Are You Swimming with Sharks?

Copyright © Charlie Page


A number of years ago a business book was written with the title "Swim with the Sharks without Being Eaten Alive". The Internet is a lot like the title of that book. The water is certainly full of sharks, all ready to take their $39.99 (or more) bite out of YOUR wallet!

Before you become someone's next snack and make your credit card scream "Not again!" let's look at the things you will need to succeed now and in the future.

Before we go further let me say that you CAN make a living online, pretty much without regard to your age, experience or education level. Let me also add that I'm not going to recommend anyone's product or service, even mine.

The FIRST thing you need is knowledge, and plenty of it. Fortunately, there are great resources you can tap that won't cost a dime. This ezine is one of those resources!

Here are the five things I would tell any person wanting to "make it" online.

-----> Know the Language

Imagine being dropped by helicopter into the deepest, darkest jungle you can imagine. The natives don't speak your language and you certainly don't speak theirs.

Welcome to the Internet! ;)

The *first* thing you must understand is the language of the Net. You must become familiar (not an expert, just familiar) with things like...

* Autoresponders

* Cost Per Thousand (CPM)

* Ebook

* Ezines

* FAQ

* HTML

* ISP

* MLM

* Opt-In

* PDF

* And more!

The more you know, the more time you will save sifting through the offers you receive and the less money you will waste buying something you really didn't want.

Here's a tip. When you find a site that defines terms well, copy the definitions and create your own "Internet Dictionary". Soon you won't waste time OR money.

-----> Avoid Confusion

There is a proven path to success on the Internet. It includes great web copy, getting traffic to your site, placing ads in ezines, using autoresponders to follow up, having a way to collect money, selling more stuff to existing customers and so forth.

The *problem* is that there are about a thousand web sites and "gurus" who are all saying the same thing ... but in different words. No wonder most people are confused!

Here's a great way to avoid confusion. Make a list of the things you will need to succeed. A good list to start with is the list above. Then find *one* eBook, eCourse or ezine that deals with that subject. Now, here's the really hard part ... you have to READ it. Read it all. From cover to cover. Pretend you are going to make a book report on it.

You must have this basic knowledge to begin in earnest.

-----> Understand the Cost of "Free"

We would all like to believe that you can get everything you need for no money and go on to make millions on the Net. But that's not the real world.

The fact is that you will need to spend money at some point. You simply won't want the limitations that "free" requires such as other people's ads in your auto-responders.

Here's a tip. Look for services that have either been around a long time (that's anytime before the year 2000 in the Internet world) or one where you can upgrade to a paid service when you are ready. Switching services later will cost time and money.

-----> Avoid the Hype

If there were a magic formula, a "shortcut to success" or a way to make millions in 90 days everyone would be doing it.

The next time you get a "too good to be true" offer ask yourself if it makes sense for someone who makes a million dollars a year to be spending time sending YOU an unsolicited email. Then hide your credit card for the next 24 hours. If you still want the product after cooling down, go for it!

-----> Have a Plan

I'm NOT talking New Year's Resolutions or time management

here. I'm talking about sticking with something until you have the chance to succeed. SO many people on the Net join a program, don't make a dime in the first couple of months and then quit that program to do another. No one can succeed this way.

The best advice I know is to find something that interests you, investigate it well, make sure real people (not just the super-promoters) are making real money and then make a commitment to it. How long to commit will come out as you investigate it.

Want to make this your best year ever? Focus on the basics of success, be persistent and smart and success will be yours!

Feature Article: Make the Leap to Home Based Business Success
Copyright &copy Stone Evans, The Home Biz Guy
http://www.pluginprofitsite.com/main-22643

Before you can have a successful home based business, you must first possess 3 "intangibles." These are things that must come from WITHIN you.

===> Intangible 1 <===

First, you must have a strong WHY.

Why MUST you have a successful home business? What is driving you? What is it that you CAN'T have in your life anymore and/or what is it that you absolutely MUST HAVE now?

For me, I couldn't stand working 12+ hours a day anymore and missing the experience of my children growing up. I also absolutely HAD TO HAVE the freedom of being able to control my life and finances through a little box (laptop computer) that I could carry with me anywhere in the world and not be tied to anyone's time pressures or demands but my own. That was my carrot and my stick. I felt a great pain deep in my gut of missing out on my children's lives and the incredible freedom that succeeding in a home based business would provide for me. I found my why. You MUST find yours.

===> Intangible 2 <===

You must BELIEVE that it is possible.

If you don't believe that it's POSSIBLE for you to have a successful home based business or make your living from home, you won't. It's that simple.

For me, figuring out that it was possible was just a matter of realizing that many other people were ALREADY making great money working from home. If they could do it, I could too. It would just be a matter of figuring out what those people were doing and then adapting it to my situation.

There is no shortage of undeniable PROOF that people (millions of them) are making money working from home. Just get online and do some research and you'll find countless testimonials and stories of REAL PEOPLE making real money on the Internet. Or head to your local bookstore and you'll find the same documented evidence of this fact. Truth is, it's getting easier and easier to make money with your own home based business.

I've always said that "affiliate marketing" (a simple way to make money from home) is the job of the future. In the "old" days, you had to go to a potential employer, apply for the position and hope for the best. Now you can simply go to any company you want, fill out their affiliate application and start work immediately. Affiliates are the new working class. In fact, making money with affiliate programs or making your living on the Internet is WAY MORE than possible. It is pretty much (or will be soon enough) unavoidable now. Affiliate marketing is the "job" of the future that's already here TODAY.

===> Intangible 3 <===

You must be willing to MAKE THE LEAP.

Ready, FIRE, then aim... This is the operating philosophy you MUST adopt to succeed with a home based business.

That's backwards for most people who like to aim before they fire. The fact is that home based business success is a moving target... The only thing constant about it is change. You need to stop analyzing the game and simply jump into it. You can't learn from the outside... You have to be IN THE RING to truly understand it.

The lesson here is that you will never really be READY to start a home based business. You simply have to start one. It's like having children... You're never really ready, but when it happens you adapt and grow. This is what I call "Making the Leap."

The good news is that the cost of failure with having your own home based business is very small. In the "brick and mortar" world you need to evaluate things very carefully before you decide to open up a business. It's almost always necessary to invest thousands of dollars to get an offline business off the ground. However, on the Internet you can often start a successful business for less than $100. The Plug-In Profit Site is a great example of this: http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-22643

You simply need to get IN THE GAME... Each moment that you stay "out there," you're wasting valuable time that you could be learning and skills necessary to build a successful home based business. In fact, if you're not in the game yet, you're ALREADY behind the times. Make the leap to creating a successful home based business today!

About the Author:

Stone Evans, The Home Biz Guy has helped thousands of people in over 200 countries around the world start and run a successful home business. Discover 3 easy steps to start your own home business and subscribe to The Home Biz Guy's FREE Home Business Secrets Mini-Course at: http://www.pluginprofitsite.com/main-22643

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