How do you get from the desire to make money online to actually reaching your goal?
I call this the “Dreamer’s Gap”, the difference between “wanting” and “wishing” to make a profit from your own online business to seeing the money in your bank account.
Believe me, that GAP for many is HUGE!
It doesn’t have to be though.
Dreamer’s Gap – What Is It?
The challenge most new entrepreneurs have to actually making money online are:
- Knowing the next step to take and which direction to take it
- Cutting through the “noise” and confusion where seemingly everyone has an opinion or advice
- Matching a business with their own strengths or desires
- Having the confidence and support required to strike out with 110% effort, motivation and certainty
- Building a REAL business that adds value, has lasting power and will continue to bring in profit 3-months, 3-years and beyond
The first mistake that often occurs with new online entrepreneurs is they jump around trying short-term, get-rich-quick, temporary, tactical business methods only to find that they either don’t work or they only work once or twice.  Examples of these include things like Ebay (sure you can sell some of your crap on Ebay, but how long does that last until you are sitting in a empty house?), Craigslist ads, MLM, licensing schemes, etc…
Clear First Step To Making Money Online
What you really want is understand a clear first-step that moves the pins on your objective to make money online.
That first step MUST involve selection of a business model.
Think about it, you can pick business tactics, niche markets, products, etc…but if you don’t understand the fundamentals about how money is really made online and tap into that flow or profit, your chances of success are less than winning the lottery.
Because I understand how “noisy” and confusing this space is, let’s be CRYSTAL clear about the options in front of you.
Even better, when you have chosen a primary model to go with, post your decision as a comment to this blog post…along with any questions or statements you want to make. This will help ensure you progress on your goal to make a profit online through a legitimate business that adds value, builds customers, and continues to grow.
1. Sell A Service Or Knowledge
The first option you have is to make money by performing a service or sharing knowledge real-time with a market. Some examples include: web design, graphics design, payment processor setup, writing. Do you have any expertise you can sell to a market with desire? If this is not the path you want to follow, then…let’s move on to the next option.
Think carefully about this option, though you can make some “fast” up-front money with this model by securing clients quickly, the real potential in a business like this is over time where you gain a reputation and increasingly are able to gain “word-of-mouth” testimonials from your customers and can charge more for your services (increasing your profit margin) over time.
Simply ask yourself “Is this a business I want to be in 6-months, 1-year or even 3-years down the line?
2. Package Information Into “How To” Products
One of the fastest growing segments over the last decade has been the creation and marketing of “solutions” and “outcomes” packaged as “how-to” informational courses and products such as reports, ebooks, seminars, coaching courses, membership sites etc…
How long it takes to ramp an info product business has to do with a) How well you know the information product creation process and b) How well you know or have access to knowledge about the markets and topics you choose.
If you don’t have a clue, but want to take a stab at this business, then 60-90 days is a fair timeframe to plan in terms of ramp-up to profit, on the other hand if you have some existing knowledge or access to knowledge and have more time to spend each week you can work the 45-day plan inside InfoMarketer’sZone and see some very nice results in as little as 60-days (results vary depending on effort and by person of course).
3. Sell As An Affiliate
Affiliate/E-commerce – you become a portal (single page or larger) for buyers in a given niche and you make your money selling other people’s stuff…this can be intangible ( info products) or tangible (Amazon store selling camping supplies for example) Key here is to know how to find niches, understand web design, provide enough value that makes you stand out (on topic, clean design, useful pre-sale info, etc…)
These 3 are the primary business models you want to choose from, each can be built quickly into sustainable businesses – do you have a sense for which one is more appealing for you today?
If so, post your thoughts as a comment to this blog on the way to you taking a step in the right direction toward your online business goals.
In our case, info products are primary with affiliate revenue and coaching as secondary income streams, but you have to decide what is best for you.
