When I started my online business a year ago, I was absolutely overwhelmed by the number of web sites that offer advice. Everyone seemed to know how to make money on the Internet, which made it even harder to believe.
The very first product I trusted enough to purchase was Ken Evoy’s “Make Your Site Sell”. I already knew all the technology behind making a web site, but had no idea how to make it profitable. Besides, that book didn’t ask for much of an investment – only $17.00 for a downloadable version which was all I could afford “wasting” (so I thought at the time).
After spending a few weeks reading “MYSS!” I was willing to give it a try, and spent the next 2-3 months building my web site and follow Ken’s advice on Search Engines, META tags, and how to get your name out into the world. I would spend hours participating in online discussions, and although it was incredibly time-consuming I discovered who were the *real* experts.
Names like Marlon Sanders, Ted Kennedy, Simon Grabowski, Ken Evoy, Ken Silver, and a few others clearly stood apart from the rest of the advice-givers. Why? Because I knew their businesses, could see how successful they have become and that following their advice would be a smart move. I own many of their products, and truly believe they ARE the experts in their field.
So what does this make the rest of us? Those who do not yet make millions of dollars each year but simply earn their living from the Internet? Here is the answer: whether one makes $100 a week or $1000 a week – he is still in the top 10%, roughly speaking, of all the online businesses today.
That’s because very few people who started their web businesses actually make money. Many of them don’t even stay in the business long enough to see its fruit. “Hey, they told me I could make a million overnight, I guess they lied!”, a new webmaster might think and gives up 2-3 months later.
If you decided to go into online business, have realistic expectations. Nothing happens overnight. You WILL have to put some efforts and time into your success. You WILL have find for yourself what works and what doesn’t. There is a lot of ways to become successful on the Internet, but only a few will work for your type of web site, your personality and your amount of resources.
So who should you believe when you are seeking advice on online business success? Spend at least 1 month on Internet forums such as Entrepreneurial Success Forum (ablake.net/forum) and Friends in Business (friendsinbusiness.com/board1) and you will know exactly who deserves your trust.
You will also be able to identify experts in their fields, such as graphic design, web development, training, traffic generation, e-zine publishing and publicity. Before that don’t even think of purchasing any info-products that promise you a fortune, or you might easily take a get-rich-quick scheme for a true goldmine.
I didn’t get “burned” with my initial choice of Ken Evoy’s “MYSS!” mentioned earlier, but I easily could have. Get to know people first –
order from them later.
Milana Nastetskaya is a full time web developer and the author of the “65 Instant Web Design Answers”. http://www.instantwebanswers.com
