by Kathleen Gage The Street Smarts Speaker and Author

Many people have the dream of making money on the Internet, yet few manage to eek out more than a few dollars doing so. As someone who has made a substantial portion of my revenue from product sales both on and offline, I can tell you there is more to generating revenues than one might imagine.

It never ceases to amaze me the misconceptions people have. They fall for the mistaken belief that all they have to do is have a website, post a few products, get site visitors and the rest takes care of itself. Nothing could be further from the truth.

I have witnessed some of the most common reasons people will NOT succeed on the Internet, let alone in their business. Sure, they may get by, but most people want to do more than just get by.

There are always a few people not yet making money who moan and groan about how they want the “real secrets.” There is no “real secret” to what I do. I share the information; they can either believe it or not.

When I ask what they are doing to lay a solid foundation, often the answer is nothing. They simply want to jump right into the big money, massive name recognition and good times.

This is like signing up for a gym membership, attending one training session and responding with, “Now I’m ready to compete in the Mr. Universe competition.” Not only will someone with that attitude not succeed, they will likely keep looking for the “secrets.” Here’s the secret - you have to put time, effort and money into your success.

One of the greatest secrets to success is to be willing to learn from those who are succeeding. Sadly, fewer and fewer people are willing to learn from those who have come before them, choosing rather to buy into the myth of getting rich quick.

Recently I have had several discussions from people who are obtaining conflicting information about how to succeed at Internet sales. Much of the information they are accessing comes from people who have never made a dime online but are selling information claiming they can teach others how to succeed.

Just yesterday I was asked for specific information on one aspect of online visibility. When I responded with what has worked for me, this person said, “Well, according to ABC source, that is not true.” My response was, “Well, take a look at my Internet position and their position and then draw your conclusion.”

Another mistake is people want something for nothing. Yet many of them also want people to pay them for their products and services. The only question I have is, “What gives you the right to ask people to pay you when you are not willing to pay the experts for their knowledge?”

I will be the first to admit that I also take full advantage of lots of free information. There is nothing wrong with that. In fact, I provide lots of great information to interested folks, often at no charge. In many of my free sessions, I discuss in great detail exactly what my clients, my business associates, and I have done to build our businesses and become profitable. I am frequently told my free information is more content driven than other information they have paid for.  But free information only goes so far.

However, I also pay for a lot of my information in the form of coaching, seminars, books, and other information products. There is no way anyone making a real living from the Internet got to where we are at without some type of financial investment in our professional development.

On more than one occasion I have told someone they need to invest in their business and I get a response like, “I can’t afford it right now.” I can appreciate this, but there comes a time you have to be willing to make a financial investment. With enough time and effort you can find just about anything you want for free. The question you have to ask yourself is, “What is my time worth?”

If you have the dream of making money on the Internet, I encourage you to look at how you plan to achieve your outcomes and whom you are gaining information from. Be willing to learn, lay a foundation, invest and persist, and you may be one of the ones who can say, “Dreams do come true.”

Kathleen Gage is a bestselling author, keynote speaker and corporate trainer who works with organizations who want to increase their market position, sales and level of achievement. Visit www.kathleengage.com

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