income

My Top 5 Favorite Passive Income Methods

by Paul Joseph July 29, 2011 Featured

Whether passive income exists is an age old debate, which in my opinion will never be resolved. It all comes down to our individual definitions of the term. Without “duking” out whose definition is more accurate, here are my top 5 favorite passive income avenues . No matter how you define passive income, each of these has some characteristics that I am positive will meet your definition as well. 1. Inheritance Didn’t we all wish we had a rich uncle who loved us so much that he decided to name us the beneficiary of his entire estate? It only happens in movies from my recollection, but this is by far the quickest and easiest way to benefit from a passive cash windfall. All jokes aside, though massive inheritance cases are far and few, inheritances ‘happen’ everyday to all kinds of people in all corners of the world. The beauty of it is that YOU DO NOT have to create the initial capital needed to benefit from the passive income stream. 2. Interest On Certificates Of Deposit / Fixed Deposit I like this avenue because it not only provides a nice passive stream of income, but also protects your hard earned capital over the years, months, weeks, minutes or seconds (if you inherited it I suppose). As long as your money is protected or insured (example: FDIC insurance in the USA for up to $250,000 per account or RBI – Reserve Bank of India insurance up to $1M on foreign deposits), you can sleep well at night knowing your cash is safe and earning interest income. Of course, the historically low rates in the USA are not helping right now, but if you are in a country that pays in the double digit interest rate margin , you may be profiting nicely from this scheme. I just hope your country’s inflation is not as high or higher as well. The challenge in capitalizing from this passive income stream is obvious. You need to build a capital base first on which you can earn the income. 3. Royalties / Franchise Fees This one always intrigues me. I wished I had the genius to come up with an idea / patent and license it out in exchange for royalties. Either that or starting a burger joint like “In and Out” that blows people’s mind with their “secret sauce” so that I can franchise the concept and collect on franchisor fees. Unfortunately, I have neither going on for me, and that is why this one made it to my list of top 5 favorite, but not my list of the top 5 of MY highest passive income earners . 4. Rental Income This is one I currently capitalize on and enjoy a lot. I like the cash flow I receive monthly, the equity I build with each passing month (mortgage balance is reduced over time), the potential long term appreciation of the property and the short term tax benefits from depreciation and what have you. The challenge here is that you must understand real estate investing, and execute it to where you have investment property that generates passive income. Similar to accumulating a capital base on which to earn interest, this endeavor can also initially be capital intensive. 5. Internet Income You can’t deny it, but you GOTTA love this one. Aside from a fat inheritance, what other platform allows you to create something (a lot of things) from nothing? With a mere $10 investment in a domain name and another $20 in hosting, you can be flying with the pigs. There are so many ways to monetize your website or blog online. I currently capitalize from at least seven different income streams from my portfolio of niche websites. I generate profits from private advertisement, public ads such as Google Adsense , sales of my digital products such as e-books, lead generation and referrals, affiliate commissions and a few others. The success of my websites and blog have also led to several one on one coaching and consulting type gigs, with both individuals and small companies. The experience has truly been rewarding and I really enjoy this passive income avenue. But is this avenue truly passive? Not in the beginning, no way. You can toil for years before the fruits of your labor start paying off. From personal experience, once it starts raining, it pours. And the beauty is that it pours harder automatically on its own with each passing day, week, month, year. Concluding Thoughts I am not a trust fund baby. I have not yet and do not anticipate benefiting from an inheritance. That said, I have managed to amass a decent amount of cash on which I am generating a solid passive interest income stream. I don’t think anything can get any more passive than inheriting wealth (maybe finding a stash of cash on the street can be), but aside from that unlikely scenario, interest income on your savings is the epitome of passive income in my humble opinion. If you are wondering why dividend investing is not part of my list, I don’t particularly rank that avenue as high as these five because of the risk / uncertainty component attached to it. That said, a portfolio built carefully to yield dividend income can provide a nice trickle of passive income over time. Anyway, these are five solid passive income avenues, which are my favorite, but not necessarily my 5 top earning passive income streams. Perhaps in my next post I can talk about my personal top 5 earning passive income streams? What about you? What are your favorite passive income avenues? What are your current top passive income earning streams? Sunil Get your bonus copy of my book “How To Start An Internet Business & Make Your First $1,000 Online” Download Here

Tagged as: book, domain-name, income, street, thoughts

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Ask Yourself This Important Question: Is Your Business Growing Or Dying?

by Paul Joseph May 31, 2011 Featured

Be The Best Part 1 The recent post by Yaro seems to have stirred up some emotion between his fans. His discussion to change his business model has been based on trends and statistics, and perhaps a need to change to keep his business thriving. You see, times change and what worked once in the past will not always work in the future. Look at any business throughout history and we will see the ones that kept their air of superiority without adapting to change, always seem to meet a similar fate. I private coach many well-known marketers and I always instill one core message: ‘ Your business is either growing or dying, there is no such thing as ticking along ’. In this brief series, I will be exploring why companies must change, the mentality that ensures those changes and how to make the correct changes. I will start by talking about large companies and then translate those lessons so every small business can benefit from what we uncover. It’s a little different from my normal articles, but I really feel this is an important lesson that you all should read. A Story Of Two Brands Let’s start with a quick story about two brands. Brand one was a young energetic company. Entering a new world with exciting possibilities. They were all fired up to make an impact and stake their claim. They all happened to be college students, still able to dream big without having to think too sensibly. They fell into a magical collaboration and found that their product was distributed all over the world. Their name spread far and wide. They became rich beyond their wildest dreams. They thought about what they could add onto their business to make it earn even more. They invented one or two new additions that fitted well and for a number of years they were simply unrivaled. People would study their brand and use it as an example of great branding. However, they seemed to be living in their own world and forgot what was going on around them. Rival companies began to spring up around them, but they simply ignored them as inferior and nothing to worry about. Until of course, they started to lose worrying chinks of market share. Years after they found themselves being the ones playing catchup to newer companies that were amassing huge fan bases in their own right. They were so far behind that they were no longer leading the field, but having to resort to buying other companies to ensure they were not left completely behind. Instead of leading the market, they were resorting to following competitors. Instead of creating new innovative products, they were simply following what their competitors were doing. This once global giant is starting to lose it glimmer, and is often seen as a sinking ship in need of a new inspiring captain. What a turn around from perhaps 10 years earlier when it was the envy of the world. That brand is, of course, Microsoft . Now let’s talk about another brand. This brand entered a world which was already dominated by another very well-known name. They were going to have to play catchup. They thought long and hard about what their ambition was and then gave themselves an inspiring slogan, which both motivated staff to work extra hard and gave them a focus on where they wanted to be. This mantra resonated with followers of the brand. Through efforts to be technically superior, they eventually made a foothold in a very competitive market. They were seen as a vibrant and inspiring company who was at the forefront of technology. Analysts, however, were not too impressed, as they had seen this brand cycle all too many times before. Until something amazing happened. This company did not stick with it’s traditional market. It adapted to the changing times. It brought us new technologies based on what consumers were really telling them they wanted. They added style and flair to their products to effect mass appeal. Their ambition was not to be a big brand, but to be THE BEST BRAND . To be the leader of the pack and not the follower. They would revolutionize the way they interacted with customers, and constantly use their feedback to effect their future products. This was a company that was never going to sleep. This company causes Microsoft headaches. This company is, of course, Apple . The Core Message I may have oversimplified the story, but the core message is abundantly clear. Apple had the vision to become the best in the market, leading the way and leaving the others behind. Their whole mantra is to be the best . They could have sat on the success of the iPod or the iPhone or even the iPad, but they choose not too. Because they know one simple lesson: your business is either growing or dying . Microsoft forgot this lesson. Although it’s business revolved around having a go at new things, it’s larger philosophy was to maintain it’s current market share. However, if business is either growing or dying, then there is no such thing as simply maintaining your current market share. If your aim is to hold market share, then your business is simply dying. Let Me Explain Why Any business whether it be a large business or smaller business needs to make money. But when we get to a point where we are happy with our income level, we seem to slow down and attempt to maintain the status quo. Many, many Internet marketers have done this over the last few years. They created great products after the dot-com bust of early 2000’s, made a name for themselves, earned some money and simply sat back. This is not a dig at them, many of them are my friends, but it is a harsh reality of that generation. They forgot to think bigger then their current products. They found themselves not pushing their industry forward. They thought their business was ticking along, until it dawned on them that it was actually dying. Their businesses were simply stagnant. They put in some effort to maintain it and bring in some fresh visitors, but there was nothing new on the horizon. They fell into Microsoft mode. They had been successful, no one can deny that. But instead of being at the forefront of their industry, they found themselves commenting on others who were biting at their market share. In business, you can never be the best for long. You have to constantly reinvent yourself to be the forerunner in the market. This is perhaps even more important on a smaller scale. When you are a new startup, your ambition is simply to gain customers and make money. This very mindset will eventually lead to failure, because the ambition to grow your business is simply not prevalent enough. Change In Mindset Have a guess which one of my blogs would do the best. A blog where I want to share business advice with entrepreneurs, verses a blog where I want to share the best business advice anywhere in the world , so it is the ultimate resource for entrepreneurs. It’s a very slight change in mindset, but it is so important. The fact that I want to be the ‘best anywhere in the world’ gives me focus in business. It helps focus me on seeking out the best advice and ensuring I am one step ahead. I never take my eyes of the competition, but I’m more focused on ensuring I lead the industry and they follow me. (Just as with Apple, it will not happen overnight, but continuous effort to that philosophy will bring just rewards.) Now imagine another business. I want to share business fundamentals via a course to help Online Marketers improve their business, verses I will run the ‘ BEST COURSE IN THE WORLD ’ helping online marketers gain the complete set of business fundamentals (tools and techniques) to improve their business. That change in focus prevents me from simply creating a product and living off it, to constantly ensuring that I educate myself to the highest level, so that I can also in turn update my course to be simply the best in the world . (That is why I recently completed my MBA, and why I currently work with universities looking at latest trends whilst continually working with real businesses. I aim to be the best Online Marketing Consultant in the industry.) That simple change in thinking can change the life of your business. At A Local Level It works on a local level too. Imagine if you were not just a good graphic artist in New York, but you were THE BEST graphic artist in New York. You no longer focus on simply finding clients and fulfilling their needs, but you find a new motivation to ensure that everyone knows about you, and that you constantly educate yourself on what is happening so that you are ahead of the game. You surround yourself with people who live and breathe graphic design, so that there is no way you ever miss out on anything happening in this industry. You ensure you work with big clients and smaller clients, so that you completely understand the changing customers’ needs. You aim to be the best. Don’t simply aim to do business, AIM TO BE THE BEST . Invest in yourself, surround yourself by customers and experts within your industry, and always be thinking about the next product or how you will impact the industry, because if you are not working on growing your business, then your business is simply going to die. Coming Up In Part 2 In the next article I will be giving tips and tricks on how to be the best in your field. Your homework today is to redefine your business strategy. What is it that you do? What is it that you will be the best at? Dee Kumar Get your bonus copy of my book “How To Start An Internet Business & Make Your First $1,000 Online” Download Here

Tagged as: book, income, industry, internet, marketing, mindset

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How To Grow And Protect Wealth By Diversifying Risk

by Paul Joseph April 29, 2011 Featured

This blog is slowly evolving into the epitome of entrepreneurial information sharing. Various qualified experts frequently write about tried and tested topics in their respective fields. You can learn from these experts and establish your own success as well, but how much do you know about money to ensure you are not only able to make it, but also able to manage it, grow it and protect it in the long run? Some of the most successful entrepreneurs are bankrupt today. Many artists and athletes who once made millions in a single year are now begging on the streets. Why? Making money is one thing, growing it and keeping it is a completely different ball game. There can be a big disconnect between entrepreneurship and basic fundamental personal finance. I can conclude this from my own experiences, interactions with numerous entrepreneurs from all walks of life, and observations from all around me whether it is the real world or the cyberworld that we are increasingly living in today. It is not necessary that someone who is financially savvy and sophisticated be an entrepreneur, but the reverse is a whole different story. It is my opinion that an entrepreneur has to be financially savvy, or at least have a solid fundamental understanding of basic personal finance to succeed in business and life. Among many other characteristics, entrepreneurship involves capital raising, cash flow management, creative thinking from a financial perspective, money management, growth, asset protection, income taxes, debt management, fill in the blanks. No matter how small or large your personal enterprise is, chances are you will be exposed to at least one of these topics. Most entrepreneurs fail, and that is a fact. Even after establishing a successful business, many entrepreneurs end up right where they started years later. It is also a fact that they often fail because they lack the skills in one, more than one or all the areas of money and finance previously mentioned. So whether you own a brick and mortar business, a website, blog, or plan on starting one in the near future, understand that you must be versed with at least the fundamental foundation of money and finance or failing is just about inevitable. Diversification Mitigates Risk And Increases Wealth I often joke around that diversity is key to anything in life, except your spouse. Think about it, having a spare tire helps when one of the main four blows out. Having a ball pen allows you to continue writing when the pencil lead breaks off. Having access to email is one way you can get a hold of someone if they are not reachable by phone. So why don’t many entrepreneurs think this way when it comes to their business and income streams? It is easy to get carried away and end up with all your eggs in one big basket, such as your own business. What happens when that business fails? Do you have another stream of income to keep you afloat if and when the current one dries up? Diversity is critical to risk mitigation, and one can never be too diverse in my opinion. In fact, diversifying within diversity is even better. For example, investing in different industries or sectors within your stock portfolio, or owning different types of rental properties in different areas. Doing so ensures that your exposure (or risk) is not concentrated in any one sub basket (a particular industry or geography) within your bigger investment basket (your overall stock or real estate investment portfolio). Are you diversified today? You may be doing well in business, but do you have a back-up plan? What are you doing to make your money work for you? Or is it that you are constantly finding only yourself working for money? Do you want to continue that way for the rest of your life? There is a reason many successful entrepreneurs have their hands in several different baskets. They are often vested in several avenues that help them manage, protect and grow their wealth. What is it that you are doing for tomorrow with the money you are accumulating today that your business is generating for you? How do you ensure you make the most out of your hard-earned cash? Is your cash working for you in a way that diversifies your risk exposure while giving your wealth the maximum chance to grow? Are you investing some of it in stocks, bonds, real estate and other types of businesses? Are you financially savvy enough to realize that you are effectively blowing half of your hard-earned money away in taxes because you are forced to do so by your Government? Or are you smart enough to be spending pretax dollars by reinvesting back in your business’s growth and thus avoiding a huge tax bill while benefiting your bottom line in the long term? Is your wealth protected in the event someone sues you? Do you know what steps and measures to take to protect what you have? Do a lot of these questions sound Greek to you? If so don’t fret. You are not the only one. Many entrepreneurs are right in that very same boat. The good news is that there is plenty of information that can help you get up to speed. Even better news is that entrepreneurs generally catch on relatively quickly to topics in basic personal finance because of the inherent acumen and desire they possess. The two topics are very much interrelated. It’s usually just a matter of being exposed to the relevant information. All Money Topics Are Interrelated – The Failures In Entrepreneurship Most readers of this blog are entrepreneurs or aspiring entrepreneurs. But how many are students of money as well? It has been my experience that many entrepreneurs generally gravitate toward financial education easily and naturally. Many are compelled to as they realize it is critical that they learn about money, while others are naturally attracted to the topic. Although I have no scientific data to back up my claim, I truly believe entrepreneurship and money are two topics that are closely intertwined together. They have to be for success to manifest. Think about it. Money is the underlying objective behind most entrepreneurial ventures. Sure an entrepreneur might say they want to make the world a better place, but would they do it for free? I highly doubt it. I call that a social worker, not an entrepreneur. But even a social-entrepreneur needs to find the funds to start it up. Dig deep down inside and you will find that money more often than not is at the crux. It is the root of it all. I am not saying this is right or wrong, I am just stating the facts that even more so proves that money and entrepreneurship go hand in hand. Two Key Characteristics Of Entrepreneurial Success In my books there are two key characteristics that determine an entrepreneur’s success; an acumen for entrepreneurship and personal finance. Many entrepreneurs fail personally even after making it big with their business(es). Why? Because they don’t understand how to manage, sustain and make their money work for them. Instead they end up losing it all and have nothing to show for their yesteryear of success. They learn how to make money really well, but they fail to learn how to protect it, manage it, and grow it to the next level. In fact many don’t even understand the basic concept behind income taxes, and obviously fail to realize and recognize that taxes are arguably the highest expense line item on their personal financial statements. Yet, taxes are usually a way after thought in most people’s minds. What if you suddenly realized that you pay almost 50% of your income to the government in taxes? How does it feel when you realize that you work from January to potentially June just to cover your tax expense before putting money in your own pocket? What would you do differently? Would this fact trigger any action from you? Now what if I told you that you can legally slash that tax bill by 10, 20, 30, 40 or more percent? Would you want to do that? Would you know where to begin to do that? A successful entrepreneur sure would, or will make sure he or she finds out, or hire an expensive attorney or accountant to take care of it for them. Hiring someone expensive to work on something you have no clue about is not something that I am a fan of, but that’s not what this post is all about. That is a whole different topic for a whole different series of blog posts so I will stay away from it for now. A well-rounded personal finance background is critical, and the good news is that it is not rocket science. Personal finance in fact is very simple . It is unfortunate that our formal education systems forgot to teach us that, but that’s ok. Thanks to magazines, countless finance blogs and souls like Dave Ramsey , there is hope for all of us. This clear void and the necessity for a blended education in entrepreneurship and finance is precisely what made me decide to build my blog as a hybrid of both topics. Although my intention was to build a blog specifically on entrepreneurship, I realized that one doesn’t go very well without the other. And because I had not found any other blog online that blended both topics, I attempted to fill in that gap by leveraging my entrepreneurial experiences, professional education, corporate work experience, credentials and background in accounting and finance. Critical Areas Of Personal Finance For Entrepreneurship Achieving excellence in anything is a lifelong process, as is learning and education. You can never be too educated. Unfortunately for many, this process ends after college when it really should only be starting at that point. Although I can easily conclude this discussion by mentioning that one must learn as much as they can about money and finance, there are a certain set of topics that I recommend one get started with before delving into the tangents and more complex areas. The following is a brief list of finance topics that I feel are critical to understand for any entrepreneur at any level. Wealth & Liability Protection – shielding yourself from liability, separating your personal assets from business, legal entity formation (LLC, S Corps, etc) Managing Your Money – cash flow, forecasting, short-term and long-term funding sources Growing Your Money – various forms of investments such as money market, capital markets, bonds, CDs Saving vs. Investing – these are not the same. Both have different goals, objectives and mediums (vehicles) Debt – debt is not always bad. Learn the difference between good debt and bad debt and how to use each appropriately to your advantage Investments – these come in all shapes and sizes. Stock market investing is the most basic. Learn to diversify your risk exposure while maximizing the possibility for growth. Key topics within investments include asset allocation, investment horizon, target funds, asset class mix Legal Entity Formation – forming legal corporate structures to separate your business from yourself. Income Taxes – proactive tax planning and forecasting Some other areas you can focus on beyond the basics: Real Estate – learn about leverage, value vs. speculative investing Small Businesses – how they work, how to buy one, how to profit from one Buying / Selling Assets Estate Planning – Living trusts, wills, etc. The above four topics are not critical to your foundation, however these are some of the more common topics that many successful entrepreneurs venture out to once their businesses start doing well and make them some money. For example, many entrepreneurs like to take their cash surplus from business and invest it in real estate . I know Yaro does . This provides them with tax advantages and further diversifies their income streams while allowing their money to work for them and grow over time. I personally invest in real estate because it’s a different form of investment for me (tangible), one that reduces my concentration risk in any one particular income stream. Similarly, buying and selling other income producing assets such as stocks and small businesses can also fulfill the same objectives for entrepreneurs. I slipped estate planning in my list as well because this is an area I am currently looking into in depth. As an entrepreneur starts to accumulate serious wealth over time, I feel that estate planning is an area of finance that needs to be considered immediately. It is never too early to have an estate plan. Finally, though I did not include in the brief list above, I believe that charity / philanthropy is an activity that can propel anyone’s career in entrepreneurship or otherwise. Charity or philanthropy is not only for those who are religious or spiritual. Rather it is for anyone and everyone who believes in the greater good for a much larger cause. This is obviously not a mandatory requirement for success, but I can tell you from personal experience that the more I have given away, the more has come back to me multiple times over in all aspects of my life. There has been much material covered in this post, and I understand that it can be overwhelming, particularly for someone who has not been exposed to it previously. But if you want to be financially successful, you must take time to learn and understand the basics of money and finance. And if you are an entrepreneur or an aspiring one, educating yourself on general topics in personal finance is critical to go hand in hand with your entrepreneurial success. This is the only way in my opinion to truly get ahead in life and beat everyone else who is running the rat race with and around you. My intention is certainly not to scare you, but rather to raise awareness. Balancing adequate knowledge of entrepreneurship and personal finance characteristics is mandatory if you want to succeed. Not everyone is born with these characteristics. I certainly was not, but they can definitely be developed over time. Prevent inevitable failure by preparing yourself appropriately. Start sowing today so you can reap the rewards tomorrow. Are you prepared? How are you diversifying your risk exposure? What are you doing to build, manage and protect your wealth? What would you like to add to the mix? Sunil Balancing Characteristics Get your bonus copy of my book “How To Start An Internet Business & Make Your First $1,000 Online” Download Here

Tagged as: government, income, life, online, opinion, small-business, taxes

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The Truth (And Myth) About Passive Income

by Paul Joseph March 24, 2011 Featured

There are few words in an online entrepreneur’s vocabulary that are more seductive than Passive Income . The term is widely used by multilevel marketers and savvy entrepreneurs across the web to close sales on eBooks and training programs for one simple reason: the vision (of sitting under a palm tree while your bank account effortlessly collects money) sells. Wikipedia describes passive income as “income received on a regular basis, with little effort required to maintain it.” But is passive income really that passive, or is effortless earning a myth hyped up by really good spin doctors? Learning the truth (and debunking the myths) of passive income has been a personal quest of mine since I started blogging in 2008. Over the years, I’ve watched so many friends and colleagues (including myself! ) set out with an entrepreneurial spirit only to experience frustration and demotivation when their passive plans yield no fruit. It’s time we set the record straight and get to the bottom of what passive income is really all about. Let’s examine the evidence together. A Crash Course In Passive Income I was first introduced to the idea of passive income by Tim Ferriss in his book The 4 Hour Workweek . Tim’s position is that a smart entrepreneur will build a business that requires the least amount of time and effort for the most possible profit (hence the title). He spends many pages of his book discussing business models that rely heavily on automation so you can pursue other interests while money gets deposited into your account. Sitting in my corporate cubicle reading the book on lunch breaks, this strategy sounded pretty fantastic, so I started doing my homework. When I Googled automated income, I was introduced to a host of new terms: affiliate sales , Adsense , eBook sales , and yes – passive income . I started reading about the success people like Yaro , Steve Pavlina , and Darren Rowse had making money – seemingly effortlessly – on their blogs through “passive income streams.” The possibilities started to dawn on me, and I realized that escaping the corporate grind to freelance alone was a recipe for chump change. If I really wanted to strike it rich, I needed to get on the passive income bandwagon. Fast forward two months: my blog is set up, my eBook is written and available for purchase, my Adsense modules are in place, and I have several ads on my sidebar for affiliate products. I’m netting $0.01 per day in ad views, had one eBook sale (thanks, Mom), and average less than three clicks a day on my affiliate ads. What gives? I set it all up…now isn’t the point of passive income that I just get to sit back and watch the dough roll in? Clearly I must have missed some nuance of this revenue strategy, so I re-examine the work of Yaro, Steve, and Darren for clues to their success. Seeing What We Want To See What shocked me when I revisited their sites was that they were perfectly clear about the work that they did – and had to continue to do – to cultivate their passive revenue channels. But I was too blinded by the possibility of retiring before age 25 to see beyond those two little words: passive income. To get to a point where “passive” income was flowing into their accounts, these online entrepreneurs had to build and maintain blogs, develop relationships with other bloggers, create and manage email lists, and grow their traffic over time. And that doesn’t even count the work they had to do fine tuning ad placements, revising and polishing sales page text, or writing and editing affiliate product reviews. I didn’t notice any of those pesky points the first time around when I ravenously consumed their informational posts on setting up passive income streams, and I certainly didn’t pay attention to the number one factor all of them pointed to: time . Growing a trustworthy online brand, developing report with your readers, and earning enough traffic to make passive income possible doesn’t happen overnight. The first time I read through their information, I interpreted their material as “ passive income is easy and effortless, all you have to do is set it and forget it .” When I revisited their material, I understood that their actual message is “ passive income is a great revenue source that is earned from persistent, ongoing cultivation .” As a stressed corporate worker hungering for freedom and the entrepreneur’s life, I saw what I wanted to see – that there was such a thing as free money, and in fact it was so easy to get I could justify quitting my job to get my fair share. Thank goodness my first passive income trial came before I took the big leap… But I’m not alone in my self-deception. The internet is full of websites developed by eager entrepreneurs who – like me – can’t see the forest for the trees when it comes to these effortless revenue streams. The result is hundreds, maybe thousands, of abandoned sites that never earn out. The Truth About Passive Income So what’s the truth about passive income – is there such a thing, or is passive income a myth that marketers tell to line their own pockets? From my own experience, I say there is such a thing, but it’s a nuanced thing . Over the years, I’ve developed several successful “passive income” channels that slowly built up and now earn hundreds of dollars a month for just a few tweaks here and there on my part (The CLEAN Program affiliate sales have done particularly well over the last few months). But these passive income triumphs required a significant up-front investment of time, effort, and tinkering on my part, and in many ways I see them more as delayed payment or ongoing dividends. I’m still learning and perfecting my passive strategies, and as my website and audience continues to grow so does the “passive” profit – who knows, a year or two with consistent and increasing earnings might make these streams truly feel passive. But today, I still feel conscious of the work required to develop them, and would tell any fledging entrepreneur that the simple truth of passive income is this: passive doesn’t mean effortless. Here’s to your Entrepreneur’s Journey, Nacie Get your bonus copy of my book “How To Start An Internet Business & Make Your First $1,000 Online” Download Here

Tagged as: book, corporate, entrepreneur, income, online, success

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What I Learned From Lee McIntyre’s Instant Internet Lifestyle Workshop

by Paul Joseph March 22, 2011 Featured

Ever since I started in Internet Marketing back in January of 2008, I’ve come across a ton of Internet Marketers who teach all kinds of topics relating to growing an online business. I’ve signed up for a bunch of mailing lists and have received all kinds of info from these guys, including a bunch of Spam. At a certain point, I decided to cut most internet marketers off. I unsubscribed from a bunch of mailing lists except for four. After receiving so much overwhelming info, I decided to stick with the ones that I’ve received the most value from. Lee McIntyre was one of those guys, and I just couldn’t let him go. Why? Let’s put it this way . . . I had ONE coaching call with him when I used to run an Internet Marketing Forum . I left that coaching call with actionable info that I was able to implement and increase my income by $1,000 that same week. Does that sound crazy? It still does to me! I’ll tell you more about it later. Who Is Lee McIntyre? One of the reasons I like Lee so much is because he used to be a High School teacher, just like me. However, at one point in his teaching career, he got fed up and decided to start an online business. In a rather short period of time, he was able to start and grow an online business to the tune of $7,230.95 in just 29 days . He’s used a combination of making information products, promoting affiliate products, blogging, outsourcing and a few other tactics to grow a strong online empire. What Is Instant Internet Lifestyle? Back in August of 2010, Lee McIntyre did a live 2-day workshop in Manchester, U.K. where he taught a room-full of internet Marketers how he went from a high school teacher to growing a massive online business – one that at the time was making him over $100,000 per month and currently makes over $200,000 per month . These marketers all paid $997 to attend this workshop, and from what I’ve seen, they’ve all raved about the value they received. Lee had a professional video crew at the program and had a series of videos made that gives access to that workshop. He initially planned on selling it for $1,997, but decided to basically give it away in order to get more people exposed to his content. The program consists of 10 hours of high quality training, where he gives a proven blueprint that anyone can follow to grow a solid online business. Here are some of the concepts taught in the program: How to build a list quickly How to get your list to trust you How to get your subscribers to beg you to sell them more stuff How to become a Super Affiliate How to automate your business How to create amazing products quickly How to get a lot of traffic by having others do the work for you How to get the big guys to stop ignoring your JV requests And Much more . . . Here’s a screenshot from inside the program that shows the modules that are provided in the program: As you can see, it covers a wide variety of topics that are crucial to having a thriving online business, starting with beginner concepts all the way to more advanced topics. In addition to all of that training info, he includes a number of bonuses that he doesn’t mention. Here are some screenshots of the bonuses: Ok, that sounds like a bunch of sales talk. Let me give you my personal experience with the program. When I found out about the program, I decided I needed to check it out. The price was very low (under $20), so I really didn’t have anything to loose. I spent the next 3 days going through the content and was so amazed at how much value I had gotten for the $20 that I had to call up one of my Internet Marketing buddies on the phone to share some of the things I learned. Since then, I’ve been using it as a reference. I go back to that training every so often to see what gold nugget I can take and implement in my business to help me take my business to the next level. When it comes to Internet Marketing, the first part of the equation (in my opinion) is learning . However, the second and more important part, is taking action . Instant Internet Lifestyle provides you with a solid model of how to build an online business, but it is the action that follows that allows you to really take it to the next level. Using Lee’s strategies, I’ve been able to have my name listed as a top affiliate for a few big name internet marketers, including Lee himself. In fact, by implementing the stuff he teaches, he has sent me more affiliate payments than any other internet marketer I’ve worked with. I feel like I’ve been equipped to be able to more effectively promote products of value from what I’ve learned. I first watched the training in October of last year, and I’m still working on implementing the things I’ve learned. The step that I’m focusing on at the moment has to do with developing my own info product, and the program has taught me A LOT of what needs to be done. What I Learned Create a Low-Priced, High-value Product The first step to having a strong online business the way Lee recommends is to create a low-priced, High-value product. This is done by finding a limited group of people with a problem. A problem for which they are looking for a solution. Once you have found that group, create a product that is the solution to that particular problem . This product has to be so specific that it caters to a small subset of the population, not everyone. By doing so, it is so targeted that the people who are interested are really interested and more likely to make a purchase. The purpose of this low-priced, high-value product is to over-deliver on your promise , so that you can show your customers that they can trust you to deliver high quality content. I like to say that by doing this, you become a trusted “expert friend”. Being in that position makes it very likely that they will buy from you in the future, or take your recommendations as to products/services that can help them accomplish their goals. Develop a Strong Backend Once you have a low-priced, High-value product, the next task is to develop a strong backend. This is done by making even higher-value products that you can sell to your customers after they have made this initial purchase. Since you’ve established that you are trustworthy, and that you deliver high value in the lower priced product, they are more likely to purchase what you have to offer at higher price points. Lee has done this by creating membership sites and other products that deliver high-value. Because these higher-priced products are targeting individuals who already bought the initial product, conversion rates are significantly higher than if you are marketing to individuals who have never bought from you. Have a Follow Up Sequence that Promotes the Strong Backend How do you get your customers to purchase your higher-priced products? By letting them know that they are available and how they can help them accomplish more of their goals. This can be easily done using an autoresponder service. However, the goal of your follow up sequence is not simply to sell products. It’s to nurture a growing relationship with your subscribers. Recruit Affiliates Effectively One of the big mistakes many people make when promoting their own products is that they try to do all of the marketing themselves. Yes, it’s important to promote your stuff. However, it’s much more effective to have many people promoting for you. This can be accomplished by recruiting affiliates. This is something that many people find challenging. With all the information products out there, how do you convince a potential affiliate to become an affiliate, especially if they have a big list and get many affiliate requests? You make them an offer they can’t refuse . In other words, offer them something of value beyond just a commission. For example, in addition to a 50% commission, you can offer to make a video for them that they can use on their blog to offer value to their subscribers. You can can offer to write a series of articles that are free to use on their blog. Or, you can offer a full series of training videos specifically for their subscribers. Everyone has a price, and if you offer enough value, you’d be surprised at who will promote your product. Make your Affiliates VERY Happy If you are going to rely on affiliates to continually drive traffic to your website, you need to continually strive to make them happy. Offer them great support. Treat them like kings and queens. Increase your conversions so that they can make more and more sales. Do whatever you can to let them know that you value everything they do to promote your products and they will be more likely to promote it for you. What I Don’t Like About Instant Internet Lifestyle I have yet to find a perfect Internet Marketing product. Even the most valuable ones I’ve been a part of has had some flaws, but that’s just the nature of the beast. Firstly, I’m not a fan of the name of the program – INSTANT Internet Lifestyle . It gives the impression that if you implement the stuff you learn, you will instantly get rich. The truth is – that is far from the truth for most people. Yes, some people have taken action on the content and have had some remarkable success in a short period of time, but that is far from the norm. Like any other valid strategies, it takes time and effort. Yes, it is hard work growing an online business. But I like that you can work hard now to work less later My other problem with the program is more a personal preference. Lee is big on upsells (part of the whole “strong backend” concept). This is quite common in internet marketing, but it’s something that I don’t like to see too much of. He has some other GREAT programs that he promotes along with it, but they can be quite intimidating – especially to new internet marketers. However, when I compare those two things with the value that you receive in this program, they really don’t measure up. If you only ever buy that one product from him, and implement what he teaches, you will be ahead of the game. So How Did Lee Help Me Make $1,000 In One Week? I’m glad you asked. At the time, I was running a large forum , but was struggling to monetize it effectively. Lee introduced me to the concept of having a continuity program with little to no effort . He showed me HOW I could implement that concept to add a paid feature to my forum that could generate me monthly income. He also showed me how to set it up in an easy, and relatively stress-free way so that my members would thank me for what I was doing. Well – to make a long story short, it worked, and that made me happy . It was a simple concept, but one that I lacked the clarity to see. Lee was able to help me to see beyond what was happening in my business at the time to what needed to be done. In Summary . . . Instant Internet Lifestyle is hands down one of the best Internet Marketing products I’ve found and THE most affordable. At a price point of under $20, there is virtually no risk involved. You get a lot of actionable content from someone who knows what he’s doing and knows how to teach. When you combine those two factors, you get a very powerful combination. In the event that you don’t like it, or didn’t get as much value as you’d like to get for your $20, you can request a refund within 30 days. I highly recommend for anyone interested in learning more about building an online business to get it. Even if you never purchase any of his other programs, it’s one of those investments that you won’t regret. Download The Instant Internet Lifestyle Workshop Here Instantly yours , Get your bonus copy of my book “How To Start An Internet Business & Make Your First $1,000 Online” Download Here

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