I have to say that as a business person, the combination of recurring revenue with the ability to control my time is what motivates me. There are so many aspects of IM that take tons of time for very little reward. I have mentioned this quite a bit, but as you are getting into making money with IM, for instance, affiliate marketing, it can be tough to get a site up and running that brings in a steady $100 per month. Just the building of the website and writing articles along will cost much more than $100 not to mention the time involved. Now, I am NOT saying you shouldn't' do this, but perhaps including it as a PORTION of your income, while offline marketing can allow you to pull in $500, $1000, $2500 or more per month EASILY with very little investment. By effectively using software and systematizing your business, you can make fantastic money while working very little.

There is no question that if your services are sound and you provide a combination of branding, customer interaction (which through social media is FANTASTIC for customer retention) and of course lead generation, you will get referrals...especially if you make asking for them and rewarding them part of your system.

Offline marketing is my bread and butter, but I do not discount other IM services and business models...I use a combination personally.

Mac the Knife

I have worked personally with some of the most successful people and have be exposed to strategies that will save people and their businesses.

There are many ways to get rich this only 1 way to do it. If you want to reach success you need to have a purpose GREATER than money.

My honest and frank answer...

First and foremost, it's the income that helps me pay the bills.

While a lot of people make marketing consulting appear as easy as falling off a log -- it's not. If you are providing a real service, the work can be rewarding but also difficult at times. One of the most important aspects of the business is setting your client's expectations. Not all clients have a realistic outlook when it comes to plunking down money.

As others have stated, being your own boss is a blessing but I would not be completely truthful if I did not mention that on rare occasions, it can seem like a curse )

Last but not least, helping local business owners improve and turn their businesses around yields a great amount of satisfaction.

Besides the obvious reason for money? The fact that you are actually helping businesses stay in business and make money. You are indirectly, creating a lot of value for the economy and yourself. This is why they pay you a lot of money.

No matter what you're doing, if you help businesses make more money, they will pay you a percentage of that increase.

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