Do You Have an Entrepreneurial Mindset or an Employee Mindset?

Posted on December 16, 2013December 19, 2013 by Zeb Welborn

Charlotte Clary and Beverly Vines-Haines were two grandmas who started close to thirty different businesses which all ended up failing . . until they hit it big with Ice Chips Candy. The world was introduced to Charlotte and Beverly when they were featured as the entrepreneurs who invented Ice Chips Candy on ABC’s hit TV show, Shark Tank.

Beverly Vines-Haines, Charlotte Clary and Ice Chips Candy

If you talk to many business owners, many of them will say, “I am unemployable.” The reason for that is that these people who are entrepreneurial have figured out a way to make a living without becoming an employee. They then use their time to work, and work, and work to create and test new ideas until they find the idea that will lead to their ultimate success. Some people become successful on their first business, but most business owners who have become successful have started numerous ventures until they hit the one that makes them a success.

The Tutoring Solution

My first business is The Tutoring Solution. We are a local tutoring company that serves Chino, Chino Hills, Corona, Eastvale and numerous other cities in Southern California. I learned the skills I needed to create a successful business by building and growing The Tutoring Solution. I still own The Tutoring Solution and hired my then girlfriend and now wife, Cynthia De La Torre to become the director of the business and to manage it. The skills I learned while building the tutoring business directly led me to starting Welborn Media, devoted toward helping passionate business owners use the Internet to become more successful. Welborn Media has even grown to expand to include 19th Hole Media and the Defining Success Podcast. I have been bitten by the entrepreneurial bug and now I’m honing and growing my craft . . . working to make my business more successful every day.

A great example of someone who has an entrepreneurial mindset is my father-in-law who owns his own agricultural business. He grew up in Mexico and as a young boy of probably five years old, he would work to sell gum on street corners . . . his first taste of entrepreneurship. When he came to America, he got a job at a young age in the agricultural business where he learned and cultivated his craft. Others saw him as someone with a strong work ethic and someone who achieved results. As a result, he was given more responsibilities and more pay until he was able to afford to purchase a piece of land where he could grow and sell ground cover at his business, DLT Growers. His entrepreneurial mindset led him down the path towards a career in entrepreneurship and he’s constantly thinking of new ideas and new ways to grow and expand his business and even create new opportunities for others.

DLT Growers

Charlotte Clary and Beverly Vines-Haines are two of my favorite entrepreneurs. For those of you that are unfamiliar with Ice Chips Candy, they are natural mints which are broken up into uneven pieces. The way they explained it on Shark Tank, they painted the picture that they created this product in their garage and were breaking up these pieces by hand with a hammer in their home. It’s a visual which always reminds me that becoming successful takes hard work, discipline and a willingness to get your hands dirty. Charlotte and Beverly are a great example of entrepreneurs who fought and fought and fought until they hit it big.

There is a big difference between entrepreneurs and employees . . . the most important being in their mindset.

An entrepreneurial mindset is being someone who is constantly willing to make mistakes, learn from them and grow as a result. They are continually leaving their comfort zone, and experimenting with trial and error. Most employees, I’ve found, are in the mindset of avoiding mistakes. Employees who make mistakes are typically reprimanded for doing so and thus they lose some of their creativity in the process. An entrepreneur is constantly making mistakes, failing at things and learning from them.

Three Reasons Why You Must Monitor Your Personal Brand

Posted on December 3, 2013December 4, 2013 by Zeb Welborn

My dad, Larry Welborn, has been a reporter at the Orange County Register for 40 years. For as long as he could remember, he knew he wanted to be a journalist. I asked him how he knew he wanted to become a journalist at such a young age and he gave me many of his reasons, but one of the ideas he liked most about being a journalist was that if you got your article published, you could see your name in print.

Today, everyone can see their name published across the Internet. Our times have changed and the novelty of having your name in print has worn off because now you can have your name, your picture, a video online which is now communicating to the rest of the world what you and your name are all about.

Zeb Welborn

Personal branding is one of the biggest changes that has occurred in our economy during the past decade. Before the internet, for the most part, people lived anonymously. Now, people are able to create a reputation for themselves, for better or for worse online. Personal branding is a critical component towards living a successful life in today’s economy. Learn how to make sure that people are talking about you online . . . and when they do . . . make sure they’re saying something good!

Imagine you’re applying for a new job. Your employer has a choice between two candidates. In performing his/her due diligence, your boss performs a Google search on both candidates. Candidate A has no to little information about them online; Candidate B, has continually written articles, posted YouTube videos and engaged with others on the way to developing a strong online reputation in their field. As an employer, which one is going to be more appealing to you?

It doesn’t apply just to job interviews, it applies to business relationships. If you’re a business owner, a sales representative or someone who deals with customers on a regular basis, make sure your online profile is not hindering your relationship with your customers or potential customers.

As the host of the Defining Success Podcast, I’m continually working to manage and monitor what is being said about me online and to make sure that when any customers or potential customers look me up online they will see how committed I am to my career. The Defining Success Podcast demonstrates that I’m someone who is eager to become successful and understand what it takes to make success happen. My credibility since starting the Defining Success Podcast has gone through the roof and I’m continuing to expand my efforts to increase my personal brand.

If someone does a Google search for me online they will see that I’m the host of the Defining Success Podcast, owner of Welborn Media, owner of 19th Hole Media and owner of the Tutoring Solution. They will see that I’m very passionate about success and education. If a company hires me, they know that I am going to do a great job, they know I work hard and they know I’m someone who gets things done.

A friend of mine called me last week, because someone had set up a fake Twitter profile and they were using this profile to poke fun at everything he was doing. They made him look really bad. But when you searched for his name, this fake Twitter account was the first thing that showed up. He asked what he should do and I advised him to focus on building a personal brand around the positive things you do for others. Trying to contact Twitter or any online platform to remove information posted online is difficult, time-consuming and often times doesn’t work. Your best way to beat negative comments about you online is to be proactive and make sure what’s being said about you online are the things you want people saying about you online.

When my Dad began his career as a reporter, the most recognition he could hope to get was having a byline in a story he had written. Today, videos, pictures and social media platforms can all represent who you are as a person online.

Personal branding is essential in todays day and age, and everyone should be aware of what is being said about them online.

To find out more about personal branding and how you can manage your reputation online listen to Episode 53 of the Defining Success Podcast titled, Personal Branding by Zeb Welborn.

If you’re concerned about your personal brand take the time to Google your name with potential keywords people would use to find out more information about you. Make sure your personal brand is aiding and not hindering your goals. If people are saying positive great things about you online then you’re on the right track. And if they’re not . . . then it’s time to make changes to ensure that they are.

Internet Marketing Coaching – $150/Month

Posted on November 19, 2013November 19, 2013 by Zeb Welborn

To accommodate the needs of more small businesses, we’ve decided to offer an internet marketing coaching program. To many small businesses our services are out of their price range, with our Internet Marketing Coaching Program we can help more businesses grow. In the program we guide and assist so you may achieve success with your online marketing efforts. You’ll do the work, but we’ll give you our knowledge, give you guidance, and hold you accountable so you can make the internet work for your business.

“Wisdom is always an overmatch for strength.”

– Phil Jackson

With your input and our expertise we will craft a custom plan for you and your business to build a strong online presence. Typically, our plan each month will consist of three actionable items that you can implement into your business immediately. At the end of each month, we will analyze your efforts, hold you accountable and implement a new plan for the following month.

“It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.”

– John Wooden

We’re offering this service at a great price. But because of the demand we are receiving and the amount of time we can commit we are only offering this to 10 people and it’s first come, first served. We already have 3 people signed up and anticipate this deal won’t be around for long.

If you’re interested, you can try our consulting program RISK FREE. If you’re not happy with the suggestions we provide you can cancel after the first month at no charge to you. If you participate in this program we ask that you are willing to commit to working on your online presence for one year and be willing to record and share your results for your business with us.

We ask this because we know that at the end of the year your business will be better off than when it started and many new doors will open for your business. We want to build success stories.

“We want to build success stories.”

– Zeb Welborn

Please don’t miss out on this opportunity and contact Zeb Welborn today to schedule your first appointment – 909 973 9089.

Internet Marketing Success Playbook

Duplicate Content | Distributing Product Descriptions Without Being Penalized by Google

Posted on October 15, 2013November 19, 2013 by Zeb Welborn

The question: How can we distribute product descriptions to other websites without being penalized by Google for having duplicate content?

At Welborn Social Media, we make sure to have a deep, thorough, and (most importantly) up to date understanding of how social media works and the latest policies of key internet companies such as Google or Facebook. Every once in a while, a client will come to us with a question that requires us to do a little research, and we see this as an opportunity to learn new information, grow our knowledge, and share our findings with our community.

Such was the case when one of our clients came to us wanting to share their products on the websites of their affiliates.

Duplicate Content

From working with many clients and getting their websites to rank higher on Google search results, we have learned that Google does not like duplicate content. What is duplicate content? In simple terms, it is when words, images, or entire web pages appear over and over again throughout the internet. Most of the time this is done accidentally or with good intentions, like products sold on different e-commerce sites or sites that have both a normal and a printer-friendly version of a page. Other times duplicate content can be an attempt to gain more links to a site, which could make them rank higher on search results. However Google is not a fan of the latter and will often times penalize sites that are trying to “trick” Google into ranking them higher.

Another problem that arises is that Google will omit web sites that are too similar to each other. If I want to search for an article online, they don’t want the search results to show me 10 different sites with the same article. They want to show me several different articles. Sometimes a site will publish a story and also have that story published on five other sites. Google is then forced to choose only one of those to display. If a webmaster does not know what they are doing, they can run into a problem where their site is not showing up because other sites are being displayed instead of theirs.

So what are people with legitimate reasons for having duplicate content to do?

The answer:

The solution lies in a line of HTML code known as the Canonical Tag.

The canonical tag is a way for websites to point towards the original (or canonical) source of content and give them all the credit, ensuring that Google displays them over any other copies of the content. It is a way for people to publish their content on several sites, without making it seem like they are simply trying to trick Google into thinking that the content is important and should be ranked higher. However, it does mean that all the non-canonical copies of the content won’t show up on search engines, only the version that they are all pointing to will show up. In most cases, this is not really a problem because people can still access those pages by clicking through any website where a duplicate may be found. Because the canonical tag is all about giving proper credit, instead of taking undeserved credit, it can be used to have duplicate content online without problems.

That said, there are still methods that Google considers “best practices” and would be preferable over the canonical tag. Fresh, original, unique content will always be preferred over copy and pasting. So the best way to go about duplicate content would be ensuring that content is not actually duplicate. If you want to share the same text, image, or link, it would be best to always frame it in a new and unique way for every web page that it is on. Google’s policies are always changing and what is acceptable today may not be acceptable in the future. To safeguard against having to redo your web page in the future, just make it unique to begin with.

Was Article Marketing Killed By The Panda Update? Your New Strategy Part 2

Posted on October 7, 2013October 7, 2013 by Zeb Welborn

Can article marketing still work with a strategy that respects Google’s mission?

Google basically doesn’t want imbalanced situations anymore. And some of our behavior has tipped it off to how the lack of algorithm changes have left the door open for certain predators to be overfed and quality content, quality user experience, to suffer.

Google Search Engine Optimization SEO Article Marketing

Panda Update

So with keeping the above mind, how would you imagine that article marketing can be performed with success? If you’re familiar with what article marketing is and the SEO strategies themselves, you’ll likely have ideas of changes that could be made to the traditional strategy to see results again. It’s likely not very different from what’s actually worked for me and for others.

The ability to recognize what is needed in nearly every case is still in your hands.

Here’s a simple strategy that you can use to determine exactly how article marketing will work for yourself and for your clients.

Understand which concepts are accepted and effective (on page seo, anchor text linking, posting on do follow directories).
Have quality content on the site you work for which reflects the keywords you attempt to rank for (very important for small scale seo efforts)
Experiment by implementing a common sense strategy which includes numbers one and two.
Track what was done and recognize your averages; how much of such and such strategy had to be done and how many spots did I move up in the engines as a result?
When you have a ratio, you’ll have a general expectation of how much you need to produce to get where you want to be.

The truth is that when it comes to article marketing, you don’t need a bunch of hidden websites, a spinner producing hundreds of articles a day or other tricks, although some may be doing just find with those right now…Others, obviously, have suffered. What you’ll likely need in the long run, and what Google is getting better at determining you have, is a creative and smart writer to do your research, provide quality content and weave in SEO in the ways that work, before posting the information on some of the most prominent article directories which will actually produce link recognition. And, of course, a good foundation is the best insurance. The better the site actually reflects your goals, your target keywords, the more manageable the job becomes with only a set of forthright tools in your SEO tool bag.

The following is true about the search engines and will likely remain true for some time:

Unique content is still valuable.
Quality content is still valuable.
Content which provides information for the keywords it intends to rank for is still valuable.
Giving the searcher what they want to find, being honorable with your use of keywords, both are still valuable.
All well intentioned tools which are in line with Google’s goals, mentioned above, still work.
Strategies which implement these tools can still work…

They might just need a little tweaking.

For more on the Panda Update from Google representative and leader Matt Cutts, hear his interpretation here.

Good luck in your SEO efforts.

Was Article Marketing Killed By The Panda Update? Your New Strategy Part 1

Posted on October 1, 2013October 7, 2013 by Zeb Welborn

Is article marketing dead? Did the Panda Update finally bid the strategy a strong farewell? Well, is anchor text dead? “Nope,” is the direct answer. Google just got better at determining when our use of the text was out of line with their ultimate goal. And for article marketing, the situation is no different.

When it comes to SEO, it pays to be a bottom line thinker. And the bottom line hasn’t changed even when the algorithms have; the algorithms that so many SEO experts have feared, these formulas which are actually misinterpreted in forums where people go to get the good information in regards to SEO…

These have simply helped Google accomplish its’ ultimate goal; and for those willing to get to the essentials of the situation and profit from that perspective, there’s still room for this good fortune.

Bottom line number one is that Google keeps formulating steps to create a user experience where their user finds the content they are looking for without being manipulated into trekking through a maze of websites which have absolutely nothing to do with user desires or poorly fulfill them at best. Part of what we have to do, as experts, and more honestly, as students of SEO, is experiment with that bottom line when updates such as these occur.

We have to realize what has worked for us in the past, the foundational tools that Google has no problem with, and look at how our strategies, the ways we implement those tools can be tweaked or altered to fit in line with this destination.

Article Marketing

A successful expert in SEO, is an experimenter and a scholar; someone who is capable of gaining insight, observing limitations, and falling back on the essentials as a framework to understand where to go next in ever changing situations.

That person can still see gains via article marketing (and in other tools which are recognized as honest by Google), even though well known hubs may have some members whose results have tanked.

To become that kind of expert, we have to observe our success in work, track progress, think of why certain things have worked in terms of concepts we know through experience can breed success; such as accurate on page SEO and anchor text linking, personally testing limits on article proliferation, seeing if our results fair better with diverse website use rather than single website repetitive use, and basically giving the leader of the search engines another one of its’ bottom line objectives: plenty of quality original content, spread around well received websites, so that our balanced little search engine ecosystem is maintained.

Stay Tuned for Was Article Marketing Killed by the Panda Update? Your New Strategy Part 2

Grow Your Business Through Social Media

Posted on July 25, 2013August 22, 2014 by Zeb Welborn

Zeb Welborn Grow Your Business Through Social Media

Tonight I will be presenting at the monthly HyPE meeting through the San Dimas Chamber of Commerce. My presentation is titled, Grow Your Business through Social Media. The event will be held at The Finish Line Sports Grill in Pomona.

HyPE, Helping Young Professionals Excel, is “exclusively geared for young professionals.” It is a program intended to help young professionals develop the necessary skills to become future business leaders

The talk will be covering a variety of topics, including discussions about websites, Google Analytics, blog writing, social media, Facebook, Twitter, building connections, analyzing online efforts, email marketing, website design, understanding SEO, Google AdWords, Yelp, reputation management, LinkedIn, personal branding, being a human, building connections, developing a higher purpose and being thankful

Listen to Zeb Welborn speak as he shares his journey of going from a teacher, to living with his parents, starting his business and eventually becoming a successful entrepreneur. Learn how developing a higher purpose and connecting with people will help you grow your business online and in the real world

If you’re interested in attending, here’s the information for the event

“Join us for the next HyPE ”Happy Hour With A Twist” Mixer – July 25th 6pm – 8pm featuring “Grow your business through Social Media” with Zeb Welborn. HyPE is a Chamber Program exclusively geared towards new and emerging professionals. Visit www.chamberhype.com for more information or call 909-592-3818 Grow Your Business Through Social Media[/caption]

The Perfect Game | Welborn Media Wins 2013 Fast & Furious Bowling League!!!

Posted on June 18, 2013June 18, 2013 by Zeb Welborn

When I let it go, I knew it was good.

The blue and yellow swirled ball rumbled down the lane, hit the pocket, and sent all 10 pins exploding in different directions. So excited, I yelled and gave a fist pump. I turned around to see my dad, mom, brother and grandma screaming, yelling and applauding. I hugged them each, one by one . . . we were all teary-eyed at what had transpired.

A moment I will never forget.

Zeb Welborn

In September 2012, Welborn Media sponsored the Welborn Media bowling team in the Fast & Furious Bowling League at Chaparral Lanes in Chino Hills, CA. The Welborn Media bowling team consisted of myself; my dad, Larry; my mom, Annie; my brother Rocky; and our honorary team coach . . . my grandma, Lenore.

My parents had bowled in leagues when I was extremely young and my brother and I had played for just a few months in the previous season . . . For all intents and purposes we were new to the game.

We somehow managed to stay atop the leader board for the entire season, but many teams were within striking distance going into the final week. We had just a 2.5 game advantage over two very talented teams.

During the season we managed to rack up some incredible performances.

My brother, Rocky bowled a 705 series with my Uncle Steve and Aunt Brenda looking on in amazement.
My mom, Annie scored a 728 handicap series while bowling in front of her sister, Cathy and her husband, Robert as witnesses.
My dad, Larry always came through in the clutch. In one memorable outing, the pressure was on, we needed him to get three straight strikes in order to win, so he did.

As for me, I saved my clutch performance for the last match of the season.

In bowling, the last week of the season is called position week, where the teams closest to each other compete against one another to determine their final placement in the league standings. We had to set up a pre-bowl because my brother, Rocky, was going to be out of town for a wedding. To win the league we needed to beat the Ball Busters while also securing enough points to make sure that One Time Split didn’t sneak in and steal the title from us. Our season was on the line.

I prepared more diligently than I had before, trying to figure out the lanes during our practice bowling, the right amount of curve on the lane. I got dialed in.

My 1st game started off with 3 straight strikes, all perfectly placed in the pocket. In the 4th, I let the ball go a little too late and it hit the back side of the headpin . . . a “brooklyn” as they call it, but the pins still fell. Frames 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 went by like a blur as I continued to pile up the strikes.

In the 10th and final frame I let my first ball go . . . another perfect ball. It hit, the pins exploded but one pin was left standing . . . the 10 pin. Slowly one spinning pin began making its way from the left side of the lane to the right – headed towards the 10 pin . . . My family and I were screaming for it to hit.

It missed.

The wayward pin slid right by the 10 pin. I turned around, dejected, knowing I had missed my chance for a perfect game. As I was looking over to my family — they suddenly burst out, cheering uncontrollably . . . Somehow, the 10 pin had fallen. My perfect game was still intact.

Before I was able to remain fairly calm. To avoid jinxing the game or adding pressure my team had been containing their enthusiasm, but after such a close call they revealed their extreme excitement. Now, I was nervous. My hands and my body were shaking after the intense low and high of that previous ball. I continued on. I lined myself up for the next throw and fired it down the lane for my 11th strike in a row.

For the 12th and final ball, I stood for a moment, gathered myself. I walked to my spot and let go.

A moment I will never forget.

Two weeks later we headed to Laughlin for Sweepstakes, the big, end of the year tournament which took place this past Father’s Day weekend.

Team Welborn Media in Laughlin

It was a great weekend spent with my brother, his girlfriend, my sister, her boyfriend, my parents, my grandma and my Aunt Holly & Aunt Lindra. My dad won a poker tournament, we all won some money, spent some great quality time together and had a fantastic time bowling with a spirited group of our loved ones cheering us on.

Walking into the awards ceremony, 4 trophies were positioned on the table at the front of the room – all 4 were for us: 1st Place – Welborn Social Media.

During the awards ceremony Rocky won the highest handicap series, my Mom tied for the highest handicap series for females, our team had won the highest team scratch game and I won the highest scratch game of the season with a 300 – a perfect game.

Welborn Social Media wins 2013 Fast & Furious Bowling League at Chaparral Lanes. Zeb Welborn bowls a perfect game.

2013 Fast & Furious Bowling League Standings

Looking back on my perfect game I can see the faces of my dad, my mom and my brother – sheer joy. I’ll never forget walking to the table behind the alley to give my grandma a hug – a tear streaming down her face. And I’ll always remember the love, excitement and support I felt that day – perfect.

Some may be able to say they’ve bowled a perfect game, but I think I’m alone when I say that I’ve bowled the perfect game.