Beware - This false information could cost you your online future!

[Andyhenry]

Hi Warriors,

Last year was a really interesting year for me and I had a lot of ups and downs to learn from in most areas of my life, but putting things into perspective is where all the juice in life comes from so I'm not complaining.

However, with regards to my online business and this forum in particular, one thing really disturbed me many times and I want to discuss it, or at least bring it out into the open.

If you're new to the forum you probably get overwhelmed by the shear amount of information moving around here and probably don't really know which of it is genuine, who is 'really' making money online, and what is just bad or stale information.

There are many established people here who you can trust, but with new people joining all the time with all sorts of agendas and purposes it's not really possible to avoid some of the bad information that gets posted as though it's fact.

So, I'd like to offer this piece of advice so that you don't get suckered into wasting your money buying into 'the secret to IM' from people just looking to fleece you of your money.


.................... There is NO 'one' way to make money online ......................

..................... No-one knows your potential as well as YOU .....................

..................... ANY generic marketing information is 'Interesting' at best, useless possibly...


Now, I know you're thinking that this is just simple information which you already knew - however, although I already know that too, I'm constantly amazed how just how little faith people have in their own resources and abilities so that they're constantly looking for other people to tell them what to do, how to do it, where to do it, when to do it, etc.......


The 'secret' to IM is that you are already good enough to make great money.

Whether you're a techy or a technophobe is irrelevant.

You don't need money to get started.

You don't need a special education.

You don't need special tools.

**No-one who tells you that you do is serving your best interest**

There are some great tools out there for doing really useful things, sure - I know that.

But your best and most important tool is your mind. Your ability to ignore the people who would tell you it can't be done or that it only happens to other people.

You don't need to have some special knowledge which others consider you an expert for.

Whatever you think you need, or have been told you need is irrelevant without your own sense of what you're doing and WHY you're doing it.


Whatever anyone tells you about social marketing, seo, writing ebooks, using rss, blogging etc. etc. is irrelevant compared to your own clear vision of what you're trying to achieve.

Most of the things that people spend all of their time worrying about, focusing on, talking about are just the details of how to implement systems to support your business - without a business to point them at you're wasting your time.


There 2 skills which can take you from nothing to massive revenue very quickly....

1 - Effective communication skills.

2 - Organisational skills.


With either of these things you can start making money right away.

To break it down into simple terms - you need to be able to put an good offer in front of the right people.

Learning copywriting is a great way to leverage communication skills to make money.

Anything you can offer to others to help them make more money - will make you money.

If you can't do anything useful yourself or you don't want to, then learn to organise others.

Outsourcing the creation of things is a skill that can get you making money right away. If you can offer anything that other people can create - you can pretty much offer anything.


If you've learned about internet marketing and still don't have a business to use it on - make sure you're clear about what you do and don't know/understand (do this honestly - if you think you talk a good game but haven't actually produced any results - get real about it). You can offer to help other businesses in your area, personally, you could run evening classes, workshops etc.... Just be clear about what you know and what you intend to share. You don't have to be a guru to help other people. Some people really do just want to learn simple things like how to make a blog and put up affiliate links.


If you get clear about what you can do and who needs it, you'll find you probably are already in a position to help far more people than you could ever handle. If they have money and want help, you just need to put together a framework for how you want to offer it so that you're comfortable that you can deliver what you promise - anything else is sugar on top.

If you've wanted to run a membership site but think it's too complicated - just remember, you only have to deliver what you promise - that can be something very simple and well within your comfort zone, or not.



So after all that - I'm just saying.......


Don't let anyone tell you that you can't be successful - or that without their version of success you'll fail.

It's all BS.

You CAN make great money starting today and you don't need anything in order to get started.

By all means educate yourself, buy the right tools, make the right relationships so that you can maximise and leverage things to get to your goals quicker - just please.... don't think that you can't start today or that you need something you don't have in order to get started.

He who hesitates....waits....

Have a fantastic 2009.

Andy

[Eric Lorence]

Thank you Andy...

It's good to see you decided to stay.

I would certainly miss your posts!

[David_Thompson]

Hey Andy,

another well formulated post with so kickbutt advise
to go with it...

Something you didn't touch on is that fact that people
tend to let their fear of the unknown get to them and
all the talk about info overload is bi product of that fear.

Make quick decisions, implement them and then go back
and tweak, change and make better but don't let fear or
doubt get into the one thing that can make you money
you...

Great post Andy...

--David

[Richard Odell]

Originally Posted by Andyhenry

He who hesitates....waits....

Have a fantastic 2009.

Andy

If all the posts in the future reflect the quality of this one, it certainly will be!

Andy - all the very best to you in 2009...

-Rich

[doberman]

thanks for the Heads up

[BIG Mike]

You're on a roll Andy....keep 'em coming!

[michaelmac]

Great advice Andy! Glad you are still favouring us with your presence!

Best,

Michael

[milamber]

Thanks for this andy.. Enlightened me up

[madison_avenue]

Terrific post Andy. You make a great point about wasting time on getting the "perfect implementation", when actually it is about what value you are offering and to whom you are offering it.

[jhongren]

Hi Andy,

I love your post.

After venturing in IM for a while,
I realise nothing beats the belief
in ourselves.

If we believe we can do it, we can.

If we think we can't, we are right too.

Thanks for the excellent post once
again.

Happy new year to you and
thanks for all your sharing.

Cheers,
John

[Barbara Eyre]

Andy,

Thank you for voicing this!

I've been told who knows how many times that you have to have money in order to make money. That is not necessarily true. You can start free and work your way up. I did! Now I'm about to own my own hosting/web design service.

If you start out the free route, it may take you longer to get up to speed, but look at all the things you'll learn in the meantime! Talk about a free education. *grins*

But seriously - if there was just only one way to make money (offline or online), then we wouldn't have half the types of businesses/services we have in this world.

While there are some fundamental foundational basis that all businesses are built on ... from there on out, your business is built on your dreams and ideas. Not what other people say.

So, like what Andy said - go out there and make it happen. Don't let others keep you back because you are not doing it "their" way.

Make 2009 YOUR Year!

[Kim Standerline]

As usual a fab post from Andy

He has a real point when he says to basically believe in both yourself and your own abilities. I would suggest every one of us is good at something, it's knowing what it is and then capitalising on it.

Kim

[Lance K]

Dead on, Andy. I've long said that I'll burn the importance of communication and organization into my kids' brains or die trying!

Originally Posted by Andyhenry

There 2 skills which can take you from nothing to massive revenue very quickly....

1 - Effective communication skills.

2 - Organisational skills.

[Hunter06]

Great post Andy,
I agree with virtually everything you've said. However, I think that too many people who are new to IM come to this forum to be spoon fed. Instead of researching the topic or question and trying to find a solution first and then coming here to ask for clarity, they expect other members, who have put in the time and effort to learn the subject, to give all the answers. It doesn't work that way. The 18 hour days and all night sessions that most of us put in to become educated and informed don't seem to appeal to the newbies.

I'm not for one minute suggesting that a question be answered with rudeness as some here are fond of doing. What I am suggesting is that there be gentle reminders to research topics before asking basic questions that have answers that are freely available. Maybe I'm just being a cranky old fart today, but it is tiresome to see members ask questions where they have obviously not taken the time to do some hard work first.

[Heather Bestel]

Thank you Andy for being so direct.

It's easy to be confused by all the 'advice' that's being thrown around.

I know that I, for one, will be focusing this year on what I am an expert at and what I get passionate about. Too much time can be wasted when we run in lots of different directions at the same time. And our own personal message gets diluted.

Thanks for reminding us to connect with who we really are and what our message is. And for reminding us to believe in ourselves.

Just what we need as we find ourselves at the beginning of a new and exciting year.
Best wishes
Heather

[Talltom1]

Hey everybody,

The single biggest key to the excellent advice that Andy gave is his comment about having a 'clear vision'. In fact, based on my research of small business success and failures during the past 25 years, the lack of an overall vision is THE single biggest reason for small business failure.

The old saying is that if you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there. Consequently, coming to the WF with the goal of learning how to make big money in 20 minutes, IS NOT A VALID STRATEGY for success, in and of itself!!!.

The people on this forum who are successful are the ones who've taken the time to build a business, based on an overall concept or vision for what they want to achieve. And like every other successful business venture I've encountered in the past 25 years, this just takes more than 24 hours to build a reputation, generate a following of people who want to visit your online store or website!!!

Starting an online marketing business doesn't require a big cash investment, but the investment of sweat equity, perseverance, patience, and persistence is always huge.

Talltom

[capriliz]

Andy,

Thanks for this down-to-earth reminder that we already have what it takes.

We just need to use it.

It is so easy to get caught up in the "next big thing that you must have in order to succeed" and forget that we just need to do it.

[Lee McIntyre]

Andy,

That's an excellent post and thanks for sharing. I see so many people hesitate before getting started - trying to make sure everything is totally perfect and all the pieces are in place. The best advice is to just get stuck in and learn as you go.

Great post as usual!

Cheers

Lee McIntyre

[bio prez]

great advice for everyone to help us all succeed in the new year! thanks!

[George Wright]

Andy,

I too am out of thank you clicks. So thank you.

George Wright

[Steven Wagenheim]

Andy, when I first started reading your post, I didn't know where it was
going, but then I hit this section.

without a business to point them at you're wasting your time.


There 2 skills which can take you from nothing to massive revenue very quickly....

1 - Effective communication skills.

2 - Organisational skills.

Bingo! That's the bottom line to success. You have to a business, a real
business...something to actually offer somebody that they're going to
want and be willing to spend money on.

Then, you have to effectively communicate that business to people (either
on your own or through outsourcing to others) and make sure you're
organized enough to actually run your business. And if you can't do that,
then outsource that as well.

With so many things in this world that people need (this list is endless) I
simply can't understand why anybody would have problems simply coming
up with a business idea and plan.

This really isn't that hard, but people over-complicate it. Only reason it
took me forever to get somewhere is because I had no idea, no direction,
no nothing.

I'll add this. If you don't know how to get the things that Andy is talking
about...if you don't know where to begin or even how to think (some
people have problems thinking of ideas) then get yourself an established
mentor with verifiable credentials to get you started. The money you will
spend will be more than worth it in the money that you will save doing
stupid things that won't get you anywhere.

Andy, thank you very much for a very sobering and dead on post.

[shocs]

Some were just born to make money online.

[Mmfh]

Thanks Andy!
I'm new here and new to making money online and I found your post refreshing and inspirational to say the least!

Great Post!!

Mm

[Steven Wagenheim]

Originally Posted by shocs

Some were just born to make money online.

If you think that, you are very much mistaken. Nobody is born to do
anything. Results come out of putting in time and effort into something.

Very few people in this world, unless they come from very wealthy families,
have things handed to them.

Your life is what you make of it.

[lisawood]

Thanks for this post - I kept scrolling, looking for a sales pitch, but there wasn't one - so I went back and read it again.

Great advice. Best wishes for 2009.

Lisa

[mmurtha]

Hey Andy,

Good solid post! Matter of fact, this one might be the best one I've seen you post, so thanks!

Btw, it's good to see you in print ...


Mary

[romanmt]

Thanks for sharing this, Andy.