Right now trying to start your own internet business is a hip thing. A subset of this world is those interested in what have been called freedom businesses, dreamlines, and other things. The core idea in this subgroup is that with a mix of internet based products (e-books, videos, etc), affiliate sales (such as I do with Powell’s Books), physical products, and consulting you can earn enough to live life on your own terms. It’s an appealing dream and one I’m working on. While Lessons in Dark Etiquette has some minor moves in this direction (mainly affiliate marketing) this is not the site for that. That site has yet to begin. (for the curious the working title is The Fluent Programmer).
Of course where people are trying to build a business there are people trying to sell business services. I’ve dealt with some and have started to maintain a list of those I like, those I dislike, and those who are on notice that they might be headed for the dislike list. I figured I might not be the only interested party.
Cool Internet Biz People
- Havi at The Fluent Self
- Quirky style and not really about business but about passion and growing into your passion. One of the best ideas for 2009 for me was the “Damnit List”…
- Naomi at Itty Biz
- In your face but very real person determined to make you gut it out while looking at her cool icon.
On Notice Internet Biz People
- Clay Collins
- Recommended Laura Roeder and tainted by association. Also, provides no contact info just one way via subscribing.
Loser Internet Biz People
- Laura Roeder of lauraroeder.com
- She is effectively a spammer. Signed up for webinar on 2010/02/11 and got sixteen hard sell emails, only one with useful content, by 2010/02/16. Promised intro video on Twitter in 10 minutes a day was never provided even though I add to agree to her spam to get it and the webinar. Note, I was also signed up for a weekly newsletter on Wednesday but had received so many emails I wrote her off as a spammer before I received one issue. If these are the practices she teaches I advise against her school as in five days she took me from interested to rejecting vocally. Do you want to do that to your products?.
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