Switch on CNN, or BBC News 24 just now and there’s a pretty good bet that the focus right now is on the gloomy world economy. As the world banking system has all but gone bust and advanced economies rush headlong into a recession with rising unemployment and all the unpleasantries that come with it, there is carnage in the stock markets – it’s a real sea of red on most people’s portfolio screens as chicken little (or The Daily Mail if you happen to live in the UK) runs around screaming that the sky is falling.

Certain indexes like the DOW and FTSE have seen near record plunges as panic sets in, and people begin to panic sell. Ah, we meet again my dear old friend, Mr FEAR.

You see, before I became a full time internet business entrepreneur I spent the first part of my career within investment banking, and I have seen it all before. I was there when the dot coms collapsed and people who thought they were sitting on a hundred-dollar-a-share stocks were reduced to holding assets that were barely worth the paper they were printed on. I was also there when the rouble collapsed.

The fact is, there are booms and busts. There always have been, and there always will be. But, the true winners get in near the bottom of the market (at a bust like the one we’re going through) and sell out near the peak of the boom. Even as we speak, there are contrarian investors doing this – like Warren Buffet who recently helped himself to some cheap banking stock, as well as Tesco stocks (Tesco, while I hate them and their crappy produce, are still on course to take over the world without anyone realising it). These few investors see massive discounts on pedigree stocks which have been thumped down by the economic cycle - stocks with good brand strength, growing earnings and robust balance sheets that can steer them through the faltering economy. Contrarian investors use the FEAR going on right now to collect these assets cheaply, and wait around 3 to 5 years and cash in on returns that can be multiples of their investment. Most people aren’t contrarians – they buy when they are confident (in a boom) and sell In a bust when they are scared.

Of course, this isn’t a stock and investments newsletter – it’s an internet marketing one – but, the fear and greed factor applies just as much within internet business and marketing as it does in Wall Street.

It’s the contrarian marketers and business people who scratch a little deeper that often discover paydays that are being ignored by the masses who keep going from one hyped launch to the next. Contrarian marketers don’t get swayed by what everyone else is doing, or buying – they THINK. They TEST. In a multiple choice question they wont answer A, B or C – they’ll come up with D, and put it into practice.

Personally, as I’ve travelled through different stages of my internet business journey, I’ve found myself becoming more and more contrarian. I don’t follow many of the “rules” that seem to have been set by major gurus, and are being followed blindly by their disciples. And the less I follow them, and find my own unique niches and businesses…the more I seem to make. Perhaps it’s time for you to take a contrarian approach too?

How? It’s fairly simple – Just understand the basics and ignore the noise. Understand that as long as you have a good quality site, and get good quality traffic to it…you’ll make some money. Understand that it’s important to build your credibility and your opt in list, but that both take time. And, understand that when old Flappy Flapjaw the Guru turns up with his fake smile and freshly brylcreamed head offering you his latest super-duper-hyper-gyzmo technology, that it’s ok to say no…even when everyone around you is saying yes.

That way, you’ll stay focused on what needs to be done, working on your own agenda – and you’ll save a couple of grand too.

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