The 3 Harsh Truths About Making Money Online

79 | Posted In Life & Mindset by David

My readers know that I tell it like it is. And, I’m about to do it again.

… Because I get asked questions fairly often, and sometimes those questions make me want to bash my head up against the wall.

The typical template of that question goes something like this….

If I work X hours per day, how long will it take me to be making $____ per month?

Ugh.

So, time to dish out some truths. Once you understand these things and accept them, the closer you’ll be to actually creating the success that you want online.

So, here we go…

#1 – Time Does Not Equal Money

Yeah, I know. If you’ve been an employee of another all your life, it can be really hard to stop equating time to money. Some get paid by the hour, so it conditions you to equate time to money. But, even if you’re on salary, you are still expected to be in the office for a certain amount of time each day. So, either way, an employee is conditioned to think this way.

Problem is, that mindset is a HUGE hurdle when it comes to doing anything entrepreneurial – online or offline.

There is no amount of time which will guarantee a certain income stream. If you do stupid things, you could spend 6 months working full-time on something and have literally nothing to show for it.

On the flip side, there is no minimum time that it takes to build a certain level of income. Some people can build up really quickly because they’re creative, smart, and they bust ass. Others will never take off because they don’t take much action, make wrong moves, or try to blame people other than themselves.

During my recent Blog Masters Club launch, I was asked a few times how long it would take to build up to a certain income stream using the information I teach inside the Club. Each time, I turn the question back on them. Because it is the wrong question. The answer depends on you and you alone.

Time does not equal money. You can make money VERY fast online (I once generated over $18K in an hour). Or you can never make a dime. Only you determine that. Not the clock.

#2 – It Is Impossible To Remove All The Thinking

In internet marketing circles, we see a lot of products pitched on the idea that it is a “system”, a “blueprint”, a “step-by-step system which cannot fail”. Blah blah blah.

And, sure enough, there are a lot of people who buy these courses as a thing to depend on, hoping that the system will be the brain, remove all the guesswork, and that all you have to do is move a few pieces blindly as the course says and money will fall out of the sky.

That never works.

Just recently, the market saw the launch of a software system called the “Magic Bullet”. It sold for $3K, had some great marketing behind it, and was used by that company to become an INC 500 company. My suspicion is that their software is probably quite powerful and probably worth the price tag, but look at the marketing. They are CLEARLY trying to position that thing in the mind of the prospect as the thing responsible for creating an INC 500 company. And they called it “Magic Bullet”. Yet, I can GUARANTEE you that most people who buy that package will have absolutely no idea what to do with it. And that’s because….

It isn’t the system that does the work. You still need to understand what you’re doing, and combine that with being creative and thinking on your feet. No system can alleviate that.

If you don’t want to do any thinking and be responsible for your own decisions, then don’t try to make money online. In fact, don’t do anything entrepreneurial. Because, you need to be willing to stand on your own, think for yourself, and be responsible for your own successes and failures. A system can provide knowledge, but it cannot remove the need to think for yourself.

#3 – You Gotta Work Your Butt Off

Common sense tells each of us that this is true, yet it never stops people from falling prey to the “easy button” marketing out there – and buying it. There’s a REASON marketers market things that way… because it WORKS.

And those of us who insist on being honest about the fact that this stuff takes work (like me) see the hit in sales. Because people don’t want to be told they have to work hard. They want results, they want it now, and they don’t want to do anything for it.

How sad is that? They’ll never make it. They’ll just put themselves into debt chasing a dream and buying courses based on these empty promises.

You have to work – HARD – to create an online business from scratch. The trick (if you even want to call it that) is to not look at it as work. After all, if you’re doing something you truly enjoy, you do it for fun. That’s how I feel about what I do.

Where did people get into this idea that work has to be difficult and something you hate? Work isn’t something you have to get over with so you can enjoy the downtime. Life IS work. That’s why we’re here on this Earth! It is what you make of it, though, and if you’ve chosen to do something you hate, that’s your problem. But, don’t confuse that with work on a general basis.

.

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OK, time to step off my soapbox. :) I hope this clarifies things for people who still cling to those self-destructive notions.

I frickin LOVE the idea of making money online. I think anybody can do it, and it has TONS of potential. That’s why I do it. But, you need to view it as what it is – REAL business taken to the Internet. The medium doesn’t change the facts.

If you have the right mindset, you can make any “system” work for you. But, once you decide that it is something exterior to yourself which is responsible for making that happen, you’ve already lost.

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  • http://davidrisley.com David Risley

    Even if you understand marketing, it is still hard. But, understanding marketing is really the only way you have a chance.

  • http://davidrisley.com David Risley

    I’d have to agree. :-)

  • http://davidrisley.com David Risley

    Great comment, Bruce…. and I also appreciate the testimonial. :-)

  • http://davidrisley.com David Risley

    Great comment, Bruce…. and I also appreciate the testimonial. :-)

  • http://davidrisley.com David Risley

    Absolutely. We’ve all screwed up. The trick is to get back up.

  • http://davidrisley.com David Risley

    Absolutely. We’ve all screwed up. The trick is to get back up.

  • http://markharai.com Mark Harai

    So let me get this straight; you need to be realistic – not in LaLa land, somewhat knowledgeable – or at least willing to learn your craft – and not afraid of hard work – or to put it another way, willing to work your ass off… and this activity will bring you success depending on how proficient you are at all three – Yes?

    Looks like a pretty realistic recipe for success to me, I’m in David!

  • http://conniemcknight.com Connie McKnight

    Isn’t that 100% TRUTH! There is no free ride.

  • http://bloggersjournal.com Mark Bell

    Thanks for the reply David, much appreciated.

    You make a good point, it really depends if the person buys the product and actually follows what they have to.

    I’d bet there are many marketers who have an interest in providing valuable help. As you mention, unfortunately they get tarred very easily with the same brush as scammers because there are rip off products.

    What would you suggest to be good indicators in marketing to know whether there is actually some value in the product? Personally, I try not to look too much at the figures because they can be quite easily photoshopped – maybe I’m too skeptical? I try and look for what my money is actually getting me (course outline for example), rather than what I can achieve.

  • http://twitter.com/christiantjr Christian

    The key is *accepting* what you say in this post. Most people will acknowledge what you’re saying here as truth, but then they proceed to behave oppositely. A little introspection goes a long way. Once you decide to bust ass, so many things get easier :-)

  • Anonymous

    I absolutely love your stuff. Honest and real. I get so tired of the B.S. and always wondered why people keep chasing impossibilities. “No work and get rich” is just as silly as “Eat ten million cheeseburgers and get thin!” People like believing lies I guess. But for people who DO want to get in there and work, it is frustrating to have that junk staring you in the face. I want real info, not fantasy! Thanks David.

  • http://www.yourhomebusinesses.com/ Roosly

    Money making online becoming increasingly easy to work because everyone has access to Internet. There are many tools available online that make it very easy to do your job from home.Really you can earn unlimited money through IM.

    Regards
    Roosly

  • http://bizhax.com Keith Bloemendaal

    Wait, are you saying this will take hard work and dedication? Screw that shit! I am done! ;-)

  • http://DonnyGamble.com Donny Gamble

    A lot of people just believe that you can throw up a website, write some content, and the site will just spit out money. Unfortunately it does not work like that because you have to optimize, test, test, test, track, and then once you get all your data that you need, you scale out the site only if it is profitable.

  • http://blogforge.com Sean Kaye

    Just thought I’d dive in here and fill out the picture about what the Magic Bullet System is…

    First of all, the name itself makes it a pretty easy target – if you’ve been around professional blogging or internet marketing for any length of time you pretty much know that the 4 hour work week lifestyle portrayed by a few is rubbish, there’s considerable effort required to make a decent living.

    Let me explain what the Magic Bullet system is for those who don’t understand it… Its not some ninja money making machine where you drop in a quarter and get a benji back – that’s ridiculous. What it is, is a pretty darn good research and tracking tool for people who are interested in driving paid traffic to affiliate network offers. So paid traffic could be traditional Pay-Per-Click like AdWords, or Pay-Per-View or Cost-Per-View type stuff with legitimate pop-ups, pop-unders, banners and context ads.

    MBS lets your do an amazing amount of research on keywords, ads and offers before branching out into a niche. It pulls in network offers (affiliate type offers for sales and lead type Cost-Per-Action things) and then let’s you split test offers, landing pages and everything, all while tracking details like clickthroughs, opt-ins, leads and conversions. Its very thorough and unlike anything else in its space as a software tool.

    On top of that, the two guys who run the business have a proven track record of doing this stuff themselves. Their CPA Marketing business does $10m+ in revenue and like David pointed out, they were listed in the Inc500 for one of the fastest growing marketing companies in the US and something like 10th fastest growing in San Diego. So they are experts.

    The other piece of MBS is that Amish and Jose (the two guys who run it) deliver something like 60 hours of video training on how to do this stuff and use their system. One of their staffers who does some of the videos Eric Davis is an expert in CPV traffic and so you get the benefit of his knowledge.

    I don’t need to convince myself about the value and I’m certainly not a noob looking to work a couple hours a month and make millions. I just thought I’d offer a bit of a counter-balance.

    Let me put it this way… Imagine if someone like Jeff Johnson who is a Super Affiliate in the IM niche had written a piece about blogging and made an offhanded comment about your program being called the “Blog Masters Club”. I’d jump into bat for you on that one too.

    I’m not associated in anyway with MBS either. :-)

  • http://davidrisley.com David Risley

    Thanks, Sean. But, realize, I’m not bashing MBS. I think it is a nice system, just not one most people will be able to utilize due to the same issues we see so often from people who buy IM products. And, yes, as you pointed out, the title of the product was bait. :-)

    For the right target audience, MBS is probably awesome.

  • http://davidrisley.com David Risley

    Still have to work your butt off, though. Yes, there are a lot of people and the tools just keep getting better, but still…. facts are facts. :-)

  • http://davidrisley.com David Risley

    Right on.

  • SusiemStanley

    I LOVE IT !!
    David you rock ! You are Honest, Open, and Willing to share. And that is HOW it works.

    Although I have always had an entrepreneurial spirit this is my first attempt at taking the leap of faith. I value all of your insight, sharing of your experience and knowledge, and seek motivation by reading your awesome blog posts. Thanks, Susan

  • Bill Jones

    This is one of the best posts I have ever read. You have to work SMART and HARD. You must stay HONEST. You are setting a good example of that.

    I wish that I had thought of this type of post on my site. I am no going to steal you post, but I would like to put link this post on my site, but only with your permission.

    People are looking for a way to make a lot of money fast without doing anything. It just don’t work that way. You have to work for it. There is no Magic Bullet.

    You need to be a creative thinker, and then put that thinking into practice.

    Thanks David,
    Bill Jones

  • http://aremorch.com Are Morch

    Hi David.

    This is such an awesome and much needed article for many. I wished someone would told me the truth as blunt as you do when I started up. This is why I value your information, you for sure keep things real for me.

    Like many others when I started out I was focusing on ‘Show me the money’ or ‘Skip all this talk, show me the real secret’ or ‘how much time does it really takes to make all this money …’.

    I did not see many that took the time to tell me the truth as blunt as you do even if I pay $300-400 for your training it does not come with magic solution that will make it happen over night.

    It actually require some work, and by the way your new boss will be one of the hardest you had .. YOURSELF.. Sorry to say it but no real work will be done in your Pajamas. If you want to make it then you have to dress up, get up early .. huzzle all day.. and then prepare for the next day.. And if it don’t happen as ‘fast’ as you thought it is not because the system is not working – it is the other way around you are not working the system..

    I can be driving here from Tupelo, MS to New York, NY if I am still not in New York in 5 days it is not because New York suddenly was taken off the map.. I might be driving in the wrong direction, and I am the one that need to change the direction to get me where I want. And the basic principles of making money online follow the same principles if what you are doing is not working you might need to change direction else you will just end up farther away from your destination..

    Cheers.. Are

  • http://twitter.com/Designergianna gianna

    It depends on the person, but I find that some marketers do good work and honestly try to help, yet they get typecast and ridiculed by the very people who never did a damn thing with the product they bought. The majority of the buying market of make money online products don’t know this so they freeze and don’t do any action with it It is the same old story that repeats itself over and over again.

    With that said, the gurus and experts know this and unfortunately, take advantage of this naive market. ecommerce website developer ecommerce website development

  • http://amosjohnsonjr.com Amos Johnson Jr

    David this is my first time visiting your blog. Point number 1 in this article put into words what I have been feeling about how the business of blogging is different than a job or consulting.

  • Web Content Writing

    Hey David,

    Man, you’ve nailed the right points and how! It’s a general misconception that making money online is very easy and requires no thought – and marketers try and sell their ebooks by propagating the same.

    Books like ‘Drive Traffic To Your Website In 10 Easy Ways’ or ‘Make A Million Bucks This Year’ are everywhere and people still fall for the same traps. All it takes is a good amount of common sense and some hard work.

    Simple combination, works like a wonder. Glad to see it worked out well for you!

    Jimmy

  • http://www.wordplaycontent.com Web Content Writing

    Hey David,

    Man, you’ve nailed the right points and how! It’s a general misconception that making money online is very easy and requires no thought – and marketers try and sell their ebooks by propagating the same.

    Books like ‘Drive Traffic To Your Website In 10 Easy Ways’ or ‘Make A Million Bucks This Year’ are everywhere and people still fall for the same traps. All it takes is a good amount of common sense and some hard work.

    Simple combination, works like a wonder. Glad to see it worked out well for you!

    Jimmy

  • http://www.united.fm United.fm

    Hard working and smart thinking is the real mantra behind making money online!

  • Anonymous

    This post was the TITS!

    You hit the clown on the red nose with this one brotha. Most people think that just because you come across a product you’re going to instantly make money, wrong! If life were that easy then everyone would be in shape, have a bed made of cash and silk sheets and would drive Ferrari’s. But life isn’t easy and neither is making money online, it takes hard work and sweat.

    I definitely relate to you when you get sick of people asking you the same question “if I work this long will I make x amount of dollars?” The hell with that..scrape your brain. Maybe instead of making truth commercials for people who smoke cigarettes we can make truth commercials for people who are socially conditioned to think that you have to work a certain amount of time to make x amount of dollars.

    It’s super sad but hey what are you going to do, you can only lead your audience to water, it’s their choice to drink up! Anyways I just came across your site from blog jumping site to site and I’m glad I came across this post, it’s not every day you come across a fellow guy in the community who

    KEEPS IT REAL

    I’ll definitely be back for some more so keep pumping out “the good stuff”

    alright brotha take it easy, cheers!

    I’m always in the kitchen
    -Chris Alta

  • http://twitter.com/byzantinephil Byzantine Philology

    great post indeed!`

  • http://inkjam.blogspot.com/ sandipan

    Nothing on the web is easy.

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