Here is some feedback I recently received from one of my home
business advice newsletter readers:
"I have joined a lot of free home businesses and have made no
money. I am determined to succeed at this internet thing, but I
need help. I'm not going to spend money on this and waste it. Do
you know where I can get a simple step by step FREE manual so I
can start my home business?"
-- Jeff M.
And here is the advice I gave Jeff...
Have you spent months, maybe even years, looking for a way to
make a living from home on the internet? If you are only
considering what is commonly referred to as a "free home
business", you are likely to be looking for a long time to come.
You can avoid wasting more time and effort by understanding the
realities of running an internet home business.
The mentality of getting something for nothing will put an end to
any dreams of working for yourself you may have. So will the need
for immediate gratification. By keeping these thoughts out of
your mind, you greatly increase your chances of running a
successful internet home business well into the future.
Let's start out by looking at the idea of a free home business.
This would be a home business that you could start and run
without spending a dime. You see many different kinds of
businesses every day, both internet web sites and real world
businesses in your neighborhood. Can you think of just one real
business that can be started with no investment and requires no
money to operate? You can't because there aren't any.
And spending months of your personal time to set up and run even
the most basic small business (that may or may not make any
sales) is still costing you money. Yes, your time is a valuable
asset that does have monetary value, just as it does when you
spend it working for someone else. The fact is that you cannot
replace the time you have already used. But you can make more
money. You cannot make more time.
If you are not willing to spend money to start and build your
home business, you are involved with a hobby, not a business. It
is possible to start and build an internet home business using
low cost tools and resources, in case you don't have $100,000
lying around. It is also possible to use many no cost resources
in your home business that will save you tons of money. But when
it comes right down to it, you have to be willing to take on some
risk if you want a real business of your own. You have to assume
the risk of (wisely) spending money to build your business. There
is no way around it.
Here is a getting started manual (free) like the one you asked
about http://kenleonardjr.com/manual
Establishing priorities for your personal and business spending
habits is your first important task. This will allow you to treat
your internet home business like a business, not a hobby. Since
your initial cash flow may be small, your initial growth will be
slower. But having your internet home business started and
running is essential. You can't grow a business that doesn't
exist. If you can then delay your gratification by putting most
of your revenue back into the business, your business will slowly
grow into a profitable money maker.
By delaying gratification, you are demonstrating that you can
focus on the big picture, your long term future. This is an
essential small business mindset that will allow you to
eventually get what you want. Any money you spend on advertising
your product or service should be focused on the long term, too.
That means focusing on building mailing lists of targeted
prospects, either email lists or direct mail lists (both is
better!).
You will still end up making some sales along the way, but over
time you will have created a much more valuable long term
business asset. Future repeated contact with your email and
direct mail lists will cost you very little, practically nothing.
And the relationships you build through regular contact will make
you many customers and sales long into the future at near zero
overhead.
So go ahead and start a real internet home business, but stay
away from any "free home businesses" (masquerading as real
businesses) that won't build real long term worth. You will save
yourself a lot of grief, and you will end up actually getting
what you want out of life.
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