Just to get off to an honest start, the title of this article was intended to catch people who were hoping to find an "easy" way to make money on the internet or anywhere else. To clarify a little further, I presently work as an internet marketer, make about $2,000 a week from it, work about 20 hours a week at it, and have been doing it for several years now.

That sounds pretty easy doesn't it? A hundred dollars an hour, work when and where I feel like it, take any day or week off whenever I want, get up when I want, "go to work" when I want. It's a sweet deal, no doubt.

But, let me clear something up right now. It took me about 4 years to reach that point. During that time, I would often work at my job all day and then work past midnight on the internet, chasing that elusive dollar. The first time I ever really realized that I COULD make money this way was in the year 2000, when I got a commission check for $25.00. Two years ago, I was excited to have made $7,000 in a year, and I was still working that full time job.

So the other day, or last week, you were cruising the internet and somebody had a web site that promised that if you signed up with them, you could make a lot of money, without much work...and fast!

Oh, it does happen. I've seen it happen once or twice, but people DO win the lottery sometimes. For most of us who have achieved a modicum of success on the internet, a lot of sweat equity, or a lot of investment was required. I often use the term "accidental tuition" to describe what it cost me in terms of time and money that I tossed out the window in pursuit of an "easy way to make money on the internet". I am not alone in this. Line up a bunch of successful internet marketers, and the stories will start flying about the dumb things they paid good money for and the hours and hours of work they put into unsuccessful projects.

As time passed, I, and the others, learned what DIDN'T work, what NOT to buy, and what program, system, or theory was just flat WRONG. And even now, just as in any brick and mortar business, we sometimes find that what worked yesterday or last year isn't working any more. What worked so well for Charlie's business didn't work as well for Laura's. We continually have to try new or different ways to improve and grow our businesses, just like anybody else out there, whether they're on the internet or in a store downtown. Sometimes we follow the wrong path and pay a little more "accidental tuition".

I don't want to discourage you. Here's a little reality bite: It is 8 PM on the last day of my work week (which I measure 7 days at a time, but work as I wish), and it is 7:30 PM. At midday two days ago, I had made $1,749.43 in commissions for the week. At this moment, I have made $2,421.16...that I am aware of. That's an income of $671.73 in about two and one half days, and does not take into account programs that are also producing income for me, but do not have the reporting capabilities to keep me that up to date. The money is there, but if you are not willing to WORK for it, it will never be yours.

To get this kind of income, I had to try a lot of things, experiment a lot, and fail many times. I sometimes wish I could go back to the days I was starting with the knowledge that I have now. Six years ago, I did not know how to build web pages with html. I learned by bits and pieces, and three years ago I could build basic web pages that helped me get to that $7,000 annual income I mentioned. By last year, although my web pages were still simple, I had learned a lot of tricks to make them more effective, and my income grew to where it is now. Recently, I uncovered a series of page building and internet marketing tools that are helping me to grow my internet business even more. It is February, 2006, as I write, and this year is going to be my best yet.

I think I've already gotten across the idea that success on the internet will probably not come overnight. You will have to buckle down, work at it, scrape your knuckles and get grease on your hands, figuratively speaking, to be successful with whatever internet business you acquire and build. It will take time.

That brings me to the second point. You may be someone who already has an internet business that is not successful as yet. You may be someone who has a business or product and you are thinking of putting it on the internet. You may be someone who knows that money CAN be made on the internet, but you are not sure what business to get into or how to promote and grow it once you are in it.

There is no guarantee of success for any business, on the internet or in that store downtown. However, if you wish to be successful, and if you have decided to commit the time and effort this new enterprise will demand, and if you are willing to stay the course, try to find a business that pleases you or that you understand. For example, years ago I tried to sell printing services. Although the services were very good and reasonably priced, the whole thing bored me. I couldn't get enthusiastic about it, and after a while just gave up. A few years later I became involved with a dental plan. It was an excellent plan. I believed in it, saved a lot of money with it, watched other people save a lot of money, learned all the things to say, but just couldn't see myself selling dental plans. My friend, Ed, became a millionaire with it. I quit after 6 months, and only made a few dollars.

Since 1970, I have been passionately interested in health, fitness, and weight loss. In 2000, I became affiliated with a major weight loss program for which I had a great deal of respect, and I loved it! It was something I would have recommended to a friend, family member, or total stranger even if I wasn't getting paid. Since then, I have found other programs and products that interest me greatly, and am using them to generate a lot of income.

A lot of people are going to invite you, even entice and lure you, to sign up with their program. Make sure that it is a program that you respect and WANT to be affiliated with, and one that you would be happy to recommend to anyone even if you were not going to get paid for that recommendation. Do not jump into the first program that offers to make money for you, because you will have to be the one causing the income to happen, and it is more likely to happen if you have chosen a program you can be proud of. There are also a few internet marketing training programs around that weren't as well-known when I was starting in 2000, and investing a few dollars in them now can save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars later.