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The following was written after speaking to an absolute newbie to the online business world. Some of this may apply to you newbies and some not but I thought it may help those who are starting off at the very bottom rung on the ladder. I sincerely hope someone gains something from it on here because the very person I have been mentoring has and I always say even if one person benefits then at least I have helped and contributed to their start in the online business world.

There really is no secret to the secret of how to make money online. In fact, I have been using a method that has helped me for over twelve-years in the internet business market and that method has never been changed, been altered or even modified.

Want to know the method I have been using that took me from the hard cold shoulder of the industrial, dusty, back-breaking world of the construction industry and into the online life where I have personally built up three major and established businesses from absolutely nothing except for an idea, a desire and an internet connection?

The method has no secrets and it doesn't even cost you a single cent to learn. This method is what I like to refer to as: simplicity.

I know, you were probably half expecting this to dive headlong into a sales pitch then an ADD TO CART button but that is not what my intentions are. My intentions are clear as crystal and they are to help any newbie who has the same three things I had all those years ago: an idea, a desire and an internet connection. Don't make the mistake of thinking things were a lot better back then because they were not.

Things have changed dramatically and technology has advanced at an enormous speed which makes me say the opposite of what you are probably thinking right now and that is: things are better now than when I first started out. The only thing that hasn't changed, however, is the basic principles of what you need today just as much as what we needed back then: a good solid plan, a goal and a huge work ethic to take you there. Don't be fooled into thinking all you need to do is buy one of those push button softwares and your business will look after itself overnight - it doesn't work that way.

After you establish the fact that you have the aforementioned three items at hand (idea, a desire and an internet connection) you then set out to combat one thing that might be in your way to getting started...

Fear:

What will my friends think about me?
Jeez, I forgot, my parents will kill me for not getting a real job.
And, is making money online a real job anyway?

Let me answer these questions in reverse order...

First up, making money online is no different from any other job, profession or career. It is a business where you have a product or a service and you market yourself and make what you have available to prospective customers. People who sell fruit on a market have a product and they sell to a customer. Someone who offers advice over a hotline on how to reboot your computer also has a service and an awaiting customer.

You see, there is nothing special or remotely extraordinary about how the fruit guy or how the hotline lady is going about their businesses. Do you think the fruit guy's parents are yelling at him now from behind a bunch of hanging bananas, "Hey son! Get yourself a real job and stop groping peaches!" Do you think the hotline lady will get a blasting from her friends at the weekend because "She doesn't have a real job."

Going back over the questions I don't think you really want me to tell you what to say on how your parents and friends think because it wouldn't get past the moderator's front desk. Let's just say I never told anyone what I was going to do: I just did it! That would be my best advice if you are worried about what others think of your plans. As I am in the reverse mode and in the mood to switch things around today; can I offer you my slant on what NIKE say as their slogan and give you my rendition: JUST DON'T TELL THEM!

That should get your first obstacle out the way. Eliminating the fear factor will give you a sigh of relief and prevent future blockage.

The next thing you want to do is to streamline the amount of information you are receiving. There are many, many, many ways to make money online and many, many, many more internet marketers willing to sell you a package on how to make money online than you can possible handle. Streamline it by absorbing the stuff you need. Only the stuff you need and file all the stuff you might think you need into a separate folder for later.

Concentrate only on the stuff you need. That could be...

- How to build my first website
- How to write or fill my site with content
- How to get traffic to my site
- How to accept payments on my site

There are many forum members who will gladly point you in the direction for any of the above points and you could literally be up-and-running in no time at all but...


Don't overwhelm yourself because there is nothing amazingly hard about learning how to build your first site. You could have a Wordpress site up in minutes.

Don't worry about filling your site with content because you can accumulate a batch of articles-to-go and add a few YouTube videos onto your site that are relevant or as interesting as possible to your site.

Don't panic about getting traffic because there are free and easy ways to get traffic to your site. Again, there are many good decent folks on this site who can point you in that direction. If you have a social network account you can add your link that will take visitors back to your main site. That's all I am saying.

Accepting payments couldn't be easier today (unless you happen to live in Nigeria but that's for another story...) Pay Pal is highly recommended and relatively easy to set up...and it's FREE!

You can learn so much on here about optimizing your site for good keywords, back linking and so on but for now, concentrate on the simple things that will get you started and concentrate ONLY on those little small steps that will get you started. After all, this post is for the absolute newbie so getting started should be your first target.

If you get up tomorrow morning set yourself a goal of achieving those starting points and let me remind you again what they are...

- How to build my first website
- How to write or fill my site with content
- How to get traffic to my site
- How to accept payments on my site

You can ask on this forum how to do any of the above or you could just copy and paste each subject separately into a YouTube search and there will most likely be video tutorials on how to do any of the above.

By late afternoon or even in the evening you should have accomplished your very first steps. You will have a tremendous feeling of having at least started your journey and I don't think you will have made any money that day but don't worry. Your next step will take you that little bit closer.

Let me stress again: your first target is NOT to make money that day but to get your foundations built that will help you make money quite soon. Remember to keep it real and simple: Expectations divided by reality.

That feeling you should have as you look back on the day will give you some self-confidence and a buzz to get you cracking the next day. As each day goes by you put your foot on the gas that little bit more and do not rest on any laurels.

You might want to know that of all the people I have mentored or helped in some way all fall into this category: THEY CAN'T GET THEIR BUSINESS STARTED. Something bocks them and unblocking that block can help to go a long, long way in helping you achieve your goals.

If you have already completed your early journey and you haven't yet made any money then it is not the fault of the prospective buyer but the fault of you - the seller.

Again, analyze things with an open mind. If rock music is getting in your way just switch to jazz. I say that metaphorically, of course but you know what I mean. The moral in that statement is: If something isn't working then adapt or change it.

So, what about that simplicity thingy you were mentioning at the beginning of this post?

Okay, here's the deal. The reason I became successful was because I kept things simple. Way back all those years ago I had no distractions. Well, in fact, I did have one and that was the very bad habit of listening to rock music as I was trying to build my business on my computer. I wasn't fully concentrated so I turned the music down but still nothing.

So, a good friend of mine suggested I listened to jazz music. Jazz??? Me, listening to Jazz? Well, my friend was a successful psychologist and she suggested jazz music. You know what? It worked. Probably not jazz music as such but because I was willing and ready to eliminate any kind of obstacle that would hinder my chances so be open minded when dissecting your working methods and ways. Be ready to change. If something is not working then there must be a reason for it. Find it and change it. It will help you greatly.

Back then I never knew anything about keywords, SEO or back linking. I was in the construction industry. What the hell would I be doing with that kind of knowledge? How could I use it? I mean, you can't lay SEO on a floor and you cannot hang keywords on a wall. Well, I suppose you could do the latter these days if you are optimizing your Facebook page but that is for another blog.

I had nothing and I mean nothing. Just an internet connection which was extremely slow and I bet a few emails I sent way back then are just reaching their recipients now as we speak. I say nothing but I did have an idea and a lot of desire: you need both.

Another friend of mine built a very basic website for me and I mean a very basic site. It had three pages: Home-Products-Contact. That was all.

I sold tools but I never spent a penny. I convinced a company to give me photos of their products and I would put them on my website and promote for them and I would receive 35% on each sale. These days they call it affiliate marketing.

I had no list whatsoever and all I had were a bunch of friends in the industry that I persuaded to come to my site any buy. Selling to friends is NOT recommended but that was all I had. It got me started and I was probably the first in my field to actually blog. That word wasn't even invented yet I don't think but I listed products that weren't even mine and I never even had to buy them but I wrote about the features of these tools, the benefits of them and the advantages. These days they call it FAB (Features, Advantages & Benefits) but I got it round the wrong way round. I wrote in this order: Features, Benefits and Advantages (FBA)

I had a lot of desire and no distractions. I moved swiftly and each day I did something that would make my business grow. I wrote about the tools, giving them a review and listing my FBAs and I never stopped. Only at the weekend I would spend time learning new ways on how to do something. I practised my writing because if I was going to review tools I really had to get my words right. I had a lot of desire and nothing was going to get in my way. I never even put keywords in my reviews, I just wrote my reviews. No thought went into my page rankings or any of that stuff. I never even had links on my site. No-one could really link back to me. I was just one site with three pages, about 15-20 products and I just battered emails to construction workers. It was a hard slog but it worked.

I started out with nothing except for an idea, a desire and an internet connection and if I was broke today, just starting out and with very little knowledge whatsoever, I would do this all over again because it was simple, to the point and my customers liked it that way. Nothing was over-elaborate and nothing was noisy or full of bells and whistles. It was a straight-down-the-line business and the main thing wasn't how bad the site looked or felt; it was me taking part in the act of selling and my customers were on the end of the line receiving their wanted goods. It couldn't have been any simpler if I tried.

I could have thought, "Mmmm, my site needs this and that and if only I had that software I could do a lot more, " and so on and so on. The fact is I used my lack of knowledge and little experience (if I even had any of that) and I ran with it. I kept it nice and easy and smooth as a baby's...

The main thing was, I kept it simple.

Granted, these days are a bit different but I think the basics haven't changed. Anyone - and I mean anyone - can turn an idea with a bit of desire and determination into a profitable business and without all the fancy stuff.

I always tell newbies not to sweat the small stuff. Yeah, for sure, you need different techniques these days like SEO, keywords and stuff like that but those things you can easily learn on this forum and for free. Just ask and do not be afraid to ask because so many on here are only too willing to pass on their knowledge for free. Some may charge and that is fine but I believe there to be a huge amount of good people on here who will gladly point you in the right direction.

For me, my point here is to try my best and detail how important it is to get your business started. Not how to make a million bucks or how to build the best niche site or what keywords you should use and so on. My post here is to tell you how important it is to just get started and it is a point that is so often overlooked.

This might sound so cliche and you've heard it before no doubt but choose something you know about (like I did with construction tools).

Build a site and as you go along ask an expert on this forum about SEO and keywords.

Look at other sites that are doing what you plan to do. If you plan to set up a site dedicated to skateboarding just go to sites with that subject and see what they write about and get a feel of your competition. DON'T COPY them but see what you are up against. Ask yourself not what they are doing but can you do better?

When I tried to beat my competition way back I noticed a flaw in all the sites. Everyone had nice pictures but no-one was giving a review of a tool from a construction worker's point of view. I later made videos of me using these tools in action. That won't cut ice these days as it is so easy to do and find but have a look at your competition and see where you could gain advantage. Ask yourself one serious question: why would people come to my site? You have to answer that one yourself but that is the trick. Find something that will give your site an advantage over your competitors. If you need help just ask around the forum.

Each day you should focus on building your business but at night just pop back here and ask all the questions you want answers to. If you start on a Monday, you will be amazed at what you have achieved and learned by the weekend.

However you do it and whatever line you go into just remember not to get too bogged down with detail. Build something each day and learn something each day but also remember: keep it simple.
#motivating #newbies
  • Profile picture of the author Winson Ng
    This is a great start-up article for me. Many many thanks for stressing out some key points and important notes. Very well written and great advice. Looking forward to head towards this direction. Many thanks again !

    Cheers !
    ThinkMaverick
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    Winson NG
    CEO/Founder of http://thinkmaverick.com
    Online Business & Entrepreneurship News, Advice, Strategy Think Maverick
    Information to guide start-up entrepreneurs to grow and strategically manage a small business online, using market researched Intelligence.
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    • Profile picture of the author shnmarketing
      Originally Posted by Winson Ng View Post

      This is a great start-up article for me. Many many thanks for stressing out some key points and important notes. Very well written and great advice. Looking forward to head towards this direction. Many thanks again !

      Cheers !
      ThinkMaverick
      You are most, most welcome.

      Many newstarts have a lot of fears, blockages and distractions. All you have to know to be a success is already there and here in front of you. It's just a matter of unlocking those elements and the first thing to do is to banish any doubts. It won't matter what people say and think; it only matters to you that you become a success. How you do it and how you get there will be down to how badly you really want it.

      There is nothing we cannot learn and there is nothing we cannot achieve.

      Good luck and don't forget to just go for it. Don't worry about making mistakes and never ever feel inadequate or get hung up on the little things. Making money online is no secret and it shouldn't have to be a secret either.

      You just have to take action. That is how simple it really is.

      And, thank you, for your kind comment.
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  • Profile picture of the author dvduval
    Generally, the most money can be made with new clients. If you take the example of a majority of dance studios or music teachers, a large majority of their clients are beginners. also if you are a noon or relatively new business owner, focusing on developing new clients is very important. but over the years eighth grader measurement of your success will be on how well you developed new clients and those same clients stayed with you over the years.
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    It is okay to contact me! I have been developing software since 1999, creating many popular products like phpLD.
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    • Profile picture of the author shnmarketing
      Originally Posted by dvduval View Post

      Generally, the most money can be made with new clients. If you take the example of a majority of dance studios or music teachers, a large majority of their clients are beginners. also if you are a noon or relatively new business owner, focusing on developing new clients is very important. but over the years eighth grader measurement of your success will be on how well you developed new clients and those same clients stayed with you over the years.
      So very true.

      Grabbing a customer is one thing but developing a further business relationship with them is another thing that again, is so often overlooked.

      Thanks for your input.
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  • Profile picture of the author paulpower
    Thanks for a thought provoking article, it is true that when you are new there is an absolutely steep learning curve for you. However, I beleive if you keep it simple, and have a good mentor, then you can soon start your business, also treat your business like a business and not just as a hobby.

    The reason for this is too many newbies seem not to either understand that it takes hard work to make money, there are no magic buttons, so stop buying this rubbish. Please also feel free to ask questions in the forum here, as there are great warriors just waiting to help.
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    • Profile picture of the author Silent Warrior
      YES! Keep It Simple...

      So many people think they can jump in and immediately start making $50,000 a month. Yet they've never even built a website. If you're just starting out you need to start simple. Start with basics. Learn how to build a website, or even better, a blog. Spend your first week or so learning how build content. Then learn how to get traffic. Then learn learn how to capture and monetize that traffic.

      Or learn how to do PPC, CPA or Facebook marketing if you don't want to build blogs.

      There are a million ways to make a million dollars. Choose what suits you best, focus and work hard on making that work for you.

      Trust me, it gets easier.
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      • Profile picture of the author shnmarketing
        Originally Posted by Silent Warrior View Post

        YES! Keep It Simple...

        So many people think they can jump in and immediately start making $50,000 a month. Yet they've never even built a website. If you're just starting out you need to start simple. Start with basics. Learn how to build a website, or even better, a blog. Spend your first week or so learning how build content. Then learn how to get traffic. Then learn learn how to capture and monetize that traffic.

        Or learn how to do PPC, CPA or Facebook marketing if you don't want to build blogs.

        There are a million ways to make a million dollars. Choose what suits you best, focus and work hard on making that work for you.

        Trust me, it gets easier.
        Thank you, for your very positive and easily explained reply. I hope more newbies come to this thread because they can learn from so many on here.
        Spot on, you just detailed many ways to make money and if any newbie is reading your reply post I hope they take it on board what amazing opportunites are out there.

        Thank you!
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    • Profile picture of the author shnmarketing
      Originally Posted by paulpower View Post

      Thanks for a thought provoking article, it is true that when you are new there is an absolutely steep learning curve for you. However, I beleive if you keep it simple, and have a good mentor, then you can soon start your business, also treat your business like a business and not just as a hobby.

      The reason for this is too many newbies seem not to either understand that it takes hard work to make money, there are no magic buttons, so stop buying this rubbish. Please also feel free to ask questions in the forum here, as there are great warriors just waiting to help.
      Very true. There is no magical solution to making money online. It takes a lot of planning and effort. Also, you are right on the money when you say treat your business like a business and not just a hobby.
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  • Profile picture of the author marcuslim
    Good stuff. Good advice to keep things simple and go for it. So often, we get overwhelmed with information overload, and we over-think and over-analyze and get into analysis paralysis that we just don't take action.
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    • Profile picture of the author shnmarketing
      Originally Posted by marcuslim View Post

      Good stuff. Good advice to keep things simple and go for it. So often, we get overwhelmed with information overload, and we over-think and over-analyze and get into analysis paralysis that we just don't take action.
      Thank you, Marcus.

      Good points you make. The actual art of making money is very simple when rummage through the rubble but yeah, too many people get swamped with the amount of information avalanches but by keeping it simple, streamlined and focused is the best way to go. That was one thing I learned and I have to say, apart from my work ethic and sheer determination; I would say my focus and keeping it very simple played a huge part and I will always be thankful for adopting those qualities.
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  • Profile picture of the author ibacklinkpro
    The key is hard work. There was a post yesterday or the day before with a quote that I really like: Most people miss opportunity because it comes wearing overalls and looks like work. Almost everyone I know wants quick and easy riches, but I believe this is a true statistic that you are more likely to be struck by lightning then to get quick and easy riches. Not everyone is cut out for this kind of thing but if you can survive through the hard times of frustration, financial stress, family and friend ridicule and disapproval then you will make it.
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    • Profile picture of the author shnmarketing
      Originally Posted by ibacklinkpro View Post

      The key is hard work. There was a post yesterday or the day before with a quote that I really like: Most people miss opportunity because it comes wearing overalls and looks like work. Almost everyone I know wants quick and easy riches, but I believe this is a true statistic that you are more likely to be struck by lightning then to get quick and easy riches. Not everyone is cut out for this kind of thing but if you can survive through the hard times of frustration, financial stress, family and friend ridicule and disapproval then you will make it.
      I love the quote and the statistic.

      Like any business, the first steps are the hardest but you are right, once you go through the hard times the rewards are there for you - like anything in life, really.
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  • Profile picture of the author ProScribe
    I totally agree that it is important to be clear about what you need to achieve.

    I think laying out a step by step plan of what you need to do get where you want to be is essential if you don't want to waste a massive amount of time.

    Even if you don't know how to do something on your plan ie. setting up an autoresponder, by having it as a step you know you have to find the information on how to do that step.

    Even the largest task is simple if you break it down into enough steps
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    • Profile picture of the author shnmarketing
      Originally Posted by ProScribe View Post

      Even the largest task is simple if you break it down into enough steps
      Extremely well said.

      Too many newstarts can't wait to rush in and make their first buck and I understand that but you are right, it is all about steps. That is why I have always believed in simplicity. It is no coincidence that of all the people I have mentored or taught how to make money online; the ones who got off the ground and started to run their businesses very well were the ones who took the steps needed each day. I often encourage each newbie to set a learning time aside and after each step they could learn something new afterwards.

      Example of what a newbie can do in one day:
      Today I will learn about autoresponders. It might take about three hours but I will learn it and master it. After I have accomplished that step I will learn how to set up a database in my hosting account and attach my Wordpress site to that database because I do not want my site to be simply an extension to Wordpress; I want my own independant domain name that will give me the feeling of a professional.

      You see, in one day a newbie could have their site up and ready to take email subscribers. THAT is a massive step for a newbie but they can be done in one single day. Imagine what a full week can bring?
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  • Profile picture of the author NolanHill
    thanks a bunch, it's just very hard to stay on track.
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    • Profile picture of the author shnmarketing
      Originally Posted by NolanHill View Post

      thanks a bunch, it's just very hard to stay on track.
      You are very welcome.

      Part of the problem why so many newbies fail to get off the ground is exactly that: staying on track.

      A lot of newstarts just cannot keep focused and I find that very sad because the internet is a great way to make money but putting it all together does require thorough planning and a big effort.

      Keep focused at all times. It will work for you if you stay on the course.

      Good luck!
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  • Profile picture of the author onlinebizgiant
    I thought to skip it first because of the length, but I did it lastly. Very useful. Thank you for taking time to wrote this.
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    • Profile picture of the author shnmarketing
      Originally Posted by onlinebizgiant View Post

      I thought to skip it first because of the length, but I did it lastly. Very useful. Thank you for taking time to wrote this.
      You are welcome, sir.

      Yeah, I know, I wanted to say more and I did realize the post was perhaps a bit long but I am just glad some people got something out of it.
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  • Profile picture of the author vivi62
    Great post for anyone not just newbies,so many times we forget to focus on the basics and its nice to be reminded once in a while.
    Regards
    vivi62
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    • Profile picture of the author robnoble
      I second using a folder to put links etc in for information you don't need right now.

      This helps me a lot. I have a folder on my desktop labelled "to sort" for all those links I come across that I really must read or use some time.

      Putting the links in there lets me clear it out my mind and carry on with the task at hand. And I tell you what... the number of times I actually go back there for that information or thing I really needed to follow up on is tiny.

      Put the distractions in a folder and forget about them. It's rare you really need them!
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      • Profile picture of the author Alan Ashwood
        Just a quickie

        Thanks for putting the time in to create this post. There was too much to read here so I scraped it to a text file to allow me to read in sections at leisure later - which I did.

        Some great gems in here, and sometimes we need to reinforce some of the knowledge we may already have that's slipped to the back of our memories.

        Useful stuff, and worth keeping for referral.

        Many thanks

        Alan
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        Now where did I put that pencil?

        Time for a cuppa.
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  • Profile picture of the author World Marketing
    Good article...IM does take time and knowledge to succeed in.
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    I make $5,000+ a month online [CLICK HERE] to see how you can do the same starting today!

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