Does Anyone REALLY Make Money Online?
Q: I am 53 years young 
and I really, really hate my job. I need to get something else going before I kick my stupid boss silly..or worse! I figure I have probably 2 hours to work every night at home, and all weekend – and I am really motivated to get an online business venture going. BUT – my friends all tell me I am crazy – that no one really makes any money online. Are they right ? Any advice on what to do??
A: My first advice is to find new friends! Seriously, one thing that is very important to fledgling entrepreneurs is your mindset, and surrounding yourself with positive thinking associates is a big part of that. Dumping your friends may be a bit drastic for you (although I have been known to do this…) but I would strongly suggest that you look around for a local entrepreneurs group to make sure you do get some of that all-important ‘positive reinforcement’ during these tough early days of start-up.
Now…back to the actual question: Does anyone really make any money online? Yes, I can assure you that there are LOTS of people making money online. Some people are making a little bit selling the extra stuff in their closet on EBay, some people are making zillions selling things we probably don’t want to even think about – but there in the middle are lots of pretty ordinary people making enough every month to be their own boss.
I would love to tell you that it is easy, and in two hours a week, you will be making a zillion dollars in 90 days or less – but that is not the truth, and I don’t care how many “GOOROOS” tell you different in their 35 pages sales letters.
The bottom line is that starting a business – offline OR online – takes some hard work, and lots of single-minded dedication. You may need to learn some new skills, and your social life is probably going to tank for awhile, but I promise you that the end result will be worth it, if it’s what you really want to do.
The good news, though, is that starting a web-based business is still a LOT easier and a oodles less expensive than the brick and mortar version. AND – and this is a BIG and here – once you DO get a web business up and running, you will actually be able to reclaim your old social and then some.
You see, the whole point of that initial hard work is to get to what we like to call “The IM Lifestyle”, and trust me, it does exist. It’s the joy of floating in your pool on a hot summer day, while your websites are making affiliate sales or helping your Mom relocate from one side of the country to the other while you are raking in Adsense earnings on your ‘automated’ blogs. I know this, because I do this
As to how you are going to make money – the list of options is almost endless: you can sell other people’s products (tangible or intangible) through affiliate marketing or dropshipping, set up your own store (either on your own site or Ebay or Etsy), personality blogging, writing content for other site owners – the list goes on and on. Network marketing is now very successfully done online, and can be a great way to build a dependable monthly income stream – without the dreaded in person nightly meetings and calls of the old days!
We will be covering a variety of different ways to make a living online in the coming months but no matter what your interests – as long as you have an internet connection and a computer, you can get started!
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Short URL: http://secondwindentrepreneurs.org/blog/?p=350
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Hi, I would like to add my 2cents worth in the hope that I can save you money and time. One of the first things you need to do when you are looking to start up, is to look for a good cheap or free, but also quality coaching program, of which there are a number of out there. It should have a clear description about what Internet Marketing is, how and what you can acheive, and one which will not try to bleed you dry while you are in the process of deciding what it is you want to do online. Do not get caught into the trap of feeling like you need to buy the next big product that has you believing you can be successful overnight. Once you know what type of internet business you wish to work at then you may need to target a specific coaching program for that type of IM business. By being connected with Secondwindentrepreneurs you have made a good start. You will need to understand what you require, but also the processes of working online. I could describe to you what I have been through since I first decided to try IM but I would be too embarrased to put it in writing. There are so many good qualified people out there online, the challenge is to know who are the good ones. I am no expert but I hope I have been of some help. Regards John
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Part of the problem IS that there are so many ways, and those wandering into IM tend to have at least some A.D.D. in their DNA. (I sure do)
The Internet, while powerful, and far-reaching, is also the biggest time-sink ever invented. Perhaps more so than any other moneymaking discipline, the very nature of the net will PUNISH you if you don’t learn to tame it.
In my 20-odd years online (yes, dating back to the dialup BBS SysOp era), I’ve seen it all. Most of it isn’t pretty. The single most common “urban legend” is that you can start making money on the Internet with zero skills and zero funds and make a bunch of money quickly. That’s pure crap. EXPECT it to take both money AND time (unless you have an awful lot of money, and even then, there are ways the net will find to part you from it) – it’s certainly no free lunch. Sorry.
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