When the teacher went around the class, asking what we all wanted to be when we grew up – my answer wasn’t, as some of you might expect ‘In Charge’ …  but what I actually wanted to be was an engineer and design motor car engines…

Instead of course I ended up doing many other things, which too be fair, has all turned out OK so far … but if you told me back then what I’d be doing now … well, I’m sure you can imagine what I have said…

The point is, half the jobs people do today, didn’t really exist 20 years ago (along with the internet itself) … and this industry that we are part of is less than one generation old … so very few people who use the internet today would have had much in the way of formal teaching, and just like me are pretty much self taught…

It is also worth mentioning that we have also ‘self taught’ ourselves despite the fact that, especially under the influence of Google and Facebook, the internet has evolved almost constantly over those years.

Thomas Edison famously said that ‘Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.’ and so many people see a new opportunity, and because there is ‘work’ involved in learning something new … decide they can’t do it without even trying, and so that opportunity passes them by … and when this happens I think we do ourselves a massive disservice…

Why? Because the fact of the matter is, if you think about the host of new things you must have learned just to be reading this email (even if it was typed using just two fingers) along with the fact that now most of us will quite happily take those ‘new’ skills for granted … then you should never be daunted by the prospect of learning a few more things … especially if those things could bring you in many thousands extra every month…

So, when it comes to trying new things or new techniques online – don’t sell yourself short – just because you haven’t done something before it doesn’t mean you can’t do it at all…

Even though it might look new and complicated, it doesn’t mean it’s any more difficult than all the other things you may have previously found daunting but have now learned, mastered, and take for granted … and remember with your online endeavours, they have the potential to be infinitely more profitable…

To Your Success,

Tim Lowe
Publisher, Tim’s Business Lowe Down

I’d already exhausted what little patience I have for such tasks by the time I’d finished buying a duvet made from the down of the Siberian Snow Goose or some other mythical creature … and as you would have no doubt guessed, ‘She who must…’ and I have considerably different ideas as what constitutes the correct firmness of mattress … it seemed the only answer was to have something bespoke made that was ‘half-and-half’

‘Man with Clipboard’ arrived,  and after much measuring, sketching and jotting down copious notes about sleeping positions, left with our order and a very large cheque. As it transpired either the various hammerers and stuffers in the workshop or the chap with the clipboard had had some kind of episode because the delivered mattress was, without putting too fine a point on it – wrong.

I could feel springs, stuffing was protruding in the most inconvenient places and after I gave them the benefit of my opinion on the matter the offending article was removed and another was made and rushed to Lowe Towers … but because this replacement was made based on the same wrong information, it had all the same things wrong with it.

This sorry process was repeated two further times before mattress company’s regional sales manager arrived at my door, on bended knee and offering me a full refund, if they were allowed to take away the mattress and we never spoke of it again. He left a truly unhappy man and you could see why … not only had they lost what was quite a substantial order but they also wasted time and money making four very unsatisfactory mattresses.

If they had diagnosed the problem accurately the replacement would have been correct and that would have been the end of it, and it is this lesson that we need to take onboard.

When something goes wrong, the temptation is often to get straight back up and have another go … to try, try again in true Robert the Bruce fashion. However, unless you know what went wrong last time, doing exactly the same thing over again … will get you exactly the same result.

So, when things don’t go as planned, you need to take a moment to put your finger on what you think went wrong, and take a little time to solve that issue before diving back into your online endeavours…

Until Next Time,

Tim Lowe
Publisher, Tim’s Business Lowe Down

Well, the majority of Lowedown readers should be interested in something I have put together with my good friend Nick James, which provides a perfectly paced step by step guide to starting and building on your internet endeavours, all delivered in ‘doable’ chunks, so you will always have access to what you need to know, but you’ll never be bombarded with too much too soon, and suffer from information overload …

If you want to make money online, this program shows the way I do it, it’s  also the way Nick does it, as well as being the way almost everyone else does it (though they may try and wrap it up differently) … and it’s the way you’ll do it too if you follow the instructions and tutorial videos (and of course willing to put the effort in and stick with it when you hit the occasional snag.)

To unlock the secret of earning £1,000 a day, and get started today without risking a penny, click here now or click on the 10 Minute Marketer button on the right…

For those of you already underway with you online endeavours, but are hitting various obstacles along the way, I should remind you that I have put a couple of my in-house team (the very ‘tongue in cheek’ named ‘Tim’s Minions’) at your disposal to help out with any queries you may have with keeping things going (or even getting off the ground)

I should mention also that they have already been given a minor accolade of some kind by another Facebook page for the website building video they posted last week, so they now insist (again with tongue in cheek) on being referred to as the ‘award winning’ Tim’s Minions.

They’ve just posted some interesting stuff about making money buying and selling websites which may be of interest to you, and are of course on hand to answer any questions you may have about anything to do with making money online … you can visit their Facebook page and post a question by clicking on the ‘ask a Minion’ button on the right…

As a final note, I know many of you already use this; in fact it’s what brought many of the newer readers of the Lowedown here in the first place … but if my completely free ListBuilder course has somehow escaped your notice so far, you may wish to take advantage of it right now.

It provides the perfect blueprint for setting up your online business, and you can get your copy right now by using the rather obvious button at the end of this email…

So with a free downloadable blueprint, access to a step by step guide full of video tutorials … and a couple of my team on hand to ease you over those inevitable bumps, you’ll agree there should be very little standing in the way of you getting started right now…

To Your Success,

Tim Lowe
Publisher, Tim’s Business Lowe Down

Well, shortly after Christmas, I came up with the plan that as well as helping me, it would be really quite useful if my ‘Minions’ could help you with your online endeavours as well…

To get the ball rolling, what they have put together is a ‘Tim’s Minions’ Facebook page (with a plan to add a full-blown website when the need arises) full of little tricks and tips from the ‘sharp end’ about things like keyword research, making simple sites and other useful stuff from chaps that are actually doing it, every single day…

The first thing they’ve done for you on this Facebook page is put together a step by step video tutorial on how to create a quick and easy website … and, as neither of them came up to the office, cap in hand for some funds … I’m almost certain it cost them nothing to set up either.

However, if you already know how to do that, but might be having problems with other aspects of your online endeavours, you can still go along to the page and post any questions you may have instead, which will be answered by one of the chaps, so others can see and benefit from it as well.

Please be aware though, that this is meant to be a simple Q&A service and most definitely not a forum so I have instructed them to take an especially dim view with rants, rhetoric and spamming, all of which will be deleted immediately…

You can visit the FB page now, and watch the video tutorial by clicking the link below … though I believe you need to ‘like’ the page before you can watch the video or post a quick question for my ‘minions’ to answer …

Visit the ‘Tim’s Minions’ Facebook Page Now 

Please be gentle with them … as this is the first time I’ve mentioned this in the Lowedown, they are bound to have quite a few visitors over the next day or so, which means it may take a while for them to answer all your questions … but if that is the case, I’m sure you’ll find the information they give you worth the wait…;-)

All The Best,

Tim Lowe
Publisher, Tim’s Business Lowe Down

Like me, you’re probably asking yourself – why didn’t anybody look at that page and apply a bit of common sense…? Well, in this age when technology seems to have replaced common sense entirely, I’m willing to wager that every last detail like spelling, layout and print quality were checked to the ‘nth’ degree by computer before publication … and by the time the first pair of human eyes saw what had occurred – it was already too late.

It was probably the same lack of human touch that meant one of the pay TV channels unintentionally ended up advertising their new ‘zombie’ series ‘The Walking Dead’ on (amongst other places) … the side of a funeral parlour…

Just two examples of abject buffoonery that those of us striving to earn a few pennies on the internet would do well to take note of, as the following example illustrates…

I was recently asked to cast an eye over the endeavours of one of my students who had taken my advice and outsourced the building of their website, but was a little concerned that, despite all their efforts, it was not really getting the desired results…

And, whilst the website was resplendent with all the bells and whistles you could possibly imagine … the first thing that jumped out at me and indeed anybody else who visited the site, was not the brilliance of all the technical jiggery-pokery but the incorrect spelling in the headline.

Further investigations also pulled up several more examples of what could be considered ‘schoolboy errors’ in some of the content as well, all of which could have damaged a potential customers confidence in what was being offered, and all of which could have been eradicated by a simple read-through of what their tame techie had put together for them…

These errors have now been corrected, but we will never know how many possible new readers and customers had they ‘put off’ with the one simple oversight of ‘assuming’ because they had paid somebody else to do it, that they didn’t have to check it over themselves.

So, you would do well to remember that regardless of who built or who has written it … it’s still your website, and you will stand or fall on how well it is received. You can, of course, give yourself the best chance possible if you just use two things a computer will never replace … the human eye and a bit of common sense.

Until Next Time,

Tim Lowe
Publisher, Tim’s Business Lowe Down

But, let’s be perfectly frank, you’ve no doubt heard all this before … and just like the diet, or the yearly attempt to give up this or that, the super organised and efficient ‘New You’ that seemed ever so possible at 9am on January 1^st, is beginning to run out of steam … and you’re already starting to slip back into your old ways…

But don’t panic … this doesn’t mean you’re a failure, it only underlines the fact you are human, and instead of being guilty of slacking off and lacking moral fibre, substance and willpower, your only crime has actually been trying too hard…

Wouldn’t it be a better plan then, instead of trying to change nearly everything about your life in one fell swoop … to choose just one absolutely vital thing you want to change this year and focus your efforts on sticking to that … in short - commit to one change that will simply make your life so much better.

Now, I’d like to take all the credit for this stunningly useful piece of advice, but I’m afraid it’s not all my own work. You see I had help, but not, you understand, from just any old Tom Dick or Harry … but instead from Ali Campbell, one of the world’s most highly regarded life coaches … who’s regular clients include ‘A list’ celebrities and in some cases royalty…

Ali has a wealth of experience and expertise that has equipped him to provide you with what you REALLY NEED to help you get ahead … and on a more personal level he is a close friend who has been known to tweak the occasional masterplan here at ‘Lowe Towers’ over the last couple of years…

Obviously, Ali is already in great demand, and there is only so much Ali to go round, so, as you would imagine he has a website full of resources and a bestselling book ‘Just Get On With It!: A Caring, Compassionate Kick Up the Ass!’ to his name … and, just like all of the very best people, he also publishes a weekly tip for all of his subscribers…;-)

You’ll find Ali’s website at http://www.alicampbell.com/ he also has a separate blog here – http://motivationbyalicampbell.wordpress.com/ … you even can ‘Like’ him on Facebook  http://www.facebook.com/alicampbellcoaching … and last but not least you can get hold of Ali’s book at Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Just-Get-Caring-Compassionate-Kick/dp/1848501617/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1

So if you really committed to making positive changes in your life, you could do an awful lot worse than take a look at what Ali can offer you through his website, his book or even his coaching programme … It could be all that is separating you from everything you want to achieve.

Until Next Time,

Tim Lowe
Publisher, Tim’s Business Lowe Down

P.S. Here are those links again…

Ali’s Website: http://www.alicampbell.com/
Ali’s Blog: http://motivationbyalicampbell.wordpress.com/
Ali’s Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/alicampbellcoaching

… and for Ali’s book at Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Just-Get-Caring-Compassionate-Kick/dp/1848501617/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1

Before I release them to go forth and start their Christmas break, (Then of course depart myself and go and offer a few words of advice and encouragement to ‘She who must…’ regarding the festive arrangements back a Lowe Towers) … I just wanted to drop you a quick e-mail just to wish you a fantastic Christmas…

I hope you have a brilliant day and that ‘Father Christmas’ brings you everything that you wish for on Christmas morning … though he is yet to provide what I usually desire most of all … which is a bit of a lie-in

I’ll be back in touch soon…

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Tim Lowe
Publisher, Tim’s Business Lowe Down

Suspecting this frivolity could very well be a sign that my ‘minions’ had removed their noses from the grindstone and were in fact slacking off … I prepared myself to take ‘measures’ and went to investigate further…

It seems that, whilst in the course of their normal duties (or so they tell me) my R&D guys had literally stumbled across a website which offered advice on, and instructions how to build (wait for it) … special helmets that stop you being brainwashed and abducted by aliens…

The website, as you can imagine, was truly astounding, full of stories of those taken by UFOs and the amazing turnaround in their lives since they had started wearing the aforementioned helmet

The helmet itself seemed to consist of a flying helmet lined with some sort of hi-tech bacofoil to stop your brainwaves being fiddled with, and the website was resplendent with several photos of different people proudly wearing one. (One teenage girl however, slightly self conscious, had decided to wear a baseball cap over the top)…

Further reading on this incredible website will reveal that, when it is not being worn, you must keep your helmet in a locked box to avoid having it stolen by aliens, as apparently despite possessing technology sufficient to take them millions of miles across space they appear to have something of a problem with locks.

Also, it transpires, once the aliens see you have outwitted them with your helmet, they will instead brainwash those around you into trying to convince you that it looks a bit daft and insisting that you take it off …:-)

When I curbed my merriment long enough to actually ask how this website was found in the first place … it turns out it came up in a Google search for the long tail keyword ‘alien abduction stories’ – which, with over 8,000 searches a month, is not too far away from being a good little niche…

The moral of this story is not, as you would suspect, that some people will believe any load of old nonsense … but that never in a million years would it have occurred to me that such a large amount of people would be searching for such a thing as ‘alien abduction stories’ every month, and the massive un-tapped potential of similar niches you may have thought were too bizarre to have existed.

So next time you’re sitting there thinking all of the niches are flooded, just remember that a little left field thinking (one of my R&D guys affirms looking at the titles in old second hand bookshops can provide much inspiration in this area) can open up entirely new swathes of possible niches for you….

Now, I wasn’t going to tell you the address of the website in question, as it was really only mentioned to illustrate a point, but human nature being what it is, I suspect if I don’t … not only will I be deluged with requests for the url, but many precious hours will be lost among Lowedown readers firstly looking for the site, and then pointing and laughing (and no doubt constructing an anti alien abduction helmet of your own) … so the website can be found at http://www.stopabductions.com/ … Enjoy!

Until Next Time,

Tim Lowe
Publisher, Tim’s Business Lowe Down

P.S. Don’t Miss Out … My ‘Honourable Mentions‘ page is your second chance to get hold of that programme or system that may have been perfect for you but you missed it completely because of school holidays, email failure, work pressures or even if the dog ate your computer! … All joking aside, perhaps

I could, however, recount any one of a hundred occasions from my life as an
employee, (and one or two from domestic situations as well) when a
perceived missing element was the entire focus of the feedback I received,
rather than the other 99% of effort that went in … I’m sure, regardless of
what you do, you would have similar tales of your own…

And, just like real life – with our online endeavours, if you’ve got it 99%
right, it doesn’t mean you get 99% of the results you would get if you’d got it
entirely correct, and, having just one thing that is not quite ‘there’ could
mean your results are halved or even absolutely zero … but don’t worry – I’m
actually going to tell you why all of this is a good thing…

You see, being a positive sort of chap I know that even if you are getting
nothing in the way of results, it may indeed be because you’ve made a complete
and utter hash of it, but far more likely is the fact that you haven’t got it
all wrong, you really have followed the plan and done the things you were
instructed to do, it’s just some small omission or oversight which has left it just
one thing away from being perfect…

For example, over the last couple of weeks I have had a few instances of
students who have not quite got the results they were expecting … and some
cases yes, there is some way to go before they have something serviceable …
but for the majority of them the thing separating them from what they were
hoping to achieve was just one little tweak, in a couple of cases it was as
small as the unknowing addition of a hash tag (you know, one of those ‘#’
things so popular with twittering types)

So, how can you spot the ‘one thing’ that may need changing…? now obviously I
can’t personally critique every Lowedown reader’s website or project, that
would take more time than anybody would have, but did you know that your family
and friends could be just as well placed to give you information you need as
any internet ‘guru’…?

Remember, chances are, the vast majority of people you know use the internet
regularly (even if it’s just to let their virtual friends know what they think
about the ‘X’ factor) so they have an idea of what looks ‘right’ online, may
well have more in common with the people your website is trying to reach …
and it could really be the case that their passing comment of ‘don’t like that
background much’ might be exactly what’s putting others off too.

Then, if you wanted, you could go a bit deeper still … You see, you know what
the purpose of your website is, so simply ask your ‘tame critic’ if they would
join, or buy or whatever it is you intended them to do, and if not … ask why.
The feedback you get could provide you with the missing pieces to your
puzzle…

Until Next Time,

Tim Lowe

Publisher, Tim’s Business
Lowe Down

To be fair though, Google do not exactly have a reputation for consistency
among our online community so I really should have expected it … but this got
me thinking about companies like Google and how they want to be perceived
publicly as the ‘good guy’ and what you actually get when you work with them,
which is usually completely different…

Google have always placed themselves as being ‘outside’ (or even above) the
idea of making money online, yet they were the people behind Google Adwords, on
which many internet marketing fortunes are based … and now they have decided
to distance themselves from all of that even further, they appear to have
become everybody’s affiliate so I’ve noticed of late that the ‘Google Shopping’
results turn up conveniently high when searching for, say, a new TV…

Pretending not to be the evil empire is certainly not a new trick, after all
Apple built their entire business on the fact that they were ‘saving’ us all
from the evil Microsoft empire even when they themselves became far bigger …
and a lot of future technology will have to dance to their tune (or should that
be iTune?) in pretty much the same manner they previously credited to
Microsoft…

Of course we see this in all parts of our lives … take for instance banks
(certainly an emotive subject in most people’s book) … on one hand you have
the helpful and well intentioned people we see all the time at the local branch
who are tasked to look after our money … and on the other we have the those
several levels above them who took the decision to actively sell mortgages to
people they knew couldn’t keep up the payments after whatever ‘special rates’
had expired…

Add to that the huge pharmaceutical companies who seem to, whilst tirelessly
doing all that research for the ‘benefit of humanity’ have the uncanny knack of
only managing to discover a drug that will keep a disease at bay (so you have
to keep buying it) rather than finding one that actually cures that disease
altogether.

It seems that the newer big companies in the public eye are keen on playing
this game as well…

You see, over recent weeks I’ve also been dealing with another very large
internet empire, whom despite being quite new to all this, and seem to the
outside world to appear efficient and have their act very much together … in
reality have proved to be entirely rudderless and inconsistent … and when
challenged on their behaviour vaguely wave you in the direction of their
various policies … which in summary read: ‘because we said so’.

Quite frankly, we’re not going to change any of this … so I suggest you waste
no effort doing so … and instead, however reluctantly, accept that you might
be on the receiving end of this kind of high level faceless nonsense at some
point in the future.

What you must do, however, is exactly what those of an entrepreneurial bent have always
done … which is ‘think around’ the situation, planning accordingly and have
contingencies in place so that should you fall victim to the wholesale daftness
of others, it is no more than a mere ‘bump’ in the road…

Rant over. Now composing oneself, ‘bucking up’ and getting back on with it…

Until Next Time,

Tim Lowe

Publisher, Tim’s Business
Lowe Down