They called me in the morning to let me know when they were coming. Jen, the sales rep, came with the tech and stayed the entire time.  First they explained what exactly they were going to do to make sure I was okay with everything and that all of my concerns were addressed. Then the tech installed the system and tested it. They walked with me through the house to let me know exactly what was where and answered any questions I had. Then they showed my how the system worked and how to arm and disarm it in every way possible (and there are a few of them!). They would not leave until they were certain I understood the system and could operate it. And just as were done, AJ came home and Jen spent even more time explaining everything to her and make sure that she understood everything. They spent most of the day here and just generally were absolutely wonderful.

I feel much safer now and hope that I finally will be able to sleep again. Just knowing that I am protected helped me immensely. I may live in a safe neighborhood where people still watch out for each other, but that does not guarantee that nothing ever happens. I just found out that my neighbor noticed that my curtains were closed (they never are), but thought I was just trying to keep the heat out. So often people will notice little things that are off, but rationalize it because burglaries just don’t enter your mind in a neighborhood like this.Well, I and the neighbors know differently now. And I have the feeling that a few of them might just get their own security system!

And I know that for the rest of my life, I will never again be without a security system! I know that, tomorrow, I will be able to go back to work without having to wonder all day what I will find when I get home in the evening. I won’t have to walk around the house looking for anything out of order. I am beginning to feel safe again.

Have a good night, everyone, I intend to. And if you don’t have a security system, get one!

My friend/roommate and I came home from work and found a bunch of paper spread out in the living room. Wondering what it was I looked at it and discovered it was paper from a lunch meat bag. Now, I have some smart dogs, but could for the life of me not figure out how they got in the refrigerator! AJ opened up the fridge and the empty package was in the fridge! Now that was just really weird and I got this really bad feeling. I walked around the corner where my laptop sits and sure enough – it was gone! I raced to my office. The door was open (it never is) and I screamed! I keep a safe in my office with valuables – cash, coins, papers, etc. The safe was there – in the middle of the room, busted wide open and empty! The room was a mess, stuff spread everywhere! I raced to my bedroom, AJ to hers. Drawers wide open and rifled through in both rooms, the same in the closets. Jewelry, digital camera, etc. – gone!

I called 911. They told us to get out and don’t touch anything. We went outside. I went to one neighbor, she to the other. Nobody had seen a thing! We walked around the house and found a broken basement window. Then the police showed up. We went back in the house and showed them what happened. They called CSI in. By now I am feeling like I’m in a movie. Except in the movies they always find evidence. Here – nothing! No fingerprints, no DNA – absolutely nothing! The officer said as long as she’s been on this beat (a long time), she never had to come in this street for anything. It’s a nice, quiet neighborhood. Other than the hit-and-run a few month ago, nothing ever happens here! And now this! She took the report, asked for suspects, the usual stuff. Apparently they broke a window in the basement and went upstairs, past the dogs (still trying to figure that one out), and spent several hours breaking into that safe with a crowbar and a big screwdriver which they left behind and going through every closet and dresser in the house.

That night I hardly slept at all. Every little noise has you sitting up straight, listening, wondering if they are back! At 1:30 in the morning I was on my desktop, changing user names and passwords! I called my boss and let him know I wouldn’t be in. There were lists to make and stuff to clean up.

Now, I am the type of person who deals with stuff and moves on. However, this one is a lot harder to “just get over”. The next day I tried to get the receipts together for the stolen items. I didn’t get very far. I felt like I was in the haze. It felt so unreal, like a bad dream I’d wake up from. I did not get much done that day. So I let the boss know I needed another day. Didn’t sleep much that night either. The next day wasn’t bad and I got everything together that I needed for the police and the insurance. Of course, the insurance is a joke. When I told them, the safe contained cash and coins, they informed me that this was covered for a total of $200! And that is not $200 per item, it is for the entire contents! Can someone tell me why I pay for insurance every month if that is all they cover?!?!

The next day I did some work for my office from home – thanks to remote access – and I felt okay. Until I had to leave the house to take care of some errands. It’s bad enough being at home and constantly listening to every little noise (did you ever notice how many noises there are in a house, especially with cats and dogs?), worried that someone is going to break in again. But when I returned I caught myself walking around the house looking for broken windows or anything suspicious before I entered it! And then I went through the whole house checking for anything out of order. When I locked the doors I went back and double and triple checked to make sure everything is locked! You begin to feel like a prisoner in your own house. You are afraid to be there and you’re afraid to leave. I never thought I’d feel that way, but I did!

If you have never been in this situation – and I hope you haven’t and never will be – it is the most intense and sickening feeling I have ever had! You feel so violated, powerless, and helpless! And you go through all those emotions, ranging from being angry to being mad, or sad or scared or helpless, and everything in between. I looked at that closet where everything is thrown on the floor and I just shut the door. I couldn’t deal with it. And I always deal with everything! This thing has brought me to tears more than once and I hated it and the bastards who did this to me! My home has always been my castle, a safe place, and now it’s not safe anymore. The castle was crumbling! And I couldn’t let this happen! My husband even offered to give up truck driving which he loves. Was I really letting these bastards change my life like that? No!!!

I was sick and tired of living in fear, constantly being in tears, and feeling paralyzed! So, I went and checked out several security companies with the BBB. I called a few of them, finally settled on Safe Systems and had them come out for an evaluation. Tomorrow they will install the new system. I will take all the stuff that the thieves went through and threw around and wash it (just the idea of them touching everything gives me the creeps)! And then hopefully my life will return to more normal. I don’t know if I ever will get over these feelings, but I sure as hell will give it my best shot. I am not going to let these bastards win and spend the rest of my life in fear! People tell me it will take quite a while before I’ll feel safe again, that I won’t feel quite so violated. I do know, that in the future when I hear about a break-in or a burglary, I won’t be thinking “That sucks, get over it”. I now know how you feel after something like that. Instead I will send a prayer to them.

I hope it never happens to any of you, that you will never have to go through this experience.

Oh, and don’t forget – check your insurance policy now!

Anyhow, I had left off with Week 9 of the Masterclass. In Week 10 we finalized the niche selection. It took me a while to catch up to that week since I had a really hard time trying to decide what to write about. Practically everything I know about or am interested in is apparently not very profitable or anything a lot of people are interested in. Looking at some of the other blogs, it seems I’m not the only one with that problem. In a way this is a good thing since I began to really feel bad about it and thought about throwing in the towel.  My guess is that’s one of the reasons John had us look at other blogs and the forum. The Forum really is a big help! You just write a post about your problem and you get all kinds of helpful answers! And you’ll see posts from other students that have a problem and you might just have an answer for them. So yeah, the forum really does help out.

I did finally find something I knew about and I’m sure a lot of “newbies” will be able to use my eBook that I am about to write! So look forward to it, it’s coming!

Week 11 consisted of the initial product creation. Here we picked and ordered a domain name (again the forum was a big help here, thanks!), ordered the graphics for the website, and arranged the chapters for the book. And John even covered the “But I can’t write” dilemma!

In Week 12 John covered software to write the book with, had us set up different folders for items pertaining to the book like graphics, salespage, etc. and even showed us how to actually use a word processor like Microsoft Office or Open Office (good thing I know how to use those). Most teachers wouldn’t go that far! Then he informed us about disclaimers, contents, and introduction. And he answered the always asked question “How long should my eBook be?“. The answer? As long as it takes to get your message across!

Now we start to actually write the book. I’m sure Paula Brett’s Operation eBook, which was recommended by John, is going to be a great help with that! Wish me luck!

Til next time,

Waltraud

In this report, John lists a number of reasons people claim are responsible for their online failures. Some of these John calls “excuses”. That right there should get a few people going!

In one of the first few paragraphs John says “I want you to get angry as you read”. And I bet a lot of people will be! First he talks about having the “wrong mindset” (apparently I have the right one), then he goes on to “it’s too technical” , and continues with “If You Want To Earn Money For Doing Nothing“. Now that last one is almost a guarantee to make people mad! He then brings up being “part of the herd” and “quit at the first hurdle“. After that he discusses the well being of his customers and subscribers. Then comes “the list” (I’m working on mine!). The next two again are sure to upset a few readers: “if you always moan about your current situation” and “if you think the world owes you something“!  Right after that, the report talks about “not having enough time and money” and then continues with “being afraid of failure“. “Everything online is a scam” is next, followed by “Jump from product to product“. “All you think about is making money” is another reason. After all of that he hits you over the head with “You’re not willing to help others“, only to upset you with “poor quality work“. John finishes the report with the need for a mentor.

On the upside, with every reason or excuse he throws at you comes the advise of what to do about it and how to do it.  And considering how successful John is, I know, I am going to take his advise on the subjects that fit me. Good thing it’s not all of them, otherwise I’d really have my job cut out for me! Either way, I think it’s a great report and many people will see themselves described to a T in one or more of the subjects. If you are one of them, take John’s advise to heart!

Til next time!

Waltraud

In Week 3 we registered with Adsense, added new themes to our blog, added Adsense to the themes, and uploaded them. Sounds real easy, doesn’t it? It is if you know what you’re doing! However, John does make it easy with his step-by-step instructions – otherwise I might still be at it! And as homework, we are still checking out other well-known blogs and posting to our own.

In Week 4 we learned how to upload header and footer graphics to the blog  to make it more our own; how to resize banners, and how to back up our blog data (very important, that one!).  Some of this is easy, but again, the step-by-step instructions really do help a lot!

Week 5 taught us how to to remove Adsense and how to add video to our blog. It also showed us how to replace Adsense with banners, how to add CB Ad Rotator, and how to edit and add sidebar widgets. Now we are at a point where we learn things that make the blog unique (other than the posts). We can decide what goes on and what doesn’t! That’s much more my style!

It got really interesting in Week 6 (List Building Campaign)! We created an Aweber account, registered as Masterclass affiliate, got the affiliate link, and created our first list! Then we loaded the campain, downloaded and uploaded opt-in templates, and added the opt-in code to the blog. Without the explicit directions from John, I’d have been completely lost and confused! Thanks, John!

Week 7 was the first webinar, teaching us about advanced blogging tactics. This class taught us a lot about Clickbank and Clickbank affiliates, as well as plugins, keywords, and blog content. And we finally get to enter the Forum! Yeah! The webinar also covered Dave Nicholson and his Total Web Traffic course.

In Weeks 8 and 9 we are getting down to business! This is the preparation to creating our own product. This is the part I’ve been anticipating and dreading at the same time! You have to make lists about things you’re good at, things you like, etc. Then you have to narrow it down to your niche selection. After that you have to research the subjects to see if they make money (Clickbank is a very good place to help you with that).  Another good place to help with the product selection is the Masterclass forum. Once you have selected a niche, you start your research.

Week 10: Haven’t gotten to that yet. I’m still working on the niche selection and research.

While we’re doing all of that, we are still posting to our blogs, checking out classmates’ blogs, and leave comments. I don’t know about anyone else, but it keeps me pretty darn busy (and out of trouble).

See ya next time!

Here are some Giveaway Events where you can download thousands of really cool free gifts! Just click on any of the featured items and it will take you straight to the Giveaway Event where you can find all of the gifts being given away. Have fun and enjoy!

During the webinar, Jit and Adam explained some of the things they use to successfully create lists like JV Giveaways and AdSwaps. These are things I had heard of but didn’t have a clue what they were or how to utilize them. They also were talking about Turbo Traffic System and Total Web Traffic which are programs designed to drive traffic to your website. Another thing were affiliate programs and how to maximize commissions from these programs, what is needed to build lists and where to find websites for giveaways.

Their motto seems to be Keep it Simple. There are four steps to make the program work:

1. A Squeeze Page
2. A Free Gift
3. A Thank You Page
4. Free Traffic Generation

Sounds simple enough! And apparently it works for them! At the end of the webinar I was sure I needed their mentoring to get where I want to go. So, beginning March 10 I will be starting yet another class, trying to get this IM off the ground, start making money, and in the process help others to get to the same place!

More on this after the class starts.

We got into the vending business about ten years ago through a seminar and started out with about 12 machines. At the time we thought we had a gotten a really good deal! With time, we figured out that we got ripped off big time, but at least it got us started. We started buying other machines and/or locations from people for a fraction of the machines we had bought originally and got to a point that we had to hire a person to keep them all serviced on time (both of us were working full time at the time). We had about 200 machines in place and making money.

Once the recession set in, we started losing business and locations. Some locations are still pretty good, but overall business has dropped considerably. And good locators are rare and expensive. So now we have a ton of machines in the basement and no place to put them.

And then there are the VPs and managers! The workers in the stores and customers are happy to have the machines, yet the “big wigs” keep having a problem with them! What’s up with that?!? Why do those people make life difficult for the “little man”? They only show up in the stores every once in a while, yet they have a problem with vending machines! I had one the other day. That machine was in place for almost five years. The manager apparently didn’t even know it was there. Once he heard about, he had me remove it! His reason: “I just don’t want it.” Come on, can’t you do better than that? My husband says it’s probably because when he was a kid he didn’t get any candy, so now he doesn’t want others to have any either!

So now I think I’m selling that business and start concentrating on my blog and eBook business!

Til next time!