Steve Wagenheim’s Home Business Blog

You hear all this talk about all the many different ways to make money online. You’d think that you had an infinite number of options available to you. The truth is, there are only five distinct ways to make money online. Everything else is just a variation of those ways in some form or another. This article is going to briefly cover those five ways and then you can pick out the one that you feel best suits you.

At the top of the list for most people is selling a product or a service. This product can be anything from an ebook to an actual physical product. The service can be anything from providing autoresponder functionality, such as a company like Aweber or Get Response to auto submitting articles for Internet marketers. Sites like Isnare are huge in that market. The advantages of selling a product or service are numerous. Probably the most obvious one is that you only have to create it one time and can then sell it for as long as there is a demand for it.

Another way to make money online is by working an actual job such as a transcriptionist, computer programmer and so on. By working a job, you are guaranteed a pay check every single week whereas with selling a product or service, there is no guarantee that you will ever make any money at all. On the flip side of this equation, finding a job online is not easy. And even if you DO find one, unless you’re given a raise, that’s all you’re going to make no matter how hard you work.

Then of course there is freelancing. This is where you contract out your skills such as if you’re a copywriter, article writer, graphic designer and so on. There big difference between freelancing and working a job is that as a freelancer, you choose how much to charge and you take on the jobs you want and pass on the jobs you don’t want. But in both cases, you are essentially working a job. If you don’t work, you don’t get paid. So freelancing does have its downside.

Number four on my hit parade is the Adsense, CPA model. Essentially, this is where you drive traffic to your site and hope people click on your offers for which you get paid regardless of whether the person buys anything or not. That is the big advantage with this model. You can earn money even if you don’t sell anything. On the downside, this model doesn’t pay a lot per lead. You have to get quite a few of these clicks in order to make anything substantial.

Finally there is what I call the “junk” methods. These involve things like taking online surveys, trying out offers, for which you get paid, and so on. The advantage of these methods is that they are numerous to say the least. You can always find something along these lines to make a few bucks off of. The downside is that they don’t pay much at all and many of these offers aren’t even legit. Finding the good ones is sometimes very hard.

There you have it. Those are essentially the five ways to make money on the Internet. Anything else is just a variation on these themes. Pick out the one that you think is best for you. Or you can do more than one. I do and between the various income models, I make a nice living. It’s just a matter of managing your time well.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

Want to make money TODAY without spending a DIME? Check out my site at http://www.hottrendsdaily.com/ and find out how.

Well, It’s finally gotten to the point where I’ve just about had enough. It seems that the only thing marketers want to do is complain. Okay, not all marketers, but quite a few of them. Every single day that I go to the Warrior Forum, I see somebody complaining about something…long sales copy, video, marketplaces, and on and on and on. The list is endless. So the question I want to ask you today is a simple one. Do you want to complain or make money? Not sure? Then you might want to read this article.

Let me start off by saying that what you’re complaining about doesn’t matter. It can be anything at all. Complaining in and of itself is a waste of time. Why? Simple. It accomplishes nothing. You can complain about marketing tactics all you like. Nobody cares and nobody is going to listen to you. The smart marketer is going to test the things he does and will use the things that test well…whether or not YOU like those tactics. So your complaints will be falling on deaf ears.

Other than letting off steam, complaining serves no purpose as far as making money. So, we’re going to stop complaining…right? Well, yes and no. What we’re going to do is look at things that we might not like and see how we can make them better ourselves. See, the truth is, if you have a problem with a certain marketing tactic, there is a very good chance that other people have the same problem.

For example, one trend that seems to be ticking off a lot of people is video without the controls. This way, if somebody wants to watch the video, they have to watch it all the way through without stopping. Seems a lot of people don’t like this. So, what I would do, if I was a smart marketer, is test out some videos that DO have controls and see how well they perform as far as conversion. Maybe you’re right. Maybe videos with controls DO work better. But you’re never going to know unless you test it.

Point is, take the things that bother you and see if you can improve on them. You might be surprised to find out that you are actually in the majority on certain things. But just sitting around and complaining about them is unproductive. If you want to make money, take your complaints and work out a solution to them.

You might be surprised by the results.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

Want to make money TODAY without spending a DIME? Check out my site at http://www.hottrendsdaily.com/ and find out how.

In this installment of “Why Johnny Can’t Make Money Online” I’m going to go over the second reason why this is so. It’s called the pressure cooker syndrome. Well, that’s what I call it anyway. If you’re not familiar with it, don’t worry…by the time you’re done reading this article, you’ll know EXACTLY what it is. In fact, you might find that you’re suffering from it as well. Many people do.

Most folks who look to make money online think it really only comes down to two things…what you know and executing what you know. For example, you know how to write salescopy. So you simply advertise that you’re a copywriter and get clients. It’s that simple. And yes, in theory, it IS that simple. You take your skill, put it out there and make money doing it. I do it all the time. But then that pressure cooker syndrome gets in the way and all the knowledge in the world goes right out the window. What am I talking about?

Well, the pressure cooker is different for each person. For some, it may be that nagging wife or husband who is always complaining to you that you spend too much time on the computer and not enough time with them. People can be really possessive if they want to be. For others, maybe it’s the responsibility of having another job or a child to care for. Other responsibilities can really get in the way of making a living online.

And then you’ve got what I call the real pressure cooker. This may be the worst of them all because there is usually little you can do to conquer this one. I’m talking about people who have serious health issues. Some folks can’t even sit at their computer for more than two hours because they’re in so much pain. It’s really hard to make a living online when you can just about concentrate.

Point I’m trying to make is this. No matter what you know about running a business or how great your product or service is, there are always going to be external factors that will make your job harder. I have them. I’ve had health issues for over 20 years now. But I have learned to live with them. Some days I can’t work, so I don’t. The days I can, I do what I can. Fortunately, I’ve been able to do enough to run a successful business for over seven years now.

But some people can’t. They either let these external factors get to them or they literally can’t do anything about them. I truly feel for these people. However, if you have external factors that CAN be dealt with…deal with them. Don’t let them take over your life. A nagging spouse can be dealt with by asking just one simple question. “Do you want to eat tomorrow?” If the bills being paid depend on you making this work, your spouse will take the hint.

External factors are sometimes hard to overcome, but they CAN be overcome.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

Don’t know where to start with your home business? Are you TOTALLY clueless on making a schedule? Visot my site at http://www.stevewagenheim.com/stepbystep/ and grab hold of a simple step by step process that will have your business up and running and IN PROFIT in as little as 30 days.

In this first of a four part series, I’m going to explain why Johnny, or you, can’t make money online. A lot of what you’re going to read is going to be hard to swallow. Hearing the truth is never easy. And in this case, the problem begins at the core.

What do I mean by the core? I mean the REASON why you’re getting into this business in the first place. Think the reasons don’t matter? Think again. And while I can think of a zillion reasons why somebody would want to run their own home business, these are the ones that are most common.

1. Loss of job or poor paying job.
2. Excited by glamour of it.
3. True passion for some topic.
4. Greed

Let’s begin with number 1 and see how this can be a stumbling block.

When a person loses a job or has a poor paying job, they are usually under a lot of stress. Why? Well, when money is tight, bills don’t get paid. Maybe this means less entertainment time. Quality of life goes down. Trust me, this is not the kind of frame of mine you want to be in when running a business. Ultimately, many of the people who fall into this category crack under the stress and thus can’t focus on their business.

End result…failure.

Let’s move on to number 2…excited by glamour of it.

Maybe you know somebody who is running their own home business and making a killing. They have a wonderful life. They take trips and meet all kinds of people. The lifestyle is amazing. You’re so drawn to it that you want to take a crack at it yourself.

Problem is, you don’t see all the work that goes into the business. When you actually dive into it, you see what’s involved and all of a sudden, the glamour isn’t so glamorous. And since you don’t really NEED the money (point 1) you’re just not motivated enough to continue.

End result…failure.

Let’s move onto number 3…true passion for some topic.

Let’s say you’re a musician and you want to start a business where you teach people how to play guitar by ear. You have a true passion for this. Problem is, you have no business sense and don’t really have a drive to learn HOW to run a business. You don’t want to do all the boring things. You just want to put up your great site and have people come to it to buy YOUR great product.

But they don’t come because YOU don’t know how to run a business and don’t REALLY want to learn.

End result…failure.

Finally, we have greed. These are people who see nothing but dollar signs in their eyes and want nothing else in life. Just show them where the money is. They’ll do every unethical thing to get it too.

Problem with most of these people is they either get tired of constantly having to out run the law or they get caught. The stress of this kind of life, no matter how greedy you are, can kill you.

In the next installment of this series, we’re going to move onto the next issue…training.

See you then.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

Looking for a solid 4 step plan to building your own business…FREE? Pick up my free report at http://www.stevewagenheim.com/4steps.html and get started TODAY!

Let me start off by saying that this article was inspired by my daughter’s college graduation ceremony the other day. The keynote speaker said something that really hit home with me and I’d like to share it with you in this article. Yes, it DOES apply to making money online. In fact, it applies to everything we do in life. I think you will find this interesting reading.

President Sheeran says that in life, you can boil down philosophy to two questions.

- Are you for yourself? It not, then who will be?
- If you’re only for yourself, then what good is that?

Let me touch on the first one.

If you’ve been trying to make a living online, you have probably noticed that you are pretty much on your own as far as getting things done. Oh sure, you can hire people to do some things for you, but unless you’re very wealthy, it’s unlikely that you’re going to get somebody to run your business for you…nor should they. After all, it’s YOUR business. Nobody is going to care about it as much as you do. So, if you’re not for yourself, meaning, if you’re not looking out for your own interests and doing everything YOU can to better your life, nobody is going to do it for you.

On the other side of the coin, if you’re only for yourself…what good is that? The point the keynote speaking was trying to make is this. Sure, we can go about trying to make money online just for the sake of making money. But if we’re not actually making somebody else’s life better in the process, what good is it? What kind of real satisfaction can we get out of a few dollars? Personally, I need to know that what I do makes a difference, because if it doesn’t…there is no point of me doing it.

I know that not everybody feels this way. Some people are only concerned about the almighty dollar. And as long as they’re making it by legal and ethical means, there is nothing wrong with that. But imagine how much richer and fuller your life would be if you actually did something that made a difference in another person’s life.

What I want you to do now is look at your business model and honestly answer this question. Are you making a difference to others? If not, maybe you might want to rethink what you’re doing to make those few dollars each month.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

Want to make money TODAY without spending a DIME? Check out my site at http://www.hottrendsdaily.com/ and find out how.

What’s the best way to make money on the Internet? That has to be the number one most asked question that I have personally seen. Everybody wants the best and easiest solution. Nobody wants to work for anything. Just give it to me and give it to me now. Well, the answer to that question…the REAL answer…is going to disappoint a lot of people. But somebody has to tell you the truth. So here it is.

There IS no best way.

Now, you can stop reading now and go off sulking, or you can read what I have to share with you. It just might change the way you think about making money online.

I want you to do me a favor right now. Please…humor me. I want you to sit down and write down a list of 10 different products that you can think of. It doesn’t matter what they are as long as they are products that you have to pay money for. Try to make them of different kinds and try to stay away from perishable things like food. When you are done reading this article, go to Google and look up the following phrase:

“looking to buy…”

And then fill in the blank with the product you chose. Then take a look at how many sites there are selling that particular product. I can almost guarantee you that for each product you’ve picked, regardless of what it is, there are TONS of sites out there selling that product or some brand of it.

I’m trying to make a point that I hope by now you’ve gotten. The world revolves around commerce. Think about how many things you have in YOUR life that you didn’t have to pay for and then think about how many of those things are now available online. Truth is, I can’t remember the last time I went to a store to buy something other than food.

I want a new CD by Snow Patrol? No problem…just head on over to Amazon and order it.

Looking for a headset to use with your Skype? No problem…just head on over to Plantronics online and pick up a set.

And the best thing for me is this. If I need information, I don’t even have to wait for it to be delivered to my house. With ebooks, I can buy what I want, download it and read it within minutes of purchase.

Same thing with services. I need an autoresponder? No problem…head on over to Aweber. I can be up and running in minutes.

What about if I need a copywriter for a sales page? Again, no problem. I go to Elance and hire one. I can have a sales page written in a snap.

Now, I’m coming at all this from the perspective of the consumer. But on the other end there is the provider of the product or service.

My point is this. If there is a demand for something and people are willing to pay for it, then it is a viable way to make money online and no one way is better than another.

In other words, you can sell products, provide a service or do whatever you want as long as there is somebody on the other end with an open wallet.

So instead of asking what the best way to make money online is, ask what the best way is for YOU. To do that, look at your skills and interests. It’s a lot easier to sell something that you have a love for than it is to sell something that you don’t give a rat’s behind about.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

Want to make money TODAY without spending a DIME? Check out my site at http://www.hottrendsdaily.com/ and find out how.

Well, here it is April 1, 2010 and once again Google has come out with its April Fool’s joke. It was so funny I forgot to laugh. Perhaps you missed it. If so, I’ll briefly recap. But that isn’t the point of this article. My question is simple. Was the joke on you? Not sure where I’m going with this? Keep reading and you’ll find out.

Okay, so what was this year’s April Fool’s joke from our dear friend Google? Well, it seems that they changed their name to Topeka. It had something to do with the city of Topeka, Kansas changing their name to Google, or something like that. I don’t normally follow this nonsense but that’s the general gist of the prank of the day. Ha-ha…so funny I forgot to laugh.

Point is, was the joke REALLY on you? I know…you’re scratching your head wondering where I’m going with this. Well, let me ask you a question. After this joke hit the Internet, what did you do? Well, if you’re like most people, you probably hit your favorite forum or chat group to talk about it. It was probably the talk of the day and you spent most of your day doing just that. Well…let me ask you another question.

Did you get any work done?

No, I’m not being a smart aleck. I’m dead serious. Did you get any work done? See, while everybody else was yucking it up about the oh so funny Google prank (please note the sarcasm) I was busy writing articles, running ads, working on a new project and essentially attending to my business. I just came off yet another record breaking month and didn’t want to let the momentum slip away.

All this while most folks were debating on whether to move to Kansas or not.

Look, there is nothing wrong with taking a little time to relax. I do it too, believe it or not. But to waste a whole day talking about this nonsense is just…well…nonsense. So again I ask, was the joke on you? Well, if it was, don’t fret. You still have 364 days to make up for your little slipup.

Just don’t get sucked in next year when Google changes its name to Yahoo.

Because then we’re ALL gonna be confused.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

Want to make money TODAY without spending a DIME? Check out my site at http://www.hottrendsdaily.com/ and find out how.

Are you stuck at the starting gate with your business? If you are, you’re not alone. This article is going to go over a few of the reasons why people DO get stuck at the starting gate. See if you can identify with any of these.

At the top of my list, and maybe the most common, is fear. Let’s be honest, it’s a scary thing to start your own home business. I remember when I first started mine back in 2003. I was petrified. What made it worse was that I had just lost my job. I had no choice but to make this work. If you think that’s not scary…think again.

How did I overcome fear? How can YOU overcome fear? Here’s the simple way. Think of the alternative to NOT starting. You’re in the same place you’re in now, financially and every other way. And if the threat of eviction is hanging over your head, that’s REAL scary. Sometimes we have to be so scared that we end up taking off out of that starting gate out of desperation.

And there is NOTHING wrong with that. Anything that gets you going is fine.

Another reason why people have trouble getting out of the starting gate is because they simply don’t know what to do first. They have no knowledge at all of what it takes to run a home business. I can relate to this as well. I didn’t know anything about working from home when I first started. So what did I do?

I went to the search engines and looked up, “how to make money from home” and I started reading all the results on the page. Sure, back then, there were a lot of scams and I fell for quite a few of them. Today, fortunately, there is more qualify information out there that will actually help you get started. It’s not like the wild west days of old.

Finally, there is the process itself. Once you figure out what it is you WANT to do, you don’t quite know the steps to putting it all together. For example, let’s say you went to Google and read an article on freelancing, talking about the opportunities of freelancing. You think it sounds great, but the article doesn’t go into all the details of how you actually get started. That’s where a lot of people get stuck…with the actual step by step process of creating a business.

Realizing this, I’ve decided to put together a 2 volume set that essentially takes you, step by step, through the process of whatever business you want to setup. I’ve made it generic enough so that it can apply to anybody but specific enough so that you shouldn’t have any questions on what needs to be done in each case. It was an ambitious project, but I feel one that was worth doing. You can find out more in my signature.

Bottom line is this. You first have to identify the reason why you’re stuck at the starting gate or you’ll never get out of it. This requires quite a bit of honesty, especially if fear is your biggest problem.

Mine was not having a clue what I was doing.

But I fixed that one as fast as I could.

I know YOU can do the same.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

If you don’t know where to start and are stuck at that starting gate, visit my site at: http://www.stevewagenheim.com/stepbystep/ and get your hands on a true step by step system that has virtually left nothing to chance.

Wouldn’t it be great if somebody actually put together a step by step manual that didn’t leave out some steps? That is essentially the rant of this article. If you don’t like rants, you might want to skip this. If you do, you’re going to enjoy this one.

If you’re like me, you’ve seen plenty of “how to” books on making money, running a business, marketing, copywriting, or whatever the subject might be. And don’t get me wrong, a lot of these books are excellent…at least as far as the general information in them.

The problem is that too many times we are told to do X, Y and Z but the detailed steps of how to DO X, Y and Z are left out.

For example…let’s take the following instructions for Bum Marketing.

1. Find a niche
2. Do keyword research for the niche
3. Write articles based on those keywords
4. Find a product related to those keywords to promote
5. Write up a review of the product and put it on a blog
6, Direct traffic from the article to the review

Okay, tell me what’s wrong with the above process?

There’s not enough detail for each part.

Now don’t get me wrong, the books that contain processes like this DO go into some detail. Problem is, they leave steps out…not because they want to…but because it’s almost inevitable.

But why?

The reason is simple. See, there are things that each of us does that are second nature. We don’t think about them. So when we write out a step by step procedure, we forget about these little things.

Now, in some cases, the little things aren’t that important. However, many times, those little things serve as roadblocks to our being able to finish the process because we either don’t know how to do those little things or we can’t do them well.

Correct me if I am wrong on anything so far.

As a former computer programmer, I didn’t have the luxury of forgetting the little things. The computer was ONLY going to do what I told it to do. If I left out even ONE little line, the program wouldn’t work. If you are a programmer, you know what I’m talking about.

But most product creators DON’T think this way…and quite honestly…you can’t fault them.

Still…it would be nice if they’d at least come close.

Well, I’ve recently put together a 2 volume step by step product (starting with business planning and finishing with actual marketing) that, if not perfect, is the closest thing I have seen to a true step by step process. I really strained my brain on it in the hope that, for those who need it, none of the little things that make a difference are left out.

I understand what it’s like to be a new person at this. I haven’t forgotten my early days when I was so clueless that I made all of $28 in my first 5 months online.

Very few can equal THAT kind of failure.

Had I something like this manual when I started, it wouldn’t have taken me so long to get to where I am today. But that’s water under the bridge. If you’re where I was then, or struggling to put those final pieces together, you might want to check out my signature.

I think you will find it is what you’ve always been looking for.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

If you’re tired of spinning your wheels trying to learn how to put together a solid business, visit my site at: http://www.stevewagenheim.com/stepbystep/ and get your hands on a true step by step system that has virtually left nothing to chance.

I really had to debate with myself about whether or not to write this article. Most people can’t handle the truth. Eventually, I realized that by not writing this article I would be doing a lot of people a disservice…people who will probably be spending a lot of time trying to succeed at something that they have no chance at. Yes, there are some people who will never make money online with their home business. This article is going to explain why. The hard part is being able to look in the mirror to determine if this is your or not.

There is only one way to really get this point across, and that’s with a personal story not related to making money online but related to failure in general. This applies to everything in life and I think it will make things very clear to you.

Most people don’t know this but I’m really into music a lot. I’ve been writing songs now for over 25 years. I’ve submitted songs to song contests and publishers. I’ve written over 700 songs. Before I started writing, I went to college and took music theory. So I actually know my craft and can write more than just three chord wonders.

And yet, with all the work I have done and all the time I have put into this field, I have almost nothing to show for it. I have two honorable mentions in two song contests and one song published. Nothing has ever been recorded and I have not made one dime out of this industry. Okay, the question is…why?

There are two reasons, and they are the same two reasons that some people will never make any money online.

Reason number one is because I just don’t have the talent, at least not to write the kind of song that’s going to get picked up by an artist and recorded. I can write for 100 years and it won’t matter. Some people just don’t have the talent for things. In business, maybe it’s communication where you’re lacking, or some other skill. Point is, if you don’t have the skills to do the work needed, you’re not going to succeed, no matter how bad you want it.

Reason number two takes a lot more honesty to admit and really digs into the soul of a person. See, the truth is, I really didn’t work as hard as I could have. Sure, I did all the things that I said I did, but I could have done more. I could have hopped on a plane and flown to Nashville and banged on some publisher’s door demanding I be heard until he finally gave in. I could have gone to every songwriting expo in my area year after year. I could have submitted more songs to more publishers. I could have written more. I could have, as a last ditch effort, started my own label with my own money. There are things I could have done if I REALLY wanted to make it as a songwriter.

Bottom line is…I didn’t do enough. There was only so much work I was going to put into this career. My friend, the same thing is true with business and everything else. There are people out there who will simply not do everything that they can to make it. They’ll do so much, and no more. And sometimes, what they’re willing to do is just not going to be enough. Heck, I have people write to me to tell me that the latest product they got from me is going to require a lot of work. Can you guess where these people are going to end up?

This is the cold hard reality that most people can’t face, but it’s one that they better face. If you don’t have the skills and aren’t prepared to do everything that you possibly can in order to make a success of your business, then you probably will fail.

Not a very happy ending to this article, is it?

But you see, sometimes life doesn’t have a happy ending.

It’s time to go look in the mirror.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

Want to make money TODAY without spending a DIME? Check out my site at http://www.hottrendsdaily.com/ and find out how.