One reader, Patrick O., pointed this out and asked if I might share my thoughts on how things are different now.

Knowing how things have shifted and changed is an important tool in trying to figure out what’s coming next, so let’s get into this by looking back just a few short years ago, say just before Obama became President.

Was the economy roaring? No, in fact it had already begun its decline. Around that time, companies began to lay off workers. The numbers were not surprising, at least at this time.

For small business owners, things were starting to slow down, people were being a little more cautious about how they were spending their money, and hiring was sluggish at best.

From 2008 to the present day, things have gotten much, much worse. I have a bird’s eye view of small business since working with small business owners is my primary role in life and can tell you that not one, in any industry, has managed to escape the challenges of this dismal economy.

As with all things, there is a silver lining to all the bad news out there. With hardly any new jobs being created over the past couple of years, and more people being cast aside, what you want to pay attention to is what these people are doing once their unemployment checks stop coming.

From what I see now, there is a HUGE part of our population, I would guess it numbers well over 20% now, of people who have been unemployed and have been unsuccessful at finding another job.

No, I don’t at all believe the “official” unemployment numbers as they have clearly been “fixed” to make it look as though things are not as bad as they are. A simple look around all all the people you know will give you a much better idea of just how bad the situation is.

You have to ask, “what will happen with all these people?” When the government checks stop coming, they have a few options. First, they can claim disability. If you’ve paid attention to the numbers, you’ll note that this is popular route for many who have burned through an astounding 99 weeks of unemployment checks.

The second option, and one you’re seeing more and more people choose, is to start their own business. It’s this segment of the population that you want to pay attention to.

These are the people who will help guide us out of this economic mess and who will create the next generation of Apple, Microsoft, and HP.

Each one of these now major companies started during the worst of times in the 1970′s. Today, they are the cornerstones of our economy.

I am looking for these people, I’m looking to help them, to support them, to train them, and to help get them up and running because they are the ones that will make the biggest difference in our world.

Change comes, not from government, but from individuals with a dream. People who dare to follow their passions and who lead others by setting the example of what’s possible.

Government, by contrast, is reactive in nature, uninformed, inefficient, and absolutely not creative in any manner. So they have zero ability to affect positive change in our world and in fact, tend most often to deter and interrupt success.

You, as an individual can be creative, you can follow your passions and make your dreams a reality. You can create a business that will support you and your family for decades to come.

This is where the energy, the creativity, the joy, or what I like to call the life force really is.

Put your attention on those things that mean something. Look for people who dare step up and who are ready to take charge of their own lives and create a future they can be proud of.

These people will be your customers. They will be the ones that will create jobs, who will stimulate the economy, and who may in fact, change the world.

Today, you might think about companies like Facebook, or Instagram. You can literally sit at home, write an “app” and walk off with a billion dollar buyout a year or two later.

Things have indeed changed, and not all of it is for the worst. Information is the new “hot product” and that includes all the tools needed to both search and store it so that it’s there when you need it.

Think about the Kindle, the iPad, the Nook, and all the other tools being sold at a breakneck pace, all designed to help you consume more information.

You have some choices to make for yourself. You can decide to “stick it out” and “see what happens” or you can step up to the plate and make a play that could very define not only the rest of your life, but of many others whose lives you will touch along the way.

There is much to do, much to be gained, and now is the best time to get out there and get to work!

Be outstanding!
Robert Imbriale
‘The Motivational Marketer’
http://www.RobertImbriale.com

The best part is that this something that I advise every one of my clients to create, regardless of what their core business is.

You may laugh, but I’ve successfully advised doctors, dentists, chiropractors, a ski enthusiast, golfer, and even a FARMER to add this to their product mix with incredible results in every case!

With profit margins that are typically measured it hundreds of percentage points, ease of duplication, speed of creation, and many marketing channels available to you, it would be a massive mistake for you and your business.

But the one thing that really gets me excited is that I have yet meet a single person who can create these kinds of products!

I’ve even gotten my younger brother involved in creating these products and he’s now begun reaping the rewards of his efforts. By the way, he only puts in a very part-time effort on creating his products.

I would HIGHLY encourage you to have a look at this because it could be your ticket to thriving in the years ahead.

Go to http://www.ultimatewealthpublishing.com/1day

Now, if you follow my advice, I can promise you that the results you get will change the face of your business and may actually make you rethink how you’ll do business in the months and years ahead.

Go ahead, have a look here: http://www.ultimatewealthpublishing.com/1day

Be outstanding!
Robert Imbriale
‘The Motivational Marketer‘
http://www.ultimatewealthpublishing.com/1day

This silent killer has been responsible for the death of more businesses and business ideas than every other business challenge combined!

Personally, I’ve suffered from this disease for many years while I sat back and hoped and hoped that things would soon change. Things only got worse.

I didn’t recognize the symptoms, nor had I been informed to look out for this silent killer in my business, so I suffered for years under the effects of this disease before I finally started to unearth some real solutions.

Here’s what I did…. http://uwitv.com/80

If you’re suffering from this too, I wish you a speedy recovery and much more success in the weeks and years ahead!

Be outstanding!

Robert Imbriale
‘The Motivational Marketer’

At the time, I had a single product, which I sold for $147. I reasoned that if I could just sell 10 of these per month, I’d be alright for a while.

The problem was that I didn’t have the dollars to buy any advertising. I couldn’t even place a classified ad at that point in time, but I knew that I had a great product and if I could let enough people know about it, all would be fine again.

This situation set me on a path to figure out just how you can market and promote when you just can’t afford to pay for anything (at time, this included food for me!).

What I discovered literally changed my view of marketing over-night.

There was not just one, but dozens and dozens of way to market, to promote, and even to advertise that did NOT require any of my own money, and that could indeed produce the 10 or more sales I wanted each month.

Well, I set out on a journey to implement as many of these strategies as I could, as fast as I could.

One evening, while I was in my tiny 1-bedroom apartment, I sat in front of my computer and watched as the orders came in for my product. For a while, every time I hit the “send/receive” button on my e-mail, there was a new order!

This kept up for several hours that night, and continued at a slower pace for 3 or 4 days. I had not only hit the 10 sales I was looking for, but literally had closer to 100 sales, which was ten times what I had set my goal to be.

As you could imagine, after that experience, I was hooked! So hooked in fact, that to this day, this is the PRIMARY form of marketing I use to build my business and it’s what I advise my high-dollar consulting clients to do as well.

I can and will show you what I do, how I do it, and how you can use these same strategies in your own business if you’ll go have a look at this web page now: http://uwitv.com/77

If you like what you see, I’ll pay to ship it to you…

Be outstanding! Robert Imbriale ‘The Motivational Marketer’ http://www.ultimatewealthpublishing.com/products/No-Money-Down-Marketing.html

Really?

You mean just because there is a car in garage, I should be able to win the Indy 500?

Or because I own a pair of running shoes, I should be able to run in and win marathons!

You know that’s not how it works. In order to win, you’ve got to put in the effort. In order to put in the effort, you’ve got to doing things you really enjoy, or else it will be far too much like work and you won’t do it.

Early on, I recognized my passion for marketing, but not just the run of the mill nuts and bolts marketing. I found the greatest joy in truly understanding people and how and why they act the way they do.

Hardly a day goes by where I’m not observing, learning, testing, and gaining a new understanding of how and why people do the things they do. This is not work, it’s my passion.

Why I rose to the top of the industry so quickly is because I was passionate about my craft.

It does NOT happen by accident.

Last night, you likely watched the Grammy Awards and what you saw were people being honored that are mostly very passionate about their craft. The more passion they have for what they do, typically, the better they do in their careers.

So what about you?

Are you doing something you love to do today?

Or do you find that the most fun in your day comes around lunch time and after the work day is done?

I used to live that way, until I just could no longer allow myself to play by those rules. So I quit my job and made a promise to myself that I would never again work for anybody else as an employee because that is clearly not who I am.

That was back in 1995 and although I’ve seen some rough times, faced many challenges, and came close to bankruptcy on several occasions, I would do it all again.

Your life is what you make of it. This is your time to make the kinds of decisions that will result in a life you can can happy to live every single moment.

The hardest part of this is getting to a place where you can believe that what I’m sharing with you here is real. Once you believe it, you will indeed begin to take the steps necessary to move yourself more into alignment with what you’re most passionate about.

I’ve got much more to share with you on this topic, and if you want to hear it for yourself, you can get it here:

http://www.ultimatewealthpublishing.com/products/More-More-More.html

Yes, you can have it your way.

Be outstanding!
Robert Imbriale
The Motivational Marketer
http://www.ultimatewealthpublishing.com/products/More-More-More.html

Now that’s a peppy little message guaranteed to kick of your day!

The battle that I’m referring to is one that you MUST win if you  have visions of succeeding in life. It’s a battle you’ve been in  since the day you were born, but it’s also a battle you can win,  if you’re willing to.

The key, of course, is that you’re willing to win, and that you  believe that winning is even possible.

If you’re with me on this, let me give you some more information  on this war and how to win it.

Success requires that you focus on the things that you really  want and tune out the things you don’t want. It sounds simple,  but in reality it’s one of the biggest battles you’ll face in  life.

You see, every where you look, your attention is being turned to  things NOT wanted. From the news you see all day, everyday, to  the conversations you’re having with friends, family, and co- workers.

All of it is about things you DON’T WANT, while very little time,  if any, is dedicated to being focused on the things you really  want most.

It’s not all your fault. As a society, we’ve been trained to look  at the bad stuff, to be focused on the disasters, the mis- fortunes, and the dark side of the political structure.

It’s so well ingrained in us all that we barely notice how  negative we’ve become!

This is the EXACT OPPOSITE of the way you need to be in order to  make it in life. It’s no mystery that people are literally  attracted to those of us who are POSITIVE. I like to think of the  little + sign when I think of something positive as ADDING to my  life experience.

But how can you re-train your mind to focus more on things that  make you smile even in the face of a constant and un-ending  onslaught of negativity?

I’ll admit, it’s not easy, but the good news is that even if you  modified your thinking by a mere 10%, you’d see big shifts in  your  life. Just 10%, or 6 minutes of every hour, will make a  measurable difference in your life!

Now, I’ve got a powerful tool for you today that will give you  the strategies that work to get you back on track, fast!

These strategies are the ones that I use to get myself back in  the game whenever I’ve been “over-exposed” to things I don’t want  to be focused on and need to be in a more positive frame of mind  now.

http://www.ultimatewealthpublishing.com/products/More-More- More.html

You can win the battle, and win the war, and live a life filled  with things you really want most, but it won’t happen unless  you’re ready, willing, and able to make some changes to your  thinking right now.

Why not make this year your best one yet?

Be outstanding!

Robert Imbriale
“The Highly Motivational Marketer”
http://www.RobertImbriale.com

Oh, I simply couldn’t wait to get started and I was telling everybody I knew about what I had planned.

I was eager, I was bold, and I thought that I had it all figured out and that year would be my best ever. Turns out, it was the worst year of my life.

What happened?

Where did I go wrong?

Well, the following year, there I sat with my big plans for the coming year and it finally hit me. With better than 27 new plans on the table how was I ever going to be able to give each one enough attention to see that it achieved the success I knew it could?

The answer surprised me. And it took a while before I fully understood it all, and it took even longer for me to make the corrections I needed to make in order to indeed succeed at higher and higher levels.

Today, those lessons are burned into my brain and I know that I’ll never go back to making the mistakes I once made that caused me to have one bad year after another.

In fact, I am now, right now, today, as I write this, pairing DOWN my list for 2012 so that I only focus on those projects that will indeed result in big successes.

I have become a master of staying focused. I learned the hard way that although I thought that I was focused but was really never focused, just excited, and that lead to more failures than I care to remember!

Now, if I could show you a better way to put yourself in a position to have a winning year in 2012, would you listen?

More importantly, would take action on what I share that is sure to give you a much better shot at making 2012 the best year you’ll have to date.

And, would you, after experiencing the results, continue to use my strategies in years to come so that you can continue to experience better and better years ahead?

Of course, I would expect that you’re answer would be a resounding YES!

My proven strategies for staying focused can be found here:

http://www.ultimatewealthpublishing.com/master-the-art-of-staying-focused/

Be outstanding!
Robert Imbriale
The Motivational Marketer

Reached at his San Diego office leading marketing expert, Robert  Imbriale believes that the time for the traditional resume has  passed and it’s time for a more pro-active approach to finding a  new job.

According to Imbriale, “Your  resume alone is not a suitable  document to convince a would-be employer to hire you. The resume  is a secondary document that lets potential employers know where  you’ve been and what you’ve done. But what employers really want  to know is what you’ll do once they decide to invest in hiring  you.”

Point well taken. He makes it clear that in order to get the  interviews that lead to real jobs, you’ve got to write your cover  letter so that it focuses on your most valuable skills and how  they will benefit a potential employer’s business.

Most job seekers either skip the cover letter altogether, or use  the exact same cover letter for every job they apply for, and  this, claims Imbriale, “is a big mistake.”

Imbriale is not your typical employment coach. Instead he’s a  veteran marketer who teaches business owners to see their  marketing through the eyes of their customers. He insists that  job seekers must also be able to see the job application process  from the standpoint of the employer.

“Candidates for a job opening must be able to make the case to a  potential employer that they are indeed a good investment,” he  says. He’s a person that should know because he learned the hard  way how to present himself as the right person for the job after  sending more than 600 traditional resumes without securing a  single interview in over 6 months during a time when he himself  was unemployed.

“I thought I would be hired after sending out just 10 resumes,”  he recalls thinking, but after 6 months and more than 600 resumes  without a single interview, he knew there had to be a better way.  Once he changed his approach, he received 3 job offers in a  single week.

“Focus your cover letter on the value your skills, knowledge, and  experience can and will bring to a potential employer instead of  leaving it to the employer to decode your real value from your  resume alone,” says Imbriale.

While some people say it’s a numbers game, Imbriale says it’s all  in how you present yourself that determines how quickly you get  hired. “Unfortunately,” he says, “most people have never been  taught how to present themselves effectively.”

To help job seekers, he’s created a new downloadable audio  training program that’s available now on his web site,  http://www.UltimateWealthStore.com/job for just $9.95.

He says “that job seekers who follow this advice will  dramatically shorten their time to becoming gainfully employed,”  says Imbriale.

With competition at an all-time high for the few jobs that are  available, job seekers need every advantage they can get. Could  this be the answer that gets you out of the unemployment line and  back to work? You be the judge.

Now imagine that you are sitting there with this product in your  hands and have no way of getting the word out about it.

There’s no mystery here, this is the reality for the vast, vast,  vast majority of business owners and would-be business owners.

But does it have to be this way?

I beleive that the KEY to building a successful business in any  industry can be found in your ability to reach out to more and  more people all the time.

You should be keen on seeking out new and better ways to reach  new people all the time. You could do this with the many social  networks, you could write articles, record videos, create a  podcast, and you can do it face-to-face as well.

What’s the BEST strategy of all?

In my book, the best strategy is the sum total of all of the  above. Each one will result in some level of results for you, but  when you combine them all, you end up with the kinds of results  that great companies are made of.

One of my favorite networking strategies now has a home on the  web, which I’m excited about. The strategy is generating  referrals from other business owners, and now that’s been made  easy by this web site.

Personally, I refer clients to other businesses on a regular  basis because it’s one of the things that my clients expect from  me. And this is an open door for you too. Let me explain.

I’d like you to do two things today. First, go to this web site  and set up an account (no cost): (this is my page)

http://www.referralkey.com/robertimbriale

Next, I’d like you to add yourself as my “Colleague.” I’ll accept  your invite and will look at your profile to see what kind of  referrals you are looking for.

I will be more than happy to make referrals to you when I have a  client with a need that you can fill for them.

Step three for you is to be ACTIVE on this web site and look to  not only connect with more people, but also to refer people out  to other businesses and also to get referrals back. The more  people you connect with, the better your odds of securing new  business.

It’s a simple step, and I know many business owners simply won’t  bother to take it and that means they will be missing out on the  energy generated by this web site!

I also know you are the type of person who will look at every  option to build your business, and that you’re willing to give  anything a fair shot!

This is one I believe is worth investing your time in.

For one thing, it’s the time of year when sales increase for many  businesses. However, businesses who aren’t planning their fall  marketing strategies right now, will be too late to capitalize on  this increase in sales.

I know that you’re the type of business owner who is eager to  grow your business, so I’m sure that you’re now ready to look at  what you can do for your marketing this fall.

Let me give you a couple of quick ideas. First, Labor Day is this  coming weekend, so you can put together a special and get that  out to your list, to your Facebook friends, and your Twitter  followers.

Beyond that, you’ll have more time to plan for marketing you can  do in October, November, and of course, December too!

Here are some of my favorite types of promotions:

1) Bundles: Do you have products or services that go well  together, yet are typically sold by themselves? Put them together  and offer a price that’s better than buying each part  individually. This marketing strategy is one I use with just about every one of my clients because it works so well.

2) 3-Day Sales: This type of sale is powerful because it’s  limited in duration, and causes your customers to have very time  to “think about it.” They either act now, or they’ll miss out.  Send out an e-mail on every day of the sale as a reminder, then  on the final day, make it a “Last Call” e-mail and that will  generate more sales.

3) Bonus Items: Changing your pricing by dropping it is not the  only way to entice people to buy more from you. One strategy that  I love to use is to keep my prices where they are, but add in  additional bonus items with purchase. These can be anything from  e-books to audio CD’s, DVD’s, regular books, or if you offer a  service, such as a massage, you could add an additional amount of  time for the same price.

Now these are all great marketing strategies, but there is  something that works better than any one of these.

This strategy is one that few businesses will attempt but those  that do will often see their sales rise dramatically over the  upcoming fall shopping season.

I call this strategy “Momentum Marketing.” What I mean by this is  simply that doing one thing will make a difference, but if you  only do it one time, that difference won’t matter much over time.

The idea here is that you want to put in place as many marketing  strategies as you possibly can, even if they over-lap.

For instance, I might start this weekend with a Labor Day Sale,  then I’ll follow up with that sale by offering a 3-day sale on  other products. I’ll follow that up with a bundled offer. Then  right behind that I’ll offer something with additional bonus  items that are nor normally part of the package.

I’ll also include joint-ventures in the mix, and through it all,  I’ll be looking for every opening I can find to build my list.

Imagine if you were to do this for your business from now on. Can  you start to see how the momentum you’d be building would  dramatically change the face of your business?

There is no “one thing” that will do it all, but there are many  things that will all contribute to the growth of a successful  business.

Now is the time to start working on your fall marketing plans. I  can tell you that right now, today, this afternoon, that’s what  I’ll be doing for my business, and tomorrow, I’ll be working with  clients on their fall marketing plans too.

You will either go into 2012 on a high-note, or you’ll barely  make it across the finish line alive. How it turns out for you  starts with how you approach your marketing starting right now.