Today we are witnessing the impact of the Internet, the impact of a truly global economy, the impact of the baby boomer generation, and the impact of excessive government spending on our lives. This impact is all converging on the way we live, work, retire, and play creating a perfect storm for disaster. Unemployment rates are very high and likely to stay high for a long period of time. Retirement plans of many workers have significantly dwindled. In addition, ironically there are lawyers, doctors, stockbrokers, and real estate developers that are walking away from their businesses and not looking back.

How will the unemployed, and baby boomers, get back in the game? Why are those in the corporate workforce, with high paying positions and perks, quitting their jobs? What do these people have in common, and where are they going, as it is clear the old models are no longer working.

If you are searching for a new approach to work, family, and lifestyle, read this short article as I will introduce a way to make money with an online business and demonstrate that Affiliate Marketing is becoming an important vehicle for people seeking self-employment, business ownership, and financial independence in the 21st century. At the end of the article you will understand that Affiliate Marketers are becoming the New Professionals of the emerging Entrepreneurial Economy and that Affiliate Marketing is becoming the platform for success.

A little over a decade ago, I was a Partner with Deloitte, a Big 4 accounting and consulting firm, and was based in the San Francisco Bay Area. I consulted with companies that were building and using the Internet; these included network equipment manufactures, developers of application software for networks, and bandwidth and service providers. We developed web-mail, VOIP, web-based video conferencing, and many more innovative consumer and business products.

At the turn of the century in 2000, I was a partner with Deloitte and was recruited away for a VP role with a B2B (Business-to-Business) eCommerce software startup company in Silicon Valley. At Tradeum, later acquired by VerticalNet, we focused on developing and operating B2B eCommerce sites for businesses in over 50 different vertical market sectors and sub-sectors.

What eBay was doing for the retail and consumer sector, we at Tradeum, later a part of VerticalNet, did for the industrial sector. We were transforming corporate purchasing by creating killer applications in the B2B Internet revolution. We felt like pioneers, trail blazing across the commercial landscape as Internet Marketing, and making money online, was in its infancy.

Over on the retail side of eCommerce, eBay offered a B2C (Business-to-Consumer) solution that allowed people to quickly setup an online marketplace and conduct an auction to sell individual family items or sell inventories of items from a business in bankruptcy.

Another new entrant at the time to the Internet retailing space was Amazon, initially distributing books. They quickly expanded to other consumer items and after a few years, Amazon offered what they called an Affiliate Program; however the term was incorrectly used and has created confusion.

Many of the distribution methods for a company, and their products, essentially create sales reps. These sales reps have no say in the products they sell. Their companies give them a suitcase full of samples and tell them they can keep a share of whatever they earn. They are essentially employees, even if their income depends entirely on their sales skills and commissions earned.

Alternatively, there is an Affiliate Marketing method for a company to use as a way of distributing their products and services. A merchant can approach an Affiliate Network and offer to compensate the network based on the Affiliate Networks ability to deliver leads so the merchant can close the sale and convert the lead to a paying customer. The Affiliate Network assembles a group of Affiliate Marketers that promote the products and services offered by the network. Once a sale occurs, the merchant pays a commission to the Affiliate Network who pays out, an agreed to amount, to the Affiliate Marketer that generated the lead.

As a result of this distribution model, Affiliate Marketers are really entrepreneurs. They choose which products they promote. They provide intellectual capital spanning knowledge, information, and education about the products the affiliates promote. They build their own community of followers which are like minded people who are interested in the products the affiliate promotes. They use hypnotic writing to persuade people to take the action the affiliates want them to take, such as provide contact information like name and email address, take a survey, undertake a product trial, or make a purchase. The affiliate earns a commission for leading individuals to take the action the affiliates want them to perform.

The Affiliate Marketers chooses a group of items to promote from Affiliate Networks. As an incentive to the affiliate, some suppliers and Affiliate Networks provide exclusive arrangements such as best price, or best terms and conditions for service plans, to Affiliate Marketers. Frequently, the best incentives, finders fees, and commission plans, are only available to Affiliate Marketers.

Since the Internet has changed everything, customers are becoming far more demanding as the power has shifted from the seller to the buyer. Suppliers of goods and services are using Affiliate Marketers as another channel, to reach customers, as the Affiliate Marketer will frequently meet the information and consultative needs of the demanding buyers that will only purchase from a trusted advisor and not purchase from the major chains or big box stores.

These Affiliate Marketers are independent business owners. These Affiliate Marketers distribute intellectual capital and are among the new faces of the next major profession using relationship marketing and consultative selling techniques.

This new profession is attracting current and former doctors, CEOs, and other members of the corporate workforce that are seeking a way to leave their established and lucrative careers. They are in pursuit of new opportunities in the Affiliate Marketing industry so they can generate income, prestige, independence, and financial rewards that exceed the levels obtained by most in their previous careers.

I hope you enjoyed the article and welcome to the future. It is YOUR future and to get you on the inside, meet me at my website.

Happy Reading and Here's to Your Wealth, Health, and Wisdom! Mike Farrell, founder, owner, and operator of the aspenIbiz group of online businesses.