Classics By Carlos

The Internet is a goldmine with vast reserves available to anyone for the taking. But unlike the physical goldmine where there is finite amount of resources and works on a zero-sum principle (one’s gain is another’s loss and vice-versa), the wealth available online is virtually unlimited and grows more as the technology advances.

And the best part — the one the I love the most — is that it is a level-playing field.

Almost anyone can possibly succeed online. Rich, poor, well-connected, Mr Unknown, genius or under-schooled, young and old … these things don’t matter. With luck, timing and the right attitude, anyone can make it.

If someone is throwing away money and all you have to do to get some is to learn how to catch, what would you do?

I don’t know about you, but for me, I better learn how to catch and hone that skill to perfection!

The fact that real money can be made through the Internet is nothing new.

But if you are the Johnny-come-lately type, this article is a gentle introduction on how money is made online.

Listed below are three easy ways to make money online, through a website. See if there is a hole you can fit in and hopefully you can begin your online business journey by taking the steps leading to the direction of Internet money.

1. Sell Your Own Products or Services

Most entrepreneurs would perfectly fit here. You have products that you have created and that you are truly proud of? Go online and let the whole world know about it. Who knows? Someone from the other side of the planet is dying to have your product.

Professionals and consultants who are very good at doing their own things would find it very fulfilling if they go online and expand their reach. This is also one way of standing out amongst the crowd.

Go online or die. Someone said it best: “If your business is not on the Internet, your business will soon be out of business.”

2. Sell or Promote Someone Else’s Products or Services

Are you too lazy to create your own product? No problem!

After all, after one has created the product, the next step would be to sell it and eventually put it in the hands of the buying customers. In fact, the vast majority of your business activity will be on marketing and selling the product. It only makes sense. Without sales, your business will die.

Peter Drucker, the man considered by many to be the person who “invented management”, said that any business has only two basic functions: Marketing and Innovation.

And what does it mean to you? A lot, I hope!

This means that if you can effectively market, promote, or sell someone else’s products you smell good to the company. Because of competition, many companies are on the look-out for the best marketers out there.

If that’s you, here’s good news: you can earn by becoming an affiliate of the company.

In simple terms, here’s how it works:

1. You put up a website and sign-up as an affiliate of the company.
2. The company gives you the code that you can use in promoting their product.
3. When the visitor that you referred buys the products, you can you get a referral fee.

Sounds good? A lot of online companies are following this business model. There should be something for you. Start exploring now.

3. Selling Ad Spaces

This one is the lazy man’s monetization model.

It is easy and it is also hard. Am I crazy?

No… I mean, not yet. Let me explain.

If you happen to have created a high-trafficked website — everyone who owns a website should strive to have high-traffic — and you don’t know how to monetize it, they is the way to go.

Remember: Traffic means people and people equals money. There are a lot of online businesses out there that are dying to have people visiting them. And if you can direct some of the traffic from your website to theirs, you can earn that way.

Remember: Traffic means people and people equals money. There are a lot of online businesses out there that are dying to have people visiting them. And if you can direct some of the traffic from your website to theirs, you can earn that way.

What you will do is put some ads on strategic places on your website. Do it in a way that helps your website visitors. Those ads should complement your content. If your website is all about Yoga, for instance, some ads related to meditation and yogic exercises (called asanas) would be very helpful to your website visitor.

You help your web visitors by giving other resources via your ads, the company that uses your ads space pays you in return for giving them the favor of driving traffic to their business.

That’s another example of a Win-Win business partnership.

Getting those ads is quite simple, or easy if you may. There are companies that will directly rent a space on your website. And there are other companies like Google, Yahoo, Amazon, and others that provide you with HTML code to put on your website and do everything else programmatically.

The hard part is getting the traffic in the first place.

Do you consider it scary running an online business, or even just a simple website, simply because you lack the technical knowledge to go about it?

If you say “yes” to that question, well guess what, you are not alone. I’ve met a lot of offline, brick-and-mortar type of entrepreneurs who would not even entertain the thought of going online.

And while they are forever buried in their fears, there are a different breed of entrepreneurs who are so hungry for action and so eager to go online with only below the minimum skills and who are succeeding anyway.

I can only guess that there must be something else at work here that I can’t explain yet. But apparently, it’s not the lack of technical know-how that is the hindrance to one’s success in an online business.

Personally, I think, not going online is just fine if you are contented with mediocrity and as long as your competitors are also not bent on doing it online. But once they do it ahead of you, you could be eating their left-over pies.

My background is on the technical aspects of Web Technologies. And when it comes to running an online business, I can say that having a technical knowledge is certainly an advantage. But it is not even a requirement just to get started.

It’s true… if you know how to use an email, you are ready to go. And if you can Facebook, you are more than capable.

Are you eager to learn how easy it is to have your website up and running in no time?

I can show you how. But I guess, let’s postpone that for a moment and discuss it in the next up-coming article.

(So if you just bumped into this website, I suggest that you get a free subscription so that you will be notified when that article comes up any time.)

The Non-Technical Work Involved In Running An Online Business

I believe it’s very important to emphasize the non-technical aspects of running an online business. They consist of the majority of the work required to make your website valuable from the visitor’s point of view.

To be honest, it’s not enough just to have your website up.

It’s a common mistake repeatedly done by small businesses: They hire a guy to make them a website. The website is done. And then that’s it…end of the story.

This is the kind of online business that is doomed to fail right from the start. You don’t want this to happen to you. What you want is a website that your customers will love; something that makes them want to buy from you or use your service.

You need to realize that after the web design is done and the website is up and running, your online business is just beginning to take off. As I always said, treat their a new website as you would a newborn baby.

Here are some of the most important tasks involved in running your website:

• Copywriting
• Marketing and Sales
• Promos, Special Offers and Updates
• Special Reports, Newsletter, Blog

There are a lot more.

The point I’m trying to convey is that these things are non-technical, but are nevertheless important components of your online presence.

During the course of running your online business, you’ll discover that these activities are more and more important and that they are in fact the very activities drawing the clients to you, affecting your bottom line.

And as for the technical side of things, here’s the shocker: your clients just don’t care at all about that. What they are after is you give them what they are looking for.

It’s not the fancy, graphics-filled website that they want. And the music that load when they are at the home page… please turn it off.

Most customers are self-centered. In fact, most of them are coming from a place called hell. All they want is for you to take away their pains. That’s essentially what your business is in the first place — to solve your clients’ problems.

And for real entrepreneurs, for every problem solved, there is a reward.

Now, which would rather spend your online activity? On the technical side or the non-technical, business aspects?

The main advantage of putting up an online business is it requires just a little start-up capital.

Its main disadvantage is it requires just a little start-up capital.

Yep, you read it right. But if you still don’t get it, you may read it again or you can read further down the succeeding paragraphs to get a detailed explanation.

There are two ways of funding a new online business venture.

1. Using a shoestring capital. Somewhere from $ 200 to $1,000; where $ means US Dollar.
2. Shelling out a large fortune. Yes, it’s indeed very possible if you are angry with your money. Got $ 100,000? Sure thing, gather your team of experts and have them develop a killing Online Business concept.

Obviously, I love going the first route. And if you are new to Online Business, that should be your choice too for three good reasons:

1. You minimize your risk
2. You can treat it as a game
3. You can have fun along the way

Entrepreneur Beware: Let me warn you ahead. Never under estimate the potential of an online business started on a minimal capital. If done right, your initial capital can actually grow from 10 to 100 times in a matter of a few weeks without you sweating too much on your business.

Tools Of The Trade Revealed

An online business is, in many respects, similar to an offline, traditional business. There are tools of the trade that needs to be on your arsenal and that you need to use effectively.

In any business, some sort of capital is necessary. Capital could be in a form of money, time, or energy. You need all three in setting up an online business.

Here are some of the most essential ones to prepare for.

Money Matters

1. Seed Capital – As mentioned you need to prepare somewhere from USD 200 to USD 1,000 in start-up cash. Can you think of any other business that requires as little money as that? In multi-level marketing maybe, but that requires a freaking lots of hard work to even get it off the ground and become really profitable.

Consider your seed capital as a play money. And don’t forget to have fun as you watch it grow.

2. Credit Card – Sometimes you need to buy stuff online. Some examples include: a domain name, web hosting, learning materials, books, etc. Credit Cards are the most popular method of accepting payments online. And not having one is like being stuck in Stone Age.

Credit Card Note: If you are in the Philippines and you need a recommendation as to which Credit Card Company to use, please drop me a message using the contact form provided on this website.

3. PayPal Account – PayPal allows you to send and receive money online. While Credit Cards can be used to pay online, wrapping it up on Paypal adds another layer of protection against credit card fraud. When you pay an online merchant using Paypal, you will not be asked for your credit card details anymore. Rather, you only provide your PayPal Account Credentials. That way, your credit card information is hidden from the online merchant.

Notes On Paypal: When signing up for a PayPal Account, it is best to remember two things:

1. Use a Credit Card to send money.
2. Use a Debit Card (could be your ATM Account) to receive money.

Tech Tools

1. Computer – You computer doesn’t have to be the fastest running cheetah. But it should be fast enough to do you most important transactions.

Personally, I prefer using a laptop since it is very handy I can take it with me should I get bored in the house and feel like having a nice cup of coffee in a nice coffee shop would attract some nice people to keep me company for a couple of hours.

2. Office Software – Sometimes they are called Office Productivity Software. They are mainly used to manipulate office and business documents. I highly recommend MS Office if you can afford one. The FREE alternative is Open Office.

3. Broad Band Internet Connection – Can you imagine running an online business and not have an Internet Connection at home or at the office? With the price of Internet Connection going down and the speed improving each year, Broadband Internet could be the best investment you can have after investing in a good toothbrush.

4. Email Account – Gmail comes highly recommended. When running an online business, you’ll be surprised to discover that a lot of business communications are done using email. Gmail is massive, very secure and has the best features I’m looking for. Get one now if you still don’t have it.

5. Website – A website is your virtual, professional image. At the very least, it serves as your online brochure for all of your customers and partners to see. Strive to have a clean and simple web design with lots of useful information your visitors will consume.

Non-techies, this is for you. I’m starting a series of articles geared towards non-technical folks who want to find their way around the intricacies of running an Internet-based business. This one is the first in the series.

Call this Web Development 101 or whatever. This article is for non-techies who want to have a website but somehow doesn’t know how to begin.

No, I won’t turn you into Web Development Rock Star overnight. That would take a million lines of programming code and a lot of sleepless nights to go with it. Better leave it up to your techie brother.

However, unlike other technical folks in my circle, I don’t believe that you need to go back to technical school to be able to run a successful online business or even simply own a website.

Knowing the basics, especially the technical jargons, will get you on the right footing. After all, in any business, there are aspects that you need to be aware of so that you will not be at the mercy of someone else.

Of course, it helps to recognize where your knowledge ends where the services of a qualified expert begins. As a non-technie website owner, it is better to concentrate on improving your business (that’s already a full-time job, mind you) and learning how to delegate or outsource the technical details.

Okay… I know that was so mouthful for an introduction.

Get yourself ready…Here are the Seven Important Jargons that I believe should sink into your Web Vocabulary.

1. Domain Name

Simply stated, it is the address of your website on the Internet in human-readable, text format. The domain name of Google Incorporated is google.com; The domain name of Facebook is facebook.com. It’s no-brainer, really.

Don’t underestimate it. A domain name is the single most important resource you can have! It is your online identify. Before you even think of how your website should look like, you should spend a lot of time brainstorming about what domain name to use.

2. Web Hosting

Your website will take up some space where you will put your files: text, audio, video, images, etc. These files should be stocked somewhere or nothing will appear on your website. This is where web hosting comes in. You upload those files to your web host.

A Web Hosting Service usually comes with the following bundle of services:

1. Web Server – makes it possible to run your server-side script.
2. FTP Server – allows you to upload and download files to and from your server
3. Email Server – allows you to send and receive email messages based on your domain.

There are a couple of other services, but these are the basic ones you need at this point.

3. FTP

FTP stands for File Transmission Protocol. Basically, it is needed to move files from your local computer to the Server and vice-versa. As a user, you would normally be using an FTP Client to transfer files to and from the server.

4. Scripting Language

Have you heard about PHP, Perl, C# and Java? Well, these are Programming Languages used by web developers to code things up so that your website can have a seemingly intelligent personality behind it.

Among other things, Scripting Language executes codes

• in response to user requests
• when processing database operations
• to render the final web page

…And others. I hope you get it.

5. Database Server

If you need a way to organize information in an intelligent fashion, store and retrieve it, or manipulate it programmatically, then you will need a database server.

6. Content Management System

A Content Management System (CMS) is a software bundle that allows you to maintain the contents (articles, pages, etc) of your website without having to bother much about the technical details like HTML and CSS. Gone are the days when every webpage is saved on a separate file. Thanks to the emergence of FREE and open-source CMS. Maintaining a website is easier than ever.

7. Search Engine Optimization

As soon as you have your website up and running, the next best thing to do is to let the world know that it exists. Since the most users use search engines to find something on the Internet, you stand a good chance of having someone stumble on your website if you optimize the pages for search results. That’s how Search Engine Optimization comes into play.

Essentially, it involves a process of gathering back links, placing keywords in the right places and having enough content that visitors and search engines would love to consume.

Notes on Web Hosting, Scripting Language and Database Server: When looking for a Web Hosting service, always check for their support of a particular Scripting Language and Database Server that you will be needing on your website. As a small business or professional, you would probably be at home with a web host that supports PHP and MySQL — two of the most popular, open-source technologies. When it comes to price, functionality and user-support, the combination of PHP and MySQL is simply outstanding.

Your Website, Your Baby

Treat your new website as you would a new baby. If at first it doesn’t look very impressive, as does anything in the early phase, don’t get discouraged. Having a business website requires a series of improvements along the way.

And remember, there is no such thing as a perfect website.

First: Raising A Red Flag

For Employees and Self-employed individuals, this article may come as a big surprise. This group of people is used to earning money by trading time for it.

When introduced to the concepts of leverage, residual income, and the like, many of them are so closed-minded that they automatically equate such concepts as a scam. And when they meet an ordinary guy (especially young and under-schooled) earning income that can only be describe as extra-ordinary, the guy is downright branded as a scammer.

What a wrong headed thinking!

Raising The White Flag Of Financial Education

I’m not sure if Robert Kiyosaki was the first to expose it, but his book entitled CashFlow Quadrant is instrumental to my understanding that there are basically four quadrants or ways of earning money each of which is represented by groups of people this way:

• E – Employee: earns from his job
• S – Self-Employed : earns by practicing a profession; may also work on his own business
• B – Business : earns by owning and running a business system
• I – Investors : earns by using money to make money

If you have not read the book yet, I recommend that you grab yourself a copy. Your local bookstores usually have it on the shelf, but of course you can always get one from Amazon.

Three Types Of Income

Linear Income – This is the type of income that is directly proportional to the amount of time you put into your work. Here are some examples:

• You work 8 hours, you are paid 8 hours
• More clients and projects, more money
• A 5-minute late for work means a deduction on your hourly salary… Blame it on the traffic… Grrr
• All sub-ordinates always earn lesser than the boss … ouch!
• Absent or in vacation means ZERO income

Leveraged Income – A business makes ample use of leverage by hiring people to work for the company or business and paying them for the time and talent spent to get things done.

Franchising (widely considered as scam a long time ago) is also a form of leverage. By inviting franchisees to run a business using a tried-and-tested set of methodologies, the franchisor is able to expand its brand and therefore makes it more valuable.

Leverage is making use of resources, talents, efforts of a team of people. Paul Getty, sums it best when he said, “I will rather earn from 1% of 100 people’s effort than from 100% of my own effort.”

Passive and Residual Income – This is the type of income that is worked out once and reaped several times over a long period of time. To generate this type of income requires creativity, talent and smarts. Here are some examples

• Royalties – artists, musicians and authors still earn even when they are long retired
• Rental Income – From commercial buildings and others
• Sales Override – Possible through affiliate marketing and network marketing (another one that’s deemed as a scam.)
• Investments – Essentially, the use of money to make money. Stocks, mutual fund, real estate, etc.

Which Type Of Income Is Best?

Notice that of the three types of income, it is only in the first type (Linear Income) that you are directly exchanging time for it.

Going back to Robert’s CashFlow Quadrant, Linear Income is generated by those in the E and S Quadrants. Leveraged Income and Passive Income are generated by people in the B and I Quadrants.

Take note also that anyone can be in any quadrant. It is even possible to belong to all of the Four Quadrants.

So, in other words, the answer to the question, “Which type of income is best?” depends entirely on you – your level of comfort, the talents you bring into the table, your own desires and your willingness to pay for those things.