• Home
  • Courses
  • Pricing
  • Blog
  • Hello
    • About Us
    • FAQs
    • Meet Paul
    • My Stuff
    • Helpdesk
    • Contact
  • Members
    • Account
    • Profile
    • Forum
Paul Browning.com
  • Home
  • Courses
  • Pricing
  • Blog
  • Hello
    • About Us
    • FAQs
    • Meet Paul
    • My Stuff
    • Helpdesk
    • Contact
  • Members
    • Account
    • Profile
    • Forum
    • RegisterLogin

Get Whatever You Want

  • Home
  • Blog
  • Get Whatever You Want
  • Why the Laptop Lifestyle is a Big Fat Lie

Why the Laptop Lifestyle is a Big Fat Lie

  • Posted by Paul
  • Categories Get Whatever You Want, Wisdom
  • Date July 5, 2014
  • Comments 15 comments

laptopbIf you have any interest in internet marketing (and I’m pretty sure you do) you will have seen the ads promoting the ever elusive laptop lifestyle.

You know, some guy or girl sitting on the beach, miles away from any wireless or mobile signal surfing on the web without a care in the world. In fact, I’m sure every time you go to the beach you’ve tripped over one of these individuals while they were busy logging into Paypal to count all their money.

Okay, enough of the sarcasm. If you were really making tons of cash on the internet the last thing you would be doing on the beach is dragging a laptop around with you. It kind of defeats the object doesn’t it?

I’ve been generating online income since around 2002 and I’ve met many successful online entrepreneurs. I’m not talking about the big mouths who promise to teach you their ‘insider secrets’ but the people who actually run online businesses for a living rather than just telling others how to do it. These guys range from chefs teaching online cookery lessons, guitarists running online academies,ย stock market traders teaching how to trade successfully and so on. As you know, the ways to generate income online are almost infinite.

They all have one thing in common though. These guys work their butts off. They often have teams working for them managing customer service, order processing, website maintenance, monitoring forums and blog posts as well as the usual day-to-day business tasks. The most successful online entrepreneurs I know blog daily as well as post a number of social media comments spread throughout the day.

I’m not saying that online life has to be like this and I personally prefer to avoid ‘busyness’ but in order to be successful at anything you need to put the effort in. If you want to be rich you have in invest money in yourself and your business, if you want lots of free time you have to invest time.

If you are smart, you will build systems such as FAQ, autoresponders, hire a virtual assistant and automate as much as possible including order processing and fulfilment. BUT, you will still have to be an integral part of the business, at least to start with.

I’m certainly not a pessimist and I’d never tell you that you can’t live the internet lifestyle because I’ve been doing it for a long time. I’m a little more on the pragmatic side and am to be found somewhere between realist and optimist. I’ve seen what it takes to be successful online and whatever idea you have of it in your mind you might want to double the amount of effort you think it will take and also the amount of time.

I’ve had two major breaks from working online. First was when I ran my IT training company and I only taught two weekends per month. The rest of the time I relaxed. The second time was when I sold the company and took six months out to enjoy my new born daughter. I got a little bored after a while and started my next online adventure.

Was there a point to all of this? I guess it’s this:

  • Consider what you want your online lifestyle to look like
  • What sort of income do you want to be generating?
  • How hands on do you want to be?
  • Will you be hiring others and if so to do what?
  • Will you want to be working while on the beach or in relaxing mode?

Have fun.

Paul Browning

[gravityform id=”1″ name=”Download Your Free E-book Now”]

  • Share:
author avatar
Paul

Paul left the police force in the UK in June 2000. He started his first online business in 2002 selling IT training courses.

Since then he has created several other online businesses including IT certification training websites and small business marketing support. Paul has also written over 15 Amazon best selling books.

Previous post

Justin Brookes - Facebook Workflow Masterclass
July 5, 2014

Next post

How Can I Help?
July 9, 2014

You may also like

dollar700
How Much Money is Enough?
13 July, 2014
help3
How Can I Help?
9 July, 2014
happy700
If Your Life Sucks – Here’s Why
11 June, 2014

    15 Comments

  1. Cory J.
    July 15, 2014

    Working on the beach, rather than an office does seem preferable. Are you saying that you have to put in the time at the office to get the beach? Or is the beach an illusive myth?

  2. Dominic Roberts
    July 15, 2014

    How much work do you put in a week? Can relaxing on the beach figure in to a monetarily successful lifestyle?

  3. paulwbrowning
    July 16, 2014

    Everyones different. I do around 3-4 hours maybe.

    regards

    Paul

  4. Jacob Waters
    July 18, 2014

    I’m sure that’s a big difference in your lifestyle now when you run a successful IT business, than several years before when you were a beginner. How much work and time should be invested at the very beginning?

  5. Nina M.
    July 18, 2014

    The laptop lifestyle is still possible for someone. It’s best to start doing everything on your own and when it’s running smoothly, hiring a VA to do some stuff and lessen your work load is a good option.

  6. Tommy N
    July 22, 2014

    The laptop lifestyle is still possible for someone. It’s best to start doing everything on your own and when it’s running smoothly, hiring a VA to do some stuff and to lessen your work load is a good option.

  7. Tamara S.
    July 25, 2014

    I want my online lifestyle to look like something that is worth time spending and useful, especially financially.

  8. Leona T.
    July 28, 2014

    I think this method will take time, but if you really work hard and find good and long-term clients, this is really possible.

  9. Jenny J.
    August 1, 2014

    @Tommy N: Please do not copy someone else’s comment okay?

  10. Ronald T.
    August 1, 2014

    @Jenny J. I think your comment should go to Nina. What do you think? ๐Ÿ˜›

  11. Randy
    August 1, 2014

    I’m freelancer now, a newbie in this business. My friend recommended a freelancing site and I see now and everything’s much clearer, he’s right. Very good advices Paul, thanks!

  12. Lawrence King
    August 3, 2014

    It’s never late for business and politics ๐Ÿ™‚ Stay off the politics, make some money and create new value ๐Ÿ™‚

  13. Liana Cruz
    August 22, 2014

    I am really motivated whenever I read articles like this, Paul. I learn a lot from you. Thanks and more power! Please continue to share pieces of advise.

  14. Jamie Brown
    August 28, 2014

    That’s true, Nina. Hiring a VA is a good option since it will make your life easier in handling you businesses.

  15. Carol S.
    August 28, 2014

    Hiring others to do the job for you is very helpful but you need to be extra careful in choosing the people that will do the work for you to avoid creating bigger problems.

Leave A Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Search

Categories

  • 90-Minute Workday
  • Books
  • Business School
  • Business Skills
  • Featured
  • Free Your Time Up
  • Get Whatever You Want
  • Guru Courses
  • Internet Marketing
  • Membership Software
  • Outsourcing
  • Product Creation
  • Product Utilities
  • Saving Time
  • SEO
  • Video Creation
  • Videos
  • Wisdom
Sell Practice Exams on Udemy

Sell Practice Exams on Udemy

For Members Only
Learn Website Development From Scratch

Learn Website Development From Scratch

For Members Only
Learn WordPress From Scratch – WordPress Tutorial

Learn WordPress From Scratch – WordPress Tutorial

Free
memberpress

Latest Posts

Spotify Ads: How To Publish a Successful Campaign
10Jan2023
google analytics
Which Goals Are Available in Google Analytics
14Dec2022
pillar-content
What Is A Pillar Page & How Does It Help Level Up Your SEO?
11Dec2022
logo-eduma-the-best-lms-wordpress-theme
help@paulbrowning.com
Edit widget and choose a menu

Connect with

Login with Facebook Login with Google

Login with your site account

Lost your password?

Not a member yet? Register now

Register a new account

Are you a member? Login now