. The truth is there is a very thin line between running a real business and being just another opportunity seeker with no real foundation for success.

I certainly advocate the leveraging of new technology that can make life easier and more profitable for the small business owner. At the sam

Just because something is said to be on the cutting edge does not mean it’s right for your business. Staying focused on your overall strategy is far more important than jumping from one ‘great thing’ to another every week.

It seems like there is something new in the Internet marketing field every week. It might be a new membership program that everyone is promoting, a new software product that is hailed as a ‘must have’ by every guru on the Web, or a new training series that ‘every serious business owner’ really needs to live up to their true potential.

Beyond the smaller hype festivals we see every week, there are the larger trends that take shape and seem to rock the Internet marketing community as a whole. For example in 2005 blogging swept the Web business world as the next big thing. In 2006 the ideal of joint venture strategies was the Holy Grail being heavily promoted in every newsletter and guru marketing course. And in 2007 we are being told that social marketing sites (popularly referred to at the time of this writing as Web 2.0) will take our businesses to the must have ‘next level’ that is always being dangled in front of us like a carrot on a string. The truth is there is a very thin line between running a real business and being just another opportunity seeker with no real foundation for success.

I certainly advocate the leveraging of new technology that can make life easier and more profitable for the small business owner. At the same

every week. It might be a new membership program that everyone is promoting, a new software product that is hailed as a ‘must have’ by every guru on the Web, or a new training series that ‘every serious business owner’ really needs to live up to their true potential.

Beyond the smaller hype festivals we see every week, there are the larger trends that take shape and seem to rock the Internet marketing community as a whole. For example in 2005 blogging swept the Web business world as the next big thing. In 2006 the ideal of joint venture strategies was the Holy Grail being heavily promoted in every newsletter and guru marketing course. And in 2007 we are being told that social marketing sites (popularly referred to at the time of this writing as Web 2.0) will take our businesses to the must have ‘next level’ that is always being dangled in front of us like a carrot on a string. The truth is there is a very thin line between running a real business and being just another opportunity seeker with no real foundation for success.

I certainly advocate the leveraging of new technology that can make life easier and more profitable for the small business owner. At the sam

festivals we see every week, there are the larger trends that take shape and seem to rock the Internet marketing community as a whole. For example in 2005 blogging swept the Web business world as the next big thing. In 2006 the ideal of joint venture strategies was the Holy Grail being heavily promoted in every newsletter and guru marketing course. And in 2007 we are being told that social marketing sites (popularly referred to at the time of this writing as Web 2.0) will take our businesses to the must have ‘next level’ that is always being dangled in front of us like a carrot on a string. The truth is there is a very thin line between running a real business and being just another opportunity seeker with no real foundation for success.

I certainly advocate the leveraging of new technology that can make life easier and more profitable for the small business owner. At the sam

moted in every newsletter and guru marketing course. And in 2007 we are being told that social marketing sites (popularly referred to at the time of this writing as Web 2.0) will take our businesses to the must have ‘next level’ that is always being dangled in front of us like a carrot on a string. The truth is there is a very thin line between running a real business and being just another opportunity seeker with no real foundation for success.

I certainly advocate the leveraging of new technology that can make life easier and more profitable for the small business owner. At the sam

. The truth is there is a very thin line between running a real business and being just another opportunity seeker with no real foundation for success.

I certainly advocate the leveraging of new technology that can make life easier and more profitable for the small business owner. At the same time I know a lot of very successful entrepreneurs who don’t even have a web presence for their brick and mortar businesses!

And I’m always open to learning new techniques and ways of thinking that will help me achieve my business goals. You should be too.

But here’s the truth: Marketing “secrets” that were used effectively 50 years ago still apply today, and these same ideals will continue to work 100 years from now.

A business should be built on sound management and marketing principles. And while it’s smart to keep up with the times, jumping from one bandwagon to the next is not necessary to increase your profits.

I urge you to focus more on long-term objectives like list building, networking, product development, sales training, etc. Don’t allow promotions about the next best thing to distract you from what should be your ultimate goals – customer acquisition and retention.