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Most would agree that as little as ten years ago, people who worked at home (i. e. earned their living) were a very rare bunch indeed. They were a ‘lucky few’ that had somehow managed to get themselves into a position where they could manage their business and/or market their products from the comfort and convenience of their own home. Of course, the communication and immediate access to information wasn’t available in the average home ten years ago nor were people spending billions of dollars purchasing any and every product imaginable at a fledgling ‘nerd’ hangout called the ‘Internet’.
Now, of course, we all know the story. Thanks mainly to those ‘nerds’ we are here in the millions, all over the world, chasing the same thing. A Home Based Business (as they’ve become known), hoping to realize that dream of total self-sufficiency. We flock in droves to websites touting how simple and how utterly effortless it is to make it to this workingman’s Shangri-La. How simple it is for anyone to escape the ‘rat-race’ and live the comfy lifestyle, virtually naming our own hours and incomes. Nobody has been left out. The unemployed, the unemployable, the disabled, the uneducated, the computer illiterate and the completely illiterate all have the same chance, according to these promises and guarantees.
Unfortunately, if history has taught us nothing else (and it rarely teaches us because we rarely learn), it teaches us that wherever human-kind is searching for a dream, especially one involving things financial, there you will find the shysters, scammers and frauds. If ever there was an opportunity for them to come crawling out of the woodwork, the Internet is that opportunity. They promise the world and not only that, they promise it in three weeks or less!
According to them you can: * Replace your architect’s income in a month. * Earn ‘six figures’ without selling anything or promoting anything. * Replace your wife’s income with two hours work per week. * Sit back while your unborn child brings in $10, 000 per month.
OK, the last one is a bit of an exaggeration but not by much! The promises and guarantees are so obviously impossible for the average person, in any business, that I simply can't believe that so many are willing to part with good money in order to have a go. But they do it in droves and then come back for more or go somewhere else and try the same thing with a different ‘label’ after giving it their 'best' shot. . . . . . . . . . for a month!
If it is so easy, why are only a reported five percent of Home Based Businesses successful? Why isn’t every second person you talk to doing it and earning the ‘guaranteed’ incomes, the ‘six figures’? Why are there people struggling, anywhere at all, to make a living? You know the answers as well as I do. In order for any business to succeed it has to be built and nurtured. It takes time, effort and a degree of expertise to get a business working for you. It doesn’t happen overnight and it rarely happens easily and even when it is successful, it takes the same time, effort and expertise to keep it that way. It’s that simple.
I started in Affiliate marketing and it was a very inauspicious start, I can tell you. However, over time and with effort, determination and fortunately, some good advice, I managed to make a modest living online. After learning almost everything the hard way, I decided to write an ebook guide/tutorial about how to get an Affiliate home based business off the ground and working – with minimal financial risk. It has been received well but it’s still early days.
I like to think it’s received well because I don’t promise ‘fortunes’ and I only tell people that it’s POSSIBLE for them to achieve their dream of working from home, while earning a reasonable income, if they work at it, follow some simple rules and apply some important principles. That’s all I am willing to say. I certainly can’t ‘guarantee’ anything or promise success in any form. It wouldn’t be fair and I don’t see how anyone else can when it’s almost entirely up to the person as to how successful they’ll be. It calls to mind the old adage. “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink”. You can advise, instruct, suggest and demonstrate but ultimately it’s up to the individual.
I know there are people who have managed to make ‘super money’ on the Internet but believe me they are the exceptions. They are truly the extraordinary rather than the ordinary. They are the ones who are the ‘lucky few’ because they have done something extraordinary. All I, and most of the other five percent, have done is work at something hard enough with the devotion and determination is takes to make money with a Home Based Business online.
In closing, I must say that there are some very good Home Based Business opportunities on the Internet and they can be quite lucrative for the right people, but the figures would suggest that only five percent of us are the ‘right people’. If it’s not going to cost you a large amount of money or a commitment of ongoing fees or subscriptions, by all means, give it a try but be very careful if you’re asked to fork out a large amount on the promise of an unbelievably huge return. Of course, the schemes that promise the outrageous and cost nothing are relatively harmless. They can only cost you time. However, if anyone does come across one that does return huge amounts for little or no outlay, please drop me a line!
I really wish aliens could help me earn $10, 000 per month as much as I wish all those other promises were feasible but alas, it’s called ‘Work at Home’ because that’s what you have to do. You actually have to ‘work’. So next time you see a promise or a guarantee that looks a little outrageous, remember my ‘Aliens’ claim and have a laugh.
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