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If You Have No Money To Start Your Business...

by tpw
40 replies
If You Have No Money To Start Your Business...
Figure Out What You Are Willing To Sacrifice To Get It...


I often hear people say, "I don't have ANY money to invest in my online business..."

My gut instinct is to ask, "Why Not?"

You want people to spend money with you, but you are unwilling to spend money on your business?

If you aren't willing to put the crowbar into your wallet to find some money to build your business, how do you expect other people to put the crowbar into their wallets to spend money with you?

I am listening...

No Answer?!?

Isn't there anything in your life that you are willing to sacrifice to get what you want out of life?

When I started my online business, domain names cost $30 a year, and hosting was $15 month...

I did not take the leap until I could prepay one year, which I was able to do at a discount...

I spent about $200 to set up my online business...

And it was not easy...

Money was really tight, and we had a new baby on the way...

What did I give up to make sure I had the money to start MY online business?

I gave up lunch at work for a month, and I gave up a few trips to the diner for coffee in the evening...

I got back $150 by sacrificing lunch at work... And I gave up coffee for two weeks to get another $45... (coffee for two, and a tip)

When I had the money together, I prepaid my domain and hosting for one year...

After that, I poured sweat equity into the development of my business...

My sweat equity was free for the first year, but in my second year, I started making some good money... In fact, in my second year, my online income matched my offline income...

In the first year, I barely made enough money to cover my domain name registration and hosting, but I put every penny back into my business to buy me a second year in business...

In the second year, my investment of sweat equity started showing solid returns...

If you have NO MONEY to start your online business, WHY NOT?

Aren't you willing to make sacrifices to get what you want?

Aren't you willing to give up something to get something you want more?

If not, then maybe a business is not for you...

Maybe you are better to walk away from the thought of starting an online business...

Because obviously, you don't WANT IT enough!!

If you are like most people, you want the reward, but you are not sure you want to give what will be required of you to get what you want...

Why do you go to your job every day?

Of course, I know the answer...

You go to your job, because YOU WANT to pay your bills...

Look what you are willing to give up to pay your bills, and then ask yourself why you are not willing to give up something else to create a real business that has the potential to reward you better than your job...

Today is a much different world than it was when I started my online business...

You can typically get domain registration for $10-$15 year, and web hosting for $2-$5 per month...

Here are three web hosting companies and their web hosting plans to consider (I have no financial interest in any of these companies, and these are not affiliate links):

With these companies, you can get started for anywhere from $15 yr to $75 yr...

So it is much better for you now, than it was for me 11 years ago...

You have to sacrifice much less than I did to get started building a promising tomorrow for you and your family...

So what is holding YOU back?

I might know something you don't know...

I know why it is that you are hesitating to take a dive into a real online business....

It is FEAR -- the fear of failure, the fear of success, or even worse, the fear of the unknown...

When you take the dive into creating a real online business, your life may be forever changed...

You will be forced to step outside of your comfortable rut...

You will be forced to learn who you are capable of being, rather than simply living with who you are today...

That is scary...

Yes, diving into your online business with both feet forward is scary...

But if you are miserable now, with what your life isn't, how can the unknown be any worse?

It can't...

So bite the bullet, make whatever sacrifices you need to make to create a real business, and commit to making it successful...

You will never regret taking the decision that I am asking you to take today...

But if you do nothing, you may reach the end of your life and regret those things you did not attempt...

As a young man, I decided that I would forever live my life without regrets...

I regret nothing...

And I wish the same for you in your life...
#business #figure #money #start
  • Profile picture of the author Chris G
    Great post. I can see many people relating to this post. Also it is why so many people give up in IM or do not make any progress. They jump in and want to make money right away. They do not realize how much work is involved. This is a business and you have to treat it as so. You need to invest in yourself and your business to become successful.
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  • Profile picture of the author Adam Bauthues
    Excellent post.

    Should be required reading for all just starting out.

    Although I would not consider anything done to start-up a new business a "sacrifice." Sacrifice what? If I want it and the goal to which I am trying to reach means more to me than what I am giving up in the present...no sacrifice is needed.
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  • Profile picture of the author Tsnyder
    "I don't have enough money" is nothing more than
    an excuse to feel good about settling for what you
    have now... period.

    If I had to collect soda cans along the roadside or
    mow lawns to get the money to get started in my
    business that's what I'd do.

    People come up with of all kinds of reasons why something
    can't be done when all they really need is one reason why it
    can.

    Tsnyder
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    If you knew what I know you'd be doing what I do...
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    • Profile picture of the author Coby
      Originally Posted by Tsnyder View Post

      If I had to collect soda cans along the roadside or mow lawns to get the money to get started in my business that's what I'd do.
      These were two things I actually did myself.

      I also started with article marketing but linked to affiliate products instead of my own site or squeeze page. (b/c I had nothing of my 'own')

      Once I had some cash saved up I started building my own blogs and then eventually my own products.

      Baby steps. If this is really what you want to do you will find a way to make it happen.
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  • Profile picture of the author cashcow
    I think this is a great post because a lot of people have the mind set that they aren't going to spend any money and the won't spend any money.

    Personally, I don't see how you can expect to start or grow a business with no money. I know a few have done it but I just think that if you go into it realizing that you are going to have to spend some money and put in some sweat equity you will be much better positioned for success.

    Lee
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  • Profile picture of the author Kevin_Hutto
    The unfortunate fact is that most people are not cut out to be business owners. Most are much more comfortable as an employee. Thats why people are happy to give themselves an "out"... That way they dont feel like it was their fault that they didn't create what they SAY they want.
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  • Profile picture of the author TomBuck
    Awesome, I worked my GCSE summer off last summer to get together £400, some went on travel and food but I still had £300 left to start up my own business. I prefer to start with hubs but when I get £1000 in the bank I think I am going to buy some software, aweber, domain, hosting and get started big time, plus I am studying so not much time.
    Loved your points btw, I saw a great post on here the other day about how someone said their are two types of currency in internet marketing, 1.) Money (£$€) and 2.) Time.
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  • Profile picture of the author bigalan6622
    I beleive some places still are $30 a year for domains *cough cough register.com* LOL
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  • Profile picture of the author LovelyCornSyrup
    I really don't like the fallacy that you don't need money to start an online business. Because for everything you make or do yourself you're ratcheting up the level of risk, and if you don't have a budget you're likely to ignore any sort of budgeting in the future. Without keeping track of each individual website's debts and expenses in addition to how much it earns per day you're shooting blind.

    It takes around 1/4 of a year for dollar-a-day websites to profit, but that just seems to go out the window when people are looking for quick cash. Using that method if you want to earn forty-thousand a year at a minimum you need to put $8,000 down. That's pretty much a down payment on a house here in Milwaukee, so people really got to do the math before they jump into the free methods floating around.
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  • Profile picture of the author jigsneth
    This Is a nice inspiration for a starter like me.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alfred Shelver
    I came into this wide eyed knowing it would take money, time and hardwork. I wrote articles at $3 each and paid for everything I needed.

    I am making all my money offering services at the moment, but I am learning and growing and will be building a business that is self sustainable.

    Coming into this thinking it is easy money little effort is a disaster waiting to happen.
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  • Profile picture of the author Phillip T Garcia
    tpw, Hi, (Hi, all.)

    Thank you for taking the time to post. It's always good for people to try and help others. Currently, I am trying to learn how to sell my domain names, and every bit of advice helps.

    I have no problem with 'sacrificing'. I have been doing that my whole life (and I am old). Heck, over the last 1 1/2 year, I have spent only about $2.50 on fast food. No money wasted here. None to waste.

    Hopefully, information I obtain here will help me do things I never thought possible. So, people such as your self, who post advice and help, well, 'you people' may very well be waaay more important than you can ever really know!

    Thanks again (all),
    Sincerely,
    Phil
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  • Profile picture of the author sarahberra
    If you have nothing to spend on hosting, domains or anything then I highly recommend following Tiffany Dow's 52 week Lens building journey. I am actually doing this, but my goal is 100 lenses within a year. I've been busy working on 8 lenses this week, but I want to do some more tweaking before I publish these. It's actually fairly easy to create lenses and I am getting a few sales from the single lens I've created so far. I am also following IPK (info product killer) strategies with the new sets of lenses. Tiffany has free videos on youtube and she actually gives away a guide on her site. Just goggle her name. She is awesome! I can't say enough good things about her! I am going to continually up date my blog as I create more lenses. You can check out my blog here: My Detailed Plan About How I am going to build 100 Squidoo Lenses Within One Year - Natural Family Living

    Good luck. Creating squidoo lenses is the only FREE way that I would try right now.
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  • Profile picture of the author vstar00
    yeah, you need to spend SOME money to make it happen. Its not just going to go by its self
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  • Profile picture of the author stri8ed
    Terrific post. You are a talented writer.

    - stri8ed
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  • Profile picture of the author Paleochora
    If you start with little or no seed money at all to invest, its tough but you can still succeed.

    There are so many free tools out there now which can be used and are of a decent enough quality.

    Examples:

    Want to build a blogging business and a list? No problem. A free hosting account at Byethost has 50 databases and a Wordpress installer. You can use their domains and create keyword subdomains until you can afford a domain name. To build your list use listwire - an extremely well featured free autoresponder service.

    When you start turning a bit of profit, upgrade to paid hosting with Byethost and for about $35 a year you also get a .com domain name thrown in. They will export and install all of your site for you too.

    Want to create a squeeze page? Use Kompozer to make the page, Filezilla to upload it, Cam Studio or Windows Movie Maker & The Open Office equivalent of Powerpoint to make videos. Find a PLR MRR giveaway to draw in subscribers.

    All free.

    When you make the first couple of hundred, don't blow it on meals out or a nice pair of shoes. re-invest and build up your available funds. Soon your business gets easier as you can afford tools and outsourced labour to speed up your efforts and make more.
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  • Profile picture of the author jointaldc
    It's true, I applied those principles when I starting making my first dollar, of course I'd spend money stupidly here and there, but once I got into the habit of thinking before spending, I saved a lot of money that went to far more important things
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  • Profile picture of the author radar9628
    I get caught up in the 'too many shiny objects' syndrome....
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    • Profile picture of the author bizwithbrit
      I think this post is very important.. I don't understand how people think that you can start making money without investing money and time into it.. But the important follow up to doing that is to invest in the right things that will bring you success (watch out for the new shiny objects)
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  • Profile picture of the author leclaims
    The cost of a domain name or two and a shared hosting account is all that you have to cover in order to start things off, really. If you can scrape together even $50 to help you get started, you're well on your way to creating a successful online business.

    It's the "sticking with it" part that most have trouble with.
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  • Profile picture of the author bravado87
    Thank you for a very inspirational article. It is the type of message that I like to hear to keep me going

    Chris
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  • Profile picture of the author George Wright
    Hi Bill,

    Great Post.

    I'm all for spending money on IM too. Maybe for a different reason, however the end goal and even results are the same.

    I never really had a problem "starting for free" in fact that was the subject of some writings I did way back. "How to pull money out of thin air."

    What I did have a problem with is the scarcity mindset that develops when you try never to spend money and always look for the "free information, programs, etc."

    Deep down inside I felt, "Why should anyone spend money for my stuff if I'm stingy when it comes to spending money for other peoples stuff."

    Not that I got rich, but, the money did start coming in for other things besides my offline stuff when I started spending money for other peoples online products.

    It was no mystery or pay it forward or "secret" thing at all. I bought from people who in turn bought from me, I gave product reviews for products I bought and in turn my reviews went up with a link back to my stuff and even in the WSO forum, buying and posting in the threads I bought in caused others to see me and buy my WSOs.

    Again, good OP,

    George Wright
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  • Profile picture of the author Cameron Alex
    Great Post. i think many beginners get into IM thinking its a get rich quick scheme without putting in any work. WAKE UP PEOPLE. it's a business, IM just like everything else in life, you have to work at it. The same people who say "I don't have any money" yet they spend it on worthless things like the new car they can't afford or no food in the house but they have a cell phone and xbox at home. Crazy. People have to get their priorities straight.
    the thing most people sacrifice in this business is........time. especially in the beginning.
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    • Profile picture of the author tpw
      Originally Posted by Cameron Alex View Post

      Great Post. i think many beginners get into IM thinking its a get rich quick scheme without putting in any work. WAKE UP PEOPLE. it's a business, IM just like everything else in life, you have to work at it. The same people who say "I don't have any money" yet they spend it on worthless things like the new car they can't afford or no food in the house but they have a cell phone and xbox at home. Crazy. People have to get their priorities straight.
      the thing most people sacrifice in this business is........time. especially in the beginning.

      We know a guy here in town...

      We went out of our way to help him when his wife passed away... But more than a year later, we and his family have been forced to resort to "tough love"...

      When his wife passed away, one of his other "friends" went to pay respects... On leaving the house, she contacted DHS to say the kids were in a dangerous environment, because his house was a mess...

      So one day after the death of his wife, instead of mourning her loss, he found himself facing the additional loss of his twin boys...

      It really was a bad situation made worse, by his "friend"...

      My wife and I took in his twin 2yo boys, for a period of two weeks, while he cleaned his house and to get approval from DHS for his kids to come home...

      I watched the boys, while my wife went to his house to clean with some other friends...

      Once the house was cleaned, DHS took their time arranging approval for the boys to return home...

      The morning that the DHS officer went to his house to notify him that they would be returning his kids, but that he would be under supervision... He did not wake up to answer the door...

      DHS decided at that point that they would put the kids into long-term care, because they were unsure that he was capable of taking care of them as was needed...

      My wife and I went through a 4-week process trying to get approval from DHS to foster his kids...

      We passed every check, but in the end, DHS sided against us, because they said they were afraid that we would allow him contact without their approval...

      So DHS put his kids in foster with another woman...

      He needed to get a job and get his life straight so that he could get his kids back home with him...

      He moved out of his hometown and came to the town where we live, and he got an apartment... We helped him move his possessions down here to his apartment...

      Next, he got a job that we arranged for him... Two weeks later, he quit his job...

      Then he came to us to help him with rent money... We helped him sell some of his possessions to make rent...

      When the next month came around, he came back to us for rent money...

      Another friend of ours needed a roommate, so we moved his possessions to our house and stored everything in the shed for him... And we arranged him to move in with our other friend who needed the roommate...

      We allowed for him to come to our house to get online so he could send in applications...

      Honestly, he was at our house almost every day for the next 4 months, "applying for jobs online", yet every time I walked passed the desk he was working at, he was always on Facebook...

      You see where I am going now... This is about Priorities...

      When his new roommate got tired of him and moved out, leaving him alone in the house, he started shopping for a new place to live...

      He wanted to come live with us... But I would not allow it... We already have 5 people in a three-bedroom house, and making room for his kids was going to be tough... But his kids are little people who need adults to look after them...

      His sister and brother-in-law moved down to our town, so he talked to them, and they allowed him to move in...

      He continued to come to our house during the day to "apply for jobs online", until he toasted my wife's computer...

      It is fascinating how you can get viruses on job application websites...

      He was not getting access to my computers, so I told him where to find the library...

      Eventually, he talked his sister into getting internet access... Unfortunately, since they live in the country, they only got limited bandwidth...

      Every day, she would come home from work, and there was no Internet access left, since her brother had exhausted their available bandwidth for the day, "looking for a job"...

      But it was not over for me...

      About once a week, he would show up at my house with some realistic excuse as to why he needed gas money...

      He was getting about $20 a week from me for gas...

      Oh yeah, his kids...

      That was often his excuse... He had visitation with the kids, court dates, etc.

      While living with his sister, he lost all rights to his children... They told him they were not going to give him custody again... And he agreed to sign away all of his parental rights...

      After 7 months, his sister got tired of supporting him, so she moved out of the house and left him in it...

      He stayed right up until the lights got turned off...

      Then he started the search for a new place to live...

      He knew better than to call me, so he called my wife... She said no... Eventually he broke down and called me... I told him no...

      We arranged to get him into a homeless shelter...

      Now remember... At this point, his wife had been dead for more than a year... He was at his matrimonial home for another 6 weeks after her death... He was in the apartment for 2 months... He was 4 months at our friend's house... And he was at his sisters' house for 7 months while she was there, and another month after she left...

      It had been nearly 17 months since his wife passed away, at this point... He had only been employed for two weeks... And he quit that job, because the work was TOO HARD...

      So, we helped get him into the homeless shelter... Now at the shelter, they help you get a job, and they give you 60 days of shelter, after you start your job...

      They had him in a job within one week... An employer who is one of the better employers in town, who pays $8 to start and moves you to $12 an hour after 90 days, then move you to $18 an hour after your first year... For the unskilled, it is the perfect job...

      Want to guess how that job went? LOL

      Got his first paycheck, went and bought a cell phone, then quit his job... BECAUSE they were going to move him to 6 - 12's the following week!!!!

      Yes, a cell phone must be far more important than a place to live!!

      So he quit his job, and when his 60-days at the homeless shelter ran out, what did he do?

      He called his sister... She said no... He called his dad... He said no... He called my wife... She said no... So he called me, and I told him Hell No!!!

      He has been living in the city park for the last 3 weeks...

      He got a job interview and wanted a shower before hand...

      He called my wife for permission to take a shower at my house... She said no...

      So he came to my house while she was gone... I told him no... Then I told him where the public showers were located in town...

      Within days, I was getting phone calls from people I did not know telling me what an a55hole I am!!!

      LOL

      After one lady called five of my other friends to make sure everyone knew what an a55hole I was... My wife called her and asked her why he was not living at her house... Silence filled the air on the phone... My wife told her, "I thought so..." and hung up...

      People simply do not appreciate the things that you are willing to do for them, and they are not able to do for themselves, because their priorities are all wrong!!!
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  • Profile picture of the author Rien
    Originally Posted by tpw View Post

    When I started my online business, domain names cost $30 a year, and hosting was $15 month...
    I remember paying $89 for my first domain. The $7 domain fees now feel like
    a steal compared to that first one.

    I believe if you are truly ready and determined to start your online business, that
    you will make the necessary sacrifices.
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  • Profile picture of the author Wayne-JJ
    Great post! Unfortunately many fail because they are not committed and not wanting it bad enough.

    Fear is human nature, but when you think about it, what could possible happen if you fail and don't make a dime online? Well, that's just a few bucks for your site, hosting and stuffs. What you get in exchange is the experience, what failed you, and how not to repeat the same mistakes again.

    Change, rinse and repeat. Success will come!

    Oh I forgot, persistence!!!

    Wayne
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  • Profile picture of the author camouflage
    hey tpw, i agree with you. no matter what u do in this world, u need some amount of cash to invest. its the law of nature, no one can get out of it. i tried to use all the free methods available, bt didnt really worked. ofcourse, there are some free stuffs like ebooks and articles you can use for guidance. But you still need to fork out some cash for the domain and hostings. i got my first income after purchasing a domain name and hosting. great post... !!
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  • Profile picture of the author pethanks
    Well, thank you for encouraging all of us. Doing business is really great.
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  • Profile picture of the author SGdarling
    thank you for the post. It is great. You need to have at least some start-up capital to build your business online. You can invest at least few dollars a month on hosting and domain and do the rest by yourseft. I also started from minimum and afterwords invested my earnings to grow. this is the best strategy for those who don't have much to invest or just don't want to risk much of your money
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  • Profile picture of the author :Elective-
    This is inspiring. I shall forgo my lunches for a couple on domains now lol
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  • Profile picture of the author Randy Daugherty
    It's good to note that I am fortunate to came across this post..Much thanks for the share...
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  • Profile picture of the author Ronak Shah
    Many people really have no money and they are broke. I spent all the money on buying market samurai, SEO Link Dominator, renewing my domain names and still my hosting expires in March 2011 which has to be renewed.

    I am left with no money. So how will I generate money?

    I am going to do bum marketing and cover that up.

    Ronak.
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  • Profile picture of the author brendawyles
    Thanks tpw. I find this post more personalized and inspirational. As one of the many who's been into home based business, I will also encourage those who have not yet seen the benefit of making money online that NOW is the right time to start working on it.

    Before, I myself is scared to take the risk too. But we must be moving forward and not backward.
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    • Profile picture of the author sanssecret
      It's funny but folks who have no money to invest in building a business always seem to have money to pay for the latest bright, shiny objects that promise to make them rich. :rolleyes:

      You're right about the 'priorities'. But just make sure you get them right. Taking care of family and keeping a roof over their heads is first. I see way too many people saying they can't afford to pay the rent cos they spent their last money on the latest 'must have' piece of software or training. Then they let it sit on their hard drive doing nothing while they spend the money they have for food on another 'must have' object. Sheesh.

      Good op Bill.
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  • Profile picture of the author peter.max
    First of all, thanks. And yes, I pressed the button at the top as well. (Lesson for newbies, don't say thanks, press the button under the post)

    I've been self employed for 18 years and have started 4 major businesses and many side ventures. Every single time I had to raise capital. Offilne business cost money to start. Online is no different. You need to plan for start up capital. That will determine your starting point. Even if it is just $100. You can't expect to make thousands per month and not invest blood, sweat, tears and cold hard cash.

    Sobering thought.
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  • Profile picture of the author Dap
    Excellent post.
    thanks for the share...
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    • Profile picture of the author vok
      This market place is extremely competitive and you'll get walked all over if you haven't got cash to spend like the big guys, they already price us out in terms of PPC and Media Buying. There's a hell of a lot of people who come into this market place through one door and leave through the next before their feet even touch the ground.
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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    I remember when I started. Single mother with 4 children to feed. Every penny I made was needed to keep food, clothing and shelter intact.

    I took a risk and used just a bit of household money for hosting and a couple of domains. That was all that I could squeeze out of the budget.

    Since I couldn't afford ebooks to help me learn, I used forums and read everything and then read it again and made friends with some very successful people and got ideas and help. It was a humble start, but it was a start and 11 years since, I've made a full time living online.

    Whether or not to spend money on a business isn't always a choice. It would be very difficult to do it if you can't even afford the hosting and domains, but I've seen people put their all into Squidoo, Hubpages, article marketing, etc. and be successful.

    There's always offering services, especially in the beginning to get some cash flow going that you can then reinvest into your business. That's what I did and that turned out to be a thriving business all by itself for quite a few years.
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  • Profile picture of the author paulie888
    It all boils down to how serious you really are about starting an IM business (notice I said business, this is not a part-time hobby). I regularly see people start threads here about how to use free hosting and how to avoid having to buy domain names, etc. In the majority of cases I really doubt that they were so low on money that the purchase of a $10 domain or monthly hosting would have left them homeless or in similar dire circumstances.

    It's more about what you prioritize in life. I see people in here proclaiming that they'll do anything to be successful in IM, and yet I see them talking about wanting to spend discretionary money on fancy dinners, entertainment, clothes, etc. and wanting to go party and have fun with their friends on the weekend.

    They're only paying lip service to the notion of being successful in IM. If you're truly serious, you'll cut out all the unnecessary fluff and leisure time and dedicate all you possibly can to becoming a success in IM.

    Just as Bill has mentioned above, you'll cut out unnecessary things like eating out, movies, entertainment, etc. When I was starting out in IM, money wasn't all that tight BUT I sacrificed in a similar manner to Bill so that I could put just about every available dollar into courses and paid advertising to hit the ground running as quickly as possible.

    My colleagues and friends thought I was crazy back then for being so frugal with my food and expenses despite having a good paying job, but I'm having the last laugh now, having been blissfully satisfied and happy working full-time at IM for slightly over 3 years now.

    Paul
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  • Profile picture of the author IM Outsider
    Truth hurts but boy it makes sense. I sat on the fence for such a long time and made excuses aplenty before I got my butt in gear. Wish I had seen your wake up call then. Anybody out there stalling take this mans advice, take action NOW.
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