This is straight talk about why your online home business might fail.
No sugar coating this time. Nope!
Your online home business will fail because of you.
Not the company, not the system, not the tools.
It’s you.
Now, that’s pretty rough talk for someone who has the passion and vision to help others succeed in this industry.
It comes straight from experience, from my heart and from the hundreds of conversations I’ve had coaching teammates and clients.
The coaching session is usually prompted by this statement:
“I’m not making any money. I need you to help me.”
And as the conversation continues, I begin asking questions that will give me clarity on where the issue lies … and it’s almost ALWAYS a matter of not being plugged in.
For example, here are the questions I ask:
1. Have you been through the training in the back office?
2. Have you plugged into the private Facebook group for daily updates and new training?
3. Are you attending the free training webinar each week?
4. Have you invested time to see and understand the products/services/resources you are selling?
5. Are you consistently creating content?
The answers I receive to these questions are not a definitive YES. The answers are, “No, I haven’t, not completely.” “No, I don’t.” or “No, I haven’t gotten around to it yet.”
And the old familiar saying comes to mind immediately …
You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.
You can’t MAKE me! 🙂
The issue that surfaces so often in online marketing that causes you to skip the valuable training steps is the sense of urgency to make money.
It’s usually so urgent that people jump in and start sharing their link without investing time to study exactly what the products are and they do not take the time to go through the training – to learn how to effectively market online.
It’s the culture we live in – the push-button, lottery ticket mentality that makes people want it all NOW, or sooner.
But, an online home business is not a lottery ticket and unless you invest in the time to learn how to build your business the right way, you will be calling me with the familiar plea for coaching because you are not making any money.
You joined an opportunity probably because you saw or read that others were having great success, earning a great extra income … so you were eager to get going and get to that level also.
You probably jumped in so excited that you began to pitch your business on Facebook like you see so many others doing.
You skipped the training and went straight to the pitching.
And the results? Zip! Zilch! That translates to OUCH!
I certainly understand the urgency that most people feel to start earning some cash flow.
But, it’s not going to happen unless you truly plug in and invest the time to learn the steps … to learn marketing skills that work … to engage with teammates and develop skills from watching what the leaders are doing.
You can do it your way … and end up calling me… at which point I’ll take you back to the questions, back to the beginning.
Or, you can do it the right way so that you start building your online business step by step so that you are building something that stands on solid ground, not sifting sand.
You’ve been led to the water, to the fountain of training … but I can’t make you take one sip of the water.
This is the #1 reason why your online business might fail.
P.S. Check out the Art Williams video over there on the right sidebar … motivation like you’ve never heard before … and probably need to hear right now!
P.P.S. This training brought to you by Simple Freedom – where we teach you to market the right way so you can start having success sooner. Check out our free training that runs 24/7 – right on Facebook!
Our culture has become one of instant gratification, instant reward.
For example …
We go through a fast-food drive thru and get irritated if we have to pull forward and wait a few minutes for our food.
Our internet doesn’t load pages instantly and we get start gritting our teeth.
Our viewing habits on the internet reveal the impatience that has developed by the instant gratification culture.
A recent study of 6.7 million internet users revealed that viewers became impatient after waiting for 2 seconds. After five seconds, 25% of the viewers clicked off. At ten seconds, 50% were gone.
Retailers now offer same-day, overnight or two-day delivery services.
Our Smartphone apps eliminate the wait for a cab, a date, or a table at a restaurant.
Streaming movies and TV shows has become the norm. Netflix has 33 million customers who stream videos compared to 8 million who order the DVDs by mail.
Visitors at Disney World and other amusement parks pay for a “fast” pass so they don’t have to wait in line.
It’s apparent – we are gravitation toward being more focused on quick fun and instant results than on reading books or magazines.
That echoes the Pew study where researchers found the rapid pace of technology can lead to more nimble thinking, but that “trends are leading to a future in which most people are shallow consumers of information.”
And that’s just the beginning of this discussion …
Instant gratification prevails in the internet marketing industry, too. It constantly shows up when people join a business opportunity and expect to receive income immediately, and become angry and bitter when it doesn’t happen for them. (Of course, hype and spammed ads play a huge role in this – ads which promise big money in 30 days.)
And then, there’s the personal development journey of discovery and growth that many entrepreneurs value and study; but even in this quest, people desire results NOW.
Charles Haanel writes in Chapter 23 of the Master Key System:
Perfection in this is not acquired in six days, nor in six weeks, nor in six months. It is the labor of life.
A favorite saying rings true, “The hurrier I go, the behinder I get.”
It is best to remember this advice as you are seeking to grow personally and financially:
To go fast, go slow. To go slow, go fast.
We will always be learning more about ourselves, our power, our ability to create and manifest our desires. Sometimes, results will be instant; however, most of the time it will seem like it’s taking
F O R E V E R.
When the wait seems so long, problems arise. Doubt starts to seep in and take over your thoughts and emotions.
Maybe I’m not cut out for this,
Maybe I’m not smart enough, techy enough,
Maybe I’m too old
Maybe I should give up
These doubts sneak up on you because you start looking around and see other people’s results, and it seems like they are just breezing through, having all kinds of success.
Your thoughts begin to drift away from your ability for creating more, taking inspired action, being open to the people and things that are put in your path to help you achieve all that you desire.
Doubt sneaks in until you are thinking more about what you aren’t accomplishing rather than what you are.
And, as the Law of Attraction teaches – what you think about comes about.
Another issue that often develops on the journey of personal development is separating the study and practice from all that you do.
If personal development is just a thing you do in your spare time, as opposed to a way of life, well, the results will be temporary and unfulfilling.
If I asked most people, “What do you do for personal development?” I know the answers I would hear: I read, study, meditate, visualize, repeat affirmations, etc.
If you view personal development as a tool to pick up and master in order to get results, you are missing the secret.
Personal development is not a tool, it is a way of being.
But, if you totally immerse in personal development – in thinking, acting, believing, doing all that you have learned and have yet to learn; if it has become your normal operating mode – where you don’t have to think about it – you just live it 24/7, you will create the life and results that you desire.
“Whether you call it personal development, personal growth, self-actualization, self-transcendence, or spirituality does not matter. What matters is realizing that the reason you were born is to become the best human being you can possibly be. Personal development is not a tool for reaching a bigger goal. Becoming a complete human being is already the biggest and most noble goal you can aspire to.”
Really, it just goes back to familiar words: “seek ye first … and all these things will be added unto you.”
It is through aligning your thoughts and beliefs with Universe – God – Source – Spirit that is the goal. Making the connection – creating the harmony between your desires and beliefs.
Seek the connection, the alignment first in every single thing you do.
Ask yourself as you go through your day making decisions, marketing your business:
Will this help me become a better person? Does this serve the highest good? Am I growing? Am I moving forward? Am I becoming more aligned?
Of course, it’s hard to take your mind of the money because as Charles Haanel writes in The Master Key System “money weaves itself into the entire fabric of our very existence.”
It’s why we go to work at the 8-5. It’s why we decide to start our own business. Money is woven into our existence.
But our success is not measured in a dollar amount. That’s what the world wants us to believe and we get caught up in that. We ooh and aah over income levels.
Success is not measured in dollar amounts.
The law of success is service.
We get what we give.
To get more get value, you must give more give value. It’s the Golden Rule, Karma, the Law of Compensation.
For this reason we should consider it a great privilege to be able to give.
Not only of our money, but of our time, our joy and happiness, our patience and understanding, our love and encouragement. You have much to give to others.
When we avail ourselves as servants to others, we become a conduit for more, for the flow, for the alignment with Universal Power.
When we look at the outside and see what others are achieving and start comparing, we start doubting and the flow is stopped.
Les Brown speaks on giving in this powerful speech:
See yourself as an opening for the Universe to work through to move through to make a difference in life. –Les Brown
You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give. There are those who give little of the much which they have–and they give it for recognition and their hidden desire makes their gifts unwholesome.
And there are those who have little and give it all.
These are the believers in life and the bounty of life, and their coffer is never empty.
-Kahib Gibran
Serving is the way of being and
giving is the means of serving.
Living in instant gratification mode can be rewarding if you focus solely on giving to others. The instant gratification will be a feeling of joy and love … and you absolutely can’t beat that feeling.
P.S. Have you subscribed to the Naked Hippies Newsletter?
Keep up with our travels and adventures …
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We’ve definitely learned “The Map is Not the Territory” since we travel full time in our pickup camper.
Last year, we celebrated one year on the Naked Hippies Roadtrip…
Celebrating a year of wondrous adventures!
Oh, we had the atlas handy at all times. We had Siri to guide us to the destinations. But, as the saying goes, the MAP is not the territory.
When we started this roadtrip adventure, we had a choice of heading to the Southwest or Southeast for the winter. It didn’t really matter which way we headed, we just knew we wanted to be where it was warm and sunny. So, we flipped a coin – and
We headed to Arizona knowing full well the territory was not conducive to our desire to retire from snow and ice. We had to detour further and further south to avoid Winter Storm Boreas.
Love the saguaros here!
Arizona was the perfect spot for the winter … sunshine and warmth compared to the frigid temps and snow that the rest of the country experienced.
We were grateful the flip of the coin brought us here.
Soon, our wheels were headed to the beaches of California.
We had the map to guide us on the trip to Carlsbad, but the territory we encountered was not what we expected. The climb up the Cuyamaca Mountains proved to be too much for our Dodge Ram (we didn’t know it needed a new radiator) and we spent 8 hours on the side of the road in the middle of those mountains, waiting to be towed to the nearest town.
Beautiful mountains, a long ordeal awaits us
For the entire year, we had the map but it was the territory that gave us the best experiences and the most challenging ones.
We discovered red rock canyons in Oklahoma. Who knew Oklahoma had anything this beautiful?
One of our favorite camping spots is here in Oklahoma!
We experienced the wondrous energy of Sedona, but didn’t expect that finding an overnight spot to camp would be almost impossible.
In Twin Falls, Idaho, we traveled across the Perrine Bridge where we had the delight of standing above the Snake Canyon to view its majestic glory AND then, had the surprising delight to watch base jumpers leap from the 486 foot bridge.
The view from the middle of this bridge is jaw dropping!
Our trip to Oregon took us to the Silver Falls State Park where we discovered a rain forest and 10 waterfalls.
Never knew there were rain forests in the US
As we traveled along the Pacific Coast Highway, we pulled over at one scenic overlook and spotted whales!
Mile after mile of this breathtaking beauty along the Pacific Coast
In California, at the last minute, we found a campground nestled in the sand dunes and explored the dunes, feeling as if we had been removed from the whole world. And then – we were able to take a horseback ride along the beach and over the sand dunes.
I own this space right now!
In Utah, we drove up and up and up the mountain road to an altitude of over 12,000 feet in the Uinta National Forest to attend the Rainbow Festival without realizing this would be more harrowing than any other route we had taken.
Harrowing drive to the top,but oh, the view was amazing
I could go on and on about our travels and experiences that most certainly prove the map is not the territory and really, anyone who has traveled extensively like we have would have their own stories to share as confirmation.
But, there’s more to this message than just the adventures of the Naked Hippies on the open road.
We also have a map that has been guiding us to this time and financial freedom – to live our dream as we are doing.
And in this regard, the map is absolutely 100% NOT the territory.
When we first started out on the adventure of online marketing, we grabbed the map first, of course. That’s what everyone does in the beginning.
The world of internet marketing has endless possibilities
You are enticed by the potential of creating something that will give you and your family the freedom that you long for…
A way out of the 8-5 job …
An income that will pay all the bills and then some …
So, you pick up the “map” … you join an opportunity that someone shared with you as a way to begin making money from home.
You can see where you are going – the destination is clear. But, you’ve got to navigate the territory, and that is where most people get stuck.
Here’s what usually happens in this industry. Someone decides to join a business opportunity because they are excited about their dream of being financially free and they see all the ads and testimonies of
“make 30k in 30 days” “push button business” “we do all the work for you”
So they come into the industry thinking it’s the easy way out, when it’s nothing close to being easy.
When they don’t see the results they were expecting, they quit, they blame the company, they accuse their upline for not helping them, they walk away from the one industry that will protect their family from the dwindling economy.
From the start, you should know this about becoming an internet marketer:
No “easy” button to push in building a business
It’s a business. It takes work. It takes commitment.
There is no “easy” button to take you from zero to millions.
It isn’t a lottery ticket that delivers millions overnight.
But, you should also know this:
Internet marketing is the ONLY industry that is available to anyone, at any age, no matter where they start, no matter what their background is, or their skill level.
Here is what you need to be a successful internet marketer:
A strong desire
a dream
a willingness to learn
a commitment do what you are taught
a simple, uncomplicated system
a step by step training access
a community of support
Without all of those components, the territory will become a maze of confusion and frustration because …
You will encounter detours and roadblocks. You will come to dead ends and have to turn around You will sometimes feel like nothing is working You will feel lost, overwhelmed and stuck.
This is not meant to dissuade you from becoming an internet marketer.
It is meant to prepare you for the territory you will experience on the roadtrip to your freedom.
The map is not the territory… in internet marketing.
Hold on to the map, it will guide you to where you desire to be.
But prepare now for the territory you must travel to get to that destination.
P.S. Sometimes, you need to “recalculate” the
route to your destination. If you’ve been traveling
on the internet marketing journey for a while and
don’t feel any closer to your dream, we can help.
There is a reason you have read all the way through
this lengthy blog post. Let’s get you back on your
roadtrip to freedom. Message me on Facebook,
call me … give me a shout and let’s talk.
You’re either going to love riding the manic roller coaster of internet marketing, or you’re going to hate it.
You’ll either hold on screaming at the top of your lungs, or you’ll raise your arms in the air and enjoy the ride.
Does it have to be a roller coaster ride? Really?
Yes, it will definitely be just like riding the roller coaster … climbing to new heights, plummeting down at lightning speed, back up again … even experiencing loops that take you upside down are all part of the internet marketing journey.
There will be times you take this manic roller coaster ride in the span of a few hours. There will also be times when this ride lasts for weeks or months.
So how do you enjoy the ride?
What should you do while you’re climbing up filled with excitement and hope?
What should you do when you’re heading downward and feel like you’re going to crash and burn?
1. Climb with Excitement
You are filled with high energy and excitement when you first get started in internet marketing. Optimism oozes out of you!
This is a great time to write about it, to create videos about what you are doing … why you made this decision, what your dreams and goals are, how you are going to do this. Your energy and enthusiasm will be contagious.
This is a time to be real, to tell your story. People will identify with where you are right now and your vision for a better life, a better outcome. Your pure intention to change your life will be a magnet for others who are seeking to do the same.
2. Focus during the downward spiral
Your excitement will have its up and downs as you begin to build your business. Some days, everything will go smoothly; other days, it will seem like nothing is working in your favor.
You’ll start to doubt, worry, be a little nervous about “is this really going to work for me?” Your optimism begins to fade.
This is a good time to focus on learning and/or mastering skills to build your confidence.
It’s also a good time to plan. Plan your daily method of operation so that you are doing the essential income producing activities for your business every single day. Focus on plans and goals — daily, weekly, monthly, yearly.
3. Crisis management
What you do during crisis management time will be the most important part of this roller coaster ride.
This will determine whether you crash and burn and give up or whether you enjoy the ride waiting for the next thrill of the incline.
It happens to everyone – a moment of crisis when you feel like you’re going to fall off the cliff and everything you dreamed of doing will die. You’re paralyzed with fear, you feel depressed and want to just crawl back to bed and hide under the covers, you would rather have a root canal than work on your business.
Realize that all leaders whom you admire will tell of these times in their career. They made it through these tough times, and you will, too.
This is when you avoid others who are in the same emotional state. Negativity feeds negativity.
Surround yourself with those who are positive right now – avoid the complainers, the blamers, the pessimistic thinkers.
Ask for help and encouragement or just a listening ear from friends and teammates and sponsors.
Do something totally different – like organizing your closet, cleaning out the junk drawer … something that you can accomplish to give yourself the feeling of confidence and satisfaction of completing a job successfully.
Make lists of your strengths, what you love to do, the people you’ve helped, the people who have helped you, what you’ve learned. Reading these lists will build your confidence and also trigger gratitude which is such a key component to success.
Choose one thing to get done every day instead of trying to get ten things done. Trying to get a list of ten done will cause you to feel overwhelmed and lead to procrastination where nothing gets done.
Focus on the most important task you want to accomplish and block off the time (2-3 hours) to get that one task done, without any distractions or interruptions.
Avoid reading more self-help or industry related books during this time. It will only make you feel worse, “less than” and like you are the only one missing the “secret.” The answer is not outside of you right now, it is within.
Take time for yourself by meditating, becoming still and shutting out the noise that is cluttering up your mind. Take walks, get outdoors, allow nature to provide a healing salve to your wounded spirit.
4. Climbing Again
The manic roller coaster cycle will repeat, over and over again. It’s the ebb and flow, the yen and the yang. But with each turn of the corner to your next upward climb, you’ll enjoy the ride more with your arms waving in the air instead of clutching at the rail, eyes closed and screaming “please please please let me off this thing.”
And remember this above all else … nothing that you desire to do is impossible. Let this be your inspiration to keep going no matter what.
Here’s to your wild and wonderful manic roller coaster ride in internet marketing.
Have you experienced the ups and downs? What did you do to enjoy the ride instead of quitting?
P.S. We live the Freedom Lifestyle. We can work from anywhere we choose to be. We can be across the country visiting friends and family, walking on the beach, climbing the red rocks in Sedona, or parked in a campground. And we can still work ON our business. This business does not require me to punch a clock, sit in commuter traffic wasting hours we could be spending together, waking up at some crazy hour just to make it to work. We get to work with people we choose to work with, whose company we enjoy. We are the CEOs of us – the Naked Hippies!
Subscribe to our Naked Hippies Newsletter. We’ll share stories of our travels, inspiration and motivation, tips and resources for creating your own freedom lifestyle AND you’ll get our free ebook that tells the story of how the Naked Hippies came to be. Click here to subscribe.
Network marketing, internet marketing, direct sales, affiliate marketing…is full of “players.”
You know the type, right? Players “play around” with women, making them think they are really interested in them, but in the end, it’s only the sex they are after.
A network marketing player “plays around” with the opportunity, makes others think he/she is really serious about it, but in the end …
it’s only the “quick cash” they are after.
And when the quick cash doesn’t show up in a couple of days, or a couple of weeks, or even a couple of months … ditch that one and go find another one.
Time after time, they bail and jump. They hit a wall. They don’t know what to do to push through, scale the wall, or go around it – and they don’t realize it’s not the company that’s to blame, it’s the person staring back at them in the mirror.
It’s a familiar wall – there’s lots of people standing in front of that wall, staring at it with angry eyes, or tear filled eyes … or maybe even curled up in a fetal position at the base of the wall.
WHY ISN’T THIS WORKING FOR ME?
WHERE IS THE MONEY?
This could be a very long blog post if I covered all the reasons people hit the wall.
But here’s the most compelling reason for it.
They joined to “see how it works out” instead of joining to actually build a business.
Just like a “player” fools around with women to see how it works and has no intention of making a serious commitment.
Don’t be a network marketing player.
Most people who join an network marketing opportunity usually just put one foot (heck, sometimes its only a big toe) in the opportunity. They aren’t “all in,” are not fully committed to doing what it takes to build a business; they are just “playing.”
Maybe it’s because we have become such an instant gratification society … push button everything embraces every action. We order fast food, send instant messages, watch movies instantly from our laptops or phones. We have been conditioned to expect instant results by tapping or fingers or clicking a mouse.
It just doesn’t work that way in building a business. Ask any entrepreneur how long it took them to go from zero to success and the common story shared will be YEARS.
It’s a process, it’s a journey, it takes time.
Most people gravitate to the stories of success without paying attention to the step by step process it took to get there. All they see are piles of money, tropical vacations, the lifestyle of the rich and famous.
We always get asked why we call ourselves the Naked Hippies.
We strip down to the basics of marketing, so that the newbie can start out on the right foot, with both feet planted and learn the skills necessary to build a business that provides the financial and time freedom they desire.
An Olympic athlete doesn’t compete in the Olympics as soon as he decides he wants to go to the Olympics. He/she starts training, day by day, building strength and skills to excellent performance.
It’s the same for you in your business. It is a day by day process of learning and applying the basic skills. You are building to excellence, to success, to time and financial freedom.
This message is for you if:
You are brand new to the industry and are seeking mentors and leaders who will guide and support you on this marvelous journey;
You have been in the industry for a while now, but not seeing the results you thought you would by now.
LET’S GET NAKED!
Strip down with us to the basics of marketing.
Start with simple.
Learn as you grow.
Plug into a team environment that supports and works right along side of you.
We’ve been online marketers for eight years. Our story is most likely similar to yours.
When we first started, we didn’t realize what an emotional roller coaster ride it would be.
We knew we wanted to learn how to use the internet to build extra income … we knew that others were successful at doing this … we jumped in and got started, filled with anticipation and excitement.
Oh, so quickly we began to “pitch” our opportunities to everyone we knew and oh boy! Soon our families and friends would run away when they saw us coming.
Phooey! Why is it when you are so sure this is something that everyone would want to do, it turns out no one is interested? Or very few at the least.
Here’s the issue: 98% of those new to the industry do not have a funnel set up and they enter the market SELLING.
They end up alienating everyone – family, friends, future customers.
And soon, they are discouraged, frustrated, exhausted and confused.
Here’s the solution: Build your funnel first.
Here are the overall steps to building your funnel.
These are the basic steps to give you the big picture.
Each step builds on the previous one.
The timing is crucial and is what we teach, along with a multitude of marketing tips inside our private Facebook group. (you become a member of our private group whenever you invest in any of the products listed on our “Products We Use” tab above.)
1. CAPTURE LEADS via a compelling capture page
Offer something for free such as a free e-book or free training course in exchange for their email address. Something that provides a solution to a problem people are experiencing and searching for answers to solve.
Every lead comes in at the top of the funnel through your free offer.
As the process continues, the leads (some, not all) will move to the next step, further down the funnel until they become your customers.
*Your capture page will need to be linked to an autoresponder which will allow you to develop an email campaign that runs on auto-pilot.
Example of a free offer:
2. COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR LEADS
Now you are building your list and have the platform to communicate and share even more value with those who opt in.
Communicate with consistency. Show up in their inbox every single day. Provide continuous content that teaches, inspires, motivates and gives your list a vision for what is possible for them.
Example of an email campaign:
3. ADD AN IRRESISTIBLE OFFER
The next step is to make an irresistible offer – one that will turn your leads into customers. This could be an affiliate product or low-cost tool that is inexpensive, but highly valuable.
Example of an irresistible offer for $25:
4. REPEAT STEP 2
Consistency and value in their inbox every single day. Plus your list into your training, conference calls, events, hangouts … keep providing value and training to serve them.
5. YOUR CORE PRODUCT
As mentioned earlier, each of these steps must flow from one into the next.
As your leads continue to receive your emails, those who make the decision to purchase the irresistible offer have moved further down the funnel and are closer to becoming lifetime customers.
You have built trust by providing exceptional value to your list. Now you can provide a serious offer, your MLM, an expensive training or coaching program.
Example of a residual income opportunity:
Step 6: Repeat Step 2 Again and Again and Again
Now you have turned leads in customers; you are building a team; you are changing lives, including yours!
Continue to teach, to inspire and motivate them. As more irresistible offers and tools come to you and you see the value for your team – share them with your list.
We have been building our business for years, but a few misguided steps when we began caused the 8 year journey to success.
It doesn’t have to be that way for you, if you follow our training and set up your business the right way from the start.
The Naked Hippies Team is building and growing day by day. We work together, we build together, we celebrate the successes of each member … and we support and educate those who started out just like we did … misguided and now stuck.
And now you know why we’re the NAKED Hippies … we strip down to the basics and remove all the unnecessary and limiting bulk that has held you back. We help you build your funnel.
Get on our list … get to our trainings … chat with us on Facebook … hang out with the team for a while to see how we roll. This is YOUR invitation to get in our funnel! http://youfoundus.nakedhippiesteam.com
