My brain is always moving and thinking. It get’s kind of tiring at times. One thing that I think about a lot is what makes certain people & companies successful? Are successful people all geniuses? Are they smarter then you are? Maybe….but maybe not!
I personally think that 1 secret to success is being surrounded by people who are extremely good at what they do. Building a network of people who are good to know. I’m not saying to USE people. What i’m saying is to be friendly or surrounded with like minded individuals. Let’s look at a large example like Apple. Apple is a company with a very distinct corporate culture. When Steve Jobs was alive he demanded nothing but perfection from his teams. He hired people who were excellent at what they do. Steve Jobs may have been extremely smart but he didn’t physically execute a lot of his ideas, he used the people around him to do so.
On a smaller and more relevant scale, many successful internet/affiliate marketers have really strong networks. When they have a problem, they have a number of smart & experienced people who they can reach out to that can guide them towards a solution. You may think of affiliates as one man army’s but I know for a fact that many of the successful ones who have been in the game for a while have a lot of people who they can rely on when they have a problem.
Do you have a network? What happens when a problem is over your head? Do you have people you can ask for help? If you don’t it’s time to start building up your network. Don’t be a tool and go looking for people and ask them to be a part of your network. Do it organically. Make friends in your industry. Attend Meetups. Join forums. Go to conferences.
Don’t just sit in your mommies basement.
Some good points Brandon. This is precisely the reason that affiliate marketers should attend conferences like Affiliate Summit or doing a local group meetup of like minded people.
You can still be a one man army, but having a great network to ask questions, get advice or lend a hand can be invaluable.
Great point made about the network. This industry, as with any business, is really built with relationships at the end of the day, at least if you want to make a real business out of your operation.
A lot of affiliates work in secrecy and are super protective. I hope the industry goes toward a more transparent, working side-by-side phase.
-Tom