Chris Ducker

Expert Business Growth, Virtual Staffing & Personal Branding

The Top 10 Online Entrepreneurial Resources!

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We all need a little inspiration and motivation from time to time – especially us entrepreneurs. This inspiration can literally come from anywhere nowadays. Books, magazines, TV, radio, podcasts, mastermind groups – you name it.

However, recently I’ve been turning to the internet more and more for my daily dose of entrepreneurial motivation and so I have pulled together my favorite set of resources for you guys, so perhaps, if you aren’t already, you can check them out and become, er, well, inspired… Keep in mind, these are MY favorites, I’m sure you’ve got yours too – so please share them with the rest of us!

So, without further ado, in no particular order, I present to you my Top 10 Online Entrepreneurial Resources!

1. Entrepreneurs Can Change the World

If you haven’t watched the above video, you’ve already let yourself down as an entrepreneur. It is incredibly good, with a very clear message. With almost 600,000 views on YouTube, its popular – I reckon about 20-30 or them have to be mine. I love this video. Check it out above.

2. Inc.com

About as solid of a resource as they come, Inc.’s website is a treasure trove of entrepreneurial goodness. Everything from book reviews to tech reports, what I love about this site is simply the HUGE archive of articles and thought provoking opinions, across all entrepreneurial subject matters. Check it out.

3. The Rise to the Top

Last year I was lucky to make contact and become good buddies with David Siteman Garland. I’ve interviewed him for an episode of the VBL Podcast and was also fortunate enough to have been a guest on David’s awesome web TV show. RISE absolutely rocks my entrepreneur mindset with excellent guests and a great ‘conversational’ format. Be sure to check out his awesome new book, too! Check it out.

4. Gary Vay-Ner-Chuck

Gary is no stranger to the internet – I made a great point in mentioning him on a post I did a while back on the subject of Personal Branding and Promotion. His passion and flair as an entrepreneur is contagious and his energy is awesome. His book, Crush It adds to his website perfectly, as a huge database of inspiration and branding tips that every self-concerning entrepreneur should, and simply must, embrace. Check it out.

5. 37 Signals Blog

Otherwise known as Signal vs. Noise, Jason and David’s (and the rest of the 37 Team!) blog is just as outstanding as their book, Rework, which I just finished reading for the second time on my iPad. Everything from excellent exclusive content, right the way down to them intergrating their just as good podcast, 132,000+ subscribers cant be wrong! Check it out.

6. The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur

Worth checking out just for the title alone (like I did for the first time!), David Michalowicz’s inspiring-to-say-the-least blog is outstanding, and his book is a great companion to it, too. Another super enthusiastic and passionate entrepreneur, its hard not to jump out of your seat and start making and creating stuff after devouring each and every post! Check it out.

7. The Big Red Tomato Company

Disclaimer: Matthew Needham is a friend of mine. But, that isn’t the reason why his site is on this list. I’ve also interviewed Matthew on the VBL Podcast, and regularly jet over to his fantastic blog, focused around business growth, for an entrepreneurial boost to my system. Check it out.

8. Young Entrepreneur Blog

Aimed towards, er, the younger generation, this site has been online for over a decade and its popularity speaks for itself. Great content on everything from info for start-up’s to marketing and sales advice. Also a friendly place for old guys with no hair, like me to enjoy! Check it out.

9. Seth’s Blog

Fact – Seth Godin is a God. Plain and simple. With the way he tackles marketing trends and teaches us to create our own tribes, whilst becoming part of his, he is a massive entrepreneurial force to be reckoned with! I love his books, his speaking videos and never miss a post at his blog. Check it out.

10. ????????????????????

This is where you guys come in. I’d love to hear about your fave’s, so comment at will, and lets all help each other find a little inspiration!

What is an Expert, Facebook Pages & Blog Re-Designs!

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EC0VPViuoLk

Welcome to the first ever ‘Ask Chris’ post!

I’m really excited about this new series of posts… My plan is to do them every Tuesday – but, if I have a lack of questions (can’t see that happening, to be honest!), or I’m just feeling lazy, or traveling or something, they will at least pop up a couple of times each month.

I am looking at answering 2-3 questions in each post, too. This first one is a little longer than they will probably be, going forward, because of the intro to the new series – but, I see them basically running around 4-5mins from next week onwards.

The thing is, I get so many great questions every week via email, Twitter and on our Facebook Page – or even just the comment section here at the blog – that it’s sometimes a waste to get back to the person directly (even though I do most of the time, anyway!), and leave out everyone else in the VBL Community that might learn, or gain something from the answers I give out. Hence this new idea…

I should also mention that these posts will all be in video format, too. I’ve chosen this medium because a) I wanted to do more video this year, anyway, and b) because answering verbally / visually allows me to give a more ‘personal’ reply, instead of a more canned, or edited one – via text. Hope you see my point.

This Week, I Answer…

Today I discuss a question I had from someone asking, in my opinion, when can someone truly be called an ‘expert’, as well as another from a new blogger that is wanting to grow his Facebook community fast. And lastly, I get a little more involved, following a few questions on the same subject last week – on how I got the re-design of the blog done so quickly, and to such high quality.

So, enjoy the first ever ‘Ask Chris’ post, and remember to ask your questions below in the comment section, for inclusion in next week’s post – I look forward to hearing from you all.

Ask the Readers: How Important Are Facebook Fan Pages to Bloggers?

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Virtual Business Lifestyle Facebook Page

If you’re new to the VBL Blog, you’ll no doubt be thinking ‘What the hell is a VBL Discussion…?’ (or perhaps you won’t, it’s pretty self-explanatory, let’s face it!). But, the bottom line is that its a weekly discussion post where we talk about / help each other out on, different topics to entrepreneurship, passive income, outsourcing, being a digital nomad – you name it… As long as its relevant to the VBL.

In Seth Godin’s ‘Tribes‘ he talks about people wanting, almost needing, to be part of groups. We grow up wanting to be part of teams and groups, little congregations in the playground, etc. He’s right – and those communities are special to the people that join them. Why should communities online, affiliated with blogging and the topics of the blogs themselves, be any different? And so, this week I’d like to broach the topic of Facebook Fan Pages.

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Ask the Readers: Do Interviews Help a Blog Grow? (Plus: My Podcast Set-Up!)

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Me and David on his Awesome Web TV Show ‘The Rise to the Top’

For todays VBL Discussion post, I actually want to turn it into a double-barrel type of post – Q&A and Discussion. I was recently emailed by VBL Subscriber, Gene, who was asking me about the interviews I do for the VBL Podcast.

In particular, Gene wanted to know how I record the calls, and how I embed them. This is actually a question that I have receieved a whole bunch of times over the time that I’ve been recording them, and I usually reply to the emails individually, but its happening a little too often now. So, I am going to reply here, and then just point people to this post in the future, should subscribers continue to ask about this particular topic!

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Passive Income Streams – 6 Ideas You Can Get Started with TODAY!

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As todays business world becomes more and more web focused, creating passive income streams online should be one of your main focuses when building a business in the new economy – whether you’re doing this on your own, or with the help of virtual assistants that manage your blog, or even handle the marketing of your site – you’ve got to love making money while you sleep!

This doesn’t mean that (if you have one) you abandon your traditional business. It simply means that you can probably capitalize on the way that consumers are purchasing, more than you currently are.

If you’re a chiropractor, for example – why not create an eBook or audio guide on marketing and promoting your chiropractic clinic in your local area? You could then sell that to other chiropractors to help them grow their own practices.

The possibilities for creating passive income streams are endless – especially if you know what you’re doing! Here’s an infographic I created to expand on this further:

passive-income-streams-online

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The ability to create numerous money-making vehicles, switch them onto auto-pilot and then reap the financial benefits is paramount to living a successful entrepreneurial life in the modern world. There are many people doing it successfully, and there is no reason why you can’t join them!

In this short video I share with you SIX ways to be able to produce passive income streamsonline and ‘make money as you sleep’. Also, try to keep in mind that although its not required to begin with, all of these passive income generating ideas can be made a LOT easier by utilizing a virtual assistant.

There are countless avenues to explore when creating passive income streams, the six I discuss in this clip are:

These online income generation ideas are nothing new… heres a video from 2010 which explores the exact same conceptions as in this post, and infographic. As you can see, the rules of the game might have changed, but how you play it hasn’t.

Obviously, there are many different ways to create passive income streams, the most important thing is that its done with passion and great content. Putting something together is one thing, but making sure that people get genuine value from it is a different ball game completely.

If you’re looking to take your online earning potential to the next level I strongly suggest you check out the following articles for more relevant information:

Thanks for dropping by, and feel free to share this post, graphic and information in general with your friends if you think this stuff will help them.

If you have had success with your own online passive income streams online please consider tweeting me – I’d love to hear all about it!