Tag Archives: entrepreneur

General

Entrepreneur Spotlight – Using Politics To Your Advantage

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Entrepreneur Spotlight – Using Politics To Your Advantage

Reading The Signs

We are midway through 2022. Dependant on your viewpoint and reflections of the last two years, and now that lockdowns and related restrictions have been removed,  you may be hoping that we have come through a ‘global pandemic’ and can now pick up the pieces of life with the intention of getting back to some sense of normality over time. 

If you were one of those who thought this was all about the money, mass surveillance and control, nothing which unfolded would have surprised you. You may have been observing this within the context of the World Economic Forum’s long held desire to perform a great global reset.

There were so many things that troubled me, particularly how critical thinking and debate were suppressed. No longer were the populace encouraged to think with an open and critical mind. We were told what to think. 

Dr Robert Malone and Dr Geert Van Bosche are two examples. Both are vaccine creators, not anti-vaxxers, yet they called for the immediate cessation of the experimental jabs pending further enquiry due to what their research uncovered. Significant suppression of the natural immune system was one of the findings.

They were ignored and vilified. This was a big indication of a nefarious agenda, because the nature of truth is that it always welcomes debate and enquiry. It does not hide. 

Incompetence or Beyond?

So what is the political weather forecast looking like today? What have we learned from the last two years?  Did the government act well in the interest of health?  Was error,  incompetence or corruption at play?  Is the war really about one country against another or is it something else?

It is difficult to make the case for incompetence when the same patterns of behavior keep repeating. For example, the CDC has just confirmed that they did not take into account VAERS [Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System] in their analysis! 

As I write this article many papers and conversations have been declassified over in the USA, and the process continues. It seems that history is repeating itself in certain ways.

In 2019 a tabletop simulation exercise around the release of a respiratory virus resulted in the ‘CV-19 pandemic’. In March 2021 a tabletop simulation exercise revolved around the monkeypox, and now we have the alleged occurrence of the monkeypox virus. [see page 8]

At the same time the BBC got caught out again resurrecting old photos of monkeypox and overlaying them in the main news, as if they were current. They also did this for the Ukraine-Russia conflict. 

 

Picture Source: BBC

That is the same BBC that was found guilty in court many years ago of misrepresenting certain facts, by reporting the collapse of the World Trade Center building 7, more than 20 minutes before it collapsed. Video evidence was produced by Tony Rooke. The video has been removed from YouTube.

CNN were caught on camera in an underground initiative by Project Veritas, acknowledging the deliberate exaggeration of covid case numbers as part of a fear and propaganda strategy to get more viewers, not to mention their paymasters. 

They added that the next target for fear and propaganda would be climate change. Yet the government and media project disinformation onto those who question them. It was just another example underlying that the media are not into independent journalism.

There is a report out directing that all UK airports should shut within 10 years, and the rationale given is climate change with none other than Neil Ferguson’s name popping up again.

True to form, in the UK Easyjet is canceling around 10,000 flights across the summer, Gatwick are canceling flights, and we are in the middle of major train strikes countrywide.

Several countries have triggered more emergency measures, among them are Italy, Australia, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands. Ecuador has recently declared a state of emergency, as the indigenous people rise in protest.

I would suggest that the real war seems to be the Global Elite versus We The People, rather than one country versus another. I would further suggest that it goes deep to the heart and soul of sentient beings, the war to stop you thinking for yourself, living from the heart in service to mankind.

Its roots go back a long way, and that is an article for another day. For now, how do you as individuals and entrepreneurs proceed moving forward? Let’s explore this.

Picture Credit: charlesdeluvio-OWkXt1ikC5g-unsplash

The Opportunity  

In a world where deception, destruction and coercion have become rife, I believe there is always opportunity in times of challenge and adversity,  to turn things around for the benefit of mankind. In doing so it can turn what appears to be a very rough storm into a perfect storm.

I would invite you to view current reality as a mirror and use it to mirror or reflect back the opposite of all that is not good being played out. I share some examples from my experience of what that might look like. Add or edit it for your situation.

Replace Blame With Responsibility

It's so easy to get stuck in blame mode, and while it may feel justified, what is more  important is to take responsibility in how you move forward with what you know. Focus on the solutions that you can be a part of.

Be A Force For Good | Innovate 

Instead of recycling the destructive forces at play out there, reflect peace and honor for what you believe. Show love and care in the way you go about your business, so that social distance can be replaced with heart and soul connection.

Image source: https://startups.co.uk/strategy/essential-start-up-tips-for-young-entrepreneurs/

If ever there was a time to innovate or bring radical change, it is now, and it needs brave and present entrepreneurs to do so, in order to build on different values. There are some great examples of this already going on, which you can be a part of.

Markethive of course, is one such example, creating an ecosystem for the entrepreneur that is safe and honoring of free speech, while combining a social network with an inbound marketing platform for you to develop and hone your marketing skills in business.

One Small Town is another example of a global movement to put new structures in place that are based on values of sharing, kindness and compassion, designed to make these nefarious structures obsolete.

The opportunity is there to become part of the solution, rather than waiting to be rescued. If innovation feels like a bridge too far, bring it back home to something more simple. Evaluate yourself and your business to see where you can reflect the changes you wish to see in the world.

Be Honest and Transparent

Where have you given your power away and compromised against your better judgment? Have you buried your head in the sand out of fear? Are there mistakes which need correcting?

Be willing to look with honesty at yourself and acknowledge where you may have fallen short of your own standards in business, and resolve to raise your game. Forgive yourself and resolve to be a better version of yourself.

Rebuild Trust

Trust toward government and businesses across were already hitting new lows before 2020 as indicated by the Edelman Trust Barometer Report in 2017. I wonder what the results would be today.

The advent of the blockchain will help to restore trust and transparency but on its own it is not enough. Learn to build trust again, not just in your abilities and expertise, but also in all your professional relationships, including how you conduct yourself in the process of business.

Look after Your Health

Health has been shoved in our faces in a ‘one size fits all’ manner. If your health is vulnerable right now, down tools and take the time to nurture it and strengthen your natural immune  system. It does not have to cost money. 

Learn to breathe slowly and deeply to oxygenate your system. Walk and be with nature,  expose yourself to some natural vitamin D. Keep yourself well hydrated. Dehydration is a common cause of fatigue.

Health is more than just the physical stuff. Learn to take inventory of your mind and emotions. Take time to feed your mind so it can support your health. I recently read Emile Coue’s book ‘Self Mastery Through Conscious Autosuggestion’. 

It is a simple and powerful read, especially when you apply it. Affirm that which you  wish to be true but learn to embody those positive affirmations in practice for them to take root and shape your life.

Evaluate Your Business

Be willing to take a step back and evaluate where you are in life and business, especially if you suffered losses in business. What have you achieved that you can be grateful for in spite of your losses?

If you need a structure for evaluation there are tools like a PESTLE. This looks at the Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Financial factors which influence business.

Put one foot in front of the other with your action plan. It's better to do a few things well than a lot of things superficially. Restore depth of thinking and quality to become more  accomplished.

Informed Consent

Replace coercion with empowerment through informed consent. Where your products and services are concerned make sure you walk your prospects through the plus and minuses of what you have to offer.

Allow yourselves and others their freedom of thought and expression. Let others know they can speak freely in your presence without fear. Then they can make an informed decision, and determine if it is ‘the glove that fits the hand’ rather than to be subjected to an aggressive marketing campaign with no substance, with forced solutions thrust upon them.

Show Courage and Develop Inner Strength

Do not give into fear. Believe in your gifts and abilities, and dare to keep expressing them, no matter what. There is nothing to be gained by living below the level of what you are capable of. Mankind needs to be raised up by your gifts and abilities, not kept down.

These are some of the many things I have been cultivating further in response to what is going on in the world. It doesn’t necessarily need 7 billion people to bring about a massive change. It starts with you.

Even if a small percentage focuses on the change outlined above, we can restore our planet from a warring planet to a more peaceful and prosperous one. Instead of cowering in the face of global adversity we can use what we see to mirror the opposite and allow it to cause us to rise. It is time for the rise of the entrepreneur.

If not you, who?  If not now, when?

That is a narrative which we can create and a script that we can write.

 

About: Anita Narayan. (United Kingdom) My life's work is about helping individuals to greater freedom through joy and purpose without self-sabotage, so that inspirational legacy can serve generations to come. Find me at my Markethive Profile Page | My Twitter Account | and my LinkedIn Profile.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

General

THE ESSENCE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP

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THE ESSENCE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP

 

 

The entrepreneurial spirit is a gift that inspires others to become the best they can be. Entrepreneurship is the act of starting a business, and it requires creativity, drive, and the ability to solve problems. 

An entrepreneur takes a risk and works hard to make money. There are many types of entrepreneurs. Some start businesses from scratch, and others buy already-established companies. Some entrepreneurs work alone, while others need employees to help them run their businesses. 

The word “entrepreneur” comes from the French word “entreprendre,” which means to start or undertake a business venture. Although it can be a lot of work, entrepreneurship is rewarding and very fulfilling. The essence of entrepreneurship is having a dream and a vision for changing the world, being willing to take risks, and sometimes being misunderstood. 

Also, be willing to put in the work, put in more than those around you, and be ready to be the one who is not afraid of the darkness but rather the one who steps into it first. Entrepreneurship is more than just having a great idea and starting a business; it’s about changing lives and improving our world.

 

 

From passion and positivity to leadership and ambition, here are the entrepreneurs that best define the entrepreneurial spirit.

Armour Of Entrepreneur – Main Features

Passion

No one embodies the word "passion" quite like Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin mega-brand. Part of Branson's passion lies in his insatiable appetite for starting companies. Founded in 1970, the Virgin Group has expanded to more than 200 companies, ranging from music, publishing, mobile phones, and even space travel. "Businesses are like buses," he once said. "There's always another one coming."

Positivity

Jeff Bezos knows the power of positive thinking. Living by the motto that "every challenge is an opportunity," Bezos set out to create the biggest bookstore in the world with a little internet startup called Amazon.

Adaptability

Having the ability to adapt is one of the greatest strengths an entrepreneur can have. Every successful business owner must be willing to improve, refine and customize their services to continually give customers what they want.

Leadership

A good leader is someone with charisma, a sense of ethics, and a desire to build integrity within an organization–someone who's enthusiastic, team-oriented, and a great teacher. All of these attributes were embodied by the late Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics, a company that has helped more than half a million women fulfill their dreams of owning a business.

Ambition

At age 20, Debbi Fields didn't have much. She was a young housewife with no business experience, but what she did have was a great chocolate chip cookie recipe and a dream to share it with the world. 

Fields opened her first Mrs. Field's store1977, despite being told she was crazy to believe a business could survive solely on selling cookies. Fields' headstrong determination and ambition helped her grow her little cookie store into a $450 million company with more than 600 locations in the U.S. and 10 foreign nations.

 

Once More – The Main FIVE

– Passion, Positivity, Adaptability, Leadership, Ambition

Most of it you cannot learn from books. It is in your character, in your experience, and in your life journey. 

You hear it all the time from famous entrepreneurs: Long before they were running multimillion-dollar companies, they were flexing their entrepreneurial skills by selling lemonade on the corner, building gadgets in their garage, or hosting weekly college beer pong tournaments. It seems that behind every successful mogul is a kid who grew up knowing they were born for business.

 

If you notice where those who represent some of the most successful entrepreneurs come from, much of the world is missing out. In many countries, private business was interrupted by political developments – it was sometimes very limited, often totally prohibited. In some parts of the world, it was not possible for teenagers to sell products house-to-house or set up their first small business in a garage.

Those who spent their youth in countries with limited opportunities now have to catch up with many. Sometimes it's like jumping on a moving train and not knowing where the train is going. And that's why people from these countries, without business tradition or continuity, need something extra. A good dose of :

 

  • Courage 
  • Enthusiasm
  • Self-confidence
  • Persistence
  • Support of their loved ones

While they often lack the money for investment to have a good start, if they have true entrepreneurial courage in their hearts and can mobilize their energy, then with a little luck, they have a chance of success. 

 

 

 

Markethive

Golden money making opportunities

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If you are an entrepreneur, a business, a shoe store, an affiliate or referral promotor, musician, artist, attorney, teacher, waitress, anything that requires a buyer or consumer or subscriber to something you have or are selling or promoting, then you need a market. Within that market are customers and those customers are often referred to as “leads”.

Markethive is a money machine, a dream machine a revolution for you the rank and file, the aspiring for something bigger than you are, the mom and pop who struggle to make the dream come true..All Entrepreneurs, business owners, home workers and people seeking business and extra revenue, should join this site. Use it; to show your business to thousands of people around the globe on Social Networks.   https://markethive.com/franklincoetzee

 

TOTALLY FREE TO PLAY. Don't forget tonight , $100 FreeRoll Every Night 10 PM Eastern. FREE Poker ; Blackjack and BACCARAT Games where you can earn FREE money and prizes. Invite your friends and family. TOTALLY FREE TO EARN. Registration starts at 10 PM EST and closes at 10:10 Sharp. STRICKLY NO GAMBLING 
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Nanobit is only a few days old and 30 have cycled and received $100 for their $1. They also received 8 new entries, worth $800 when they cycle just once. 
Nanobit is much better than a lotto and can even give you $10 per referral when cycling. That is worth $80 over and over again .. WOW !! Not to be missed. No referr required but buy positions 
https://nanobit.club/?sponsor=fakes

 

The future is today in your smartphone! Gem4me messenger: ????Welcome to the largest online project! Become a shareholder of the Gem4me messenger! 

Already more than 6 million users from around the world have chosen to communicate a modern and convenient instant messenger. Be always in touch with the world! Convenient and modern functionality, unlimited opportunities for communication, financial transactions, exclusive tools for business and income. Choose the best, as it has already been done by millions of users worldwide!https://bnc.lt/hZ5g/GkFFlsQurJ

 

Footlog is the best foot massager that: 

=> Relieves foot pain and stress in minutes! 
=> Stimulates circulation and relieves plantar fasciitis 
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Get the AMAZING Freedom Charger that works with Andriod and Iphone devices. You will avoid the frustrations of dealing with inferior cords that waste your hard earned money! The Freedom Charger will charge hundreds of devices from Android, iPhone, Drones, Video Game Remotes, WiFi Head Sets, Go Pro Cameras, Charging Packs, as well as any other device that uses Lightning or Micro USB!http://shopkula.com/?ref_id=NDg2NA%3D%3D

 

THE GREATEST $1.00 PAYOUT SYSTEM EVER! 
MAKE HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS DAILY 
***Our participants are also building their list with highly targeted subscribers on autopilot*** 
Takes only 10 minutes or less to start making money. 
https://www.lettercopy.com/?PayPal_Me/FranklinCapeTown 
This is a perfectly legal money making opportunity.

 

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

Markethive

The Markethive Automated Workshop

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Markethive is a Market Network

Come join me as I run the workshop system that lifts you up into entrepreneurial exceptionalism!

Markethive is a Market Network. That means it is basically broken down into 3 facets all integrated.

  1. A market platform for conducting business
  2. A social network primarily for entrepreneurs
  3. A SAAS (Software as a Service) Inbound Marketing platform

All systems (Facebook included) have a learning curve. Our focus, our goal, is to deliver to you a gentle intuitive fun and rewarding learning process. We are in the process of turning the entire process into an automated structure. Regardless, this learning structure is designed to build you into a powerful , wealthy, successful entrepreneur.

Are you an entrepreneur? Good question. Not necessarily easy to answer. So here are a few definitions:

The classic definition (I do not totally agree with)
en·tre·pre·neur
noun: entrepreneur; plural noun: entrepreneurs

  1.  a person who organizes and operates a business or businesses, taking on greater than normal financial risks in order to do so

Most people would agree that an entrepreneur is a person who has started his or her own business. But that basic definition barely scratches the surface. It does little to capture the true essence of what it means to be a risk-taker, innovator and individual willing to carve his or her own path in a world that doesn't always take kindly to people who fail to follow the status quo. 

Are you itching to venture out on your own, but you wonder if you have what it takes to choose the road less traveled? Check out what these company founders and business leaders think makes a truly successful entrepreneur.

However, before we venture further defining what exactly is an “entrepreneur” and other aspects breaking it down and related concerns like “venture capital” and the proverbial “entrepreneurial ecosystem, let me direct you along the paths of getting quickluy up to speed, as I believe that is exactly what you need. To succeed, attain structure, stability, vision and ultimately wealth.

Getting into our Workshops:

I made this simple little instructional video so you clearly see how easy it is to assimilate this ecocenter and huge powerful platform.

OK now about being an entrepreneur!

"Entrepreneurship is all about embracing challenges. When you're building something from the ground up, you need to get into the weeds and problem solve. All the weed whacking often allows you to better hone in on a better big-picture strategy — why did this happen? How do I solve it? How do smarter people than me solve it? With a young company, when you experience a new challenge, it's usually a growing pain. So while it can be difficult to get through, it's for the best possible reason — your company is getting bigger!" – Jennie Ripps, CEO of Owl's Brew

 

"To me, entrepreneurship means being able to take action and having the courage to commit and persevere through all of the challenges and failures. It is a struggle that an entrepreneur is willing to battle. It is using past experiences and intelligence to make smart decisions. Entrepreneurs are able to transform their vision into a business. I believe this process is at the core of any true entrepreneur." – MJ Pedone, founder and CEO of Indra Public Relations

 

"Being a successful entrepreneur requires a great deal of resourcefulness, because as an entrepreneur, you often run into dead ends throughout the course of your career. You need to be able to bounce back from losses if you want to be successful. Know that there will be much more disappointment than progress when you first start off, and you need to have a short memory in order to put the past behind you quickly. It's imperative to stay optimistic when bad things happen." – Vip Sandhir, founder and CEO of HighGround

 

"Entrepreneurship is the ability to recognize the bigger picture, find where there's an opportunity to make someone's life better, design hypotheses around these opportunities, and continually test your assumptions. It's experimentation: Some experiments will work; many others will fail. It is not big exits, huge net worth or living a life of glamour. It's hard work and persistence to leave the world a better place once your time here is done." – Konrad Billetz, CEO of Frameri

 

"To me, entrepreneurship is completely dedicating yourself to creating something out of nothing. It's not simply taking a risk and hoping to realize big rewards. Creating something out of nothing also tends to present numerous challenges and roadblocks which seem insurmountable. I believe the great entrepreneurs, who I look up to, can help their team push through those roadblocks and find solutions." – David Greenberg, CEO of Updater

 

"Entrepreneurship is the mind-set that allows you to see opportunity everywhere. It could be a business idea, but it could also be seeing the possibilities in the people that can help you grow that business. This ability to see many options in every situation is critically important; there will be unending challenges that will test your hustle." – Preeti Sriratana, co-founder and CEO of Sweeten

 

"It is not about making a quick buck or deal. Successful entrepreneurs look past that 'quick buck' and instead look at the bigger picture to ensure that each action made is going toward the overall goal of the business or concept, whether or not that means getting something in return at that moment." – Allen Dikker, CEO of Potatopia

 

"Entrepreneurship is a lifestyle, in that being an entrepreneur is ingrained in one's identity. [It] is the culmination of a certain set of characteristics: determination, creativity, the capacity to risk, leadership and enthusiasm. I don't think you can be an entrepreneur without these qualities, and for me, that idea was ingrained in me very early on. An entrepreneur is part of the foundation of who I am, and who I strive to be." – Eric Lupton, president of Life Saver Pool Fence Systems

 

"Entrepreneurship is an unavoidable life calling pursued by those who are fortunate enough to take chances [and are] optimistic enough to believe in themselves, aware enough to see problems around them, stubborn enough to keep going, and bold enough to act again and again. Entrepreneurship is not something you do because you have an idea. It's about having the creativity to question, the strength to believe and the courage to move." – Jordan Fliegel, founder of CoachUp

 

"The journey of entrepreneurship is a lifestyle for many of us; we are wired this way and have no choice. We are driven by an innate need to create, build and grow. In order to be a successful entrepreneur, you must have an underlying positivity that enables you to see beyond the day-to-day challenges and roadblocks, always moving forward. You must also be a master plate juggler, able to switch between thinking, genres and activities moment to moment. Most importantly, you must not be afraid to fail, and you must be comfortable living with risk and unknowns — a state of mind which is certainly not for everyone!” – Justine Smith, founder and CEO of Kids Go Co.

 

"Being an entrepreneur is about giving everything you have when the going gets tough and never giving up. If you truly love and believe in what you're doing, then you must hang in there. Entrepreneurship is not knowing everything about your business. You must humble yourself and not work from your ego. Always be willing to grow, change and learn." – Jennifer MacDonald and Hayley Carr, founders of Zipit Bedding

 

"Entrepreneurship is seeing an opportunity and gathering the resources to turn a possibility into a reality. It represents the freedom to envision something new and to make it happen. It includes risk, but it also includes the reward of creating a legacy. Anti-entrepreneurship is satisfaction with the status quo, layers of controls and rules that hamper forward movement, and fear of failure." – Maia Haag, co-founder and president of I See Me!

 

"When it comes to being a successful entrepreneur, I think one must possess grit. The stakes tend to be high, the bumps in the road frequent. Remaining focused, regardless of the obstacles, is paramount. That said, being an entrepreneur means being in full control of your destiny. If that's important to you, then all of the challenges associated with striking out on one's own are but a small price to pay.” – Mike Malone, founder of Livestock Framing

 

Thomas Prendergast
Founder CEO
Markethive Inc.

P.S.

Reid Hoffman Tells Charlie Rose: "Every Individual Is Now An Entrepreneur."

https://techcrunch.com/2009/03/05/read-hoffman-tells-charlie-rose-every-individual-is-now-an-entrepreneur/

Alan Zibluk – Markethive Founding Member

Markethive

Google’s Year in Review – in terms of search

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I don't think it is healthy to dwell on the past and spend time lost in nostalgia, but it is good at the start of a new year to reflect on the passing year, and determine to make sure that the coming year will be much better in terms of every measure that can be used.  In that spirit, I encourage everyone to do their best to make 2017 their best year ever, in whatever terms you feel are important to you.

Here is a Google review of 2016 in terms of search that may inspire you to do your best in 2017.

Year in Search 2016 – from Google

Have a fantastic New Year!  Celebrate wisely!

John Lombaerde – VP-NJ for Markethive

 

Alan Zibluk – Markethive Founding Member

Markethive

Markethive Vision Statement

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Markethive Vision Statement

Markethive is Inbound Marketing combined with a dynamic vertical social network funded by advertising. Not only makes the entire Inbound Marketing system cost free, it also allows you to leverage huge results when you build groups to facilitate the platforms via the social network.

Markethive is next generation technology from a 20 year old Inbound Marketing platform called Veretekk. Built by the same entrepreneurs, innovation is our DNA.

We invented Inbound Marketing back in 1996.

Social Network

TellA Friend

Privacy Policy.  We are not Facebook!

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Members Only Root Domain

Alan Zibluk – Markethive Founding Member

Markethive

I’ll say it: the days of outbound marketing are over.

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I’ll say it: the days of outbound marketing are over.

entrepreneur

The "Wolf of Wall Street" mentality of harassing customers over the phone, sending spamy emails, and going door-to-door to close deals has become much less effective in recent years. Customers have access to so much information every day, they’ve become increasingly resentful of marketing intrusions. The rise of blocking tools such as caller id, spam folders and ad blockers is not coincidence.

Inbound marketing is the new normal. That’s the idea that if you provide value to customers first, they will respond by returning that value back and doing business with you.

To get a peak under the hood inbound marketing, and get tips on how others can use it, I had a chance to chat with A.J. Agrawal – an entrepreneur who built his business, Alumnify, around it. A.J. is a fellow contributor at Entrepreneur as well as at Forbes, Huffington Post, and others.

Here’s an edited version of our e-mail interview:

Why begin with universities?

We started there because we saw a strong decrease year after year in alumni engagement. Right now, alumni engagement is at an all time low – under 10 percent. It was obvious that institutions were struggling to adjust to the new ways their alumni were communicating and engaging. So we saw the opportunity.

For about 85 years, alumni engagement was pretty steady. Then all of a sudden, in the 90’s it began to fall drastically. In panic mode, many schools chose to double down on the outbound marketing tactics that worked in the past: cold calls, snail mail, and increased email addresses. They also deployed better data tacking and software to help optimize open email rates as well as make the giving process easier for graduates.

But these strategies had no effect (or even a negative effect on engagement) because they were built on an overall strategy that was broken. So we decided we would build inbound marketing solutions to provide value to alumni first. 

How do you begin inbound practices?

First, make sure you know what inbound marketing is. At its core, inbound is anything that provides a tremendous amount of value to your target customer without asking anything from them in return. There are tons of ways to do this and the best part is that most of the major strategies can be done for minimal cost.

One thing we recommend to companies we work with us is to start by getting a blog set up and to have someone be responsible for publishing regular content. One of the nice things about inbound marketing is that it requires companies to build major assets for their business. Your content library is a huge asset and will eventually help your SEO, and pull in more customers to your website.

Other popular inbound strategies include webinars, eBooks, infographics, mobile apps built to help your customers, and optimizing your social media.

Each business is different, so the strategy depends on factors including audience, industry, and expertise. Like most things, the hardest part is just getting started. Once you find an inbound strategy that starts to work, it becomes much easier to fine tune and expand on your traction.

Do you avoid outbound strategies?

Not at all. While inbound is definitely the future, some customers still respond well to outbound strategies. Even as an inbound company, we still cold call customers and send promotional emails once in a while — but as part of a complete plan.

When thinking about the brand I want for Alumnify, I don’t want prospects and customers avoiding our phone calls. The image of a customer seeing an Alumnify Team Member calling them and saying “Not these people again” is my worst nightmare. And it should be any entrepreneur’s nightmare too.

Instead, I believe that the key to getting customers to love us is to provide value without asking for anything in return. For example, we have a free inbound marketing email list we just launched yesterday with weekly tips and webinars. And I’m always happy to help any fellow entrepreneur hammer out an inbound strategy. That type of approach may take more work in the short run, but it’ll also help build a much better brand to our customers in the long run.

Article writen by:

Inbound Marketing solution

 

Alan Zibluk – Markethive Founding Member

Markethive

What does the Future of Marketing Automation look like?

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cartoon-1294010_1280

According to one marketing automation expert David Raab, nearly 70 percent of marketers are not happy with their marketing automation software.  Clearly, there is much room for improvement in this industry, despite the enormous potential benefits that can be achieved.

One area of particular promise is "predictive intelligence".  Marketing automation software that embraces this type of model will provide better results for customers and those results will improve over time due to the machine learning aspect of this type of software model.

True AI or artificial intelligence really exists only in the world of science fiction, but we can already see how technology like Google's "rank brain" are being implemented at a very high level into their search algorithms.

This post is not intended as a treatise on the subject, but only to highlight the development that will inevitably take place in marketing automation to a more predictive and machine learning type model that incorporates elements of artificial intelligence.

So, what would this type of marketing automation software look like, how would it work, and what could it do for clients using the software?

As an example, it is a common marketing strategy to ask the client to start with an avatar of what their ideal customer looks like.  A software with AI elements would be able to examine a company's current database of customers, and analyze all demographic data as well as social media profiles of all current customers.  It would then perform a detailed and sophisticated search across various websites and social media, and recommend an exhaustive list of potential prospects.

This analysis would be based on similarities with current customers, and would also recommend the best way to connect with them which would most likely yield the best results.

This is a highly sophisticated method of marketing automation that does not currently exist. The ability of this type of software to target potential prospects with laser-like accuracy will likely turn the marketing automation market on its head.

The company that comes out with this kind of predictive analysis model may dominate the industry for years to come, and prove to be a highly sought after commodity, even at a fairly high price.  It is also equally likely that the downward price pressure of open sourcing may prove to significantly lower costs for the consumer.

It is clear that forward thinking companies such as Google are investing in the future by relying heavily on automation in a wide variety of markets.  Look at the investment Google has made in self-driving cars, for example.  Uber drivers may become  a thing of the past in the not too distant future.

Consider what Perry Marshall a well-known marketing expert had to say about automation in a recent email.

"2003-2009 was the age of PPC. 

2010-2016 has been the age of Social Media. 

2017 and beyond will be the age of Artificial Intelligence

Now mind you, this “Artificial Intelligence” is not self-aware. It’s not HAL 9000 reading your lips as you talk outside the spaceship like in 2001: A Space Odyssey. 

Not yet anyway.

But don’t underestimate this AI. 

I have clients who are taking AI to deep levels, re-inventing the future as we speak. You won’t fully see the results of what they’re doing for another year or two. 

But let’s just say that talking to machines like Alexa and Siri is only the tip of the iceberg.

The key to success in 2017-2020…especially in AdWords…is OWNING some of that Automation.

Automation is a rack-the-shotgun, 95/5, winners and losers phenomenon. "

Prophetic words of wisdom, no doubt, from the marketing and AdWords expert.

Watch for those technologies that claim this type of predictive AI model to emerge and lead the industry by wide margins in the years to come.

Take a look at these three leading-edge marketing automation technologies you can use today.

Markethive – (free) – dramatically increases your reach on the Internet by using cooperative blog syndication technology, and much more

Social Lead Generator – auto-join and auto-post to open and closed Facebook groups, dramatically expand your Twitter followers, and more.

Linked Group Messenger  – Increase your LinkedIn invitation rate and grow a very large group of 1st level connections on LinkedIn.  Especially helpful to avoid the LinkedIn "idk" limit.

 

Of course, I will keep you informed of these trends, and help you to stay on top of these significant technologies.

John Lombaerde – Goldfinch Digital Publishing LLC

 

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Alan Zibluk – Markethive Founding Member

Markethive

4 Inbound Marketing Tools You Should Know About

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inbound-marketing

For most small businesses marketing is either a huge expense or a huge burden. If you are trying to run a small business, or if you are an entrepreneur trying to navigate your way online, the word marketing is kind of a scary one.  

You envision yourself or your team spending hours and hours blogging, or creating content on social networks with no guarantee that your time investment will pay off. Or you pay someone through the nose to handle your marketing, not really sure if that investment will work out any better than doing it in-house.

This might be a bit of an exaggeration, but unfortunately, it is the reality that far too many start-ups and existing small businesses face. Here are some excellent tools that you probably have not heard of, that can help ease your burden. Do not worry, relief is on the way.

Markethive – this is a totally free social network for entrepreneurs and small businesses.  This network can help you, even if you don't have your own website. If you do have your own website, it can work hand in hand for even better results.

It would take an entire blog post to describe everything that Markethive can do for you, but let's just start with their blogging platform. Simply put I get 10X the post views on Markethive compared to the views I get on LinkedIn Pulse.  

Markethive is an engaged social network.  This is quite a surprising comparison, despite the fact that I have 10k 1st level connections on LinkedIn, and only 500 friends in Markethive.  As they say, go figure!

LeadOutcome  – you may or may not be aware that LinkedIn is one of the few social networks that allows the export of names and email addresses.  Your entire database of 1st level connections on LinkedIn whether you have 500, 2500, or 25,000 1st level connections, can be exported and sent email using automated marketing methods. This is obviously extremely significant for marketers.

I am not a big fan of autoresponders, or email blasters, as I like to call them.  Aside from telling you the open rates and clickthrough rates of email, they really do little else.

No autoresponder I know of can tell you who is "hot", and who is not.  There are a number of specialized features that CRM software systems like LeadOutcome offer, but the fact that each action a lead takes is "scored" makes a huge difference.

You now know who is "hot", and who is not. There are a number of additional features of LeadOutcome that make it highly desirable, but given that it's monthly cost is less than most autoresponders makes it a relative no-brainer.

Simple Lead Generator for Facebook and Twitter.  Without listing all of the features and benefits,  (see the video link for details), this powerful software lets you search for and find groups automatically by keyword search.  

You can post automatically to groups, and also to your friends on Facebook.  You can also auto-follow on Twitter and auto-like tweets in order to encourage people to follow you back.  This can save hours and hours of your time if you are active on either Facebook or Twitter.

Group Messenger  for LinkedIn. (see the video link for details) This software allows you to market automatically on LinkedIn.  No need for manual messages one by one anymore.  

You can auto-invite based on keyword searches and auto-invite group members for groups of which you are a member. You can email open networkers over and above the LinkedIn limits for invitations. 

Of course, you will find quite a large number of rather expensive systems for inbound marketing that will schedule and organize your content, etc. etc.  Despite the advantages of these systems, you will find most of what they do in Markethive at no charge.

An essential component of any inbound marketing strategy, or what I like to call automated marketing is about how to gain access to prospects.  There are always restrictions on the manual methods social networks offer to contact, message, and connect with friends and potential prospects.

The above-mentioned automated software systems allow you the access that you need in order to market effectively on these major social networking platforms. You can save yourself hours and hours of manual labor using these systems.

You will not find a more powerful or lower-cost suite of tools for inbound marketing on any other list on the Internet that is current for 2016 than this one.

Please connect with me on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/leadsonline  or call 973-259-6055 for more information.  

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Alan Zibluk – Markethive Founding Member