Getting ready for morning service! Just remember that five out of four people have trouble with fractions! Ciao for now!!!

Always remember that the task ahead of you is never greater than the power behind you!
Ciao for now!

The Second Wind Is Blowing…

As I’ve placed a freeze on Buju Select for the moment in order to build the next wing, I’ve come to realize the importance of socializing on multiple levels.

I’m developing “The Exchange” as a meeting place for businesses and individuals to network and connect on a variety of levels. Take a look. Signup is free and access is 24/7/365! I’m hoping to add a feature which will allow connecting to other social sites too. This will allow members to post from The Exchange without having to visit all of their other sites to do the same! One stop shopping…one stop POSTING!

While many of us are fearful of public speaking and even more of us are in the dark about network marketing, we utilize both of these tools daily and never think twice about it. Have you told any friends about a good movie or a new restaurant lately? Have you replied to a positive comment about something that you were wearing by telling that person where they could find it and at what price? Have you shared an Oreo with someone who said they never tried them before?

We’ve all done these things or something similar to them at some point in our recent memory. Actions such as these are the cornerstone to network marketing, which is now being referred to as “Relational Marketing”. We are relating to one another.

The simplest example would involve a two-link connection, family member to family member. As this exchange offers the least amount of possible conflict and/or rejection. In some cases, the challenge is in familiarity (which really does breeds contempt!). Some family members simply won’t or don’t take you seriously! Jesus had to leave Nazareth before people began to see Him for who He truly was! So, you’re in great company!!!

A more complex exchange would be between recently introduced individuals such as in an elevator. The now famous “Elevator Speech” has to be initiated effectively and without sounding like a sales-pitch. The focus here should be to recognize that time is at a premium and insure the exchange of contact information via business card or something along those lines. This will allow a reconnect at a less time sensitive point. That being said, a polished business card is your best insurance policy for the follow-up. A good card can be your “Silent Salesman”, leaving a positive impression.

Hopefully you’ll join me as I make this vision a reality!

Ciao for now, MP & Buju

A Lesson Learned Everyday…

As BujuSelect continues to evolve into the online webmall that I have envisioned it to be, everyday bears the promise of new knowledge about the process. The lessons that were learned in establishing BujuSelect, the email process for BujuSelect clients, the expansion site (The Exchange), and even blog pages such as this one and the ones linked to this.

The vision was initially to create something that would become an online destination for people looking for fine products at the best prices possible. BujuSelect is living up to that promise. But, the extended mission for BujuSelect is to become a beacon for employment opportunities.

I wear many hats at this point! My goals is to get BujuSelect to a point where it’s somewhat self-sufficient but definitely less dependent on me directly.

For all that I strive to accomplish, God is ultimately in charge and I’ll follow His guidance regardless!

Ciao for now,
MP & Buju

The Expansion…

Well, what can be said for making a thing better?!? Sometimes it must be torn down completely first! After the successful launch of BuJu Select.com, I’ve been exploring options to make the brand better. Not neccessarily bigger and better but, definitely better.

I had reached the conclusion that doing what hasn’t been done before is the key. Those of you reading this who know me personally can attest to the fact that I’ve always been ahead of the curve! I aspire to this not to be braggadocious (splchk) but, to address the fact that I’ll do what isn’t being done…yet! As I wait for the online community to catch up, I deal with the issues of keeping the balls in the air!

Thank God for these broad shoulders of mine! The Exchange started out with just two members…my wife Sheila and myself! As of this writing, the current member count is 29. Including ourselves, this actually means 27 people have signed up since the site went live on the 15th of February, 2009. My goal is 1 million active users by August 24, 2009.

Needless to say, the challenge is clear! There are probably as many ways to get there as there are social networking sites currently up & running. I’m the posterboy for word-of-mouth advertising and networking but, even that has its limits within the online scheme of things…

As I take the time to follow this journey, I’m talking with God and listening…that’s all that I can do at this point!

Ciao for now,
MP & BuJu

Microphone Check…

Good morning all!
Today I chose to do something out of the ordinary. I generally feel that when you are on your path and that you’re following what has been laid before you, that there’s no reason to stay connected with the “outside world”. As I dove into my studies in school, I would often unplug the tv, turn off the radio and unplug the Playstation. These actions not only allowed me to focus but, to remain aligned with the direction that I was on…upwards!

Well, today, I strayed away from my normal mode of operations and took a peek at another online retailers’ website. The main reason being that I use Twitter.com as a means of expanding my reach and staying connected with my clients. According to an information source, the particular webstore that I visited was doing the same thing. To the point of dedicating a portion of the website strictly to Twittering!

Much to my surprise, I found no sign of such a committment to the service! What I did find, however, was a blog section. A blog section that was full of entries yet, lacking in comments… So, I’m not the only onliner who spends the time and effort to post, seemingly for my own good?!?

Strangely enough, I found this revelation refreshing!

When I check my statistics as far as responses or even visits in general, and find that the traffic has not been anywhere near the expectation level…it can be somewhat deflating to my spirit.

My challenege is not to look as this from a personal perspective. This is strictly business in this respect and the nature of business right now is to perservere and continue on. Regardless of profit, regardless of growth, regardless of feedback! Those who can remain in the game the longest will have the greatest opportunity at winning!

I intend to be that winner!

Ciao for now,
MP & Buju

HumpDay Assignment…

I use Constant Contact to manage my newsletter contacts and email campaigns. I really enjoy the ease of use and the flexibility that this software affords me. What I’m putting into action next will be a social networking feature directly from the site! It’s called The Exchange.

This is actually a Google app called FriendConnect but I’ll label it The Exchange for use on the website. This will be a 90-day test mode to see how well it integrates with the site and to gauge if there are any real benefits to having it there!

The Exchange will go live on 1 March 2009. It will be announced in the March Insider newsletter. For everyone included in the mailing, there should be plenty of information to get it kicked off well.

Ciao for now, MP & BuJu!

It’s Monday morning…

I don’t know about you but, for me that’s a GREAT thing! I’ve spent most of the weekend pre-loading the balance of my fragrances inventory to the website. This morning they’ll go live and you’ll see some great savings on CREED, CARTIER (Kiss of the Dragon’s my wife’s favorite!), BVLGARI (Bulgari, but if you know them you know the typo too!!!) and CAROLINA HERRERA!

I’ve also been updating the navigation method. Basically splitting out the men’s and women’s categories for each main category as needed. I also broke down the brands per category if it would make navigation easier. The search field is gone for now but, may return.

The Buju Select_Insider Newsletter will launch this weekend for the month of March, the first one!!!

Ciao for now, MP & BuJu!

Okay…What Happened?!?

This is why I firmly believe that wherever God is present, so too is the devil!!!
With as much positive feedback and progress…with all of the effort that’s been going into updating the site this week…a GLITCH!
A formatting GLITCH!! What makes it even worse is that I have NO idea how it happened which makes it that much harder to correct!
From the website’s back office, I was adding text to the homepage. Somehow that seemed to stretch the width of the page out of propotion. So, I modify the text. The screen is right again…but now my “SEARCH” field is gone! And the page navigation links “HOME – ABOUT US – POLICIES – etc..” has been repositioned on the page and I can’t figure out how it happened!

This weekend is going to be all about getting into the CSS that defines the page layouts! Of course, the site still works fine and if you didn’t know about this issues you might not even notice…but. I DO!!!

Pray for me…pray for peace…just pray!

Ciao for now, MP & BuJu.

The Best Laid Plans…

Of course, as soon as we get to the park, there’s a tornado warning!!! And it decides to rain! Sometimes it’s just best to stay home.

As far as the site goes, I’ve prepped 50 new colognes and parfums. They’ll be live and onsite by midnight tonight!

Furniture was a major setback as the freight may be too much for me to cover. I cover the shipping on everything else on the site. So furniture may involve more negotiations.

Ciao for now, MP & BuJu!