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When I was in college, I took a job selling spas at a local carnival so I could pay for classes. Having had no prior sales experience, the first few weeks on the job were tough. People go to carnivals to ride rides and eat ice cream. They don’t go to carnivals to buy ten-thousand dollar hot tubs…

I arrived early each morning to set up our booth. I armed myself with glossy brochures and made sure the hot tubs were spic-n-span. Then I spent the rest of the day enthusiastically demonstrating the value of our hot tubs. Many times people would feign interest, ask for a brochure and walk away. And you know what? I never heard from those people again. And I never made a sale.

Then one day, a co-worker took me aside. He was one of these old salts, from the old school of selling. And unlike me, he had dropped out of high school and never looked back. His lack of formal education didn’t matter. He was the top sales pro in the company and had the respect of everyone, including the owner. Suffice it to say, he knew a thing or two…

OLD GUY
You know why you ain’t selling?

ME
Nobody comes to a carnival to buy an expensive hot tub?

OLD GUY
No. That’s a negative belief. And it ain’t true. Most of us are selling fine. With your energy and enthusiasm, you could outsell everyone on this team, including me. But you got one problem. Out of all the people you talked to, never once did you ask someone to buy. If you don’t ask, you don’t get!

The advice was simple. Obvious. And profound.

From that moment forward, anytime someone showed the slightest interest in buying a spa, I asked for the sale. And you know what? Even though I heard the word “no” hundreds of times, I also heard the word “yes” enough times to make me one of the top producers. That summer I not only made enough money to pay for my classes, but I learned a lesson far more valuable than anything I leaned in college: If you don’t ask, you don’t get.

If you are dreaming of quitting your job so you can start an online business, you’re not alone. Creating an additional revenue stream helps you sleep better at night. And as your online business grows, sooner or later you’ll start getting the itch to break free.

This question sparks the memory of my first info product launch. Long before I had anything that resembled an online business, I wasn’t sure if online success was possible. Not because people didn’t make money online. I personally know many people who are successful online. I just wasn’t sure if having an online business was possible for me.

Call it a lack of confidence or a skewed worldview. But where I’m from, people actually WORK for a living. My dad worked at a factory. My mom worked for the phone company. And I believed if I wanted something, I had to WORK for it too.

Should You Quit Your Job And Start An Online Business?

The early part of my career was spent selling everything from hot tubs to household appliances to commercial real estate. My life consisted of one cold call after another. Sometimes more than sixty calls per day… That was real work.

Then the recession hit and everything went bonkers. Out if the ashes, I started a blog. I kept writing until I eventually reworked a few dozen articles into my first info product. I then got an affiliate to promote to his list. To gain his attention, I offered a 70% commission. He emailed his list and I was able to net roughly $800 on the launch.

Suddenly I wasn’t making cold calls. But I was still making sales. I spent the rest of my day obsessively refreshing my email inbox for the little word that felt better than any Vegas jackpot.

“SALES”

But unlike Vegas, this wasn’t a gamble. People were giving me money in exchange for the value my product offered. People were paying because they wanted my experience. They wanted me to help solve their problems.

And this was possibly the most amazing feeling I ever had. Can you imagine? I was getting money thrown into my inbox.

My launch wasn’t spectacular by guru standards. I ended up making just over $800 dollars that day. And while the experience didn’t change my lifestyle, it certainly changed my life. Selling stuff online is a gazillion times more fun than cold calling.

Since my initial launch many years ago, I have repeated the process over and over. With each new product launch, my income increases. As a result, I have reached a weird stage where I care a lot less about my resume. And I care a lot more about spending time with friends and family.

I know this sounds odd. But there is a certain loneliness to running an online business. None of my friends get it. And I am not yet at the John Chow stage of my business. (John Chow makes more than 40K per month.) Even so, I have created enough value to support myself financially and pay for a pretty okay lifestyle here in LA, which is one of the most expensive cities in the world.

I have started thinking in terms of problems and products. What problems can I solve? How will I solve those problems? Who is my target audience? Is the market large enough to support a product?

Those questions keep me up at night. And those questions are more exciting than asking if you should do this online business full time or merely get a job… Because if you’re still reading, I think we both know the answer. The question is, will you do what you need to do? If you liked this article, you’ll love my blogging checklist.