 9/11. It was the worst time and, in many ways, the best time to have left.

Did you go straight from corporate employee to full-time entrepreneur or did you transition from part-time to full-time entrepreneur?

Benson-Strick: I was the quintessential “weekend entrepreneur.” I filled every night and weekend with starting my business for one year. I was literally consumed with my goal to leave as I knew that inside I was dying. It wasn’t that I didn’t have a great job, I just didn’t feel like I fit and I had to do something I was passionate about.

But one year to the day I set my goal, I handed over my car keys and my business accounts and said, “I’m starting my own business.” I had landed just enough clients to cover my necessities, and I was off and running.

If you transitioned, how long did it take you to go full-time and what were some of the challenges you had?

Benson-Strick: Right off the bat, some of my biggest challenges were trying to get everything done myself. I had a website and marketing materials to create, tons of networking events to attend, and I was still completing not one but two trainings to help me be the best coach I could be.

Secondly, I was not clear about what I wanted to do and what target audience I would serve. I was basically willing to take on any kind of client, which made it very hard to market. I faced huge obstacles in trying to promote to corporate coaching clients and private clients simultaneously. I basically tripled my work requirements by not understanding the power of focusing on a smaller niche.

Tell us about your first two years as a corporate employee turned entrepreneur. What did you learn from those early years that helped you to move your business forward?

Benson-Strick: One of my most important lessons was putting leverage into action. I did this in three ways:

• I hired a team of virtual assistants to delegate to so I was always focused on my high payoff activities.

• I focused on offering generating income without having to lift a finger.

• I created ways to mentor my target audience so I could do something once and have it continue to work over and over again.

Leverage was so important to me, it is now one of the core principles we teach in all of our programs. One gentleman, who was full-time employed and building his business on the side, found that he was moving forward an inch at a time. By the time he got home from work, he was already exhausted. I encouraged him to learn and apply the principles of leverage and put a team in place to get things done while he was at work. By just adding one person to his team, he was able to get 10 times as much done each month and now has his business up and running.

I also discovered how essential it is to have a strong inner game. I know now that my inner game dictates my outer game. I literally sat around waiting for someone to deliver leads to me. When I was willing to be someone who did whatever it takes, I became someone who accomplished massive results. I stopped waiting to align with a joint venture or salesperson to deliver coaching clients.

I created a way for people to discover what problems I help them solve. This one mindset shift was worth thousands in my bank account.

What do you know now that you wish you had known then?

Benson-Strick: One hindsight lesson is the power of having a financial plan. I didn’t. I was flying by the seat of my pants. If I had had a clear picture of my startup costs, I would have secured a line of credit before I left so that I could leverage other people’s money to get going.

I also would not have waited so long to build my team. It literally dawned on me one day, about two years into it, that I was not using one of the strategies I had mastered when I worked for Motorola. I am much more of a collaborator than an isolator, yet I was isolated every day. Within 90 days I hired my first assistant and never looked back.

Looking back, I wish I had had access to more information on how to hire and manage virtual assistants. I made tons of mistakes, hired a few of the “wrong” team members and, honestly, I had no idea what I was doing. I was just winging it. After investing over $40,000 in mentors, systems, resources and making those mistakes, I now have a system that works very well and allows me to seamlessly manage a great team of contractors.

Approximately how much money did you have to invest before your business became profitable?

Benson-Strick: This is a hard question to answer because I did everything wrong the first time.

I invested a lot of money in things that didn’t matter, like a pretty website versus an effective website and coaching that wasn’t the most effective. This is probably why I created my Fast Track to a 6 & 7 Figure Lifestyle Coaching Program, because there just wasn’t anything out there that pointed me in the right direction.

That being said, I probably invested over $75,000 before I started getting profitable. Knowing what I know now, I could have invested less than $25,000.

I also want to address the time investment. It took me over three years to really get the right focus and the right opportunities aligned so I was generating a good income. Again, if I knew then what I know now…well, I guess it wouldn’t be such a good story then, would it?

What resources were most helpful to you when you were starting your business?

Benson-Strick: One of the most invaluable resources I had was my mentor coach. When you are first starting out, there are so many things to figure out and it was very helpful to have someone who had “been there and done that” to guide me through making choices.

I waited to hire the right mentor because I was concerned about my costs at first. But what I realized once I invested in my business coach was that the advice and guidance were an easily justified investment.

I also found that building my virtual team, starting with a virtual bookkeeper/general administrative support was essential. My sanity increased tremendously as well as my results because I could outsource the more tedious tasks that I procrastinated, that sapped my energy or that I made mistakes on. I freed up a tremendous amount of energy to focus on my highest-payoff activities.

One thing I always tell people is to get what’s at stake by hiring others to support you. For instance, I broke six figures with my first two assistants (a virtual bookkeeper and virtual assistant.) Then I added two more people to focus on marketing and web support, and I generated another $150,000 in revenue. Do you think you could find about $2,500 a month when you are making that much more in revenue? Of course!

Who should read your ebook, The Power of the Virtual Team?

Benson-Strick: This ebook is invaluable for any entrepreneur, service professional or small business owner who is ready to accomplish 10 to 100 times more without having to work harder. Even if you think hiring employees is the route for you, this online resource will help you discover insider secrets to hiring the right team members the first time and eliminating costly mistakes along the way.

What is the single most important piece of advice you would give to a current corporate employee who wants to become a “weekend entrepreneur” first, then grow a business?

Benson-Strick: One of the insights I had was that I wasted a lot of time and energy on what I call the “J-O-B mindset.” I literally spent the first two years in this mental trap of waiting for others to deliver clients and make me successful. On some level I was unwilling to do marketing and sales properly because I was uncomfortable with it.

It wasn’t until I had that insight that I realized I was the CEO of a company and I had to start making decisions like one. I couldn’t sit around waiting for things to happen. I had to take action every day to move me toward my desired outcome, or else I was going to have to go get a job again.

There is one sure strategy for success as a full-time entrepreneur: action.

So if you are working in a job and starting your own business, your job is to figure out how to take action, even while you are working. One of my clients, a VP for a large health insurance company, struggled with finding time to work on his business on the weekends so he could make enough money to quit. So we devised a plan for him to hire two virtual assistants to implement the marketing tactics we devised so he could accomplish five to 10 times more while he was working.

That’s how you have to think. “How can I get more done with less effort?”

What’s next?

Benson-Strick: There are always about five to 10 “what’s nexts?” around Success Connections. The big focus for this year is to finally write my own book. I’ve contributed to two books: Visionary Women Inspiring the World and Entrepreneur.com’s Start Up Guide to Information Marketing Businesses (due out this summer.) Writing my own book has been on my mind for years, but for me I had to get the other, higher payoff projects in motion first.

We are also taking the virtual team building program into new markets this year. We love opportunities to collaborate with other entrepreneurs, so taking a proven system and bringing it into other coaching and consulting programs is a no-brainer.

I’ve learned that when you stick to your strengths, have a lot of passion and stay open to new ideas, all kinds of opportunities come your way. I never imagined I’d have a business teaching entrepreneurs to leverage their time and build virtual teams, but based on my corporate experience, it’s perfect. And I love it.