Can You Really Make Money Online? Maybe You Should Be Asking A Different Question.

Can you really make money online?

That is a million dollar riddle so many people try to solve. A lot of people ask me this question and my answer is not a straightforward one. Many successful online entrepreneurs will answer, "Hells to the yeah" but my answer is usually a little less exciting and somewhat anticlimactic.

"Can you really make money online"?

My answer: It all depends.

This is how I frame my response because it's clearly not a yes or no answer. In fact, it's such a broad question that it's almost impossible to answer truthfully and/or not for self-serving purposes.

If you pose that question to the Internet Marketer, you will get a million people tripping over themselves to sell you their "latest and greatest" money making techniques.

Imagine that? So many people all ready and willing to help YOU make money! What a world we live in!

Obviously, I'm being a bit sarcastic here because while there are some very reputable marketers out there (who actually offer something of "value"), there are many more all trying to do the same thing you are, make money.

People making money selling products about making money.

The fact that you are searching for something is GOOD but did you ever think maybe you're asking the wrong question(s)?

If you didn't know anything about the restaurant industry would you consider opening up a restaurant? Would you open up an auto-repair shop without knowing how to fix a car?

The resourceful entrepreneur would say, "Oh, that's easy, I would just get people with the necessary skills to do the work for me". Unfortunately, without industry experience (not to mention a true PASSION for your chosen industry), your chances of survival are slim to none.

So what SHOULD you be asking?

Well, what do you LIKE to do? As silly as it sounds, this is probably the most important first question to ask yourself.

Maybe you don't know what you want to do (yet) but you need to know what you like to do. You can't consider going into a business doing something you're not passionate about (see my article on "Finding your purpose").

You can learn to do almost anything but you can't fake something if the passion is just not there. Once you have the answer to that question, your next question should be, "Can I turn what I like to do into an online business"?

Once you have established that you can turn that into an online business, you're on the right track and probably ahead of more people then you think.

Sometimes, people want to hear what they want to hear.

Maybe some people were hoping this article would provide methods, examples, diagrams, steps, etc on how to make money online. If you can't (honestly) answer a few fundamental questions, maybe starting a business (online or otherwise) is just not right for you.

Good luck on your journey.

Darrin Bentley is a top-producing business professional with 20+ years' success in global finance, using financial expertise in delivering effective solutions.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Darrin_Bentley
http://EzineArticles.com/?Can-You-Really-Make-Money-Online?-Maybe-You-Should-Be-Asking-A-Different-Question.&id=8218772