The Power of Residual Income
Residual income, multiple streams of
recurring revenue…
they all sound good but do you
really understand their power?
Although I’ve been working online since the early 90′s (yup, that’s a lifetime in this industry!), I spent the decades before that as a “Road Warrior”, driving around in my car all day, through the dog days of summer and the torrential rains of northern California winters. I was in “Outside Sales” and darned good at it, too.
And I was miserable.
You see, no matter how successful you are in a traditional sales role, you are like the shark – if you stop moving (selling) you die (no more income!). It was vicious cycle that almost cost me my life – I was working so hard and such long hours, that I became quite ill, simply because my body’s defenses were so depleted that I could not fight off the flu. Well, maybe if I had simply gone to bed and tried to get well, I would have been okay…but I couldn’t take the time off.
I owned a mortgage company for many years – and worked 80 hour weeks on a regular basis. As soon as one deal closed – I had to get another one. I also ran a very successful real estate magazine for 3 years – and as soon as one issue went out the door, I had to start selling the next one.
And as soon as I stopped selling….I stopped making money. The perpetual loop of frustration!
Then one day, a business acquaintance introduced me to the concept of ‘residual income‘ and I have never looked back. It was a life-changing bit of information and is the foundation of everything that I do today!
When I first learned that there were actually products that would pay you not just for the sale of the product but (in essence) for acquisition of the customer….my entire outlook changed. Now if that sounds pretty dramatic – I meant it that way, because it has had that profound an impact on my life.
Over the next several years, I completely changed the way I evaluate any new opportunity or product presented to me – and my first criteria, now, is ALWAYS …..residual income!
Has it paid off? Yes, in a big way. I have a good life, and a happy one. Has it been without it’s challenges? No – some of the companies and ventures I tried did not work as I had hoped, some were simply just not “right” for me, since I really only want to work with companies and products that I like and can personally recommend.
Although most people associate ‘residual income’ with Network Marketing or MLM – that is NOT always the case! In fact, while I have been successful in several Network Marketing companies there are many, many other ways to generate a life-time income of recurring revenue streams that have nothing to do with MLM!
There are literally thousands of different products and services that you can start marketing today, with little or no cost upfront that can get you started on creating your own ‘life time recurring revenue streams’ – recurring income that will come in month after month whether you are home working or on a Caribbean cruise.
All you need to look for are products and services that people will buy over and over, preferably with a subscription or auto-ship program. This can be through a Network Marketing company or through an affiliate program. I recommend promoting several so that you are never totally dependent on just one single revenue stream (and yes, I DID learn that lesson the hard way…it was not fun and not something I want to repeat again!)
Unfortunately, as most of you know, public perception of residual income and network marketing has been created by promoters who promise the “miracle product” and a “killer pay plan” for “anyone who can fog a mirror”. It’s been given a bad name by the guy with the soap leaflets that kidnaps you from your cousin’s wedding for a “brief” 2 hr presentation at the local Denny’s.
The myth that you can build a downline of thousands with no work is just that – a myth. The truth is no matter which residual income business model you may choose – it’s still just that – a BUSINESS, and it’s like any other business – effort, persistence and resources yield results.
But, here is the REAL power of residual income:
you make the sale once, and get paid many times.
Understanding the true meaning of this concept is the
difference between simply making a
few extra dollars every month -
or being able to take control of your life!
Once you begin to truly understand the power of residual income, you look at every product or service you are thinking about selling differently – and for someone that has been a sales professional her entire life – this was a profound lesson to learn!
More From cemelody
Short URL: http://secondwindentrepreneurs.org/blog/?p=290
Posted by admin
on Dec 29 2010. Filed under SWE Weekly.
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Useful information about residual income, thank you.
Plymouth Roofer
[Reply]
Hi
Liked the post here. I think one of the myths that stops people achieving is the one that says you can make money online easily and quickly. Not true. You need to be prepared for some hard work, together with an absolute cliff of a learning curve. My tip to people is to go blog hopping. There is more free information and genuine help in the blogosphere, than all the so called guru ‘Underground Blueprints’.
They make a fortune by . . . . . . selling you their garbage.
Biggest Tip (Engrave this into the wall, cat whatever). YOU NEED A LIST!
Without a list of customers, you will not make money online.
Any takers?
Alan
[Reply]