The Web Woman Internet Marketing Without the Hype

In Search of G.O.O.B.I.

I just read the most interesting rant.  My ever present mentor, Seth Godin, occasionally introduces me to a new product or concept or person who captures my complete attention.  So, I am reading his blog yesterday and discovered a real gem.

Peter Shankstone works in the same field as Seth and myself.  He is a marketer down to his toes and an entrepreneur.  He has this amazing site, Help a Reporter Out, that I beleive will revolutionize the way marketers publicize themselves.

He also lives the same lifestyle as I do, as any entrepreneur does.  I can’t begin to tell you the number of times people have told me, “Why don’t you just get a REAL job?”  usually with considerable heat in their voice.

So just what is a “real job” anyway?

I raised six children and for the first eight years I was a “stay at home” mom.  Eventually we had a few financial crunches that meant I had to go out into the workplace to supplement our income.  I was always amazed at the number of people who all of a sudden approved of me because I was bringing in a paycheck.

I started earning my own money at 13 as a very in demand babysitter, paid for all my clothes and activities from that point on.  I went into the military at 18 and went on to become a wife and mother.  I had Avon routes, did Tupperware, was introduced to network marketing and even became a professional birthday clown, alway so I could have a personal income, but none of that ever seemed to count.

It wasn’t until I was sitting at a desk in a cubicle that I had any approval.

“Bonnie is doing another one of her schemes.” They would say and shake their head.

So the joke’s on them, because I still don’t work at a desk.  I work in a recliner, I work in a chaise lounge, I work in an airplane seat, I work a trade show or in a restaurant.  I own a desk, but I seldom sit at it.  The beautiful part of this is that I am a partner in an internet marketing company that has team members all over the world and none of them work in a cubicle either.  We don’t track hours in our company, we track results.

So this year I will be traveling all over the US, to Australia, Japan, Costa Rica and Sweden, none of which will be “vacations”, but all of which will be amazing fun.

Oh…so most of your are still wondering about the title of this article.

Goobi stands for “Get out of bed incentive”.  It means having the kind of work that wakes you up in the morning without an alarm clock.  Your eyes pop open to a new day and you think:  “Wow!  I get to do this again today and these people are willing to pay me for it!”

We believe that everyone in our company should feel that way about the work they do with us.  We get the job done, but it doesn’t have to be onerous or unenjoyable.  We want every single person who works with us (not “for” us) to really feel like they have their dream job.  It can be done.

Having said that, nothing comes without some elbow grease.  “The Secret” is really about finding something you are passionate about and committed to and then working it with your heart and soul.  Then the work and sacrifice are worth it and every day is a new adventure.  The bottom line goes up and the satisfaction is worth every minute, every penny, every tear you put into it.

Got Goobi?