From Shine Online EBook

Introduction

Many of the coaches and clients I encounter have the aspiration to write a book. Having written one before (Internet Jobs for the Rest of Us, with colleague Cindy Grogan), I didn’t feel like I had anything to prove. My response was always “I’ll write a book when I feel like I have something to say.

Well, its time.

As a business coach with an MBA and a background as an early Internet pioneer, I have established a reputation as a pragmatic and sensible resource for coaches, consultants, therapists, attorneys, accountants, small business owners and other service professionals on using the web to market a practice.(You can read my whole bio at my coaching website http://www.lifeworkcatalyst.com)

THIS IS NOT A GET RICH QUICK BOOK.

You will not become an eBay billionaire from reading this book. You know what you do that makes you money (presumably). This book is meant to help you understand how to put the technology of the Internet to work for your business. To enhance your professional reputation. To reach potential new customers. Maybe to sell some things. To keep up with the Joneses.

I am NOT going to spend time in this book justifying why you should go on the Internet. If you don’t already believe that you need to get with the rest of the world (as of this writing, 77% of the American public is online), then go find another book and start there.

So, if you’re on board with me, let me help you figure this out.

It doesn’t have to be hard or expensive and yes, you can probably do it yourself. But even if you know you’re going to delegate the actual work to others, this is still your business and image that are at risk. So you need to understand what you are doing and why.

With a modest investment of time and capital, you can get this going rather quickly and it should pay off for your business. Yes, it would be great if there was one place you could go and buy all the pieces you need to assemble an effective web strategy. Unfortunately as of this writing in 2008 you still need to put it together yourself---or pay someone to. But outsourcing doesn’t take away your responsibility as the Boss to understand and superintend the process.

I will give you the information you need to make intelligent decisions and understand your options. By publishing it online, I’ll attempt to keep it as up-to-date as possible with resources and references kept current.

You can shine online! Read on.