Money Making Tips
I know you've seen the advertisements. They are everywhere that
you look: newsgroups, email signatures, web site articles, press
releases and even in your own inbox (in the form of spam). It
can be especially overwhelming to a newbie (someone new to the
internet). You know what I mean - money making opportunities.
Sometimes they seem so enticing, so wonderful, so obvious that
it just appears that someone had indeed stumbled on the perfect
money making scheme. And, better yet, they are good-hearted
enough to want to share it with anyone, for the small price of
$19.95 (per month), $295 or even $3.95. What nice people.
Of course, if you think about it for even a minute, the first
question that comes to mind is: if the secret is so great, then
why aren't they rich and living on some tropical island yet? Why
do they have to try and sell this thing to us on the internet?
Okay, so you want to make some money on the internet. What's the
secret?
To be honest, selling on the internet is more-or-less the same
as selling anywhere else. You have to follow these basic steps:
- Find or create a product or service which you think may be of
value to others.
- Figure out how to sell that product. In other words, determine
your market and how to best reach the people within the market
who make purchasing decisions.
- Implement the method that you choose to sell the product or
service. Using the internet, this could be a store front, a web
site, an ezine or perhaps just lots of advertisements.
- Promote your product or service.
- Keep statistics to determine if you are actually selling the
product or service. You also need to know if it is costing you
more to sell it than you make (yes, income must exceed expenses
- that's why most of the dot coms have been failing recently:
they forgot this basic lesson).
- If you are making a profit (income exceeds all expenses), then
figure out how to better sell your product. However, don't
change anything that is causing you to make money. In other
words, if it is working, leave it alone.
- If you are not making a profit (expenses exceed income), then
figure out why and take corrective action. Immediately and
without hesitation.
Also remember some basic rules (which many of the dot coms
forgot or never knew in the first place).
The Customer is the boss. This is the most basic datum of all.
Any company that has poor customer service or loses sight of
this basic fact will, in the short or long term, fail. For
example, if your customer wants a refund, then give it to him,
no questions asked, with a smile. If you find you are refunding
too much money, then check out the quality of your products or
services.
Stay ethical. Another basic datum. Unethical people and
companies tend to fail. The more unethical they are, the harder
they fall. You could sum this up simply as "what goes around
comes around".
Venture capital is NOT income. It is a liability because it
usually has to be paid back. In general, a company should only
need venture capital when it is first created. If venture
capital is needed to keep the company afloat after a reasonable
startup period, then this is a bad sign. If venture capital is
required on a regular basis to pay the payroll, then this is a
very bad sign. Use income from stock sales wisely. Getting an
infusion of cash from selling stock can be a great windfall for
a company. BUT this is also not income - it is a windfall
profit. Use it wisely.
Determine true income. You need to figure income on the amount
of money you are making from selling your product or service.
Money obtained from your credit card does not count as income.
Income must exceed total expenses. Seems pretty basic.
Large amounts of debt is bad for business. Generally, the higher
your debt, the less freedom you have to run your company. At
some point, you become a slave to your creditors.
Excellent leaders often make poor managers. Remember to keep
these two positions separate. The skills required to be a leader
have nothing to do with the skills required to be a good manager.
What's the bottom line? Making money on the internet is the same
as making money anywhere else. Just because it is the internet
does not mean there are special rules or the law has been
suspended. Also, just because everyone else has gone insane and
are doing incredibly stupid things (the majority of the dot
com's come to mind) does not mean you need to jump in and join
the stampede.
The internet is a set of tools which you can use to sell
products and services. Used properly, they can magnify your
efforts to incredible heights. Remember, be smart, be ethical
and, fundamentally, inflow must exceed outflow.