Million Dollar PortfolioReal Strategies for Making Money Online

A friend of mine in Los Angeles is participating in HomeWalk, a fundraiser to help the homeless in the greater Los Angeles area.

What is HomeWalk?

HomeWalk is part of United Way of Greater Los Angeles’ year-round campaign to end homelessness called Pathway Home. Our goal in 2008 is to recruit an estimated 7,000 people and over 250 volunteers to help raise approximately $750,000 through a 5K sponsored walk to prevent and end homelessness in Los Angeles County. In addition to a walk, HomeWalk is also an educational journey, helping participants learn more about the crisis of homelessness and what we can do to solve it.

Last year, HomeWalk raised $500,000, helping over 2,300 homeless individuals off the streets and into permanent housing over the next twelve months.

You can help by donating or joining a team if you are in the Los Angeles area.

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It’s true. I want you to be rich. I want you to have everything you could desire. I want you to drive that fancy car, buy that luxury house, eat every meal out. I want you to be rich because if you are rich, it means I am rich.

Sound too good to be true?

It’s not. Of course it’s not going to be easy, and it isn’t going to happen overnight. There is a sure-fire way to getting rich though.

Wealth, like happiness, is never attained when sought after directly. It comes as a by-product of providing a useful service.
-Henry Ford

You get rich by figuring out how to make a dollar and repeat it thousands of times over. I think there’s a famous quote along those lines but I can’t find it.

When I started my first online business venture my mentor told me about a conversation he had with his father one day. He said to his father, “I’m want to go into business for myself but I don’t know what I want to do yet”. To which his father replied, “Son, find someone who has the lifestyle you want and find out what they do. If it’s not illegal, or immoral and sounds like something you can do, then ask him to teach you”.

It’s really good advice if you think about it. When starting out any new business you are going to have a lot of questions. Where to start, how to start, what to do, where to go, etc. For that reason, you want to have a mentor to look to for advice and ideas and to keep you on track.

Something my mentor told me that has stuck in my mind, and I really want you to think about this is that if you surround yourself with wealthy people, it eventually rubs off on you. That doesn’t mean you get rich by being around rich people. But it does mean you can learn from those people by spending more time with them and that can lead to you being rich if you put those lessons into action.

Why I Want You To Be Rich

Maybe you’ve already heard all this before. Maybe you haven’t. If you are still reading this then you haven’t heard this elsewhere and good, I’m not wasting my words.

Money doesn’t bring happiness, does it? Not really, but it is a tool we can use to do things, buy things, go places. If you think of it this way you will have a much easier time dealing with it. Being rich means you don’t have to fret about the bills or debt or worry about when the next mortgage payment is due.

You can start on this path to riches by making some very small changes. So small in fact you probably don’t realize how quickly they add up. Read the rest of this entry »

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Treat your blog like a business.

That’s the headline I’ve seen countless times on other successful blogs and I hate to regurgitate but if you are serious at all about being a successful blogger, entrepreneur, online marketer or internet guru you need to consider that what you are doing is a business.

It’s not the traditional “brick and mortar” business like you see at your local strip-mall but it is nonetheless a business.

You’re going to have expenses, revenue, advertising budgets, possibly employees, perhaps even office space, equpment purchases and other overhead. These won’t amount to the same as traditional business but you will still have them.

At some point, assuming your blogging business becomes very successful you will add to this mix an accountant, a lawyer and a financial advisor which also means a few added expenses.

These last three are extremely important because without them your business is likely to fail. In fact, 9 out of 10 new businesses fail within the first year for various reasons. Either the owner loses interest, realizes he has nothing to say or runs out of capital. The latter should be the easiest problem to solve. The first two things are huge problems.

Failure Isn’t A Bad Thing

First of all, if you lose interest then you’ve started this whole venture with the wrong idea. I’m not talking about your actual idea, I’m talking about the fact that you are doing things for the wrong reasons. If I were to ask you why you do what you do, be it blogging, making cakes, selling widgets, whatever…If I asked why you did it and your answer is “to make money” I can tell you right now, you are going to fail. If your only passion is to make money, you are going to quit within the first year when you realize the thousands of dollars in cash you dreamed of isn’t flowing through your mailbox like water.

In order to be really successful at ANYTHING, not just blogging, you have to have a real passion for it. Think about what motivates you to get up in the morning. If you have a crappy job that only just barely pays your bills and you hate going to it every day, why do you keep doing it? Because you have bills to pay, mouths to feed, car payments, food, etc.

I don’t care. We all have that going on. We all have reasons to give up. Do you listen to those reasons or do you accept there are going to be obstacles and challenges along the way. Ask any successful person how they got to where they are and they will tell you they failed until they got it right. The truth is nobody can tell you definititively that what they did is going to work for you. You’ll have to find that out on your own.

That being said, there are steps you can take to limit the number of failures you are going to experience in your journey to success. If you treat the whole process as a business and understand the choices you make and the strategies you employ are meant to be long lasting business decisions you will likely find success before too many failures. Each failure should be treated as a learning experience and then move on, move forward.

I guarantee you there isn’t one person who is successful in their niche that can tell you they woke up one morning, had an epiphany, got some money and put it into action and instantly it worked. Not even the so-called “overnight millionaire” has that kind of luck. There’s always an enormous amount of work behind each successful venture even though it may appear as though they sprung up overnight. These people had failed first ideas, growing pains and other problems along the way but had a good support system in place to keep them going.

Spending Money To Make Money

It seems counter-intuitive but when it comes to marketing, you need to spend a little money in order to make money in the long run. A simple text link on an appropriate site that has thousands of readers may be all you need. That link may end up costing you some good money up front but if your content is worth anything to anybody that small investment could pay off big time in the long run.

I have several online businesses at varying degrees of success, at least what I consider success. The commonality in them all is the support system I have in place to keep me going. I know from month to month what is and isn’t working which allows me to know where to “trim the fat” so to speak. If an advertising program isn’t working and I’m spending more than I’m bringing in, changes have to be made. You don’t get rich by writing checks all the time, but you also don’t get rich if nobody knows who you are or what you do or sell.

Advertising has to be part of your spending budget. Organic traffic will drive a certain amount of revenue if people are finding what they are interested in on your site but there’s a reason companies like Coke and Pepsi are still in business after all these decades. Like it or not, advertising does work. Not all advertising is paid either. Word of mouth is one of the most powerful (and free) advertising methods around. These days it is called viral-marketing. In other words, “word of mouth” that spreads like a virus, nearly out of control. It can also shut down an improperly prepared web server.

So if you treat your blog or website like a business your chances of success are much higher than they would be otherwise. Take the time to research your niche and decide if it’s what you are really passionate about.  Understand that 90% of all new businesses fail in the first year and focus on not being one of those statistics. Lastly, expect to spend some money getting your name known and realize that you aren’t going to be successful if a) you quit and b) if you don’t accept that all good things take time.

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Haven’t followed me on Twitter yet? Now is the time to do so. Why?

First of all, what is Twitter?

Think of Twitter like micro blogging. I don’t always have time to make a full blog post and Twitter is the perfect place to just let you know what I’m up to without having to make a big time commitment to a full post.

Even in these harsh and trying times, I feel the need to give back to the community that supports me. Though you guys really need to step it up a notch and help yourselves by signing up for all the affiliate networks I keep talking about.

Just a little heads up. My Text-Link-Ads revenue is going to be much higher this month because I sold all my ads! That’s right, there’s no room left on The Proficient Investor which means either the price is going to continue to go up as demand gets higher. There’s still 8 spots left on this blog though so I haven’t completely maxed out. But I digress…

What I really wanted to let you know is I now have 90 Twitter followers. Just 10 more followers and I hit 100 (yeah I know, you can do math). So what that means is I want to give something cool away for the 100th follower. I’d really like it to be something personalized but you always have to order those things in Bulk and what I want to give away would cost way too much right now to buy 100 of them.

Suffice to say this is something that everyone can use. At least everyone who reads this blog, as I assume you are at least somewhat tech savvy. So, if you aren’t already following me, you should do so now because at the rate i’ve been gaining followers, 100 isn’t far off.

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Whenever I see worthy contests, I like to enter them. To date, I’ve won an Apple iPod touch 16 GB , a copy of An American Hedge Fund: How I Made $2 Million as a Stock Operator & Created a Hedge Fund by Timothy Sykes, as well as a couple small cash prizes and free advertising on some blogs.

Right now, TechTod is giving away $225 in cash and a Sony Digi-cam. All the details for entering can be found at TechTod. The contest runs until November 25 at which time 3 winners will be chosen. The more entries you have the better your chances of winning!

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As you know, one of the best ways of making money online is through affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing has benefits other more traditional marketing efforts don’t have.

For one, as an affiliate marketer you aren’t storing any inventory so you don’t need to worry about where you are going to keep everything.

Two, with the numerous marketing networks out there, you can choose from thousands of products and niches to market.

To help you out, I’ve written a series on how to get started affiliate marketing. This series takes you step by step through the process of choosing a product or niche and carrying out a full PPC or CPA campaign using Google Adwords or other social networking sites like Facebook.

In order to get this series FREE you need to subscribe to my newsletter. By subscribing to the newsletter you will keep up to date with other special offers in the future. This also lets me know you are serious about learning these techniques and not just here out of curiosity.

The first 20 people to sign up will also be entered into a contest to win a case of XS Gold Energy Drink when it is released. XS Gold is the newest flavor from the southern california energy drink maker. You can buy this great drink direct through my site as it is not available in stores. XS has only 8 calories, no sugar and all the energy boost of a red bull but tastes great! If you’ve never tried XS before, order the mixed case which has 12 different flavors to choose from.

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Winter is fast approaching us on the west coast and that means holidays, rain, and hungry people. This year I want to see if we can help out the local community where I live.

Every year, the Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties raises money to give meals out to hungry people in these counties on Thanksgiving. There are a lot of families that don’t have a lot and this time of year is always the hardest.

I would love to do what John Chow is able to do which is match dollar for dollar up to a certain amount but the truth is I just can’t afford to. What I will be donating is $55 to the cause. This is enough to provide 275 meals for hungry people and families this Thanksgiving. Even an $11 donation can feed 55 families.

If you would like to match my donation, you can do so online here: http://www.thefoodbank.org/heh_donate.html

This isn’t an affiliate link, I am just asking that if you want to help those that are less fortunate than you, you can do so this season. Go to The Food Bank and make your donation today. If you donate any amount, please leave a comment here so we can all see how powerful a community of giving can be!

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by Peter V. Ruble

For college students and other people who feel burned out trying to balance paying the bills and living at the same time, ads like these can prove to be irresistible. Many of them make perfect sense and easily hook you based on good concepts. Unfortunately, many times the product or service does not match the brilliance of a great idea for making money from home or through the Internet. As I’ve learned myself, the further you go down this road, the more excited you get. You basically get hooked, and if you aren’t careful, you will end up working hard and falling further into debt than you can imagine. Much like gambling, the lure of easy money and independence can make just about anyone fall prey to work at home scams that feed off your dreams to get to your wallet so they can go on to the next victim.

Hopefully, you will never fall victim to these scam artists. However, the fact of the matter is that these scammers would not be wasting their time if they were not making any money. And as long as people continue to get mixed up in this business, these scammers are going to stick around to trick more and more people.

The best way to keep a scammer’s claws away from your credit card is to do thorough research on each opportunity that you are considering. This means doing much more than simply reading a bit about it online. In my personal experience, I have been taken by companies who were savvy enough to pollute the Internet with staged testimonials, guarantees, questionable references to big name endorsements, and even appearances in the Better Business Bureau.

A colleague of mine who invested in vending machine placement services even went so far as to physically go to the manufacturing plant to tour the warehouse as well as contact the Better Business Bureau of that state. What he received, in return, were twenty malfunctioning candy machines with a list of local businesses who had apparently agreed to receive them. Not only did none of these businesses know what he was talking about, many of them were hostile when he showed up to place them.

What you want to do is check message boards such as the ASK section of Yahoo.com. Another simple method of weeding out the scams from the genuine opportunities is to go to a search engine and simply type in the company name followed by the word “scam”. If you do this, and you are barraged by an endless list of complaints, you my friend have found a nugget of gold in a sea of mud.

In terms of the Better Business Bureau, it is best to contact them directly to ask about any complaints, and also find out how long a company has been listed. The Better Business Bureau operates state by state. They will be able to tell you if they have any complaints on file. If they do, you will want to avoid the opportunity at all costs. But if it appears that a company is doing business the right way, you can continue your own research.

Being in the Business Bureau is not necessarily that hard to accomplish. Many scammers can use their money and connections to set up a front to initially qualify for the Better Business Bureau just long enough for them to collect their cash from unsuspecting victims, close shop, create a new identity and start again.

Before you decide to do anything, attempt to get in touch with the company that you are interested in. Can you get a human being on the phone? Do they have an actually physical address? How long does it take them to respond to your e-mails, if at all? If you cannot even talk to the company before you start, there is not chance that they will be around when you really need them. I once made quite a bit of money selling vacation vouchers on auction sites. The marketing plan was sound, and the money saving vouchers was a hit. Only problem was, I could never get in touch with their customer service department to handle my customer inquiries and complaints once I realized that the promises that existed in writing on the vouchers were misleading at best. This proved to be such a problem that it took me over a year to recover from the negative publicity on my auction site.

Of course, there are legitimate home based businesses out there. With the Internet and all the low cost, web producing tools available, there seems to be a renaissance in entrepreneurship. Basically, just find a product or service you can market online, and do your research. Sell on EBay if you don’t want to build your own website. You can have a website their and all search engine marketing is already done by EBay. The Small Business Association has an office in downtown Tacoma and contains invaluable information on their website http://www.sba.com. Since small business is the backbone of our country economically, sources such as these are eager to help you create a plan with realistic expectations.

However, like anything else worthwhile, you have to do your homework and work hard at it. The problem is that too many people make you think you can practically go online and make money just clicking on a mouse. You want to steer clear of any business that asks to you to pay for their “Top Secret” e-book that will teach you how to make an automated income.”

Think about it, if you are in dire need of cash, can you imagine any other situation in which you would not only work for free, but pay for the privilege to work. There are no magic formals or secrets worth paying for. All of the information in these e-books can be found for free through your own research if you have common internet skills.

If you don’t want to work hard and just make a few easy extra bucks without donating your blood or volunteering to be a guinea pig, it is possible to make some good extra money filling out online surveys or through mystery shopping. There are real opportunities out there which require no fee to get started. Not only that, several of them will even give you a $5 bonus just for signing up. If a company such as this is legitimate, they would be making lots of money through the success of its members. Companies that require that $49.97 start up fee only make money through the fee and only want to teach you how to get other people to do the same. The products are all useless lists and general information that anyone with a functioning mind could figure out on their own, or get for free by doing their own research.

In 12 years of trying to make a living on the Internet, the following are the best companies I have ever encountered for making a few extra bucks filling out surveys, playing games and mystery shopping. They probably won’t pay the rent, but if you’re interested in making an extra $400 or $500 a month or eating out at nice restaurants and going to movies for free, you may want to check these out:

Mystery Shopping Providers Association.

This site contains all the information you will ever need on starting up as a mystery shopper. It is also a portal for the best sites to go to for mystery shopping jobs online, and they don’t require that you invest a penny.

InboxDollars.com. (you can sign up for free and get $5 just for signing up. You can make a few hundred dollars in one day and if you are willing to, you can use a credit card to sign up for free or paid trials. Just make sure you have the patience to fill out the long surveys and keep detailed records so you can remember to cancel your free trials before you get charged. Also, you can fill out surveys to make a dollar or two which are completely free. I’ve made about $400 with this site.

http://www.treasuretrooper.com. (a lot of free surveys and cool games).

http://www.tiktikcash.com. By far the best of the survey sites. The free surveys are tremendous. You can make a dollar or two in one minute. This site has the shortest, most painless surveys. I made over thirty bucks in less than an hour after signing up.

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