Posted by:
Clayton Makepeace
November 17, 2008
Issue #547
Fire Your CEO First!
Dear Business-Builder,
When someone asks, “What do you do for a living?” there is only one correct answer.
It’s not, “I have a business.” A business is something you own; not something you do.
It’s not “I’m a doctor.” That’s just a profession – not what really pays the bills.
And it’s sure not, “I give investment advice.” Or, “I do landscaping.” Or, “I dry-clean clothes.” Or, “I write sales copy.” Those are just the products and services you sell.
The only correct answer to this most common cocktail-party question is to declare loudly and proudly …
“I’m a marketer!”
“My specialty is attracting new customers … persuading existing customers to make ever-larger purchases … convincing them to buy more often … and making sure they keep buying from me forever.”
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Posted by:
Clayton Makepeace
November 13, 2008
Dear Business-Builder,
Wendy here with another piece of the interview Clayton did with Gary Bencivenga.
Today they both reveal their secret for writing blockbuster copy. (Hint: Knowing your craft and your marketplace is only part of the equation for success.)
If you follow their advice, you’ll be practically invincible.
So without further delay, let’s get back to that interview …
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Posted by:
Clayton Makepeace
November 10, 2008
Issue #542
Dear Business-Builder,
So let me tell you a true story …
The year was 1976 and life was NOT good in America — and it wasn’t just because Disco was king and we suddenly found ourselves sporting silly-looking Leisure Suits.
America’s name was being dragged through the dirt world-wide. In the preceding 24 months, Richard Nixon had resigned in disgrace and Saigon had fallen to the Vietcong.
Our new president, Gerald Ford — the only man in history to serve both as vice president and president of the United States without winning a single election — was proving himself to be an affable dunce.
Our nation was still reeling from the effects of a vicious two-year recession. Unemployment was actually worse than it is today: Nearly 8% of our workforce was out of work.
As if to add insult to injury, inflation rates — our cost of living — had soared more than 17% in the preceding 24 months. Our money had lost nearly one-fifth of its buying power in just two years — and our president’s only solution was the idiotic proposal that we all wear lapel pins proclaiming “WIN” (“Whip Inflation Now”).
Then, just when most investors thought things couldn’t get worse … you guessed it: Things got worse.
Unsurprisingly, given the laundry list of woes just cited, millions of Americans were eager for “change.” So in November of 1976, they elected Jimmy Carter as the 39th president of the United States. And just to make sure the new president would have no problem getting his economic programs passed into law, they also preserved his party’s majority in both houses of Congress.
Now, you’d expect any fiscally conservative entrepreneur to be deeply worried … even depressed about the future at a time like that. But four men — Howard Ruff, Tom Phillips, Bob Kephart and Jim Blanchard — were not depressed.
Instead, they rolled up their sleeves and laid the groundwork for what would soon be massive personal fortunes.
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Posted by:
Clayton Makepeace
November 6, 2008
Issue #41
Dear Business-Builder,
Wendy here.
Ready to do a little more eavesdropping on Clayton’s interview with Gary Bencivenga?
I know I am.
Today, Gary reveals an important principle that’s ignored by most marketing people. It’s something you can put in action for yourself – and rocket your response and sales.
But enough chatter from me. Let’s get back to the interview …
(more…)
Posted by:
Clayton Makepeace
November 3, 2008
Issue #537
Dear Business-Builder,
A few weeks back, I asked you to tell me what you’d like to see me write about on this blog. The #1 answer was, “Whatever’s on your mind.”
So here goes …
This is not a happy time for any American who still harbors dreams of becoming rich.
Barring a miracle, we are about to make Barack Hussein Obama the next president of the United States. And, to ensure that he is given full reign to have his way with us, we’re about to give him a huge majority in both houses of Congress.
That means, if you believe Senator Obama’s campaign promises …
- He will soon add other people’s names to your paycheck if you earn $250,000 or more per year.
- He will use confiscatory taxes to punish small businesses — America’s #1 source of new job creation — and by doing so, he will send unemployment skyrocketing.
- He will raise taxes on investment; which can only diminish demand for stocks and wipe out trillions more dollars that we’ve invested in our retirement and college savings plans.
- And if he makes good on even half the new spending promises he’s made in his campaign, we’re likely to see a federal deficit approaching $2 trillion in 2009 and skyrocketing interest rates as far as the eye can see.
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