Putting The Web To Work

Internet marketing expert Dan Stojadinovic had plenty of information and some useful Web sites to pass along during a seminar last Tuesday at the Quality Inn Conference Center in Sebring.

But even with lots of information available there is something business owners need to have that isn't found online.

"A lot of this is belief," said Stojadinovic, the founder of the Prospectizer system and a real estate technology speaker / consultant,

According to a Web site created by Mack Payne, who organized the local seminar, Stojadinovic came to America from Serbia in 1992. He has helped a number of real estate investors throughout the United States use the power of technology in their real estate investing business. He speaks to real estate investing groups on the topic of Internet Marketing and Web Sites.

He has been a consultant in Silicon Valley for giants such as Hewlett Packard (Cupertino) and Microsoft (Silicon Valley data center). He has worked on the Price Waterhouse Coopers massive real estate project that spanned the globe and involved some of the most sophisticated software and database technologies.

His first job in this country was working at a McDonald's. He also worked at Burger King.

Stojadinovic, who lives in Spring Hill, has been investing in real estate since 1995, and has been involved in real estate groups for the past three years.

"One good thing about America is you can sell stuff and make money, which is a great concept," he said, noting that his father was arrested for trying to sell. "People take it for granted. That's what is great about this country is you can sell and make profit. It's really a fantastic concept that very few countries enjoy."

He said there are four principles to be successful that he picked up from Napoleon Hill's book "Think and Grow Rich." They are: have a burning desire, have specialized knowledge, constantly find new mentors to help you and associate with like-minded people.

Stojadinovic advised the attendees to read the book, which he described as a "powerful book." Hill interviewed about 500 people to find out how they became wealthy.

Stojadinovic said don't worry about details because money is made in concepts. He added that selling, networking and building relationships are the areas that business people need to focus on.

Hire virtual assistants for some tasks, he said. But test them initially with smaller jobs.

He mentioned Elance.com

"Think of a task you don't want to, post it," he said. "It won't cost you anything."

Stojadinovic said 97 percent of the small businesses in this country fail. He said one way to be successful is to be considerate of others.

"Both parties need to feel like they won," he said.

He added that business owners need to realize that "everything has a cost."

Stojadinovic emphasized the importance of being a member of an association or a group like the Toastmasters or the chamber of commerce.