Debbie "Takara" Shelor

Back in the car business!

I thought when I finished being the Internet Operations Manager for the Nissan dealership in Santa Fe, New Mexico that I was out of the car business for good.

But, alas, developing a website and blog for my dad involves getting back into cars.

Dad has been rebuilding, repairing, designing, racing, tinkering with, altering, and helping others with their cars since he was a small child. He’s now in his early 80′s. For that last 30 years or so he’s been buying and selling antique engine parts for Ford Motor Company vehicles – Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury.

Until now, it’s been mostly a hobby. Most of his sales happen through the Antique Automobile Club of America’s meets in Hershey, PA (probably the largest and best known), Charlotte, NC, and Maggie Valley, NC. He also is often referred by word of mouth.

Now we’re taking it global with an online presence.

As with any new online presence project, I start with research. What are people searching for on line that he is offering? That means what keywords are people using to find the products he offers.

There are many free tools out there, but my “weapon” of choice is a paid software called Market Samurai: http://bit.ly/cqpUdh

With this business, there are many things people might type in to  try and find auto parts for their antique car or truck.

Some options include: antique car parts, classic car parts, old car parts, etc. After typing several choices into Market Samurai and letting it spit out the magic numbers telling me which one of the choices far outweigh the others, we started brainstorming domain names.

You see the domain name is crucial in your online plan for market domination. With Market Samurai’s help, I determined that Classic Car Parts was our best choice. Of course that domain was already taken – as most obviously “good” domain names are. So are many other variations.

Sometimes you have to think outside the box. As an Industrial Engineer, that’s what I’m trained to do in order to solve a problem.

I remembered this website I used several years ago to get a replacement top for my Geo Tracker.

~~~~~ Side Story ~~~~

Several years ago I was working with a client who was struggling financially. She was great as an office manager / assistant, a service I needed. And I could help her heal the past and move forward in life. So, we made an agreement to trade my services for hers.

Suddenly she found herself moving to Florida. She had already done a couple of sessions with me, but had not begun helping me in the office.

She needed to do something in exchange for my services and did not have time to do the office work we had agreed on. So she called me one day and said, “How would you like my car for $250?” Now even if the thing didn’t run, I could probably get $250 out of it. So I agreed.

For the ridiculously low price of $250, I got a great little Geo Tracker. It was perfect for bopping around Santa Fe.

It only had a couple of problems.  First, she was a smoker and the car wreaked of cigarettes. Second, the canvas roof needed to be replaced. So I got some great stuff from the auto parts store to clean the carpet and upholstery and eliminate the odor. And then I went online in search of a replacement top.

First I visited Geo. They wanted $1400 – $1500 for the canvas top. Yeah right! I paid $250 for the whole vehicle. I wasn’t about to spend that much on the roof.

Through google searching I found Tops4Less. I got the replacement canvas top for $250 and it was made of superior materials to Geo’s. I was oh so impressed with my manifesting ability. A great little vehicle for $500.

Funny thing is, I bought that top many years ago and I still remember the name of the site. Hmmm. Why? Because something about Tops4Less is seriously memorable. I think it’s the 4 in the middle. I don’t know for sure, but I know after all these years I have no trouble remembering that name.

~~~ End of Site Story ~~~

Remembering the site with the easy to remember name, I chose ClassicParts4Cars.com. Its clever. It has the term classic car parts built right in. And it was available.

What you name your site makes a big difference in your search engine rankings.

If you type in Debbie Shelor, this blog comes up first. It’s not because it is my biggest website. Far from it. It’s not because it’s my oldest website. Not even close. It’s not because it is my website with the highest page rank (PR). Again, many of my other sites are significantly larger, older, and have higher page rank. All of those are things the search engines take into consideration when deciding which sites get listed first in their rankings when you do a search.

What this site has that the others don’t is the term “Debbie Shelor” in the domain name.

Keep that in mind before you put up your site or blog.

Coming up next . . .

What I’m including in the design and why.

Summer is the time of doing. You definitely need to take some time for yourself and “be” every now and then. But primarily summer is the most activity laden season.

For those closer to the land, it is the time of working the fields, tending to the flowers, being outdoors and getting everything done to yield the best possible harvest.

The same is true of your life.

Actions need to be taken for the dreams and goals you have set. I’ve read recently, in a few newsletters and on facebook, the goal setting advice being spouted right now by personal/spiritual growth gurus. Step 1, Step 2, blah blah.

Sorry, its not time to plan, or dream, or sit around making your dream boards and posters.

Nope.

It’s time to act.

I remember having dinner one night in Santa Fe with Andi and Jonathan Goldman. It was a very special occasion and I was honored to be included in their plans. It was their wedding anniversary – a wonderful time of celebration.

As we talked endlessly about life, what we’d been up to since our last time together, we got on the subject of “The Secret.” The movie had just been released. I already had a clear opinion about the matter. So I was quite curious to discover what Jonathan had to say about The Secret.

My take on The Secret is that there are lots of wonderful nuggets in there and I highly respect the participants in both movies. Its just that there is a whole lot not being said, and what is said leads one to believe that you can sit in a lotus position and dream your life into being.

Hmmm . . . let’s see . . staring into the eyes of Jonathan Rhys Meyers or Taylor Lautner (wow, he’s young) . . . lol (laugh out loud) . . . not likely, but a fun exercise nonetheless.

Mark Joyner did an amazing job in the very first exercise of Simpleology 101 in making the truth so obvious about what you need to do to accomplish your dreams and goals. The exercise is hysterical and proves the point better than anything I’ve ever come across. I think I actually had tears running down my face because I was laughing so hard. Mark was brilliant, as usual! (http://www.simpleology.com/p/s101/takara1/)

Back to the conversation – Jonathan said that he knows most of the folks in The Secret and they are all extremely powerful marketers.

We talked about having to take actions towards your dreams. I mentioned “inspired action” being significantly more productive and effective than just doing to be doing.

Yes you have to be crystal clear about what you want. You have to focus on it and let the Universe know what you want – using whatever means works best for you – visualization, saying it out loud, writing it down, making a dream board, etc.. And you have to align your values with your goals. You have to overcome your blocks to success and fears – that’s where a great deal of my work comes in.

But then you can’t sit there on your bloody ass – oh my heaven’s I said it, didn’t I – and expect to become famous, wealthy, successful, healthy, in love, traveling the world, blah blah. You have to take action.

And all the people in the Secret are fabulous at taking action. They put themselves out there. They stand on the stage. They put up the website. They write their books and get them published. They do radio and TV interviews.

Yes when you have raised your vibration and are in alignment with your Divine (Higher) Self, life does unfold in magical and mysterious ways. I am constantly in awe of how much that happens in my life. I am ever grateful and blessed by the synchronicity and help I receive on a daily basis. But I “do” all the time.

When I meditate, I receive inspiration about actions to take. And whenever I follow those inner promptings, the results always exceed my expectations. You do meditate every day don’t you?

You have to take action as well.

Its summer.

We’ve already planted the seeds. Now get out there and make your garden (life) grow and prosper the way you are intending.

Have a great day,

Deb

I’m sure if you’ve visited any of my websites or social media profiles, you’ve noticed a great deal of imagery dealing with water and tropical beach scenes.

There is a reason.

And it’s not just that I love the ocean or tropical beaches. I do love those.

I love dolphins too! But that’s a story for another time.

There are numerous reasons for choosing tropical beach scenes to represent myself and my business.

It has to do with stress relief!

I can’t think of anything more relaxing than:

• beautiful turquoise seas,
• white sandy beaches,
• palm trees,
• you and your friends kicking back sipping mai tai’s or some other exotic drink.

Life is good.

There is no stress.

Having me on board your personal yacht (business), making sure your online presence is being taken care of properly, lets you relax and enjoy running the rest of your business as only you can. It’s like enjoying your relaxing time at the beach. You can be confident that your online presence is being handled.

Without me, the best case scenario has you spending countless hours and dollars lost in a little raft (your website) in the middle of the ocean (the internet) with no shore in site. Worst case you are being eaten alive by sharks. That would be your competition that has a clue about internet marketing.

You can hang out at the beach letting me assist you in handling all the details of running a successful on-line business.

Or you can go it alone.

The choice is yours!

The Good Old Days

In the not so distant past, businesses could succeed with a nice sign out front, a small ad in the local paper or yellow pages, and maybe an actual mailed advertisement every now and then. Believe it or not, you could run your entire business without a computer.

Wow how times have changed!

You Are Now Living in the Digital Information Age

People under 30 don’t subscribe to newspapers anymore. Why look something up in the yellow pages, when you can go online or search for something on your iPhone? Why listen to the radio and all their disruptive ads when you can get commercial free satellite radio listening to only the type of music you enjoy most?

A recent study indicates that 79% of English speaking American adults use the internet. The iPad sold over 2 million units in its first 60 days. There are 6.7 billion people on the planet and 61% of them have a cell phone subscription.

106 million people have Twitter accounts. Every day another 300,000 people sign up for Twitter. 37% of Tweets (messages posted on Twitter) are sent from a cell phone.

Facebook has over 400 million active users. That’s active users. Over 50% of those active users log in on any given day.

With the addition of social media (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, LinkedIn), the internet has changed dramatically.

A Website for Your Business Isn’t Enough

Even having a website isn’t enough to be successful in today’s competitive marketplace. With eBay and Amazon selling everything from used books to health food,  it takes more than putting up a nice website to keep your company competitive.

Having a Website is a Lot Like Writing a Book

An author takes about 6 months to 2 years to write a book. Then they spend the rest of their life promoting it. Having an online presence is a very similar endeavor. It’s not enough to have a great looking website. It takes smart and consistent work with a website or blog and multiple social media profiles to have people find your business among the 234 million websites out there.

Being on the First Page of Google Matters

When a person types in words in a search box to find your website or blog, it matters where you show up in the results.

I wish I could remember who said this in order to give due credit. But, I’ve been on-line for 10 years and I’ve read thousands of articles, books, and blogs on internet marketing. The best comment about where you want your internet business to be was this: Would you rather have your business out in a corn field or downtown Manhattan?

Just putting up a website and doing no promotion is like sticking it out in the middle of a corn field. No one is going to find you. You’ll be paying for hosting, a web designer,  a domain name, and a whole bunch of other services and it won’t get you even one web visitor.

Working with someone like myself, an online business success consultant who specializes in social media management and marketing, is what you need to  get your business on the first page of Google and other search engines.  That’s the equivalent of putting your business downtown Manhattan. If you sell real estate in Birmingham, when someone is searching for Birmingham Real Estate, if you don’t show up on page 1 of Google results, no one is going to visit your website. You might as well not even have one.

You can use pay per click advertising and get listed above your competitors. But that can get very expensive very quickly.

Being on the Internet is a Bit Like Being on Mars

Its a very different world than your brick and mortar business on main street. It has its own language.  It is continuously changing. And to win the internet game, you have to learn and master every aspect of it even as it’s changing.

Anyone can throw up a website or blog. To be successful on the web, you have to do significantly more, And every step and component counts.

Why Hire an Online Business Success Consultant?

An Online Business Success Consultant is a person that already knows the internet inside and out. They have ample experience with traditional websites, blogs, social media, search engine optimization (SEO), and much more. You can read about the important aspects of an internet business here.

They have already successfully put their own websites, and those of their clients, on the first page of Google and other search engines for the important terms being searched by their prospective clients and customers.

They look at your business and the on-line presence you are wanting to create, and they help you put together a winning game plan by:

• doing advanced keyword research to find out what people are searching who might be looking for you and your products or services,
• helping you choose the best domain name for your site or blog,
• recommending web designers, web hosts, domain registrars, autoresponder services,  social media sites, and other services,
• picking topics for articles, press releases, blog and social media posts to rank well on search engines and get targetted visitors to your site,
• helping you determine if you need to get into mobile websites and text message advertising,
• ensuring that your site(s) and media profiles stay updated with fresh content,
• analyzing every aspect of your on-line presence on an ongoing basis to determine what is working well and what needs to be changed,
• making changes to the plan as the business and the internet changes, and
• keeping you updated with trends and laws that can impact your online business success.

There’s more of course.

The bottom line is this . . . to be successful in business, you must have a web presence. The only web presence worth having is one in which you dominate your market.

An Online Business Success Consultant is your secret weapon for making that happen.

Let me take the hassle out of your online business!

Deb

Debbie “Takara” Shelor – Online Business Success Consulting, Social Media Management