The Truth About Making Money Online

Does your “shady” radar go off when you see the subject, “How to make money online?”
It doesn’t?! Well, You’re a much better person than me.

I used to be a full-blown skeptic when it came to online business. I know that seems crazy, especially since I’ve been in the online business world for over 5 years, but I had heard a lot of shady stories, which honestly put my radar up.

I started out in the online world as an everyday lifestyle blogger. Offline, I’d been crushing it in global sales roles for a full decade – and to be honest, I was earning a six-figure income – so ditching my day job wasn’t really something at the forefront of my mind. I liked my job, and I blogged for fun – sharing my beauty tips and business knowledge simply because I liked helping people.

After about 3 years of living my purpose part-time, I started regularly attending blogger events in the DC metro area. Through those events, I built up a network of online and work-at-home business colleagues.

As I got more deeply involved in the online business community, I learned that many of the bloggers and online entrepreneurs I admired were popular, but not always profitable. Actually…MOST of the bloggers I met weren’t monetized…

I was floored. Coming from a corporate sales background, the popular people in my office were also the top sales people. I had erroneously assumed that this would apply to online business.

Surely, everyone knew the foundations of business, right? They were obviously charging for their services- weren’t they? Or are people actually ‘doing free?’ (gasp!)

Casual conversations about monetization with my newfound colleagues turned into full on consultations. I started teaching my friends how to monetize their online business by sharing sales techniques I’d learned from my corporate experience.

Five to Seven days after chatting with these colleagues, they’d circle back with me and share success stories. Pitches won, brand partnerships crushed, 4 figure launches turned into 5 figure launches, and checks delivered…people were getting PAID.

It was exhilarating! And that was my turning point. I found the nexus – the point where my passion and purpose intersect. Teaching sales and income strategies is what I love! And to do that while helping my friends and getting paid? I’m in heaven.

Once I had this revelation, the ‘Monetize Thyself’ movement was born.

I also had a second revelation, though

I learned that many of my colleagues believed in silver bullets. They were on the hunt for the secret method- the one technique that would flip the switch. Each month buying a new program from online marketing gurus certain that it was THE game changer program. But then 90 days later…nothing. No traction.
“It’s not working.”, they’d said. “My results are nowhere near what was promised…I was so excited, but everything in the webinar is so high level I feel like I don’t even know where to start.”

Sound familiar?

As I continued consulting my colleagues it became clear to me that there are two reasons why people fail to make money online:

#1 – Poor mentorship
#2 – Work Ethic.

Poor Mentorship
Unfortunately there are a lot of marketers online that teach you how to make money, but the truth is they don’t know how to make money themselves. They don’t have receipts. They’re making money by CONVINCING others they know how to make money. They aren’t discussing systems, tools, strategies or troubleshooting. They’re simply selling ideas and dreams – not a concrete plan.

Rich Friend, going forward before you plug into any online resource please- do your due diligence. Do they have receipts (testimonies, case studies)? Do they have a physical address? Are they on LinkedIn? Do you know someone that knows them? You get the idea.

Sadly, some people aren’t who they claim to be. The good news I can tell you with confidence there are far more good people online ready to help you than scam artists, but the scam artists do exist.

Work Ethic
There is no such thing as a quick and easy way to make money. If it’s quick it won’t be easy. If it’s easy it won’t be quick. Searching for fast money is going to have you coming up empty time and time again. The only way to get rich online or in life is to Do. The. Work.

Often times when we read a book or take an online course and feel it’s a bust the truth is we’re just overwhelmed. We compartmentalize the information and categorize it as too complicated.
It is not too complicated! You have to be honest with yourself and ask – is it the product or me?

When you do the work, you’re going to get traction. You’ll learn what works and what doesn’t work. From there you’ll be able to correct your approach and try again. As you continue refining and learning from your mistakes, you’re going to find yourself on the road to success.

For some people they see results right away, for others it will take practice and the results will come more gradually. That’s why it’s important to run your own race. Celebrate any forward momentum you achieve and stay the course. Success WILL come.

It’s so important to be aware that you can’t fake doing the work. Because in the end you’re only shortchanging yourself.

Rich Friends, you’ve got two options. If you want to make money online you can either keep looking for shortcuts to the goal line, or you can do the work and put that same energy into building the business of your dreams.

The truth about making money online?

It all depends on you.