The other day, my schedule got jacked and I ended up working out at my chi-chi-la-la gym in the evening.

This is the kind of athletics club where the women spend an hour BEFORE they break a sweat (cough) applying fresh make-up and readjusting their barely-there string tops and Spandex low-rise shorts.   (It would irk me except that none of the bimbelinas use the free weights side of the room so it’s basically estrogen free and sans drama. Just the way I like it.)

On this particular evening, there was only one 40-ish year old female along with her trainer on the side I frequent.  The woman had more plastic than a Mattel fashion doll and was wearing a faux cashmere get-up that made her stand out like a sore thumb in this crowd.  (Read: when you work out here it’s assumed that you’re available, you needn’t plaster JUICY all over your flipping a**.)

Barbie (not her real name) was being politely reprimanded by Ken (her trainer’s real name) that she was being unreasonable about the speed in which she was seeing results.

“A pound of muscle weighs more than a pound of fat” he exclaimed rather righteously.

Ahh, the lies personal trainers tell their clients so they don’t get fired, I thought. 

Yes, a pound of muscle take up less space than fat but last I knew, a pound weighed a pound, no matter what it was comprised of – water, muscle, fat…

As Barbie pouted and contemplated the complex math equations she had been presented, I reflected on a conversation I’d had earlier in the week.  The guy was very, very, very smart and based on the questions he was asking, I knew he was being bamboozled by his internet marketing consultant who was helping him with his platform upgrade.   It’s no secret that most of the consultants in this industry take a percentage of the action, so they often have a vested interest in the packages and add-ons their clients use.  (For the record, we don’t take a penny.) 

He had been told an internet consultant’s lie – on part with Ken’s personal trainer lie – that it’s best and most efficient to do everything at once.  “Saves time!  Saves money!  It’s more efficient! ”  Many consultants cry.

On what planet? I ask.  The one where a pound of muscle weighs more than a pound of fat?

Whether you are a blogger or a multi-billion ecommerce company, the rules are the same.  You need a good foundation to have a great house.  

The key to the most successful internet companies is that they focus on the things that are important to the user.  They know what they need and what they don’t.  And, most of all, they constantly read and react to their results.   

I understand what Ken was trying to tell Barbie – that as she was building more muscle, she may not have the weight loss that she was expecting short-term. But, in the long-term, she’d catch up because muscle burns more calories than fat.

That’s the same thing that happens with your website.  If you have a solid foundation, you will make more money than one with a weak foundation and a lot of bells and whistles.   Yes, the new forms of dynamic personalization are very sexy but if your checkout or lead forms suck, it’s not going to make a damn bit of difference.

What things make up a good foundation?  Easy.  Solid entry pages; the perfect checkout/lead forms; good navigation (including text search function); and aggressive e-mail programs (thrusts and especially triggers).   Those are your muscle.  Do you have those elements perfected?  Or do you need to work on strengthening them?