Sept. 3, 2011 – Don Lapre, the self made mega millionaire, has died due to his own hand last Sunday in Tempe, Arizona. This marketer has created a company with $52 million dollars in sales in one of the nation’s worst recessions in history. This is the guy who got me thinking about leaving the advertising art cubicle and creating a marketing dynasty for myself.
I bought one of his courses on how to create money off of placing tiny classified ads. I made money with his techniques. I got this at a time when the recession was rising up on this country in 2000. I was in advertising and all I knew was how to cut out digital pictures and animate them. I had no idea how to create money or how to pull in customers. Don kicked the door open for me and showed me how this was possible. I was intrigued and I got an 800 number and went to work.
The money didn’t happen overnight as I made a lot of blunders and errors. I tried different products and services and a lot of them bombed. But I could see how making money using these techniques could really work.
911 And The Aftermath
A week before 911 I did a stupid thing. I went down to Times Square, NYC and started taping flyers to the light poles. Being from Ann Arbor, Michigan and not knowing any better, (that’s how Michigan people market by the way – for the most part) I figured this was the way to go. After all, a lot of people come through Times Square and it was going to be a great way to get my name out there in the public. Well a gigantic Neanderthal built NYC cop grabbed my arm and nearly pulled my shoulder ball joint out of socket and grabbed my flyers. He threatened to give me a fine and offered to put me in jail. He got right in my face and started screaming at me. I grabbed my arm back and went the other direction. I wonder if this cop is still alive today since 911 happened the very next week?
Either case, I figured this was not the way I wanted to market my services. I went back to what Don Lapre was doing and decided to do it right. 911 created such a disturbance in my life that I ended up high tailing it back to Detroit, Michigan. I ended up there for ten years. In that ten years I learned marketing and started to create a little bit of money – NOT MUCH MIND YOU – BUT enough. Don, on the other hand went out and masterminded a phenomenal windfall of $52 million dollars.
That’s genius.
In an age where people are losing their homes, jobs, and peace of mind this guy goes out and creates a fantastic lifestyle for himself. Lapre is accused of a lot of things but he never did wrong by me and if anything I owe him and his family a humungous thank you for getting me out of the corporate grind. I would later go on to study with Dan Kennedy, Jeff Paul, Seth Godin, Tom Hopkins, Derek Ghel, and Orange Beetle.
There should be books on this guy because he was one fascinating character. Wealth came in fast and his company grew. Like me he made some mistakes – most notably for his vitamin, “THE GREATEST VITAMIN IN THE WORLD!”. This drew some unwanted attention from the FDA and created some investigations and he had to hire lawyers. I knew he had some problems with investors and that his cash flow escalated to a whopping $52 million dollars. This is one amazing person. Despite his many mistakes he is worth looking into.
The American Mindset On Wealth and Capitalism
There seems to be an unnerving repulsion to capitalism and wealth. A lot of people have written horrible things about Lapre over the last few 72 hours. But there is a definite difference between fraud and bad results. I had some hit and miss experiences with Lapre’s courses but I would hardly call him a fraud. I paid him for some course materials and CD’s. He delivered them. That is not fraud. There were disclaimers on his products that results may vary. That is not fraud.
Work has to be involved in this process and with that comes various degrees of positive and negative experiences and that is not fraud. People were upset that they did not received a boat load of money from Lapre’s teachings but how many of those people actually went out and tried to create a solid business? Dan Kennedy creates info courses and sells them to the public. He has written informercials for Gunthy Renker which supports late night programming like for the Lapre company. There are lot of people who support Kennedy and a great deal of them are not successful. Believe me, I have met a lot of these types over the course of 10 years when I say they are NOT SUCCESSFUL.
The general consensus on American wealth is very disturbing. Laziness is very attractive in the wealth building process in America. Capitalism has taken some negative hits in the last ten years. As the job market continues to crash through the floor it may be the best friend you have. Yet, it is looked down upon. The “evil corporation” mentality ensures that the Ramen noodle sales will keep afloat for quite some time.
2010: Alternative Health and Kooky Religions Are Big Profit
The new space age – new age – mentality has taken over America and has it locked dead tight in a sleeper hold. The danger here is not very obvious but alternative medicine and new age products pull in $333 million every year. That is rising as we near the dreaded 2012.
Here is how the other – Big Boys – stacked up in comparison to Don Lapre.
ORGANIZED RELIGION - $15 BILLION – Annual Sales
PORNOGRAPHY- $14 BILLION – Annual Sales
ORGANIZED CRIME - $11 TRILLION – Annual Sales
U.S. PHARMACEUTICALS - $2.8 BILLION Annual Sales
GENETICALLY ENGINEERED FARMING - $75 BILLION
CREDIT CARD SALES - $612 BILLION
These are some of the biggest criminals in history. Don Lapre is just a small kid on the block next to these ruthless hooligans who sack your health, wealth, and living conditions. I rope in religious leaders into this category too because soul stealing is big business. Pornography ranks just below organized religion and that is definitely noteworthy. Control is a big money maker no matter who calls the shots. You can look at the truth and make a stand for yourself or you can block it out and run away like most Americans. It is a daily truth that none of us are willing to face.
Capitalism on its own is not necessarily a bad thing. How and who uses it for what end offers up a whole slew of unsavory industries.
Don Lapre brought marketing to the masses. His courses were based on his own luck and experience. He introduced it to you on a late night informercial. Capitalism is an American institution. The mere idea is not evil and practicing it just may save your neck.
Regardless of what you may think of him and others who strive for something better in life – he is one of the catalysts in my life that pushed me further. He is gone now and may he rest in peace. Lapre offers a simple goodbye on one of his websites. He wanted to thank the people who supported him in his short life. He hopes that his experience has somehow made a small difference in their lives. I can speak for myself and say that this guy was pretty awesome.
Most of you will never achieve the kind of wealth that he masterminded. You will never have the kinds of companies that he has created for himself or work as diligently. His money came fast and his fame took off quickly and his life became more difficult to manage. He killed himself violently and is no longer among us. Before you attack him you owe it to yourself to study him. He is a fascinating character in American history.
Posted by Ted Cantu - Oct. 5, 2011 - Detroit Michigan
Wednesday, October 05, 2011
Thursday, September 08, 2011
Online Publisher Takes On A New Vision For Post 911 American Businesses
Detroit, Michigan – This Friday marks the 10th Anniversary or 911. The tragic and horrific events have forever changed the way America looks at itself and at the world at large. So much has happened to this country since then and you can feel the impact on the way business is done and how we contact one another. This is never been more so true in Michigan. In recent years Michigan has lost several outstanding news sources including The Ann Arbor News, Eccentric, and niche papers such as the Phenomenews. The distribution of essential news and advertising has reached a cliffhanger. Recently an online publisher is about to open the flood gates of opportunity.
Ted Cantu, an Ex-Art Director in advertising, sat in many Internet web studios prior the events of 911. He was part of the ill-fated “Dot Com Era” which was an age when search engine technology was yet in its infancy. As you may recall a lot of investment dollars from venture capital funding was fumbled and lost during this time period. As a result of that experience Cantu has led his team into developing web presence that works and delivers first page visibility on search engines. This is something many business owners have tried in vain to do over the years without paying a small fortune in paid search marketing.
Putting service based companies and professionals on page 1 of Google, Bing and Yahoo is only part of the big picture. A recent problem that has come up has centered around the effectiveness of direct mail. The U.S. Post Office is losing billions of dollars of revenue per year and there has been more participation on the Internet. The popular view of the clients that Cantu serves has been in favor of more aggressive campaigns on the Internet. They have expressed a great disinterest in the traditional media channels including billboards, radio, television, postage and newspapers. The client list includes doctors, home remodeling companies and other professional positions.
Cantu and his team have been developing direct contact with the right prospects online thanks to social media tools like Twitter, and Facebook. They have been creating lead generation through this type of intimate high touch environment. In addition, they are finding financing for their professional clientele to create more positive economic outcomes in Michigan.
To get more information on Cantu and Co. contact them at http://www.1seomichigan.com and at 248-631-9211.
Ted Cantu, an Ex-Art Director in advertising, sat in many Internet web studios prior the events of 911. He was part of the ill-fated “Dot Com Era” which was an age when search engine technology was yet in its infancy. As you may recall a lot of investment dollars from venture capital funding was fumbled and lost during this time period. As a result of that experience Cantu has led his team into developing web presence that works and delivers first page visibility on search engines. This is something many business owners have tried in vain to do over the years without paying a small fortune in paid search marketing.
Putting service based companies and professionals on page 1 of Google, Bing and Yahoo is only part of the big picture. A recent problem that has come up has centered around the effectiveness of direct mail. The U.S. Post Office is losing billions of dollars of revenue per year and there has been more participation on the Internet. The popular view of the clients that Cantu serves has been in favor of more aggressive campaigns on the Internet. They have expressed a great disinterest in the traditional media channels including billboards, radio, television, postage and newspapers. The client list includes doctors, home remodeling companies and other professional positions.
Cantu and his team have been developing direct contact with the right prospects online thanks to social media tools like Twitter, and Facebook. They have been creating lead generation through this type of intimate high touch environment. In addition, they are finding financing for their professional clientele to create more positive economic outcomes in Michigan.
To get more information on Cantu and Co. contact them at http://www.1seomichigan.com and at 248-631-9211.
DAN KENNEDY - Best Book In Years !! Price Guide Offers Powerful Advice
No B.S. Price Strategy - by Dan Kennedy
Okay - I admit - Kennedy and I are pretty hard on eachother. Keep in mind that I have studied in the lions den with a lot of his students. The last post I did on him I more or less trashed his book about marketing in the new economy. I said it was a rehash. I have read a ton of his books and newsletters and can speak his language. But lets forget all that.... His points are valid and if you are not already a convert you should get all of his stuff. Lets move on....
This new book, "Price Strategy" is dead on. I have gotten a lot of useful insight out of this book and to be quite honest a lot of the view points are powerful. I see a lot of businesses I consult for ask for ridiculously low fees. I think a lot of them suffer from low self esteem. This can stem from depression era thinking. On the other hand a lot of them think in the commodity mindset. If Kennedy didn't write this book than someone had to do it and come forward because it really lays it on the line. By that I mean that it speaks from real world experience. If you are used to talking nicely to your boss or live in a cube and live in a world of permission you may not relate. Its a must read for every street guy who is out there fighting for a living and selling to put food on the table and to keep the bills paid. Its blunt, its offensive to some, but accurate.
How Can This Book Help You?
If nothing else it can help you cut through the clutter. By that I mean that you can save a lot of time on the phone haggling over price. You can also use it to sniff out weakness. I was able to sharp shoot some potential clients on the phone to find out if they are broke or not and saved myself 4 hours of meeting them in person, (including the drive over to the meeting location etc.). This sort of habitual meeting policy can criple your financial health. This is a fundamental that I am constantly trying to improve on. I do not take on every Tom, Dick and Harry I meet on the street as a client. That sort of thinking can bring your business to a grinding halt. You also let in a lot of Yo Yo's who can fly apart without a minutes notice and bring in an extroadinary source of unwanted drama.
Price is a complicated issue. Its more than numbers. Its more than what you think your product is worth. It has everything to do with the people you are trying to service. This includes a lot about perception on price and what it is that you are really selling. This could be about saving someone time. This could also be about selling money at a discount, (a big concept in all of Kennedy's teachings).
If you never thought about your prices you need to take a closer look at it. Find out why you come up with your numbers. Find out if these numbers speak about your business or if you are following someone else's defination of your industry. Here is my spin on it....
I have the tendency to take things to another level and I will touch upon just a few points.
RELIGION
This is a deal killer for me. Often prospects will ask me for information regarding my spiritual beliefs during a presentation which I find severly off topic. I usually blow off the question. But I find that a lot of people who bring this issue into a business offering have very poor wealth attraction. They will often use the God element to defend their price position and often will drag in scripture into the negotiation process. This is bad news and you should be aware of it.
GOVERNMENT FEARS
I get a lot of people in the medical community that talk about the horrors of chem trails, conspiracies, and poisoned water supplies. While I find this sort of talk unnerving and highly disturbing I do not find it nearly as disturbing as the amount these prospects are willing to cough up for my services. To put it politely these fragile souls can barely come up with a fraction of my current fee schedule. They also make THE WORST clients and quite honestly should leave business altogether.
There was a really good article a few months back on USA Today regarding the different types of God people believe in. Some of these versions judge harshly and hand out intense punishments in the form of hurricanes and destruction. Another version of God is more Universal and is more balanced in the aspect of karma. All in all there was roughly 12 different types of God people subscribe to. This can also bring into play how people view money and prosperity.
Now I know Kennedy did not go into all of these aspects in his book but I am merely elaborating on past concepts that I have heard in his circles. I draw my own personal experiences into this as well. I want to also mention the importance of NLP, Neuro Linguistic Programming, which is the study of human communication, (verbal and non verbal) into the price and sales process. These things should be studied closely when you deal with the whole spectrum of the sale.
This has everything to do with trust and building adequate raport. This will enable one participant to deliver money from his account directly into yours.
There are parts of this book that have already been dog eared. Within just a few pages I sensed fresh material and honestly I haven't enjoyed a Kennedy book this good in years. I can hold it up to his No B.S. Sales Guide.
The Book Has My Vote
Years ago I dabbled into the GKIC groups, (Kennedy's Marketing Groups) and met a lot of his herd toe to toe. While those meetings were very influential upon my marketing growth I have found getting the straight source from the author himself to be the best experience. Although getting the straight dope can be a bit of a challenge. A lot of Kennedy's top students will often contribute to the books, ( yes, there are guest authors in this book too) as well as some of his courses. I have found that getting Kennedy to open up with some solid and fresh content to be somewhat of a rarity these days.
Part of the reason for this is that his corporate partner, Bill Glazier, oversees the course material and the publishing aspect of his business. I am hungry from the real source from the man himself. I was fortunate to spend a day with him in a closed room session in Nashville, TN a few years back. I can tell you that this book touches upon some of that magic and it is worth picking up.
Its the best thing he's written in years.
Nuff said on that.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Borders Bookstore Succombs To E-Culture
THE SILENCE OF A GIANT
What was the blame for the recent closing of so many Borders book stores? The speculation that surrounds it is interesting. Years ago when digital media was making a huge headway there was a lot of talk about digital books, (back then they were called Titles) and companies like Voyager Media were just coming up and around. Borders Books actually had a section for this new type of media. This little tech wave occured right before the web so many of you may not remember this.... it was very short lived.
I had hopes that this type of thing would make a comeback. There was a lot of great visual titles like, The Residents, "Freakshow", and Laurie Andersons, "Puppet Motel". I wanted to see more of this type of media come out. Thanks to the web I guess this request has been answered but to me it is not the same. With the coming of the new Kindle Readers I had no idea that this type of media would bring a crushing blow to physical reading material. I never thought it would crush a giant book store chain like Borders.
I wanted at least a few of these stores to remain open because they have an aweseome collection. But as of this week all of the remaining stores are to close.
IS DIGITAL MEDIA KILLING OUR CURRENT CULTURE?
I still miss Tower Records. Even though Itunes has replaced it for the most part I still miss going to a record store just to look around. I don't miss the snappy young twerps at the counter who thought THEY were rock stars. I never championed the culture that surrounded record retail. I also never thought that the digital market would completely crush the record giant - Tower.
I am going to miss some of the newspapers too out there such as The Ann Arbor News, and some defunct magazines.
Are we to become the new publishers?
Posted Sunday June 24, 2011
What was the blame for the recent closing of so many Borders book stores? The speculation that surrounds it is interesting. Years ago when digital media was making a huge headway there was a lot of talk about digital books, (back then they were called Titles) and companies like Voyager Media were just coming up and around. Borders Books actually had a section for this new type of media. This little tech wave occured right before the web so many of you may not remember this.... it was very short lived.
I had hopes that this type of thing would make a comeback. There was a lot of great visual titles like, The Residents, "Freakshow", and Laurie Andersons, "Puppet Motel". I wanted to see more of this type of media come out. Thanks to the web I guess this request has been answered but to me it is not the same. With the coming of the new Kindle Readers I had no idea that this type of media would bring a crushing blow to physical reading material. I never thought it would crush a giant book store chain like Borders.
I wanted at least a few of these stores to remain open because they have an aweseome collection. But as of this week all of the remaining stores are to close.
IS DIGITAL MEDIA KILLING OUR CURRENT CULTURE?
I still miss Tower Records. Even though Itunes has replaced it for the most part I still miss going to a record store just to look around. I don't miss the snappy young twerps at the counter who thought THEY were rock stars. I never championed the culture that surrounded record retail. I also never thought that the digital market would completely crush the record giant - Tower.
I am going to miss some of the newspapers too out there such as The Ann Arbor News, and some defunct magazines.
Are we to become the new publishers?
Posted Sunday June 24, 2011
Thursday, June 09, 2011
The Money Machine: Returns
This is the podcast that started it all....
If you've never heard this show before you are in for a surprise. There are some great tips on here about how to strategize your business.
Many of these recordings were made before the BIG SEO wave. It is loaded with surprises... do check it out...
http://911copywriter.podomatic.com/
http://911copywriter.podomatic.com/entry/2011-05-26T13_46_12-07_00
If you've never heard this show before you are in for a surprise. There are some great tips on here about how to strategize your business.
Many of these recordings were made before the BIG SEO wave. It is loaded with surprises... do check it out...
http://911copywriter.podomatic.com/
http://911copywriter.podomatic.com/entry/2011-05-26T13_46_12-07_00
Wednesday, June 08, 2011
Growing Up Digital: The Changing Face of The Economic Landscape
REMEMBER THE 1990'S? BACK WHEN WE HAD JOBS?
Job culture was great. It was short and sweet. I caught the tail end of it when I worked in Chicago and New York City. Those were fun days. Little did I know that it was going to be short lived. My oh my have things changed. Back in the Dot Com Era my idea of a good time was getting a paycheck for $2800 for two weeks honest work. Now I am able to bang that out in a single day. In the 90's I wanted to work for MTV and be a creative director. Nowadays MTV is little more than Maternity TV. Its a sound board for knocked up teens.
The funny thing is that even in this modern age those annoying teens complain about how lousy thier lives are. That is amusing. We are living in America but you would hardly know it. Now that people are being thrown onto the street they live their lives like they are nothing more than imprisoned inmates.
We have more television channels than ever before, (my carrier has over 800) and gazillions of websites. And do not forget the thousands of satellite radio stations all over the world. Traditional television is mimicking the web. You won't find television shows like, "The Odd Couple", (man I miss Felix Unger) or "Happy Days" anymore because we are all too busy bitching at one another on national television. A lot of what you see is called reality television in America. I am not sure how things are in other countries but in the USA we have regressed to a nation of spineless whiners.
Its war now in America and I am on the street. I know how to sell and maneuver through all the nonsense. I have to tell you that I am having the time of my life. I am a hustler and a self professed go getter. I don't know if I could ever adapt to job culture. It makes me uneasy to have to hear water cooler chatter about birthdays, 3 way love triangles and sharp shooting office politics.
I am too old to have a job according to the New York Times. I am over the grandaddy age of 39 and considered irrelevant by many standards. That was in the Sunday edition a few weeks back. Well this ancient old man has a few things to say about the job situation. If we are going to let our advertising and tech companies fall into the hands of over educated 20 something industry newbies we are generally screwed.
Retail is really in grave danger. Don't forget that the old ways of getting the word out in the forms of television, radio and newspapers is a thing of the past. I'd like to throw the concept of middle management in there as well. Its all useless. Meanwhile, who is going navigate the business populace through all of this muck?
THE COLLAPSE OF MEDIA CHANNELS
Newspapers are falling apart. I don't mean consilidation here I am talking about newspaper companies closing their doors altogether. Radio on the other hand is getting more desperate and its also getting more expensive. Television is just as ineffective as ever before and worse -- nobody is paying attention to the commercials. The only time that the public seems to notice is to watch someone else's wretched life fall apart on some reality television show.
Nonsense aside who is going to advertise for the business class?
Is anyone capable of doing a good enough job? Limo rental in Livonia Michigan uses the web to get the word out. Things are actually pretty bleak when you think about it. Now the old vanguards of the advertising set are suddently the shoulder of comfort when it comes to SEO search engine optimization and social media. Like rats on a sinking ship these old fossils are becoming overnight saviors in the media. I can't blame them for trying to stay alive in this blazing inferno of tech overload.
Does that mean you should do it? Why is CBS Radio hawking SEO services? The web is a complex animal and it is going to take more than rotating banners to sell a product or a service. The phone companies are offering template websites that do little more than pop up on cue. These really under perform when it comes to the vital stats that keep a business afloat. When it comes to creating links, and achieving page rank the crusaders of tech fall silent.
But that is just the beginning of the charade.
Posted by Ted Cantu, http://www.1seomichigan.com http://www.tedcantu.com June 7, 2011
Job culture was great. It was short and sweet. I caught the tail end of it when I worked in Chicago and New York City. Those were fun days. Little did I know that it was going to be short lived. My oh my have things changed. Back in the Dot Com Era my idea of a good time was getting a paycheck for $2800 for two weeks honest work. Now I am able to bang that out in a single day. In the 90's I wanted to work for MTV and be a creative director. Nowadays MTV is little more than Maternity TV. Its a sound board for knocked up teens.
The funny thing is that even in this modern age those annoying teens complain about how lousy thier lives are. That is amusing. We are living in America but you would hardly know it. Now that people are being thrown onto the street they live their lives like they are nothing more than imprisoned inmates.
We have more television channels than ever before, (my carrier has over 800) and gazillions of websites. And do not forget the thousands of satellite radio stations all over the world. Traditional television is mimicking the web. You won't find television shows like, "The Odd Couple", (man I miss Felix Unger) or "Happy Days" anymore because we are all too busy bitching at one another on national television. A lot of what you see is called reality television in America. I am not sure how things are in other countries but in the USA we have regressed to a nation of spineless whiners.
Its war now in America and I am on the street. I know how to sell and maneuver through all the nonsense. I have to tell you that I am having the time of my life. I am a hustler and a self professed go getter. I don't know if I could ever adapt to job culture. It makes me uneasy to have to hear water cooler chatter about birthdays, 3 way love triangles and sharp shooting office politics.
I am too old to have a job according to the New York Times. I am over the grandaddy age of 39 and considered irrelevant by many standards. That was in the Sunday edition a few weeks back. Well this ancient old man has a few things to say about the job situation. If we are going to let our advertising and tech companies fall into the hands of over educated 20 something industry newbies we are generally screwed.
Retail is really in grave danger. Don't forget that the old ways of getting the word out in the forms of television, radio and newspapers is a thing of the past. I'd like to throw the concept of middle management in there as well. Its all useless. Meanwhile, who is going navigate the business populace through all of this muck?
THE COLLAPSE OF MEDIA CHANNELS
Newspapers are falling apart. I don't mean consilidation here I am talking about newspaper companies closing their doors altogether. Radio on the other hand is getting more desperate and its also getting more expensive. Television is just as ineffective as ever before and worse -- nobody is paying attention to the commercials. The only time that the public seems to notice is to watch someone else's wretched life fall apart on some reality television show.
Nonsense aside who is going to advertise for the business class?
Is anyone capable of doing a good enough job? Limo rental in Livonia Michigan uses the web to get the word out. Things are actually pretty bleak when you think about it. Now the old vanguards of the advertising set are suddently the shoulder of comfort when it comes to SEO search engine optimization and social media. Like rats on a sinking ship these old fossils are becoming overnight saviors in the media. I can't blame them for trying to stay alive in this blazing inferno of tech overload.
Does that mean you should do it? Why is CBS Radio hawking SEO services? The web is a complex animal and it is going to take more than rotating banners to sell a product or a service. The phone companies are offering template websites that do little more than pop up on cue. These really under perform when it comes to the vital stats that keep a business afloat. When it comes to creating links, and achieving page rank the crusaders of tech fall silent.
But that is just the beginning of the charade.
Posted by Ted Cantu, http://www.1seomichigan.com http://www.tedcantu.com June 7, 2011
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