Hola!

So last monday, I hopped on a plane and headed down to Guatemala to visit this beautiful country for the 1st time since living here over 17 years ago as a kid.

Not many people know this about me, but my parents actually served as missionairies here in Guatemala City for 2 years when I was a child, and not until now have we been able to come back to visit as a family.

So far, since arriving, we´ve climbed an active volcano, forged a raging river with our rental van due to a washed out bridge, and I got to have beers with one of my best childhood friends (after 17 years) with the help of Facebook — Go Go Gadget Social Media!!!

Anyways we´ve had a really busy travel schedule as you can imagine because there´s so much we wanted to see in our short 10 day trip, but thankfully we had some free time today after church and I thought you might appreciate hearing some of my breakthroughs since being down here for almost a week.

I´ve always said that living overseas in a developing country for 2 years as a child was one of the best gifts my parents could have ever given me.  Not only was I able to learn spanish as a child, but I was also exposed to extreme poverty and a beautiful culture other than what we´re used to here in the U.S.

It´s crazy because many of my close friends now have barely ever traveled outside of Illinois, nor had the opportunity to experience a 3rd world country.  And for this I am extremely greatful!

So as I expected, being back in Guatemala has brought back a flood of emotions, but one of the strongest is an overwhelming feeling of gratitude for the opportunities we have in America.

Mainly the fact that anyone with an ounce of the entrepreneurial sprit and an internet connection can make a simple video, send a few emails, and make more money in an hour than most people in the villages we´ve visited this week make in an entire month or even year!

This is reflected just about every where you visit outside of Guatemala City where you´ll find streed vendors selling bracelets and other home made items just to make enough money to feed their families and barely get by.

The really sad part is that alot of these ¨local entrepreneurs¨ are actually kids (ages 7-12) and don´t get to spend their days playing play station (like most american kids do) but rather are forced to enter the ranks of adulthood at an early age because there family needs them to work to bring in an additional income.

I met two kids on the street this week that really pulled a heart string for my in particular.  I met them during our short 1 day stay in a small village called Panajachel on the coast of Lake Atitlan, about a 4 hour drive from Guatemala City.  Their names were Tomas (age 12), and Dani (age 10) and I first met them as they approched me on the street trying to sell me home-made stuffed animals and bracelets.

Now just to set the tone a little, this was probably the 50th time this day that I had been approached by kids like these all trying to sell me the same stuff.

But this time rather than politely saying ¨No Gracias¨and sending them on their way, I felt inspired to invest a few minutes into these young entreprenuers by holding a quick marketing seminar on the street.

So with my best broken Spanish I asked them how much money they had made today selling their goods.  With a defeated look in his eye, the older one (Tomas age 12) told me that they hadn´t sold any, and were exhausted.

Now perhaps he was saying this just to get a sympathy purchase from me; but either way, I gently explained that they reason they weren´t selling much was because they were trying to sell  the same unwanted goods to tourists just like all the other kids on the street.

I then preceeded to explain (in the best Spanish I could), the principle of selling to ¨NEEDS over WANTS.¨

To help ilustrate this even more, I then planted the seed of how they could differentiate themselves from all the other street vendors competing with similar goods.

You see,  during the rainy season in Guatemala, it rains every single afternoon like clockwork for about 6 months out of the year. With this in mind, I advised the boys that they should use the rain to their advantage and start selling umbrellas and ponchos (or pieces of plastic) to wet tourists, caught in the rain as they would be much more inspired to buy once their need was high enough.

After explaining the concept of selling to NEEDS rather than WANTS, I could tell that these two young entrepreneurs understood what I was telling them, and could see little wheels turning in their heads as their tired faces turned to smiles.

To then conclude our little street seminar, I reminded them that they would be the 1st kids in the entire town to have rain gear to offer the tourists and would have a monopoly on all the other kids who would still be competing for the pity purchases of $1 bracelets and stuffed animals.

So… why is this important?

I´m not telling you this story to brag about how we had this radical life changing experience with these two young boys; but rather, to inspire you to look at your own business and find the ¨rain gear¨ to sell in your own market.  My experience talking with Tomas and Dani has definately inspired me to take a deeper look at how I sell things online, and I hope it will inspire you to do the same.

Anyways, we´re packing up to head to the last leg of our journey where we´ll spend 2 days on the Carribean coast of Guatemala in a small fishing town called Livingston.  I´ll do my best to post some pictures on facebook when I get back, but until then, stay inspired, and remember that no matter where you´re at in life, chances are you´re alredy richer than you can possibly imagine!

GodSpeed,

Gabe

Now before I start hearing the rumors as to why I’m moving back to Chicago, I thought it might be better for you to hear it straight from my mouth instead of the “preverbial grapevine.”

And as much as I love California, there are 2 very simple reasons why I’ve decided to move back to Chicago for this next season of life.

1.  Since my business is 100% online, I can pretty much live and work anywhere in the world where there is a wifi connection.  And as some of you already know, I separated from my previous business partners about 5 months ago and really don’t have much keeping me in California (Besides the awesome weather and Surfing of course).

But as much as I love jumping in the water after a long day of slaving away on my computer, there “is” a force in this universe that is stronger than Surfing.

I know, I know…. you might be thinking…. HOLY COW GABE…. what in the world could be better than surfing in the So Cal Waves.  And the answer is simple.

2.  ”It’s about a girl.”  And Since I don’t talk about my personal life too much, you may or may not know that I’ve been dating an amazing girl (Sara) for over 3 years now.  And for the past 11 1/2 months she has been putting up with my California Shennanigans and doing the long distance thing with a smile on her face.

Don’t get me wrong.  As tough as it is to maintain a long distance relationship, it has actually been really good for us.  But all good things must come to an end, and after some long hard thinking, I’ve decided to “Give the little lady what she wants.”

So as you can see, the surfing will have to take a backseat for now because the lady needs some lovin.  And thankful for me, I’m flexible enough to live an work pretty much anywhere in the world.  (*hint that’s one of the main reasons I love working online)

So who knows what this next year will bring, but for now it’s back to Chicago!

See ya in Chi-Town,

Gabe

P.s.  I think I successfully avoided that Nasty Chicago winter just in time for Spring!  Stay Inspired!

I was just getting ready to walk out the door when something (or someone) tapped me on the shoulder and told me to write you.

I know it sounds crazy, but then again who am I question the creator of the universe when he’s moving in my life….

Anyways, the message that I felt called to share is simple…

“You are More Powerful than you Realize, and it’s time for you to Wake Up to your Unlimited Brilliance  because your Playing Small doesn’t help Anyone, … Anymore!”

Now if you’ve known me for any time now, you’d know that I very rarely email “Faith Based Messages” but since I’m playing the same game you are, I feel like it’s time to “up the anti.”

And if for any reason, you’re offended by hearing about thing like “Faith”, “God”, or even “Jesus” then I’d suggest you unsubscribe to my emails because you’ll probably get offended at some point.

But if you’re reading this email and feel a “gentle nudge” to Step Up the Faith in your life, then stay tuned, because I feel like the best is yet to come!

God is Good,

Gabe Strom

P.s.  Join me on the New Facebook Page –> Here

So if you read my blog, then you already know my top 3 Online Predictions for 2011.

And one of my predictions was that Linked-In would emerge as the #1 Business Social Network in the World.

Watch the Video here

Now ironically enough, my good buddy Lewis just released a free 9 min video that teaches you how to use Linked-In to grow your business.

If you don’t already know Lewis, you’re in for a real treat because he’s written the book on Linked-In …… Literally (It’s called “Linked Working”)

Anyways, the dude knows what he’s talking about, so go watch the video now.

Watch Lewis’s Video Here

Have a great Friday,

Gabe Strom

P.s. Coming from one video guy to another, make sure you watch this Linked-In video because those who don’t focus on linked-in now, are just going to be left behind by those who do …. gotta keep it real with ya!

Watch the Video Now

Top 5 Marketing Tools of 2011

Every great entrepreneur has a trusted set of tools in his / her tool belt …

and online it’s no different.

Actually having the right tools online can not only save you valuable time, but also give you an unfair advantage over your competition by allowing you to get more done faster!

So in spirit of the New Year I have put together my Top 5 List of must have marketing tools for online success in 2011.

Here they are:

1.  Your Blog – Whether you own a local small business or are a world renown author, speaker, and coach…. your personal blog is your #1 gift to your customers.

And in a web 2.0 world, your blog is just a fancy way of saying your website because your customers, clients, and raving fans are all looking for a safe place to learn about your business and how you can bennefit them.

So if you still don’t have your personal blog set-up, then be sure to visit the good old boys over at the Free Blog Factory to get set up with your new blog today.

2.  Your List – It’s actually really sad to see it, but so many entrepreneurs and business owners are literally missing out on tens of thousands of dollars each month just because they haven’t taken the time to properly set up any type of “Squeeze Page” or lead capture system with an autoresponder to follow up with their potential customers automatically.

This is by far the #1 priority for any small business, internet marketing, or solo-entrepreneur moving into 2011 to ensure that your business not only grows but increases exponentially.

There are lots of choices for good autoresponders like “Aweber”, “Get Response”, and “I Contact“, but my own personal favorite (and service I actually subscribe to and use) is I Contact because it’s just very user friendly and makes building a list easy.

I Contact is also the Only auto responder system on the market that allows you to import your own list from an excel file which is KEY to building your list with simple social media.  They’ve also got a free trial to allow you to build your 1st list of up to 250 subscribers for free.

3.  Your Marketing Funnel – Having a blog where you share great content, and building your email list are all fine and dandy, but if you don’t have a proper marketing funnel to send your traffic to, then you’re really just spinning your wheels (Unless of course you’re an affiliate marketer and plan on driving traffic to other people’s funnels).

But for any serious Information Marketer or Internet Marketer who’s interested in building a long term sustainable business, you Must not only build a marketing funnel, but must be able to easily update and test your funnel to optimize your conversions.

All the traffic in the world is great, but if you can’t monitize it with a proper marketing funnel, then you’re really just wasting your time.

And my top tool pic for creating and managing great marketing funnels goes to the good ole boys over at Kajabi.  Not only will Kajabi allow you to customize lead capture pages like at www.WhoisGabeStrom.com, but it will also allow you to easily create membership sites where you can get paid monthly for your content.

Here’s the deal though, I would not recommend Kajabi for anyone who is not yet clear on their busienss or at least the basics of an online marketing funnel because Kajabi will only make you money as an internet marketer if you actually get off your butt and Implement one of the million ideas in your “Entrepreneurial ADD” brain.

Ok, so maybe you’re not ADD like me, but you get the point.  Kajabi is Not For Beginners!  Please seek professional coaching if you’re not sure how to properly structure your marketing funnel before you buy Kajabi.

4.  Webinar Service – As I look back on the past 2 years of our online business there’s one tool that’s time and time again proven to make more money faster than anything else… and that’s online webinars.

See lucky for us, we don’t have to rent out a hotel room at the local Hilton to gather up to 1,000 targeted prospects in a room for a marketing meeting.  Because of modern webinar technology today, you can easily attract large crowds of hungry buyers to your business with services like Go To Webinar.

Personally I’m a big fan of Go To Webinar, mainly because we’ve been using them for over 2 years and they’re by far the most reliable webinar service on the market.

The other cool thing about Go To Webinar is that they have a Free Trial for your 1st 30 days using the service.  And if you can’t make money the 1st 30 days doing webinars, then you should seriously consider getting out of the internet marketing game all together in 2011.

All I’m saying is that in my professional opinion, webinars are the easist and fastest way to build a targeted list, and generate instant customers.

5.  Traffic Tool – My #1 instant internet traffic tool moving into 2011 goes out to the fine folks over at “Traffic Geyser“.  Of all the automated traffic getting tools out there on the internet, the only one I consistantly use in not only my own business but also in the business of my personal local clients is traffic geyser.

With the proper keyword research it’s by far the fastest way to get good google rankings with an automated software.

The other reason I like Traffic Geyser is because they also have a $1 trial for the 1st month, so you can test out their software for a full 30 days on your own niche market to see how it works in real time.

So there you have it.

My top 5 marketing tools of 2011 drawn out in Plain English.  Let me know which tools you like using and think are relevant in 2011.

Gabe Strom

Stay Inspired,

Gabe Strom

P.S.  I hope you enjoyed my top 5 top tools list of 2011, because I really enjoyed sharing it with you.

And because of the new FTC laws I’m required to remind you that when you click on links in this article and others on this blog, I may receive commissions for anything you may or may not buy from the resources I’ve listed.  Just to be clear I plan on using some of the affiliate commissions to invest into our next project….. (Sorry but I can’t talk much about it yet)…. but Thank You!

On Tuesday I was able to catch up with Brian Williams himself as he was traveling down to San Diego to prepare for the all day Local Hero Webcast (on Wednesday Dec 15th).

Here’s the link to listen to the entire Interview with Brian Williams

And after spending about 45 min on youtube watching all the great Bonuses that all the affiliate marketers have made to accompany the launch I decided to grill Brian in a private interview to share with everyone.

So whether you decide to buy Main Street Marketing Machines through my affiliate link or not, I highly recommend everything that Mike Koenigs produces and encourage you to jump on board with what they are doing.

Click here to get your copy of Social Media Marketing Machines

talk soon,
Gabe Strom

Want a free self-branded word press blog without all the hassle of trying to figure out  how to install a custom theme and customize your site?

Visit the Free Blog Factory & get your free blog in 3 simple steps!

You just pay for your hosting and they’ll do the rest.

You can just thank me later,
Gabe

P.S. I’ve personally helped to create this powerful little system and recomend if to everyone who’s just getting started online.  Don’t worry about getting fancy with a custom blog until you’ve proven you can make money in your niche.