Aviation of Business

Some upgrades are going to be performed by the host of aviationofbusiness.com on May 6, 2009 at around 11:00PM EST.

During the time of the upgrade, you may notice temporary down time and possible slower load times. There will also be a period of about 20 minutes during which the site must be put under maintenance and will not be accessible.

Thank you for your patience while we perform these upgrades and strive to keep your site well maintained.

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Most airplanes are built to be stable - once they are “trimmed” and set up by the pilot, they pretty much fly themselves (in smooth air).  This takes a good design and a pilot that understands the airplane and what its capabilities are.

Businesses are similar - good business planning and execution allow a well-run business to “fly itself.” Here, the “smooth air” comment above comes into play as well:

If the air is turbulent, a pilot must constantly correct and physically point the airplane in the direction she wants it to go. In business, during turbulent economic times such as we are in today, a business must also be physically directed to keep it on its path.

So ask yourself these questions:

Do you have a business plan?

Do you know where you are going? Have you set goals?

Have you created tasks that will lead to achieving those goals if they are completed?

Are you following your plan?

Does your plan need to change based on current events both inside and outside of your business?

Are you aware of the limitations of your plan?

Do you know your business’s “safe operating zone” to ensure you survive the “economic turbulence?”

Just like a pilot is fully aware of the operating limitations of his aircraft, a business owner must be aware of the limitation of her plan - a pilot know - like the back of his hand - the speeds and maneuvers that will give him the best chance of ensuring that his airplane, passengers, and himself complete the flight safely. He’s always got a “Plan B” as well - and most likely a “Plan C, D, and E.”

A business owner must also must know her business like the back of her hand and have a second plan, and a third, fourth, and fifth. A good leader will especially have her hand on the yoke and the throttle of her business during these violent economic times - but also understands that when the times are not quite so choppy the business - if it is well planned and executed - can fly itself with only minor corrections to its path.

Don’t fret if you are making major changes during this period of time - it’s necessary. But once the economic “crisis” starts to smooth out, if you still find yourself “flying the busness” instead of trusting the business to “fly itself,” that’s a hint to take a close look at your plan… you may find that it no longer fits where your business is heading.

Fair Winds,
Andrew

There is a site called Giveaway of the Day that gives away a
new piece of software every day. You don’t need to buy
anything or even sign up to a list - just download the
software and it is yours to keep.

Today’s giveaway item is one that I think you will find to
be very handy.

It is PDFZilla, and it allows you to quickly convert any
PDF document into a Word document, HTML, or Image files.

If that sounds good to you, head on over to
http://giveawayoftheday.com to grab the software.

The only restriction is - in order to get this software, you
MUST download it, install it and activate it TODAY (1/13/2009)!

As of the time of this post you still have a little over six
hours to install it. After that, there will be no way to
get it again without paying for it.

Enjoy the software!

Fair Winds,
Andrew

I just joined Qassia, which is an interesting way to get quality backlinks to your sites. And as we all know, more backlinks means more readers, which means you can make more money!

Please visit Qassia and take a look through the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and other information about the service (for instance, as you add blurbs of “intel” to the site, you can earn Google Adsense money - if you have given Qassia your Google Adsense ID number).

The more “intel” (intelligence) you add to the site, the more likely your site will be to be listed in more places than just your profile page and on each of your “intel” posts. This site can be a pretty big boon to your readership with not a whole lot of time and commitment on your part.

Qassia has just celebrated its first anniversary, so it has survived for a year, which is something like eons in Internet years. I learned about it through its “birthday” celebration, and I was impressed with it enough to sign up immediately today and give it a try. It didn’t cost me a thing, so I thought it was worth at least giving it a chance. I think you will, too, so go to Qassia, learn all about it, and sign up to give it a try!

Fair Winds,
Andrew

Hello everyone. I just noticed that it’s been about a year since anything has been posted on this blog, and I’ve decided to revive it with a little twist to its focus.

I just read a post at one of the blogs in my RSS reader (which I don’t get to nearly often enough): Hello, My Name is BLOG.

The post is titled What if You Practiced Everything?, and I loved the idea so much that I think it’s a great way to not only restart the Aviation of Business blog and take it in a new direction, but also to celebrate the coming of the new year, 2009, and take life in a whole new direction as well!

So please read the post I linked to above, and also, please subscribe to my RSS feed so you can follow along as I practice making my business soar - hopefully you’ll get some ideas on how you can practice making your business soar as well!

Fair Winds,
Andrew

Fair Winds,
Andrew

Step 1: Read this blog post: www.wpthemesgallery.com/dont-make-the-same-web-design-mistake-i-did/

Step 2: Comment on whether or not you think links should open new browser windows (keeping your blog open but possibly cluttering up your reader’s screen) or whether clicking the link should take them to the next site in the same window (forcing them to leave your blog).

I’ve been using the “open link in new window” option for the most part on my blogs, but if I get an overwhelming response otherwise, I’m willing to change my evil ways…

Let me know what you think!

Fair Winds,
Andrew

I am entering Thor Schrock’s Secret Classroom Blog Contest.

I’ve been reading Thor’s blog (www.thorschrock.com) for awhile now, and he’s got some really great content! I highly recommend subcribing to RSS feed (I did!). If you are looking for an RSS aggregator, I suggest NewsGator (www.newsgator.com) - it’s got an online version which is very easy to use and update.

In addition to the obvious monetary value of the potential prize, I’m also entering the contest because the Secret Classroom information sounds like it has some real substance to it, unlike many other offers out there on the web these days. Some of the infomation that is available on the Secret Classroom DVD set includes:

One of the benefts of having this information on DVD is that you can rewind and watch portions over (instead of missing the information like you might in a live seminar), as well as being able to see it happen (instead of having to interpret what it should look like, like in a book or e-book). Additionally, you get a workbook to make the learning stick even better!

Sounds like being back in school - taking notes, doing assignments in a workbook - but I’d rather have the information and take notes and work at something to get what I want.

What’s the alternative?

Doing the same thing every day - and getting the same thing I already have. And that may not be bad, but I have goals and dreams… and the day-to-day won’t allow me to reach them.

So here’s to learning and doing and building something new!

Fair Winds,
Andrew

I joined ListBandit to help me increase my ability to reach people with my message (won’t it be great when I finally figure out what the message should be?).

ListBandit is an interesting way to take your message to people who otherwise might not hear it… it’s a 3x matrix, infinitely deep (or as deep as you can make it), with a twist.

The twist is this: Every day, the site “shuffles” (or pulls the arm on the one-armed bandit - hence the name ListBandit) the membership, giving you the opportunity to increase the number of people your message may go to. Additionally, if you sign up soon, you’ll get the opportunity to increase the eyeballs your message hits exponentially, just by referring other interested parties to the site.

Initially, your list will be minimal, but as you refer people it’ll build quickly. And every day you’ll have another opportunity to be at the peak of the mountain of people who have signed up - meaning your message will reach everyone below you in the downline.

So start prepping your message - THOUSANDS might get to see it very soon! Click below to sign up and give it a try yourself!

It’s Not Too Late To Hit The List-Building Jackpot. Join
Today, and You Could Be Emailing Thousands … Tomorrow!
http://www.listbandit.com/index.php/ahartley

Aviationofbusiness.com just joined RSShugger - a new web-based program to help bring more readers to your blog. They have a top 100 list of blogs that resets every month, giving you the opportunity to grow your reader base even more quickly!

Currently, RSSHugger only has 269 feeds, so your chances of getting on the top 100 are more than 33%! Also, listing your blog on their site is completely free, provided you are willing to do a review of the site on your blog (such as this one). If you don’t want to do a review, you can also pay a flat fee of $20, or $2/month. This would be a good option for blogs whose readers wouldn’t appreciate a service that will attract more people to their blog.

I will probably be listing my new blog - www.environmentastic.com - on the RSShugger site as well, but since my readers on that site are looking for information on becoming more environmentally-conscious (and not necessarily looking to attract traffic to a blog), I’ll probably pay the $20 for that blog.

On THIS site, however, you are here to learn how to take your business to the next flight-level, so this kind of post is more appropriate for you!

Check out RSSHugger - it might be worth getting registered and listing your info with them!

Fair Winds,
Andrew