A Brief History Of Ecommerce

Ecommerce was seen as a passing fad or gimmick when the pioneers of the process began. Certainly being tied to a computer screen to make a purchase you would need to wait for wouldn’t hold the interest of consumers. Yet inroads were made and sales were conducted.

One of the prevailing difficulties associated with early online transactions was the safety of personal financial information. As hackers gained access to non-encrypted data it was a rallying point for many ecommerce businesses. There had to be a better way to do online business.

The Debut of Encryption

Webopedia describes encryption this way, “The translation of data into a secret code. Encryption is the most effective way to achieve data security. To read an encrypted file, you must have access to a secret key or password that enables you to decrypt it.”

The keys to ecommerce were given back to online business when transactions became encrypted. The privacy of customer data allowed ecommerce to become a viable option for consumers once more.

Suddenly the world of cottage industry and extensions of brick and mortar stores began to flourish and entrepreneurs began to willingly dip their toe into the cyber frontier.

This was a new way of doing business in the cutting edge of intangibles. No longer did business owners absolutely need a sales staff, no longer was an outgoing personality required for business startup, no longer did business mean a storefront.

Business Without Borders

The possibilities expanded as more and more businesses began to recognize their business could be presented in a global fashion.

Business had been so associated with a town, region or district, but online business could be conducted without barriers or distinctions.

Ecommerce allowed the ‘every man’ an opportunity to explore the world of business. What had been seen as elite and unattainable was suddenly an archaic notion. Ecommerce thrived on a ‘no discrimination’ policy. Entrepreneurs of all ages, racial distinctions and economic levels began to find value in marketing to a worldwide clientele who cared more for the product than the arena of personal definition that often made brick and mortar business more difficult.

An Interesting Paradigm

A phenomenon that has taken place in many ecommerce stores is the advent of a growing percentage of online sales while brick and mortar store sales are either static or in a slight decline. This seems to indicate a change in the purchasing decisions and shopping patterns of consumers.

Perhaps in the future we will see more product fulfillment centers and fewer brick and mortar storefronts as ecommerce continues to gain steam as a premier shopping alternative.

Cameron Johnson Not Your Typical Entrepreneur

After reading a story about Cameron’s companies, a Japanese company contacted him and invited him to Japan and to be an Advisory Board Member to FutureKids in Tokyo. He was invited to Japan by the CEO of the company.
Continuing Cameron’s story, although he didn’t win the Junior Achievement Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, he did hire the 16 year old winner to work for him on his next Internet venture where together they created SurfingPrizes.com. Cameron recognized the inefficiencies in a similar business and quickly designed a more effective business concept. The company’s product was online advertising that paid its customers to view ads they wanted to see online. This business became his most successful and from it he learned the power of improving on existing ideas.

Board at Age 15: Certainly Not – Bored at Age 15
Quickly Cameron began to receive international attention. After reading a story about Cameron’s companies, a Japanese company contacted him and invited him to Japan and to be an Advisory Board Member to FutureKids in Tokyo. He was invited to Japan by the CEO of the company. With his experience building businesses on the Internet at such a young age, it was a perfect match. FutureKids taught Japanese kids about computers and the Internet, allowing them exposure and hands-on training that they would not otherwise have access to. Cameron continued this work and also became a consultant to Fortune 500 companies.

The Japanese media blitz thrust his name into every Japanese household. It was not long before he was approached to have his biography written by a Japanese ghostwriter. The book was called, 15 Year Old CEO, and was published in Japan becoming an overnight best seller.

Secret Principles on Entrepreneurship
You Call The Shots is a book Cameron authored on learning how to succeed your way and living the life you want. In his book he divulges the 19 essential principles he lives by when creating his business ventures. It is these same principles that he developed over time that has accelerated his own success at such an early age. These principles are fundamental and apply to anyone starting or growing a business. I’ll share one of them here.

Principle #2: Start Small
If starting a new business, look for success in a business that requires minimal cash investment and has the ability to generate a strong word of mouth marketing. This will help to build your confidence and put you ahead of the game. Cameron repeatedly demonstrated the success of this principle beginning at the young age of 9 years old.

Look for more of Cameron’s principles in my next article!

What Is The Secret Characteristic Of The Successful Entrepreneur

Most people fantasize about creating a successful business in order to live their dream life. But reality hits and they realize that they start to worry? How did entrepreneurs like Robert Kiyosaki or Oprah Winfrey become successful?

Successful entrepreneurs are visionaries. They are clear about what they want to accomplish and develop a strategy to achieve their goals.

The first step is to define what success looks like for you. If you haven’t identified what success looks like for you, how will you know when you’ve achieved it? Someone once said, “If you aim at nothing, you’ll get there.”

Take some time to reflect and ask yourself some important questions, like:

* Why did you start your business?
* What do you want to accomplish with it?
* What motivates you to continue building your business despite the challenges you face?
* Are you creating extra income for your children’s college education?
* Do you want to spend more time with your family?
* Are you tired of working for someone else?
* Do you want to travel to exotic places?

Then define what success would look like for you. Be very specific. How much money will you make? Where will you be living?

Would you be giving to charities? Who would benefit from your wealth? Imagine yourself in your new home. Visualize yourself making a larger contribution to the charities of your choice.

Imagine yourself going on your dream trip. Where would you go? Who would travel with you? What would you do? What would you see? How would you feel to arrive there after dreaming about it for so long?

Imagine working from home and having the freedom to spend more time with your family. What would that feel like? How would the relationship with your children and/or spouse be affected? What would you do differently? Would you go on more vacations? Plan more fun activities with your children?

Write out the vision of your successful business in vivid, descriptive language. State exactly what you will be doing and with whom. Describe how your business success leads to improved relationships with your spouse and/or children. Include references to the charities or individuals who will benefit from your wealth.

Keep a copy of this masterpiece by your bed. Read it every night, before going to bed, experiencing the accompanied emotions. The key to becoming a visionary is to stay connected to the feelings that your vision evokes. Imagine how you will feel when the reality unfolds.

Every day spend time visualizing your business success. As you become very clear about your vision of success, the solutions to your challenges will unfold. You don’t have to try and figure it out by yourself. God will guide you to the answers to your problems! You are not alone.

So, hold a clear description of your business success. Write out your vision. Stay focussed. Amaze yourself as you become the successful entrepreneur of your dreams!

Do You Really Need To Go To College To Be A Successful Entrepreneur

The best course of action to take sometimes isn’t clear until you’ve listed and considered your alternatives. The following paragraphs should help clue you in to what the experts think is significant.

How can you put a limit on learning more? The next section may contain that one little bit of wisdom that changes everything.

Is there really a college education needed to be an entrepreneur? This is a question often asked by aspiring entrepreneurs.

Well, it all depends on the individual. There are times even when those that have no educational business background are still able to make it big in the business world. Some say that they owe it all to patience, hard work, and dedication. Most of the successful entrepreneurs on the other hand claim that it would take good education to become an entrepreneur.

So what will it be? Well, if you can afford to study for a business degree, then dont let that chance pass you by. You’re quite lucky if you can attend college especially for a business degree. You have to dedicate your time studying all your lessons because in due time, you will be able to use such information to the advantage of your business.

You can choose to study in a local university or college or those individuals with more money to spend can study abroad if they want to. The important thing is to take your education seriously because you can use them when the right time comes. And while you’re studying, you have to develop all the needed skills and characteristics of being an entrepreneur.

There are many business degrees that you can choose from like commerce, business administration, economics, and many others. Make sure that you choose a course that you like and one that you can afford. Remember, passing alone is not important. You have to learn every step of the way and dont forget the things that you’ve learned.

Some entrepreneurs didnt have the proper educational background and yet they’ve become successful in their chosen field. The fact is, there are many successful entrepreneurs without the proper business education. How many times have you heard of an entrepreneur who started from scratch and yet ended up having a high-profit earning business? Perhaps there’s more to just education.

You see, aside from education, you have to possess the right qualities and characteristics of being an entrepreneur like leadership, creativeness, risk taker, and many others. Even if you have the proper educational background, you can’t become a successful entrepreneur if you dont have these qualities and characteristics.

It seems that education and the right characteristics go hand in hand in producing an effective and successful entrepreneur. If you can have them both, take advantage of it right away. Education is something that money can’t buy in an instant and besides, you can use your knowledge for the best interests of your business.

This is not to discourage those that can’t afford to earn a business degree in college. If you want, you can use the resources available on the internet and learn everything you can about being an entrepreneur. You must also develop the right attitude and characteristics as early as possible. If you can pull it off, then no one can stop you from entering the business world.

How To Reach Momentum In Your Internet Marketing Business

The most natural and positive way to experience life is in a state of flow-constantly within the present moment, and yet constantly evolving. Unfortunately, most people rarely attain this state of being, but rather live in constriction. This blocks their enjoyment of life as well as their potential for realizing dreams.” ~Ellie Drake

I can imagine you thought that Mastermind Entrepreneurs had to be wealthy before they could earn their title, which is quite the opposite because the mind of an entrepreneur can start its development from a toddler.

As a toddler my son would take all his toys apart, but he was never satisfied until he mastered how to put them all back together in operating condition. Oh yes, he is presently in the pursuit of becoming an engineer.

Focus, obedience, and integrity are major components of a Mastermind Entrepreneur in the pursuit of a life changing income.

Are you ready for your pursuit?

If you have the seed of greatness and empowerment already in you, then you have a very good head start on this pursuit.

Is this really the celebration stage?

Okay, we are not at the finish line yet. Too much daydreaming on the results and not enough input on the training, which is needed for a grand momentum finish. A series of minor successes must be developed into a major accomplishment.

The creation of a Mastermind Entrepreneur in Internet Marketing is a gradual continuous process.

“Think of a muscle that is always tightly clenched. It will become sore and eventually begin to experience spasms, or become so exhausted that it must completely let go. That muscle is like your mind when deceived by the illusion that it must either grasp success or suffer failure” as described by Ellie Drake.

But suppose the athlete considered pain and suffering balanced with becoming a winner despite the endurance of occasional pain, as a positive conflicting opposite. Many people choose to “break training” mentally as well as physically at the celebration stage.

Their minds and muscles turn flabby after they succeed. They are so proud of their accomplishments that they soon forget that they need to keep in shape for the next race or obstacle.

They usually find themselves afflicted by the rheumatic twinges of deep-seated discontent with what they have done. A brief break may cause a lost opportunity before the victorious momentum.

Nearly everything comes to the one who is always waiting patiently, yet persistent.

No race was ever won by a person who could not finish. Believe that you have won the race and you will not be intimidated by fears of failure.

How long can you wait to be created into a

Mastermind Entrepreneur in Internet Marketing?

Upon recognition of the genius part that has been instilled in you, be committed to taking your assets and turned them into success. Success is not always on the material plane, so enjoy the fruits of your labor wherever they may materialize.

It was once said that brains alone are not influence, and that money alone is not influence, but brains and money combined are power. Be sure that the power will not be for destruction or someones demise, but allow that power to be used for the good of mankind in all its persuasion.

The Universe will always make provisions for your harmonious efforts, and the purest of thoughts will be sufficient.

Remember to keep these thoughts in mind:

Whatsoever things are true
Whatsoever things are honest
Whatsoever things are just
Whatsoever things are pure
Whatsoever things are lovely
Whatsoever things are of a good report
THINK ON THESE THINGS!

Especially during business transactions!!!

Deborah Akridge