So, a lot of people will tell you that you ought to shoot for autopilot income. They talk about residual cash. They talk about living the hands free lifestyle… jump in the RV and travel around the United Stated. Something like that.

These same people — mostly folks who “don’t care about money” — will also tell you that working for other people is a bad idea. The idea of performing services for other people (not THOSE services, you dirty minded banana!) is disgusting to these people.

Now look, working for yourself is AWESOME. You can work for yourself and help other people… and make money… all by doing work for other people. This has generated huge money for me for the last 4 years.

I like working for other people — UNDER THE RIGHT CIRCUMSTANCES.

I’ll get to that. But first –

Doing consulting is very cool… when you look at the piles of cash you can generate. Doing the freelance thing is great, if you know what you’re doing. And that, my friend, is what most people ignore. “Doing it right” is an art and a science.

Here are some of my personal rules:

1. Sell on VALUE. Never work on a per hour basis unless you’re making obscene amounts of cash. I still do this… but it’s rare. Almost everything is done by project and the price my clients pay is based on the total value I deliver. (Including intangibles like making them feel smart, giving them confidence, and more.) So, it’s really about marketing yourself based on your value to their business. It’s the perceived value that matters… that’s how you sell on value. (Boom!)

2. Know exactly how to focus. I can’t stress this enough. If you’re doing work for a client… you’ve gotta stay on track. You have to kill all distractions so that you’re making more money in less time. That’s how you make even more money… per hour.

3. Know your marketing voodoo. Everyone has special skills and talents. Some people can talk. Some people can write. Some people have insane charisma. Know your weapons and use them when you’re working for others… that will drive a lot more money into your pockets… with a lot less work. Trust me on this.

4. Find shortcuts, create systems and outsource. I’ve taught a lot of people how to make money by writing articles. I have very simple ways of getting work done for other people… but the real magic is the LEVERAGE you get when you apply software and cheap labor to the fine-tuned systems you’ve developed. So, do the work, get smart about it, create a simple system, tweak that system… then apply software and people to that system. This is magic.

Now, here’s where things get RED HOT.

Several people in my mastermind think I’m totally nuts to be doing so much work for other people. They think I’m not spending enough time on my own empire…

Well look, I get a lot of stuff done every 24 hours. Sometimes, I even eat and sleep.

For the record… I actually have a balanced life. (Shocking, I know.) I eat out with the family 1-2 times per week, we eat almost all of our meals together, I play with the kids for at least 1 hour per day, I see my parents and in-laws at least once per week, I run several times per week, I take several vacations per year… man, I’m busy relaxing… but to an OUTSIDER… boy, it looks like I’m a slave to work.

But, I digress –

What matters is that I am absolutely building up my own empire. Here’s how:

1. I am very strategic about client selection. I only work for “cool” people. I like to help successful people become more successful. I’m not the right guy to help you get started… in terms of the CONSULTING that I offer. I allow my products to “teach” people. And, I refer people who want the personal touch to my network. I pass over some great people because “getting started” is not my consulting niche. I know this sounds all fancy pants… but the truth is that I’m a “high end” consultant. In any event, this client selection puts me in touch with brilliant, well-connected people. I like these kind of people because my connections are a major asset in my business. Seems obvious, but most people don’t think about connections and even fewer people keep track of their connections.

2. I channel my profits into autopilot businesses. That’s right… I’m an Adsense freak. I have about 100 sites set up right now and the pennies trickle in every single day. This income stream adds up, trust me. By the way, I only do about 5-10% of the work. The rest is handled by my team. I just pour money on the system and the traffic grows and the sites get stronger… the money to FUEL those sites mostly comes from… that’s right! — my freelancing and consulting. Of course, I make good money running training courses too… I believe in multiple streams of income, but that’s another topic for another day.

So, with just these two things (human connections and autopilot cash systems) I am able to convert my freelancing into an empire building machine. I’m relentless and I act like an internet marketing juggernaut as much as I can…

By the way, I see that Tim just posted an awesome blog post about getting a guru to love you. This is definitely a way to get ANYONE talking to you… and if you’re smart about it, you can lock them in as a consulting client. All of my “guru buddies” are dying to find great workers: folks who show up on time, folks who can communicate, folks who understand marketing, and so on. If you’re good… and you can prove it with samples and examples… you can often land great clients. (Rock and roll!)

OK, so enough blathering… I know that this is a long blog post. But, it’s just so important to realize you can be an online marketing consultant or an offline marketing consulting (like Tim!) can make a killing… by working for other people. It’s not “dirty” or “stupid” … in fact, it’s brilliant and effective. I’ve proven that above and both Tim and I are real proof that this is a kick ass way of building a strong business.

Sidebar: Just look at what Tim’s accomplished in about one year. A huge part of his success is from helping other people. He can be a silly cheese at times, but that’s cool. His success is very much tied to providing services to others. He’s a perfect example of consulting success… and he knows how to translate his freelancing and consulting experience into new products, hands off cash streams and a great business foundation.

…it’s the transformation of cash and experience into autopilot businesses that counts. Make some money consulting and freelancing. Leverage that experience into products and new joint ventures. That allows you to trade time for money, but then you can trade that experience and that money into your own autopilot business empire.

OK, I’m off to get some work done for another high end client. Take care!

(This blog post is by the one and only John S. Rhodes. If you’d like to find out more about him be sure to head out to http://www.johnsrhodes.com)

Filed under: Making money online

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