Mastermind Groups For Business

Great headline, isn’t it? A bit controversial – but it got your attention. And so I have achieved my goal. To get you to pay attention.

Now let me be very clear – I honestly do not believe that “Honesty Sucks!” I pride myself on living my life with integrity and being honest in all my dealings – both personally and professionally.

However, during the time that I have spent building my business online, it has appeared to me that there are many people who would like to hear all the “great” points about building a business online rather than being told what is the “real reality”. For those of us who prefer to be honest, our vow to be completely “truthful” does really “suck” sometimes.

Let’s face it. Internet Marketing is one of the true business opportunities that exist for the “little” man (or woman). I mean, for a few hundred dollars you can essentially build a multi-million dollar business from scratch within a few years. That’s the “great” news that everyone wants to hear.

But there’s the other part of the story that 80% of the would-be online entrepreneurs don’t want to hear. There is the fact that you need to:

• Invest at least 5 – 10 hours per week for at least a month or two learning the basics, testing out your ideas and actually investing some money to discover what opportunity would really be a fit for you;
• Be willing to become a bit frustrated as some of the “proven” techniques do not work 100% of the time all the time.
• Be willing to modify your approaches and test, test, test – sometimes without having any results
• Understand that you will win some and lose some – the key is being persistent – constantly.

So who am I? Why do I feel the need to be blatantly honest even though I know that maybe 80% of people will tune out and go somewhere else where everything’s described as all roses?

Because, I, too, was in the same boat at one time. I believed the rosy stories and had false expectations. It was only after consistent work and dedication to building this business that I began to see some results.

Here’s my honest summary:

• I started being interested in Internet Marketing about 3 years ago – bought every book and course I could. So much so that I became buried with information. Trying to manage a full time, highly demanding job, maintain a family and build a business at the same time was basically impossible. My dream for my online business fell by the wayside after 6 months.
• About 1 year later, I tried to pick up where I had left off. By that time the internet had changed so much that most of the information I had gathered was no longer applicable. I had to get access to new information. I got a little further in my progress though – built a website and started marketing. Then “life” took over once more and my dream was once again put on hold.
• This is my third “kick at the can”. And now I can honestly say that I am ready. I started back with online marketing about two months ago and I must say that this has been the easiest start of the three. The automated tools available today are phenomenal; the support available is incredible and my maturity level has helped me understand how this “game” should be played.

Here’s some personal evidence that leads me to believe that anyone who is committed to building an online business cannot help but succeed this year:

• Within my first month of getting back online, I was able to achieve three affiliate sales – not a lot by most people standards – but a monumental achievement for someone who has never earned a dollar online.
• I am now in the process of building a network of sites that will be utilizing AdSense, CPA and ClickBank affiliate sales as the primary business model.
• I am now very familiar with both paid and free traffic sources and have a definite plan that is helping drive traffic to those sites, every day.
• I have become a member of a few mastermind groups whose members support each other and share information that is incredibly insightful to the proper approach to building a long term business.

So does honesty suck? You be the judge. If you want to live in fairytale land and believe the stories that you can become an instant millionaire, then be my guest. However, if you want to truly follow a business plan that can help you develop a solid side or full time income within the next few years – with a bit of challenge, then you’re welcome to follow me on my journey.

I will be sharing resources that have helped me, and those that I have regretted buying, making sure that you don’t face the same fate. I will be sharing my wins and my losses so you can learn too. During all of this time, I promise to be Honest. Because I honestly believe that Honesty and Integrity are truly the best policies.

Carpe Diem!

Gale Sickander is a Full Time Online Marketer and Business Builder that leverages new online technologies to generate fast growth in small and medium sized businesses. If you’re interested in her strategies, and want a kick start to your online business, visit http://www.galesickander.com/ today to get free resources that can help you build your online business. You can also follow her progress on her blog http://www.galesickander.com/blog/. Carpe Diem!