November 12, 2010

5 Business Propositions To Say 'No' To

As an online entrepreneur, you will, at one point or another, start to receive all sorts of propositions. Some will, of course, prove to be great opportunities which you definitely need to take advantage of. Others, on the other hand, are nothing more than time-wasters you need to steer clear of .

Here are the top 5 propositions that you will definitely encounter:

Proposition 1: “Will You Buy My Product?”

There are more than a few occasions when you are approached by all sorts of people who claim to have products you just have to buy. Why say “no”? Think about it: if their product is actually worth it, why do they have to email people individually in order to convince them of that? Wouldn’t they be better off letting the product speak for itself? Sure, they want to advertise it, but there a lot of professional ways to let others know about your product, from purchasing advertising to SEO and emailing webmasters individually isn’t one of them.

Proposition 2: “Will You Hire Me?”
There are several people who think that emailing every webmaster they can find is the best way to get a job. Of course you should say “no” to such a proposition because if that person were truly an asset to you, he would have found better ways to advertise his services rather than constantly asking if you want to hire him directly.

Proposition 3: “Will You Advertise on My Website?”
Let’s face it: a person you have never been in contact with who e-mails you in order to let you know about a great “advertising opportunity” doesn’t exactly strike you as professional. Of course, if we’re talking about a former business partner who emails you such a proposition then sure, you can definitely look into it but in this case, saying “no” is a must.

Proposition 4: “Will You Invest In My Project”
Doesn’t an email from a complete stranger who asks you if you would like to invest in his or her project strike you as at the very least a little bit suspicious? When investing in a project, trusting your partners is a must and that is clearly not the case with such a proposition, so that your reaction should be obvious.

Proposition 5: “Will You Let Me Use Your [insert name here] Account?”
Having a strong account with social media websites is always a huge advantage and it should come as no surprise that, if you have one, people will try to take advantage of that. The same thing applies for any type of website where you have an account. If someone asks if you can share your password so that they can use that account, delete that email and never look back. If we’re talking about social media websites, why not, you can submit certain articles for them, but sharing your password is out of the question. Of course, even if he or she tries to steal your account, there are ways to get it back but I am sure that the thought of wasting time doesn’t exactly sound all that appealing so that “no” is the best answer in this case as well.

This is your time and money we are talking about here. The more noise you listen to and consider, the less time you will have to focus on the real issues your business or life are throwing at you. Don't bury your head in the sand, but know how to quickly determine what's hot and what's not.



3 comments:

  1. agree with each of these 5...none of them really strike me as useful or worthwhile. time sink holes, more likely.

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  2. I agree with all but the first.

    In many cases, a brilliant new idea flushes down the toilet because people don't know how to market it, and go about funding the project in just such a way...Each product has the potential to be amazing, or garbage.

    ReplyDelete
  3. great post, have to agree 100%.

    keep up the good work ol chap.

    ReplyDelete