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Internet Marketing > Weekly
Tips > SSWT 4/01/05
Frustrated with Internet Business?
Read This...
This
week's tip and message to you comes from Rosalind
Gardner, and packs quite the punch! It's not often
that I use someone else's work within my newsletter, but this
was the absolute best advice I have heard about starting
(or running) an online business in quite some time. You
may even have a friend or two you want to share this one with...
-----------------------------------------------------------
Have you been trying to start an Internet business and
find yourself broke, desperate and coming to the end of your tether?
Well, you're not alone.
Here
are samples of correspondence that I've received from folks who
are in exactly that situation.
"...I
have bought so many books I have lost count and am now so totally
confused (and broke) about what to do I'm just about to give up."
"...I
am twenty years old and entirely dependent on myself. I have no
parents and I am out on my own trying to make my way in this cruel
world. I struggle to get by with my current job as a bus boy and
I am tired of living from paycheck to paycheck. I am currently
out of school and wish to go back but I do not have the time nor
the money. I have dreams but do not have the time nor the money
to pursue them."
"...I
am a parent, divorced and am struggling to make ends meet. I cannot
quit my job."
"...I
desperately need more income."
"...bill
collectors hounding..."
"...I
am a mom of six children and I have tried and spent thousands
of dollars on trying to make money."
"...as
a two month veteran on the Internet I don't know if I can take
another hit. I feel like I've been 10 rounds with Mike Tyson and
I'm really thinking about staying on the canvas. Thousands of
dollars later and I'm still on the starting line!"
"...invested
thousands of dollars of my saving in the last two years in h*me
business that I could not afford."
"...burned
really bad within the last two years for alot of money."
Do those messages ring any bells for you?
Yes?
OK...I
want you to pinch yourself to confirm that you're still among
the living.
Still
here?
Good!
Where
there's life, there's hope.
Now
take a long, deep breath. Make that 10 deep breaths.
No,
seriously. Close your eyes, breathe deeply and feel your body
relax.
Relaxed?
OK, here are some suggestions.
First
of all, focusing on losses won't help you win. Let go of the past.
What's done is done. Unless you can recoup some of your money,
learn the lesson, chalk it up to experience and move on.
Next,
work on building a mental image of yourself as an extraordinarily
happy and successful Internet entrepreneur.
Trust
me, this works.
Failing
my first attempt at air traffic control, I felt defeated, depressed
and stupid. When given a second training opportunity, I was reluctant
to try, fearful of failing again.
Then
the little voice inside my head told me how much I really WANTED
that job. I also wanted to prove that those who cast me aside
the first time were wrong - that I COULD
do that job.
But
could I really?
It
was time for some honest self-evaluation. What stumbling blocks
had I put in my path? Was it lack of knowledge? Lack of effort?
Not at all. I didn't honestly BELIEVE I could do it, AND I was
intensely AFRAID of failing.
Yikes!
Fear and lack of self-confidence. What a great recipe for failure
that was. I got exactly what I focused on most.
However,
believing you can be successful at something when you've already
failed at it once before can be a bit of a trick.
It
CAN be done, however. I adopted a 'B.S. baffles brains' or 'Fake
it 'til you make it' approach during my second ATC course.
Every
step of the way I asked myself what a REAL air traffic controller
would do in that situation, and then did that. Even when I wasn't
completely confident, I forced my voice
to at least sound confident. I acted the part until it became
my reality.
So
how did REAL netpreneurs approach their business and become successful?
Well,
because it's impossible to think clearly while worried about how
to pay this month's rent, they didn't spend their last dime on
an business opportunity.
If
you're currently in serious debt, then consider talking to a financial
planner to help rework your finances.
Leo
Quinn's 'Own Your Own PayCheck Again' is a terrific resource for
those who are serious about debt relief. He prescribes uncommon
methods that I know from first-hand experience really work.
His
book is a bit pricey, but it's a far better investment than buying
an information manual that instructs you to go out and spend even
more to build your business, when you don't have it to spend.
Why not learn some techniques on how to pay off your debt quicker
and keep a little more in your pocket?
http://hop.clickbank.net/?webvista2.leoquinn
If
you can afford to pay the bills but not much else, focus
your energy on saving and earning the amount you'll need to build
your business without worry. Invest small amounts on things that
will bring real returns in the short term.
For
example, scour your basement and your friends' basements for things
to sell on eBay. The insertion fee for items listed at less than
a buck is 25 cents US. If the item sells for
under 25 bucks, you'll pay a 5.25% 'final value fee' to eBay.
Do that enough times and pretty soon you'll have five hundred
or a thousand bucks to invest in your business... but only if
you SAVE what you make.
Even
if you have wads of cash, be realistic and informed about how
you spend your money.
I've
talked to far too many folks who invest in expensive coaching
programs, believing that somehow their business will magically
appear once they've completed the course.
In
reality, whether you buy a 27 dollar ebook, or a 5,000 dollar
Internet business coaching program, in most cases you're buying
information on how to build a business, not a service that will
do the work for you.
If
that's what you want, then you may want to consider buying an
existing business. However, it may be hard to find someone who
has invested the time, effort and money to build a profitable
online business, who is willing to sell. Basically, at that stage,
the business should generate revenue automatically without a whole
lot of input from the creator... so they'd be a little daft to
sell, don't you think?
Do
your due diligence. Read the fine print, ask questions and understand
exactly what you're getting. And with regard to those coaching
programs.... get a written contract, and search the forums for
at least five people who have taken the program and were really
happy with it... i.e. aren't just saying good things because they're
trying to sell you the program through their link.
If
you choose to go the information manual route, plan to follow
ALL the instructions, or fail otherwise.
For
everyone who ever told me "I bought this, that or the other
book (or DVD, course, program, coaching package) and it didn't
work", it was easy to prove that it wasn't thebook that didn't
work - it was THEY that didn't work.
We
can't expect to be successful with ugly websites, little or poor
content, not building a list or not building a relationship with
our visitors and subscribers.
The
truth of the matter is that there are no shortcuts.
Each
and every step is essential, and every successful netpreneur has
paid his or her dues to get to where they are today. They did
their homework, made mistakes, and learned the lessons - always
believing in their ability to succeed.
Starting
an internet business is still easier, faster and less expensive
(by far) than starting an offline business. If you want to do
it bad enough, you WILL find a way to make it work.
'Til
next time...
Cheers,
Rosalind
P.S.
Stay tuned. Next week I'm going to tell you the best ways to make
money with Adsense.
---
Rosalind Gardner is author of the best-selling
Super
Affiliate Handbook: How I Made 436,797 in One Year
Selling Other People's Stuff Online.
(be
sure to visit the link above to sign up for Rosalind's free Net
Profits Coach Ezine so that you don't miss the next issue!)