As an entrepreneur, it is vital to have your money affairs in order. What your credit profile says about you also reflects on your business. It is important for you to pay attention to not only where you are financially but also where you stand credit-wise.

Working in the online market can be highly profitable but it requires a stable financial foundation to start with. If you are planning to get any type of financing in the future for business or personal, it is imperative you do the work to repair your credit now rather than wait until it is too late.

Why Good Credit Matters:

• In Your Business Life

Working as an entrepreneur, your business needs to build its own foundation financially but it will first rely on the credentials of the business owner. If you have poor credit scores, it will be hard for you to get any kind of financing to start or grow your business. You will also find it difficult to do business with vendors and suppliers with whom you need a line of credit.

Before you start a business online or off, you need to review your credit score and do the work necessary to get it back into the excellent sector. Your credit will be the springboard to starting a stable foundation for your business’s credit.

• In Your Personal Life

Most entrepreneurs start a business for the flexibility and the financial freedom self-employment offers. One of the most apparent drawbacks of working for yourself is the potential for inconsistent income. You should start a business knowing you have at least a year’s worth of living expenses saved in the bank for when the business is still getting off of the ground. While many people will not wait until that amount has been saved up, most at least have some fall back money to tide them over and prevent serious issues with debt.

At some point you will want to enjoy the benefits of your company’s profitability. Socking away funds for retirement and purchasing a home are two common goals of the self-made business owner. But if you maintain a poor credit score, it will be difficult for you to save extra money because you’ll end up having to spend more cash over your lifetime for basic services including utilities, cell phone plans, and car insurance.

If you are able to afford a new home purchase as a self-employed entrepreneur, it is imperative to not only have your finances in order, your credit will play a large factor in not only the approval for the home loan, it will also dictate how much you end up paying on your monthly house note. The amount of interest on the mortgage you receive will be directly related to your credit score. If you can maintain a credit score over 730, lenders will not only give you the best rates, but also more loan options.

Credit scores under 730 may put you at risk for not getting approved for your home loan. They will also basically guarantee you will pay a much higher interest rate over the life of your loan. More of your business profits will need to go toward your mortgage payment. It is not just a small amount either. Just a few points difference in your mortgage interest rate can literally mean you will pay hundreds of thousands of dollars over the life of your mortgage loan.

Moving Forward With Better Credit

Since you have put so much effort into getting your business up and running at the same time balancing the rest of your life, it only makes sense for you to first start with the job of clearing your credit history and maintaining the highest credit score possible.

Despite the claims of some companies, credit repair is something every consumer is capable of accomplishing. Credit history reports are available to every consumer free of charge once a year and for 60 days after you have been denied credit approval. Credit scores are not a part of the free deal but for a minimal fee, you have instant online access to the credit scores maintained by the consumer credit reporting bureaus including TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax.

Once you have ordered your reports and scores, you must review all of the data contained in your credit history and double-check the data for inaccurate information which can lower your credit score. Incorrect information can be disputed with the agencies listing the data.

You need to account for all accounts that still have an outstanding balance and make a reasonable plan to pay off these debts and improve your credit profile. By eliminating debts, you will not only clear your credit, you will also have less financial pressures from your startup operating.

The better your credit is, the less you’ll have to pay in down payments, deposits, and interest rates moving forward in both your business and your personal life. Do what you can now to fix your credit because while any consumer has the power to improve their own credit, there is no overnight solution to repair credit histories. It takes time to improve your credit scores so work consistently over the next several months and see what a difference a little focus can make. Take your credit as seriously as you do your business and you’ll reap rewards for the long term.

Guest post written by… J.D. Roberts is a seasoned writer in finance, specializing in credit repair. You can find more of his articles located at CreditRepair.org

Choosing the right merchant services provider requires an understanding of your credit card processing requirements and research into the various deals that are available. Here are five steps you should take when making your decision:

1) Learn about merchant accounts and the associated fees. You must establish a merchant account before you can accept credit cards. Basically, a merchant account is a bank account that acts as the depository for credit card transaction revenue. Once your merchant services provider has processed your transactions, it deposits the proceeds into your merchant account. The provider charges fees for its services — ask about them upfront and make sure you understand them.

2) Consider your technical requirements. What types of credit card processing are you planning to do? Traditional point-of-sale (POS) at a credit card terminal? Online processing from your website through an electronic gateway? Mobile or wireless processing when your business takes you on the road? Mail order/telephone order (MOTO)? Are most of your transactions card present or card not present? What business expansion or diversification plans do you have for the near future? It could be you need one or more credit card processing options, and you should make that clear to the merchant services providers that you are considering so they can come up with the best package deal for your needs and budget.

3) Identify merchant services providers who want your business. Not all processors work with all businesses. Some don’t deal with start-up operations or merchants with bad credit histories. Many will not service so-called “high risk” businesses, a category that includes adult-related businesses, online casinos and businesses located outside the United States. Look for a reputable processor who deals with businesses similar to yours.

4) Compare fees and services. Once you’ve compiled a list of potential merchant services providers, compare their fees and services to see who comes closest to meeting you requirements. Ask detailed questions about the types of hardware and software each offers. If you’re in the market to change processors, determine if your current system is compatible with their technology. When it comes to fees, going with the cheapest may not be your best bet. Be sure you know what you’re getting for your money, that it fulfills your needs and fits your budget.

5) Scrutinize security. Solid, reliable security may be the only thing standing between your business and disaster. It’s no secret that credit card fraud and identity theft are major threats to merchants and consumers alike. Make sure your credit card processing takes security seriously and is PCI compliant. Your merchant services provider should be able to answer all your security-related questions and train you and your staff in the proper protocols to keep you and your customers safe from a data breach.

Guest post by Marc McDermott, the Online Marketing Manager at Merchant Express, a full-service merchant services provider that has helped thousands of businesses with their credit card processing needs since 1998.

Here’s how to set up a business blog that will serve your company well…

Put It In The Right Place

If your company already has a website, make the blog part of your existing website. It should be a menu choice that’s easy for any visitor to find.

If your company doesn’t have a website, choose a domain name for your blog that’s as close to your company name as possible or includes your industry’s primary keywords.

Start With A Simple Design

Most companies power their blogs with WordPress, a blogging platform that many hosting companies will set up for you. Thousands of pre-designed WordPress themes are available, and one of them will likely work for your blog.

Blogs linked to an existing website should echo the colors and design of the site, but stand-alone blogs usually benefit from starting with a simple design. Make changes as your readership grows and you need for more features.

Pack Your Business Blog With Value

Before you tell anyone about the blog, pack it with useful articles so visitors will find good content even on their first visit. Post perhaps a dozen articles before you promote your blog, then keep posting new content at least once a week. Many experts recommend two or three posts each week.

Be sure to include coupons, exclusive offers and other deals along with meaningful content that supports your business goals.

Promote Your Blog At Every Opportunity

If you pay attention to search engine optimization techniques, Google and other search engines will bring traffic to your site, but that doesn’t mean you can neglect other means of promotion.

To get current customers reading your blog, make sure you point out during every customer contact the special offers and unique content available only to blog readers.

To bring new customers to your blog, include a mention of it in all your print and online advertising. Every time a customer sees or hears your company’s name, make sure your blog address is there along with it.

Now that you know more about how to set up a business blog, there’s no reason to delay any longer.

Blogs are powerful promotional and informational tools. Every moment your company is without one, you’re potentially losing money.

Guest post written by Nisha Sandhu who is an editor at the merchant account forum, and has been working with them for 2 years now. Nisha also loves to write and give online business advice to new and growing businesses.

I have been waiting for months to see what Kajabi was and so far it looks pretty cool to me. After watching the video, I decided to join their affiliate program so the links in this post are my affiliate links.

Anyway, they just put out a really good ebook about some of the roadblocks many of us face when trying to make money online. You can click here to download the free report.

When you finish reading it let me know which of the roadblocks have prevented you from making money online.

Daniel’s new ebook is called, “Ten Deadly Business Mistakes” and it’s both a very good and a pretty quick read. You can download it by clicking here and following the directions on his site.

Mistakes number 2 and 8 in his book are the biggest mistakes I have made in the past that really held back my business. Go read the ebook and let me know your biggest mistakes.

PS. Yes, Daniel is a friend, and yes most of the links in this post are my affiliate links that will pay me money if you sign up for his course.

All of the people I have known who have had a successful business online have committed to it. Many of them even quit their jobs before starting their business because they understood the importance of commitment. While I don’t recommend you leave your job, I do recommend that you commit yourself to making your business successful. Without commitment it will likely fail. Set some hard deadlines and stick to them.

2. Focus
I have talked about the importance of focus before (see this post). Until I focused on making money with one business (our web marketing and design business), success was elusive.

Now that my wife and I are running a successful business I don’t want to lose focus on that business or it might stop growing. Focus is one of the biggest factors in our success this year and it will continue to be one of the biggest factors in our ongoing success.

3. Time Management
Changing the way I managed my time has made a huge difference in my productivity. Now that I only check my email after I have completed 2 hours worth of important work, my productivity has greatly increased. I learned this and other techniques from various sources, including a very good book on the topic. If you are looking for great time management tips without spending a ton of money, I highly recommend the book, “Getting Things Done”, by David Allen. You can buy a copy at most bookstores or check it out for free at your local library.

One of the other things I did to improve my time management is to create a daily and weekly todo list. I manage the todo list with a very simple free online tool called Voo2Do. At the beginning of each week I create a new todo list with the highest priority items being done earliest in the week to make sure that they get done. In my case, that means that marketing tasks for our clients are done at the beginning of the week. You can also organize your days that way, with the highest priority items being done first and your less high priority items (like checking email) coming later in the day. I also leave some space towards the end of the week for those tasks that get bumped down the priority list by things that required immediate attention, like proposals for clients. Making good use of your time makes a big difference in your business success.

Now, there was a fourth factor that both Jill and I consider to be a bigger factor than any other factor… our belief in God. While everyone may not embrace this view, I do believe that prayer played an important role in our success.

Those were the three things that I did to have a successful 2009, what were the things you did to improve your business?

PS. This post was part of a my friend Daniel’s writing project (Daniel is one of those people I knew who quit his job before starting an online business). You can read all about his project by clicking here.

I don’t mean “change your mind”. I mean your mind has to change. Online business as a freelance entrepreneur is an example of thinking outside the box. Your personal “box” may take the form of…

• “I can’t make money in any way except a job.”


• “I’ve never tried anything like this before.”


• “I don’t know what I’m doing.”


• “This is a dumb idea.”

Maybe one or more of these apply to you, and these sorts of thoughts have to go. But before I repeat the cliche’ of “thinking outside the box”, how about a real-life example?

For a few months now, I’d been sick of turning on my television set with nothing ever being on, especially given what I paid for cable. Several hundred channels of programming, and it was all miserable. So, I did something that most people wouldn’t even consider: I canceled cable without replacing it. I no longer receive television of any sort.

Now, television tends to be a household staple even if it’s pointless. So this would be my own personal example of “thinking outside the box”. I’m saving a boatload of money, and it’s not as though I’m without distraction or entertainment with cable gone. In other words, net gain for me.

It was a benefit to me to do something most people would not consider, or at least not consider seriously. Online business is the same way. It’s a world of opportunity waiting that most would not even give thought, but it could wind up benefiting you greatly. This is what I mean when I say “First, your mind has to change”. If you don’t seriously believe you can make money online, you’re not going to get anywhere attempting it.

Jay has spent the last 25 years helping businesses make TONS of money. When I first started learning about marketing Jay’s name came up everywhere I turned because he is so well respected in the industry. In fact, he was named one of the top 5 executive coaches in the country in the March 6, 2000 issue of Forbes Magazine. I could write a full article on his credentials alone, but suffice it to say that Jay Abraham is considered to be one of the top business experts in the country.

Jay recently come up with a list of 42 different ways you can rapidly profit (and prosper) during this economic recession and he is going to share them with you for free!

It doesn’t matter whether you own a business, work for someone else, or want to find an income source that can rapidly pay all your bills.

If you want to secure your financial future, find a fresh recession income source, or help your employer earn more profits…these recession-based income strategies can provide the financial security blanket that you need to handle all the problems this bad economy is causing you.

Please don’t let fear stop you from prospering in these uncertain times.

Go sign up now for Jay’s FREE teleconference to find out 42 ways to prosper in this recession by clicking here!

You’re about to experience first-hand (for absolutely nothing) the same information a group of beleaguered real estate investors just paid Jay Abraham nearly $200,000 to hear about.

In all of two quick hours, via a convenient teleconference re-broadcast, Jay Abraham, himself, will show you 42 different ways you really CAN prosper from this recession, Right now—- not someday in the future.

None of these strategies will require one dime of capital invested on your part. None bear any downside financial risk, either and none are focused on real estate.

I just reserved my spot because I want to know how to increase my profits during these uncertain times.

Don’t wait! Click here right now, to reserve your spot on the FREE teleconference and learn how you can prosper in these difficult economic times.

The first step is to find out what keywords they are using to advertise their products and services. You already know some of them because of the previous exercise. There are tools that will tell you all the keywords they are using to advertise with. One example of this is KeyCompete.com

Next, you need to figure out what they are doing to sell their products.

Do they have a newsletter?

If yes, how do they entice you to sign up for it?

Sign up for their list and make note of often they email you, what they email, what products and services they promote.

What kind of copy do they use?

Does their website look professional or homey?

What colors do they use on their website?

How is the website layed out?

How many pages do they have?

Do they use pictures? How?

Do they use video? How?

Determine everything they are doing and compare this with all the other sites on your list. Once you are done you will find some common themes. The things each of the sites have in common are things that you should absolutely be doing!

Several years ago I compared the top ten Technorati blogs in a similar fashion. Some of the things I found were:

1. They all made use of images in their posts.
2. A majority of them had their navigation on the right side.
3. A majority of them used either the color green or blue as their main color.

etc.

I didn’t do an in depth study, but if you wanted to emulate the top 10 blogs you could do an in depth of study of them and duplicate what they are doing. You could find out how many posts per day they write, what they write about, how they market their blogs, etc. Then you would know how to duplicate their success.

Emulating the best businesses in your niche will shortcut your path to success.

Note: If you want to read my previous newsletters on this topic just sign up for my newsletter by clicking here. Then enter your name and email and you will get the entire series in order over the course of a few weeks. Plus you will get other free advice that I don’t provide on this blog.

There are some ups and downs to this technique. The biggest up side is that you get paid regardless of the success or failure of the clients. You do a good job for them, of course, but once you’ve given them what you were hired to create, your part in the matter is done. This cuts your risk considerably, and insures that any work you do will be paid no matter what happens afterwords.

The down side is that you don’t have the opportunity to make as much as you would with direct sales or promoting someone else’s products. Business people takes those risks for a reason, and that’s the chance to make large sums of money. You can still make money, but you’re potential may not be quite as much as another type of entrepreneur.

Still, freelancing is a good way to monetize a skill, and if you want to go this route, here are a few things you’ll need:

• A web site decribing what you do and other things to help sell your services. Those would include automated lead collection, samples of your previous work, and easy navigation so you don’t annoy potential customers away.
• Some means of promotion, especially those that let you build credibility for your expertise.
• A reliable form of payment collection that takes credit cards, like PayPal. Furthermore, never create a project until you have payment in hand. Some people may hire you frivolously, but you can minimize the risk they’ll waste your time by getting paid in advance.

If you have skills, you can put them to use for others to make money online. You took the time to learn them, and using them to make some extra cash is a perfectly legitimate way to go.

I have gone through the Formula 5 preview materials, and the folks at StomperNet have created another winner. It is coming out on January 19th, Monday afternoon, so I wanted to give you my honest thoughts on Formula 5 before the doors open on the program.

For starters, they released some really good videos to promote the product. You can watch the videos for free by clicking here.

Paul Lemberg, creator of Formula 5 is a well known business coach who has helped clients create over 350 million dollars in profits. He created Formula 5 to help you increase your business revenues quickly. Formula 5 is taught over a 15 week period and includes DVDs, action plan worksheets, and a printed transcript of each lesson. Plus there is a special members only portal that I have checked out for myself. The members portal is loaded with information. It reminded me a lot of the StomperNet portal – tons of information, forums, blogs, and mastermind groups. I was a bit surprised to see them offering so much to go along with the lessons that you get in the mail. The lessons themselves are good enough to help you increase your revenue, but I suppose the extra information on the portal won’t hurt.

Formula 5 works on 93% of all businesses that try it!

That is the highest success rate I have seen for any product like this.

If you are having trouble making a good profit in your business, then I highly recommend checking out Formula 5. While you might confuse Formula 5 with Formula racing because of the speed at which you can make more money in your current business… I don’t recommend Formula 5 for beginners. Formula 5 is really geared towards those people who already run an online business. On the other hand, beginners can learn a lot from the free videos. So, whether you are a beginner or you already have an online business I suggest you watch their free videos.

My Bonus

I am about 75% finished with a curriculum for a coaching program I intend to launch later this year. One of the ebooks that will be part of the curriculum makes an excellent companion to this product. In fact, the ebook is all about maximizing your profits. If you buy Formula 5 through my affiliate link by clicking here then after you complete the 15 weeks of training, I will send you a free copy of this yet-to-be released ebook from my upcoming coaching program. It is the perfect complement for the Formula 5 training.

Additionally, when you complete the 15 week course I will give you a free 1 hour consultation to check up on your progress in the program and answer any questions you have about my ebook. All you have to do is order Formula 5 through my affiliate link and send me a copy of your receipt for Formula 5. Once I verify the sale I will send you information on getting your bonuses.

Here is my quick summary of what is covered in MBA In A Box:

1. Raise the price of your product by 15 percent.

2. Increase the perceived value of your product.

3. Sell more to your existing customers.

4. Businesses fail because:
    A. Lack of vision.
    B. Lack of strategy to carry out vision.
    C. Lack of a system for marketing and sales.
    D. Lack of a system to monetize clients.
    E. Trying to do too many things (no systems to get things done).

5. Businesses succeed when:
    A. They have a strong value proposition.
    B. Continual stream of leads.
    C. Consistently and cost effectively convert leads to customers.
    D. Have a system to monetize customers.
    E. Operate efficiently.

6. Compound all five parts of the formula together to create a huge increase in profits.

I know that Formula 5 is based on solid business success principles because my business mentors have taught me the same strategies discussed in this report (and I teach them as well).

The full report goes into more detail about implementing Formula 5 strategies, but I thought a good summary would help you know what to expect when you check it out for yourself.

So, who should read the free Formula Five MBA In A Box report?

The report is best suited for online entrepreneurs who sell products and services. It’s not really useful for people who make their living (or intend to make their living) from affiliate marketing. It’s also not something that I would generally recommend to people who are absolutely new to Internet marketing (0-3 months experience— if you fall in this category, you should check out OnlineProfits.com). However, it is free and unless you have some sort of formal business training, then you will probably learn a thing or two about maximizing your online business profits by reading it.

If you want to read all the details of the report, you can download it by clicking here.

A group of very successful online marketers (including a good friend) have just launched a new website called OnlineProfits.com. OnlineProfits.com is one of the most complete courses on the topic of Internet marketing and online business that I have seen. The course was put together by a collaboration of experts in a wide variety of Internet marketing niches. The experts include:

Michael Gray: Well known Search Engine Optimization expert.

Neil Patel: Founder of ACS SEO, and personal branding expert.

Yaro Starak: Successful Internet marketer and blogging expert.

Tamar Weinberg: Social media marketing expert.

Hamlet Batista. Affiliate marketing expert and author of the popular SEO software tool RankSense.

Zac Johnson: Very successful Internet marketer.

Courtney Tuttle: Popular Internet marketing blogger and consultant.

Nathan Rice: Nathan is a professional web designer, specializing in WordPress themes.

Skellie Wag: Well known copywriting and social media expert.

Daniel Scocco: Popular blogging expert.

This course looks like an excellent way for beginners to gain a solid understanding of the fundamentals of Internet marketing and online business. I highly recommend you click here to go check out OnlineProfits.com to see what it’s all about.

Go check out the video by clicking here.

PS. Stay tuned to this blog for a special announcement on Wednesday, but for now go check out the video.

A few years back my wife Jill told me how she wished that I would help the kids make more handmade gifts for her. So in my infinite wisdom I decided that it would be easy to make a candle with the kids and she would really like it. I remember my parents making candles when I was little and it looked really easy back then, how hard could it be? Well…

I went to the craft store (a store I never usually go near) and picked up a candle making kit that said it was “easy to use”. One night my wife went out somewhere and the kids and I started making the candle… Long story short, it wasn’t as easy as it looked on the packaging and um…

Apparently, hot candle wax shouldn’t be poured down the garbage disposal!

We did manage to make a candle, but after paying for a new garbage disposal it turned out the total cost of making the candle was around 300 dollars. My wife said that I didn’t have to make her any more crafts because it cost us too much money and next time I can just buy her a pre-made candle at the store.

I learned from that mistake and to this day have never poured candle wax down a garbage disposal again

Have you learned from the mistakes you made in 2008?

Did you try things that didn’t work and keep doing them or did you move on to focus on the things that work?

I am not and never have been good at making crafts. If I had to make a living making candles (or any other craft) I would be a very poor man. However, I am good at making money, which I can then use to buy already made crafts. That works much better for me. How about you?

Are you trying to get traffic through social media marketing, but can only seem to get it through the Search Engines? If so, why not focus on what is working (SEO) and stop focusing on what it isn’t working (social marketing)?

Are you bad at writing content, but great at designing websites? Hire someone or partner with someone who can write content and focus on designing websites.

To make 2009 your most successful year running an online business you need to learn from the mistakes you made in 2008. So what mistakes did you make in 2008 that you won’t be making in 2009?

Let me know how you like it.

All I’ve ever wanted was an honest week’s pay for an honest day’s work.

If you are like most people, you want the same thing! I am going to let you know the one business success factor that is most likely to help you achieve that dream in 2009.

Essentially, this is the most important thing for you to do in 2009.

What is it?

FOCUS!

That’s it. The most important thing for you do to succeed in your business is to Focus!

Focus is one of the biggest issues that many of us face in modern society. In fact, the extremely popular Internet marketing guru, Rich Schefren, has been talking a lot about the huge roadblock that a lack of focus causes for most would-be Entrepreneurs.

You have to focus to achieve your goals.

So what do you mean by “focus”?

Many of us check our email too many times a day, spend too much time on social networks, spend too much time reading blogs, spend too much time texting our friends and not enough time focusing on what we want to accomplish. We get distracted all the time and don’t focus on accomplishing our goals. Those are some of the ways that a lack of focus hurts are business efforts. However, there is another way a lack of focus hurts us. Let me use my own business as an example of this.

This past year I have been focusing on personal and spiritual growth and I have not been focused on making my business succeed. This has been really good for me, and I recommend that you never neglect the rest of your life to achieve your business goals. However, last month I started making plans for making my online business more profitable in 2009. I wrote down my list of plans and they looked something like this:

1. Create some websites in a specific non-Internet marketing niche that I am familiar with and then move on to create some sites in another niche I am interested in (I am not naming the niches for competitive reasons).
2. Finish creating a coaching program in the Internet marketing niche (I am more than half way finished with the curriculum).
3. Create a website for the business that my kids want to start and work with them on it.
4. Start another online business in the Internet marketing niche.

My plan was to focus on each plan one at a time, which sounded good in theory, but…

I told one of my friends here in Houston about my plans and he essentially said:

“George you need to FOCUS! I focus on ONE niche and that’s how I dominate it.”

Now before I go on, I need to point out that my friend makes a lot of money in the niche he is in. It isn’t p@rn, gambling or prescription drugs. And it’s not in the Internet marketing / make money online niche. While I don’t want to reveal exact numbers, let’s just say it’s over $50,000/month. In other words, he knows what he’s talking about.

You ever wonder why more people like him don’t get into the Internet marketing niche?

Focus!

You wonder why so many people in this industry only make money selling Internet marketing/make money online products and services to other people?

Focus!

To succeed you need to focus on dominating a niche.

That’s not to say you can’t work on more than one niche. In fact, when you start out you might want to try out a few different niches until you find a niche that you want to dominate. Once you find that niche, focus on it. Then you will be on your way to making an honest week’s pay for an honest day’s work.

There are many ways to make money online. I like to group them into three main categories:

1. Making money selling your stuff


2. Making money selling other people’s stuff


3. Getting paid to do something

Let’s talk a little more about each of these categories…

Way #1 – Making money selling your stuff
When most people think of starting a business they think of selling their own stuff. Here are some of the ways that people sell their own stuff online:

1. Selling products
   When I started out online my intention was to create educational software and sell it online. Like myself, most people that start a business online start off with the idea of selling a product. Almost every product imaginable can be sold online. Arguably, the easiest to create are information products.


2. Selling Services/Freelancing
   One of the quickest ways to start making money online is by selling your services. You call sell all kinds of services online. Some of the more common online services being sold are web design, freelance writing, coaching/teaching, virtual assistants, copywriting, traffic generation, and software development.


3. Domaining
   Domaining is essentially the process of buying and selling domains. While I own quite a few domains, most of them were bought with the purpose of developing them at some point in time. Although, I would be willing to sell some of them. For example, when John Reese bought trafficjam.com I wish he had contacted me about buying one of my domains blogtrafficjam.com, since I am not sure I will develop the idea I had for it when I bought it several years ago.


4. Website Flipping
   Website flipping is a very tempting business model to me. Flipping websites is a lot like flipping houses. You buy a website with the sole purpose of making it better so that you can turn around sell it. Much like house flipping, you should buy a website with good potential that is not properly monetized and/or not properly designed and marketed. After “rehabbing” the website, you can sell it at a much higher price. This process sounds like fun to me, except that I would have a hard time parting with the site after fixing it. I am more likely to buy a website, fix it up, and keep it for the residual income.

There are other ways to make money selling your own stuff, but the ones listed above are the most common.

Way #2 – Making money selling other people’s stuff

1. Affiliate Marketing
   Affiliate marketing is one of the best ways to make money online, and I will be discussing it in much more detail in a future series (or a free mini-course). Essentially, affiliate marketing is revenue sharing between online advertisers/merchants and online publishers/salespeople, whereby affiliates(publisher/sales people) are paid based on performance measures, typically in the form of sales, clicks, registrations, or a combination of methods. In layman’s terms, it means you get a percentage of a sale when you sell someone else’s stuff or cause someone to take an action that might sell someone else’s stuff. It is currently my primary method of making money online.


2. Advertising Income
   Many websites make money by selling advertising space on their site. This is most commonly done on content sites. Advertising income can also be gained through other methods like selling ad space on website templates and selling ad space in newsletters.


3. Drop Shipping
   Drop shipping is a technique where you sell products from one or more suppliers who take care of shipping the products directly to the customer. All you do is take the order and get the money from the customer, then you send the order details and and part of the money that you charge to the supplier. You make profit on the difference between the suppliers price (including shipping) and the price you charge the customer. This is essentially running a wholesale business without the inventory, although you will usually pay somewhere between true wholesale and retail prices for the goods. I have seen a lot of people run drop shipping businesses on ebay.


4. Retail commerce
   Retail commerce is where you buy products at wholesale prices from wholesale distributors, carry an inventory and turn around and sell said products. Many of the ecommerce shops you see are doing this. This model is similar to drop shipping. The advantage of this method is that you can make a higher profit margin then with drop shipping, the disadvantage is that you store the inventory and you handle the details of shipping the products.

These are the most common methods for selling other people’s stuff online, although certainly not the only ones.

Way # 3 – Getting Paid To Do Something

1. Paid to sites (Paid to surf, Paid to take surveys, etc.)
   With “paid to” sites you can make a little extra money online every month. You can’t really use these sites to make a living online (at least not that I’m aware of), so I won’t be devoting more space to them here. If you’re interested in a little extra cash, and this method appeals to you, there is plenty of information available on the internet. And if you ARE making a living from these sites, and you’d be interested in writing a series on the topic, contact me.

As you are considering how YOU want to make big money online, this list should prove a good starting place . In my next post in the getting started series, I will be wrapping up with a list of resources to help you continue your quest to make money online.

“The Uncertainty Syndrome” is an AWESOME read! In this report, Rich reveals some big constraints that keep you from making more money online. Constraint # 4 was a big problem for me and I found the exact solution to fix my problem on page 39 of “The Uncertainty Syndrome“. In fact, I am immediately going to implement the solution on page 39 of the report, because it will make a HUGE difference in my bottom line.

If you haven’t already read the report, I highly recommend you go download it now by clicking here!

Rich is also going to be LIVE for 24 hours for you to see and talk to at the same time you can get his new FREE report. Sounds pretty cool!

I am still dealing with Hurricane Ike here, so it might be a while before I can read the report, but I expect it to be a great read as all of Rich’s past reports have been unbelievable.

Anyway, you can download the report by clicking here.