When we talk about earning money online I’ve seen that many people have a lot of prejudices related to that theme.
I believed also some myths before when I wasn’t aware of the truth about making money online.
Today I’m going to tell the truth about 5 myths that I have heard about earning money online.
(I just want to mention that making money online can mean hundreds of different things: Freelancing, online marketing, teaching, making videos, investing, preaching, helping, counseling, selling and the list go on and on.)
1.Earning money online is only for cheaters. This myth is quite a common because unfortunately there are so many scams online.
It’s true that some of the “online gurus” are cheaters but that’s probably less than 1% of the online workers/entrepreneurs. In other words, most of the people who work online are not cheaters.
Working online can be totally as valuable as working offline (in the “real world”). And sometimes it can be many times more valuable than working offline. In Wealthy Affiliate, I have got to know many guys who make money online 100% legally and they provide important value for the people.
2.Earning money online is not “real work”. Some people may think that working online is equal to laying on the couch or in the beach. Yes, it can be like that because you are your own boss.
But if you want to success online you need to work. Earning online is like any other business. Success requires “real work”.
The goal for many people online is that they have enough passive income they can live with it. It’s totally okay and there’s nothing wrong with it. Some people have a better salary than others but if you want to have a good salary you need to provide good value for the people.
Let’s make a little comparison. Person A is a teacher at the local university and teaches to about 200 people every day. Sometimes less. He is a mediocre teacher but he was hired to the university already 20 years ago.
Person B works online and teaches 10 000 people every single day through his online videos. He is one of the best in his field. People like his teachings and he helps people to get their life better.
Is Person A doing “real work” and Person B not? Let me laugh! 🙂
3.People try to earn money online only because they want to get rich. That’s actually partially true. I guess that money is probably a motivator for many online entrepreneurs.
The Internet provides unbelievable opportunities. There are about 3,3 billion internet users today (and the amount is growing). If you want to help a lot of people, what’s the best channel to do that? Internet.
The Internet is the big part of today’s world and working online provides limitless opportunities to make this world better and make big things.
I would say that money is not the main motivator for online entrepreneurs.
4.Earning money online is “Easy Money”. Making money online can be easy. But first, you need to study and hard work to get that “easy money”.
Earning money in general (online and offline) requires two things
1.Education
2.Provide value for other people
Education can be formal or informal. You can get your education from the university, the internet, from the books or from friends. Still, you need to learn the skills first and then you can —> Provide value.
Providing value means helping other people, helping your boss, teaching, counseling, building or million of other things.
The funniest part, of course, comes when you start earning money online even when you are sleeping, eating or spending time with your family. (Check the post from Colton, 20 years old online entrepreneur My First $10,000 Month!)
5.Few people have proper talent to earn money online. Are we living in the Stone Age? Today you have the best teachers ever teaching you how to earn money online. You don’t need any former skills.
Most of the Online Entrepreneurs started without any background of online work. They just started to learn and now they earn. Sometimes people just tend to forget that it requires hard work to earn online. But it pays off.
I know many people who have started but have quit their online business. They weren’t persistent enough. But this guy called Dom was persistent and went from $0 to $10k In 3 Years. Click the link to read his post.
Do You want to Learn to Earn Online?
If you are willing to learn online that’s totally possible without former background (like you saw in the posts of Colton and Dom in the links above).
I recommend your journey to earn money online from Wealthy Affiliate. It’s 100% legit and honest place which provides you training, tools, support, free websites and literally everything you need to earn money online.
There are actually more myths about making money online. Here I mentioned five of them. But here is the great text from Steve who turned his ‘hobby’ into a $6,000+ per month money making machine. Five Things They Don’t Teach You About Working from Home. He knows what he is talking about.
Have you heard some myths about making money online? Did you believe some of them before?
Hi Roope,
Your myths are true … There’s a lot of scams out there coz this virtual world ain’t regulated, it’s like the Wild Wild West ! Real work or unreal work still counts as work euyh … This myth I dunno coz it can’t be a myth when the richest man in our world made his money online … Microsoft, bill gates … Youngest billionaire Mark Zuckerberg Facebook … List goes on Roope.
People earn money to get rich … It’s true … Can’t be a myth.
Earning money online is easy only when we have made it like many people I know … But this ease still comes with many hours of work. Perhaps because no need to work in a factory or office … We can work from coffee shop or bedroom … Anywhere … That must be what you mean by easy.
Same thing with the talents … You must mean skills … These are truths Roope … These are not myths … Myths are stories that may not be true but are believed by a group of people. Perhaps your title should be 5 Truths?
Cheers Roope,
Apeng
Thank you for your insights, Apeng.
These are myths because the claims are not true as I explain in the text. In other words, I told 5 myths and 5 truths after them :).
Not all earn money to get rich. Many people earn money to get food, raise their children, help others and so on. As I said some people earn money online to get rich but certainly not all.
Have a great day!
-Roope
Hi Roope,
I totally agree to you on the myths of earning money online. The Myth #1 is caused by the scammers online. Those victims that been scammed lost confident and believe that making money online is only for cheaters due to their past bad experience.
Like your comparison of the Person A and Person B for the Myth #2. It shows that working online is real and more productive and effective by applying the right technology.
Your Myth #4 mentioned that earning money online is “Easy Money”. This is the tricks that always been used by the scammers. This could only happen if you are willing to contribute time and effort persistently in building your online business. There is no free lunch in this world, so nothing is so-called “Easy Money”.
Thank you very much for your thoughts Jan K. Wonderful insights!
Yes, scammers use people’s belief in “Easy Money”. Hmmm… If all people would understand that there isn’t easy money it would improve the quality of many people’s life. I’ve heard stories from people who have kept chasing easy money and disappointed many times.
Even though there isn’t easy money, we shouldn’t close our eyes from the great opportunity the Internet provides.
I wish you all the best!
-Roope
I use to be sceptical about being able to earn money online too. I agree with you that money is definitely a huge motivator for most people. However, I think being passionate about what you are producing is also essential as you need to feel a sense of fulfilment when doing online business, just like any other job. Your article covers many good points on earning money online. Great read!
Thank you for your comment Farhan!
Yes, it’s true that money motivates many people. And so it’s in many offline jobs. But I certainly believe that money shouldn’t be the #1 motivator. It doesn’t make this world a better place if people are mainly chasing for money. As you said being passionate is very important. When you are passionate on what you are doing, it usually provides great results!
I wish you success!
-Roope