"Join our program and retire in 3 months..." yeah, right. We all want to get to a place where we have ongoing, hands-off income that continues without us having to work for it. These ads play into that desire by offering us the promise of "easy continuing income." The reality is often far from the sales pitch. The first step in developing an ongoing, residual income is to dispel some of the myths surrounding the sales hype. Here are some of the most common myths about creating a residual, ongoing online income: Myth One: Put up a Website and Sit Back and Collect the Checks. Those of us who have run Internet businesses for a while can tell you: Making a good living on the Internet requires marketing, customer service and order fulfillment. Either you have to do it yourself or you need to hire someone to do it. Either way, having a website and selling your own products is often far from the "laying around on the beach while collecting your checks" image. Myth Two: MLM/Networking Income is Residual Income. Almost always a part of the sales pitch in networking is "creating residual income." While that is *possible* with MLM, it is very difficult to maintain. Here's why... MLM income is built on three basic factors: new purchases by retail customers, the recruiting of new *wholesale* customers and the ongoing purchases by both groups. In order to have an ongoing "residual" income, you need to recruit, train and motivate a sufficient number of *leaders* who will then continue the process in growing numbers. This is rarely the case. Instead, top leaders have found it is easier to build a large list of MLM "junkies" who they then take into one program after another. If you stopped joining new programs, your income would also dwindle within a few months. Myth Three: Just Build Your Business and Hire People to Run It for You. This does work, but it is often more of a nightmare than a dream. At various times I have had anywhere from 0 to 15 employees. I have had many friends and clients with much numbers up to 1,000 employees. We all have the same opinion: Unless you have enough employees and profits to hire top quality managers, employees are a constant headache. If you DO build a big enough, profitable enough, business and if you have the right personality, then building your business and hiring people to run it is a great idea. Myth Four: Developing A Residual Income is Easy. I don't want you to fall for this one, either. Developing a residual income will take some perseverance. The steps to getting it done are not difficult, but it requires one thing many people will not put in--consistency. If a person does the right things, day after day, they will create an ongoing, growing income. If they try today, then one day next week, then one day a month later, they are unlikely to ever get there. Developing a residual, on-going, hands-free income is worth the effort. Avoid trusting in these four fantasies, get ready to work and you can have a supplemental income in no time at all. Keep it up long enough and you can eventually retire. |
