Elijah, Author at The At Home Couple

7 Ways To Keep Your Hustle On Point in 2011

Pimp slap your way to the top! Sit down and get ready, because I’m in the mood to write like nobodies business!

Sure – the average person thinks of a hustler as being some 5 foot 2, shady black dude with greasy hair and suede shoes. Though this “character” brings me tons of joy in the form of Snoop Dog and Premium Pimp Suits – I’m referring to the mindset of a hustler and how important it is to keep the “do or die” survival attitude, especially when times are not so great.

I’d like to remind everyone reading this (especially those of you who are still struggling to get things popping online) that in 2011, if you don’t hustle like your home is about to be foreclosed, you will never make it in the years that lie ahead. As much as I am writing this to you, and am repeating this to myself as well.

Why is 2011 the year to HUSTLE your HARDEST?

Because EVERYONE and there mother is hustling. Your aunt is on Facebook running a group about arts and crafts while you’re little nephew is raising money online for his school’s theater program. This is a fast paced, technology infused world we live in – and if you’re game isn’t on point, you’re money situation will blow goats and you’ll be a loser just like me (sometimes).

I figured to stay on top of things I should make a list of reminders or “best practices” to follow when my hustle juice is running low – so why not put it up on the blog and share it with the best readers in the world (that would be you)?

7 Things You Need to Hustle in 2011

Hustle the living crap out of your passions. I know the whole “hustle” and “passion” thing is quite popular with guys like Gary V, but those who know Veronica and I know that passion has been the name of the game for us since day one. I’m passionate about music, business, ideas and technology. She’s is passionate about architecture, design, crafts and functionality. These are the areas where our hustle juice should flow 80% of the time moving forward.
Keep yourself looking pimp at all times. The truth is, the better you look, the more confident you will be the better you will feel. This includes weekly shaving (men and women), showers and clean clothes. If you hate doing laundry like me, keep your outfits clean enough that you can rotate effectively and where each item a little longer. If something starts to smell – wash it. If a shirt is only “decent” – iron it so it looks fresh.
Purchase nothing without finding a deal first. Perfect example, we’re taking a road trip soon and need to replace our tires. Veronica hustled online, made a bunch of phone calls, and found a great deal – saving over $100 compared to a major tire installation package. That hundred dollars can now be put back into the hustle machine and used for something else. Goal scored for the home team.
What you put in, you will get out. Pretty self explanatory. The better you eat, the better you feel and the more “regular” you are. What you read, watch and absorb through your senses will directly reflect in your behavior – so stay away from CNN and Halo Reach every now and then – because violence and fear, as much as it makes for great entertainment, is not good for your soul.
Surround yourself by other hustlers. My good friend and skype buddy SuiteJ reminded me of this in a convo last night – if you’re always hanging out with negative, broke people – you’ll always be negative and broke (something like that). Surround yourself with people who have just as much drive as you do. Spend time with those who love and support you as well as those who you can directly benefit from – and don’t be ashamed of this.
Stay on the low down, when permitting. A huge part of having a good hustle is the ability speak with your actions, and only get into details when absolutely necessary. Don’t go around telling people how great your business is doing and what you’re working on – I have a bad habit of always talking work, and it’s time that became more strategic. Speak by getting shit done – period.
You are your most valuable asset. If you are not in the game of branding yourself, then it’s time to step things up. Get your online accounts in check and up to date. Always have business cards – even if you work for the man in some cubicle – print out some cards with your name, current job title and personal email etc. If you don’t have a blog, start one – because you never know who is looking you up on or off line.

What are some things you feel is CRUCIAL for the ultimate HUSTLE?

Do the comment thing below – let’s take this list to 50!

Cheers,

Elijah

Prospecting Your First Offline Consulting Client

Hey guys, short post today.

I just finished watching a wack load of videos from a guy named Kelly Verge. If you’re interested in getting into the offline consulting game i.e. being hired by local businesses to promote them online, build a website, ppc etc… You’ll definitely want to watch these videos.

I think there’s 4 in total – and this dude goes into really good detail regarding prospecting, inbound marketing, and how to speak with local business owners in a way that will close sales. I’ve posted up video number 2 which I really dug.

Postcards is where the party is that!

Hopefully he’s got a Google Alert on his name and will come by and comment – cause I don’t even know him and I’m promoting his shit for free.

Ah well. I got my own money pffft.

Enjoy.

Elijah

How Bad Do You Want To Quit Your Job?

I’m fortunate to be self employed for over 2 years, and though my knuckles and bank account are still scraping the bottom, I don’t ever regret quitting my previous job. The question is, for those of you who are bored tired at your current day job – what’s stopping you from quitting or looking for something better/more enjoyable?

If working a day job is something that you must do because of commitments, children, massive debt etc.. that’s totally okay – but don’t get too comfortable with the idea of stability and a risk free life, because this is the ultimate recipe for a mediocre existence. And there is no one in this world that wants a life that is “fine”.

PROBLEM: You hate your current job, boss or industry.

SOLUTION: Start looking for something better. And when I say looking, I don’t mean sending out resumes online for 2 weeks and then giving up. Get your act together, spruce up your resume (even embellish if needed) and decide what it is you want and how you are going to make it happen. If you need a fake reference, just send me an email – I can say you worked for my company and that you’re awesome (which isn’t a lie).

This job doesn’t have to be permanent, so wipe that thought from your mind because that will do nothing but make you feel stuck again – just in a different environment. Think of your new job as a stepping stone to your ultimate goal.

My buddy Alastair just had a huge win, and I will use him as a great example: He is in the Restaurant/Venue Management industry and last night he told me that he quit his job – and found something WAY better. I was so pumped when I heard this that I may have pooped a little in my pants…

We’re talking about going from managing a mediocre dessert bar in the ghetto to managing an uptown, upscale “old hollywood” inspired supper lounge. It took him months of phone calls, walk ins and hustling – but he made it happen! And though he’d much rather be a Restaurateur and running his own joint (only a matter of time) he’s being positive, excited and realizing the abundance of opportunity this new job is going to give him.

On top of all this, it’s easier for him to get too and I’m a 20 minute commute (VIP by association rocks).

What I’m trying to say is I know it’s tough – and scary – but it is necessary to TAKE THE LEAP every few years until you get to where you want to be. I don’t care how old you are, how many kids you have or what your monthly bills look like – you must keep moving and avoid becoming stagnant. You mustn’t look too far ahead, but still have a grasp of your end goal and how you will achieve it – whatever that “it” may be!

HOW BAD DO YOU WANT TO QUIT YOUR JOB?

What’s stopping you?

Don’t be a wussy and share your thoughts/current situation – letting others know is the first step to getting the ball rolling!

Cheers,

Elijah

Mobile Media Marketing in 3 Easy Steps

Get ready bloggerhood, because what I’m about to share with you is pretty mind blowing. And for those of you reading this who are business minded – there is one particular avenue of internet marketing you need to grasp immediately: Mobile Media Marketing. The triple M!

I’ve been reading about marketing to mobile devices for the last few months, and recently there have been some killer products released (Mobile Monopoly by Adam Horowitz is an absolute must have course) that can take you step by step through the process of making stupid amounts of money marketing to mobile device owners.

For those of you who already know the gist of CPA and PPC – what I’m about to tell you will give you a jump start. For those of you who haven’t had any luck with CPA stuff, going mobile will save you time and money during the “get your feet wet” phase.

In the tradition of keeping shit simple, here is how to make money with mobile media marketing in 3 easy steps:

STEP ONE – DRIVE TARGETED MOBILE TRAFFIC

Head over to AdMob.com and create an account. Think of AdMob as pay per click marketing strictly for mobile phone users. It is the Google Adwords of the future! Imagine being able to target your traffic by age group, demographic (right down to the major city) and mobile operating system/device type – well AdMob allows you to do just that! Clicks will cost you as low as 1 cent compared to traditional PPC that can go as high as $1 per click.

TIP: Be sure to show them your best shit on the application. Use your best website or blog and really talk the talk in the application details field. Tell them how long you’ve been doing what you do and how you plan to promote. This will make getting accepted into the network a breeze!

STEP TWO – SEND YOUR TRAFFIC TO A KILLER OFFER

When it comes to putting links and banners up on mobile websites, you need to find mobile specific offers. CPA (cost per action) networks are great for this because they payout for every action a user takes – whether that be a download of a ring tone or and email address submission. Sponsormob.com is the premier mobile specific CPA network available online with a great selection of advertisers to choose from.

Alternatively, most major non-mobile specific CPA networks do offer mobile-friendly advertisers, such as Neverblue Ads – who has almost 300 mobile offers to choose from.

STEP THREE – USE YOUR INTERNET MARKETING SKILLS

Just because you’re marketing to iPhones and Android users, it doesn’t mean that the game changes – it’s just a different medium! If you’re gonna market a free ring tone offer, type in “download free ring tones” into Google and see what the PPC advertisers are using for headlines etc… Take notes and test different headlines/banners until you find the golden nuggets.

Remember – mobile media marketing is NEW and virtually untapped. Now is the time to master the craft and get a jump start on the hoards of traffic available because the fact of the matter is more people in the world have a cell phone than are on the internet.

Hopefully this will give you guys a little taste of what mobile marketing holds in store for you and your business. If you’re really serious and want to make upwards of $1000 per day in a short period of time, definitely stop by the Mobile Monopoly sales page and grab it before it’s off the market for good.

Cheers,

Elijah

PIP Module 2 – Building Your Niche Affiliate Site

Passive Income Project - Niche Website It seems no matter how hard I try – Posting on my own blog and building passive income, among other things, always seems to take the back seat. Let’s not forget to mention that I currently have no means of recording audio (no microphone/mixer is out of commission due to a fried preamp). So, rather than be a complete douche bag and use this as an excuse for not continuing my Passive Income Project series, I’m going to write out this next module with hopes of recording a video later.

In the first video, I talked about various ways I do my gold digging to uncover profitable keywords, products and domain names. Once you have everything in place they next step is to build your website, and even if you suck, I’m going to give you some tools and tips to make a killer site regardless.

Remember – I AM NOT A GRAPHIC/WEB DESIGNER! But I do know enough to make things look and perform well. How did I learn? I did the same thing anyone does when they want to develop a new skill… I scoured the Internet until I realized that I could just harass the living daylights out of my bud Jay aka Suite J to teach me every ninja photoshop, CSS, HTML trick in the book. This was so much easier than reading about code and it was also free!

So TIP NUMBER 1 is if you suck at building sites like Justin Bieber sucks at growing chest hair, find someone to take you under their wing and absorb absolutely everything from them until you vomit on your keyboard. Watch tons of photoshop tutorials on YouTube and TRY everything. Don’t be afraid to mess something up or get crappy feedback on your sites – because the more you do, the better you get.

Here are some killer places to start:

http://www.pstuts.com/

http://www.problogdesign.com/

http://www.davesite.com/webstation/css/

TIP NUMBER 2 – If you don’t want to do it yourself, find someone good to do it – for really cheap! When it comes to outsourcing your niche websites, the name of the game is FOREIGN EXCHANGE. How much is your dollar worth around the world? Find a great market and take advantage of the conversion, for example, $10 USD could get you a great looking website if you outsourced it to the Philippines – where the US dollar is of great value on the market.

Do you see where I’m going with this?

TIP NUMBER 3 – You’ve decided on how the site is going to be built, and which niche market/keywords you’ll be targeting, it’s time to find a killer advertiser to promote. Now to make this really work, you want to have one primary keyword, with the domain for that keyword, and promote one single advertiser. You’re not necessarily trying to build a micro niche website, because you might have a keyword/domain that is in a larger market, but you are trying to keep the website as targeted as possible and rank on the first page/first spot for your primary keyword.

I use LinkShare because they have every niche, great resources and make most other networks look like the bottom of Lindsay Lohan’s purse on a Monday morning. Click here for more on LinkShare.

TIP NUMBER 4 – For my passive income project website, I chose to promote LampsPlus.com, which is a reputable lighting and home decor franchise. When it comes to designing your website, you want to make sure that it shares a similar look and feel to that of the advertiser you’re promotiong. Why? Because when people find your site online and click on the ads or links, they won’t realize they’ve been sent to the advertisers website.

Is it okay to copy your advertisers website? No. Is it okay to mock their colors and styling to increase conversions? Absolutely. Just take a look at my website, MissionTiffanyLamp.com and click any of the ads referring to LampsPlus – doesn’t it feel like you’re on the same website? This is the whole point.

TIP NUMBER 5 – Keep your website as frequently updated as possible. If you can only write one post per week, great. One post per month is fine, as long as you’re compensating with an increased amount of social bookmarking per new post published. Every article you write or have written for the website will essentially be a short summary post, reviewing a product in particular – using your affiliate link for the image as well as throughout the content.

This is very important****IF YOU DON’T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT YOUR NICHE WEBSITE, OR DON’T CARE HOW IT LOOKS AND PERFORMS, YOU WON’T MAKE ANY MONEY. So the opposite of that would be to actually care, work hard, and if you don’t know how to do something – learn or hire someone for dirt cheap to rid you of the burden.

In the next module I’ll actually take you guys through how I set up the WordPress niche site in the back end so you have on board stats, click tracking, link cloaking, etc.. I’ll show you how to make your website run like a champ (Rocky to be exact). Not sure when I’ll get around to doing the video – but I will!

Cheers,

Elijah

ftp://gi-kimono.com

Followers, Fans, Bloggerhood, Lend Me Your Fears

Everyday I run into to family and friends – on and off line – and everyday I give the same answer, “Business is good. Absolutely insane, but good.” I’m sure you can guess the question or something close enough. Then it dawned on me as I was having a smoke break (I know, I know) that this daily interaction would be much more interesting and beneficial with the veil of common chatter removed.

Imagine if we lived in a world where instead of asking…

“How’s business?”

we asked each other…

“What are you afraid of today?”

Right now I’m afraid of my own potential. As confusing as that sounds, the possibility of immense success terrifies me sometimes. I even think that it directly hinders my progress in some sort of unconscious way.

I’m afraid of death and the possibility that once my time has come there will be nothing but nothingness. I’ve had quite a few close friends and family pass away in the last 10 years and I hate it. Cancer sucks. Fuck cancer (as I smoke a cigarette).

When was the last time you actually sat down, without distractions, and conversed with your inner self about fear? Up until 5 minutes ago, it has been a few weeks for me. And though I don’t feel much better emotionally, it’s nice know I just typed it out for the world to see.

Your fears is what I want to see below in the comment box. I don’t care if you’ve never commented on a blog before, put in a name and spit it out. Don’t think about it too much, just go with the first thoughts that enter your head.

Do it.

Cheers,

Elijah

(Shakespeare anyone?)