Family going down the pooper, utilities off, have ~9k to invest..

Marc
Invest minimal amount to start, learn the ropes. In IM you can start with nothing (or very little). Make your first money with little investment.
You will learn quickly when trying to start from scratch.
Invest money when you have the experience

Raj

Hmm, thats actually quite a difficult one, let me try and explain.

If you had already got some grounding in the basics of what works and what just eats money with little returns it would be easy and believe me, it is pretty easy ... but you need the groundwork put in.

Making the money isnt that difficult, knowing how to not get sidetracked is difficult as a newcomer and unless you are a natural Jedi in building sites/attracting visitors then you are in for a learning curve that will likely eat your savings up.

Dont get me wrong, it doesnt have to eat your savings, I have done it on harldly nothing ... because I had nothing to invest from the begining and so HAD to build from nothing. If Id had a few grand, It would have dissappeared fast whilst learning and ID still be in about the same place.

Lesson: Having the money to invest means nothing without the basic knowledge and that only comes with trying and doing ... experience.

Money cannot speed that up.

Tough situation. But you don't have $9k to "invest". And I think the last thing you should do is spend the money on CPA, offline, whatever. Odds are, being new, never having done this, never having made money online - you're going to lose it all.

First off, here's what I would do if I was in this supposed situation.

$9k to invest. Gotcha.

Behind on the bills, awesome.

Put $8.5k into the behind bills. Use the other $500 to have for gas/food.

Get those two who are good enough to work to do whatever it takes to find work. Shovel **** if you have to. Work 12 hour days seven days a week. Do whatever it takes. Flip burgers.

Whatever it takes.

Take as much stuff from around the house and sell it. I'm sure you've got another $3k of stuff you can get rid of. Sell it on ebay, or pawn it.

Get yourself out of debt. Internet marketing can be a real cash-pit if you don't know what you're doing.

Everyone who can get a job, needs to get one. If you can work online part-time, what are your skills? Can you design websites? Can you design logos? Do you have a good voice? Can you make videos? Do you have any skills that you can freelance?

Go to fiverr and post gigs, make a little money here and there.

Your first goal should be to be able to sustain your family, not to invest the money into internet marketing. It's not some overnight cash-printing machine. To get to that point takes months of work usually.

I'm saying this because I've been there. I was homeless at one point while trying internet marketing. I sucked it up and got a job, bought a place to live, a car, and got caught up on my debts before I started trying this again.

This thread has advice on ways to make bits of money here and there, check it out.

http://www.warriorforum.com/main-internet-marketing-discussion-forum/142737-what-do-if-youre-desperate.html

That's the best advice I can tell you.

-Sean

I would suggest banner ads . Its paid advertising but incredibly effective. The true beauty is you don't have to spend a lot and if you do your research you can make a KILLING! Go research Banner Ads and Ad buys. Set your max budget of no more then $100 a ad in the beginning. Look for sites that your target market likes, contact the webmaster or admin about advertising, and go from there. Good luck

I can really relate to your situation. I have been right where you are with owing everyone and not seeing a way out. Believe me I do understand how desperate you are to get yourself financially free. I have read some of the other responses and I agree with many of them. As tempting as it is to invest your money in your online education there are many free or almost free ways to get started online. Look into these ways and master them. Then as you see a profit invest then a little at a time. It takes a while to get the hang of IM and learning what works best for you. If you take that money and go from program to program or CPA to PPC you will likely loose a lot of your money. I think the biggest thing you need to do is find someone you trust and is obviously really making money at it and model what they do. Stick to it and don't give up. Ask questions when you need to. This forum is great for being helpful. Hope this helps!

I goto admit, I hate these kind of threads,.

You know we can help but it aint a "rake the money in now while you need it" kind of help.

If you look longer term like 6 - 12 months then its certainly doable, but not the gas bill money... in the next month.

If I were you, I would take only half of that money and plunk it down into IM. If you fail, at least you'd have half of your money left. IM is as much a reflection of you as it is the techniques or methods you use. For example one person may love affiliate marketing, while another may be more successful doing PPC - and still another may find it more financially rewarding to delve into product creation. So your question is not as easy to answer as you may think - without you providing more info about your background and experience in IM.

So, if you were completely up against the wall and had $9,000 to invest for the sake of your family, what would you do? I'm open to everything. Offline stuff, CPA, whatever. The quicker the better.. it'd be nice to get all our stuff turned back on. Sustainability is a priority too, though.

Umm.......the power and heat are off and you want to turn to internet marketing to get it back on??? Yeah, that might not be a great idea unless you want to go without for 6 months or so. Get a job.

Why do I have a feeling this is all horsepuckey??

Also, I used to be an insurance agent and I gotta ask.....

You are going to cash out a life insurance policy in exchange for just a few thousand?? How much is the cash value of said policy?? 5 bucks!!!??

Wake up and smell the coffee. You don't have $9,000 to "invest." Pay your bills with the money.

Once you get back on a firm financial footing, and have saved some money, invest that in IM or some other business. As it is, you are trying to be a player with someone else's money (your creditors) and that will work against you.

STEP 1 - Realize that you are not too good for physical Labor
Buy Lawnmower or carpet cleaning machine.
STEP 2
Print Out Flyer

How can you not pay the utilities and still have internet access. Get your priorities straight. Get your but off the computer and go out and do some REAL work. I'm not saying that internet marketing isn't real, but the returns will not be instantaneous.

Some of you guys are being jerks without knowing all the variables. If you're like JonWebContent and you're going to say "get a job", don't bother posting. Obviously I would if I could.

@BuildingFutures - The two that can work, do work. The ones who can't collect SSI. The people who manage the money aren't very good at it, apparently, or we wouldn't be in this situation.


@kindsvater - 20, Los Angeles. It's a pretty rough inner-city neighborhood.

Pay your bills, and spend zero money on IMing.

If those in your 6 member family can not work, they can help by writing articles.

Your family could very easily put out 20 articles a day, probably much more.

Submit them to an article directory and keep pumping them out.

This will give your family a point of focus, and everyone will feel like they are contributing.

Article marketing is free and effective, and drop-dead easy for the beginner.

Good luck

Alright, I'm just going to ignore posts that, when boiled down, read "get a job, gain financial footing". You're right, that's not what i want to hear, but not because I don't want to get a job and because I'm looking to the internet as a quick-fix, but because that's not helpful in any way.

donhx, you barely read my post. There aren't even any "creditors".


Anyway, I just found my fiverr account info. I'm going to create a few gigs for voiceover work. It's not really what I'm looking for, but it'll be something, at least.

About turning my family into a content mill... haha. Maybe. I'll see if anything better presents itself first.

I'd caution against spending ANY of that $9k on internet marketing for now, since you seem really new to all this and have not taken action on anything yet. Furthermore, you have much more pressing bills and obligations to worry about.

Please forget about all the get-rich quick products and systems which promise to generate thousands for you while barely lifting a finger. Do not get seduced by all these promises, but instead just focus on providing services online (if you want to do something online) and also get a part time job that will at least provide you with some consistent income.

Depending on internet marketing to pay the bills is not a very good idea, especially when you're still new to all this and have not even made a single dime online. Focus on getting out of the hole by offering services online if you can, and learn about internet marketing while you're doing this.

Now is not the time to dream about big riches on the internet. Just focus on learning for now; providing services will at least provide you with some quick bursts of cash if you focus on that, and implement some of the free and/or low cost IM knowledge that you pick up along the way. If you do decide to spend money on things like hosting, domains, backlinks, etc., only spend it using the money that you've made online. Do not take anything away from your critical rent/billl money to spend on your IM.

Marc - those people telling you to get a job and not invest your money in IM are not giving bad advice. Take note that these people are people that are experienced in IM and know how hard it can be. $9000 investment isn't going to guarantee a return and if you're not careful you can easily lose that money.

I suggest, just like others, that you use that money to pay your bills. You can start making money online without investing 9k, many of us started with no investment capital.

IM can help you out and if you can't get a physical job then IM might be the answer. You really need to do your research and you need to decide what business model you want to follow and then stay focused on it. IM can be very profitable but it can also be quite difficult and many people don't ever make a profit or may take years before they discover the right method to make a profit.

So my advice:

1. Use your 9k to pay the bills and not to invest in IM
2. Think about what your skills are and what type of business you want to do in IM
3. Research, research and more research
4. Stay focused and be prepared to put the time and effort into your online business.

What are your skills Marc? Do you have any particular area of expertise that you can offer as a service? Can you write articles, can you do graphics? If we have an idea of what your skills are then maybe we can point you in the right direction to get started.

The quality of your writing is really very high. Having purchased content in the past, I can tell you that webmasters are ALWAYS on the lookout for high quality copy writing. Check out the warriors for hire section, and see what the prevalent rates are. Write a few articles to get a portfolio going, and then you can place an ad in warriors for hire and you'll have a business in no time with very little investment. You can build from there, but don't put yourself in a situation where you're likely to lost that 9K and then have your family resent you even more and find yourself in a worse place.

With that much debt you don't have ANYTHING to invest.

Since you say that only a couple people in the house can work isn't there any sort of assistance programs available to you through the local government and/or charities?

In many states you can have the utility companies put you on a payment plan if your income is below a certain threshold thus getting them turned back on for a pittance of what paying them off would be. It would be better if you could make a reduced monthly payment rather than having to back pay all the old bills at once.

Put pride by the wayside and do whatever it takes.

Utilities companies and tax offices will often come up with a payment plan for those in hardship. Unfortunately, many people never ask, and simply stop paying which results in many more problems down the line.

Money isn't the issue, it's spending.

Between those six incomes you've got to be brining in at least 6k a month.

Let me google a solution for you... create home budget

Marc, I hear your aggregation dude I really do! About 10 years ago when my parents divorced and my mum had to adjust to being a single mother with three kids two which where in the teens and my dad had to change his whole life. Things got tough! Electricity would suddenly cut out, my mum couldn't pay for jobs around the house that needed doing and we sometimes struggled to get enough food shopping.

Tough times, but it helped strengthen my thought about money and is value and affect.

Basically what I want to say is, invest as little as possible. If you have time then you can invest at the most $30 or $40 for domains and hosting.

Then do everything else your self, when you start making money re-invest and keep doing this until you can take a bit out each month for your family.

If you have other family members needing to earn money, have a look at freelance jobs you can pick up easily. Money is out there to be made you just might have to graft for it hard!

Good luck!

Here's what I don't think you're getting Marc, maybe because nobody is saying it explicity.

If you spend $9,000 on kickstarting your IM career, it will take a little while before you start seeing the sort of returns you're looking for. Returns that will make your whole family's situation more "financially stable." In addition, you are putting that $9,000 into things OTHER than bare necessities of life.

If you spend NOTHING on kickstarting your IM career, it will STILL take a little while before you start seeing the sort of returns you're looking for. But not necessarily a whole lot longer. AND you won't be putting your $9,000 at risk -- which is crucial in your situation.


All you need is a little info to get started in the right direction. I see you're already a War Room member, so there are a million good plans staring you in the face. Pick one with no startup costs, and get going.

Good luck, mate.

Perhaps, if you are dead set on this and really want to get into IM, go look at a couple of websites that are for sale for a couple of hundred dollars or less. That amount isn't going to hurt you one way or the other. Buy it, learn how to run it, learn how to promote it for free. It will give you a taste of what this is all about without you having to start from scratch. If you do decide to look, ask someone with experience what they think of a site that catches your eye. Sometimes you can get lucky and find something in a targeted niche that has potential, that is already set up with a decent design and some content, ready to go. Though you will still have to seek income elsewhere, you can begin your IM career with something to work with without having to deal with design, etc...
Just don't get taken in by all of the scams and buy the first thing. Ask opinions.

PS: you said; "We're really all we have. No extended family or anything to turn to for help or anything."

Pal, in this world, "you" are really the only one that "you" have. Each one of us is alone. Sometimes, we must live our own lives, for ourselves, even though others decide to drown.

The best of luck to you

Hey Marc,

If i'm in your shoes, i would spend at least 8K paying away the debts, and i'm left with 1k. Out of these 1k, most of it goes to gas and food and spend maybe a few dollars advertising SERVICES you can provide on fiverr or warriors for hire etc.

Also rush to get a physical job and earn some money online providing services.

Marc,
Here's some advice for you.

Get your uncle to spend 8k or so on the bills. Use the remaining one for food and neccessities.

Borrow $40 from your uncle and put up a WSO offering your writing services. Your intial post and responses are pretty good writing wise. You just need to offer your services.

Or even go with $100. Post your services in the Warriors for Hire section, and use $40 to create a services WSO. I'll explain the other $40 in a moment.

If you need help creating your WSO, PM and I'll walk you through it. It won't get you rich, and it takes work, but you could at least add a couple hundred dollars to the income of the house, and with the 8k paid on overdue bills, it can at least get you moving in the right direction.

There's two directions you could take the WSO. Write some PLR content and offer it in packages, or go the unique content route and pick up some bigger clients. If you go the PLR route, you can set it up with e-Junkie to deliver it, or WSO Pro so that it's all automated while you work on other writing projects.

And keep your head up. It can be hard to be the young one trying to give the "adults" advice. If you work hard, you can create your own income stream, without having to get out in the real world (I'm not sure if you are one of the ones working or not) and do it.

Best wishes,
Sylvia

Well clearly you don't heed sound advice, don't care about diplomacy and don't respect people who have earned thousands of dollars or more via IM for years now while you have "been reading about it for 2 months".

So, I'll be straightforward.

Does that sound like Perspective and Plan to anyone?

......

That apart,

"We're still gonna be in the hole for about $3k"

Does it not mean you will still have a "debt" of $3k?

Then how do you not have creditors?

Listen:

YOU are in debt.
Your utilities are OFF.
Your title says family gong down the pooper utilities off 9k to invest???

I think there is something that is seriously wrong with this post. As a family you need to band together to fight the problem. but let me tell you.

It takes hard work hours and hours of time,testing,trial and error,writing and rewriting.finding what is the sweet spot and what doesn't fly. For you to take the money you desperately need and put it anywhere except into the needs of your family is downright ludicrous

So. Do you need a product to sell? OK Fine I am willing to give you something to help.
However. it is up to you to utilize the products and sell them WITHOUT dipping into your funds at all. Running a wso doesn't even guarantee you will make 1 sale. You need a lot of things on this forum to succeed one of them is a reputation. You need to be wise in your thinking not foolish. that said pm me and I will give you a download link to help you out.
I hope you use wisdom and help your family without taking what you desperately need to function and blowing it on some crap product that may or may not work.
-Will

Okay, all the risks aside and all the lecture and what you should and shouldn't do with the money blah blah blah . . . . I'll just skip all of that and I'll give you something that MIGHT work and would be FAST!

1. Pick a niche (this would probably work best in the IM niche)
2. Create a really nice report (or have it outsourced)
3. Pick a domain that matches the niche and the free report (purchase it of course)
4. Get hostgator hosting, you can find coupons that will allow you to purchase first month for a penny, (I think it is HGC4APENNY or something, I don't know you can search for google) also you can sign your mom or uncle up as an affiliate of hostgator and use their link to sign up and thats another $50 you can put back in the business
5. Get an Autoresponder
6. Create a series of messages in AR, include a 'promo' email after ever 5th or so message that links to an affiliate product (using your link of course).
7. Create a squeeze page on your new domain to give away the free report
8. Create a One Time Offer (OTO) that the subscriber will see after they opt-in. This can be using an affiliate link or you can create a product that will compliment the free report.
9. Use $2000 and purchase solo ads. This should allow you to purchase 10 solo ads that guarantee 1000 clicks each. This should bring you 300-600 subscribers PER solo ad. So this could net 3,000 - 6,000 subscribers.
10. Use this new list and treat it like gold, because this is your new business. If you build the relationship you will easily recoup your investment in affiliate commissions.
11. You will also now be able to sell solo ads to your new list you can charge 30-100 bucks depending on how many clicks you can guarantee (and how big you list ends up being). You can also ad swap with other marketers to continue building your list.

This is what you asked for. A way to quickly earn money online. If you wanted to get a bigger list you can invest more than $2000 in solo ads. But doing it how I listed above will only run you about $2500 and that would include outsourcing a report and OTO product.

Good Luck

Go for a job, freelance or regular whatever you can accomdate yourself with. Don't go for quick earning look out. Don't spend your 9k savings. Earn from job, make savings from your job as well. This way you will ave both the 9k savings as well as savings from your job.

You have mentioned that you have done quite a lot of research on internet marketing, I am sure you can land a job as SEO trainee. Market your services as SEO forum poster or trainee on craigslist. Be honest with your skills and you will have a job, adapting you to SEO skills, helping you in the long run in initiating internet marketing for yourself in the future.

Best of luck!

Here's where IM sucks for newbies the products you see about making money online they are most of the time showing you how easy it is to make this money yada yada yada, but what they don't tell you is all the pieces of the puzzle yes, they make that kind of money, but they do not tell you everything or how many websites they have pulling in that money or how much they spent out to make that much money in their clickbank accounts. I have been doing IM for about 7 yrs and I still do not make the kind of money they say you will mainly because I do things on trial and error and I spend more time reading instead of doing what I am taught. This type of business takes a lot of time and effort and about 95% of marketers fail so don't think you will get rich over night it usually does not happen. It will take you 6 months to a year to start making in the $1000 range and that's almost working online daily. You would hate to lose this money online and then your family be living in a shelter. There has to be a way to be able pay off your debts and then get a loan or something. Good luck to you I hope everything turns out okay for you.

Then give them a REAL PLAN how to budget the income they have. (as it already was suggested) - That's what your family, including you, needs: a realistic, disciplined plan.

What did the late Grandma do differently that the family survived?
If all those people live under one roof there should be only ONE that manages the cash flow. Not everybody. Just one - the brightest!
Cut back any "luxury" expenses: cigarettes, booze, water with sugar (aka pop) and stuff like that.
Don't order food and don't get takeout: those sitting at home should cook - it's cheaper and healthier

Make note of every step you make to address your misery. Make it a report at the end.
Buy the $7script for literally $7 and sell your report. Sell it for $15. Sell 10,000 copies. After expenses you would still have more than $10,000. Now THAT is money you can invest.

P.S. Cashing a whole life insurance policy should be the very last resort. The payout is miserable... usually way less than you hope. Trust me, I used to sell insurance and I know nobody reads the small print in the policies.

For starters, I would not present such a plan to your family. Let them do with the money as they wish.

My reasoning is simple: before you can use a computer to make money, you need to realize you gotta be able to provide it something called electricity. Then there is a little problem called 'rain and snow', which computers absolutely hate (well maybe not Panasonic Toughbooks, but we know you ain't got one of those). Houses tend to keep that nasty stuff off computers, they are a must too.

So let them use that money to keep the lights on and the house over your head, and raise your own capital to launch your business instead.

It's not all that expensive. Domains are $9 bucks a year, hosting is like $10 a month, and you can take payments via paypal which is free, and create infoproducts via research at the library and the internet. Once you get that far, it's all pedalpower and self motivation.

A little simplistic, but you get the general idea.

Hope this helps.

Dude... my answer is not gonna be popular, but I'd advise thinking carefully about whether you want to gamble your last 9k on IM in your situation. It sounds like you need to be looking for something more secure and reliable right now. Not forever, but just for right now.

It's probably the first time I've ever said it to anyone and it may be the last as well, but... get a job. That seems like the way to go for now.

Marc, my serious advice to you. If you have a skill, even a still developing skill, that you plan on using in internet marketing, first get someone to pay you to use that skill. I have always been great at persuasive writing. I have started a copywriting business(currently being restructured) but before I did it for myself, I worked for media organizations writing their commercials and print ads.

If you can write html, go to your local library and get a book on CSS and one on PHP, learn these two, and boom, you can get a job as a web master.

If you are an artist, and want to focus on design, put together a portfolio and start applying for graphic design jobs.

If you can speak clearly and not sound like you are reading, go to radio stations and offer to be an additional voice on their commercial rotation.

If all you are able to do is sit in a comfortable chair and push buttons on a computer, then get a data entry job.

If you are one of the ones who currently works, know this, you can get a second job.

If you do not currently work, know that there is a job for you out there that will not be difficult for you to do because it is obvious you are functionally literate and able to use a computer.

Lastly, sit down with your family and let them know that there is a road to wealth, and a way out of poverty, but the first step is to curtail spending. Here is how to create a budget so you don't even have to click a link.

List neccessary expenses, rent or mortgage, food, utilities, gas or bus fare, and other NEEDS. Figure up the cost of those items. Subtract that from household income. If you have positive, then your family should not spend any more money than what is absolutely essential. If you have negative, then the two who work need to get second jobs, and anyone who can do anything at all to bring in money(legally) should do so.

I said what I wanted you guys to know to wrap your head around my situation. Those are the given variables. Some of you are extrapolating on, and even ignoring them. Believe it or not, that is not helpful. I'm asking a forum full of people who make money for advice on something they're good at. What I'm not asking for is a lecture, but I got one from a bunch of you. Rest assured, your misplaced high-horsery has gone completely ignored.

Beyond that, I didn't ask for generalized advice. I didn't ask "Hey guys, SHOULD I try to make something happen with this money?". I asked "WHAT can I make happen with this money, if anything? What would you do to make some money in my spot if you had a few bucks to start with?" If you can't directly address what was written, do not post. If someone is asking you what you would do with $xxxx amount of money and all you can think to say is "pay your bills, get a job", do not post. Realize that not everyone is a moron and that I wouldn't have even made this thread if I didn't understand the risks involved in spending my (family's) last dollar on either a) basic neccessities or b) an opportunity.

To be honest, I'd rather have them sitting in the dark for the next six months for the chance at more than just barely scraping by. If it doesn't work out, hey, we're still breathing, and we tried.

I'm sitting here using an extension cord from neighbors house to power my computer. If not for the light given off by the monitor, I wouldn't be able to find my way to the fridge that's powered the same way. I'm pretty aware.

It can't hurt. Of course if I come up with something good enough and they want to try it, great!

Great stuff. I think that if I don't come up with a way to make some money for us, what I will present to them is a clear-cut budget. I think the sole reason we're in this situation is because of poor spending habits and bad budgeting.

Thanks for that. I'm thinking of what services I can offer but I don't really have any marketable skills that'll raise enough money, I don't think. I gotta try, though, so I'll see where it takes me. Article writing is attractive, but i don't hold really hold any expertise on anything. I'm not a dumb guy.. I just dont have too much hard knowledge.

Oh, and i was just under the impression that money loves money. If there's something I can start with for free and make a profit in a few months, surely there's something I can throw a few dollars at and see better results faster. That goes back to what the guy said about having proper grounding in IM, though, and he's right.

I can tell your hearts in the right place. Thanks for posting. Unfortunately, no. I can't build websites, I'm awful at photoshop, I haven't brought a page to number 1 on google, etc. I'm sure I could do any of the things I just mentioned, but time is a factor here, which is why I was hoping to come up with a way to leverage that money and do something [i]everyone[i] with a little know-how can do.

Haha. Thanks for that. I'm gonna give it a shot as soon as I find a "mill" I can work from home.

The only thing you've shown me is that you don't know how much people on SSI get, and hey, you didn't even have to hyperlink to something to do that.

I hear ya man, I know it's out there. This was my first stop for advice and I've gained something from the thread. Nothing is gonna keep me from at least trying.

Thanks for the post and well wishes.

Thanks a bunch. I didn't know that I couldn't expedite the proccess if I had money to spend. That's what I wa shoping for, but I guess not.

Thats pretty accurate. I'm the youngest at 20. Aside from a big part of our family who happened to have good fiscal sense, we also lost a couple grand in disability checks and pensions and I don't know what else.

I know it well, man. One of the truest facts of life. I'm not sure what you're telling me here, though. My mom and aunt are kinda going through a depression, I think, and would live here in this awful neighborhood without significant others for the rest of their lives. I think that's what they plan on doing, actually. They're definitely not as happy as they could be, and to me, that [b]is[b] drowning. I won't let them do that.

Re-read the part of my post where I said exactly that. You're trying to tell me something I said myself.

[quote=PhoebeSmellyCat;3142045]Why would you want your family to suffer through months of no water, gas or electricity just to so can go chase some pie in the sky theories? I won't adopt a plan that eats up all $9,000 and produces no results. I could make more with less, apparently, so something that costs that much money to get going and doesn't make me at least $2,000 back (to pay the utilities) should be pretty to spot.

That would be a very bad plan. I am going to steer clear of those.

No.
I might take you up on that, actually. It's a generous offer and it's immensely appreciated. Thanks a bunch.
The fact that someone knows more about internet marketing than I do and has been making money doing it for longer than I have (or haven't, for that matter) doesn't command any respect at all. I do heed sound advice when I see it. Its come from a minoity of people in this thread. I am pointedly thanking them for it in this post. If I didn't thank you, you didn't provice sound advice.

[quote=indihow;3142392]So, I'll be straightforward.[quote]
Well, you tried.


......
..thats why this thread is here. This thread is here because I do not have a plan. I am looking for help coming up with a plan. If I had a plan, you wouldn't have a venue to parade your idiocy around because this thread would not be here.

There is no line of credit, there is no lending of money, there is no creditor.

Well that's what I've yet to find out. Maybe I can get some who does have a good reputation and has found the sweet spot and pay them some money and see a positive return.

Thanks for the offer. I might take you up on it.

This is exactly what i asked for. Thanks a bunch. I'm weighing all my options and trying to figure out where I need to allot all my time and resources. I might give this a shot.
Good stuff. I'm gonna look into this. Thanks

That's tjhe kinda stuff we definitely need to think about. I think we know what she did differently, we just don't do it. Some changes need to take place.

Maybe I will make a WSO at some point! I don't know what value I have to offer right now as far as an info product goes, but we'll see as this whole thing unfolds.

Just out of curiosity.. do you know Sean Horvath? We've been internet buddies for around 4 years and if you were related to him that'd be the weirdest thing.


I'll keep replying tomorrow. I gotta head to bed. Thanks guys.

As an obviously very young person, there are some hard lessons embedded into this situation that you're probably not going to hear.

It's very admirable that you want to try to figure out how to solve a problem that's much larger than yourself - namely, how to create income to take care of numerous people who cannot/will not take care of themselves.

But the one hard lesson that has to be learned from this is - no matter how much you might love someone, you cannot allow them to drag you under.

I don't think $9,000 or a sustainable income will solve the real problem that I am hearing. The consumption will likely outstrip the income, regardless of the income level.

There are so many stories of families who are desperately broke just a couple of years after winning millions of dollars in the lottery.

Do you seriously believe that presenting any kind of a plan to people who aren't even capable of taking care of themselves is going to result in some sort of good decision?

I'd be figuring out how to pull the ejection seat lever and extricate myself from this quagmire before I did anything else.

Don't spend any of that 9K on IM. You will lose it all, or get very little returns unless you know what you're doing.

I recommend providing services. Yes, you're trading time for money but who cares - you've got an income.

When you've got 'extra' money from this you can then invest that 'extra' money into IM.

Use the 9K to pay your bills.

You will only regret it.

~Russ

Thank you for the response Marc,

I wish you well
-Will

Sorry to hear about your struggles...

We have 9 at my house and we are not strangers to difficulties. My wife and my three boys have Alport Syndrome (kidney disease)... which is untreatable.

Meds are $3500/month, dialysis and transplants a wee bit more, so my wife works seasonal at the IRS for the medical benefits... (My oldest already got a transplant for a $10 co-pay) Beats $100 grand )

Now I'm not a marketing genius, but I do promote an affiliate program that costs ZERO to join, plus you get a training page for Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Article Marketing, Blogs and Forums & Outsourcing etc.

You can earn $1000, $1200, $1650 Or $2200 per transaction.

The benefit to you is: You get paid with ZERO investment.

The benefit to me: I get paid the exact amount... $1000, $1200, $1650 Or $2200

While I cannot promise you success... I can promise that the training and the income potential is real.

Rainman

Oh, to answer your question... take the $9,000 and use it to outsource ALL of your marketing... articles/videos/press releases/link building, etc...

Don't try to do it all yourself, it takes forever.

The key is driving truckloads of traffic and getting your offer in front of millions of eyeballs.

Also, you are welcome to the training page even if you promote something else...

i've been reading this thread and i missed the one most important thing:

how much money do you actually need?

also... any of the advice throughout this thread (regarding IM) can make you anywhere from $50-$1,000 but it also depend on the level of skill you have. you can possibly make more but it will be a gradual process. some warriors make $1,000 at the end of month 12 and then doubled at the end of month 13. you get the idea. the rule is clear; you can't get that much in a very short time without the proper skill set no matter which path you choose.

that being said, if i were you, i'd build website to market other people's product and concentrate on that niche until that website bring me $x,xxx. the reason is simple: the cost is low (to buy domain, host) and you already have an established product/brand/market presenece. rinse and repeat.

hope that helps.

The first thing it sounds to me is take action instead of learning. When working online it really helps to have already taken action. For you are not going to learn everything over night. I have personally be doing this for 2 years and I still have alot to learn. However I do know alot and can do just about everything.

One of the best things I can offer you is some free training. Simply go to Secrets To The Affiliate Marketing Online World Revealed - Massive Marketers and take advantage of the free training. Not only will you recieve free training but you will be off to a start on making money afte ryou sign up. II wish you the best of luck. If you ever have any questions please feel free to shoot me a message. I will be more then happy to help you in any way I can.

My 2c.

You have a pc, and a friendly neighbor. Use them to learn, read and study. When you know enough, you will realize that 99% IM schemes are only helping the people selling the schemes to GRQ. Not you. That is the sad reality: they are selling dreams, not actionable plans. Which is what you really need.

So find a way to make some income in the short term (packing groceries if necessary). Then learn to do one single aspect of IM REALLY REALLY well, and figure out ways to monetize that to the nth degree. If it means you get good at setting up Wordpress blogs, then do that. Whatever. Find ways to get started. Even if it's for peanuts at the beginning. Why? Because you need to build out your skill set, develop your knowledge, and build your customer reputation. Once you see how things really work, you will find other opportunities that take you further down the road you want to go.

There are no ways you can turn that $9K into any meaningful income in IM without doing the above steps, regardless of what anyone says, promises or writes. You may not like what I wrote here, it may not be what you want to hear, ... but I hope it is useful to you or others.

Kenneth

Firstly,

Great responses all around.

As a businessman, I have been broke many times when I was younger trying different ideas. When it doesn't work, I go back to work, make some money, and go again.

Your situation is rough, but dont despair, you have the right mindset. You want to create an income and you want to help your family. Excellent and Commendable.

So here is what I would do.

Firstly, you dont have to cash out all of your bills at one time and be left with nothing. So call the utilities and all other debtors, work out a deal. They will work something out.

Secondly, reach out to some state assistance programs, they have programs that can give you vouchers, even help pay your utility bills. This is important.

Third, invest in what you are most confident in, and to me, that is YOURSELF. What that means is if you want to be self employed, which is very rewarding but not easy in the beginning, invest into doing a business that is needed everyday.

Some other members mentioned carpet cleaning and such. Believe me, if you are ready and willing there are companies that will pay you even $60+ a day to work with them and they train you. Open up the phone book or go on google and start calling. This is easy work, no HR and delays in hiring. Service companies are always doing work. Once you get the hang of it, know how the business works. Open up your own.

Carpet cleaning is very cheap to get into. Post flyers and contact other carpet cleaning companies in the area and see if they have any jobs for you to do. Some companies use independent contractors and just dispatch them the less favorable jobs. It is what it is, but its a way in, and green is green!

You do not have to HOPE for a successful business when you are investing in yourself. Internet marketing is great, but in times like these, this is what separates the men from the boys, by making solid decisions about real life problems.

You work hard, You will make money. End of Story.

You'll be ok, you sound like you have your head on. Remember, No Hail Mary's.

Pay your bills. If the gas and power are off, and there's 10K owed in back taxes on the house, then you don't have 9K to invest in online ventures. You have 9K to pay your bills.

I would suggest (highly) that you get a job, along with whoever else in the house is able to work. Get caught up on bills, get your taxes caught up, save up some money, and THEN worry about working via the internet.



Cindy

Un feaking real!

"Investing" $9K in a business you have no experience in yet is like going to the casino with the money.

I'd pay the bills with the money. I've been self employed for over 20 years and I've done work for self-employed people. My observation is that it's very difficult to concentrate on maintaining your business when you're experiencing personal problems. I've seen dozens of people lose their business because of personal problems, usually health and marriage, which then turns into a spiral of financial problems and a subsequent worsening of ALL their problems. Almost all of them ended up giving up their self employment and going to work for someone else in exchange for a steady paycheck.

If you're dead set on using the money for IM, I suggest you find a partner who knows what they're doing and work out some kind of a deal with them.

A lifestyle change seems to me the best solution. I can only speak from experience.

Option 1. Consider joining the military:
1. Money wise. You may receive a signup $ bonus. The bonus money may be enough to get your family out of immediate debt.
2. Send part of your pay to your family every month. Repay your Uncle.
3. Go the JAG and explain the situation and ask them to help you with the legal issue of the taxes. They will point you in the right direction.
4. Formal education. You will receive a formal education if you apply yourself.

Option 2. Relocate the family to a farm.
1. When I was younger than you are now and for similar reasons I moved my family with a few of our friends to a farm! We pooled what little money we had and leased a little farm in my name.
2. We immediately had roof over our head, food and water, little money, but an honest living that sustained us until times were better.


Once I knew the family could stand on their own feet I joined the service. Put the lawyers, legal assistance, and more to work for me. It worked out for the best.

After three years I owned the farm, had a formal education and trade.

Jeffery 100% :-)

1. Buy 5 other computers. Nothing too fancy. Get them used for like $250 each. That's like $1250 plus tax.

2. Then buy a WSO in the "For Hire Section" and offer article writing/VA/blog posting linkbuilding services. 4 WSOs is like $80 to post. Thats like $1350 invested so far.

3. Now get EVERYONE in your family working. They all have their own PC by now. No excuses why you can't do this if things are that bad.

4. Use the rest of your money left over to pay for bills and food. Pay the minimum on your debt until the money from your business comes in and you can afford to start paying more towards the principal and get out of debt faster.

This post has brought in a lot of responses. Which can be a good thing, at the same time its a bad thing. I have read the majority of these responses and they all seem to be saying the same thing. DO NOT SPEND YOUR MONEY ON GETTING STARTED!

Use the 9K that you have and pay your bills. Keep your electricity and water on, this is a must. You need both of those even in order to get started with IM.

Then go over to Google Adsense and sign up. After you do that sign up for Amazon Affiliates. Now, the fun part begins. If you are unable to work, then you have lots of time. Start typing articles and building pages. Build Squidoo Lenses and Hubpages. Submit articles to Infobarrel and sites like these. Work 10 to 16 hours daily.

Just do not spend your money on stupid things. Budget and stick to it. Start telling your money where to go, instead of having it tell you what you can do. Head on over to Amy Bass's Blog and read it. She has recently been a great source of motivation for me.

Mark.

Okay let me say this.

1. Investing 9k in the internet business will do you NO GOOD in the beginning. You will piss it away needlessly. (in the beginning. It can help you later)

2. All you need is a domain name and hosting to get started.

3. You can learn everything you need to know here on the forum. That is how I got started.

4. You can get all the tools you need free.

5. Internet business takes time. This is not a quick fix. If you need something quick see others advise about jobs or services.

6. To re-iterate - I have been making a very good income online since 2005. It is my sole source of income. My total monthly expenses to run my business is about$79.00 per month.

So my advise - use the 9k on the bills and living expenses.

Just my 2 cents. I would hate to see you spend the $9k needlessly when you need it so much.

Yikes! I'm sorry about your situation. Everyone on this thread is giving some really great advice. Just take your time and don't invest all of it at once.

Too be honest OP,
you don't deserve to learn any of this crap. You're not being respectful towards the gracious members of WarriorForum.

I was in the same situation as you were in. I'm 16 and we had pennies in our pockets.

You need action and determination to succeed. I've gone from absolutely nothing to nearly $300,000 in 10 months.
First thing you need to do is stop procrastinating, you CAN get a job. You're choosing not to!

Don't tell me that taking care of a family of 6 is too much to handle, you CAN do it. You need to stop procrastinating and just do something.

There are no excuses for not doing everything in your power.

& don't diss any of the members here, they've been nothing but helpful to you.

One of the first things that you have to do is to get everyone involved likeminded. Those in charge of the finances have to be on board. If not, pretty much anything you do will eventually fail.

Abundance is not necessarily dependant on income, but on how much you spend.

If those in your household are breaking basic financial principles, such as wasting money on wants instead of needs, then that has to be corrected.

A six person household with 4 people bringing in SSI and 2 people working, should be able to easily maintain a home and pay the bills.

I am not in your shoes nor do I know your total income, and outgo, but I can assure you that where there is a WILL there is a way. The problem is that many people are not willing to take the right road, or make the hard decisions, or let go of the vices that are causing the problems.

One of the first things I would do is get everyone honest, and write down all the bills, and then decide out of all the bills, what actually HAS to be paid. Then once that is done, decide out of all those bills what can actually be put off without losing your home, or car or something that is needed to get you to work or help you stay working.

Then I would get everyone together and make sure all were likeminded and on the same page about the situation. Honesty is key here, and likemindedness. In a situation as dire as what yours sound like, people should be willing to do WHATEVER it takes.

All vices should be temporarily put on the backburner, no ciggs, no beer, no junk food, no fast food, no nothing that is a want, just handle the needs. Spend your money very wisely, buy food that goes a long way and that is cheap, such as rice, potatoes, ect....

You may be suprised at how much money gets spent on wants vs. needs, which adds up to hundreds of dollars a month.

A budget has to be set and stuck to 100%. No movies, no anything that is wasteful, and a waste of money.

If these small things get taken care of you'll see that there is more money than meets the eye.

If you have 9,000 to spend and you are in danger of losing your house, you need to, or someone in charge needs to go and talk in person to whomever it is that you need to about the back taxes. Its possible that something can be worked out, a payment plan etc. But if you avoid them, things will get worse and sometimes quickly, not saying that you are, but thats what lots of people like to do, ignore the problem.

I have got to be honest with you. If I knew what was really going on in your household, the money situations and the attitudes of those involved it would be alot easier to say do this or do that. But because I like all the others here are just going by what you have posted, we really do not have all the facts. But I can assure you as you already know, some major principles have been and are being broken in the financial arena.

There are a multiplicity of problems that people have in life, but in all reality when you get right down to it, solutions are very simple. You just have to get to the root of the problem, and that takes lots of honesty. Then you have to make decisions that more times than not, are self sacrificing, and not fun to make.

When you know what is the best decision and the right decision, you have to take it no matter what, because if you do not, you could set yourself back even longer.

I cant really go on much more with suggestions, mainly because I do not know the whole story, and I do not think that the whole story is being told. Which is probably best, since this is a public forum and your family issues need to stay private.

If your seeking help from someone one on one, then you would probably have to share what needs to be known in order to give enough info so that someone can give better advice. But like I said before, if all those involved are not likeminded, its just a futile situation.

Somethings to think about:

You can't help people who do not think they have a problem, or who do not want help. You cannot help people who are not willing to change. You cannot help people who are dishonest about the situations, or with themselves.

None of the above is intended to accuse you, or anyone else of wrong doing, but merely to help, and to give some solid reliable principles to help you evaluate the situation at hand.

Marc, my name is also Marc btw lol... even with the C!

Man, are you insane? You should not spend the $9k on something you are learning but haven't mastered in any way yet. Believe me, I'm coming from a family which was heavily in debt and also we had our utilities cut off several times when I was younger etc.

Was a f*** hard time, believe me I know how that feels and that you want to do something. But you should do this with your money:

1. Pay utilities
2. Get a job on the side something that pays at least a few hundred dollars per month, so you can afford to pay internet etc by yourself
3. The second family member should also get a job, together you could at least BARELY pay your running expenses.
4. When you're home you sit down and work your little butt off trying to learn this internet marketing thing

It will take you quite some time to be at a stage where you can earn a full-time income, everybody who tells you different has either no clue or wants to sell you something, refer you via an affiliate link or whatever

Once you are at a stage that you are able to earn a few grand per month with internet marketing you can slowly start making plans to quit your job...slowly

That's the best I can offer, of course there is a MINIMAL chance that you take the $9k, and immediately make huge returns maybe because PPC for example is just your thing... But believe me the chances are very slim and you should go down the safe road!

Man and if you work in a call-center, or the gas station around the corner... little money is better than none...

Take $1,000 and hire two people to sit on your phones for 2 weeks at 5 hours per day each.

Sell websites to local businesses...

You will make another 9k for only spending 1k.

You know what, go to hell.

You need to figure out your goddamn situation and you need to realize that you are too fricking lazy to go out and GET A JOB and you won't make a squat online.

People are trying to help you on your fake looking story not because they like to get trashed.

Hey, I got better things to do.

My advice? Don't be a goddamn inspector for your whole family. You're only gonna worsen all of their situation.

Now if the story is "real" then get your lazy ass out of the house and get a fricking job.

Internet Marketing is a business and you don't start out new business ventures when you are sitting in dark.

Oh and btw, I wonder how you are posting this on Warrior Forum if you have no electricity?

Pick a niche.
Start a blog on the niche.
Write for a week and make articles that point to individual pages on your blog with each post.
Write guest posts and interact with the community wherever they are (forums, blogs, etc).
Market an affiliate product to the audience you develop over time.
In your first month you could make as much as $1,000.

The easiest way I've found to make a lot quickly and continue to produce the same results (and by easiest I don't mean EASY - I mean the likeliest high ROI for your time, spending very little and not having much IM knowledge) is to study some big players in a niche who you can tell have a large list by # of comments on their blog, FB / Twitter response, # of products selling, etc. .... buy their best product or study some popular free post/report - find one or several areas where YOU have questions or want further information on... then interview them, ask them those questions, and have them promote the interview (and transcript) for a split commission. You keep the buyer leads, make a pretty much guaranteed huge chunk, and now have a buyers list to promote other products, repeat the same process, etc.

This IS how I got started making big sums VERY quickly, especially when I emailed the results to other authorities in the niche and got them to promote for a commission.

All you need is:

- Skype to record the call (I have Pamela for Skype in addition which does the recording, but Skype might have this feature by now... I still use Pamela for Skype, though)

- A good microphone like the Blue Yetti (awesome, $99 on Amazon.com)

- A domain to host the sales page

- A PayPal account to collect $$$ from sales (or do ClickBank, RAP, whatever to include affiliates once you get there.)

- An autoresponder (Aweber is great, starts at $19.95/mo I believe)

- An email account and phone number so you can contact these authorities, show that you understand their product/list, and make an offer to interview them and split the profits.

Now while this takes WORK, it's is the easiest, fastest way to make big sums quickly and build momentum in any niche that I've personally come across. No SEO / PPC / etc. Just digital handshakes and a little research.

Good luck, man. For an initial $100 - $200 plus $8/mo hosting and $19.95/mo autoresponder fees you can make a "sky is the limit" income pretty much instantly. Use the rest of your money to take care of your family and bills.

If you're still feeling anxiety, then start in the IM niche - go to the WSO section which is chalked full of marketers who have big lists and sell lots of products - buy their WSO and PM them with the questions you want to ask on the interview and the arrangement... then just post the WSO once done.

Trust me, marketers and product creators LOVE promoting themselves being interviewed - Use their ego to make EZ $$$... you'll also learn the ropes of product creation and product launching much quicker than an ebook or course b/c they'll gladly share their secrets with you in order to make the launch successful (they want to make the most $$$ on it, too.) That's how I learned... I remember my first one with Brian McElroy and just before the launch he said, "You're split testing, right... and what's the upsell?" ...

"Oh, I said, what do you recommend?"

Nothing beats being paid to be coached ... Joint Ventures and Expert Interviews are still to this day my largest source of income (and learning sources) - and if I shared the sales #s you probably wouldn't believe me.

Cheers,

Scott

The OP is not looking for a viable solution, of which several have been presented here. He just wanted to have a good cry. And there's nothing wrong with that. But don't waste people's time and THEN have the temerity to bitch.

Go for local business > get a good mentor with the money > 6
figure income in less than 4 months is easily done if you hang
around the right people