What do you do when you see a “drive-by” marketing crime being committed?

Meaning… client after client comes to me in relatively severe stress telling me about how their last marketing/”web” person/designer has royally screwed them over and, not only didn’t do what was agreed upon, but had the nerve to keep asking them for more money!

Now, I realize that these are relatively “desperate times” economically-speaking (to some people) and I also realize that everybody, and I mean everybody, is now a self-proclaimed guru of something or other, but come on – can we please keep some civility and overall human decency, is that too much to ask?

The internet has become an absolute free-for-all!

A playground for unethical bastards that get in and get out and leave their “clients” like roadkill on the side of the proverbial online superhighway…

The good news is that there is true opportunity everywhere to do the right thing AND make money, make friends, make great business contacts, etc…

The bad news is that there are so many entry points into this “system” (i.e., the web) that a sucker is born every millisecond in hopes of “getting rich instantly” and out of pure ignorance in not knowing what they need to do to get started on the web, these drive-by marketing criminals are having a hayday taking their money and leaving them for broke!

I have been working on the web full-time since 2001 having literally started from zero (i.e., what is a browser?) to teaching myself everything possible regarding the front-end (copywriting, marketing, web psychology, information architecture, video editing) and the back-end (web design, graphic design, blog setup, basic coding/programming).  It has not been easy, but I felt that it had to be done in order to not be taken advantage of, when it comes time to launch different business ideas (for myself or for future clients) or to hire someone to help me piece together a project and needing to know if they really know what they were talking about, or are doing their job properly.

There are a lot of moving parts to this industry and it can become so overwhelming at times.  And to be honest, you are late if you are just entering the web today in 2009.

Where have you been?

So, my advice is to do your homework… but try to do it without becoming too overwhelmed, because starting a business online is truly like peeling an onion and the layers just keep coming and coming.  It can seem never-ending… trust me, I know.

KEY: Find people that you connect with personally at a gut level and then FOCUS on what they are doing and FOLLOW their lead.  Save your money!  There is absolutely everything you need out there for FREE!  This is the big trend online right now, that is, to “Move the Free Line” and give away your best stuff for free in hopes of eventually getting someone as a customer later when they really like your “stuff”.  So, take advantage of the “free” stuff out there right now and start to learn the different pieces to this puzzle.

Here’s a quick outline of what you will need to get started:

• A domain name which will be the address for your website  (www.yourdomain.com)
• A good web hosting company (less than $10/month)
• An idea for a product (use your creativity)
• Some research on the market that you want to target for your creative product idea
• A web designer to build you a simple blog website
• A marketing partner that will hold your hand the entire time and TEACH you everything that you need to know to succeed online!

Easy enough…  Now get to it!

Good luck in everything you do,

p.s.  I do everything on the above list and more (cheap)… Yep, it’s true.  Call or email me with your ideas!