If you ask Google how you can make money online, you will see there are millions of pages out there designed to tell you exactly that. Over 85 million at the time of writing this! Small wonder then that so many people come away more confused than they were to begin with. How on earth do you choose from 85 million points of view?
Who Can You Ask?
In any other area of your life, you would probably do one of two things. Ask someone you know, or find an expert and ask them. Now finding an ‘expert’ these days is easy. Just ask Google! That narrows it down to just 24 million today! It will be more by the time you read this. The internet is a marvellous tool when used intelligently but it can also be the biggest distraction and most overwhelming thing ever. It broadens our horizons to such a point that we can’t see the horizon anymore, it just goes on and on infinitely it would seem.
So, the other alternative is to ask someone you know. Well, I don’t know about you, but when I decided to look for ways to make money online at my convenience, I was the first person I’d known to do that. I did ask some people I knew and they couldn’t give me much detail but, almost to a man, were able to advise me against it. They didn’t know what it involved, how to start or what to do but they knew that it didn’t work unless you were already rich, a crook or a geek! As it happens, being told I couldn’t achieve something has always been the greatest motivation for me. I enjoy the challenge and like to exceed people’s expectations and I am very tenacious when motivated. Some people might say stubborn, I prefer tenacious!
I have since learnt that my friend’s reactions are very typical of those faced by most internet marketers to start with. There is an interesting mathematical equation, which seems to indicate that this derision recedes in direct proportion to the rise in income made by the online business. An interesting fact to note is that according to the Home-Based Business Institute, about 70% of home-based businesses will succeed in their first three-years, compared with 29% of other business ventures. I know which odds I prefer.
So, if you can’t rely on people you already know and don’t know how to find an ‘expert’ what can you do?
10 Things a Great Mentor Can Do For You
My solution was simple and effective, I found myself a mentor that I felt I could work with and joined an online support community run by people who are already successful online business owners. As well as getting practical help and support from my mentors, this community provides me with a number of key elements which have made my success much more achievable.
· Easy to follow, step by step training which starts with the basics
· Regular live webinars with the community leaders where I can interact, ask questions and get help
· All the tools I need to run my business like web hosting and autoresponder in one place
· A community forum for internet marketers, where there are no sales pitches or competition, just a sharing of information and genuine help from people who are ahead of me on the road to financial freedom
· Recommended products – only recommended when they’ve been extensively tried and tested so I no longer have to worry about the next ‘latest – greatest’ product launch
· Ready made web pages and lead capture pages, again issued only after they’ve been tested to make sure they convert
· A variety of ways to create multiple income streams online and help with offline lead generation
· Advice, training and leadership from genuine experts without bias – the likes of Stuart Ross and Daniel Wagner for example how have walked the road I’m on with great success
· The emotional and psychological support needed to succeed online. Don’t underestimate the pressure of working alone and online if you’re not used to it. They’re outweighed by the freedom and comparative reduction of stress but like anything new, it takes adjusting too
· The chance to join a Mastermind Group and meet other people running a home business in my area to share ideas, information and inspiration
Membership to this Six Figure Community is strictly by invitation only to ensure that everyone receives the guidance and assurance they need in the early days.
mother of two boys. I am a Master Practitioner of NLP, Time Line Therapy? and Hypnosis, working in the field of personal development, coaching others to realise their full potent.