I just survived a sinking ship. It was supposed to be the greatest business opportunity of a lifetime. I was all in. In fact, I was one of the leaders of this program and I had a team of over 200 people. For six months it was a great ride. I didn’t notice the holes in the ship. Furthermore, I didn’t notice that we were taking on water.
I have been online for three years. It took me 26 months before I had my first $1000 day. The next month I had my first $1500 day and the $2000 day. I thought this was the beginning of endless riches. Before this success, I struggled for two years in my business never making over $100 in a month. But I knew that I would succeed.
Opportunities Come and Go
New launches for internet marketing and business opportunities can be short. Some launches don’t even make it past the first week let alone 90 days. The darling companies of 2012, 2013, and 2014 are either gone or on their last leg. The smart entrepreneurs get in, make money, make their teams money, and hop on the next wave.
I struggled for two years looking for that magic pill. That push-button system that would lead to endless riches never materialized. Those $39.95 marketing packages, $99 monthly coaching fees, and Shiny Objects did nothing but drain my accounts. I bought a lot of stuff and now you can’t find those products anywhere.
You can see why I thought this Ship was the opportunity of a lifetime. After two years I was making money, growing a team, and building my brand.
The Sinking Ship
I learned much from that sinking ship. I was lucky enough to put on a life preserver and swim to shore. Some people waited for a rescue party. Others stayed on the ship waiting for a miracle. I made it to shore and became wiser.
I could see where due diligence would have saved me months of pain. But, I learned how to build a team and build trust. I made connections that are profitable now. Also, I will not let the money blind me to what is really going on. I will listen to the words and actions of the people in charge.
I spent thousands of dollars traveling, building a team, and investing in a partnership (the Sinking Ship) only to see it all sink to the bottom of the ocean. But the lessons learned were invaluable. It is so valuable that my business is projected to hit six figures this year. There is a harvest after heartbreak. No doubt you have been here before. The difference is how you respond.
True Lies
In this partnership, I was promised income beyond what I thought was possible. I believed this because I saw how much the owners were making. Long story short the income never came. Worst I brought a team of people with me who paid $10,000 to be a part of this partnership.
The partnership failed from the beginning. Promises weren’t kept and today legal action is commencing. In January the ship finally hit the bottom of the ocean. The key is I had my life preserver and swam to shore.
I survived my sinking ship by making connections, learning new marketing techniques, and taking consistent action in my business. Here are 4.5 Survival Skills on how to survive a sinking ship.
5 Survival Skills for Surviving a Sinking Ship
1. Realize There is a Shelf Life – There is a shelf life for every product, service, and company online. The Shiny Objects of 2020, 2021, and 202022 are gone. New opportunities arrive and you need to recognize this. Don’t be married to a product or company. They come and go. Develop the skills to capitalize on the coming trends.
This requires work, education, and action. The top marketers online always find the current gems make their money, make their teams, money, and then move on. Success leaves clues. A company can sink for many reasons; market saturation, inferior product, people jumping ship, bad management, compensation plan, and other circumstances. This is part of the process of doing business.
2. Due Diligence – Online, products launch every week. You buy something because someone bought it from you. and you help your friend out on his launch. You swipe lists but when you are going to invest a large sum of money do your diligence. I failed at this and I want to give you a fair warning.
Beware, I made the most money with this company so I didn’t think twice about investigating the owners. I didn’t pay attention to the holes in the ship. There was a track record of things not working out. Autoresponders getting shut down, bad data, troubled IP addresses, and affiliates not getting paid. These were signs that the ship was sinking.
When you invest in coaching and private training investigate, investigate, and investigate. Find out what the end result is supposed to be and if they don’t deliver what is the refund policy? This is how you can avoid boarding the Titanic.
Build a Strong Network
3. Connections Help You Survive and Thrive- Have you noticed that the top affiliates team up on projects? Do they do product launches, webinars, and swipe lists? That didn’t happen overnight. These people connected. They met online, at company events, or were introduced by a mutual friend.
Network, network, network. Every product, service, and company has a chat room somewhere. There are opportunity calls, masterminds, and daily trainings. Events are where partnerships are formed and lifelong friendships are forged.
Develop relationships. Help out a team leader. When the ship goes down they will rescue you. Connections get you in on better traffic, private offers, and better lists. You get to learn from the best and also you know who to avoid.
Go to events, and webinars, and check out who is active in social media. One connection can add money to your bank account. Don’t get discouraged when you don’t meet anyone at the first event. Keep going you will build a team of like-minded individuals. Heck, you might save someone from a sinking ship.
3. Winning after Failing – Learn while you earn. Most companies have marketing training. Absorb everything you can. Develop these skills because they will help you later in business. Think long-term. You will learn how to lead, build teams, and handle setbacks. If you are shooting free throws you only learn from taking the shot. You adjust as you miss. Win from failing.
Download the PDFs, videos, and anything you can. You invested in it use it. Don’t waste your time and energy by doing nothing.
Leads, Leads, and Generate More Leads
4. Be Married to Marketing, not the Company or Product – This is the foundation of your survival kit. You are an online entrepreneur. The key to your success is marketing and sales. I am not just talking about building lists and buying traffic. Your marketing will lead you to connections.
As I mentioned earlier there is a shelf life for everything. Learn 1 to 3 marketing techniques and add them to your toolbox. I don’t care if it’s list building, SEO, PPC blogging, media buys, or calling people. Marketing produces leads, and those leads convert to sales.
Become an expert. Become valuable in your niche. You can promote anything with the right marketing skills. Think about it. Did you really join the company, product, or service? Or did you follow the person who you thought could help you?
When crap goes down you look for experts. People will look for you. Your marketing skills will have you masterminding with the top money markers. That’s really the point, isn’t it? Leveraging other people’s knowledge and skills.
Survival Skills
4.5. Life Jacket – You are your own life jacket. When the ship goes down you better be ready. You have to decide if you will stay on board, swim to shore, or wait for the rescue party. You have to take action. Lifeboats will not save the person who doesn’t move. Rescue parties can’t find people who hide. Don’t be afraid to swim to shore.
You are your own life preserver. An amazing thing happens when you act. Doors open and you are back in the game. It could be an encouraging word, someone liked your blog, they have been following you and they want to work with you. Put on your life jacket and act.
The saddest part of a sinking ship is the people who stay on board when all signs point to an abandoned ship. You are not the captain so don’t stay on board. These are the same people who jump from biz op to biz op. They are looking for the magic formula of no work and instant riches.
Don’t worry about those people let them go and use this survival kit to save yourself from a sinking ship.
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