Interview With Global Internet Business Icon, Terry Dean

Another opportunity to learn from a great mind is here again. Let me tell you this, Terry Dean, is an Internet Business expert I respect so much. I have learnt so much from him than I have from any one else. I got a lot from his materials that I started understanding all it takes to run an online business as a beginner.

I am highly honoured having Terry here and what you have to know is that you will learn so much from this great man.

Let’s go.

1) May we know you?

You can find out quite a bit about me at http://www.terrydean.org/about/

2) What was growing up like for you?

I’m the youngest of 7 children with my closest sister 9 years older than me. So I’m a lot younger than everyone else in my family. I have to say that my growing up years were very good. I had parents who told me I could be anything I wanted to in life. In addition, while my parents were pretty financially stable. They weren’t rich by any means, but they were middle class who were intelligent with their money.

I had a good life growing up.

3) That is great to find out Terry. Nothing beats having parents that instil positive thinking in you while growing up. This is something majority of us are not fortunate to experience while growing up. Tell us, are you married?

Yes, I’ve been married for 15 years now. We had a short dating period and engagement. We married within 5 months of our first date together. She has been a big help to me throughout my business…and I credit her with giving me the encouragement I needed to succeed. Even when things were tough and I wasn’t sure how to get my online business started, she kept telling me I could do it. She has always wanted to do something in medical field so this year she graduates from nursing classes.

4) Another great one there. Having a wife or partner that supports you and your dreams. Can you remember the day that changed your life?

A day which changed my life was when I made a decision to build an internet business.

Even after other business failures and mistakes, I made a choice that online business was right for me. I even had to go out and borrow money on one of my last remaining credit cards (all the others were charged to the max).

It was a few months before I had a good internet income, but the decision was made that day and I wasn’t quitting no matter what.

5) The journey so far. How did you get started and how has it been all the way?

In beginning I had to work my butt off to get started (10 to 12 hour days and 6 to 7 days a week at times). Luckily I was able to become successful quite quickly in my business and was earning a full time income within 6 months. It seemed like longer when I was starting out, but it really was pretty quick.

I’ve loved it around the way. After a few years of running my business I started getting invited to speak at seminars (in other words free business travel). It’s been a fun journey. My last job before the internet was delivering pizzas, so it isn’t too hard to beat that job. Just like anyone I have bad days which usually consists of my sites breaking down or something not working correctly. The majority of days are totally fun. I’ll normally get up and answer emails from coaching clients. Write a blog post. Do some marketing activities such as managing my Adwords account or participating on Twitter. Check on my interns and my outsourced team members. Return any phone calls. Spend time working on one of my projects (writing or video). Answer any other emails needed near the end of the day.

6) Terry, some years back, while still trying to understand what Internet Business is, I read one of your articles, The Internet Lifestyle and it really helped me in reaching a decision about running an online business. Can you please help break this down for someone who doesn’t understand what the Internet Lifestyle is all about?

The Internet Lifestyle is all about living a life where you make the choices. It doesn’t matter where you live in the world. I live in the country while many choose to live in large cities. Being in Nigeria doesn’t
matter. It’s your choice and your life. Some people work early mornings. Others work in the middle of the night. I even know several marketers who earn extremely good incomes online who have kept their regular 9 to 5 job because they like their daytime job.

You can build an internet business around your dreams and your life.

7) Thanks for breaking it down in such a simple manner Terry. Now you and I know the importance of dreams in soneone’s life, what has been the role of dreams in your own life?

I often refer to dreams more as goals or business plans. I find that it’s next to impossible to accomplish anything unless you’ve written down first. Part of the reason I don’t like the term “dreams” that much is that I always have clients write their goals…and then a step-by-step system for getting there.

Let me give you an exercise right here to follow. Write out your perfect day/week/month. What does your life look like? What are you spending your time doing? Who are you doing it with?

Then move back from that point in the future backwards in what you have to do step-by-step to get there. So it’s not just about the dream. It’s about choosing the “goal” and creating a roadmap for reaching it.

I hope someone is taking note. This is an exercise worth carrying out because you can NEVER believe what your life will be like in years to come once you carry out the exercise. I do know what I am talking about. Terry, can you please tell us, do you have any regret following your dreams?

Not at all. I don’t want to imagine what my life would be like now if I hadn’t done this. I was in debt back then and probably would have ended up bankrupt if it wouldn’t have been for the internet.

9) What is/are the most important lesson(s) you have learnt in life?

Don’t live your life based on other people’s dreams for you. It’s YOUR life and your choice. For example I have friends who earn more than me, but they’re working 80 hours a week or more. That’s not for me. It’s NOT what I want.

Some people love big cities. I prefer living a lifestyle out in the country. So create a life that FITS you…not a one size fits all dream as outlined by society or even by your friends.

10) What a great advise to follow. We will like to know Terry, do you have Role Models or Mentors?

When I first started online, Jay Abraham was one of the biggest influences on me. In addition Bill Myers was another marketer I looked up to because he created this low cost businesses that earned passive income for him. Neither one of them was a mentor from the standpoint of getting advice straight from them, but I went through their materials heavily. That’s something I’ve modeled in my own business.

11) Books? What roles have they played in your life?

I love reading and have hundreds of business books on my shelves. Some of my favorite books have been The Emyth Revisted by Michael Gerber, The 4 Hour Work-Week by Timothy Ferriss, Influence by Robert Cialdini, Web Copy That Sells by Maria Veloso, Ultimate Guide to Google Adwords by Perry Marshall, Getting Everything You Can Out of All You’ve Got by Jay Abraham, etc. The list could go on for pages.

12) In the previous interview, Jim Straw told us he has about 2000 books in his library and has spent about $25,000 building the library. Can you please tell us what your library looks like and how much it has cost you to get it to the level it is now?

I would just be guessing on how much I’ve spent on my library. I have hundreds of books…and some of them were quite expensive. For example I have a series of manuals from Jay Abraham that cost me $2,000 just for that series. I have copywriting courses, marketing courses, public speaking, business administration, etc. At least $20,000 to $50,000 overall for my library.

13) I won’t bring out my calculator and convert that to our own Naira, I am resisting the temptation to do so my people. Out of the lot, any recommended readings?

I would recommend anyone who is serious about an internet business spend a lot of time on my free blog at http://www.terrydean.org. Of course I have additional products to help you as well, but start with the free stuff (and then move to the paid stuff to go to a deeper understanding of how to run your internet business).

My Internet Integrity book is another great choice for people to get started online. You can find it at http://www.amazon.com/Internet-Integrity-Business-Increase-Profits/dp/0977867110/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234812635&sr=8-1

14) We will be winding this up soon Terry. Tell us, what would you have been doing if you are not doing what you are doing now?

I don’t even want to think about that. As I said I was delivering pizzas to barely make a living before the Internet. I’d probably still be doing some type of poor job somewhere.

15) Unknown to so many out there, Terry Dean apart from being an online marketer, is a Preacher. If you want me to repeat that, I will, Terry is a Preacher. Please tell us how it all began. What actually led you into Ministry work and how far have you gone?

I was ordained for ministry the same day I was married, so over 15 years ago (Dec 23rd was our 15th year anniversary). While I don’t pastor a church, I do speak regularly at events and meetings especially about Christian finances. It’s a desire to see people get out of debt and really have lives they can focus on their family and their loved ones along with their relationship with God.

16) Where do you see yourself in 5-10 years from now?

I will still be running business online. I think I’ll move more into promotion of fixed term continuity programs where I create the content once…and I keep getting paid on it for years ALONG with more emphasis on affiliate commissions where others are paying me commissions for sending them traffic.

My goal is to put more passive income streams in place which earn money whether I’m working or not. So you expect to see more and more of these, and probably less individual coaching in my business in the future.

17) Terry, will you gladly accept any Nigerian that wishes to learn how to run a successful online business from you? I know you have an internship programme going on. Are you willing to accept more people?

I do have a free intern program where you learn from videos in exchange for spending some of your time promoting my business. Once you graduate in 6 weeks you know dozens of ways to promote your own business. This can be found at www.freeintern.com

In addition I have a ton of free content on my blog at http://www.terrydean.org and many paid products which can help anyone build their internet business.

18) That is it! A lot of people have been complaining of having to pay so much to learn how to run online business and now you have a successful marketer giving you the chance to learn for FREE! Who won’t take advantage of this opportunity? Not I! Terry, how do you catch fun in spite of your schedules?

My work schedule is actually very light. Many weeks I work only around 30 hours. Some weeks (when working on a project) it may go up to 40 hours. And I enjoy the majority of what I do like writing, coaching clients, etc. It’s all the “routine” stuff I don’t enjoy as much, but those elements are also the easiest to outsource to someone else.

Every hour I take a break when working which is perfect for playing with my dogs (I work at home and have 3 dogs). My hobbies away from work are hiking with my wife, martial arts, and reading.

19) In your own opinion, how can Nigeria be great again?

This one is really hard for me to answer as I have never been to Nigeria personally. And I don’t like answering questions based only on what I’ve read or heard about in a country. So I can’t really comment on the country as a whole.

Individually though we all make a decision that we’re going to step up in our life to success and making a meaningful contribution to those around us. No matter what the position of society or those around you, you can make that choice for yourself…and you can be a catalyst to all those around you. It always starts with individuals rising up and deciding they will make a difference.

20) Great advice Terry! We all can be a difference maker! What advice do you have for someone reading this interview?

Find an intersection of passion and profits. This means to find something people are willing to pay for that you also enjoy doing. A lot of people just tell you to do what you love and money will follow, but that is not always true. Instead figure out things you would enjoy doing, and which ones people are most willing to pay for. For me that’s writing and creating content on the Internet.

You have to be willing to work hard, especially in the beginning as things don’t always come easily. If you also enjoy the work, it’s going to be so much easier to make it through to your breakthroughs.

21) Thank you Terry Dean for taking time out to share your wealth of wisdom with us. I’m sure somebody’s life is being transformed someone where now.

My pleasure

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