Today was kind of a weird day. I feel the same way I did when I sold my Porsche 930 a couple of months ago. It was a great day and it was a terrible day. Same thing today, I’m glad I sold the site, it deserved more attention than it was getting, but I’m bummed because it was like one of my kids.
I own 100% of a holding company, which along with other ventures, owns 49% of an insurance company here in Louisiana. Since the hurricanes, the state, my businesses, and my family have changed. Time has become more important for the simple fact that it should be.
If you own and business and sell it people say you’ve succeeded. I believe if you own and business and weather it fails or succeeds, you are only successful if you have learned something along the way. It doesn’t matter weather the business itself was successful. What matters is if you become a smarter, stronger, and better person while it was in your control. That being said I would call BasicTexasHoldem.com a very successful venture. With hindsight being 20/20, I thought I would pass on some thoughts I take with me from the world of being a poker affiliate.
1) Find a Mentor – this is probably the biggest mistake I made in this business. Weather you want to admit it or not you don’t know squat about being a poker affiliate, no matter how much your other companies are worth. You haven’t been there and you definitely don’t have the t-shirt. This in itself is the biggest advantage I found at
PAW. There are a ton of affiliates willing to admit their mistakes and pass that knowledge onto you. Take advantage of it, your success will come later
2) Start with a plan - like any other business, if you come into it without a written business plan you have really thought through, you are doomed. It is like speaking without thinking…..when you do, you almost always regret it. Think about your audience, your potential market, your competition, your marketing strategies, and how your business will make a difference. Do some type of cost analysis, even if you suck at this, thinking about it will help you in the long run. Use zero revenue for the first couple of months and if you make anything, reinvest it in the business, your success will come later.
3) Learn to crawl – I have read more than one post that stated they signed 20 rmp’s the first month, yes, and I am white and well endowed. You are either smarter than the average bear or fooling only yourself. While writing your business plan set VERY short term goals and they should have little to do with signing up rmp’s. It doesn’t matter if it is as simple as optimizing one page to its fullest or writing 10 pages of good content. Set them and stick to them, your success will come later.
4) Read, Read, Read – and after your finished, read some more. SEO optimization, html hints, successful business practices, marketing ideas, poker books, whatever. Be a sponge and absorb all you can, your success will come later.
5) Shut up and listen – you don’t know squat, remember? Don’t talk, ask. Anybody and everybody that will tell you anything, as insignificant as it may seem. Knowledge begets knowledge, pride and ego must be put aside because everybody, including Jeremy started where you are. There are no stupid questions and successful people are worth following, your success will come later.
6) When you think you know, go learn more – ever notice that even Jeremy and Randy still ask for people’s opinions. These are guys making a good living from this and they have enough knowledge to know they always need more. When you think you know it all, start all over again, your behind the curve, your success will come later.
7) Be a Mentor – passing on your knowledge is better than developing the knowledge itself. Make the business that you are involved in become a stronger. Remember where you started and how you felt. If you are having a bad day and someone posts what you think is obvious, take the time to explain it to them instead of berating them, your success will come later.
If this rant helps one person in this business, my success has come and it is later. Thank you to Jeremy and Randy for letting me absorb your knowledge. There are to many other people to say thank you to, but like me, your success has come.
Continued success to all of you with your efforts, hopefully the US will smarten up soon and legalize this. If I am ever looking for another place to play poker, I’ll stop by and find a smart newbie to help out.
John
Four2Eight
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