Michael Eagar | Internet Entrepreneur

FREE class on Internet Marketing SEO Blog coming up.  Here are some details:

Internet Marketing (Intermediate Level) - Utah and Wasatch County
Geneva Building (1410 W 1200 S, Orem) Room GB 203
Thursday, October 23, 2008 - 7:00-9:00pm

This FREE class will focus on how to create a blog using free internet software to help you with search engine optimization (SEO). This “hands on” course will also cover key words you can use to get your website to the top of a Google or Yahoo search.

This class will be taught by Michael Eagar who has extensive experience as an entrepreneur, and manager for many Internet start-up ventures.  Some of the companies that Michael has been associate with are Novell, Provo Labs, My Princess Pearls, and USFamilytree.com.  Michael now owns his own company called Utah Labs which specializes in Internet Consulting and search engine optimization.

Registration is required for this class - click here to register now, or contact our office at 801-863-8230 or sbdc@uvu.edu.

One of my consulting clients talked to me recently about being a Home Internet Entrepreneur. I think she wanted my advice on building websites, creating online business opportunities, blogging, etc. from her own home. Here’s my advice:

• I know a lot of people who are home internet entrepreneurs
• You can save money (mainly office space expenses) by working at home
• Working at home can encourage you to be more casual (not sure that is a good thing!)
• You need to be self-motivated to work at home
• Set some rules for yourself such as no games, or browsing or reading while you are “working”
• Try to work in the same place every day (a dedicated home office for example)
• Enjoy it while you can (in case you ever get a real job you can reflect on the good ole days)
• Make sure you have a good setup (fast internet, pc, the right programs, printer, file drawer, etc.

At home I use several monitors (6 right now), and when I joined the OrangeSoda team, I brought some of my set up with me as seen below:

Some people made the comment that perhaps I had been working at home alone for a bit too long!  Although you may pick up a few special habits, being a home internet entrepreneur sure has its benefits.

Who is Michael Eagar. I am an Internet Entrepreneur, and some of the projects I am involved in are:

1. Entrepreneur Education - I am very involved in teaching others what I know about entrepreneurship and some of the keys I see to being a successful entrepreneur. Particularly I am involved in teaching high school and college students these principles through the non-profit organization “Young Entrepreneurs” which I formed specifically for this purpose. Information about Young Entrepreneurs can be found at www.utahentrepreneurs.org.
2. Internet Training & Consulting - For the last several years I have been involved in collecting statistics regarding the current and past states of the internet. Specifically the popularity of things. This would include population statistics, statistics on words, websites and so on. Although my sampling is pretty niche and small at this point, I foresee I will be obtaining a lot more information and data available on the internet in the months and years to come. I started Utah Labs for this purpose in early 2005. Today Utah Labs is about Internet Training and Internet Consulting. Utah Labs can be found at www.utahlabs.com.

These are some of the projects I have going right now. Some things I left out were religion, history, philosophy, family, leadership, and so on. For those who would like to learn more about me, Michael Eagar, or any of the projects I have discussed above, please do not hesitate to contact me at michael (at) utahlabs (dot) com.

Utah’s own Wordpress WordCamp begins in less than two weeks from now. Novells OSTC (Open Source Technology Center) in Provo is hosting the event on Saturday, September 27th 2008. This event will be for anyone doing stuff in Wordpress. Some stuff will be beginner level, and some will be advanced level.

Here is a list of what is included:

• Cost is $20
• Lunch is included
• WordCamp Utah 2008 t-shirt is included
• Networking with a lot of Utah Wordpress Bloggers included
• Presentations by Matt Mullenweg, Richard Miller, Cameron Moll, Thom Allen, Ash Buckles, and Alex King - all included
• Breakroom snacks included

You need to hurry to get in this event. You can learn more and register here: for Utahs Wordpress WordCamp.

Remember that space is definitely limited… There is a cap on about 200 people signing up, and it is almost there. If you want to get in, you need to get a spot right now!

When should you get a Merchant Account for an Internet Business Website? About half of the Internet businesses I consult are new websites. They have never had any sales from their website, many of these are product sites and many are services, and some are affiliates.

One of the biggest challenges for these startup websites is that they don’t know which merchant services are the best ones to choose for their early stage company. So many internet entrepreneurs have the attitude that they will just figure it out because they are smart enough, and they research all of the merchant accounts out there, set up a gateway, get the best deal they can find, and away they go on some monthly merchant account fee (plus set up of course), and they have yet to get one sell.

These entrepreneurs SHOULD have sought out some consulting BEFORE making this decision. I have saved many clients hundreds and thousands of dollars by using Google Checkout and Paypal as very good alternatives for shopping carts. These do not cost you anything until you get sales. Integration of the code onto your website is as simple as a little bit of HTML code. I have used Google Checkout and Paypal on many of my sites. It is a great solution for websites that have not yet proved their business concept online. Low Cost, and a great way to test your business before you sign up for a Merchant Account for an Internet Business Website.

The best advice I can give first time Internet Businesses is to get advice from those who actually have successful Internet businesses, not those offering merchant or similar services!

Each Year the Utah Valley Entrepreneurial Forum (UVEF) seeks to recognize the best emerging companies established by entrepreneurs in the state of Utah. This event is the UVEF Top 25 Under 5. I will be posting the top 25 results here.

To qualify for the event you need to submit an application, you need to meet certain requirements like your company is less that 5 years old, and you have revenues in 2007. This is a great event to be apart of. I will be there again this year!

We have confirmed a date for the Kauffman FastTrac^® High Tech Venture™ Training Course. The course will begin on May 20, 2008. I am very excited for this entrepreneur training course for those starting a high tech business. Here are some details from the Orem Utah SBDC (Small Business Development Center):

This course will be taught in Orem, Utah. This 11 week course will make your high tech entrepreneurial dream a reality (we are limiting this class to high tech ventures only). You will combine your personal vision with your business concept and develop a business plan that will not fail to get you funding.

This course covers: how to define your personal vision, how to create your business concept, how to define your target market after conducting marketing research, how to enter and capture the market, how to build and compensate your team, how to setup an accounting and financial plan, how to protect your intellectual property, how to get funding and work with investors, and how to manage your cash and operate your business profitably.

Program Components

* 11 Fast Trac sessions (a weekly 2.5 hour class) where key concepts will be discussed and applied to your business with your facilitator, business coach, peers, and expert guest speakers. At each class hands-on coaching will get you started on the action steps needed to develop your concept, plan your business and test for feasibility.
* An entrepreneur manual that includes 10 modules that will guide you through the concept analysis and business planning process. In these modules, you will complete reality checks that will turn your entrepreneurial dreams into reality.
* A Fast Trac Tool kit that includes Business Planning templates, Excel based financial templates, action steps, videos, and informational resources for each of the modules. This Tool kit will help streamline your financial projections, point you to research websites, and help you to create a detailed, dynamite business plan that will get even the most conservative banker excited.
* A nominally priced membership to the James J Hill Reference Library (one of the largest business reference libraries in the world) along with a HillSearch CD that will demonstrate how to access market facts, industry trends, computer data, pricing information, and customer data. Hill Search is the entrepreneurs’ source for any and all electronic information.
* This course will require 4 to 5 hours of homework per week to stay “on track”.

Cost: The cost for all this business knowledge is a low, low $349.00 (includes the above listed program components). And at the end of the class you can receive $150.00 back if you complete a business plan and participate in class discussions. This makes your final cost less than $200.00!! WOW, another bargain given by the SBDC at UVSC.

This course is being facilitated by Michael Eager who has extensive experience as an entrepreneur, consultant, and manager for many Internet start-up ventures including Provo Labs, Utah Labs, USFamilyTree and others. This Kauffman FastTrac TechVenture Training is going to be a lot of fun!

Once in a while a good Free Affiliate Marketing Training comes along. Nothing is free of course, but if I am going to invest time into something, it had better be good, high quality, and produce a great ROI! I think I have found such a training;

The black ink project
“the Black Ink Project is an affiliate success course designed to help new affiliates bridge the gap between my e-book and making a profit. Some find that the book and forum support is all they need to succeed, but others need a little more hands-on training to connect all the dots.

* Setting realistic goals, based on your time and budget. You’ll discover how much time and money you need to invest to achieve your goals.
* Researching prospective opportunities. You’ll learn out how to avoid potential pitfalls and find the right niche and the best advertisers.
* Learning the software, scripts, and tools to help you create your site. You’ll not only leave the course with a complete tool belt, you’ll learn how to use your tools alone and together to create beautiful high-converting sites.
* Develop and launch a campaign from start to finish. At the end of the course, you’ll have a complete action plan and checklist you can use for future sites.”

I do not promote very many programs, gigs, offers, and other crap people forward to me or that I come across unless it is really good. My time is just too valuable. That is why I am recommending this one. I have already got a lot of value out of the forum and the members I have met in this free affiliate marketing training!

Here are Some Interesting Entrepreneur WebsitesSites:

www.repairedfast.com
Cause-Related Marketing
Kaufman Enterprise Solutions
Open Source Technology Center
Boost Engine
Hug A Monkey

If you know of some interesting sites, please submit your website by leaving a comment.

About a year ago I created an Internet Marketing Road Map for one of my clients. It included each of the main areas of Internet Marketing, including SEO (Search Engine Optimization), PPC (Pay Per Click), and so on. It came about because the client simply said they are a small company (2 internet entrepreneurs), and they do not have time to learn each area of internet marketing. They had a hard time understanding what were the most important activities in Internet marketing that they need to focus on. What could they do each day for a few minutes that could have the biggest impact on their Internet business.

So, I developed a marketing plan with specific recommendations for each area of Internet Marketing. The outcome was fantastic. I have now created dozens of Internet Marketing Road Maps for clients based on the the stage of their Internet Business. The roadmap is very straightforward and usually only a couple pages long. Basically it tells the internet entrepreneur / small business owner how to spend their time each week if they only have 2 hours for internet marketing activities. If they have 5 hours or 10 hours on some weeks the roadmap will breakdown how they should spend their time in each area. Basically it is a way to bring the most important activities to the top, and the entrepreneur can spend as much time as they have available to work on marketing their business online.

I have found that most internet small businesses have a hard time understanding how to get the most out of their online marketing efforts. Having a good Internet Marketing Road Map is one great way to do that.