Hype, Fad, or Trend

Hype, Fad or Trend?
By Cynthia Renee Frazier, Business Growth Exert
www.EnergyTourCafe.com

If you are a business owner, solopreneur, coach, author, speaker, virtual assistant, or service professional, growing your business is almost always a challenge you face. It’s what is known in the industry as working on your business rather than working in your business. (For a longer explanation of this concept read my book 101+ Proven Growth Strategies for the Small Business Entrepreneur). Of course there are a host of other challenges like getting known, building trust, filling the marketing funnel, growing a platform, and the daunting task of keeping up with the Internet.

In the process of working with clients who are looking for ways to grow their company, the hype, fad, or trend comment/question is sure to come up. “Why should I learn about the Internet? It’s all hype and it’s not going to last. Besides, MySpace is for kids anyway. I don’t see how something for kids can be used to grow my business.”
Before I tell you why this statement couldn’t be farther from reality, let me explore the difference between a fad and a trend. Most people use the two terms interchangeably. And they can mean something similar if you are referring to fashion. However, they are not really the same outside of the fashion example. A fad tends to be short lived whereas a trend is associated with long-lasting movements and progress.
So the answer to the question – why learn about the Internet as a business growth tool—because it is a trend that will have a long term success impact on your business. It is not going away.
With that said, take a moment to go back to some of the challenges mentioned at the beginning of this article. Now consider some of the trends taking place on the Internet right now—MySpace, Facebooks, Blogs, Podcasts, Twitter, and Photo Sharing. When used appropriately, each one of these can enhance your ability to get new clients, fill your marketing funnel, generate and qualify leads, and so much more. Does it take time, money, and effort to figure out? Sure it does. But don’t let that stop you! Believe me, the Internet is helping ordinary business owners experience extraordinary results. And those of you who know me, know that I too am using these cutting edge techniques to speed up my goal of building a million dollar enterprise. Not only that, clients who follow my lead are seeing similar results.
Therefore, my advice to you is to change the way you think about the Internet and your business. Learn what you can and put your knowledge to work. It is an investment that will give you a tremendous return for your efforts.
Cynthia is the Co-Founder of Energy Tour Café, the number one go to resource for women business owners looking to become a million dollar company. Get on the bus and join Cynthia on March 22 for an exclusive travel and learn experience – Marketing To Go. You will learn how to use Social Media to grow your company. Visit www.EnergyTourCafe.com for details.