Treacherous Territory

The search for an online business strategy that works involves patience, hard work, and a good deal of wisdom.  Failure to exercise any of these qualities could make you easy prey for scam artists.  In addition to outright scams, there are, in my opinion, online offers that are just to suspicious to warrant consideration.

Before launching into a business deal of any sort, it's always good to do your homework.   This usually isn't very hard.   Many times, if you just Google a company name, you can get a good idea of whether or not they are legitimate.  Any negative information at all warrants hesitation of any business relationship.  The business could have an actual business model that is capable of generating income.  However, maybe there are details of the business dynamic that present barriers for earning that income.  For example, imagine that  you see an offer to sell products for a company as an independent contractor.  Suppose that you pay $40 a year for a membership fee.  You receive a catalog and a price list of suggested selling prices.  Say, you even gather a number of customers.  If the quality of the product is so bad that your customers are demanding their money back, you just wasted money.

There are also several types of business opportunities that are way to risky for me to consider.  The first type is the one that makes me pay some kind of startup fee.  Once that business has that startup fee, they have your money.  The fee may be $60 dollars; it may be $200 to get started.   The bottom line is that there is no incentive for this business to uphold their part of the bargain, once you pay them.  I'm much more of a 'when I get paid you get paid' kind of guy.  The second type of business opportunity that I avoid is the one that promises that I'll be rich, or that I'll make money easily.  I've come to the conclusion that earning legitimate income is a challenge, and that it always costs something from you - time, effort, dare I say hard work, and energy.  I have difficulty believing that I'm going to earn $25.00 for each email for which I press the Send button, or that  I am going to get rich simply by following some kind of 'tried and tested' plan.  I do believe that there are legitimate online opportunities out there.   However, I think that finding these requires digging a little deeper below the surface.   You'll recognize these by using good old-fashioned common sense.  Does it sound like the business model would work?  Would people actually pay for that kind of service?  Also, don't sign up for a business offer that you know nothing about.   Some people will tell you how easy that it is to make trades or investments.  I'm sorry, but as a novice in this area, I prefer not to lose my shirt as part of some elaborate learning process.  I neither have that kind of time nor that kind of money.  Lastly, if the offer lacks professionalism, I would stay away from it also.  I'm sorry, but if a business offer lists an email address of  Susie@email.com with no details of the business offer, no request for a resume, and simply contains a 'come work with us' message, then I am not going to take it seriously. I would rather err on the side of caution than to find myself in debt, due to a bad business decision on my part.

- D. Larone

Lulu and the Like...

So, you like writing, eh?  Me too.  As a matter of fact, that is one reason that I started this blog.  It is also a reason why I think that sites like Lulu.com are a great choice for those who want to self-publish.  As I recall, there was no startup cost, and the process for uploading a manuscript was, for the most part, simple and user-friendly.

Now to the burning question.  Is self-publishing on a site such as Lulu.com a good way to make money online?  The simple answer is that it depends.  You could write a very interesting book that is truly a masterpiece.  By promoting it on social media sites, to friends, by word of mouth, and through other means, others could reach the same conclusion.  If that is the case, sales of your book could soar, and instantly you would be the recipient of a very welcome windfall.  I believe that I've heard of at least one case where this has happened.  Likely, there are a relatively few number of cases just like the one I have described.  I would guess that for the vast majority of us a lot of hard work would go into marketing a self-published book.  For example, I am still trying to promote a book now that I self-published at the end of 2010.  By the way my book is called Drew's Rules: A Guide to Customer Service  and it can be purchased online at http://www.lulu.com/shop/daryl-drew/drews-rules-a-guide-to-customer-service/ebook/product-21013753.html.  You can also Google it on Amazon an EBay.

I have sold some copies of my book.   However, let me just say that I'm not planning to retire early from my day job just yet.   Sales will not necessarily come easy, and lots of work will go into marketing your self-published book.  This will be especially true if you are a new writer.  Also, although friends and family will almost undoubtedly support you, you may be surprised how many people don't rush out to purchase your new book.  However, there are many online resources on how to market your self-published book.  I learn something new every time that I read one of these. 

The best advice that I've heard is to keep writing.  I'm taking that advice with enthusiasm.  I really enjoy writing, and I believe that eventually I'll produce a literary work that will gain some popularity.  One day, Writing may even supplement my income or be the dominant source of my income.  I'm hopeful.

Unfortunately, self-publishing is not a quick fix for a person that needs extra cash in the hear-and-now.  If that is why you want to self-publish, I would advise doing something else.  Writing takes a great deal of patience.  Realizing significant income from writing will likely take any more patience.  However, if you like to write with the possibility of earning income down the line, by all means self-publishing is a good idea!

-Worker B

Designing Web Sites

This can be a lucrative undertaking for those who have the desire and expertise.  I've built a Web site for a client before, and I can verify that there is money to be made in this area.  However, this online business is not for he faint of heart, and there are some things that it is helpful to know, before courting prospective clients.

Web sites used to be rather different animals than they are today.  It used to be the case that if you whipped together the right HTML tags, and inserted the right JAVA script code in the right places in your *htm files, you could product a decent site.  However, Web sites are far more sophisticated now.  Chances are that you are not going to produce a site that looks professional with HTML code alone.  No, in order to stand out and attract attention to your clientele, you need sophisticated tools. 

At minimum, you would need access to a Web site creation application like Web Page Maker.  I am not suggested that this is the best tool to use, it is just one that I used to make one of my own Web sites.   I was pleased with the ease of use, and it was adequate for my needs at the time.  The look and feel of the site that I designed was definitely to my liking.

The problem with the applications that I just mentioned (from a money-making standpoint) are that they are so user friendly that your services may not be needed.  The sites that people used to slave away for hours to produce, can now be created within a matter of clicks.  Gone are the days when people had to type in that mysterious code to crank out basic Web pages.

Now, if you really want to build a serious business doing this, you must have access some sophisticated applications, which are capable of producing award-winning quality.  To my knowledge, the Adobe products are among the best.  I am not familiar with Corel's products, although I would advise looking into them.  Dreamweaver still appears to have a loyal following.  I think that someone once mentioned that Microsoft's follow-up to FrontPage was a good product. 

You will want to do your homework in determining which Web site creation software that you choose to use.  The ones that I just mentioned are not equal necessarily in quality or in price. 

Another thing that you will want to keep in mind is that Web sites are a marketing tool.  So, when you design them, you will want to be imaginative and make them look attractive to your audience.  People sometimes associate Web design with programmers and techs.  How about this?  The best looking Web sites that I've seen were designed by Marketing groups - armed with the right software applications!   Yes, it is great to know back-end programming that produces really nice functionality.  However, these days you can download a plug-in that provides that functionality for you.

The bottom line is that as long as the Internet continues to enjoy that popularity that it does today, there will be a demand for people with savvy Web design skills.  If you have the skill, the software, and if you market to the right clientele, you should have no problem doing well in this business.

-Worker B

Best Online Money-Making Ideas, So Far

I haven't tried every Online money-making idea out there.  Truth be told, I've only skimmed the surface.  I admit that I've tried some ideas and enjoyed some success or partial success.  In other cases, I've enjoyed very little success - so far - at all. 

However, I'm optimistic, and I hope that you are too.  In my mind the sky's the limit, in terms of executing a good online business idea.  I think that good ideas are key and that commitment is key.  If we have these ingredients and mix in a little hard work, something good is bound to happen. 

One of the best money-making Web sites that I've seen to date is listed below.  It is a repository of online business ideas and helpful tips.    Please see the link below:

http://www.101waystomakemoney.com/.

I wish you the best in your endeavor...

Specialty Merchandise Corporation

The link below is a video of one view of Specialty Merchandise Corporation (or SMC).  I didn't use SMC enough to tell you that I agree wholeheartedly with everything that Jason Ryan is saying.     However, what he is saying seems to be a reasonable assessment.  Look at the video below, and continue to do your homework.  After you do that, draw your own conclusion!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHXny9_p5zI&feature=player_detailpage

Selling Wholesaling

My last experience with Wholesaling was 10 years ago.  So, forgive me for speaking on old data.  Though my success  - at the time - was mixed, I found it to be a reasonable way to make money using the Web.  I, of course, cannot speak for every wholesaler.  Like anything else,some are better than others.  Also, the wholesaler that I dealt with at the time may be better or worse now than when I first used them.

The process of wholesaling was very easy to get into and very convenient.  I signed up for a yearly membership, say $50.  This gave me access to the wholesaler's website, and gave me the rights to order any of their merchandise.  I bought the merchandise at a cost, and then sold it for a marginal amount higher than my cost.  Of course the difference in the prices was my revenue.  Once the merchandise was purchased, the wholesaler drop-shipped the item to the address to which I specified.  To my knowledge, the process worked.  I say 'to my knowledge' because I don't recall drop-shipping directly to anyone.  I did f fundraiser, and ordered for some friends/family, and that was the extent of which I did.  However, I DID MAKE MONEY. Unfortunately, I can neither confirm or deny whether or not the drop-shipping was as seamless as it appeared.

The only area of disappointment that I had was with a few items that I purchased.  I noticed that any products that consisted of glass and defects.  Specifically, the glass itself had little bubbles in it, indicating problems during the manufacturing process.  All of the other merchandise that I ordered was as marketed.

It is important for me to again emphasize that this was my experience.  Had I done more business with this wholesaler, I may have noticed more problems and more deficiencies in the products.  I might add that there are always a range of experiences, when dealing with the same wholesaler.  Some people appear to always do well at these kind of endeavors.  Others will always complain that things are not what they expected.  The main thing is to tread carefully and do thorough homework (Google will help with this..) before signing up for anything!  Oh.... and watch out for pyramid schemes.  Those are scams in which you can only make any real money by convincing others to join something.

Worker-B

My Survey on Surveys

Are you looking for some extra ways to make money using the Internet?  So am I.  However, I've also taken up the moral cause of testing some of the money-making strategies that I've heard about on the Web.  Okay, it's not just a moral cause.  I'd also like to have some fun with this, as well as make a little money as well.

All jokes aside, I've recently looked into the feasibility of earning income by way of filling out online surveys.  I have to be honest.  I approached this undertaking with an open mind.  However, after a couple of days, I began to draw my own conclusion about this money-strategy that you may or may not agree with.

Let me first start with what did not impress me.  These are reasons that I would advise against surveys, if someone asked.

1. Too much information...about everything.  When you first go to these survey sights, you are prompted to fill out some questions about yourself.  After all, survey companies want to know something about you, so that they know whether or not you are a good candidate for certain surveys.   After all, why send a survey about cat food to someone who isn't even an animal lover.   So, I get it.  Nonetheless, I have to admit that I was a little squeamish about giving out information about household income and other things that were deeply personal.  You may claim that there is still some anonymity, in spite of these questions. My rebuttal is that it is not just one peace of information that disturbed me.  It's when you supply so much information that you begin to draw a picture of someones identity.  After the questions,  a company knows that John Doe lives in Boston Massachusetts.  Although, he is divorced, he lives with another person as if he were in a marriage relationship.  By the way, three others live in the household, which probably indicates some kind of blended family setting.  John's income is 6-figures, but he lives in a zip code that indicates that he is very modest.  Oh... John opted to receive surveys as text messages on his phone, so we have his phone number.  Since we have his phone number, we can find exactly where John lives - although I think that he filled out a field about that on his preliminary survey form.  Some may say that I'm overreacting.  I'm not the most private person, but this is just to much information for me to have floating out there in cyberspace.
2. Where's the cash?  I went out of my way to watch the short webinar on how to make money doing these online surveys.  The guy on the webinar indicated that he was able to make $1000 a month doing these surveys.  I entertained the idea and signed  up for a couple of surveys, giving as little information as possible during the setup process.  I noticed that there were many types of prizes and sweepstakes, but I have yet to see an outright cash offer to complete a survey.
3. Surveys are time consuming. Look folks...  There is a reason why interviewers have to beg and bribe people to take surveys.  It's a time-consuming task!!  Each survey will last an average of 15 minutes.  If you did three of these, you might get a $10 gift card.  That's good, but a $10.00 gift card is not what you need, when the power bill is due! 
4. Slow conversion into cash.  Even if you earned some prizes, or bought merchandise with those gift cards you earned, it's still not cash.  I thought about this, and came to the conclusion that you could sell the prizes that you earn on EBay or Craigslist.  I do question whether or not it's worth the effort.
5. Lots of emails in your inbox.  Of course, if you sign up for surveys, even the survey companies will tell you to sign up for a free mailbox just for this endeavor.  You will get numerous emails that will drive you nuts, if they are mixed in with your personal email..

Now, let me speak on the good points about surveying.

1. It appears to be legitimate.  The survey companies that I saw were not trying to steal your identity or cheat you out of money.  They offered you surveys in exchange for points based on a well-defined system that they had in place.  After so many points, you could redeem them for gift cards, so that you could buy merchandise.
2. It can be fun.  If you have plenty of spare time on your hands, filling out surveys can be fun.  If you stick with it, you can earn some really nice gift cards.

* Note these are my opinions, based on my own experiences.  I realize the measure of success will be different in every case.

-WorkerB