Secrets of Online Entrepreneurs: How Australia's Online Mavericks, Innovators and Disruptors Built Their Businesses ... And How You Can Too

CHAPTER SIX PROFILE

I think (I am on Google), therefore I exist.

Bernadette Schwerdt (with a nod to Descartes)

The Ricardo Montalban School of Entrepreneurship

Do you remember the classic TV show Fantasy Island, starring Ricardo Montalban as Mr Roarke, and his sidekick Tattoo?

In an interview explaining the trajectory of an actor's career, Ricardo famously joked about the five stages of an actor's career. He was kidding, but like all good jokes, there's an element of truth to it too. You can apply these same principles to the career of an entrepreneur:

• Who is Ricardo Montalban?
• Get me Ricardo Montalban.
• Get me a Ricardo Montalban type.
• Get me a young Ricardo Montalban.
• Who is Ricardo Montalban?

Whether you're an actor, a business identity, a sports star or a start-up entrepreneur, the lesson remains clear. Without active engagement and dedicated action, remaining relevant to your market can be tough. You've got to work at it.

Profile equals profit

When Deborah Hutton, the former model and TV host, launched her lifestyle website, Balance (www.balancebydeborahhutton.com.au), her motivation for doing so was to ‘take control over my future' and to ‘jump into the driving seat' rather than ‘sit on the sidelines as a passenger'. She is reinventing herself as an online entrepreneur because she knows that, by her own admission, as she ages, the roles for her in the mainstream media dry up. She knows that profile is the name of the game and she's getting out there promoting her ...