What Was I Thinking

I often wonder what I was thinking by joining an affiliate program and starting a home business o­n the Internet. I started up not knowing a single thing about affiliate programs, I didn't even recognize the term. I knew nothing about advertising, building websites, search engines, search engine optimization, or the million other things that I have learned in the past two years.

I have spent grueling, long hours behind my computer trying to figure out all of the things that I mentioned above. Often times, I had to leave my computer and take a break before I pulled my hair out. I was also required to teach others to do what I was doing. How could I possibly do that when I didn't have the slightest clue to what I was doing?

On top of that, my family resented the time that I was spending o­n the computer, and the general consensus was that I was being scammed and wouldn't ever see a dime for my time invested.I still remember my inner satisfaction from the looks o­n my family's faces when my first check arrived in the mail. My first check arrived within six weeks of joining this particular affiliate program.

Now mind you, it wasn't much. I believe my first check was about $60, but you would have thought that I had won the lottery. I had actually made money o­n the Internet! Now I have four or five checks arriving each month that are quite significant, and the peculiar thing is that they get larger each month and I work less all the time.

As I look back, I know what I was thinking. Someone had offered me the chance to change my life. They offered me the chance to make my own hours, they offered me the chance to be my own boss, and best of all they offered me the chance to make more money than I could ever make in the traditional work force.

All of those hair-pulling sessions behind my computer are virtually behind me, because I learned. I often feel that I have the equivalent of a bachelors degree in network marketing because of all the trial and error that I have went through building my business from the ground up.

Now that the foundation is in place and the building is nearly finished, I know that I will never worry about money again. I will never worry about having to cater to a boss that I don't respect, or be forced to live by someone else's schedule.

If you're new to affiliates programs and are experiencing any of the anxieties that I have mentioned in this article, take a break; walk away, anything that you have to do to weather the storm. Just don't quit! You'll be giving up o­n a dream that is attainable, and the residuals will provide for your family long after you're gone.

About The Author

Rebecca Gilbert has been a successful home business entrepreneur since July, 2002. Visit her at: http://www.101homebusiness.org or http://www.home-business-opportunity.biz for more great tips, tutorials, and articles o­n how you can get started with your own home business.

In The News:


TechCrunch

Refer.ly Lets Regular Folks Earn Affiliate Revenue For Recommending Products ...
TechCrunch
Will a few dollars in affiliate revenue motivate people enough to use Refer.ly? Don't we just share products with friends and family because we genuinely love to help other people out? Morrill said she doesn't expect Refer.ly users to make a living off ...
Danielle Morrill leaves Twilio to start Y Combinator-backed ReferlyGeekWire

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Advertising, affiliate revs lift Scripps: Revenue rose 11% to $535 million
Chicago Tribune
Scripps Networks Interactive, parent of Food Network, HGTV and The Travel Channel, said strong advertising and affiliate revenue boosted profit last quarter despite hefty programming costs. Net profit rose to $115 million from $101 million.
Ad & Affiliate Revenues Boost Scripps ResultsWorld Screen
Scripps Networks 1Q Net Up 14% On Stronger Ad RevenueWall Street Journal
Scripps Networks Interactive reports first quarter financial resultsMarketWatch (press release)
Zacks.com -NASDAQ
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Many nonprofits incorrectly claim no expense for fund-raising
Knoxville News Sentinel
By Thomas Hargrove Scripps Howard News Service Goodwill Industries operates more than 2600 retail stores, like this one in Sarasota, Fla., where leaders are rethinking how they report overhead costs to the Internal Revenue Service and the American ...
Local charities following tax reporting rulesRecord-Searchlight
Scripps national investigation: Thousands of nonprofits misreport fundraising ...Corpus Christi Caller Times
Harvard University has the distinction of running a nonprofit organizationTimes Record News

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Wall Street Journal

AMC Networks Earnings Call Insights: Affiliate Revenue Growth, Ratings
Wall St. Cheat Sheet
Two questions first on the affiliate revenue growth, 8% in the first quarter, two things there. Number one, it is an acceleration from your full year rate from last year. Does that acceleration represent some – or is that primarily due to some of the ...
AMC Networks 1Q Net Rises 45% On Strong Advertising RevenueWall Street Journal
AMC Reports Higher First-Quarter EarningsBroadcasting & Cable
AMC Networks quarterly profit jumps 45%MarketWatch
Chicago Tribune -paidContent.org -MediaPost Communications
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Three Multistate Tax Alerts from McDonald Hopkins law firm --
Sacramento Bee
A United States District Court in Colorado recently issued a permanent injunction against the Colorado Department of Revenue from imposing strict notice requirements on out-of-state sellers who do not collect sales tax on internet sales in the state.

and more »

MiamiHerald.com

Viacom Reports Higher Results For Second Quarter 2012
MarketWatch (press release)
Revenues in the second quarter increased 2% to $3.33 billion, driven primarily by higher Media Networks affiliate revenues. Operating income grew 23% to $932 million, reflecting the overall increase in revenues, as well as lower expenses principally ...
Viacom profit beats, but Nickelodeon worries loomBaltimore Sun
Viacom's 2Q Earnings Soar 56% on Networks StrengthFox Business
Viacom Profit Rises, Tops EstimatesNASDAQ
World Screen
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News Corporation Reports Third Quarter Earnings Per Share of $0.38; Growth of ...
MarketWatch (press release)
Contributions from STAR in India were essentially in line with the prior year, as higher revenues were offset by increased programming costs, including those from new channel launches. Affiliate revenue growth of 15% at the domestic cable channels for ...

and more »

PFSweb Reports 50% Service Fee Revenue Growth in First Quarter of 2012 ...
MarketWatch (press release)
"New business agreements and expanding existing client engagements continue to drive our strong Service Fee Business growth, resulting in a 50% increase in Service Fee revenue for the first quarter of 2012 compared to the first quarter of 2011," stated ...

and more »

TIME

The Walt Disney Company Reports Second Quarter Earnings
MarketWatch (press release)
The increase at ESPN was driven by higher affiliate and advertising revenue partially offset by higher programming and production costs. The increase in affiliate revenue was due to contractual rate increases and a reduction in revenue deferrals ...
Disney 2Q Profit Climbs 21% On Cable, Theme Park GainsWall Street Journal
Walt Disney's CEO Discusses Q2 2012 Results - Earnings Call TranscriptSeeking Alpha
Disney Fires on All Cylinders in 2QMorningstar.com

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Limbaugh Affiliate Cumulus Media Reports Millions In Lost Revenue
Media Matters for America (blog)
If carrying Limbaugh on 38 stations results in millions in advertiser losses over the course of two months, then when you factor in all the other affiliates as well as Premiere's own advertiser interests, the scale of lost revenue associated with ...

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