Working from your home computer is the best possible way to earn a living. I believe this because it is working for me and I am passionate about what I am doing, but you may have a completely different reason for wanting to work exclusively online and start home based business. I’d like to explore the possibilities and business models here so that you can make an informed decision about your business future and work at something that will truly make your heart sing.

Take a look at the reasons you were attracted to working from home in the first place. You may have young children that need to be cared for, elderly parents or other family members that need your help, or you may have health issues that make it difficult for you to work outside of your home. I had an elderly mother who needed more of my time, as well as some serious health issues that made it extremely difficult for me to be at a job for many hours every single day.

I must admit that when I made the jump from employee – I was a classroom teacher for twenty years – to online entrepreneur I had no idea of how I would be able to make any money. Looking back to that time, in 2006, it’s amazing that I was willing to resign from my teaching job and take that leap of faith to start a home-based business when I had no experience at all in this area.

You now have the benefit of learning from the experiences of everyone who went before you when it comes to getting started online with a business. You also have the opportunity to choose the business model that feels right for you. My business is a mixture of affiliate marketing and my own digital information products. This means that I also host my own courses online so that I can once again be a teacher.

Spend time thinking about the way you would like to run a business. Discuss it with your family as well so that they will be on board and have an idea of what to expect once you embark on this journey. Also, this requires at least a minimal understanding of technology, the ability to write at least at the eighth grade level on a regular basis, and research into the niche markets that you will work in. If this sounds like work, it is. It is also the most rewarding work you will ever do, so it is worth every moment you invest.

What are your thoughts on this?

Are you too comfortable at your job to become a successful entrepreneur? If you stop to think about the job you are currently working at you may discover that you have become complacent about starting and building your own business because your job provides a steady paycheck to pay your monthly bills and expenses. This can be dangerous!

I worked as a classroom teacher for twenty years. Every month I received a paycheck that I used to make my house payment, car payment, and for my other expenses. It wasn’t until I had cancer for the first time and was not able to work for six months that I realized just how much that job was costing me.

At the same time I was working in real estate as a broker and residential appraiser. This work allowed me to make my own hours, set my own appointments, and have control over the amount of income I could earn. If it had not been for my ability to make money in real estate while I was undergoing treatment for my cancer, I would surely have lost my home and would have had to file for bankruptcy. Instead, I had a steady flow of income coming in and was able to meet all of my financial obligations during this difficult time. This gave me peace of mind in a way I cannot fully describe.

How can you avoid being caught up in what I call the ‘paycheck comfort zone’? Ask yourself some serious questions to see where you are in this process. Are you satisfied with the number on your paycheck? Are you alright with the amount of time and effort required to stay at your job? If you or a family member were to become ill, if you’d want to relocate to another city to live, or to want to take time off to pursue other interests, would your job accommodate you? Is the amount of money you earn at your current job sufficient for what you need and want in your life? It may be time for you to quit your job and move on in your life.

There is a certain mindset that goes along with taking the leap from employee to entrepreneur. As an employee you look to your boss to find out what the company wants to do next; as an entrepreneur you make the decisions as to what actions and steps you will take to move forward. If it’s going to happen, it is entirely up to you to see it through. You must have the inner strength to trust your intuition and gut instincts when it comes to making smart decisions. This requires you to have the self confidence to know you can achieve your goals.

This is what I wrote about in my recent book ,The Inner Game of Internet Marketing, and it applies to other areas of your life as well. You can do it, and quitting your job to become an online entrepreneur will change your life forever.

As I continue to work with people in the area of building a profitable business, I hear the same excuses over and over. Some of the more memorable ones are:

“But you don’t understand. My business is different.”

“Sure, that works for you, but I’m new.”

“I’m too old.”

“I’m on (insert guru’s name here) list, and they said I should try (insert name of latest product or service here).”

And my all-time favorite:

“I can’t afford a mentor.”

When I started my serious exercise and eating plan at the first of this year I soon realized that I was making the exact same excuses!

Even though I was showing up at the gym each week, I found myself telling the trainers that they did not understand why I wasn’t making much progress because my body was different.

As I observed others losing weight and replacing fat with muscle I explained that it was working for them, but not for me, because I was new and needed time to settle in to the exercise and fitness routines they were teaching me. I also told them that I was too old to be able to make the kind of progress some of the others were making.

I soon began searching the Internet for help and found myself telling the trainers at my gym that people online were recommending an entirely different regime that I was going to check out. When they recommended that I work out privately with a trainer three times each week I told them that it was just too expensive for my budget.

I had effectively taken myself out of the game and ensured my failure by not trusting them to guide me in the right direction. When I finally realized this I apologized profusely and began to make a serious and consistent effort to follow exactly what they were recommending. The result was that I began to lose weight, increase my muscle mass, decrease my BMI (Body Mass Index), and feel better overall.

Once I stopped making excuses and started focusing on how to do the best I could under the guidance and direction of those I trusted, everything changed overnight.

Have you found yourself making any of these excuses when it comes to building a profitable business online, or in any other area of your life?

In 2005 I started on a path that led me to leave my job as a classroom teacher, give away all of my real estate clients, and come online full time in 2006. I had no idea where this would lead me, but now I know that I was meant to change my life in a big way at that time.  I do believe that anyone can make this type of change in their life, but you must take the necessary steps to ensure you are building a business that will sustain you for years to come. This requires hard work as you build a list of prospects and clients, increase your online visibility, and set up the systems that will bring the profitability necessary for a successful business on the Internet.

Start by setting up a hosted WordPress blog. The hosting account will cost you less than a hundred dollars a year, and enable you to set up as many sites as you want to over time without any additional cost. I recommend Blue Host because of their customer service and c-panel features. This will also mean that you own your blog, instead of trying to start a business by using a free blogging platform, such as Blogger, that you could lose at any time if it gets shut down. Start out by posting about yourself and what you are working on. It will seem very personal in the beginning, and over time you will find that you are sharing more and more on your topic.

Include an optin box on your blog so that visitors can sign up to join your list to find out more about what you are doing. You’ll need an autoreponder service for this, and I recommend using either 1 Shopping Cart or Aweber for this. You will need to put together a check list or short report on your topic to offer as the free giveaway for this. Long ago people would sign up to receive an Ezine or a newsletter, but now everyone expects to receive some time of complimentary information, in audio (mp3), video, or written (PDF) format, as their incentive for signing up to be on your list.

Next, be sure to use your keywords for your blog post titles so that the search engines begin to see what you will be talking about. This can be a confusing part of the process, so take a look at other people’s sites to see which words and phrases they are optimizing for on their blog. Google offers a free tool, their Keyword Tool External, to make this much easier to understand. Don’t worry if this part of the process sounds confusing right now. Just know that we are found on the Internet by the words we use to describe our niche topic.

Now it’s time to monetize this entire process. You’ll need something to sell, so think about choosing an affiliate product in the very beginning instead of creating your own product right away. The best choices for this are products and services you have purchased and used in your own businesses. By recommending these to the people who come to you for help and information, you can begin to start the steady flow of income that will lead to online profitability in your online business.

Getting started online can be broken down into a series of actionable steps, and starting your own hosted WordPress blog is the first step to online success.

When I made the decision to come online and start a business at the end of 2005, my goal was to replace the income I was currently earning by working as a classroom teacher and real estate appraiser. Was I thinking too small? No, because at that time I could not envision ever making more money than I already made. When I actually started doing business in 2006 I played at the level that was comfortable for me. I struggled that first year because I believed that was a necessary part of the process.

By 2007 I saw the possibilities of taking this business to a much higher level, and that’s when I became aware that I was definitely playing too small. I decided to change the way I was doing business by surrounding myself with the right people, the right training, and the right mindset for where I was and where I wanted to go. This led to my search for the right person or group to connect with. I’m still a part of one group that consists of people doing business online, either exclusively or as a part of their offline business.

I also meet with a small group of business people on a regular basis in what is called a Mastermind. We have met informally for about two years now, and many of the ideas I have for new products and other aspects of my business have originated in these meetings. If you do not have a Mastermind group already I would encourage you to form one.

I no longer ‘play small’. I have a mission and a vision for my business that is definitely way out of my comfort zone. Each time I fear what may be ahead I find the courage to do it anyway. This is what we are referring to when we speak of mastering your ‘Inner Game‘. Pushing through my fears has been a way for me to grow as a person, apart from my business. Everything is easier and more joyous these days.

What about you? Are you playing the game of life too small? What do you need that will make it all come together for you?

Have you thought about working from home on the computer? Being able to work from the comfort of your own home definitely has its advantages. You can make your own hours, giving you the freedom to sleep late, take your kids to school, make breakfast for your spouse, or do any of a number of things you might not be able to do if you are working at a traditional job. In fact, you will find that you can be more productive than ever because you will soon figure out what works best for you.

When I was a classroom teacher my day begin before five in the morning. Everything was rushed each morning as I showered, dressed, ate breakfast, got my things together, and got out the door before six. Then I would sit in traffic for forty-five minutes before arriving at school. The weekends were also busy for me because that’s when I was working in real estate as a broker and residential appraiser. I longed for a time when I could get up when I felt like it and have a leisurely morning at home as I prepared for my day.

When I finally resigned from teaching and gave away my real estate clients to come online in 2005, that’s when I realized for the first time in my life that I’m a morning person. All of those years that I had dreaded getting up so early and leaving the house was because I wanted to stay home and work, not be away from home for twelve hours or longer each day and work.

Now I get up around six, take my

Getting started online is an excellent way to build an online empire. You may already know that you can make more money from teaching what you know that simply by writing books or creating products on your niche topic. We live in a world where people are overwhelmed with information and ideas. They much prefer being able to learn about your area of expertise from you directly. This works well in any niche, and is the biggest secret known to those who have become online teachers.

In 2009 I started blogging about how to make huge profits with a tiny list. It seemed that everyone around me was saying that you couldn’t really make a living with an Internet business until you had at least five thousand people on your list. That had not been my experience at all. In fact, I was already earning six figures a year long before I had a thousand names on my list. I turned this information into a book in 2010, and then began teaching it through webinars and at live events around the country.

By teaching my topic instead of just telling people to read my book or take my recorded training, I was able to build a hugely profitable business based on my sharing my knowledge and expertise with those who came to me to get started online. You can do the same thing.

I recommend that you start out by blogging about your niche topic. This allows you to get your thoughts and ideas out of your head and into written form. Each blog post can be turned into an article and submitted to the article directories to help build your list. After you’ve written several articles put them together into a short report. You can give this to the people already on your list and use it as a free giveaway for building your list further.

Now it’s time to start teaching what you know. Use the short report you’ve just put together as the basis for a PowerPoint presentation. I like to record my presentation using Camtasia so that I have something to sell right away. You can also practice this by presenting your information to local groups in your city. Organizations such as Rotary, Kiwanis, and the Chamber of Commerce are always looking for people to share information with their members. Over time you will hone your skills as a speaker and presenter and will be asked to do it more often.

Turning your ideas into a book is the next step in this process. It has never been easier to publish your information for the Amazon Kindle. I highly recommend taking it to the next step and using the Create Space program available through Amazon to publish your book in paperback form as well.

The final step in this process is to start teaching what you know. Use your articles, blog posts, short reports, PowerPoint presentations, and books as the blueprint for what you will share with others as you build your online empire.

As 2011 draws to a close I am in an exotic, undisclosed location with my family and a few very close friends. The sun is high in the sky, the ocean is blue, and I am reflecting on my life as on online author, speaker, and trainer. This is the first year I have been able to find that work/life balance that many of us crave so badly. It took me almost five years to get to this point, and I’d like to share with you what can be done to arrive here much more quickly.

Treat your life like a business – This will be the topic of my next book, and I believe this to be the very best way to approach everything you are doing. My first year online, 2006, was spent with me trying to learn everything at once and dabbling in at least ten different niches. I thought that if I had my finger in lots of pies it would pay off in one way or another. It did not. In 2007 I began to approach what I was doing like a business would; I researched several niches to see what was happening with them online, took an honest look at my passions, experience and training, and where the market was, and then chose the niche of helping people to write and market eBooks on the Internet. I did this for about two years before making the jump into Internet marketing.

Allow for time off to do other things – You may have heard of people who retire from their job after forty years and then die soon after because they just didn’t have anything to do and no people to spend time with regularly. We are much more than our work. Instead of letting work define you, branch out and get involved with people and activities you love. There is a whole world out there waiting for you to jump in and make a difference.

Don’t try to do it all yourself – I spent way too much time during my first year in business trying to wear every hat. Once I began to relinquish control over much of what I was doing, leaving myself room to write and create and train, my business really took off. If you feel like you don’t have the money to do that right now, think about bartering with others so that it’s a win-win.

Connect with other like-minded individuals – This group will change for you over time as your business grows, you begin to earn more money, and your creative ideas begin to take shape. I spend very little time with people whose lives have become stagnant because that isn’t good for my inner growth. Branch out and meet new people who will understand where you are in your success journey.

I hope these tips will make a difference for you as they have for me. I look forward to sharing even more with you during 2012. Stay tuned for lots of new trainings and surprises that will help you to build your own online empire.

Success on the Internet can be enjoyed by all, but seldom is this the case. Have you been as successful as you hoped for during this past year? As 2011 draws to a close, I find myself reflecting on this past year and my observations as to why people are successful or not as they embark on this journey of Internet marketing. I believe it is helpful to everyone to make a study of what occurs once someone makes the conscious decision to become an online entrepreneur, and how just a few shifts in thinking and mindset will make all the difference.

I recently spoke with someone who described earning money online as a ‘means to an end’. He is truly passionate about an entirely different industry, and views what he is doing online each day as something that will help him to raise the money he needs to be successful in this other area. It took me a day to truly think about what he had said and to come to this conclusion:

If you do not see the opportunity with an online business and express thanks and gratitude for it each and every day, it will become just another thing in your life that you are not successful at achieving. I believe that we must live ‘in the moment’ and do our best at all times. If you have spent the past twenty years or so wanting to be successful in another area of your life, why weren’t you able to give that other area the time and effort necessary in order to achieve your goals and dreams? Why will Internet marketing be any different for you? The short answer: It won’t be any different, and years from now you will lament the fact that you allowed this amazing opportunity slip through your fingers.

Life is much too short to be doing something you do not love. When I no longer loved teaching in the classroom, I made a two year plan to get out. Yes, it was stressful both financially and emotionally, but now my life is more rewarding than I ever imagined it could be. You deserve to be happy and fulfilled, so once you have identified what you love and have a passion for, start doing it every day with gusto!

Having the ability to work from home, or from wherever you are in the world with an Internet connection, is a gift. No other time in recorded history has given us this chance to earn an excellent living on our own terms. You can choose the days of the week and the times of day you will work, freeing up other time for the things in your life that run on a tight schedule. Whether you have children in school, an elderly parent to care for, or are involved in activities that meet at specific times, there will always be time for you to build a passive and residual income and enjoy true success on the Internet. I encourage you to take some time this week to imagine your life in this way, and to appreciate what this will mean for you for the remainder of your working life.