I have 7,000 cash...

What MasterMind 50 said.

A multi-millionaire mentor of mine said she'd advises spending the bulk of your money on education (courses and coaching) and then building the actual business on a shoestring.

IM is fairly inexpensive. But so many people (most of the Warriors) are still struggling to make their first dollar. Or maybe they've made a few dollars, but they're unable to scale it up or make consistent income.

The problem is lack of knowledge and clarity on their business model, niche and target market. (See below.)

I had $11K this December. As of right now, I just spent the last of it and am down to $0. My expenses:

1. $7K - 6-mo coaching program with my mentor

2. $2K -- PLF

3. $2.5K -- website redesign

Ok, that's a little over $11K, but I made up the difference. That does not include my travel expenses for the last couple of trips to see my mentor (in Jan. and Feb.).

I have other small, miscellaneous expenses:

1. Market Samurai -- one-time fee.

2. Ongoing expenses for web hosting, domains and my 1 Shopping Cart account and merchant account.

As you can see, I spent nearly ALL of the $11K on education. Other than my website redesign, NONE went to development or ongoing expenses.

Like every other Warrior, I can run the business on a shoestring. Where I need help in my business is with guidance.

I'm still in pre-launch for my company. We haven't even launched yet and I'm already getting new members! Yay!

Pre-launch is for gaining that momentum so that I can really take off in launch.

A plugin is a product, NOT a business.

You need to be CRYSTAL CLEAR about what business you're in: your business model, niche and target market. You also need a well-defined marketing plan and allocate whatever money you don't spend on education to marketing.

Clarity is a HUGE part of IM success.

IM is actually pretty simple: you can sell only one of two things:

1. Products
2. Services

That's it!

And selling products or services online happens in the same basic way for everyone, no matter what they're selling:

Traffic > Opt-in page > Autoresponder series (or e-zine) > Sales page

That's it! It's just that simple. (We IMers tend to overcomplicate things.)

But no matter what your niche is, or whether you're selling a product or a service, do you know what your business model is?

A business model is the framework or skeleton of your business. Essentially there are three types of online business models:

1. Membership-based model

A membership-based business model allows you to build a community of people (your members) who are as passionate about your subject as you are. Your membership fees can be monthly or annual, but either way, you're building recurring, passive income.

There are a lot of resources and information out there to help you build a membership-based business if you're interested in doing this.

2. Product-based model

Selling products allows you to maximize your time and effort by selling items over and over again. This can be hard goods or it can be information products. Information marketing is it's own business model under the product-based model. Information marketing allows you to take your brain to the bank by creating a product ONCE based on what you know and selling it over and over again.

Affiliate marketing falls under both models. You can choose to market either products or services as an affiliate.

3. Service-based model

Selling services can be great for 1) generating quick cash (as in the case of article writing or video producing) and 2) establishing your expertise and getting testimonials.

However, in the long run, your goal should be to offer services at a PREMIUM. The biggest advantage of IM is LEVERAGE. You're able to leverage your time, money and expertise exponentially online. We all have just 24 hours each day. Time to get ruthless about what you expect for those hours you spend in IM each day. Expect more of yourself and more from your business friends, clients, partners, etc.

What results are you getting for those hours you spend online each day? Ultimately, your services should be at the bottom of your funnel and cost the most since they involve your time and personal attention. (We all have a limited amount of time each day.)

The fun (and confusion) comes in with all of the endless mix-and-match possibilities of the above models. If you're just starting or still struggling to make money, keep it simple:

Pick just ONE!

1. Pick ONE niche. (Something you're interested in and know something about.)

2. Pick ONE target market for your product or service. (Who will buy what you're offering? The more specific you are, the more you narrow it down, the more successful you'll be.)

3. Pick ONE business model.

Now that you're clear about what business you're in, FOCUS! (And stop buying any info not related to your niche and target market, period!)

F -- Follow
O -- One
C -- Course
U -- Until
S -- Successful

And remember: build a list, Build a List, BUILD A LIST!

In IM, it's easy to put the cart before the horse. Take a deep breath, step back and consider what type of business you're REALLY want. Don't worry about getting traffic or buying that expensive traffic product until you know 1) what your business model is, 2) what niche you're in and 3) WHO your target market is!

Successful business people will tell you that MARKETING is more than half the effort that's needed for success anyway. So pick a niche, target market and business model. Then spend most of your time and effort marketing it.

If you DON'T have a solid plan or system, THAT'S when it's hard. A good system will shave YEARS (and save you big $$$) off of your learning curve

That's why I recommend investing in at least one good, comprehensive IM course (or mentor who will give you such a system) instead of jumping from one $37 e-book to the next. A lot of people here complain about not being able to make any money. But neither are they willing to invest in their business. (Buying a random bunch of $37 e-books doesn't count.)

The best thing I ever did was invest in a comprehensive IM course aimed at REAL business owners, not just other IM wannabes. Yes it was $1500. (It's no longer available.) But it was truly some of the best A-Z IM info I ever bought. Everything else I've learned (from the $37 e-books) since has simply been plugged into this system.

Get a solid plan or system and then work the plan!

Hope this helps!

Michelle

You are not ready to spend it. If you were you would KNOW what you want to do with it. Spend $500 at most buying a few courses and tools and compare various opportunities. Then you will still have money to work with when you are ready. Your need to have an income now does not make you ready to spend it all now.

Lots of good suggestions. I like the video game investment, since that is a hot market, and definitely you could outsource things like website design, article writing, etc. Don't spend it all so you have something to fall back on if things are slow at first.

I think your right Eduard.

I have alot of experience with internet marketing. but that was years ago. In cpa. I gave it up. 100%. Now Im looking at what some other roads may be.

I have a deal that I will be making money in but I will not start getting that income for a year. So, of course I am thinking more about the NOW then the FUTURE because the future is set.

that is great idea

I think this would be the way I would go too.