If you've ever considered packaging your knowledge into an online training course, then you'll want to check out Teaching Sells.

And don't delay... I just learned that Teaching Sells is closing the doors to new members at the end of July. That means there's only 1 week left to grab a spot at the current price.

I'm a Teaching Sells member and I think it's a terrific training program for anyone who likes to teach and wants to make money online.

What does Teaching Sells involve?

Well, it's 10 multi-media training courses that provide a roadmap to building your own successful training program or membership site. All of the training is provided using screencast videos along with print material. We all learn differently, but as a visual learner, for me learning from videos is the way to go.

Why do I like it?

What I like best about Teaching Sells is the access to instructors who answer your questions.

So, for example, if you are trying to figure out whether a particular idea will be marketable, you can explain your concept and get feedback. Or if you're trying to do something techy and it's not working, the instructors are there to help.

Even though I already know how to set up a membership site (that's what I did with my BACC program, and the Step-by-Step Coaching Business program - both now closed), I still find it worthwhile to belong to Teaching Sells. That's because there is lots more I want to learn how to do - create video presentations, for example. And get better at using interactive tools.

Another thing that I've found worthwhile for my $97 a month is that the instructors are right on top of all the latest tools for creating content and marketing courses. I've actually saved money by letting go of some of my paid services in favor of equally-good free services that I've learned about through Teaching Sells.

I figure that if the membership program saves me even one hour of scratching my head each month, that's my investment recouped.

Why is it a no-brainer?

Here's why I think trying out Teaching Sells is a no-brainer:

1) MONEY BACK TRIAL: you can try it out for 30 days and if it's not for you, simply cancel. You'll get your money back, and you'll never be charged again.

2) DOORS CLOSE JULY 31, 2008, and...

3) PRICE WILL NEVER BE THIS LOW AGAIN

What people are saying:

"One of the most compelling and viable approaches to a real online business I've come across." -- Darren Rowse, ProBlogger and co-founder of b5 Media

"If you want to really start making money online, Teaching Sells will tell you exactly what you need to know." -- Chris Garrett, new media consultant and Performancing co-founder

"The strategies described made me stop and rethink what I knew about making money online." -- Daniel Scocco, DailyBlogTips.com

"Internet Marketing for smart people." -- Yaro Starak, Entrepreneur's Journey

Click here for more information on Teaching Sells.

by guest writer Darren

The Thirty Day Challenge is a free training course that teaches you how to make your first $10 online. For a full 30 days master Internet marketers Ed Dale and Dan Raine teach you exactly how to start your own Internet business and generate your first income online without spending a dime.

That's right, without spending a dime. The entire training program is free, and you won't have to spend a thing to get your business started and begin making money. No credit card required.

The 2008 Thirty Day Challenge starts on August 1st, but pre-season started in June.

I participated in last year's challenge and would like to share the lessons I learned. Here we go:

Lesson #1. There is no way to know whether a particular idea will work or not. The only way is to test.

This is a big lesson. I see so many newbies out there who don't test and track their results. If you're not testing and tracking, you won't know what works and what doesn't. For example, if you're into affiliate marketing, you must track where your referrals come from. If they come from search engines, then you need to see which phrases work best and focus on them.

Providing a work space within your home that inspires you to be your best every day can be one of the most important business investments you ever make. Tien Wee is a design consultant who helps people do just that.

"I am inspired by people and life filled with magic, creation, beauty and love"

Tien Wee launched Lucky Monkey Home, Feng Shui Design and Living in 2005. Tien says, “LMH is the direct result of a harmonious blend of intelligent Green and Sustainable Interior Design and Feng Shui – the ancient Chinese Art of Placement.”

“I believe that chi, energy is in everything. From the little tea cup to the floor tile, I ensure that I am surrounded only by things I love and that empower me. It is my business, it is my life.”

In his professional life, Tien wants his clients to come home everyday to a space they are in love with. Tien is also committed to be what he wants the world to be – “a place where all beings experience freedom, love and loving their lives.”

With a solid background in design and the art of Feng Shui, Tien’s projects are diverse. They range from renovating and reselling investment properties, small space condos, craftsman homes, modernist homes, Whistler holiday getaways and a Yaletown commercial site.

Marketing has often been confused with selling. In fact, they are quite different, despite being related. Here's the distinction:

Marketing determines how the item gets to the particular outlet and how buyers are made aware of the item.

Selling is the process of convincing the buyer to make a purchase from the selection offered.

Any artist's work will sell best when its location is best matched to the needs of its prospective buyer. It stands to reason that as an artist you will want to think about the end result and choose the best setting for your work.

Marketing includes the advertising, public relations, price points, business networks and locations. Sales take place when all of the above has been successfully addressed. This brings the right customer through the right door.

How do you do that? One way is to take a close look at the outlet. Who are its customers? Where do they live? What kind of income and educational background do they possess? Are they in specific age group? Which gender makes the purchase?

A good established gallery will do a lot for you, but if you are in a cooperative artist run center or a new gallery or an overworked gallery you will need to jump in yourself and make sure that all of the marketing elements are in place. The artist cannot sit back and wait or hope that the important items will be done to the artist's satisfaction.

Too often, necessary steps are omitted, and the artist realizes too late that more promotion should have been done. Then they feel burned and disappointed when the audience is small and the media didn't come around.  In a perfect world, everything would be in place. In the real world, we must take responsibility to create our own success.

Alice Parmelee Rich is a Canadian artist, art marketing consultant and business owner. She has given numerous Marketing Art Seminars in BC and the Yukon and combines her gallery background with her publishing and marketing experience. To contact Alice, please visit her web site www.Alice-Rich.com or email: alicerich [at] telus.net

by Peggy M. Jordan

For Owen Jones, running a home-based property management business means juggling the roles of marketer, webmaster, bookkeeper, handyman, rental agent, gardener, and sometimes even graphic designer. But his most challenging trick is walking that fine line between being at work and being at home.

Owen launched Dreamcatcher Properties of Idaho, LLC just over two years ago and loves it. “I like being the one who makes the decisions,” he explains, “knowing that whether I fail or succeed is completely up to me.”

Working 16-hour days in the corporate world taught Owen that life should be about more than making money. That’s why his definition of success or failure goes beyond the bottom line. “Balance is more important to me now than profit, so I’m intentionally growing the business at the right speed to provide great service and still have a personal life.”

Keeping Overhead Low

Like many of us, Owen works from home to keep costs down. He has also found creative ways to leverage what he’s good at and likes doing. Thanks to job experience as a bookkeeper and proficiency with QuickBooks, accounting is no stretch for Owen. He even enjoys it, saying, “For me, the complexity of the accounting is what makes it fun.”

Years in computer programming gave Owen the expertise to build, design, and populate his own website. He even owns his own server. Being both host and webmaster enables him to keep his website current without paying for tech support or a web developer. And because of his skill with the Linux operating system, he can use free, open-source software instead of having to invest in pricey applications.

When it comes to hardware, Owen looks for opportunities to buy used equipment, especially from companies going out of business. That’s how he scored bargains on two Internet-based phones, as well as a high-end HP all-in-one printer.

Investing Now for Payoffs Later

Despite being such a do-it-yourselfer, Owen is willing to spend money where it counts. He’s convinced that hiring a professional accountant to prepare his tax returns is an absolute life saver. “My accountant finds deductions I never would’ve known about and saves me money, stress, and headaches,” he explains.

He advises other small business owners to, “keep track of everything you do that can – legally, of course – be funneled through the business. You can’t be lazy and say, ‘it’s no big deal, it’s too much work to track that’ or you’ll miss some great opportunities.”

Making the Leap

Even though Owen has always wanted to work for himself, he didn’t initially set out to be a property manager. While in his early twenties, he and some friends tried launching a computer consulting business, but soon realized that there was more to it than they were ready for. “That was scary,” he admits. “We found out pretty quickly that we really didn’t know what we were doing.”

Mark Kokocki is a Vancouver, B.C. life/business coach and personal trainer who works primarily with a certain type of client – people living with hiv/AIDS and other chronic health problems. His business is provocatively named "dropdeadhappy.com"

dropdeadhappy.com grew out of a need Mark saw during the late nineties. He noticed that there was a new challenge facing people living with hiv/AIDS: though they had once believed their life was over, they were now suddenly being told, “The drugs are doing their job, get back to work.”

To address this challenge, Mark started a coaching program called “On Our Way” in 2000.  This program supported people living with hiv/AIDS who wanted to get somewhere: back to school, back to work, or start a business. For a few people, the “get somewhere” was learning how to live again. These challenges became opportunities for learning, self-discovery and healing.“On Our Way” remains one of Mark's proudest accomplishments to date, and provided the starting point for his current business "dropdeadhappy.com".

Innovative pricing structure

Mark has structured dropdeadhappy.com as a social entrepreneurship project to provide health, fitness and coaching support to those in financial or physical need. A secondary goal of his business is to promote a dropdeadhappy attitude in the pursuit of individual, professional and entrepreneurial achievements. The business model is simple. Everyone pays 1% of their gross monthly income or budget per coaching call. The result is Mark can offer services to people who otherwise could not afford it, volunteer time to nonprofit service providers and be a financially successful enterprise.

Perhaps surprisingly, the idea of 1% of gross monthly income per coaching call was not a hard sell. Lower income clients felt included, and higher income clients often welcomed the opportunity to help others. In fact, some wealthier clients offered to pay more than "the norm" (some clients pay $250 or more per call) in order to help others reap the same benefits. Mark points out that AIDS has taught a lot of people the value in sharing and giving.

Marketing challenges and surprises

Mark told me that the most difficult part of starting his business was converting the "On Our Way" model into a broader market. It took nine months of hard work to get the word out and start seeing some steady referrals coming in. His big break was with a hiv/AIDS service provider in California which over time has turned out to be his biggest source of referrals (now the majority of his clients are from California, even though he lives in Vancouver).

With 25 years of active involvement in the fitness industry (as a manager, presenter, group exercise instructor, personal trainer and coach), 20 years of frontline involvement with hiv/AIDS service providers (as a personal trainer, shiatsu practitioner, counsellor, coach, cheerleader, and friendly face on a hard day), and 15 years of entrepreneurial experience, Mark brings a wealth of talents to his work. And as he says with a smile, "I’m always open for a collaborative adventure with a social message".

What's a "dropdeadhappy day"?

I asked Mark what a "dropdeadhappy day" would look like for him.

A typical dropdeadhappy day for me includes: a morning run and work out, a couple of coaching calls with situations like a client working to get from social assistance to self reliance and beyond, then a baby boomer transitioning from being an employee to entrepreneur. A healthy lunch and a walk with my now 15 year old dog balance out a few more coaching calls and administrative nick knacks.

A few hours a week I put on my personal trainer outfit and help someone sweat, make time for writing an article for myself or another party and spending time with someone living with hiv/AIDS who just needs someone to be there and who understands. I live my dropdeadhappy day helping others live theirs. I can’t think of a better life and enterprise I could have.

What would a dropdeadhappy day look like to you?