Want to make money? Learn a lesson from the gold rush of long ago. :)

LOL as long as the media keeps telling people there's gold, there will be a demand for shovels.

THE HOOKERS

who said that you cannot be the few gold miners who made it big? well it all depends on who is involved. they both can be losers or winners. what matters is your determinations and strategies.

Determination and Strategy will fetch you the gold....... need not dig too much

Excellent words of wisdom.

This saying is true even in todays times. IM is like one big gold rush and people providing services are the ones selling shovels.

So true, Rob! And really worth some thought.

That's partly why so many choose to be in the IM niche, I guess. Knowledge, how-to and resources are also needed tools, eh?

But yeah, finding something that all IMers need in their business is a very smart move (if you're able to sell it and get it in front of them).

Or the pimps?

Most of the people in the gold rush didn't make money not because there wasn't any gold but because they didn't know what they was doing.

Most people don't realize that the gold miners who knew how to mine gold made fortunes during the gold rush.

It is just like internet marketing today. Many don't make any money, but a few take the time to learn the business and make a great living from marketing online.

Wow I didn't think of shovels or hookers-

I thought of Levis - Levi Strauss - The History of Blue Jeans and Denim

Talk about a lasting legacy!

This is so true, but sad at the same time. Because the reality is that many people will sell the shovel (say a wso, for example) and it will be a crappy service knowing damn well that it will not get them to their gold, a bunch of misinformation that the person selling probably hasn't even applied. But i guess everyone has to make a living.

Its really an old quote but sometimes it really works.
Any how thanks for sharing!

Cool thread.

Funny you're talking about the gold mine/shovel metaphor. I used to teach/sell an expensive stock and option trading course at nationwide seminars back in '99 - 2000. It wasn't my course I contracted as an instructor with a big seminar company. During a two-day basic trading seminar there were many mini presentations for more advanced training and seminars woven into the curriculum.

During my final contact with the audience, or the close, I sometimes illustrated the similarities between the then booming stock market with the once booming gold rush. I used the metaphor of the hot market being the untapped gold mine and the advanced courses and live seminars as the shovel and other mining tools. I'd spend nearly an hour developing this pitch and it worked very well.

Towards the end of the pitch I'd even joke about the prices of the advanced courses and seminars from the customer's point of view...


That would get lots of laughs and agreement that the advanced courses were really expensive.

And then after the group had settled down I'd ask them in earnest that if they knew there was a $100,000 nugget in a particular spot, how much would a shovel be worth?

Then it would get so quiet you could hear a flea fart. That was the part where people would start getting out of their seats and head to the back of the room with credit card in hand to sign up for more instruction.

I learned a lot about human motivation and emotion-driven selling during those days. And I couldn't have done any of this if the advanced training stuff wasn't top notch. It was everything promised and more.

Rob,

You are so right. Actually, because of the Gold Rush of 1849, San Francisco's population grew from about 800 in 1848 to over 50,000 in 1849.

Check this excerpt from Martin Kelly, American Historian on about.com ...

"The individuals who became the richest were in fact not these early miners but were instead entrepreneurs who created businesses to support all of the prospectors. It is easy to think of all the essentials this mass of humanity would need in order to live. Businesses sprang up to meet their needs. Some of these businesses are still around today including Levi Strauss and Wells Fargo."

You can read his entire article here ...
Going to California: 49ers and the Gold Rush

Levi Strauss made rugged button fly jeans that stood up to the grueling, dirty, hard work that miners put them through. And when you went into a Levi Strauss store, you could also get shovels, picks, and everything else you needed to chase your dreams.

But one important point should be made. There were lots of companies selling overalls and "jeans", and many made some good money in the year or two that this rush lasted, but Levi Strauss went one step further and made "the best" overalls and jeans.

Then when the rush was over, consumers needing jeans and overalls CONTINUED to buy from Levi, and they are still here today.

So, do we need to sell internet Marketing tools, and shovels, and picks instead of chasing push-button riches? Of course. But for a truly "set and forget income", take that extra time to make your offer THE BEST, and years from now you will have a Levi Strauss residual passive income, while other marketers are starting all over.

Patrick

damn right, Rob
i think the professionals did.. professional miners, saloon owners, hookers (some), shovel suppliers, dealers. They all created wealth financed by amateurs. same is true in all mass-entrepreneurial opportunities, all kinds of investments, work-at-home, MLM, small businesses, etc etc. if you know your stuff already, you have a chance to win. If you don't, be prepared to go through a long training full of losses and frustration, and you can only succeed if you are smarter than average and can withstand depression of months without sales and friends/family calling you lunatic

Here's how simple it is: If you believe you can, you're right. If you believe you can't, you're right.

There are thousands of legit opportunities available. I'm not a big fan of hyped-up promises of fast money even though some of them are actually good, if you work them. The most realistic opportunities are the simplest ones.

One of the problems I see with new people coming into IM is they believe all the BS. They get involved with "autopilot" BS strategies that involve worthless spun articles that don't make sense, spamming blogs and forums with crap for backlinks and other grey and black hat nonsense.

Making money online is the same as making it offline. You find a workable business model and then you find a need and fill that need by providing massive value and great customer service. That's it. If that's selling shovels, so be it. Good luck.

There are still some areas where it's better to keep your knowledge and tools than selling them.

Not many, though.

I think the thread is taking a turn.

A shovel is just a tool. Some people made money with them, some didn't. But it wasn't the fault of the tool. If the shovel worked properly then you can't blame the seller of the tool because you didn't find gold.

However, the guys selling the treasure maps to the gold is a different story. If you know your product is worthless and you sell it anyway, then that is fraud.

But if someone wants to buy a shovel and you manage to transport them halfway across the country and make them available, that's not fraud. That's good business.

The internet is a huge marketplace with numerous ways for people to make money.

However, you have to use the tools correctly and stop buying the "treasure map to millions of dollars in gold in 3 days with no work" and then acting like you've been scammed when it didn't work.

When was the last time this was posted? Was it you who posted it?

I think that it all goes back to find a need/want and fill it.

I don't remember the specifics, but in going to the Yukon, miners had to go up a really big hill and they had to make a number of trips carrying their heavy loads of supplies. The hill was very difficult because of the snow and ice.

Some smart guy cut steps into the snow and ice on the hill. He then charged the miners to use the steps which were considerably easier than going up the hill without steps. I understand that the guy made a lot of money.