Sorry, Online Success Ain’t Easy
September 10, 2007 Posted by Gyutae ParkFor some odd reason, making money online as an Internet entrepreneur has gotten the reputation of being easy as if someone can simply just click a few buttons and they’ll soon be raking in cash like it grows on trees. But this couldn’t be farther from the truth. I’m sure Tyler can testify to this as well, but making a living online is no easy task. Sure it comes with a lot of benefits, like working your own hours, being your own boss, and having a much higher potential for monetary gain. However, there are a lot of risks involved as well, risks that those $100 “get-rich-quick” scam e-books failed to tell you. Below is a list of risks Internet entrepreneurs take on.
Risk of failure? No way!
For every successful Internet entrepreneur, there are at least 10 others who are complete failures. Why haven’t you heard of them? That’s because they don’t blog about it and no one talks about them. They’re like the criminal siblings you’re too ashamed to mention. All of the publicity Internet entrepreneurs receive are going to be about how they made “$XX,XXX” last month and even that should be taken with a grain of salt. Who’s going to brag about losing money? The truth is that the Internet is a tough business just like any other business. Marketing and publicity just make it seem as if everything’s easy and peachy. Not true at all.
The outside world is out to get you.
Internet entrepreneurs are at the mercy of search engines, ad networks, and consumer trends. So you’re ranking #1 on google for the keyword ‘ringtones’, everything’s great and you’re making millions a year off of one site. Well what happens if Google drops your site from the index because of a change in algorithm, Adsense bans your site because of fraudulent clicks, or the whole ringtone industry shifts because of a change in technology? Basically you go from riches to rags if you’re not smart. Just look what happened with the online poker industry after the US law on Internet gambling was passed. Ask Tyler how his pokerforums.org site was affected. You have to be ready for change all the time especially in the Internet world.
What if I’m lazy? Too bad!
It’s hard work. I’m not saying that being an Internet entrepreneur is horrible and is too risky. What I’m saying is that it’s extrememly hard work, more so than what it is currently given credit. It takes a lot of guts and something special to be largely successful. All of these risks are definitely valid and should be taken into consideration when starting any Internet business. Don’t let shady e-book marketers fool you. Internet entrepreneurship is hard work. I think it’s worth the effort and the risks and it can be very rewarding. Just know what you’re getting yourself into and don’t expect anything unless you put in the work. Go for it!
Completely true. Excellent post.
Nice post. The irony for me is the number of people working in the ‘sell IM to others’ area mean that if it were not for the huge number of people who fail there would be no market at all for many of the successful ones!
Cheers, Mark
The Swiss_Mouse finds that making Internet $$$ is truly no different than making real $$$ at a real job. To be truly successful you have to put in the time and effort. While true that some do not and are still successful, that is true in the “real world” as well. How many managers have you met who are living examples of the Peter Principle.
Time, Effort and maybe little luck. Then sit back and enjoy a tasty wedge of cheese!
Definately true post. When people hear i make money off advertising on websites they always ask if i can set them up to make some money… Im always like uhh its alot of work to make anything worth talking about. Its not just set up a quick website and your making money. Luck and timing are definately factors in making a successful website.
The reason people think making money online is easy is because of those dam Ebooks
Exactly. It’s pretty horrible…so many of them promise pure lies that, unfortunately, plenty of people believe. Even those who don’t buy the ebooks. :-/
It sure isn’t easy. There is a lot too it!