Yisel Guajardo is an entrepreneur who writes about internet marketing, social media, and blogging. She authors the blog Advanced Income. You can also follow her on Twitter.

The other night I was watching the T.V. show Conversations With Michael Eisner where he was interviewing Suzanne Somers, the former “Threes Company” star who now runs a multi-million dollar empire. I thought she said something brilliant about how she entered the markets she’s so successful in.

She said that she had gotten an award for her entrepreneurial achievements and was to give the keynote address. A couple of weeks previous to that her husband asked her if she knew what she was going to talk about.

She said, “Oh, I dunno, it will come to me.” Well, it was the night of the event, she was to speak for 90 minutes and had no clue what she was going to say.

While she was listening to her introduction, the speaker said “She’s an entrepreneur”.

She thought to herself, “That’s right. I’m an entrepreneur. What is it that I sell?”

Then it occurred to her, “Why, I sell my problems. Everything bad that’s ever happened to me, I’ve turned into a business.”

You get that? She sells her problems. And people buy, not the product, nor the book, nor the pills and potions, nor the downloadable ebook, or the membership site. They buy the solution they want.

But what’s more profound is that those solutions came because of negative things that happened to her. She grew up with an alcoholic abusive father and wrote a best-selling book which became a movie. When she gained weight, she went on to sell millions of wellness and weight loss books around the globe. When here thighs were sagging…that’s right, you guessed it. Who hasn’t heard of the Thigh Master?

The lessons?

1. Everything negative that’s happened to you is an opportunity. Recognize it or it will pass you by, or worse you’ll use it as an excuse not to succeed.

2. The answers to what you want, always start with you.

So, what problems do YOU seek solutions for?  Who knows, you might find your next hot niche in them.

Gary Vaynerchuk Lesson 2: “Getting Ahead of the Pulse”

Last week we talked about the “Hoopla Factor” and how you’ve gotta find that thing that separates you from the rest of the world. That God-given talent that makes YOU who you are.

The 2nd thing that Gary talked about is “Getting Ahead of the Pulse.”

“Reading trends is Death City, USA”

In Internet Business, if you just focus on reading trends, searching for the next best keyword, you’re going to have the same results you currently have. Some of you might get lucky, but the true key to making things happen is to get ahead of the curve & be innovative.

Bill Gates calls it the “First Movers Advantage.” Whoever is first wins. Take a look at him and “Windows.” Take a look at what Steve Jobs did in the Music industry AND in the Cell Phone industry. They were the first to put something out that was extremely innovative and ahead of its time.

Gary was one of the first if not the first Wine retail company to have a website back in 1997. When everyone was enjoying the “fruity” California wine’s, and saw an obvious “segue in pallets” as he calls it, and moved to where wine was more fruiy…Australia & Spain.

He understood these things and was able to get ahead of the pulse because he talked to every customer, he read all the emails that he received every day and was literally in the trenches. If you’re able to get ahead of the pulse in your industry or your niche, you’re able to know what’s coming next. If you know what’s coming next and people see that, it will be only a matter of time before you start to rise up in your community as the leader & authority on the subject.

So what next how do you get ahead of the pluse? Here’s a few places you can start:

1. Twitter: Start connecting with people and becoming aware of what the “conversation” is & you’ll start to see things

2. Facebook: Find out what people are talking about most? Find how who’s on the “Top Friends” section of people’s profile.

3. Forums: Don’t waste too much time here, maybe once a week. Find out what people are selling, what the issues & problems are within your industry

4. Turn the TV On: Watch the Hills…just kidding. What are people talking about in the world today? What are Baby Boomers up to? How’s people handling the current state of America.

Interact with people, be engaging, provide value to them, listen to them, be very aware, and soon you’ll find yourself picking up on things.

I’m working on something that NO ONE is really talking about yet. You got a glimpse of it when I was interviewed by Social Marketing Expert Michelle Macphearson last thursday night when I talked about “Influencing the Social Networking Sites”

Get out there and start touching people, kissing babies, mingling and just have crazy awareness of what’s going on. Good luck!