“Make $2,000 a month working from home!”.  For most of us, that sort of advertising, when you see it in infomercials, or hear commercials on the radio,  raises alarm bells.   Of course, there is a catch.

I was listening to a story on NPR about how the Federal Trade Commission is clamping down on work from home scams.  They aired an actual recording of one of the conversations.  The salesman builds rapport, subtly finds out the person’s budget (how much money do you have – how can we help you conserve that wealth), finds out their “why” and then sells them a kit to start an online business.  When the business doesn’t pan out because the person knows nothing about starting a business – they offer another kit.  It is easy to get caught in a never ending cycle of “hope and dreams”, buying the advanced classes, the personal coaching, the masterminds until your bank account is empty.

It is easy to look at the “work from home and make thousands” crowd and think – “how can they be so stupid?’ – they deserve to be ripped off.  But, then, if you are reading this e-mail, my guess is that you’ve bought “hope”.  You’ve signed up for classes you didn’t complete or engaged coaches you didn’t really follow through on.  It is easy to do.   So, very tempting.

The hard part is that when you are in business, you DO need mentors, you need information, you need help getting things done in your business.  How do you know where to turn?  How do you make sure that you are spending your money wisely.  (Yes, it does take money to get started).

Here are a few tips for you (some of them based on hard lessons learned in my business):

1. Figure out where the skills gaps are in your business.  Nobody knows everything, and it sometimes really hard to know what to ask at first.  Think about ONE area where if you made improvements, your bottom line would improve.  You want all investments to pay for themselves eventually.

2. Decide whether you need more knowledge or direct help.  You can find just about all the information you need about anything on Google.  The reason people pay for the info is that paid info is (usually) put together in a way that makes it easier for you to apply the information.  Sometimes, all you need is to be pointed in the right direction.  Sometimes (especially when you already feel overwhelmed), you need someone to work with you, guide you, or just do the task for you.

3. Find creative ways of getting other people to help you in your business.  A few years ago, Jasper and I hosted a podcast where we interviewed successful entrepreneurs. We asked them “looking back, what would you do differently?”.  The answer was *always*, get help, find a mentor, hire a coach.   That’s all well and good, but how do you find help when you don’t have money to pay them.  Get creative!   

Time Traders Club  is a great place to start finding the help that you need.  We have members who are experts in everything from Accounting to Video making (and a thousand things in between).  You can get the help you need – and spend more time doing what you love for other members.  Check it out!