The Ninja & me, out for a stroll on a beautiful Saturday
Making money online must seem, to some people, like an impossibility. Like falling in love with the right person.
I was talking with a friend about it over the weekend. She told me she could never succeed in a web business because she can’t trust herself to be disciplined enough to work alone.
It’s true, you do need discipline. But once you’ve discovered an idea that really lights a fire under your fanny, it’s easy. It’s a lot like falling in love. You find the time. If having discipline scares you, don’t let it. Trust me, it’s a learned trait. Think of it this way: Even when you’re crazy busy, your schedule is always miraculously flexible when it comes to finding time to spend with your main squeeze, right?
“Great Business Startup Ideas for Under $5,000,” a recent article posted
on resourcenation.com, suggests a number of small businesses to start. It’s got some good ideas, but what occurred to me when I was reading, was that articles like that appeal to us because they create the illusion that all you need in order to become an entrepreneur is to choose one idea that suits you, and get your hands on a certain amount of startup cash. Then, you’re good to go.
It’s a little like believing that you can fall in love with just any ol’ person. All you need is to choose the color of hair and eyes, their gender, their location, and then make them an offer they can’t refuse. I’m sure that works for some people, but call me a romantic. Chemistry and kismet have something to do with it.
A web business can be super inexpensive, in terms of capital. The Code Ninja and I started ours on a laptop that I’d bought from a friend for a buck. $1! All it took was an investment of time, which I was totally motivated to spend. I sat down every day after work and eventually finished my first ebook, which started making money within months. Within a year, the Ninja and I were paying the rent with the money we were making on that ebook, and we’d already written two more.
You can start part time, while you’re still working your day job. What doesn’t come as cheaply, in my book, is finding the thing that you love enough to sit down and do. What will motivate you, day after day, to muster up the discipline to pay attention to it?
When you discover it, let it spark your imagination and get that fire going. Making a good living online is possible, believe me.
P.S. Let me know in the comments if you’ve found it already. I’m a sucker for stories about falling in love. Especially if it involves chocolate 
