What are you laughing at? Are you laughing at all? I wouldn't
be too surprised if many weren’t the least bit ‘tickled’ by such
a headline. After all, I’ve seen claims that are as ridiculous,
or almost as ridiculous, describing one Home Based Business
opportunity or another. I’m really just wondering how much of it
people who are searching for that elusive ‘Work At Home’ dream
will continue to swallow.
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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