This is the blueprint if you want to have fun and make money online at the same time. Enjoy what you are doing and offering value. wonderful post.

The truth is that a job is much easier for MOST people,
especially nowadays with all the crazy Google algorithm updates.

With a job, you always get paid what you are supposed to get
at the end of each month, but with IM... not so. And to get paid
with IM consistently, you have to keep battling with lots of other
variables that are, sometimes, not within your control.


Kingsley

Hi Chris,

Thanks for making me remember why I started doing this in the first place! I'm going to simplify a little bit..

Ken Soszka

There will be a majority of the people who will find having a job is much easier as they feel they are guaranteed the income as long as they do their job. Whereas for IM, most might have to go through a period of learning and implement without being paid and most of them are afraid of this kind of situation.

I love Chris's quote on doing something that you love and you will never work another day

I personally think that IM is freedom. I've been doing this for over six years and despite the Google algorithms and literally losing my businesses overnight, it's possible to get back up again and do everything better than ever. It's also possible to make a lot more than in a regular job. For me, I understand the risks of IM but I have chosen it and I'm sticking to it

For most people they can't help but to make IM a job. They spend countless time trying technique after technique, then by the time they know it... they've been online "tweaking" things for 5 whole hours... where did all the time go?

If you have heavy advertising funds, and a good converting product... you could make killer money on the backend, and work only about 1 hour per day... just to manage things - or run new ads. Do this, and you can make more money in 1 month than most people make within the next 5 years.

I don't think of it as a JOB but more like a business and it is up to me how much time I want to spend in my business every day.

I agree that when you first start, you are not aware what is involved in making it a successful business.

I don't know. Try working at Burger King( I used to work there during teenage years), and tell me that IM is a job. I don't care what you do online, but after having several jobs like at BK, making money online seems like a vacation...

If you use a well planned IM strategy, then you can make more in less time.
If you keep doing works "constantly" then you can easily waste your time
and achieve nothing

IM is a business not a job. If you are truly interested in making good money online then you need to treat it with the respect it deserves...

Find your passion.


nuf said.

The fish in the pond get bigger every year.

Anytime you find something online that doesn't involve a lot of work to make a decent profit, it's only a matter of time before people show up that want to push the limits. Then it's not so fun.

Yes, agree to that. I guess its at the first level that you would need to exert extra effort to get what you wanted. And I also agree to one comment that at first you'd spend countless hours looking for ways to work out and then when you get the right method you'd only work for just a few hours and the rest you'd definitely be relaxing and spending more time with your family. It's all in the hard work and it truly pays off

IM has always taken a lot of work to be successful, I started online in 2002 and it took a lot of work then, it's never been easy.

The people I know who are very successful online work darn hard, (myself included), the difference is they usually enjoy what they do

Kim

It all depends on what level you want to achieve.

If you want to achieve 10 grands per month income, you work for it, reach it and then hire a VA to do everything for you so you could enjoy your life as you want it.

But once you've reached that 10 grand per month income and you know you got everything you need for your family and yourself, maybe you want to expand it, make more money, help a lot more people. This is were you build a business, a real business - that does require you to put in hours.

If you want to make x amount per month, after reaching it you dont have to work anymore.

But if you want to build a business online, then it will always be your job.

One more important thing - if you take IM as a job, it shows that you dont like it that much and it isnt something you are passionate about.

Love your post. Couldn't agree more, niche is the way forward. But my piece is that doing anything only for money will always be a job. If you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life. So find something about the IM 'job' that you love. If you're not loving it at the moment find a new business - it can still be in IM, personally I think anyone would be crazy to leave this industry, but perhaps you don't have the right people around you.

I hate to disagree with your post but I think that this part of it alludes to why you see this problem.

Not everyone is trying to escape from a job they hate, and not everyone is expecting their money to appear from the Internet with no work required.

And since you're saying that you're happy with your model - who exactly is this "we" you're referring to when you say "we have turned IM into a JOB"?

There are many IMers who are very happy with their model and revenue.

For some the money is more of a focus than others - I know I was really intent on making money when I started out because money was a problem I had to solve, but now there are many things I don't do that would make money because my time and happiness are more important, so I think these things also change for each person as you progress.

"WE" haven't turned IM into anything - IM is what you make it, so if you don't like what you've made - you only have yourself to blame and you can change it however you like.

IM is not some template business model that you have to copy and stick to.

We are as free as our perception permits.

There are many people on civvy street thoroughly enjoying jobs others might see as mundane.

It's good that things have got tougher. It separates the wheat from the chaff and forces those who assume that they can set up so called called "passive" income streams to interject themselves into the daily running of their business to provide a better level of service.

I don't want my job to be easy. I want it to be challenging so that I can stand above others who can't be bothered.

Daniel

if it were this easy everyone would be doing. don't be mislead! finding the perfect niche that brings in a rush of traffic is NOT that easy. You become an entrepreneur because you are a leader and enjoy helping people.

IMHO if you have something about yourself that can help other people tho this strategy will work as he's laid it out. (A medical condition almost always works)

But who wants to have that just so its nice and easy. If you don't want to put in whats necessary then DO get a job.

It will NEVER BE EASY.

Actually the method mention is same if you have a full time job, in nutshell do thing you love and like and from job become a joy.

When you have the joy in doing IM, than you will be success. I know this, cause ask those who love their job.

"Man! Dis job ain't nuthin but work!"

Damn, I've been saying that for probably close to 10 years and I still laugh...

I agree. It is also refreshing to hear people speak the truth...

I work darn hard at building my online business. The only difference is that I absolutely love what I do. Still, there are days when I pull several all-nighters in a row and then I wonder what the heck I've gotten myself into. Still, I wouldn't trade it for the world. It's my business, it's my job, it's my enterprise...whatever appellation you attach to it works for me.

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/\ Reported, thanks for ruining what might have been a good thread.

As far as the labels you throw on it, I don't honestly care. Nor do I really consider what I do a "job". Because compared to my last job, they have nothing in common.

1) I set my own hours. At most jobs, you can't do that.
2) I'm my boss, unlike most jobs.
3) I work about 1/3 as much, and make 6 times as much. Is it still "work"? Sure, but pay is good enough to distract me from that fact on a daily basis. The days I don't work, its even easier.
4) Its all relative. Some people can run 100's of companies and still have time to play golf on the weekends. Other people run 1 business, and their life as they know it ceases to exist.
5) If you're smart, a job is extremely risky (opportunity costs) compared to being an entrepeneur, buisnessman, salesman, or as this thread states being an internet marketer.

Maybe thats the real issue? Maybe you people are just still marketers?

Maybe you're not the entrepeneurs you thought you were?
Maybe you still have a lot to learn?
Like elimination, automation and outsourcing?

Please don't tell me that you can't have a fully automated business. I know dozens of people who do. Not to mention, my own business is about half way there. It depends on how you set up your business model. Its far easier to BEGIN with the right model, then to start with the wrong model, and try to fix things later.

You can call it a "job" all you want. And you will certaintly find the excuses to keep it that way.

-Red

I obviously LOVE this more than my old job. I don't care if it's hard. Five months ago I didn't even know you can make big bucks online. And now I'm starting to work my way up (holy guacamoly) Shooting for the stars ain't easy.

All the pieces come into place as I look at it from the standpoint of "leverage".

Let us not forget the fact that there are people who've made it. And they went through the same hard work "everybody hates".

We can choose to pay the price to set up and build our leverage (which takes some time) or get back to getting paid de facto standard.

The Parable of Pipeline - YouTube

Everything takes work but if that work allows me to be independent without answering to any uptight bosses all day, then that's the kind of work I would choose any day. This is freedom! Working for yourself, on your own time, any day of the week. What's not to love?

This is the perfect starting point!
If you don't choose something you enjoy you will always see the work involved!
As when you choose something you enjoy it isn't recognizable!
Great post

Hi Chris,

How soon we forget! I too am spending way more time on IM than on anything else. With the hours I devote to it I can certainly equate it to a job.

Once in a while we need a reminder why we got into it to begin with. You are right! Thank you for the reminder.

So where is the "freedom plan" in the advice above?

All you are saying is that somehow doing what you "love" and "having fun and enjoying yourself" will somehow change your "Job" into something else.

And unfortunately this is not true.

Just because someone "feels good" about what they are doing, or "loves" the niche they have chosen doesn't mean they don't own a "Job"

If you are truly seeking freedom, then the only things that are going to work, are creating systems, and hiring people to run those systems for you. And having a plan to setup these systems and your business so it can run without you.

No amount of "feel good" strategies or "love your niche" advice will change those fundamental principles

Nice post, Chris. Earning money from your passions is incredibly important. If I am going to be running a real business, then I want to be in the fast lane and experience true freedom.

big picture that's all true, the challenge though comes when you have to get a short-term project done quickly and have to just grind it out and get it done, whether or not you feel like it... doing that hundreds of times over many years gets to be a bit exhausting... agree though wouldn't trade it for anything, the freedom is wonderful, as is all the customer accolades.

Yes, IM is a job, but at least we don't need to sit in traffic.

When you're just in it for the money then it becomes a JOB.

To play devils advocate here...

If your in this for the money, your probably better off doing something you don't like that makes money and sacrifice for a year or two. Try and make enough money so that you can truly focus on your passion for as long as it takes to start making money from it.

You don't want to be stuck doing something you like, but isn't making you any money (unless you can afford to)...

There's not much point in getting into something for the money if you don't enjoy it...

WHy would you want to be a depressed millionaire?

I think being passionate about what you do is the number 1 key to success because the truth is people's sub-conscious can see right through you if you're phony about your business.

I have not worked a day since I left school. My first coach/manager taught me to make a game of it. Things are easier to learn and do.

As long as you enjoy doing something that you enjoy doing, then it is not a JOB, it could be a GAME.

Example football players, their sport is a job also. They make a game of it and enjoy playing.

Operating equipment is a job also. Make a game of it, thus you have more fun as the operator.

Same for driving trucks.

No matter what you do in life, enjoy it and make a game of it.

Helping others can be hard at times or fun at times.

I personally work like twice as hard and twice as many hours on my online business than I used to at my former corporate job... and God bless it!

we are as free as we allow ourselves to be. The freedom that comes with the business, though it takes more work than flipping veggie patties, comes from the contribution our hard work bestows onto our clients and customers (or visitors... for you adsense people).

I work 18 hours a day sometimes. But if it's more fun than playing games then why not?

I found that anything BUT internet marketing is a JOB and an exchange for time versus paycheck. If you have the basic knowledge of SEO or video marketing, you can make money online. The key is Focus and Persistence!

That's a blueprint, you are totally right I agree with you

Sure IM can be a job.

The succesful people treat IM as a business though. There is a difference between a business and a job.

When you run a business you pay or automate the things you are talking about. Then it just becomes a matter of compounding.

Me, i dont write any content now. I have full time writers writing for me. I just make websites and do SEO.

If there is stuff that is backbreaking and low value, pay someone else to do it. IM doesnt have to be a job.

It like the difference between deciding to run a coffee shop or start a chain of coffee shops.

“The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.”
– Steve Jobs

Looking at a definition of JOB - we get business, work, employment, occupation

Personally I work in IM because I live abroad and it is the most viable option, I'd say I enjoy it about 80 per cent of the time, ideally I would own a little bookshop/cafe where I could play my own music, read books all day and meet up with my friends for a few beers- infact I did have that business for a couple of years but as fun as it was in the end it didn't pay the bills!

I work longer than in my previous 9-5 job and I work harder but IM gives me the freedom to earn a scalable income in another country from the comfort of my own home.

Once I reach an income that I would describe as 'very comfortable' I will trade dollars for time by outsourcing a lot more, until then this is pretty much a JOB for me.

Well said!

For anyone who's making money from IM or is serious about trying to do so they aren't doing it because they don't want to put any work into it but because they like to be able t set their own rules, work when they want from where they want, not putting in all the effort into making money for someone else, no boss etc.

It's not a case of just not doing any work.

Hey Chris-
Hell Yes! To every word here.

Wealth cannot happen without WORK unless you win the Lotto or somebody "wills" it to you.

But if you display a style of passion in that "work" is it still technically called "work"? We all should be so lucky to be able to love what we do! Strive for the passion and your work will succeed...you success will flourish...and the money just might roll in.

Great post, OP!

I got started with IM to work less hours and to have free time to enjoy life.

However, when I first started making REAL money I became obsessed with making more and more while working wayyyy too many hours and forgetting why I got started to begin with.

I eventually cut out a lot of what I was doing that wasn't productive. I also started using software and a VA to automate a lot of things but that was only after about a year long cycle of me working like crazy when all I wanted to do was be working a few hours/day while traveling and golfing!

I love it! That is WHY I got into IM in the first place. Keep it simple IS the best remedy. I have found that chasing every new method, plugin, spinner, etc. is the BEST way to find yourself confused and only making a pittance online versus the wonderful model began in this thread! Thanks for sharing and inspiring Newbies and Oldies alike! Kristie from Georgia

"By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until
you return to the ground" Gen. 3:19

Who said that work was to be fun? Who said that earning
money was easy? If you are not "sweating" then you must
be doing something wrong--like robbing somebody else?

-Ray Edwards

This. Absolutely.

However, I think people get hung up on #1 simply because they either think 'it's all been done before' or they don't have the motivation/belief to learn new stuff. I know this has been my big stumbling block in the past.

Lots of folks don't get into IM for the joy of sharing or learning about something cool, or for the passion of building something... they're doing it for the quick buck. And they struggle, for years. Like I have.

Great post, the other important thing to remember is to not expect things to happen over night it all takes time...

thanks for the post its uplifting.

BF

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