I get asked all the time about my online business and the money I make with my websites. What they want to know is how I got started for free and how can they start making money fast too!
But the truth is that I didn’t get started for free, and I didn’t start making money fast. But when I tell them that, all of a sudden they’re not so interested.
They tell me they’ll find one of those programs where you can earn money fast online for free.
Well, unfortunately that’s not gonna happen for them–see why and what you can really expect from making money online below!
Making Money Online Is A REAL Business
Before I get started, I want to tell you that you can definitely get training and start earning income online for a very low cost. So while I’m telling you that you aren’t going to do it for free, a quality hosting and training platform for a full online business is still amazingly cheap–less than $1 a day!
Most people who are looking for a fast, easy way to make money online don’t understand that they’re building a real business.
They look at it like they’ll just jump on their laptop for an hour or two every day, and then their bank account will start filling up. It doesn’t work that way!
Think of it this way, if a friend of yours told you that he wanted to build a new McDonald’s restaurant somewhere in your neighborhood, would you wonder why it wasn’t up and making him big profits in a month? Of course not!
You’d know that it takes time to do things like find and purchase a location, finalize the franchise, get city/county building permits, complete construction, hire employees, etc.
No one would question that it would take time and a lot of hard work to get that business off the ground and running profitably.
Yet when it comes to an online business, the general consensus is that you barely have to work and can make hundreds and thousands of dollars in your first month!
They’re not realizing that you have to build your online business from scratch, just like any brick and mortar store.
No matter who you see that is successful in making money online, they didn’t do it overnight. They did it with hard work, commitment, and TIME!
My very favorite business model is affiliate marketing. Check out the following video for a good general guideline for how long it takes to start earning consistent income online:
==>==> Is your dream job to work at home and make money online? You can do it here! <==<==
Understand Your Role
Now that you have a more realistic view of making money online, you need to understand your role in every aspect of your business to be successful.
You need to be committed to investing in yourself instead of investing your time and energy into making money for someone else.
So you have to think about how to be in each one of these roles to make your business a success:
~ The Owner–In this role you will decide what type of business model is right for you and choose the right platform that will enable you to create a sustainable, lucrative income.
You’ll need to be objective and realistic in your expectations in order to avoid scams and get-rich-quick schemes–they don’t work!
What business models are the best and how do you choose one? I detail 4 business models and give you my best recommendation at How To Work At Home And Earn Money Online.
You need to make sure that you choose a platform that’s powerful and secure and that will teach you everything you need to know.
Once you choose your niche and create your website, you’re a true business owner and will be taking on the role of boss!
~ The Boss–In this role you will be setting up goals, scheduling the tasks that need to be done, tracking your progress, and setting up the time that you’ll be spending on your business.
You need to establish yourself as the supervisor who will hold yourself accountable for getting the job done!
You know what a boss expects from someone at their job–showing up on time, working hard, having an attention to detail.
As the boss in your online business, your success will depend on how well you do your job keeping your employee on task and working smart–the only difference is the employee is you!
~ The Employee–In this role, you’ll be completing all the tasks to develop your business. You’ll be writing content, finding keywords, researching information, and following all the lessons in your training platform.
Your online business needs you to be a great employee who puts in the effort and executes everything to the best of your ability. It’s easy to know what you’d expect from someone else who was employed by you.
So be that same employee for yourself!
A very successful affiliate marketer wrote a post recently that sums up the mindset you need to have about investing in yourself, and I love it! You can read it by clicking on the image below:
==>==> See the legitimate program where I learned to make money online <==<==
Build A Foundation With A Legitimate Platform
No one would ever build a brick and mortar store on swamp land, and likewise, you need to have a firm foundation for your online business. That foundation is a powerful website on a secure platform that includes full training!
I recommend my top-rated program where I host all 6 of my websites and learned everything I needed to know. That program is Wealthy Affiliate, and you can read my full review here.
Their training is step-by-step instructions, videos, and weekly live sessions that cover all aspects of affiliate marketing. In addition, they have a community forum that is active 24/7 with experienced marketers.
Wealthy Affiliate structures their platform to encourage members to help, guide, and mentor each other. So beginners can have their questions answered by those who are successfully making money online!
Best of all, if you want to know if WA is right for you, their starter membership is completely free of charge. You can develop a free website, take 10 full lessons, and see all the features they offer.
This membership is not a free trial, you can stay on it indefinitely as you check things out!
Once you know that affiliate marketing is for you, and you want to own your own domain, you can upgrade to their premium membership and get access to all of their features.
The cost is just $49 a month, but you get a great discount if you pay yearly or semi-annually.
Building a website has never been easier with technology today. Just click on the box below, and you’ll have your first site up and running in less than 3 minutes!
You CAN Earn Real Money Online!
So the question is–Do you want to believe all the scams out there that say you can earn money fast online for free, or do you want to earn REAL money with a legitimate business?
Don’t sell yourself short! If your dream is to work at home and make money online, invest in yourself by putting in the time, work, and commitment.
It won’t be totally free, and it won’t be fast. But an affiliate marketing business is an extremely low-cost way to earn a very lucrative income after you have built a solid foundation with your website. Get started today!
I like your analogy about running an online business. Successfully running your own business really does require playing several roles and learning about all different aspects of the business. There is definitely a misconception about online business being easy to start, but it requires just as much time and planning as any other business. The plus side is that the startup costs are much lower than a brick-and-mortar business, and you can do it all from the comfort of your home. Plus you have the opportunity to market to everyone on the internet! Overall, online business and affiliate marketing in particular is a great opportunity for anyone who is willing to put in the work.
I couldn’t agree more! Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
What a great deal of information that you have given out in this awesome and interesting article I must give you a big thumbs up… I encountered an article like this on the internet and it changed my outlook about earning money online and gave me a new system to approach it. An online marketer can easily sell the product and earn the desired amount very quickly by creating a website. That’s why I created a website myself and established it step by step as a way to make money.
Good luck with your online business, and I wish you every success!
Within my little years of experience as an online marketer, I have come to realise that money is not easy to be made online and it is somewhat as tasking as the physical business set up. Consistency, persistency and patience are needed to achieve success in any business online. Also, as you rightly stated, training is an integral part of working online and getting knowledge in abundance before getting engaged in anything would really help a lot in getting one started in anything. Great post Janelle
Thank you! Consistency, persistency, and patience–I love that because those are exactly what someone needs to be a success at earning money online. If people go into it with that kind of expectation, they’ve already won half the battle!
Hi there
I’ve seen so many programs that promise I’ll earn thousands of dollars within days, and the last one I looked at said I would make $1000 by the very next morning. I know they are probably get rich quick schemes but I keep thinking that I’ll find one that really works.
But your article really made sense to me, and I especially like the part about investing in yourself.
I like the honesty in your writing too, and your writing style is very laid back and easy to read.
Daisy
Thank you so much for the kind words! The concept of investing in yourself is something that I embraced when starting my online business. Once I realized that I could make money online with something I was passionate about, I knew that I could make it a success if I just invested the time and effort into it.
Thank you so much for stopping by, and I wish you every success!
Hi Janelle! It’s sad to see how many have been affected with the idea you can earn a quick buck online. There have been so many platforms launched and so many ads released that offer overnight riches, that that idea may have sunk into a high percentage of the population that actively use the Internet.
But, earning revenue online is not easy and not fast. Most people will be surprise at this, but it’s not even easy and fast for scammers. Yes, all those guys that create those deceitful platforms and ads. They had a learning curve to cover. They had to build a site and create a product. They had to design ways to capture traffic. All that takes time and hard work. They got to a certain point where they noted people would fall to the idea of getting rich quick, and they oriented their efforts in that direction. Bad move in my opinion. But earning money online is not even easy and fast for them.
The saddest part for me is knowing how many people really want to earn a full time income working from home, and they could really do if they went about it the right way. But once they have their mind set that their business should start earning right away and they don’t have to do much work on it, they’ll never be successful and stick with it. That period of time when you are building out your business during those first several months has the potential to pay out big later if you don’t give up!
Hi Janelle, I cannot agree more with you that making money online is very real because I have through surveys and freelancing. I just got into affiliate marketing through wealthy Affiliate and its been a tough ride so far. I have been making necessary efforts to invest in myself and I can say I’m seeing the prospects of a potential success sooner than later. Ive been on it for the past 1month and my goal is to make a sale in 4months… I hope I can achieve that
So glad you starting to see progress! It’s very realistic that you could see a sale in 4 months. But don’t get discouraged if you don’t! I’ve seen marketers who have started making sales in the first few months and steadily climb from there over the next couple years. I’ve also seen those who don’t make their first sale for 6-7 months, but are making a full time income in a year!
Everyone and their site is different, but success will come to those who produce quality content consistently–good luck!
So many people are getting into this line of work because of the many benefits that are involved. This is not a get rich quick scheme. This line of business takes time and patience but is worth the work. It is so great to know that you can become a part of a program that will give you the training you need to make a good living from the comforts of your home.
You’re exactly right, it’s definitely worth the work! Any successful online marketer has put in the effort and been patient until their business starts to be profitable. In the end, the amount of money you can make is only limited by the work you’re willing to do!
You are so correct when you say that making money online is a REAL business! So many potential online entrepreneurs expect too much too fast. It’s so sad to see people give up on their business because they didn’t fully understand what it takes to succeed. Thank you for providing this resource!
It really is sad to see people who really want to work at home online, but they just get lured in by all the hype. They can be successful, they just have to understand what it really takes!
This is a great review, it explains fully how peoples” perceptions of online marketing can set them on the wrong foot at the outset. People really do need to understand that online marketing is not a get rich quick scheme. You are absolutely right in that it takes a huge investment of time, perseverance, dedication, self belief and self discipline but by doing some hardworking the dividends will pay out.
Exactly! Anyone who goes into online marketing with realistic expectations stands a much better chance of ultimately being successful. Those who don’t will probably not be willing to stick with it for the long run until their site gets ranked and starts earning income.
I’m often curious why people just assume there’s a way to get rich quick with a dime spent and no effort. It continually blows my mind. The internet is just a different way to start a business and with the ease, and convenience, it’s CHEAPER, but never free. I’m betting even the founder in Google spent a lot before launching.
Thanks for the honest article that isn’t sugar coating the truth.
You’re welcome! I believe the reason that so many people think they can earn money online fast, free, and easy is because there are so many promoters out there telling them they can. These promoters want to sell something, and people want to believe them!