For Those Looking For A Solid IM Education

There has been an ongoing debate here and just about at every other forum
you could go to about what the best way is to go about getting your
education for starting and running your own business.

The one group says that the only way is to go out and pay for a structured
course designed specifically to teach you the ABCs of what you'll need to
know in order to effectively start and run your business.

The other group claims that all this information can be freely found online
and that there is no reason to pay for anything. Just go to the search
engines and to the forums and read as much as you can and you'll
eventually get all the information that you need.

Let's objectively look at each method.

1. Paying For Your Education

Well, to start with, this does save you a lot of time. Going the SE and
forum route and looking for things does take time. It isn't going to happen
quickly. Depending on how much info you need (which will be determined
by where you are in your education cycle) this could take days, or even
weeks to find everything. With a paid education, it's all there right away.

However, there is a downside to this that is certainly a possibility.

How do you know that the education you're paying for is a quality one?

Have other established, well respected marketers endorsed it? Has it
gotten rave reviews from buyers? Are there legit testimonials on the
page. How can you even tell?

Truth is, you really don't know if what you're paying for is good or is even
going to help you until you actually start to put it into action.

Guess what?

The putting into action part can sometimes take as long as the "trying to
find it for free" method.

And then, you may just find that the info is either bogus, incomplete or
just doesn't work anymore. And in many cases, by that time, the guarantee
period has expired and you're stuck with $X worth of stuff that was of no
use to you.

Point is, buying anything is no guarantee that it's going to be what you're
looking for or that it will work for you.

2. Going The Free Route

In this case, you're not investing any of your money to learn. You're taking
your time and going through all the info that is freely available online.

On the plus side, this costs you no money out of pocket. And I do stress
the words "out of pocket."

On the minus side, this can be a long process. Also, some topics that you
might want to learn about, especially if they are fairly new, may not be
available for free yet. The only way to get these gems is to pay for them.

Also on the minus side, and this is similar to the paid problem as well, you
just don't know what's good and what's not. You're more or less taking
your chances with everything that you test.

And there is one other thing. Because this method of getting an education
takes time, while it doesn't take actual dollars out of your pocket, you
do have to figure in the cost as far as what your time is worth.

How much is it worth to you? Many people say nothing, but do they
really mean it? If you were to say that your time is worth nothing, does
that mean you would do a job for somebody here and not ask them to pay
for it?

Think about it...before you say that your time is worth nothing.

Okay, a lot of people will say, "Well, I have to go the free route because
I don't have the money to pay for an education. It is my only option."

You hear that all the time. Okay, that's fine. And if it's legit (you can just
about put food on your table) then that may very well be your only option
at the moment.

But understand that the process is going to be a long and slow one and
you won't be getting any closer to your goal of putting food on your
table easier any sooner.

Ultimately, you're paying for this education through the lack of income
coming in quicker because you're taking longer to train yourself.

There is no way around this fact...unless you are a darn fast study and
can find things in a flash.

So What Does This All Mean?

Here's the bottom line. As you can see, either method you use, there is
no perfection. There is always going to be a possible snag that you're
going to hit. Ultimately, it comes down to your dedication to training.

The quicker you can go through and test the paid methods, the quicker
you can find out if they're worth it and, if not, get your money back.

The quicker you can find free info and test it the sooner you reach your
goal of finding the info that is going to be of the most help to you.

These are simple truths. There is no magic button. There is no quick fix.

Whether you pay for your education with your time or your money, there
is no guarantee that either will provide you with the results that you're
looking for until you put them into action.

So paid or free...pick your poison.

Because either way...you're paying for it.