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Have a dream and keep working on it. Leverage and network all your resources

and think "Joint Ventures."

 

Ewen chia with income $72,620 US/ month

Brought to you in partnership with Rod Beckwith - http://mrjv.com

Education: BSc (Management) from The University Of London

Year Started Business: 1997

Type Of Business: Internet marketing and information marketing

Target Market: Internet marketers and business opportunity seekers

Number Of Employees: Three staff - A Web programmer, a staff writer, and an operations director in my company Midas Touch Marketing. My partner is Jo Han Mok.

Best Month (Gross Revenues): $72,620 US

Hours Worked Per Week During Startup Phase: As much as 35 hours/week on a part-time basis

Hours Worked Per Week Now: Still pretty much the same, as it's also a hobby and interest

Favorite Business Magazines: Fortune, Business Week, Opportunity Seekers

Favorite Business Books Or Authors:

Dale Carnegie's How To Win Friends And Influence People
Ted Nicholas' Magic Words That Bring You Riches
Kevin Hogan's The Psychology Of Persuasion
"Basically, as selling and marketing is deeply rooted in persuasion, words, and influence, these books are vital in helping me understand more about the techniques involved."

Relaxes By: Listening to music, watching movies, and surfing

Keeps In Shape By: Playing golf and jogging

Favorite Part Of The Job: Creating products and marketing them - "I'm a creative person at heart and love making money, so these two blend well together."

Least Favorite Part Of The Job: Answering e-mails. It takes a lot of time, especially if you get hundreds of emails every day!

Companies Admired: Microsoft, The Coca-Cola Company, and Nike.

Favorite Quotes:

Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising. -Mark Twain

If a man empties his purse into his head, no one can take it from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest. -Benjamin Franklin

The most important thing about having goals is having one. -Geoffrey F. Abert

The Person Who Most Influenced His Life: "My sister—She taught me how working hard and smart is the best way to go and it really pays."

Special Business Achievements/Honors: "I've been recognized as the top affiliate for many affiliate programs. I achieve it mostly by creative e-mail marketing."

Months Before Achieving A Profit: About 12 months

Books/Tapes/Reports Authored: "I've created many products on the topics of Internet marketing and making money online. They are listed at my site here: http://www.ewenchia.com/about.htm."

Contact Ewen At: ewen@ewenchia.com

GETTING STARTED TIPS:

I'm starting a home business next month. I have a maximum of $3,000 in start-up capital. Where should I invest it?

The best home business will be Internet-based selling digitally downloadable information products. There're no inventory and delivery costs and information is what really sells in any market.

With $3,000, you should spend it in these ways:

Keyword and market research tools to decide on a profitable market to target.

Hosting, domain names, direct response site.

Ghostwriters to create your information product.

Copywriters to create a killer sales letter to sell that product.

Pay-per-click search engines for targeted traffic.

Clickbank fees to set up an account there. It's hassle-free and also include a built-in affiliate program.

I've just started a home business. My spouse has given me six months to make it work. Any advice?

First, you need to have the correct mindset and success attitude, prepare to work hard and not have failure as an option. Be responsible. Second, the best advice is before you even start, study and decide on a profitable niche market to penetrate, that's the key. Know the market first. Third, you need to plan. Plan your work and work your plan. Fourth, don't neglect your family even as you're pursuing you home business dreams. Fifth, keep going and acting on your goals!

They say it takes money to make money. Should I try to get a small business loan for my startup capital or just try to get by with my own limited finances?

With the Internet (if you're heading that way), the startup cost is very very low, and there're not much in overhead as compared to a retail business. Take a small loan if needed BUT only after you've done your homework, and use the capital to spearhead your quest. Get all the free education online from free ebooks, articles, search engines, and forums first.

TECHNOLOGY & TOOLS:

How quickly do you adopt new technology for your business?

I'm not much of a 'techno' person and, frankly, don't even know HTML. But this has not been an obstacle for starting a successful Internet-based home business. I don't readily adopt new technology in this sense but at least try to know and learn them. I do this by setting aside at least three hours per week researching and reading up on new developments.

Do you use a fax machine with a dedicated line?

Yes. Mainly for pure faxing purposes.

Do you utilize Fax-on-Demand?

I'm just starting to use this as an offline marketing lead-generation tool. This is part of the direct marketing aspect I'll be doing in my newly set up company, Midas Touch Marketing.

How do you use e-mail in your business?

E-mail marketing is a main part of my business. Collecting and building relationships with prospects should be EVERYONE'S business online or off. I market mainly through e-mails and have sold hundreds of thousands of products through it.

How do you utilize the Internet?

As a main business and marketing medium. Everything is just so quick, simple, and low cost as compared to a traditional brick-and-mortar business.

How many of your own Website(s) do you have?

I have dozens of active money-making sites out there. There're mostly direct response mini-sites used as lead generators and sales pages. Some quick
examples include:

http://www.instantmarketingsecrets.com/
http://myuam.com/x.cgi?a=r&id=6&aid=686&h=1
http://www.poweraffiliatemarketing.com/x.cgi?a=r&id=80&aid=687&h=1

Do you use autoresponders?

Yes as mentioned, it's the main marketing weapon I use in my e-mail marketing business. I use it to contact prospects and subscribers for relationship
building and selling.

Describe your computer system and how you use computers in your business.

The main computer I use is a Dell Pentium 4, 1.6 GHz desktop...nothing fancy. It comes with a CD burner, scanners, and printers for basic uses. I also have
two other newer laptops but, frankly, I prefer the desktop.

What software do you consider in the "must-have" category?

I use a lot of a keyword research tool called AdWord Analyzer. Other must-have software are Adobe PDF, Viral PDF, and sequential autoresponders.

What other technology do you use in your business?

A cell phone, a digital camera, and a laptop

Name up to five personal favorite business URL's our readers can benefit from:

http://www.google.com/

http://www.alexa.com/

http://www.warriorforum.com/

http://www.ezinearticles.com/

http://www.instantmarketingsecrets.com/
Of all the technology you use, rank the top three.

I don't use a lot of technology in my business really; the basic technology would be just a sequential autoresponder for my e-mail marketing.

MARKETING & ADVERTISING:

How do you market on the Internet?

I use mainly viral marketing, resale rights, and article marketing. Most of my advertising is free, and they're all based on using viral content. A large
part of the marketing also replies on joint ventures to carry the message across.

Approximately what percentage of your sales originate from Internet marketing?

98%.

How do you market through direct mail?

By using classified advertising in the local papers primarily. It's still rather new to me taking my online business offline, but there's a new local market here, so it's gonna be exciting.

Approximately what percentage of your sales originate from direct mail marketing?

With the initial small tests, about 2% now.

How do you market in the print media?

By placing little classified ads.

Approximately what percentage of your sales originate from marketing in the print media?

Same as above, 2%.

Where do you market? (locally, nationally, internationally, all three?)

On the Internet, it's international 24/7.

THE HOME OFFICE:

How should someone set up his/her home office to maximize its effectiveness?

First of all, it needs to be somewhere you feel at ease and undisturbed. Secondly, all necessary equipment like printer and fax machine should be within easy
reach on a proper business desk.

What, if any, ground rules have you established for yourself and family in order to operate a successful home business?

I ask them to respect the time I'm at my computer. They should also understand that sometimes I don't sleep but work late into the night. They should also not touch anything on my desk, especially my computer. I can't risk losing anything.

What are some of the advantages to working at home? What are some of the disadvantages?

There're really no disadvantages. You save time and money at home and it's where you can feel comfortable and can work best. The only bad point I can see is that it may get too comfortable and distracting. You do need a strong motivation to work hard.

MANAGEMENT STYLE:

What part(s) of your work do you farm out?

I now outsource mainly Web programming. I have an operation staff that handles all the admin and operational issues so I concentrate on creating new
products and marketing.

What part(s) do you feel should never be farmed out?

Content creation, finances, and e-mail marketing.

Do you encourage or discourage Partnerships?

It's a double-edge sword. Partnering up with the right person can mean a big boost to your overall business; it's a matter of smart leverage. On the other
hand, the issue of trust and understanding is very important.

Do you encourage or discourage hiring family members?

Yes, I encourage this, as long as mutual understanding, respect, and discipline are in place.

When legal issues arise, what's your usual response?

Call my lawyer!

MONEY & INVESTMENTS:

What are the advantages of earning a lot of money. What are some disadvantages?

It's better to be rich than poor, but you need to be able to keep some of the money and reinvest the rest of the profits to grow your business.

You're in business already, and you've just received a windfall of $20,000. What would you do with it?

I would use it to reinvest in my marketing education, product creation and the launching of a big-scale affiliate contest.

THE ROAD AHEAD:

In five years I'll be...

The owner of a multi-million dollar business empire and still enjoying good quality of life.

In 10 years I'll be...

Retired, hopefully...And with a full head of hair :-)

POWERFUL IDEAS:

What was the motivating factor that drove you to start your own business?

A deep love for financial freedom so I don't have to worry about money. This means I can concentrate on pursuing my love of song writing and other areas
of education.

How role, if any, did your family play when you were getting your business off the ground?

They didn't have any direct role. I was pretty much on my own and fueled by self-motivation. Perhaps they did maKe me want to succeed more so I can prove
my worth.

What motivates you now to continue building your business?

Financial freedom and the sincere desire to help others.

What's the best thing about being self-employed?

Having the freedom to do my own stuff and be responsible. Also, I hated the corporate life and politics.

How often do you read books and/or listen to or watch tapes for improving your business skills or knowledge?

I listen and read quite a lot on anything marketing and Internet marketing.

The most underrated activity in business is…

Marketing.

The most overrated activity in business is…

Meetings, most of which are highly unproductive anyway.

What was the biggest obstacle you had to face when you were launching your own business? What's your biggest obstacle now?

The biggest obstacle was getting my wife to understand why I had to spend so much time in front of my computer. For now, it's about increasing my knowledge
and coming up with new products all the time.

If you had to start your business all over again, what would you do differently?

I would find a good mentor and establish a proven plan instead of fumbling around in the dark.

What was your best business decision?

A major attribute to what I've achieved now is a product I created called "Resale Rights Secrets." It launched my success and recognition like a hurricane.

What do you consider to be the main keys of your success?

Using branding and viral marketing to get name recognition and free publicity. This also set the foundation for my success.

What's your success philosophy?

Think big and never give up.

What about you has changed the most since finding success in business?

I work even harder...LOL

What is the legacy you hope to leave?

As someone who is sincere and helpful with a iron-clad reputation. I would also love to be remembered for creating breakthrough cutting-edge products
and as a marketing genius.

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