subject: Log Off Of That Laptop And Into The Real World [print this page] When you are an Internet Marketer, it is easy to let all of your time get eaten up by your pc. Email, message board posting, web content writing, sales marketing--it all takes time and it's not difficult to lose track and spend your entire day in front of your pc monitor. And if you're working at home, you might go days or weeks without seeing any other human beings. This is extremely harmful! You (and your small business) need human interaction if you are going to succeed. Yes--this also holds true when you run your small business online. So what must you change? How would you put yourself out there?
The obvious way to do this is to attend a convention or a conference. Every single day there are conferences and conventions going on everywhere. Each niche and every last market has at least a couple of them. Choose a couple of these (one local, one miles away) and go! You are going to meet plenty of new contacts. You are going to get a lot of inspiration. You will get out of your home! Conventions and conferences are very enjoyable, you ought to take a look.
Head to local business networking events. Your local Chamber of Commerce probably holds at least one or two of these annually. You can even contact them to find out what other (similar) gatherings are taking place in your area. Participate in at least one event such as this. Networking, obviously, isn't the most enjoyable thing you could do. It does not suggest that you can't have fun. More importantly, these are excellent places to improve your local contacts and business relationships. It's impossible to tell when you will find an individual who is helpful both in developing your business and making more money.
Consider renting space in a professional building or in an office designed for "co working." This can put you out into the real world every day and, at the same time, give you a space to which you can dedicate your small business. These spaces are often furnished with things like break rooms, conference rooms, copy and printing services and so forth. There are going to be people that you can chat with when you feel stuck. Besides a non-residential address, this is good because it will give you someplace to meet your customers. This will help your business seem both more professional and legitimate.
Give a class to your local community. You're definitely an authority in your niche. Why not give a talk, a lecture or a class on that in your local community? One of the best things about this option is that it will give you the opportunity to bring in more money because you can ask people to pay an admission price. This demonstrates to locals you are aware of what you are doing and will help you make contact with potential customers.
Spending your entire time in front of your computer, even when you are doing it to grow your business, isn't healthy. If you honestly want to be successful and to thrive, you'll need to go out and spend time with people.
