I trained as an accountant so I'm not used to being excited about
my work.

I've changed careers and I'm now an Internet marketing guru. I've
got all the right tools in my bag... I've written an eBook, I
have a direct response web site AND my very own opt-in
newsletter. I've also joined some great affiliate programs. In
short, I know what I'm doing and I can teach others to do the
same. All I have to do is sit back and watch the money roll in.
I'm excited!

I'll just check my hit counter for today. Hang on, there must be
a zero missing... they must mean 50 hits not 5. And how many
eBook sales today? Only one. That's odd - I've got some great
testimonials for the eBook and I've told loads of people about
it. And only $40 in affiliate sales so far today. The affiliate
programs are for some of the best Internet marketing products you
can find. What's going wrong?

1. I'm more excited than most of my potential customers.
2. There aren't enough of them.

Having great products and a great web site is about as much use
as a chocolate fireguard if I don't have traffic. It's a bit like
me opening a McDonald's halfway up Mount Everest; however good my
burgers are, I won't get many customers.

OK, so I'd better downgrade my status. I'm no longer an Internet
marketing guru. I just know a lot more than someone starting out
with an online business. Now I come to think about it, the real
gurus don't even call themselves 'gurus' or even 'experts'. And
none of them reached the lofty status of respectability in a few
weeks; it took months and in most cases years. Most of them say
they are still learning.

The Internet marketing hype stories are getting taller, just as
the promised timescale for online millionaire status is getting
shorter. I get many emails which suggest that if I invest just
$39.99, $14.99 or even $zero, I can make thousands of dollars a
month within a few weeks. I can master the art of Internet
marketing in one course or one eBook and 'hey presto' I will be
successful, with lots of money rolling in on autopilot. In some
cases I'm told I can just sign up without doing any work.

The Internet gives us a powerful potential source of income,
however, like any trade or profession, it takes time and effort
to learn how to succeed. It took me 5 years to qualify as an
accountant and with my new career it has taken me just 6 months
or so to get a successful business going... but it wasn't 6 WEEKS
and no, I'm not earning millions yet.

In any home-based business you obviously need a good product or
'formula'. There are three other essential ingredients which are
often omitted from the success recipe:

1. Realistic expectations.
2. Motivation.
3. Action... doing not just hoping!

Most people who quit a home-based business have unrealistic
income expectations.

Motivation is often overlooked... do you NEED your online
business to be successful or do you just want it to be? If you
don't need - or have a burning desire - to succeed, you probably
won't. The low investment doesn't help here either. What have you
got to lose - $39.99, $14.99 or even $zero?

And as for action, well it's time for me to DO something... back
to traffic building school.

About the Author

Richard Wall left the rat race in 1994. He has 6 years of
home-based business experience and his new eBook 'Residual Dream'
includes valuable hype-busting information for home-based
entrepreneurs.
http://www.squillionaires.com
mailto:richard@wallpotential.com