New and money hungry

What was your previous job? You can use any skills obtained through that to leverage some services online.

Thanks for your post! You are in the deadly trap of falling for anything at this point especially with your lack of confidence with computers. I was there four years ago. If you need money fast. Try these sites if you are in the US: zirtual.com, elance.com, odesk.com (low rates), freelancer.com (just listed for billions) and there are many other freelancing sites out there that can utilise your existing skillsets as a government mule especially if you like talking like telemarketing etc. It is amazing how many business owners out there don't want to make the calls that they need and will pay you a reasonable amount to fund your other dream online projects. At least you won't be burning through your hard earnt savings. Be careful out there! Best to stick with what you know and who you know and expand from there.

The best thing to do is try to see what others are doing and get a feel for what might interest you/where you could use your skills. A lot depends on if you already have money or if you're looking to build something with basically nothing.

Expect some trial and error in the beginning.

You're fair game from here on out, so beware of shining, shimmering, sparkly things that you'll see here, promising to help you easily earn thousands of dollars.

Congratulations on your decision to become an online earner, though. I suggest you start by listing down all your skills, and all your achievements (including educational background, training, seminars you attended). Look at them closely and focus on the ones that you do best and would love to keep doing. For example, you have a knack for writing sales copies (which pays really well in WF mind you), and you choose to go that route, don't forget to imagine yourself doing it every day for the next year or so. If you can see yourself being a copywriter, go for it but don't stop there. Use that as a your basic ground until you earn enough capital to venture out into other online endeavors.

At least that's what I'm doing now, so I hope that works for you too. In any event, good luck!

beware of this "money hungry" thing you've got going. one of the biggest reasons why people don't succeed online is because they expect to make money fast and they fall for get rich quick schemes.
this is just like any other job, you have to put in the work to see results. the only difference is there is no limit to those results
you have to have discipline and incredible time-management, also remember to be resourceful (which you already are seeing that you're asking for help here ). and don't expect to make mountains of money right off the bat. allow time for your business to grow, especially since you don't seem to be very confident in your computer skills.

good luck!

What you should have done was spend your extra hours building an online business that brought you at least some sort of income online.

Now, you have nothing but your savings to fall back on.

Anyways, I wish you all the best. My advice:

1. Read all the posts Alexa Smith, MYOB, and John McCabe have on here (and Paul Myers).
2. TAKE ACTION!
3. Don't be afraid to invest in your business.
4. Ignore the SEO hype. Don't get too caught up on it.

P.S. You don't need incredible computer skills to work online. You just need to have the basic skills - typing, and that sort of stuff. There are tutorials on the Web to help you every step of the way.

Instead of concentrating what you CAN'T do, tell us what you can! What are your skills and passions?

John J Rivers,i was essentially living paycheck to paycheck.I have a pretty big chunk of savings but i'd like to keep that for a down payment on a house,so yeah,i'd be starting with very little....

Making money online is not as easy as most of the IM Ebooks
claim it to be. You have to have your ears to the ground, record the
various methods shared on this forum. Test and tweek each week
and you will eventually start to see cash flowing towards you.
It took me at least 2 years before i finally started to make some serious cash.
I suggest you do IM part time until you establish yourself, keep your
day job!!!

If you have money saved up then you have to decide if you want to
buy into success or go the trial and error way. What I mean by this
is that if you have money then find a business that works through
investment (there are many "do-it-for-you" models) while you learn
the business yourself. The trick would be how to find the best
one since at this stage everything would look "possible" to you.
This is part of the learning process.

There are program where the business is already set up and
you have to buy the marketing system and the expert would
guide you through the process. All the marketing material
is already set up and you just have to pay (co-op) for the
tools.

The perfect situation is to learn as you earn. But frankly
most newbies have to lose as they learn. It would take
you some time before you settle on something that works.

Don't rule out coaching either.

-Ray Edwards

P.S. There is a space after a comma (comma, comma.)

Tbh, if you aren't good with computers. I would go back to your job. Making money online (that you can live off of) is a lot harder than it seems. It will take you years and you won't have any money to take care of yourself if you choose to go the MMO route.

GovernmentMule, I think the best you can do is get training on the basics of computer because this will help you in becoming successful on the Internet and Computer Basics Free Online Courses is a good free resource for that. Once you have the basic skills I would then suggest that you get to know as much as possible on various online opportunities and here I offer to be of assistance to you.

Making some money online? How much you wanna make? a few hundred? few million? or a few billion?

I have the solution for all three but do you have what it takes?

Ultimately, steer clear of ridiculous "push the red button for money" systems that promise the earth and the moon. Setting up a business means:

1. Identifying a product/service that is in demand.
2. Creating the above with a USP that distinguishes you from the competition.
3. Tapping into customers in a cost effective way.

Normally, a business will take weeks/months of hard work to deliver a ROI. Here are some ideas that I have used myself:

- Create a membership site. For example, just about every business now needs marketing resources and guidance. Provide cutting edge resources to them and charge a monthly fee.

- Identify a high paying CPA niche, then set up a content based website that has A++ information on what they are looking for.

Personally, I believe in recurring income and diversified income. That's why aside from my business I also trade currency and provide services to marketers. It's the reality of being an entrepreneur online imho...

You're not going to like this but - Your best bet would be to go get your old day job back... then turn off the boob tube at night and instead of dreaming get to work learning skills like Copywriting, Graphics and basic web design. Then create a great product that solves a problem that a lot of people are really desperate to solve (and that group has the ability to pay you well for your solution), set up a squeeze page to target that group/niche and start building a list you can market to again and again.

Try these threads:
How to Make Money as Newbie

1. What to do if you're desperate
2. An easy way to make $1-$3 a day?
3. Here's how to make your first $100
4. I Have Been Doing IM For Exactly One Month Today.... Going To Do $500 Today!
5. 15k a month - here's how...
6. Why YOU Can't Make REAL Money Online!
7. i have 300 dollars and i want to start newbie
8. How do YOU make money online?
9. How to succeed in internet marketing

Clarity is a HUGE part of IM success. I hope this post brings some clarity. It's so simple when you know it -- and darn difficult when you don't! I owe my mentors a world of thanks for bringing this clarity.

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 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.

My two best recommendations for phenomenal IM training programs are Ali Brown's Elevate program (ElevateBizTraining.com) and Jeff Walker's Product Launch Formula (ProductLaunchFormula.com)

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

Hope this helps!

Michelle