Just under two weeks ago I flew out to San Diego and then on to Vegas shortly after celebrating a successful six figure launch (blog post about that later)

Over the last few days I have got to rub shoulders with some of the top names in my industry, talk to people I have respected for years, spend time in VIP areas in the best places in Vegas and even enjoy the feeling of people coming up to me congratulating me on my product and hearing how it has helped their businesses already.

Its a new feeling having people knowing who I am and sometimes asking for pictures with me when I turn up at a conference, but I cant lie, it does feel cool. Mostly because of the great feedback people have given me about my product.

I have also got to spend alot of time with two very cool fellow marketers and great friends of mine, Matt Wolfe and Joe Fier (and their very cool wives) over the last few weeks. I have to say, its been great fun and being able to brainstorm business ideas together and create content for future projects at the same time is just awesome.

But, whilst all of this great stuff is happening, I cant shake a feeling that actually, none of this is fair.

Let me explain..

As marketers, entreprenuers and business owners, we get to reap the rewards of all of our hard work and efforts in creating products and services that sell. We get our users thanking us, people wanting to contact us and of course, we get the financial rewards too!

But, there is one thing that never gets mentioned..

Whilst we may put in the hard work, formulate ideas and take action to achieve our goals that give us financial rewards and recognition, we should always remember one important factor that makes all the difference.

Without this one thing, I never would of been able to achieve ANY of the successes in business that I have had so far and it is most likely the same for you.

Even though it is that powerful, I hardly EVER hear it talked about.

I am talking about our partners, wives and husbands who support us and sit behind the scenes, carry us forward, pick us up when we are down and provide the voice of reason to our many crazy ideas.

I know, without my wife, I never would of been able to have the six figure launch I had recently. But, she gets no praise, nobody comes to her and congratulates her on the product we ended up creating.

In the eyes of others, it ends up being my achievement. In realtiy, its our achievement.

That is what this blog post is about.

Sitting here in Vegas, a place where possibly this kind of sentiment is felt less than anywhere else in the world makes it hit home all the more powerfully for me.

To sum it up simply, I CANT do this without my wife and even more importantly, I probably wouldnt want to.

Someone said to me recently the “why” is more important than the “when” in business. The reason behind why you are trying to reach that next level is way more important than when you will. If you focus on the “why” and make it a powerful one then the “when” will happen alot sooner.

My personal “why” is my wife. I want to create a lifestyle for her and our future family that they deserve. I want her to get paid back for all those hard times, late nights, tears and upsets we have had to go through to reach where we are now.

She has picked me up when I stumbled more times than I can remember. If it wasnt for that support I would have given up long ago.

I dont feel that this is focused on enough by people. Without your loved ones and close partners, you couldnt have achieved any of what you have so far.

We should always remember this, take time to thank these people and remind ourselves, however urgent that email is, making sure they know we love and appreciate them is so much more important.

My friends Matt and Joe who I mentioned earlier are both also married and we have all talked about this over the past few days.

The emotional, financial and spiritual support that our wives give us have been THE reason we have been able to do ANYTHING in this business. I guess spending time without them reminds us of how much we value them.

So, thank you Louise. I love you, appreciate you and couldnt do any of this without you. Thank you for putting up with my long hours, sleepless nights, the times when I stress out for no reason and all the ups and downs over the years.

This post may seem corny to some of you but to be honest, I dont care.. Sometimes we need to say it like it is.

Some of you will also wonder why I am writing this post before I write an update about my recent successful launch. Surely, straight after such a successful launch I need to get the details out there, further my brand and thank all my customers. While thats very true, I felt this should be said first.

Take time to thank your loved ones who make this possible for you. Whatever level you are currently at, without their support and understanding, it would of taken you much longer to arrive where you are now, and to get where you are going.

Josh

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Only 3 short months ago I introduced the idea of my next product, Easy Video Player, for the first time to the readers of this blog.

Since then I have kept myself busy, working hard with my team perfecting the product and getting it ready for launch. (Like silent ninja’s, working day and night in the shadows)

Easy Video Player is a product I wanted to create for all the marketers out there who struggle with video. It is a product I am really proud of, something that I genuinely wanted to create to solve peoples problems and give myself, and others a tool that, in my ideal world, should exist!

Well, I am happy to say that now, it does.

In my eyes, you should never create products to make a profit, to build your name or to gain leads. You should make products to solve problems, help people and if you do that, the rewards will come. This is where SO many people get product creation wrong. Focus on solving problems and people will pay you, try to make something to extract cash from people and they wont.

The most rewarding part of everything that has happened for me so far though is getting the incredible feedback from Easy Video Player test launch users.

We decided, before we went ahead with our full launch, we should run a limited test launch.. Get the product out there, tested and get the feedback of the market. We could then work hard to make sure everything was as close to perfect as possible in time for the full launch.

Well, to say the response to the test launch was overwhelming would be an understatement! We sold hundreds of copies quickly, started getting people contact us and congratulate us daily and received just ONE refund out of all those hundreds of users!

The best bit though was that we had countless people telling us that Easy Video Player is the best product they have got their hands on in 2009 or even that they had ever got their hands on, in online marketing!

This sort of feedback really makes me realize that I have achieved what I set out to achieve with Easy Video Player..

One of the proudest moments for me in 2009 however was all of this leading to me getting to speak to a business role model of mine.

This is a guy who I have followed since I dreamed of starting my own business back in 2004.

His name? Mike Filsaime.

He is obviously thought of as a guru in our industry (Although I dont actually like the guru titles that people throw around these days) and he is one of the biggest and most forward thinking marketers in the world.

What made it all the more sweet for me was that I had personally followed his stuff for such a long time and he actually got a copy of my product during test launch and then went on to tweet about it and then phone me personally to congratulate me on making what he thought was a great product. (later going on to provide me with a rocking testimonial too!)

He gave me some great advice and ideas for the product which we quickly worked in, ready for launch.

Since the initial great feedback from our test launch, more and more people have been jumping on board to promote and I have been lucky enough to get to speak to some of the biggest names in our industry, with quite a few of them becoming interested and wanting to promote.

So after such a positive response we are now finally getting geared up ready for the big launch. Its just around the corner on Jan 12th and our pre launch phase starts tomorrow! (Jan 5th)

This is where YOU can get involved and make sure your 2010 starts with a bang too by benefiting from the buzz that Easy Video Player has already created!

We have an affiliate program set up for Easy Video Player that makes promotion easy! It provides you with all the tools you need to promote so you can copy and paste and make money!

It pays big commissions on the product, all upsells and the optional monthly membership plan. This means you can make hundreds of dollars per sale PLUS monthly income for every single copy of Easy Video Player you sell! (It really is a GREAT way to make some serious cash!)

On top of that we are running TWO cool competitions with some awesome prizes up for grabs for everybody!

The launch competition will boast some big ticket prizes for our top sellers while our Pre Launch competiton (starting tomorrow!) boasts some of the coolest, fun prizes around and everyone has a chance to win!

For the pre-launch contest, all you need to do is send people to the site and get them to opt in! (to check out the cool free stuff we are giving them) Thats it!

The people who send us the most opt in’s will win some awesome prizes including an Amazon Kindle!

Check out the cool prizes now!

http://www.easyvideoplayer.com/affiliate-blog/?p=24

To sign up as an affiliate and get ready to promote during pre launch (5th Jan until 11th Jan) and also during launch (12th Jan onwards) then go here:

http://www.easyvideoplayer.com/affiliates/

Remember, this product is an evergreen product and can make you money throughout 2010 so add it into your follow up emails, add banners to your your sites and keep earning cash throughout 2010 even after the launch!!

So, 2009 was a great year but 2010 is set to be an even better year for everyone.

Make sure you benefit from the success of Easy Video Player with me and lets make some serious Cash to start off 2010!

Good luck in your ventures and I will speak to you all soon,

Josh

Related posts:

1. Introducing Easy Video Player!

Many of you have been asking where I have been lately as I kind of went “underground” for a while whilst working on my new project.

I have had so many positive comments, interest and people wanting to buy and or promote this project I have been truly shocked. It is great to see things coming together and starting to pay off!

My team and I have put alot of HARD work into this product and I believe it has potential to be the next big product in the Internet Marketing niche. (I have even had interest from a big name internet marketer! Fingers crossed and ill let you know who if it goes through!)

For now, watch the introduction video below and please leave a comment on this post letting me know what you think!
(The best comment on this post will win a FREE COPY when it comes out!!)

I will be announcing the exact release date of Easy Video Player very soon and I will be offering some special discounts and bonuses to my list!

I really think this could change how we all use video as part of our internet marketing! I hope you are as excited about the coming weeks as I am!

Watch, comment and enjoy!

Speak soon!

(P.S. Dont forget to share this post if you think others will like it)

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1. Video Redirect – How To Do It and Why You SHOULD!

It covers my number one tip that I recommend strongly when dealing with outsourcing and trying to build a quality team for your business. I have outsourced for years now and manage a team of some great people. Some of the key people in that team are a huge part of the successful development of my projects.

Watch the video now.

I really cannot stress enough how important this one tip is to successful outsourcing. I wouldnt have enjoyed any of the results I have had so far without putting this tip into practise every day.

Leave a comment and share it if you find it interesting

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“Jack of all trades, Master of none”

It is a great saying to remember because most of us seem to have a tendency to try to juggle too many balls at once in life. Especially as entreprenuers!

Our particular breed of person is extremely prone to this weakness because by definition we are usually control freaks who want to do things our way. This means we have to have our fingers in every single pie at once, whilst we “manage” the situation.

The real danger in doing this is that obviously, there are so many hours in the day, only one of us to spread around to all of the tasks at hand and most importantly we often find that our high levels of quality control suffer as a result of taking too much on at once. This can often lead to lack of focus, unfinished projects and a feeling of being overwhelmed.

That is, unless you recognise the signs and take steps to combat this natural tendency.

Alot of this comes down to managing your workload effectively and learning to build a team of people who can do these jobs for you so that you can work on your business and not in it. However, this post isnt going to cover that specific topic directly. (Perhaps another time) Instead, I want to cover another extremely important area that can be effected by this behavior, positioning.

The Grasshoppers Problem:

When you create a product or brand yourself online there is a tendency to dilute your effectiveness by positioning yourself too broadly. Whilst initially this might seem like a great idea because it leaves you open to dance around making products in different niches, it ultimately means you fall into the category outlined in the quote at the start of this post. You become a jack of all trades and risk your visitors/customers and mailing list members not seeing you as a “master” that they should follow.

I am going to call this particular habit “Grasshopping” because it refers to you hopping from project to project as the grass seems greener on new ideas. (OK lets face it, also because this post has a Samurai theme, so until you become the master, you are the Grasshopper ) Just remember who coined the phrase!

How to learn the moves of a Master:

That isnt to say that you HAVE to only stick to one niche, simply that you should always think about how to tie anything you do back to your core area of expertise.

Focus on any of the hugely successful people in the marketing industry and you will see they have positioned themselves as “masters” of a particular skill or field.

Copywriting, design that sells, video marketing, list building, whatever it is, they attach themselves to their particular skill strongly.

This ensures they are seen as a MASTER in that category and at the same time means that when they branch out into slightly different areas they can hook back to their core skillset. For example, the “Master listbuilder” still can do JV or work on a video marketing related product for example, it is just that his focus would be to cover video marketing as a way of list building.

As you can see from that example, because he is seen as a master he has not only achieved a higher level of credibility but straight away a new and more specific niche opens up for him. (In this example, List building with Video) This is obviously an extremely important tactic that anyone who is successful will stick with to some extent.

Unfortunately in the early days, temptation to try to become an “expert” in every field that you know something about is strong. Especially as you find yourself, your position in the marketplace and build yourself up.

Not only does this mean you spread yourself thinly as you juggle multiple messages and products but it also means credibility can suffer as a result.

Dont forget:
Successful people who you might think are breaking this
rule usually started out as a Master in one area before they
created enough attention & credibility to be seen as an
overall master of a broader subject.

Stick with your one key area and focus on becoming the “Master” that people can follow. If you do this you will be sure to see much more success.

So focus on becoming a Super Samurai master of a specific area and watch as your credibility grows!

Please comment and share this post if you found it useful.

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It has been over a week now since I last updated my blog and I have ALOT of great posts coming up full of useful content. First of all though I am really excited to announce the winner of the Flip Mino HD Camcorder in the VideoMarketingClassroom.com competition!

Watch the video to find out if YOU have won and can expect to receive the brand new Flip Mino HD in the postbox anytime soon! I also announce some of the content for the Video Marketing Classroom website and mention a bonus for everyone who entered the competition at the end, so make sure you watch the whole video!

I am totally overwhelmed by the amount of entries we have had to the competition. There are SO many people telling me they are excited about the start of the classroom and sharing their biggest questions and challenges. I look forward to answering them all and genuinely helping many of you out with the content that will be available from the launch day. I am working really hard to make sure it is of EXTREME value to all of you and I look forward to seeing you all over there on the 25th of August!

In the meantime make sure you go and register if you havent as I am going to be giving cool stuff to early bird students, plus its free!

VideoMarketingClassroom.com

Speak soon!

Related posts:

1. A huge personal step for me and a FREE Flip Mino for you!

This lead me on a quest to find a fix and I have finally found a solution which allows you to cut out the noise, select groups of friends so you only have to listen to what they are saying (or “tweeting”) and you can even do this on your iPhone as well as your desktop! (and its free)

Some of you may already know this, but for those that dont I wanted to share the info to help make your time on Twitter more productive and enjoyable!

I recorded the below video in a rush for you all this morning so I could share it with you all quickly! Leave a comment if you find it useful.

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Its a great question and one you need an answer to if you ever want to get serious about using online video in your business.

I recorded a video to tell you the answer to this question, how to do it right and to show you some cool software no-one has ever seen before that makes it stupidly easy to do! (It also lets you do some powerful cool stuff with your videos too!)

Check it out and please leave your comments to let me know what you think. I hope you find it helpful!

Related posts:

1. Video Redirect – How To Do It and Why You SHOULD!
2. Video Marketing, Where do I start?
3. Introducing Easy Video Player!

First, to say I am blessed to have had SO many great people want to get in contact with me via my Blog, email, Twitter and Skype is a MAJOR understatement!

I am REALLY excited to announce two things, firstly I am unvieling my new project to the world for the VERY first time!

VideoMarketingClassroom.com has now been launched!

I have worked seriously hard on this project and am extremely excited about it. I get asked about online video every single day because I use it so much and this project is not only something I am passionate about but one that alot of people have been asking about!

I aim for VideoMarketingClassroom to provide all the advice you could ever need about online video and video marketing, right from the basics up to the sales techniques that the guru’s use to make alot of money. I am going to roll out a HUGE free area with most of the tips you could ever want right there for nothing.

I have put some huge effort into this project so far and I cant wait for its official launch day when classes open!

Secondly, I am really excited because I am celebrating by opening a new exciting competition where you could win a BRAND NEW Flip Mini HD camcorder along with a mystery prize for simply filling out a form!

Watch this cool video I did the other day to tell everyone about the new project and site launch, plans for the future and the competition itself, then hop right over to www.VideoMarketingClassroom.com to enter!

Oh and dont forget to leave comments folks!

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1. The WINNER of the Flip Mino HD! Is it you?

Here is a quick video guide to creating your own podcast VERY easily that you can even update whilst on the move! Check the video out

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