You Don’t Know SWOT!

The Foundations module had come to an end. I was curious as to what the next module would be about. However I thoroughly enjoyed foundations and all the tools Dee has given me. I still haven’t had the time to implement some of them, including the “K-Map” which you may have read about from my fellow bloggers. I think this tool will be of great use to me, especially considering I used to be an Internet Marketing junkie (although not anymore, thanks to Dee). Instead I decided I really needed to concentrate on procrastination. So I’ve been implementing a killer technique during this past week that Dee taught me. I feel it’s already helping, I’m now very conscious of my bad habits and seem to stop atomically before committing any sins! I will use this technique continually throughout my life and ensure I break each and every one of my bad habits. I’m telling you, this technique alone is worth the enrollment fee of the Online Marketing MBA course.

Monday came and the wait was over. Time for the real “guts” of this course to begin, and I wasn’t disappointed, the second module is entitled “Your Business”. Fantastic, this isn’t something generic, but actually helps you to focus on your own business. How useful is that? Think about it for a second. How many courses have you done which talk about completely new processes, methods and ways of doing things? Yes this could be useful to you, but at the same time, not relevant at all. This is different, it focuses on you and your business, therefore it’s all relevant. This is ingenious of Dee, and is what separates the Online Marketing MBA course from the masses of junk Internet Marketing courses out there.

I had a little dilemma this week, as Dee asked me to define my business and target market. I have (or at least I thought I had) two businesses. One is selling website design services, and secondly I have an Internet Marketing mailing list, and was just about to launch an Internet Marketing blog too. It became clear to me, that my list and blog wasn’t really a business, not yet at least. I will continue to develop this in future now I know what will make it into a business. However I know what I need to focus on for now, and that’s my website design business. I wouldn’t have known any of this were it not for this lesson of the Online Marketing MBA.

One of the lessons this week focused on was SWOT – Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Yes, you’re probably thinking, so what, I already know about this technique. I know, I thought exactly the same thing. Whilst at university I did a module called Strategic Management (something which I excelled at), and I immediately thought, this is going to be simple! WRONG!! Dee likes to put a twist on common techniques (like he did with Mind Maps and “K-Maps”), bringing these common and sometimes overlooked methods into a new dimension! Dee approaches SWOT in a unique way. He tweaks and changes the system slightly to make SWOT an infinitely more useful tool for your business, and to the business of your future, moving forwards. As Dee says “This is the 10% extra effort that will bring 90% results”. I wholeheartedly agree, it’s early days in this module, but I’m willing to bet that this technique alone is worth the monthly fee of the Online Marketing MBA course.