YOU GUYS ARE ALL WORKING WAY TOO HARD!!

I loved the six things that you pointed there, thanks for sharing your thoughts

At least your "rant" offered useful information rather than just complaining.

I'm curious, what do you do for your offline clients. I did the web design thing for a while but frankly, grew tired of high maintenance clients.

You are right, most people work too hard and too much for too little. All of what you are saying would be great, but it might vary a bit depending on the site or what someone is marketing. Who doesn't want to make a ton of money on autopilot.

for some reason many people just do not want to hire people for anything that they could be doing by themselves. i think for some it is greed and for others it is that fear of spending money. some people have programmed their brain to skip anything that involves spending money.

this mentality baffles me. personally, when i start a project i cannot wait until i reach the point that i have things figured out enough to start outsourcing.


on another note, i really liked your tip on #5. I am currently in the process of interviewing for sales people (offline) right now and I will be trying this first thing

Thought this was going to be one of those funny burps you come across late at night on forums...but actually there were a few good nuggets of information there which I agree with.

These are great points. I would say one salient factor not mentioned is:
1) Follow up sales/Repeat Customer Monetization - customer acquisition costs are significantly lower once someone has bought from you already

2) Building a list - a list actually is an asset with market value. The vast majority of both online and offline businesses often overlook 1 and 2

Lol your dead on think rich to get rich follow Robert Kiyosakis lead! The rich leverage other people to make them more money. Sounds like you have that mindset good for you. And great tips everyone should pay attention to!

Very true Adam. Especially number 3.

Most online marketers spends far too much time working on basic jobs which they could outsource for next to nothing. The day the light switched for me, the day i become much happier and made a lot more money.

People take note of this post!

P.S. I bet I work less hours than you haha

Thanks for these suggestions. I think some people are too afraid to try something different. They accept doing more for less because they're afraid of losing what they do have if they take any risks. Your post is a good reminder that an internet marketer won't get anywhere until he/she is willing to take things to the next level, and to trust others with outsourcing.

Yeah... I liked that one

Awesome post there dude, I love it!

Ultimately, what it boils down to is AUTOMATION through DELEGATION.

I've found this to be the key in becoming successful, however finding the RIGHT people isn't really a piece of cake I tell you that.

Any questions let me know

Nick

Great Advice,

I make myself work out systems and I always make sure I work way less than my old full time job, generally 3-4 days a week at most. This keeps things at a good level and it works, as I continue to earn more and more money!

GoGetta

I dont outsource. I love the work, and I'm currently doing it in 4 hours a day, four days a week, which is less than I ever worked before.

It's all about having a vision and ensuring every single bit of it is geared to automation and passive income. I know it sounds Tim Ferriss to some, but it can be done.

I don't think I work too hard, but that's just me. In fact, I think I should do more. There are so many hills to climb on the road to success.

I agree, I put to many hours in to this internet marketing gig. I really need to work smarter and not harder. Thanks for the great tips.

I forgot to mention that I started with the Niche Profit Classroom and it's really helping to find the proper keywords with high search volume and low competition so that I don't have to do so much link building work.

My aim to avoid working hard selling "get rich quick" ebooks and trying to compete with millions of sites around the web is to simply create a service that would be original itself and would eventually GO VIRAL with word-of-mouth. With all the competition right now it's not easy to simply rank for "fat loss" and hope that your nice landing page will convert. Everyone does that already. You should create an original idea, a really useful service or product. And by useful I don't mean another rehashed ebook or video course on how to make moniez on the interwebs. NO! By doing this you will become another hard working IM drone.

While I agree with your points, there is a lot to be said for hard work. Especially when getting start in this business. Doesn't really matter whether the biz is online or offline, it is important to do as much of the work as you can by yourself. It's about learning how business works and gaining an understanding of the processes and techniques.

Once you get your feet on the ground, yes, by all means, automate as much as you can and start farming out some of the work. Armed with what you have learned from your hard work, you will be in a much better position to set requirements for the work you are giving to others. You will also be less susceptible to jumping at every once in a lifetime opportunity that will come along every... single... day.

@Eric..I suggest that you join a system like Niche Profit Classroom, it will show you step by step how to get a niche up and get it on the first page of Google. This program has helped me tremendously.

"I got into the online marketing world a while ago and I've been sitting back and reading here for a bit and I'm just astonished at how much labour you're all putting in. You guys are working REALLY REALLY hard. You're working way more than I am...

BUT!

It limits how scaleable you can get. There are only so many hours in a day.

It blows my mind how many people will invest weeks on link building strategies, seo, website development, product creation, affiliate marketing, online marketing and reading every single WSO available.

When I first found out about online marketing I took one quick look at the overall scene and thought...

"Yup... umm... no way."

~ Thats great that you could make an assessment so quickly. Most people really want to succeed but don't know how to start and do not sum things up so easily.

There were far too many people trying to sell get rich quick books to get rich quick... ironic eh?

Now, I'm not saying don't work hard... but don't work hard doing menial tasks. Do something that is worthy of your time & energy. Don't spend it manually back linking from hundreds of sites or writing articles or creating web pages. These are all things that other people can do for you.

There are a few very important lessons i've learned so far.

1. Learn to set up systems. If you can set up a system it gets rid of 90% of the headaches you'll have down the road. It takes MUCH more effort upfront, but it pays off in spades.

~ For most people it takes time to learn they should set up systems and how to set up systems. So more explanation on this would be great.

2. Automate everything. There is only 1 of you. If you can't automate it and its not making you money right now, its costing you money. Time is your most valuable asset.

~ Very true but automation can also get you in trouble and should be used with care. And many people like to add that personal touch where they interact with the social sites, add genuine value to blog posts etc. Not everything can or should be automated.

3. Outsource as much as you can. Again, your time is worth money and you are not good at everything. Why not hire someone for $5-$10 an hour who will do a better job than you, faster and allow you to work on other projects?

~ Because when you are starting out in the IM business you cannot afford to pay $5-$10 an hour to hire someone, especially if you are making nothing yourself. And dealing with outsourcing is a whole new issue especially for a newbie.

4. You are a consumer. I am a consumer. We're all consumers and we buy stuff all the time. If an ad intrigues you or works on you, it WILL work on other people. Analyze and write down what attracted you to it. Copy what they're doing.

~ Very true and be sure to add your own spin.

5. Take a look at getting into offline marketing... business owners have no idea what we do. We're like mystical gods to them. Post an ad online offering up a commission sales job. Interview people and at the end of the interview tell them that you don't think they're qualified for the job. If they start to qualify themselves again you have a winner. If they accept & give up, they'll do that during the sale. It's how we hire all our sales staff.

~ Interesting technique and I have applied similar methods to other situations.

6. Manage your cash flow, it's the only thing that matters. Get cash upfront if you can & then outsource the work. Sign term contracts so you have a guaranteed cash flow in the future.

~ I always charge upfront. Never have problems.

I don't know guys... this is mostly a rant... but if I worked the same number of hours that it looks like you all do, I'd be able to fly you all in for a pool party at my mansion by now.

~ Good that you had everything figured out from the get go. Wish I had figured everything out from the start like you I work way to many hours...still figuring things out and learning something new every day.

Just a thought...

Cheers
-Adam"

And of course after having all that in place, rinse and repeat...........

Unfortunately I cannot afford to hire someone at $10 an hour right now and the things I have outsourced have been crazy cheap. I started this thing nearly 4 weeks ago and I consider this just paying my dues. Naturally once the cash starts to come in things will change, but in these early days, the thought of hiring someone to do the "menial" jobs at $10 an hour is not happening anytime soon.

Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but with my business plan/goals doing things myself at this early stage is how I am learning and building the foundation of my business.

I strongly disagree with the first half of your post.

My main concern is that people who have NO IDEA how to do those things will try to outsource them and ultimately blow their bankroll on work they don't need or don't understand.

You had to go learn how to do all that stuff yourself to be able to tell other people how to do it.

It feels like you're pushing hype by implying that you can turn the Internet into your own personal ATM without working, which is not the case.

I agree with Soapyshoe a little. I don't think anyone should start outsourcing until they really understand how all this stuff works; otherwise you won't know what you need them to do for. Also some of us can't afford to outsource off the bat so we need to do these things for ourselves in the beginning.

That said I agree that without systems and outsourcing your business will lack scale and therefore you it's unlikely to bring in big figures.

Thanks for the insight on time-management strategies. Keep up the good work. Most IM personnel should implement these strategies.

This is a great post with some thought-provoking ideas (and who knew a rant could have good advice, too, LOL). Almost 10 years ago, I started out selling web design in my small local area and branched out onto SEO. It was an excellent learning experience because I learned what worked/didn't work via client sites, then I moved into my own personal projects more successfully.

Funny we're talking offline business, because just last week I was at a school event and ran into a neighbor who asked what I do. Turns out she's looking for someone to market her site and DVD, and has some budget to get started (maybe $1,000?). Not alot to do all this, but $1,000 for some easy SEO and setting up a few social media accounts and basically coaching is ALOT easier than researching a niche, building out a site, creating content & backlinks and hoping for a return.

I haven't had clients since 2006 and don't plan on taking any on. My advice for offline business is to include some $$ to cover the "dealing with people factor." Then the rest of the time get to work on your own stuff, systems and testing to build an empire It's one way to go.

Have a plan or tactic to avoid/take care of the PITA clients, too. After I got going and had clients, if I met with a potential client and they were disrespectful in anyway, I declined the job. I had one say to me "Wrong answer!" I said, "OK Goodbye Mr. Almost Client. Have a nice day." If they are a jerk in the initial meeting, you will regret taking on the job.

Thanks, Adam, for the food for thought!

Yeah Adam,

I agree. This interent thing was supposed to REDUCE our workload. But it's so dang addictive! I try to outsource as much as possible... sometimes it works, sometimes I'm not satisfied.

~ JIM

It's all about the scaleup, work hard in the beginning and then use the money to reinvest into your business.

I've learned about working smarter not harder myself, recently. It can really kill your business if you are wasting time on tasks that could be outsourced. It's like this guy told me that had a real world job, he was typing his own letters too much, instead of giving them to his secretary. His boss told him, "Quit typing your own letters! Your time is more valuable than that, and besides, your secretary types three times faster than you so if I'm paying you to type your own letters, I might as well pay you a third what your secretary gets as she's better at your own job than you!" Needless to say, he got the point and quit typing his own letters.

Quit typing your own letters, people!

Automation is the key.

Don't waste time doing something you don't necessarily have to. Automate it and let it run with out you.

Very interesting, good points - I like your idea and the method that you recommend.

Outsourcing is VITAL!

Crazy thing about this post I was thinking the same thing a few nights ago. People working way to hard, I am going to give yea the Secret of wealth for free OPM & OPT For yea that don't know what that mean, it mean Other people money & Other people time!!!!!

Stop working so Hard!!!!!!!!!


Well back to laying out in the sun in the Bahamas

Great points!

I think that another trap that many of us fall into is lack of FOCUS and getting distracted by the latest shinny object that shows up in our inbox!

While we all agree that the goal is to develop multiple streams of income, we need to focus on one project at a time and develop it to the point where it is starting to gain momentum, and then outsource and move on to the next project. You can also outsource during the development of the project, but you still have to be personally involved and focused until it gets off the ground.

Otherwise you end up with a bunch of unfinished projects that are not generating any income and instead are sucking your money, wasting your time, and polluting cyberspace... Been there, done that!

A truly useful and informative rant. Keep ranting, bro

As the gods once said, "build the system, don't work in it".

Nice tips, exxcept you still need to work hard.

John

Work towards replacing yourself

Dude, you said exactly what I've been thinking for the past couple of years...

Hey Adam,

You're right to make the observation, and I'm sure you know that many people don't work that hard.

However - do you think Tony Robbins doesn't bother working hard ?

I'd say that hard work puts the scales on your side - better to work hard on something you enjoy than take it easy just because you can.

I get bored easily and having money doesn't stop that.
Andy

i work 2 hour days make good money what you talking about

This is awesome.

I started off as a writer, but as soon as I made more than enough
money to afford to outsource without breaking a sweat, I did it.

I could do it forever and making a really good living, but personally,
I'm aiming much higher than 1 or 2 grand a month (given my age
and not having any kids)

Most people, when they make just a little bit of money writing,
programming, graphics, etc...they get "comfortable" because in
most cases "it's just good enough".

They're making more than they did their 9 to 5, and they have
more freedom and get paid what their worth...but you still have
no leverage. You have much more control, but you can't "scale"
your skills when your doing one-on-one jobs.

I'm an entrepreneur first, a freelancer 2nd...and I would say for
most freelancers -- it's obviously the other way around.

And that's o.k. It's a choice. Not a good one, not a bad one. So,
your not out of line for being confused by people work so hard,
but as you know already -- some people consciously or unconsciously
choose that lifestyle.

I totally agree with you, because when you are in IM in the beginning stages you are working twice as hard as you would on a regular job. A lot of times I try to work no more then 8 hours per day just so I want wear myself out.

The whole point of IM is the ability to leverage your time.

The reason that so many are working so hard is because they are beating their heads against the wall trying to make money from marginally profitable ideas.