Opportunities being missed

I have thought long and hard about posting this as I realise that it is not within everyones capabilites. However here goes....

I read over and over again about "how to make money from Adsense" and "which affiliate scheme to use" but so many people seem to be missing the real golden goose - SELL A PRODUCT.

I know that affiliate schemes do that to a degree but only that "a degree".

I forget who it was who said it but you "never get rich working for someone else". However you view your online business you are still reliant on other people if you rely on Adsense or affiliate schemes.

Remember if you buy a product for $1 ands sell it for $2 then reinvest the $2 etc etc it takes 19 day to make a million dollars.

Now I dont claim to be either an internet OR a business guru but here is MY tip on how to make BIG bucks. The best way to explain it is to recount my own experience. One day I was in Libertys of London (for those of who who dont know its a kind of upmarket Maceys) and I saw a leather footstool selling for £350 (about $600). It said quite clearly "made in Malaysia". A little research and guess what they cost around $5 in Malaysia - need I say more.

As I said, I realise not everyone can go trapesing off around the world but the adage works in micro too. Find a product in one place then sell it in another - even better sell it worldwide.

Now THAT is the way to make money from the Internet.

In essence ALL you are doing is harnessing the power and the beauty of the www - you can access customers ANYWHERE so why stick to your local store.

 

Great advice. Something we should all keep in mind.

 

You are correct. Selling your own product is a great way to make money.

But there are many different ways to make money. Television networks make their billions of $ from selling advertising. Warren Buffet (#2 richest man in the world) makes his money from investing and purchasing other companies.)

 

I agree but most of us are not that special. I should have said "in general" its the best way to do it but that is my OPINION only.

Its more about "control" - the examples you quote rely on their OWN abilities, or their sales teams, they are not reliant on one source. Imagine being a $5k a month Adsense guy and sitting comfortably then getting that dreaded "it has come to our attention" email.

My point was more about doing it YOURSELF as opposed to being reliant in 3rd parties.

 

Very sound advice.

 

Selling products vs advertising have pros and cons.
Pros:
You don't risk to get banned.
Do you chose the products to sell.
Cons:
The products you buy could not sell well so you could lose money on products you bought.
A competitor can sell the same products at cheaper prices.
You need more work because of packaging and shipping.

 

Brill advice whitespider

 

Definitely good advice. I've heard that the only thing AdSense is good for is determining what products or services to sell, in order to make some real money. Can't say I've moved this far down the road yet, and AdSense is certainly a nice tool to have - but I agree that it's important to "think big" at all times when building a business.

Sam

 

True, True - BUT..............

its called "risk"! We ALL "manage" risk in our own ways according to our attitude to it. There is nothing wrong with being cautious if that is in your nature.

However talk to an entrepreneur and a 9-5er and you will immediately see a difference. I am not saying one is right and one is wrong they are just different. Talk to ANYONE who has made money and they will have a different attitude to risk than one who doesnt.

I am neither ultra risky nor risk averse - I manage risk MY way. I spend around $7,000 a month on marketing and make just over 100% return - it suits ME.

 

I'm with VS. I dropshipped at first, so scared to carry inventory of my mine. My first purchase was for $300 and I was like - man, how will I ever sell all of this? Now when I place orders for $5000 or more I barely blink an eye, I think more along the lines of, if I buy $1000 more, will I get an exta 5% or 10% off? I LOVE getting sales from my vendors offering 40% off overstock items. You don't get that dropshipping or affiliate, you are stuck with your 10%.

Its when the UPS bill comes in, that I get a little queezy

 

Best selling own software product online .

 

Awesome "article" WhiteSpider
Many Thanks

 

nice motivation i needed that!

 

While I really agree that we need to broaden the horizons of what we consider as we look to make money online, I would not classify the pure-Internet Adsense + affiliate marketing model as a lesser alternative - just different.

After all, it is largely automated for one thing. If you have a day job, a full-blown "selling" business is a lot of extra work and has fixed deadlines (customers want their stuff in a certain time, after all). If you are looking for an alternative or supplemental business to your main work, this does not seem that attractive. A "pure-Internet" Adsense + affiliate marketing model allows you to work on it when you want, and know that it is working for you when you are too busy.

Another advantage of the "pure Internet" model is the multiple-income streams potential. Create ten sites that are ticking over earning Adsense and affiliate revenue, and you are well protected against ranking drops, random bans and the like. One goes down and you have a short-term slight drop in income, but overall you are still OK. Create a "realworld" online business selling real stuff and you will not have a whole lot of energy to create many multiple alternative businesses following the same pattern. Say you have two sites selling your stuff, and that is the max you can service, administer and promote. Then Google drops one. Your sales on that site plunge to 1/2 of their previous level and you take a significant income hit - a quarter of your income.

On the other hand, if you are selling stuff at a good mark up and making good sales, you are going to beat the potential Adsense revenues hands down.

So there we go: I don't think it is a question of either / or:

1. Choose the model that fits your needs - Not much time or not able to commit to work regularly on the project? The "pure Internet" Adsense + affiliate marketing style would suit best. More time and the commitment to work every day to grow a real business? Then an online "realworld" store would be the way to go.
2. Are you looking for good returns and the chance to grow a real business, or for multiple streams of income that are each relatively modest but together provide a stable financial flow?
3. What do you enjoy doing? If your heart is not in it, then neither model is going to work for you.

 

Really nice post, Stephen, and I agree with you 100%. In my experience in business (and I'm certainly no expert), I've found that there's typically a tradeoff between time and money - that being, the more money you make, the less time you have, and vice versa. This is what makes "passive" income streams, such as AdSense and affiliate income, so appealing to me. You can certainly get rich in a conventional business (either offline or online), but time + money = wealth.

Sam

 

me too .... I have been digging the trade/import/export sites for 2 years now. Everytime I find a product to sell I get scared of the risk and potential loses. I thank you for the motivation. I shall get to work.

 

Good Post Stephen - well worth a greenie

I think it just goes to prove that we all think differently and have different attitudes to this matter. I did say that I had thoguht long and hard about this post for this very reason i.e. i was a actually a little worried that I might get flamed because I DO accpet that the Adsense/Pure Internet model DOES suit many people.

I particularlyy like your question about the "multiple streams of modest income" - this I agree with wholeheartedly. I once had an affiliate scheme paying me several thousands of $$ a month and I got very complacent. They went BUST and my income stopped.

It was that experience that led me to balance my activities. I DO use adsense and I DO use affiliate schemes but I balance that with sales that I have TOTAL control over.

 

I am currently not in the product business yet because I am a student and I may have tons of time one week and then no time for a whole month. This doesn't typically work out when you have people buying from you.

That being said what I am doing up until then is working on getting a network of sites going that will be strong in the next few years once I get my degree and go fulltime with this.

I am also into real estate which it is great to have a steady stream of adsense income for to help fund some more investments.

I like this thread a lot though, and have bookmarked it in my motivational folder for times when I feel down

 

We started with drop shipping only, then started adding some items in stock or items that we customize making us unique in the industry (to some degree).

We also took over another business with which we stock the items.

Drop shipping the right kind of items has some great benefits, but most things out there the markets are swamped.