There are many of us who are working on our wealth creation strategy. Wether it be working another job, starting a small home based business or seriously building knowledge on the share and property markets, those that are serious are looking.

Many wealthy people we read about seem to have a certain skill for creating large amounts of money. Many in this group of wealth builders follow a few simple rules in their wealth development strategy, and I have listed some here.

Learn to work with people

The biggest fortunes are made when people work with a group talented people. Knowing which group to work with and how to work with people is one of the most important tools in your wealth building strategy.

Persistence

Often the difference in creating wealth is a few more hours, days or weeks of work. Those in the wealth creation group never give up easily. They pursue their wealth creation strategy until they achieve it! Don’t give up!

Make decisions quickly

“He who hesitates is lost!” Sort through the facts and make a list of pros and cons and evaluate that list. Speed every decision you make and then you will be training yourself to take advantage of wealth creation situations before somebody else can.

Seek new ideas

Utilise every task you perform to seeking new wealth development strategies. Study financial pages for hints that may lead you to create wealth. Jot down these ideas and review them regularly. Opportunities to create wealth will suddenly appear from everywhere.

Take risks

The more risks you take as part of your wealth creation strategy, the greater the chances of you building your wealth. Look at speculative ventures and invest a portion of your funds. Risk taking is an integral part of a wealth building strategy and will put you far in front from those playing it safe.

Borrow money

The largest fortunes are built on borrowed money. Understand how to use credit and other people’s capital to expand your profits and leverage your investments in your wealth development strategy.

Time is money

Be conscious of your time in your wealth building strategy. Evaluate your time in terms of the financial return to you and don’t procrastinate or spend large amounts of time on non wealth creating tasks.

Learn to be creative

Developing your creative powers is an excellent strategy to create wealth. Start doing activities which may be outside of what you usually do, learn some creative skill, like learning how to paint or sketch. This will give you ideas to think outside the square in which you can develop to create wealth.

By: Alvin Narsey

About the Author:

One way for businesses to plan for their international business expansion is to look at their progress in:

Websites as they move towards global business websites The different stages of traditional international marketing towards global business marketing

This can help businesses to:

Clearly identify where they are today on the scale of international business Create an International Internet Business Plan

Progression Towards Website Globalization

It is very interesting to note the online marketing progression today goes something like this:

From website internationalization = domestic website + all foreign & domestic markets To website localization = one foreign website + one foreign market To website globalization = all foreign websites + all foreign markets

To make the process easier, quicker and cheaper to manage there is a distinct trend for good global websites today to use website templates throughout all of their country websites. This leads towards one website template for all markets.

Progression Towards Global Marketing

But compare this online process to the traditional international marketing process where companies progress to global marketing as follows:

From Domestic Marketing = domestic product + domestic market To Export Marketing = domestic product + foreign market To International Marketing = one foreign product + one foreign country To Multinational Marketing = one foreign product + one foreign region of a few countries To Global Marketing = one product + all foreign countries & domestic market

So the progression goes from one market and one product through different products and different markets back to one market and one product.

International Internet Marketing Progression Plan

Small businesses just starting out in international business expansion need to create real communication with their international markets.

If you mix the progression towards global marketing with the progression towards website globalization this gives you a structure for an international internet marketing plan.

1 – Domestic Website For Domestic Marketing

One domestic website Customized content and communication for your domestic market only Marketing your domestic product Marketing to your domestic market

This is where more companies start: in a market they are familiar with.

2 – Internationalized Domestic Website For Export Marketing

One domestic website Customized content and communication for both your domestic and all foreign markets Marketing your domestic product Marketing to your domestic market and all foreign markets

This can be the exact same website as the one used for your domestic market. It all depends on how culturally specific your domestic website needs to be for your business.

In any event, you can always review your domestic website to make sure you are not unduly pushing away international visitors.

Some companies may opt for a separate international website.

This may be the case for French companies for example. They may keep their domestic website in French and start their international internet marketing with a separate international website targeting all foreign markets.

3 – Localized Website For International Marketing

One foreign website – begin using website templates Customized content and communication for one foreign market Marketing your product adapted to your foreign market Marketing to one foreign country

A localized website is a second website. You would still keep your domestic website or your internationalized website for your domestic markets.

You will create one localized website per country you market to, until you have a regional group of localized websites.

4 – Group Of Localized Websites For Multinational Marketing

A group of foreign websites – continue using website template Customized content and communication for each foreign country in the group of countries. Begin implementing one set of unique content adapted into each language for each country. Marketing your product adapted to your foreign market Marketing to a group of countries in one foreign region

There are some regions in the world where you can use a regional sales and marketing strategy.

This step really depends on the nature of your business and how you conduct your business in these regions.

5- Global Website For Global Marketing

Dozens of foreign websites, one website per foreign country – using website templates One set of unique content adapted into each language for each country website based on templates. A culturally specific content and communication plan for each country Marketing one product for a global market Marketing to all foreign countries & your domestic market

Global websites are usually for the big multinational companies.

But from a marketing standpoint, if you have one product to sell throughout a global market, your best online presence is through one global website giving access to a series of localized websites using templates.

Use Cross Cultural Communication Tools

The above plan gives you an outline of how you can use your website with an International Internet Marketing plan to progressively move towards full international business development.

Your international sales success depends on three things:

Your content and communication must be customized for each market along the way. You need to use online tools to stimulate international feedback continuously. You must systematically track, analyze your results and adjust your marketing to fit with your international market.

You need to identify the format and marketing mix to use for delivering your content that is best suited for each of you international markets. You also need to add in culturally appropriate tools for good cross cultural communication online.

Your International Internet Business Plan will evolve through a learning process as you become more knowledgeable about your international markets. There are often many adjustments needed when expanding your business internationally. Take small steps and adapt your plan when needed.

Cross cultural communication experts identify five different cultural behavioral values. Studying these values gives you insights into the tools you can use online to adapt your communication to your different foreign markets.

Over the next five weeks I will review one set of these tools in the Get International Clients Newsletter. Sign up now and find out what you can do to market to different cultures.

By: Cindy King

About the Author:

I wrote a blog post with a list of my 301 Twitter culture tips and international links. This list gives you quite a few interesting links to help you develop your international and cross-cultural skills.

A Social Media Marketing Plan

But there is something even more interesting about these 301 tweets. These tweets are what really started my social media marketing.

Just after I published this post, Michael Stelzner published an article on Copyblogger mentioning my twitter strategy for business.

When you look closely at this list of 301 tweets you can actually see the thread of my 5 daily scheduled tweets and the increase in third party links.

And remember, I am based in France… this is international web marketing for my business.

International Marketing On Social Media

Social media marketing can build relationships with your clients. And this includes your international clients.

But for international markets there is one big first step:

You need to identify the right social media to develop your business in each target country

And this takes a little bit of investigation… and also a trial run.
Different cultures use social media differently. Different web channels are used at different degrees of maturity and with different degrees of sophistication And, the intricacies of cross-cultural communication also come into play

I recently re-tweeted an article about Facebook increasing it’s number of users dramatically in Germany and Italy

Navigating The Different International Trends

In addition to learning how to use Twitter for business, there are two other trends to watch:

Customers all over the world are changing, taking control of sales processes… but at different degrees and with different nuances. It is a little like how “polite” can mean different things to different cultures. Users in different countries are at different stages in the adoption curve of social media. And you do not market to people with different levels of sophistication or expertise in the same way.

What this means is…

It can be hard to evaluate which social media to use in which foreign market. Today you still need to use educated guesses and thorough testing methods. Trial runs are needed to get to know people, and this is even more true in foreign markets.

More about social media marketing for international business development in the next post.



My social media marketing started last September when I joined Chris Garrett’s Authority Blogger course.

The main reason why I chose Chris above any other blogger was because of his superior social communication skills. Just follow his tweets and you will see what I mean.

A few lucky people are gifted in knowing how to bring people together and Chris is one of these people. It is this type of skill that sets you apart in social media.



By: Cindy King

About the Author:

Starting is overrated. Have you ever heard someone say, “If I could only just get started, everything would fall into place?” Guess what? It doesn’t! It’s easy to start. Just like it’s easy to join a gym or a weight loss program, it’s relatively easy to get started on creating a business strategy. It’s easy to hire a consulting company to help out. There are hundreds, if not thousands, that would be eager to assist. It’s the implementing, though, that is the difficult part- the day in, day out execution of tasks necessary to achieve the end goal.

Consultants are aware of this. After all, that’s why they are consultants. They don’t like to execute either. It’s much easier to tell people what to do and move on. In fact, most count on the fact that you won’t implement successfully, so they can come back and tell you what to do again next year.

Most companies don’t have difficulty coming up with a business strategy. In fact some enjoy the exercise so much they take months to complete it! Unfortunately, after the initial announcement about the new strategy, and when it comes time to implement, senior management is through. They wash their hands of the activity and are not heard from again. The effort loses its momentum and dies on a vine.

Former CEO of GE, Jack Welch, had it right when he said, “Experts talk as if strategy is high brained scientific methodology… Strategy is simple… Pick a general direction and implement like hell… Ponder less. Do More. Jack also claims it should take days, not months, to come up with a strategy.

So, the next time you revisit your business strategy, do your homework. Do a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis on your company and on the competition. Come up with your winning strategy, and then put the A-Team in place to execute it and hold your management team accountable for ensuring its success. Spend the majority of your time, money, and effort implementing.

By: Nick McCormick

About the Author:

I often meet local business owners who say they want more international business but aren’t doing anything about it. When I ask them why they aren’t taking any actions to actually get more international clients there are basically two reactions:

They insist they are doing all they can They make excuses based on potential barriers in the future

And yet, if the desire for international business expansion is real enough all it takes is setting up a simple action plan and repeating it until you get the answers you need.

This takes little time.

A persistent effort is all you need.

With curiosity.

Curiosity means questions.

Persistently ask questions. Don’t keep your questions to yourself. Look up and around you, ask questions all around. And follow up on the responses you get to ask more questions.

If you don’t get any response, look further afield, try changing your communication channels. Use the phone first, email, write a letter, go to places where you might find someone who can answer your questions, or who knows someone who can.

And then continue to ask questions.

Soon you will find the right person, or persons, to give you the answers to your questions. Maybe one answer at first, but the answers are out there.

This is business networking. This is market research in the field. And it works. As you continue to ask questions and talk to different people you will find the answers to all of the barriers you encounter along the way.

Small businesses or online businesses do not often take the time to set up a simple action plan to get more international clients.

By: Cindy King

About the Author:

A business development plan is an essential tool for all prudent entrepreneurs if they wish to remain in business. Just wishing for one, will not get you anywhere. You need to know how it works in order to draft one for your enterprise. A complete business development plan serves three basic purposes: communication, management, and planning.

It communicates the group’s financial strategy and company policy to all outside funding bodies and sponsors. Frequently, it will act as the prospectus of the company to attract investment capital and/or get loans sanctioned. More than a mission statement, the business development plan is a comprehensive explanation of the opportunity. It reveals the profit making potential of the business and helps attract strategic business partners. The plan dwells on all aspects of business activity, anticipates future problems and suggests alternatives as solution.

Company management sees it as an effective administration tool. With the help of the business development plan you can monitor the progress of all the current programs and evaluate the efficacy of your future endeavors. The plan allows you to set timelines and goals. You can compare projected figures with the actual achievements and gauge the progress made. It is a dynamic tool that reflects the growing knowledge and experience of management.

The planning tool is your mentor as you walk through the different phases of your business. A carefully charted plan details all the possible risks and uncertainties, identifying future problems so that you can avoid them with the help of established alternatives. Entrepreneurs today are more inclined to share their business development plan with employees. This leads to a greater employee identification with the stated mission and a better understanding of the goals of the business.

By: Dave Lavinsky

About the Author:

International business expansion can be expensive and laden with risks. Well this is true when companies limit themselves to only using traditional marketing methods in their international business development.

This can also be the case when companies use some internet marketing but rely heavily on traditional marketing methods.

Creating foreign language content for one internet marketing communication medium is a good way to start.

Traditional & Internet Marketing Mix

Today’s best marketing practices are based on implementing both internet marketing and traditional marketing campaigns. Companies rarely rely on both methods to the same extent. One marketing environment is often used more than the other.

The emphasis of either of these marketing methods depends on several factors including the company’s culture and history. It can be said that traditional, long standing companies now have to develop real internet marketing strategies, beyond the brochure website. And it is recognized that internet companies will get better results with some traditional marketing added to their marketing mix.

Internet Marketing Reduces Risk In International Expansion

When considering your international business expansion internet marketing reduces the risk in international expansion. But how can you really develop your business with internet methods? Some companies put up a website and think this opens their doors to international clients. Yes, it may. But the results will be very limited.

An interactive internet marketing campaign must be carried out in each and every foreign market you want to target. Simply having your website written in a way that communicates with you will not get you many international clients.

A Single Foreign Language Blog Can Start Your International Development

Today most businesses understand the value of having a blog. Instead of thinking with traditional marketing mindset, why not use today’s trend in social media and start off your international business expansion with a single communication tool specifically targeting one foreign country.

For example, Abercrombie & Fitch has a blog in French specifically targeting the French market. They are not physically present in France. It is getting recognition.

Creating foreign language content for one internet communication medium will greatly reduce your costs. It would be easier to keep control on from where you are now and reduce a large percentage of the risk involved with your international expansion.

Companies seeking international business development should look at how they can use this to their advantage. Internet marketing can be used as the sole marketing strategy when targeting a foreign market in the beginning.

A Dynamic Foreign Lead Generation System

Once you get some feedback from your foreign market you would be in a position to adjust your offer to fit better with your foreign market and develop your first foreign client base using only internet marketing strategies. Your first clients could finance further foreign language communication to create a more dynamic internet marketing lead generation system.

An effective internet marketing campaign will give your company the knowledge you need to make the international business decisions. You will then be able to choose which traditional marketing you should use to further your expansion. As your international business you will then move towards localized websites in all of your foreign markets. This is how to become a truly international company.

By: Cindy King

About the Author:

The private labeled bottled water industry is exciting with tremendous growth opportunities and the ability for suppliers to offer their customers and strategic partners creative, effective advertising solutions.

But like any business, care is required to develop the business in a profitable way and the best way to do this is to establish a focused business development effort that utilizes the tools and techniques established by successful business.

The first step is to define the concept “business development”.

Definition:

Business development “includes a number of techniques designed to grow an economic enterprise. Such techniques include, but are not limited to, assessments of marketing opportunities and target markets, intelligence gathering on customers and competitors, generating leads for possible sales, follow up sales activity, formal proposal writing and business model design.

Business development involves evaluating a business and then realizing its full potential, using such tools as marketing, sales, information management and customer service. For a sound company able to withstand competitors, business development never stops but is an ongoing process.” (source: Wikipedia)

From this definition it is clear that business development is more than closing the sale and each technique requires detailed planning and follow up.

Using the concepts of business development, it is possible to establish a profitable private label water business but it takes considerable initial and continuing effort.

The following case study involve a fictional Bottled Water company that entered the private labeled bottled water business. For discussion purposes it will be called ABC bottler (“ABC”)

Unique Value Proposition:

An initial challenge is the development of a Unique Value Proposition that answers the question “Why should I buy from you”.

After a review of the market and the competition it was determined that private labeled bottled water was a powerful, cost effective, advertising vehicle but because a customer’s brand was affected, high product quality and customer service was required. ABC’s Unique Value Proposition was established and stated:

“ABC will provide powerful and cost effective advertising and brand promotion for its customers based upon the highest quality consumable private label water, label design and customer service.”

Marketing and Target Markets:

Field and internet research was conducted with the basic question being: What are the characteristics of industries are most likely to use our product at a price that is profitable to us. Key characteristics were developed:

Prospects that provide a quality product or service.Industries operating in a competitive market environment where product/service differentiation was critical.Prospects that required drinking water for customers, clients or prospects.Prospects that maintained a quality brand image.Initial research indicated that the following industries were initially high potential targets:

Hospitality (Hotels and Spas)BankingMortgage BrokersReal Estate Ski Resorts

Sales Channels and Market Access:

It was decided that two channels would be used to go to market – direct selling and e-commerce. An e-commerce site was developed that allowed customers to design their own label for the bottles or provide an existing design consistent with the customer brand strategy. Search Engine Marketing and Optimization techniques were used to promote this channel.

A direct sales staff was formed to develop and close sales opportunities and these efforts were supported by a direct mail campaign and networking with local chambers of commerce, local trade associations and lead sharing groups.

The sales effort, after a series of initial false starts and disappointments matured successfully as we reviewed and revised the fine points of our effort.

Product Quality and Customer Service:

ABC’s corporate strategy for all products was to stay at the high end of the market and this was particularly true for private label bottled water where the market is characterized by cutthroat competition and many low quality vendors who are slashing prices and selling on price rather than quality.

ABC focused on three areas of quality:

Water purity – ABC used a steam distillation/ozonation process that guaranteed 99.9% pure water that tasted delicious.Label Design Quality – ABC used an in house professional designer to guarantee label design quality.Label Print Quality – ABC used laminated label stock that was extremely durable and water proof and used digital or flexo printing technology to guarantee quality.

Customer service was particularly important as ABC established a reputation for delivering on time and correctly. If mistakes occurred, and they did, ABC adopted a no questions asked guarantee. ABC established a reputation as a reliable vendor for its customers.

The business became a successful mainstay of ABC’s business but only because it developed a planned, business development process that was reviewed constantly and made changes that the market required.

By: Jon M. Stout

About the Author:

Are you ready for massive success with your business online? Developing a business online means one thing – SUCCESS. There’s really not much of a way to fail online if you follow a proven blueprint and apply it to your business.

These steps are dedicated to successful business development, and I don’t want you to miss anything.

1. Get a professional email. Nope, that hotlips4charity (at) hotmail dot com won’t work. You’ll have to find a better choice than that, EVEN if you’re running a dating site. I would strongly suggest you use either your business name, your personal name, or you motto for your email contact information, because those simply sound more professional.

2. Get Paypal. Yes, you can do business online with some other source of financial structure, but quite honestly, paypal is more effective, more familiar, and more proactive. Everybody online knows what it is and uses it prolifically.

3. Get a website. Oh, of course you don’t have to have a website. You really don’t need a car either, but the bottom line is, if you want to succeed online, you’re going to want someplace to send readers. Get a Website.

4. Get an auto responder. Auto responders automate your business online. They literally remove most of the work from working online. You set it once, add to it when necessary, and let your readers do the rest.

5. Drive traffic. Oh yeah, that’s the important part. Last but not least, you MUST drive traffic to your website. Do you have piles of money? If so, you can buy leads and send them to your website. You can pay for click traffic. Or you can use some of that valuable time you save on the commute by working from home and write articles.

Are you ready to make money online?

By: Bill Clarke

About the Author: