Don’t Let Past Experience Be a Barrier to Your Online Income

"The only way to do great work is to love what you do." - Steve Jobs

Over the years I have considered this and that, hoping to find a way to increase my income. Although being somewhat aware of what was possible online, it didn’t really register. The biggest issue in my mind was the coding. The thought of coding clouded my thinking, it stopped me from seriously investigating the online possibilities.

Experience

Two experiences from years ago created barriers for me, ruling out online income. In my

early employment years, I worked as a clerk in a government department. Opportunities for advancement were regularly published on the office noticeboard. One notice pinned to the board caught my eye, head office was sending a small team around the country looking for people willing to be tested. The testing determined if you had the ability to think and process information in a certain way. This is back in the 1970s when the first desktop computers were being delivered to our department for use in accounts. The test involved the use of flowcharts. I knew a little about flowcharts but not enough to program or be considered for further testing.

I returned to study business as an adult almost two decades later. The course was very structured covering every aspect of business from small to medium enterprises to monopolies. There were eighteen papers that you had to complete. You were graded according to input over the term of the paper and exams at the end. Seventeen papers I

passed without any trouble. The paper I failed on had two parts, theoretical and practical. The theoretical part I passed with flying colours, the practical side, shocking. There was no mouse, DOS was the only way to achieve an outcome. Cut and paste, I may as well try to fly to Mars. Highlight a sentence, my torch will do a better job.

What I Learnt

Looking back at that business course, I appreciate what I learnt. It gave me some understanding on how to read financial reports, the balance sheet, profit and loss, and cashflow. What I didn’t pay attention to and should have, was the marketing paper. I equated it to advertising, which is only a part of it, marketing is so much more.

Online Income Opportunities

Online income opportunities offer many possibilities whatever your background. All the social media platforms broadcast income possibilities available on their platform. The cost ranges from minimal to several hundred dollars. Do your research to stay within your budget and goals.

Website

Websites attract traffic by providing information, services and goods. It is essential for a

business of any size. The website reflects what the business is about, what it does, providing a service or product. It gives the business legitimacy, and be able to reach a larger audience, which in turn leads to more business. 

It is quite correct when commentators say you don’t need to know how to code to build a website. However, you do need to be aware that the process you must follow to get your website up is very exacting. Your website is your shop window to the world. Like a physical store it needs to be maintained and updated, it’s an ongoing process. Remain patient and be prepared to backtrack often when building your own website following tutorials on YouTube or other platforms. Some state a website can be built in hours, it wasn’t my experience. For those with some knowledge in website builds, it can be built quickly, but for novices, highly unlikely. Whether you do it on your own, or you have it done for you, there are always costs involved, from a few dollars to many thousands, to build it and maintain it.

The major advantage of having a website is the ability to scale in so many ways.

Website Not Required

Not all online income requires you to have a website. All you need is an email address, the software tools and computer equipment to fill the role advertised. You will work through the company website as part of a team. Examples of working online without a website is ‘Teaching English Online’ and Audible’. There are some creative and legitimate ways to earn an income online without a website.

Act - Anyone Can Make a Living Online

Don’t let experiences like I have had, hold you back from learning the skills necessary to

generate income while you sleep. In future blogs I will diary what action steps I take in each endeavour to earn an income online. Endeavours will be with a website, and without a website.

Follow me in my future blogs to shortcut your learning and accelerate your ability to earn a living online.