1. HYPERLINK quot;
http://thehappypreneur.com/get-started-online-expenses/quot;
quot;
Permalink to To Get Started Online You Could Spend A Fortunequot;
<br />To Get Started Online You Could Spend A Fortune<br />How much are you spending to get started online?<br />You probably think you know the answer, don’t you? I’m willing to bet that you don’t. I recently joined a coaching program where I was asked to list every single purchase I’ve made over the last 12 months, the cost and whether I received value from it, did I use it or implement it and were there results? This is an excellent idea especially when you first get started online.<br /> <br />Take the time to answer honestly and completely or ask for a refund.<br />“Go through all of your credit card and PayPal statements for the past 12 months and list everything separately. This could take hours, but if you are not willing to put in the work to do this, you won’t do the work required to grow a bigger business. If you don’t do this then you might as well ask me for a refund now.” That’s what my coach said! Ouch!<br /> <br />It was a royal pain in the patootie!<br />On a Sunday afternoon, I did what I was told. I scoured all of my statements for purchases for my business excluding necessary monthly recurring expenses like web hosting and autoresponder service. Those fall in a different category. I’ll get to that in a minute. Anyway, I listed them all along with how much they cost, what I did with them, whether they were of value and if there were results. It was a flippin’ lot of trouble, but when I finished, I understood the importance of the exercise. <br /> <br />What an eye opener!<br />I could clearly see the money I had wasted in the last 12 months. During the live webinar that followed, I discovered that the few thousand dollars I had spent buying courses, training, software, plugins, PLR etc., was a drop in the bucket to most people in this coaching program. I’m as frugal as I can be when it comes to spending money on things I don’t really need or won’t implement right away. Fortunately I learned early on how important it was to rein in my spending, but I was still surprised at how all it added up.<br />I’d learned my lesson about buying every offer that came my way.<br />A couple of years ago I realized I was buying offers that were “ending soon” or “not gonna last” and “never to be seen again” only to discover that many were outdated material that shouldn’t be seen again then updated and sold again anyway. I also learned that if it’s worth a darn, it’ll still be there when I need it, if not it wasn’t worth the investment in the first place. There will always be another course or product to take it’s place. The only time I break this rule is if I think it is a product worthy of sharing with my community. I am careful to only promote products and courses that I know will be valuable to my people.<br /> <br />Are you spending thousands to earn hundreds?<br />Most people who get started online are spending thousands, sometimes tens of thousands just to create an income of a few hundred dollars a month. If this it you, knock it off! You don’t need all that crap! Take a look at what you have already purchased. Did you finish the course, learn how to use the software and most importantly have you implemented that knowledge to grow your business? If not, go back and do these things before considering spending any more. <br /> <br />You do the math.<br />How about taking some time to write down and tally up all you’ve spent in the last 12 months. Think about whether it was needed or an unnecessary expense. Stop yourself next time you want to make a purchase. Ask yourself “Have I finished the last course and implemented what I’ve learned?” Then do that before buying anything else. What good is knowledge if you don’t use it? After all, you just might surprise yourself by creating income from the knowledge you already have.<br /> <br />Don’t forget those monthly recurring expenses.<br />Finally, take a look at the services you pay for on a monthly basis. Do you need them all right now? Are you using them all? If the answer is no, then start making use of them and get your moneys worth or drop them. You can always pick them back up later when the time is right.<br />Remember, the whole point when you decided to get started online was to build a profitable business. <br />