How long did it take you to start making substantial income through IM??

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Hey, Mike.

It varies ... depends on you, your goals, your drive and determination to meet your goals, your market ... many variables.

I kept my original full time job for many years before making my Online business my sole livelihood. That was my preference, as it wasn't essential that I rush. But I'm glad I finally did. ;)

Best,

Mike

For me it took some time, about 18 months.

My bad :)

I was focusing on too many things.

I got distracted by every new money making method that came out and could hardly finish projects.

During this period, I did not make a dime and was frustrated.

Today I have become mentally stronger and I totally control what to look at, what not to and what to get done.

When you achieve this mindset, everything starts working out and the money starts coming in from all sides.

I now make a steady income online with one of my business models and I am now adding more income streams.

Quoting Mike

"It varies ... depends on you, your goals, your drive and determination to meet your goals, your market ..."

Rob

What is a substantial income? Depending on your definition, I may not qualify as making a substantial income through IM. It took me 6 months after I first heard about IM to start making some actual sales worth noticing, and now it is 7 months later and I am starting to make what I would consider a substantial income online.

The key to making it take less time is to focus on ONE method and master it. Don't jump from method to method, and don't keep buying every product that comes out that people claim will make you rich.

The key to my success was to find one product and one method. I picked a method that worked for my interests and my personality. I then focused on that method and worked hard at mastering it, testing and tracking and adjusting/improving my methods. I developed a strategy that worked with my lifestyle, and I now follow that method.

I also forced myself to stop buying products, and I instead focused on putting what I knew to work for me. THAT made a massive difference in my income.

Everyone takes a different amount of time to see substantial results. Some take years, some take months, some take just a few weeks.

I can't say how long it took me to quit/replace my job because I am a first year university student and I don't have a job. I also am pretty sure I never will have to have a "job" ever again. If I did have a job, I would have quit it about 2 weeks ago, so about 6 1/2 months after I heard about IM.

Shawn

I think it is a very relevant question for anyone that starts out. Remember that it is still a business that you are building. Very few (if any) "get rich quick" schemes work and the same applies to Internet Marketing. It is a process of learning (investing), experimenting, more learning and fine tuning it until you have your own "formula" that works for you. It takes some skill and luck (like any other business).

I found that setting a specific goal in terms of investment, time and ROI helps me focus and not jump around to the latest program that makes money. It seems that everyone has this problem early in their IM "career". Just like it depends on domain age and Page Rank and backlinks to get decent SEO, so does time, investment and experience get you to make a substantial income. Anything under 9-12 months is highly unlikely. But it would take as long to get a "bricks and mortar" business going.

My few cents

Pieter

I think Shawn makes an extremely important point. I have been jumping around from opportunity to opportunity for the past 3 years and pretty much getting nothing accomplished.

Now I finally buckled down, focused, and have my own product - it's a lot easier to focus on one thing instead of going for the "flavor of the month"!

To make it simple.

"1 year of smart work, NOT HARD WORK"

I definitely agree with Shawn and Jeremy. Focusing on only a few things instead of a ton of things will speed up your earning potential!

Some great feedback here, thanks guys!

When I decided to focus fully on it, it took about 1 year for me.

I work at my Internet businesses full time now and I will NEVER work for anyone else again!

That's a good question Mike :)

The answer depends on many factors including the time and effort you put into it, the direction you choose and the "focus" you have!

Finding good mentors can dramatically help. I was lucky enough to get my "baptism of fire" from 2 pros, Frank Kern & Ed Dale at their infamous Underachievers conference on the gold Coast in Australia in 2005.

I simply followed what they laid out and left my full time job 17 weeks later and haven't looked back since so rest assured it can be done (believe me I am no brainbox or geek either).

I am telling you this not to brag but rather to others confidence it can be done by the average guy or girl!

My brother (who is a geek!) left his full time software programming job a bit over a year year ago to join me (after several years of nagging by me) and we have teamed up online.

It's important to immerse yourself around other IMs as this will help you find your success. ;)

Anthony