Resource for Airline Pilots

August 8, 2007

My good friend, Rick Hogan has worked as a pilot for several major Airlines and “on the side” he’s put together a great resource for job seeking Pilots looking to advice and insider information. 

The best Airline Pilot Interview resource on the web.  Up to date information on which airlines are recruiting pilots, specific details on each company’s interview process, hiring minimums, and more.

Rick’s recently added a lot of new information to the site but for a long time the bread and butter of what he did was Airline pilot interview prep.   Essentially, Rick would work one-on-one with pilots who were going through the interview process at an Airline.    He’d make sure they were prepared for every question that might be asked and help the candidate brush up on some required skills.    If you hired Rick to help prep you for the interview, odds are you were going to get the job.

Recently, Rick asked me to help him generate more targeted traffic for the website.   I suggested he focus on some basic SEO and thought his website could provide an interesting opportunity for us to test the effectiveness of a few specific optimization techniques.   Over the coming weeks and months, I’ll report the progress of moving the site up the Search Engine Food chain.   In the meantime, if you happen to be a pilot check out MyPilotCareer.com


Domain Parking Software

June 26, 2007


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How taxes really work:

April 14, 2007

Got this humorous email today. Enjoy.

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that’s what they decided to do.

The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. “Since you are all such good customers,” he said, “I’m going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20. “Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men – the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his ‘fair share?’
They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33.

But if they subtracted that from everybody’s share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man’s bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so:

The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).
Each of the six was better off than before.
And the first four continued to drink for free.
But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.
“I only got a dollar out of the $20,”declared the sixth man.
He pointed to the tenth man,” but he got $10!”
“Yeah, that’s right,” exclaimed the fifth man. “I only saved a dollar, too. It’s unfair that he got TEN times more than I!”
“That’s true!!” shouted the seventh man. “Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!”
“Wait a minute,” yelled the first four men in unison. “We didn’t get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!”

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn’t show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn’t have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction.

Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.


“mom-preneurs”

February 14, 2007

A recent report authored by the Institute for The Future talked about the growing number of “mom-preneurs”.   If you spend anytime working with entrepreneurs (especially micro-preneurs), this seems self-evident.   Some of the key findings of the report include:

As aging Baby Boomers “unretire” to leverage their lifetime of professional acumen in their own business opportunities, and as their children enter the job market, entrepreneurs will come more from the edges of the age spectrum. The younger generation, which is more adaptable to technology, views entrepreneurship as a way to maintain independence, and it might set the bar as the most entrepreneurial generation ever.

and..

With the glass ceiling blocking the corporate career paths of women, a rich talent pool has been sent to the small business sector. Among them are “mom-preneurs,” or mothers who start part-time, home-based businesses with the help of the Internet.

Download the Report Here


Yes, this made (even) me smile…

November 15, 2006

With more than 6,000,000 views on YouTube, you’ve probably seen this already.  If not set aside 4min right now.  This is guaranteed to make you feel better.

 Oh, yeah and talk about excellent marketing.  The Band featured in this video couldn’t have paid for this kind of publicity.   Viral marketing at it’s best.


DomainersEdge.com Premium Expired Domain Service Launched

August 20, 2006

After more than 6 months of problems solving and thousands of hours of programming, I’m very pleased to announce the launch of the the internet’s Premier Expired Domain Service… DomainersEDge.com

Some background on the Expired Domain opportunity:

Every day, millions of hits are lost because website owners carelessly forget to renew their domains. Either they lose interest, don’t have the time, money or effort to manage their sites, or they simply forget their domain will expire. Although a lot of these expired domains were never developed, a fair number were once active and thriving websites and that spells BIG opportunity for you.

It is all about Traffic

If you want to succeed on the internet you need to be able to generate traffic. It doesn’t matter whether you’re trying to sell a product, generate leads, or produce revenue using Google Adsense…. If you cannot get people to your site then you don’t stand a chance.

One of the biggest challenges to a webmaster is how to generate traffic. More traffic to your website equates to more sales. So how does one generate extra traffic to their website? Search engine optimization, email campaigns, pay-per-clicks, banner advertising, are among some of the tactics that are popular. But, the easiest and most overlooked method of generating traffic is through expired domain names.

Imagine a webmaster working for months or (even years) to build up traffic to his website. He gets link partners, he posts messages in related forums, over time he builds up a lot of quality links which produce a lot of quality traffic. Then, one day, for whatever reason, the webmaster lets the domain expire. Where does all that traffic go? The answer is nowhere. What a waste!

The good news is these domains (and more importantly the traffic stream they produce) can easily be acquired by forward thinking Internet Entrepreneurs for as little as registration costs.

Why domains with traffic Expire

Why would an owner of a domain ever let a valuable domain expire? The previous owner may have run out of money to promote the site. They may have lacked the time and motivation to manage the site. They may have gotten tied up in other activities or another job. They simply forgot to renew their domain. They may have regrettably succumbed to illness or even death. They failed to receive the notice from their registrar informing them that their domain was about to expire. Also, in many instances the owners of a domain have no idea how valuable the domain really is. So, not understanding the value they choose not to pay the domain renewal fee.

Not too many years ago, expired domain names were available immediately, and some speculators waited like hawks for great, high traffic domain names. They’d swoop in and grab the domain seconds after it expired, then if the previous owner came along and asked for it back, the speculator would require a hefty fee for it. This was considered extremely unethical, and many domain name owners would claim their site was “stolen” by the speculator.

When a domain name expires these days, it’s not immediately available for other people to buy. Instead, it goes into a holding pattern of sorts. This holding period will vary from one registrar to another, but it generally lasts for about 3 months. The purpose of this “holding” period is to give the previous owner additional chances to renew the domain.

The top two ways to Profit from Expired Domains CLICK HERE


Free Foreclosure Database Listings

May 24, 2006

"Foreclosures up, home sales down"

It's been all over the headlines for the last several weeks. In some states, like Tennessee, foreclosures are up more than 147%.

This is GOOD news for real estate investors. With the booming housing market, it's been harder and harder to find good real estate deals. An increase in foreclosures will help alleviate that issue.

Today I launched a new website called FreeForeclosureDatabase.com The goal of the site is to help investors find Foreclosures. The site is 100% free to use, there's no registration required. Just click on the state you want to search and view the listings.

Make sure you check out the listings in and around your area. You might just find a diamond in the rough! www.FreeForeclosureDatabase.com.

As a side note: Websites with foreclosure databases are nothing new. In fact, there are at least half a dozen sites dedicated to foreclosure listings. The catch with these sites is that they charge you just to view the listings. Many of them offer a "7 day Free Trial" but you have to give a credit card just to take the "trial" and if, by chance, you forget to cancel you'll be billed every month.

Foreclosure data is in the public domain. I just want to make sure the public has easy (and free) access to it for a change.

Happy Hunting!


The REAL Digital Divide Part I: The problems small business must solve to profit online

April 1, 2006

We've heard for years how sad and unfair it is that some people had access to technology and others didn't. Granted, the more people that have ready access to information and tools (ie the internet) the better… especially for porn (uhhh hemm "adult oriented") sites which make up about 60% of all internet traffic.

Reflecting on the progress we've made on this "issue" over the last 5-6 years it seems clear that this so-called digital divide is just another speed bump on the information superhighway (lame pun, I know).

The Real Digital Divide has Emerged.

This is a pretty big issue to cover in a single post so I'll come back to it in the coming weeks. But let me set the stage a little…

Fantastic, personalized, attentive service is hard to find these days offline and pretty much non-existent online (I understand I'm making a general assumption. Just stick with me here and I'll build the case for why this is true).

"So what?", some would say. "Consumers are spending buckets of money offline and online So what does it matter? Do consumers really care about fantastic, personalized, and attentive service?"

It'll take a HUGE paradigm shift for Americans to stop consuming. At the moment of consumption it does seem like the solution to dukkha doesn't it?. The misguided consumption of Americans aside, I think consumers do care but their expectations have changed. When you think of the virtues of a good "transactional experience" offline what do you think of?

  • Low Prices (I hate to put it first, but have you been to walmart? I hate that place. I'll share my top ten reasons never to go to walmart with you in another post. It just might save your life)
  • Selection (Personally, I'll only use one particular type of toilet paper and I'll go out of my way to get it)
  • Wide aisles & pleasant lighting (for our ever widening bodies)
  • Store Location
  • Payment options
  • Quality shopping process (easy to get into the store find what you want, make a purchase decision and then buy.)
  • Customer Service (efficient, friendly, knowledgeable)

These are virtues of stores many of the big chain stores I go to and buy/eat way too much. But, I do spend a lot of time going to way less 'convenient' places with many fewer options and choosing to spend my hard earned buck there. The reason is simple, they care. I mean they really give a shit if you like Mamma's Phad Thai. They're generally small businesses. I frequently know or have the opportunity to interact with the owner (or their family). There's big potential for developing a satisfying relationship with them. They bust their butt. They want to make you happy. At they end of the day they know their success or failure is dependent on delivering a great product to you, their customer.

Other offline "transactional experience" virtues consumers often seek out:

  • Relationships & Higher level human interaction
  • Hustle (how many people hustle anymore? Some do and I love 'em for it)
  • Familiarity
  • Personalized service ("the usual?" Yep! JWB on the rocks…thanks)
  • Going the extra mile
  • Problem solving rather then just saying, "we don't do it that way, you'll have to…"

This is where the little guy can (and does) still whoop on the big boys. This is going to sound retarded, but in every "transactional experience" there's items exchanged. Some companies/people are really good at making sure when you give them money they provide you with the promised product/service and a little something extra that makes all the difference… a little love. (aka "giving a shit"/hard work/hustle/personalization/trying harder)

If we assume that the above is all generally true and that small businesses' big advantage is the little bit of "love" they sell along with their products and services how does this translate to the online medium?

In part 2 I'll answer this question and also discuss:

  • Why the LOW expectation of consumers can be a huge win for business that can recognize the opportunity.
  • How the big boys are are already treading all over small business' turf and will win for good, if small businesses don't act soon.
  • Plus, I'll finally define what exactly the NEW Digital Divide is and how it will either kill you or make you stronger.



Sounds good, but how the hell do you DO “Buzz Marketing”?

March 31, 2006

I have been marketing online since 1998. I’ve used every “traditional” online marketing strategy including SEO, SEM, email marketing, banners, pops, contextual, affiliate marketing, etc. etc. But the big “Buzz” words are “Buzz Marketing” and (even though I remember hearing about this in 1999) “Viral Marketing”. These things aren’t new at all. A combination of PR and word of mouth advertising supercharged because of the internet.

In theory these things sound really great, but how do you actually implement a “Buzz Marketing” campaign? I have some ideas on this, but they really are just guesses. I’d love to hear from some people who are in the “know” about creating buzz. I’d appreciate any feedback and I’ll share my knowledge on this blog as I experiment.

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where are my sunglasses?

August 23, 2005

There's no doubt in my mind that the more you DO the more you are able to SEE.  I suppose this is the essence of wisdom.  With experience one gains perspective and sees connections between seemingly unrelated elements.   Sounds like a good thing, huh?

Well, yes and no. 

I don't claim to be wise only that I am more wise than I once was.   Over time, slowly, and not through paradigm shifts but through organic thinking I've come to  see things I couldn't imagine seening before.  I see connections.  I see countless clear and obvious opportunities.  So many, in fact, that it's starting to become limiting.   

There's a flood of powerful ideas begging to be acted upon and demanding my all to limited resources.  It's actually disorienting like coming out of a movie theatre into the mid day summer sunshine.  BAM!  "Where the hell are my sunglasses!"

This is where real wisdom comes into play… the ability to be aware of everything but choose to devote attention and resources only to the highest payoff opportunities.  Leverage your greater awareness…use it, nurture it,  but don't become overly enchanted by it.   Make a decision which direction you want to go, put on your sunglasses and get to work.