Need feedback on homepage links

[wxdqz]

Hi; I just did some searching for a forum like this and this one look like it was just what I was hunting for. Anyways...here is my situation........................................................I just hired a guy here in Thailand to get me ranked higher in the search engines.( Here part of the year on Business...live in Florida as well) I just do not have the time now to play with this....so he gets back to me and tells me I must put at least 33 links to other sites on my homepage to get up in the ranks. that is without submitting $299 to Yahoo and the like. He then told me to get rid of my nav buttons and add all my links and links to other sites as plain text links all the way down the left side of my page...Yike! One...It would confuse the visitor..to what my nav system was and external links where.two- it would ruin the whole page...But hey I am open to anything...search engine opt is not my feild.so I said I will look for a better solution...I put an example scrolling frame in the lower left hand corner of the page...Still no good he said. He also came up with about 33 links to other sites...I said " wait...I rather pay you to find reciprical links...than just to link to other sites and advertise for them...for nothing.....He said...recipricals are good but external links to non competing sites is what I need. HEMMM? I don't want to waste too much time on finding a solution....can anyone with good knowledge please look at my site and let me know where I could put links...keep my page looking good in the sites personal nav areaand make this guy happy so he can get his job done? I am open to any and all suggestions at this point. Short of rebuilding my page again. Site is <!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.thaiworldimports.net">www.thaiworldimports.net</a><!-- w --> (<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.thaiworldimports.net">http://www.thaiworldimports.net</a><!-- m -->) Thanks And Best Regards Jack