About the Author:
Marnie Pehrson, founder of C.E.S. Business Consultants
and the International
Association of Computer Professionals,
develops products that help computer professionals market
and manage their businesses.
She is author of
How to
Run a Successful Computer Training Business,
How to
Get & Keep Customers for Your Computer-based Business
and Keeping
Your Sanity in a Home Business.
Marnie
also develops business plans, marketing strategies,
financial projections, & proposals for Internet
projects. Her plans and strategies have garnered clients
an average of $100,000 each in seed capital.
Marnie
lives on a Georgia farm with her husband and their six children .
Contact:
C.E.S. Business Consultants
Ringgold, Georgia
http://www.pwgroup.com
mailto:[email protected]
TEL: 706-866-2295
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PREVIOUS ISSUES
Collaborating
On-line
It used to be that if
you needed something programmed--an article written
for your company newsletter, or some marketing
advice--you had to hire someone to help you with it.
Most likely you'd look in the phone book for a local
professional. Now, with the advent of the Internet,
it doesnīt matter where the person you hire
lives. What's more, you probably won't even have to
pay them money to get them to help you!
Part of the culture thatīs being generated through
the Net is the sharing and bartering of expertise. For example,
I've surrounded myself with a circle of friends on
the Net who are good at different things. We share
our skills and ideas with each other without ever
exchanging money for anything. At the same time, you really
couldn't call it bartering because it's not exactly a
quantifiable direct exchange of products or services; no one keeps tabs.
In my circle of friends and associates, I have
someone who can program database driven web sites, an
ISP, a business success coach, marketing experts, and
brainstorming partners. We promote each other's sites
and services and share our knowledge with each other.
This culture only
works when everyone involved has an abundance
mentality. What I mean by this is that each person
believes there is more than enough business, not to mention success,
prestige and fame, to share. Trying to climb the
ladder of success by yourself can be a lonely, if not
impossible journey. Success is rarely achieved alone.
By collaborating with others, your business can grow and be fruitful, both economically and
dynamically.
Here are some examples
of on-line collaborations that work:
- The Sideroad itself is a
collaboration of writers, editors, and
designers.
- Sherry Lowry of The
Seamless Life(tm) fame collaborates with various
professionals to offer group teleconferences
on interesting and informative topics.
- Lovestories.com and IdeaMarketers collaborate with their
own visitors by giving each visitor their own
user account for adding and showcasing their
poetry or articles on-line. This helps the
two sites offer dynamic, interesting content
while giving fame and exposure
to the authors.
- Affiliate
programs like those gaining popularity on the
Web are a collaboration of thousands of
individual web sites with e-commerce sites.
This has been Amazon's claim to fame. They
pay referral fees on books sold through other
web sites.
- Many web sites
that are being developed today are created
through collaborative efforts by people from
different parts of the world. The developer
might be in Chicago, the graphic designer in
Canada, and the programmer in California.
Most of the communication is all done on-line
through e-mail, irc, or Internet groupware.
The next time you
see an interesting post on a newsgroup or maillist
from someone you'd like to work with, don't be shy.
Strike up a conversation. Learn more about what they
do. If they have something good to offer and you have
something they could use in return, let them know
you're interested in collaborating. No money has to
exchange hands. No business partnerships have to be
formed. Just a graceful alliance between friends can
work miracles on-line.
To learn more about
collaborating on-line, come to the free preview of Secrets of
CyberNetworking teleconference.
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