Customer Reviews

Your Portable Empire: How to Make Money Anywhere While Doing What You Love

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Luckily I was able to skim through this at the bookstore as the title caught my eye. My first thought in reading the cover and inside flap was that this was a "4-Hour Work Week" type of book with more emphasis on e-Commerce. After skimming through the chapters, there was very little information of value, new or otherwise.

As stated by other reviewers, there is a lot of promotion of the author's services, as well as cross- promotion of contributors. Sadly, it's gotten to the point that when I see the names of the people who endorse and/or contributed to this book, it immediately raises a red flag. Especially, since some have written good, informative books in the past.

Overall, I would not recommend this book.

I was very disappointed in this book. Touted as a guide for those interested in developing internet businesses,it veers from shameless self-promotion to superficial snippets taken from every popular spiritual and psychological movement. The information provided is quite basic and easily ascertainable for free from other sources on the internet and elsewhere. There are chapters containing interviews with other entrepreneurs which serve as promotion and cross promotion. While the author and his pals are enjoying luxurious lifestyles "baiting" suckers like me, I regret to inform them that there is a learning curve. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.

It has become vogue on Amazon for the author's friends, millionaire mind group members, associates and affiliates to provide inflated ratings of books. This practice is deceptive and genuinely aggravating to those of us who rely on fellow readers' honest assessments. While surely some are sincere representations uncolored by association or gain, many are not.

This is not a terrible book. Written in a conversational, Joe Vitaleesque tone, it does provide a starting point for the uninitiated. It is not the reference I had hoped it would be.

When I read the forward by Joe Vitale I was immediately put off by the book. I am NOT a Vitale fan and don't like his marketing tactics at all.

When I read the first line of the book to my husband -- "This is the most dangerous book you'll ever read..." (or something to that affect) -- he told me that if it were him he'd throw the book in the trash instantly. He's not a big fan of bullsh**, clearly.

As I began reading the book I almost wanted to throw it in the trash. Especially when I read the section on "What is an e-book?" If someone doesn't know that then they don't deserve any opportunity to make money online.

I'll admit: There's no specific step-by-step to use in this book and it is very incomplete. Pat (the author) doesn't talk about his specific successful online campaigns through Google Adwords. He doesn't talk about what kind of info products he sells (although I wouldn't either). He misleads people into believing that you could make tons of money selling ebooks on topics like "how to sleep better" which is NOT a topic that would sell well at all.

My theory: He sells "money making" info products online and doesn't want anyone else to crowd how he makes his money online.

Why did I give this book 5 stars?

Two reasons:

1) He does a good job covering successful copywriting which will make or break your success with online (or any) marketing. Copywriting is the key.

2) In the lateral half of the book he discusses "mindset" in a way I have never read before. I've read hundreds of self-help titles and this book is unique in providing a different view of changing your mindset which made this book well worth it.

Buy this book if you want to be successful financially. No, it won't give you any instruction other than to create your own info products and sell them via Google Adwords. However, it will open your mind to the possibilities and help you change your mindset for success. That, alone, is worth reading this book.

Overall it is pretty good. My biggest complaint is the bombardment of look alike products with different names. This is another book for creating an information product business-selling how-to-sell information products.
There is a number of well networked individuals selling the same kind of dream-specifically creating passive income streams mostly through automated internet e-books and information products that can be downloaded instantly and the proceeds deposited into a bank account. This group has smartly cross-promoted each others work including good reviews and glowing testimonials.

So if you can create an appealing set of products to promote ongoing to a database of suckers(potential customers) over and over you can create your own "Portable Empire" as Mr O'Bryan has. The overall premise and approach might work in the real world but a couple of examples just didn't hold up for me; for example he says to take a hobby or area of interest and build a group of products around it. One example he uses is golf- I just couldn't see a set of information products with golf as the main theme being a regenerative information product stream-not enough to build the income stream to have the lifestyle that he espouses. Felt insincere and disingenious for me but there are some people for whom this book will provide enough of a blueprint to actually create something of value.

Unfortunately I agree with reviewer Antigone Walsh. It may be worth skimming through at the library, but it's definitely not the reference book I was hoping for either. There is too much promotion and the useful information could probably be condensed into one chapter.

I work at home on the Internet so I'm always interested in books about internet businesses hoping I'll learn some great new tidbit. I didn't get this book, mostly in that it seemed poorly organized. I like things to go in order, step-by-step. But this book didn't really do that. The second chapter is on the "List" which indeed is important, but it seems to me you need a topic, website, and/or product from which to start building the list. If you want to make money online, you might be better off reading Rosalind Gardner's resources, or other books on Internet marketing specifically.

We purchased this book, Your Portable Empire, in August of 2008. We were searching Amazon for books about operating an Internet business that can be run/operated from anywhere.

Why? Because we are living full-time on a sailboat. We need to generate an income from a business that runs on autopilot and can be operated from anywhere. We are operating a profitable portable online business from our sailboat. I have authored articles on this subject published in national magazines.

Pat's book is excellent! This is a must have for people starting their online business. He starts at the beginning and holds your hand as he explains the steps. You can not fail if you follow his system.

Another great aspect of this book and Pat's system, is you can start for little money and expand as your empire grows. You do not get overwhelmed with a bunch of monthly bills before you are making money.

This book covers the nuts and bolts, the mindset, and so much more. Without this book I know we would be stumbling along. I keep it handy and refer to it frequently.

If you are truly interested in starting and operating an online business this is a must have book. A no-brainer in my opinion.

Rob & Cheri Lee

This book changed how I was doing everything in my own online business. Pat O'Bryan lays out the details of exactly what to do and how to do it in this book. I found his honesty refreshing, and after reading the book I knew that I could be successful on the internet as well.
I have gone on to teach others how to set up everything Pat talks about here, and find this a rewarding way to conduct business from wherever in the world I happen to be, with only an internet connection.
Whether you are a newbie just getting atarted online, or have been online for awhile and aren't making the money you had hoped for, this book will change your thinking and behavior so that you can take action in the right direction.
A must read for anyone interested in working from home and having both financial freedom and the time to enjoy it all.

Having spent a small fortune in money and time in an attempt to really understand whether someone can build a real business online, I read Pat's book literally in two days. Not because it is short or "lite", but because it is written in a voice of someone who is either the greatest fiction writer of the modern era or is (and I believe this to be true) an honest, forthright, man of integrity who truly wants to help others understand, and most importantly, do just what he has done...build their dream on line, doing what they love, with the tools they already possess, and in thier own small way, making the world a better place.

Direct, to the point, no fluff, no "hidden" secrets, (except for the one on how to get gurus to do jvs...read it for yourself) it really is all laid out here. I for one hate all those books/courses/tapes, etc. that tell you what to do with no how to do it behind it. Pat has written a how to do it book. If you have an idea, you can build a business. If you uncover a problem, you can find a solution and build a business.

This is the first review I have written, and I heartily and completely recommend Your Portable Empire.

Max Lambright
www.committogrowth.com

Your Portable Empire by Pat O'Bryan has opened up a whole new world and added a new income stream to my business. I attended a weekend seminar put on by Pat he is the real deal. He isn't just writing about internet marketing,he has 'been there, done that, still there and still doing' -- best of all, he is willing to share how to do it.

Not only have I read, implemented and followed his advice in building the internet marketing leg of my art licensing business, but by giving this book to several friends, I have opened them up to the real possibility of changing their lives with this approach. Every one of them has thanked me.

Pat's advice is usable -- by reading this book you can get started. He shows you how. He shows you where. He gives links to many free resources. The book covers everything from choosing a topic that you are passionate about to building a list to creating the products.

He also talks about Mind-Set and I believe this is a power piece of the book. If you aren't ready to to believe in yourself and take the necessary steps to succeed, then you won't. No book will help you. I feel this book helps in the two key areas of success: what to do and how to keep your head in the game.

If you are truly ready to make internet marketing and information products part of your life, you can't go wrong with "Your Portable Empire".

Tara Reed
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