About two weeks ago we held my company Market America held our 2nd Internet Training Seminar to over 300 attendees.  Our field was able to gain first hand experience on how to use Social Networking sites such as Facebook & Twitter, SEO tricks & tips from our experts and learn the power of social media and social shopping from our "tech guru" and Chief Technology Office, Michael Brady.   It is always important that after each seminar you follow up with what you have learned and apply it to your every day routine.  Remember social media is a paradigm shift and we must be prepared to in all aspects when it comes to building your business and future!

~Keep Growing JR

It is essential to set the proper atmosphere for creativity to flourish.  One of the ways to do this is being an effective leader who inspires others and leads by example.  There are distinct differences between leaders and bosses, Apple is perceived as being one of the most creative companies in the past decade.  Steve Jobs has discussed the philosophy of maintaining a creative environment and how one must lead by example.  Part of being entrepreneur is to inspire others to think, create and build, you must set examples and share ideas that will takes these ideas into developments. How do we do this?  Below are some ideas suggested for team leaders to foster your team in creative environments:

Have you ever asked the question - Why?

Why did Mark Zuckerberg create a new way of communicating and socializing with Facebook?  Why did Bill Gates develop a software resulting in a personal computer in virtually every household.  Why is Apple so innovative?  Why is Martin Luther King Jr. the person who led the civil rights movement?  Why is it that the Wright Brothers were able to figure a controlled powered man flight?  Or even...why is Market America leading an economic paradigm and creating the economy of the future?

"All great leaders and inspiring organizations think, act and communicate in the same way - different from everyone else." Simon Sinek   One of our Million Dollar Club members and great field leaders, Kelly Whited, recently emailed this video and expressed that it reflects the essence of Market America's leadership and why our company is so dynamic with real leadership, belief, and vision!  I could not agree more!  The following video teaches the world’s simplest idea and thus will provide you with a new view on how the world works and how to operate in it. 

Are you shopping online yet? If not what are you waiting for? Why waste gas, wait in long lines or have to search hours for products you can't find! Now is the time to shop online and no one else has such a rich and unlimited paid to shop program!

"There is no doubt that while brick and mortar businesses feel outdated, brick and mortar sales continue to massively trump online sales. But e-commerce sales are growing at a very strong rate. In 2009, U.S. online sales amounted to $155.2 billion, only 6% of total retail sales (via Forrester Research). A new report from comScore released "its Q2 2010 U.S. retail e-commerce sales estimates, which showed that online retail spending reached $32.9 billion for the quarter, up 9 percent versus year ago." According to the numbers in the study, U.S. e-commerce sales have a 7% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) since 2007.  E-commerce, without a doubt, is booming!" "Forrester predicts that online sales will reach $250 billion in 2014, capturing 8% of the total U.S. retail sales" I wanted to share this article with you called the Long Tail of Retail: A new report from comScore released "its Q2 2010 U.S. retail e-commerce sales estimates, which showed that online retail spending reached $32.9 billion for the quarter, up 9 percent versus year ago." According to the numbers in the study, U.S. e-commerce sales have a 7% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) since 2007.

A new report from comScore released "its Q2 2010 U.S. retail e-commerce sales estimates, which showed that online retail spending reached $32.9 billion for the quarter, up 9 percent versus year ago." According to the numbers in the study, U.S. e-commerce sales have a 7% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) since 2007.

Why are some people and companies way behind the curve on social media while others are way ahead of it? Simply stated, whoever is not using social media is clearly being left behind.  Our new generation is made up of innovators, early adopters who are quick to respond and promote to their peers.  You are now being faced with the difficulty of selling a technology or the digital era to many who are still stuck in their old school ways.  This is not an easy task and by displaying passion and enthusiasm alone is not enough to convince them. So what do you have to do to convince your staff, prospects, marketing team or friends that social media is here to stay and they must use it?

If your co-workers, staff, or prospects do not see the value of utilizing social media why not sell it to your friends and family first? They will be the ones to promote you and support you, when it comes to anything and everything.  You may not see it now, but social media will envelop every part of your organization sooner or later. Keeping all this in mind, there is no single way of convincing co-workers, executives or your team to use social media, I prefer an approach that is more organic and concentrates on painting a visual picture for others and anyone can see the potential benefits for you and your business.

I want to thank our good friend Kim Kardashian for attending our 2010 International Convention.  She really posted on her blog "Market America convention was insane, wow so many people showed up to learn how to be an entrepreneurs."  Kim showed up early Saturday morning to speak to a sold out crowd of 25,000 UFO, but not only did speak to about social media she showed everyone the greatness of our Paid to shop program, greeted her fans, spoke to fans and walked the concourse with us!  Kim you are a great friend and an wonderful entrepreneur we appreciate you for coming.

Check out her blog post she wrote about us on www.kimkardashian.com

Congratulations to @aprilbowers23 for winning my first Retweet contest! Thank you all for entering and please check back for future giveaways!  April, please send me your e-mail address so we can send your gift card. E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Retweet JR Contest

As part of our Social media and Social networking iniative I am launching my first Twitter contest.  The rules are simple:

Follow me on Twitter @jrridinger . I will be sending out a special message everyday for a week with code #JRMA .  Just for retweeting me you will enter to win a $200 American Express gift card.

The winner will be selected Thursday August 19th at 1pm via Twitter.

Happy Retweeting! JR

What will you do with The Dash?

There is no greater thing in life than freedom.  Independence from whatever limits or controls you is the greatest experience in life.  Our forefathers were willing to risk everything for freedom and independence from tyranny, taxation, or oppression.  Their commonality was entrepreneurism.  They came to America to prosper and start their own enterprises.  Today most people are in economic bondage and controlled by the 45 year plan.  Most people work 45 years to end up broke and they miss the best experiences in life because they do not have the time or money to live their dreams freely.  95 percent of Americans spend 45 years of their life making the other 5 percent financially independent.  Yet our forefathers risked everything, including death, so anyone could expereience financial freedom.

Do you understand the process of prospecting and recruiting? Do yourself a favor before reading this — take a moment and watch my video on filling the funnel and shaking the bean jar! When you deal with a small number of people at one time instead of filling the jar with lots of possibilities, you tend to focus on specific individuals because they are the only opportunities you have. As a result, you come across apologetic, pushy, desperate or overly aggressive when you try to prospect and recruit these individuals. By “cultivating” possibilities instead, you will find prospects that want to try the business, and those prospects lead to even more people when they become sponsored or customers.  This is similar to the process of “sowing” and “reaping.”  You can’t expect to plant one seed and have an entire crop. You need to plant hundreds of seeds, and then you need to cultivate them. You need to water them and fertilize and till the soil. With time, continued cultivation and nurturing, some send germinate and grow. Some eventually bear fruit and can be harvested or “reaped!”

Are you on the 45 year plan hamster wheel?  What do you think?  Why work 45 years of your life for someone else's success and go nowhere.  After working a plan for someone else's success for 45 yrs people end up dead, still working or practically broke.  Market America is reinventing the wheel.  Share this video with all of your friends, prospects and ask the question:  Are on the 45year plan hamster wheel?

send me a message on @jrridinger or facebook/jamesridinger will you?