I just received an email from a friend who was telling me about their latest business opportunity. For the purpose of this post, I will refer to him as "John".
Reading John's email, I couldn't help but roll my eyes and shake my head. John is the type of person who is always investing in some "internet opportunity", "internet business" or "profit machine". Every few months, he's jumping from product to product, business to business, and when you ask him why, he always says it's because his current opportunity will allow him to make more money than the previous one. By this logic you would assume John is making a very comfortable living from his "businesses" right? WRONG!
He doesn't want to admit it, but John is poor. Mentally and financially. He has a job, but most of his income goes to providing for his family, paying off the debts from his past failed businesses, and investing a bit of what's left over into a new opportunity that's "guaranteed" to work.
I love my friend, and for all of my efforts, he refuses to listen to me when it comes to online business and entrepreneurship. He would rather spend money on this "push button" products and solutions than invest the time, energy and effort into building his own business. And for the life of me, I do not and will NEVER understand this mentality.
Being an online entrepreneur, I can tell you without a doubt that there ARE legitimate and SUSTAINABLE ways of making money online. But very few of them (almost none of them) can be achieved working 2 hours a day, 3 days a week like some people claim.
It takes TIME to build a real business, and I don't care what most people preaching the "Entrepreneur Gospel" tell you. Look at any of the most successful businesses and entrepreneurs in the world today, and then look into their stories from start to success. I'm willing to bet you'll see that NONE of them built their companies working 6 hours a week.
My point in all of this is that, if you want to make money online, there are ways to do it. And depending on the type and size of business you want to create, you're going to have to invest a substantial amount of time in to it. Odds are, it will not happen overnight, and may take a few months or even years before it gets off the ground. Just because it takes longer or is harder to do doesn't mean you've failed as an entrepreneur. Success isn't about being the first to launch. It's about being able to launch AND stay in business an extended period of time. And you do that by creating VALUE.
Creating value is one of the most misunderstood (and often ignored) aspects of online business. But it’s also one of the most important. Value is the reason people trade or do business with you. It's what makes someone decide to exchange their money for something they want -- be it a product, service or opportunity. Value can be tangible or intangible, and really, it's interpreted by the mind of the end user or customer.
For example, many people buy new smartphones because either the latest features make their daily lives easier to manage (better organization = intangible value), because they want to be among the first to own the new device (elevated emotional state = intangible value) or because the product itself is something they've wanted for a while and finally are able to purchase (the product itself = tangible value).
Value translates into something the receiver can use to enrich, empower or improve their status, livelihood/circumstances or their lives in general. Real businesses create value. But because value cannot be easily explained, many internet entrepreneurs (con-artists) use the illusion of a great opportunity to lure people into their "business" (trap) by making people believe they are investing in an opportunity to increase their income. And while there is nothing wrong with investing or buying into a product or program to gain access, one should not have to buy into an opportunity where the only "value" that's created is the assumption that you can now make more money. People like my friend John fall for this every time.
You don't need to "invest" into any one's opportunity to make money online. All it takes is building a platform, positioning it correctly, and creating a marketable and profitable experience people will enjoy. But because most people don't know how to do this, or are not very good at it, many internet entrepreneurs cleverly devise "products" and services aimed at teaching you these things quickly and easily, and promising you success in days, not months or years. They use compelling stories and often times with include expensive cars, luxury locations and large mansions in their marketing and promotional materials to entice users to subscribe and join in. They focus more on the results, than actually how someone can leverage their opportunity to achieve any level of success.
They flaunt their wealth, and promote the idea that anyone can achieve it by buying their product, and because people are so focused on buying THINGS than building something of true value, they fall victim and give more and more money to these "successful" online entrepreneurs, whose wealth is only amassed from the people who buy their products, and not having any real investments or businesses of their own.
Two years ago I started a blog to share a personal experience, only for it to become the foundation of a growing business today. My friend John at the time was investing in yet another "business opportunity" that was sure to produce results. Two years later, and I'm making almost $2,000 a week from my business, where as John isn't making anything. Two years, and hundreds of dollars later and he has NOTHING to show for his efforts. I've created value by providing ebooks, newsletter and training that show people how to build blogs, websites and profit online. John has never created any value, and therefore, has never made any money.
I share this post simply to say this: there is nothing wrong with investing in an online business or opportunity, just be sure you know what you're getting from it. Know what value that business offers you, and you measure value by determining how it's going to enrich, empower and improve your life. If it's not offering something that will allow you to advance and grow beyond where you are today, then it's not worth your time.
Your time is your most precious asset. Once spent it can never be reclaimed, so use it wisely.
My friend spends his time chasing the dream of making money, when all the while he could have been building something to turn that dream into a reality. Don't be like my friend. Invest your time, build something that generates REAL value, and watch your vision and business thrive from the fruits of your labor.
"All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty." - Proverbs 14:23
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