Today Google has announced a new venture called, "Google Ventures". This new service will allow Google to invest in new businesses rather than having to purchase the entire business. I think this is going to be a huge hit among entrepreneurs but I can only image how many emails Google will receive. This new venture by Google will be ran by Bill Maris and Rich Miner.. If you would like additional details go to: http://www.google.com/ventures/.
This is an interesting video from Matt Cutts of Google. Matt shared many tips for small business owners. I love watching videos producted by Matt they are very informative!
These days many people are turning to the web to make some additional income; however, many people are taking the wrong routes to success.. The honest to goodness truth is that there is a lot of money to be earned on the web, you just have to go about it the right ways..
10 Tips to Making Money Online:
At the very beginning you must look to save money whenever possible. For example, when it comes time to buy web hosting you should purchase web hosting from one of these 10 web hosting companies that offer hosting under $5 a month.
Write quality articles or content related to the product or service that you are selling. In these quality articles promote your product and explain how it could benefit your reader. (Example: notice how I put a plug in for my web hosting review site above). It is important that you believe in your product. I will never promote a business or product unless I think the product/service will benefit others.
NEVER buy an ebook... This is a mistake that I have made in the past... Information in ebooks can be found in other locations on the web and most ebooks suggest that you buy another product.. Trust me save your money.
RESEARCH.. RESEARCH..RESEARCH.. Before selling a product or service it is important to research the market potential, competition, and potential income. If you are going to use the arbitrage method make sure you do your math and make sure that it is profitable.
Advertise only with reputable companies... I have used many companies for advertising including Google, Yahoo, Adhere, and many other sites; however, I learned that I have only had success with Google Adwords. Others may have success with other companies but personally I think other PPC systems have a LOT of fraud.
Invest back into your business... A lot of people make the mistake of keeping every dollar they earn. However, in order to grow and be successful and make more money online you must invest back into your business.
Never give up. The first few monthes may be hard but you have to keep at it. But if you are loosing money its time to stop and figure out what is wrong...
If you do not know how to build a website that is ok. Web hosting providers such as Bluehost and HostMonster include free website builder software. These two companies also offer easy installation on wordpress which is the route that I would suggest taking.
The quickest way to success to make money online is to study your top competitors and find out what they are doing.. And then copy their techniques (not their content).
Understand that your success depends on Google... If you want to make money online you must read google's guidelines and abide by them so that in the long run you can be rewarded with a successful online business.
Had a good luncheon session yesterday with Yorgen Edholm at the Cabana Hotel. It's pretty interesting for him to share his knowledge on starting his previous company, Brio Technology.
A few takeaways from the session:
Plan is just a tool to measure performance, not meant to be follow strictly. Also, be flexible with the plan.
Good to hire marketing persons to generate more interests and leads, as compare to salespersons
Don't hire too many salespersons, because more salespersons does not mean more sales. He mentioned that he used to have a salesperson who are as efficient as the other eight salespersons he had. Also, scarcity of salespersons will help to come out more innovative ways to handle sales.
Don't let salespersons hijack the company. He mentioned that a salesperson could deliver promises like "This $Xmillion deal could go through if the product have Y features."
Deal direct with the customers' feedback/request. Sometimes, the salesperson might misinterpret the customers' expectation of a feature as their core competence is selling, not engineering.
Beware of Linear Thinkers. Linear Thinker is usually someone who has a set of rules in handling situations. These often come from someone who has past experience in large corporation. What can be done in the large corporation are not necessary useful in a startup.
Linear Thinkers and Genius doesn't get along well. Genius is sometimes erratic.
From Yorgen's experience, he found out that "there is no positive correlation between more education and better problem solving ability in a startup environment"
Startup is more of an art than science.
Too much money and people are a big problem in a startup. When having too much money, procrastination tends to happen.
A specialist that doesn't understand the situation should move on. He mentioned that he once used to have an experience CEO in the board of directors, but this person doesn't understand the situation of the company. He only give advise based on what he experience in the past.
Don't start the company with spouse and family members.
I'm featured in the Business Times. What an interesting day for me. I love the way the reporter wrote about my company, my team and I. Yup, Southeast Asian Bill Gates. That's what they wrote about me.
I've always wonder how do people like Bill Gates, Sergey Brin, Steve Jobs build their empire. Mathematically, it is impossible to earn that much of money given a constant high paying job throughout one person's entire lifetime. Finally, when I entered National University of Singapore, I get to learn about entrepreneurship from their courses, cca and peers. It's been an interesting path I took in my life. I made a lot of sacrifices to satisfy my hunger.
I would say, it's worth the time and effort. I'm on my way to my dreams now. Starting my own business, doing what I'm passionate about, sharing my experiences, facing new challenges everyday and working with a fun group of people towards a common goal. All these are priceless.
Just an advice, if you are sick and tired of your 9am to 5pm job, it's time to take a peek at starting your own business. No words can described the experience and the satisfaction you'll get out of it.
Had a good 
