Devouring books – or any possible source of information – is one of the most common and characteristic traits found in most self-made entrepreneurs who moved on to become self-made billionaires. Books do a lot of good things to you like arming you with information and knowledge, giving you fresh perspectives, improving your vocabulary and even motivating you:

Think and Grow Rich By Napoleon Hill: It’s a classic and it’s a must-read. Although of most of the advice feels a little repetitive and has been dispensed a million times already, there’s still something about the book that would make you turn the pages. It’s captivating and motivating to read the book and it’s highly recommended that you grab a copy of that book right away. I truly benefited from it.

How to Get Rich By Felix Dennis: If I were you, I would want to listen to advice about entrepreneurship from someone who’s been there and done that — someone who has gone places and made millions from various businesses. Felix Dennis is the owner of a magazine publishing company that brings out some really famous magazines like The Week, Maxim, Computer Shopper, and Evo. If you want to hear from the horse’s mouth, you must read this book cover to cover.

Rich Dad Poor Dad: Robert T.Kiyosaki is a popular author of the Rich Dad series of books. All of that started with the immense popularity of Rich Dad Poor Dad. The best part about the book is that it tends to shift you towards entrepreneurship and makes you want to leave your job and never take up employment again. He explains in great detail about the ways of the rich, the way they think, a few secrets rich never share, etc.

Rules of Wealth By Richard Templar: A fresh outlook on money, how to earn it and how to keep it is the central theme of this book written by Richard Templar. The book takes a direct hit on the subject of money and is a blunt, straight book. Mr. Templar doesn’t leave a single stone unturned and gets right to the point on a subject that tends to occupy maximum mindshare of every entrepreneur.

E-myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber: Did you ever wonder if there could be a bible for business owners? Michael E. Gerber – author and owner of a small business consulting company – wrote this book “E-myth Revisited” and it is an eye-opener of sorts. It digs straight into business specifics in a nice story-telling style that should make it an easy, but profitable read.

Do you have some books you can recommend?

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Website design is important; website appeal is important; content is king; traffic is everything. I believe in all of that and there are no second thoughts about it. However, what’s the point in getting all that traffic and not knowing anything about the collective behavior of this traffic? Is this traffic targeted enough? Do they subscribe to my newsletter? Do they answer polls?

Further, what sections of my website are they most interested in? What are their browsing patterns? Where do they come from? Data like this can help me make better decisions about how I need to optimize my site for best results and super profitability. For this purpose, I need what is called as Web Analytics tools. Let’s take a look at some of the free ones:

Google Analytics

It’s Google and isn’t that reason enough to look at it? I know I am biased here but there is no reason why I shouldn’t be. It has everything a paid service would claim to have and it’s free. However, how effective it will be depends on how big your business is and what your specific requirements are. Google Analytics can’t do “everything” for you but can most things pretty impressively. Pick your code up, embed it on your site and you have everything going for you. Pretty nifty, if you ask me.

Crazy Egg

The first time I heard about it was when I discussed analytics with my Internet Consulting expert Ashwin, owner of fetchprofits.com — a web-consulting firm. He swore by it and one look at the application and I have to admit that the data it spews out is insightful, to say the least. Crazy egg provides you the ability to actually see heat maps for every page ( my favourite) and on top of that, it has everything an analytics package should have. You can track your visitors, analyze traffic, generate heatmaps and overlays to give you a better idea of where your readers spend most of their time on your website.

Get Clicky

The name is truly web 2.0 ish, isn’t it? Well, but don’t let the fact that it’s free and it’s very web 2.0 delude you to think that it isn’t good enough. The fact is that it’s as complete as a free analytics package can get. If you have a small business or a blog(s), this is by far the next best thing after Google Analytics (Yes, I swear by it). You may use the real-time visitor tracking and traffic analysis for better use for your business or blog.

What other free analytics software have you come across? Do you use web analytics for your website(s)?

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If you have been online for any length of time, you would understand the power of the Internet for businesses. The only thing you will need, after your website has been put up and is live, is targeted traffic. One amazing way you can leverage more traffic for your website is to tap into the power of Q &A sites or “social search” as it is sometimes known. Q & A sites have an amazing user base always looking to ask questions or answer questions. If nothing, they are a great resource for knowledge.

How then would it work for your business? A lot of ways:

Establish expertise

I will buy from you only if I trust you or at least know that you “know” what you are talking about.In that case, developing your expertise is of prime importance. There are various to do that both offline and online: email newsletters, blogs, journals, PR, etc. Easiest would be to engage in meaningful conversations, answer others’ questions on the topic you are an expert on. Askoholic has a great round-up of websites that have everything to do with Q &A. Head over there and see if you can find a Q &A site that dwells on your niche.

Bring in the traffic

Traffic can come in — through the signature link, sources links or profile links — while you engage in riveting conversations with users on Q & A sites. It is more about doing others good by providing them with value in the form of timely help, knowledge and tips and in turn they might want to check you out by clicking on the links you provide there. The traffic trickles in but the best part is that they tend to be loyal.

Genuinely help others

One of the greatest secrets of getting rich is to learn to give first and then take. Helping others by solving their problems not only increases your sense of self-worth but also makes you the “go-to” person for people to accost when they have problems in areas you are an expert in. They will thank you for the help, remember your kind gestures and finally buy from you if you sell them anything.

Have you participated in Q &A sites before? Do you have any favorites?

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Every MBA who passes out would be familiar with the term “Marketing Mix” which basically defines the basic characteristics of a marketing plan which begins with the 4 Ps of marketing: Product, Price, Place and Promotion. This would have been true for many companies earlier but things have been changing rapidly for marketers. This is exactly what the 4 Ps have transformed into:

Product changes to solution

At the dawn of the Industrial revolution, it was basically a producer economy. Companies like Ford could make T-model and sell these cars which were only made in color black. However, today it’s a consumer led economy. Consumers make the choices now and they have plenty to choose from, no matter which product category they look at. Companies must now look at providing solutions and not products or services.

Promotion changes to Information

Earlier, in-your-face promotion would have worked. Today, consumers seek information about products and services they are looking to buy. With the advent of Internet, all this information is available at their fingertips and they also get plenty of information from real reviews shared by buyers who share their experiences openly on Social Media sites. Imagine how fast bad word could spread?

Place changes to access

There was a degree of importance for ‘location’ at one point of time. Today, however, it isn’t about location — unless ofcourse you talk about retail businesses and some other forms of businesses that give a lot of importance to location. For almost all other businesses, it’s not about the place anymore; it’s about ‘access. How easy is to gain access to your product or service? How accessible are your products to your customers? How many options do your customers have as far as purchasing your products?

Price changes to value

Price does play a vital role in influencing consumer behavior but times are changing slowly. The markets are rather torn between price and value. While there are always a group of customers who will go with products with a low price, some profitable markets take shape when consumers see more perceived value while purchasing your products and services. When you provide more value — more benefits accrued over certain costs — the more profitable you will be.

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All too often, most entrepreneurs fail to make a favourable impression when they are out pitching their products and services to prospects each day. Meeting new prospects is an effort and it shouldn’t go wasted. How then should a small business owner leave an indelible impression in the minds of prospects? How should an entrepreneur pitch their business to customers so as to convert easily and effectively? Here are some tips:

Don’t read; don’t make them read; just speak

“Brochure marketing” is a bane of the modern day sales process and I feel that things would have been better without flyers and brochures. I feel strongly against that because these print collateral makes a small business owner or a sales person lazy, at best. Don’t bother with presentations, brochures and flyers because they aren’t as effective as your personal talk with the client. Go out there and talk; you can then trust your efforts to work for you.

Take notes; in any way you feel comfortable

To this day, I still carry a small note pad with me and this serves me on the double — helps me to jot down ideas and it helps me to take notes when in talk with a prospective client. By taking notes, you show the customer that you are serious about doing business, that you care about what the customer has to say and finally, that you intend to remember every important detail that you and your prospect would have discussed.

Demonstrate, don’t tell

Rattling out statistics, speaking your mind out or even a passionate discourse about your products won’t help as much as demonstration would. Take an opportunity to demonstrate everything you intend to communicate — show them how your products work or how they benefit your customer; demonstrate how your services help solve your customers’ problems. Even the most intangible goods and services do have a way to be demonstrated. Don’t give up just yet.

Deliver passion

While you sit there speaking your heart out about your business, products and services, bring out the best of you. Talk with a passion and deliver with a confidence that can be hard to resist. Confidence is cold, it rubs off on people around you. If you aren’t passionate about what you sell, don’t sell.

Have you learnt a way to dazzle your customers the first time you meet them? Would you like to share a point or two?

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An entrepreneur’s life is one big irony – you set out to do something you thought you love to do but then realize that it was far more tough and back-breaking than your normal day job. If you hadn’t loved being on your own so much, you really wouldn’t survive the vicissitudes an entrepreneur’s life throws upon you.

We hear a lot of people saying that they had always dreamt of starting out on their own but then it is amusing to note that they have no idea how it is, really. Here’s a take on what the reality can be:

A lonely journey: Nothing can be nearer to the truth than this one. From the time you had thought of doing something on your own, you have been busy paddling against the much established norms the society had set upon you. They expect you to work while you want to provide jobs to people. While you ideate with a passion and harbor dreams that you so reverently adore, you are rarely understood by anyone else. Chances are that you would be the only one fighting this battle and you would have nothing for support except your own big self.

It’s a tough job: If you were starting out, you would eventually realize that you would simply be wedded to the rigors of hard work. It would make you stretch, flex and pump your energy out. You might have to work harder than ever before and still you wouldn’t be that pleased. However, for most of those who do this, it is indeed a humbling and rewarding experience.

It is really a baby: Businesses are really like babies, they need to be taken care of when first starting out and then mentored, coached and befriended. Your life would revolve around it, you would keep thinking about it and we should push it a bit far and probably say that it would be termed as obsession. A consuming, involved and highly addictive vocation, we should say.

It’s freedom: This is perhaps one those common reasons why most people look at self-employment or business. Being on your own gives you unparalleled freedom to whatever you like and whenever you like. If you could manage it, you could take a day off, take those yearly vacations, be home if you felt sick, attend your friend’s wedding if you thought it was important. The point is, you don’t have to beg your boss for a day’s leave or a half-day’s permission.

Makes more money by taking your life away: If it weren’t for your choice of profession, entrepreneurship actually grabs your life away from you. It is a consuming profession and it is all you would think of even after your company goes public. It never really stops. It’s a life-time job. What’s more, you can’t even get away from it because by then you would know that people’s lives depend on it. Before you know it, you had changed lives.

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