THE HOME BUSINESS: THERE IS NO ESCAPE – THE OLD RULES STILL APPLY

THE HOME BUSINESS: THERE IS NO ESCAPE – THE OLD RULES STILL APPLY

Recently I wrote an article calling upon those who are considering the home business option to take an honest inventory of their own character, personality traits, and work life preferences before making this commitment. In that piece, I deliberately side-stepped a delicate issue, and it is this: home business offerings often appeal to lazy people!

That's right. I just said what almost every successful home business veteran knows. Sadly, many of these internet-based "pitches" are designed to appeal to this "lotto" mentality of getting something for nothing; or at least receiving, "quite a lot for very little."

The highly successful are the ones who display the same traits of independence, capacity for risk, personal initiative, discipline, competitive drive, tenacity, and desire for freedom that earmark the best entrepreneurs in any business.

On the other hand, there are many who delude themselves with the false expectations that the computer is a magical tool, where one needs only to make the down payment and then plug into someone's "totally automated marketing system" while he or she relaxes by the poolside. One such program even proclaims, "People fail; systems don't!" This very same group is actually one of the hottest offerings in internet marketing today!

To be fair, I will concede that one isn't always drawn to these sales pitches out of slothfulness alone. Quite often, it is a matter of pure ignorance of anything pertaining to internet marketing. After all, even the most industrious among us wants more for less. Well, I fell for it; and anyone who knows me personally would never apply the "lazy" tag.

Regardless of motive, there is no escaping it. The same old rules apply - and there is simply no cash-generating magic formula which can be generated by "plug and play" marketing schemes. Yes, one can attain a modicum of success in these, (affiliate links can also produce some sales.) but one's ultimate high-end success will generally be at the mercy of the "system", as well as other variables such as product life cycles.

The only way to attain enduring "big ticket" success on the internet, and be independent of individual product offerings and sponsors, is THE METHODICAL BUILDING OF A PERSONAL BRAND. Those who have built a widely successful personal brand know that they can plug into any enterprise and contribute quickly.

Does anyone now reading this article believe that building a brand, by rising above the throng and the clatter of millions of other internet players, is easy? Ask people like Ann Sieg, Mike Dillard, or Frank Kern. These highly successful internet marketers have paid the price.

Mr. Dillard is a good example. He has become a major force in the practice of attraction marketing and personal branding, but it did not happen overnight. A few short years ago, he was waiting tables in Austin, Texas, restaurants while reading everything he could find concerning ad copy, effective videos, search engines, and all of the components of building his brand. Once he was ready to launch, he was totally immersed. Today he has achieved "guru" status while earning "seven figures". The renowned Ms. Sieg endured year after year of bruising experiences within several "large plug-and-play marketing machine" business offerings before she saw the light and began to both apply and espouse the principles of attraction marketing.

Not everyone will become the next Ann Sieg or Mike Dillard, and that is OK. However, one thing is for sure: NO ONE who sees the computer as a replacement for good old-fashioned commitment and hard work will ever be anywhere close to Mr. Dillard's level of success. A more likely scenario is failure.

The computer really is a miraculous tool, providing unheard-of leverage and convenience. Some day, all of us in the home business world expect to achieve great independence; and yes, make more by doing less. That is a far different proposition than the "dream world" harbored by many, and perpetuated by and exploited by many on-line sales pitches, that one need only to "make a few brilliant clicks of the mouse" to build a personal fortune.