14 Things You Should Realize After One Year In Money-Making Space
113: Daily dose of reality.
Welcome reader! Everyone trying to learn how to make money online or find their first customer should have a few realizations after their first year in the game. Being your business owner has never been easier, yet getting quality information has never been harder. What should you realize after a year in the money-making space?
Truth About Money Making Space
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Reality Check: The money-making space is an unhealthy place. That is a nice way to put it. Imagine an inexperienced individual searching for ways to make money online. The first thing you are bombarded with is the material stuff. Now you are asking yourself: how does everyone have sports cars? After spending some time around, you realize everyone claims their way is the best way to make money. The realization leads to further confusion. Take it further and spend another month reading money-making material you have found. You conclude everyone is making unrealistic claims. Suppose you are one of the lucky ones who catch that in the first few months. The unlucky ones take it as it is and challenge nothing. Believing in what has been sold to them and accepting ridiculous results as reality. Without having the skills to back up those claims. A combination that doesn’t work. That is the reality of someone new entering the money-making space. Result? Everyone reading our content already knows... It is a one-way ticket to long-term degeneracy. Now that the typical scenario is out - time to point out what you should realize after a year.
1) Not Everyone Has Your Best Interests in Mind: Hard pill to swallow. Not everyone has your best interest in mind. Neither does everyone want to see you win. Ten to fifteen years ago, the money-making space was different. Different because everyone was happy for others if they were winning. The game has changed. - those days are behind us. The majority loves a quick dollar and would do everything to achieve it, considering that 50% of the population lives on less than a thousand dollars monthly. No surprises. Suppose you sell someone an idea. One where they will make a few thousand dollars which equals their yearly salary… What could you expect? The competition had to become cutthroat. Everyone plays against each other. What does that mean for the end consumer? More mediocre advice. More useless information. More noise. More nonsense claims. We have already outlined that the internet is turning Pay To Play and that one of your goals should be to get into the communities of same-minded people. We would argue that this whole point should be one of the easiest to catch after a year in the space. Be careful about whom you take advice from. Take nothing for granted - be suspicious of claims and those promising fast results. Remember that someone sees you as nothing else but a walking cheque.
2) Most People Know What to Do: After one year in the space. You should clearly understand what you should be doing. You should know how to assemble the product, create basic ads, or set up the website where your potential customers will land. Not only should you know how to do those basic things. You should also be able to understand patterns that repeat everywhere. Marketing, operations, psychology, and human nature. They are everywhere. If you are still on the side and not executing because you are waiting for the perfect moment or having problems - address them as soon as possible. No matter what they are trying to sell, the reality is that 90% of those who spend years in the money-making space should know what to do. However, there is always an excuse for not doing so. The more you postpone doing what you know you should do - the lower your chances of executing your idea.
3) Evergreen Markets: Every few months, there is a new secret method that no one knows about. The average money-making account will try to convince you to invest in it. Promising it is a new thing no one knows about. "The secret". Over the years, we have seen this pattern happen every few months. The new money-making method hits the market → in the next six months - increase in popularity → the method will not work anymore because of market saturation. This is a popular approach with the affiliate material. No one shares their methods while those methods bring the food to the table. They share them when they die out. Regarding the online money-making space, there are four evergreen online business models: e-commerce, affiliate, building offers, and software (SaaS). Stick to one of those and learn skills that will allow you to profit from evergreen models in the long run.
4) Process Learning Is Limiting Your Growth: Expanding further on the above point. Process learning limits you - your ability to understand what you are doing. Result? It limits your ability to make money. We would argue it is one of those things inexperienced beginners have the most problems with. It is hard to process that the method you have been sold on is not something you should do. After one year in the money-making space - realize that if everyone is doing the same thing. Following someone's outlined action plan - you can get so much out of that. Why would you have different results if you and thousands of others do the same thing? Using the approach and hoping to achieve different results. That’s not how it works. After talking with over a few hundred individuals. We can confidently say that process learning limits most from making money. Once you can take the concept out of the process and apply it to different variables - you will start to make money.
5) Goal Is Zero To One: If you have not made a single dollar online after the first year. You need to switch your priorities. Your goal should not be to chase after 5k or 10k per month. Leave that approach to those who are trying to sell you something. Your goal? Earning your first dollar online. There is a mindset shift once you experience it. Why do you want to focus on small wins? The first dollar online will prove it is possible to achieve big things. Having a mindset switch. What most need is going from an impossible mindset to believing it is possible. Momentum is one word. Forget about the big numbers. Start thinking about 0 and 1.
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. - Rita Mae Brown
6) Not All "Businesses" Are Businesses: What the other side teaching you to make money online will not tell you that not all "businesses" are businesses. Before anyone comments, as long as you are not working for anyone else, that is your business. It's not that white and black. That might be true in theory - we disagree since you are still trading your time for money. Our idea of business? If you can't go on vacation and return to more money in your bank account… You are not running a business. A great example would be contract stacking or any other form of consulting work being packaged as a business model. They will make you money. They will improve your life. However, they are glorified jobs - not businesses. Looking for a business? Stick to the evergreen models and build around those. Ones that will allow you to exit in the end. Not all business models are business models - at least not according to our definition. What do all glorified jobs have? Their scale opportunities are capped. We have covered this in-depth by listening to gurus. Treat those business models accordingly.
7) Go All In: How often have you heard this over the last year? Quit your job and go all in on your business. The reality is that there are no reasons you can’t spin off your business while having 9to5. Nonsense. There are multiple examples of people working in the finance industry where the average working day is well above eight hours, but they still put in the effort and spin off their adventure… Successfully. One that replaced the primary source of income. Over the last two years, big influencers have managed to psyop young individuals who have embraced that same idea. Without those same young individuals realizing those big influencers have been creating the customers out of them. Promising them not to work 9to5 while teaching them the skills they can use to start their business. Not dropping any names, but it should be self-explanatory. Nothing is wrong with that approach except removing the safety net, which is far from optimal. Over the upcoming years, the standard 9to5 path (if you are not following our blueprint) will not be able to provide you with as much as it used to - that is the reality. The middle class is disappearing, and the window of opportunity is getting shorter. The next few years are crucial for those in careers because they should do everything possible to get into a position where they will have decision power while building their business. This will allow you to have a backup and lower your stress until your business has a predictable cash flow.
8) Money-Making Space Operates On Exploitation Of The Insecure: Men are driven by status, while women are driven by security. Two fundamental principles of human psychology that everyone reading this should know. We often cover topics like this in our PDFs, which you can find in our Telegram group or the chat. Why does 90% of the money-making space operate on materialistic goods and exploitation of the insecure? Those pushing info products know how to get results. Imagine the other side is looking for a quick way to make money. You know "The secret" that will allow them to achieve that. To live the lifestyle you live. To buy the things you buy. To travel where you travel. It is clear why the target group is men. Throw into the mix the basics of human psychology. Where it has been proven money and status motivate men… There is a good reason those Pinterest Twitter posts that have been popular over the last months make sense. Everyone wants the results, but only a few are ready to work. When you remove all those material items from the funnel, you realize what kind of basic information you are getting - that should be one of the first things you do.
9) Motivation Won’t Get You Far: There are zero chances you will meet a high performer who needs motivation to do what they are doing. Zero chances. What does this tell you? If you need motivation to work or spend over three minutes daily getting motivated by external factors. You won’t be getting far. Not just in money-making space. This applies across all life categories. We all know at least one example of someone who had to motivate themselves to hit the gym just to quit going to it after three weeks. Building a business and making money is not for the faint of heart. Sleepless nights, 14-hour workdays, and sacrificing social life are all part of it. For those who have never experienced it? Prepare yourself that it is part of the game. It is required. There is so much watching motivational videos on YouTube after work can do to get you ready to put in another four to six hours of thinking and working. Similar principles as to being motivated by the material stuff. It all depends on when you can buy your first luxury watch, car, or whatever you have planned for yourself. After having enough money in your bank account to buy those? It is impossible to be motivated by more material things. Those who had their material phase and got over it know what we are referring to. It is all pointless after one point. Being in the game requires more than being motivated and driven by material stuff.
10) Less Material Is More: Not another video. Not another course. Not another PDF. Not another method. They will not help you. Realize that you won’t be getting far by abusing the content. Less is more, and there is no denying it. Excessive consumption of study material is nothing else but an escape vehicle. Most of those who make no money on the internet use it as an excuse not to act. Once you have learned the basics and understand what is going on. Your next step should be to get into the field. Learn how the industry operates and figure out where you are with your skill set - this will speed up your learning and allow you to understand what is expected of you. You can't get either of these by consuming material. Do yourself a favor - save time and escape the digital rat race.
Entrepreneurship is a daring adventure from zero to one, not one to a hundred. It’s about creating value where none existed before. - Nassim Nicholas Taleb
11) Marketing Knowledge Is A Must: Sooner or later, you start to understand what gets results and move the needle in the money-making space in marketing. When everyone has the same opportunity to build unique products with minimal effort and lean teams. How do you plan to differentiate yourself from those? Marketing and quality service or product to back claims you make. Your initial focus? The answer that most won't agree with. Give a try to everything - become a generalist. Depending on your specialization, you must not become an expert in any of those. Yet, you need to understand how to create a funnel or landing page or write a simple ad that you will run. Doing that will allow you to understand the game better in the end. Want to take things further with marketing? Study human psychology and sociology. This will enable you to get into your audience's brains and turn those leads into customers.
12) Short-Term Savings Lead To Long-Term Losses: Avoid short-term decisions that make sense now. Millions of examples show how saving $10 monthly on a subscription can cost you hours of effort and money to fix up. Try implementing or integrating the new feature on the closed platform. The only solution? You are offloading your project to the new platform. Result? Huge time sink and expenses. An opportunity cost few understand. This is the basic example that happens often with inexperienced. Those who have experienced it first-hand know what consequences short-term thinking brings. Instead of cutting costs and saving cents - think long-term. Those $10 savings might seem important in the early phase, but they can turn into thousands of dollars of costs in the long run. Following what works and what others are doing is one of the most optimal ways to determine what you should use for your business model. Monkey see, monkey do is what works in this case.
13) Tax Frauds And Other Nonsense: We witnessed a massive spike in the popularity of "tax fraud is the way" last year. Nothing makes a business owner chuckle more than the idea of not paying taxes. Yes, it is possible not to pay taxes. If you live in the First World and avoid taxes with no strategic system… You won't pull off not paying taxes. You will end up doing time. The real professionals are laughing at those zero-tax LLC structures you find on OffshoreCorpTalk and similar websites. Tax avoidance in the First World is a wealthy people's game and not something you should bother with when you are not bringing in solid amounts. If you already make considerable amounts and are not sold on giving more to the country - be smart about it. Get a good accountant and tax expert, and build from there.
14) Personal Brand Route: You already know that a few months back, we outlined a general approach you could leverage to build traction and start your brand. After one year in this space, where things are heading should be obvious. The whole money-making space is turning into a personal brand space. If you do not have a brand, you won’t sell. Why? Because everyone has an equal opportunity to put themselves on the internet. That is why we are witnessing a massive increase in people faking their revenue screenshots and posting material goods - that is how they are trying to build their reputations. How do you plan to be different from the others? Another part of the story is that half of those trying to develop personal brands are not taking it seriously. People act out of desperation and are ready to destroy their reputations for a few thousand dollars. That’s not how you play the long game. What those who are looking for shortcuts are missing is that there are deep communities where members share information you won’t find anywhere else. How do you get in those? Your reputation gets you in them. If you are playing the long game - leverage your brand and understand what you are building.
Summary: The first year will tell you much about the money-making space. It will tell you a lot about the money-making space and provide lessons and insights you should pay attention to. Do not blindly follow the advice outlined by others - that is what most of those not getting any results are doing. Learn to extract and apply information to your situation during your first year. One part of the story is that there are valuable sources and ones you should seek to connect with. The other part? Most are there for a quick buck and don’t care about the results or those to whom they sell their products. This read should provide insights and knowledge to your advantage if you are new to money-making. We are leaving you with a beautiful text from Felix Dennis that should make you think about money-making and encourage you to read how not to waste your 20s.
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Valuable post!
amazing stuff.