That's a pretty bold statement, but it's true. You can create your own financially independent lifestyle in a multitude of ways. Today, we'll look at recurring income as your wealth creation vehicle.
Recurring income is money that flows into your bank account on a regular basis. Some of the common business models that take advantage of recurring income include subscriptions and membership fees.
The most common recurring online plans pay out on a monthly basis. Some pay out on an annual or bi-annual schedule, depending on the payment plan. Many independently wealthy people have developed their empires using these business models.
Subscriptions and Membership Fees
Subscriptions and membership fees work in a similar fashion. The subscriber or member is granted access to a product or service in exchange for a regular recurring payment.
This business model guarantees the subscriber/member continued service and guarantees the provider a locked in, guaranteed income.
But there are pitfalls. If you're thinking about creating a recurring billing product, you could be in for a wild ride. The following case study is the real life journey that I took, while creating The Business Professional Private Members' Site.
CASE STUDY: The Business Professional Private Membership Website
President and CEO: Terry Telford Vice President: Edwin Ryan Development Start Date: December 15, 2003 Website Launch Date: May, 1, 2004
In the research phase, I decided to keep everything in-house except for the payment processing. This gave me greater control over the entire process, but created a lot more work in the beginning.
The basic modules that needed to snap together and make the membership area run, were:
1. Membership software to create logins and passwords
2. Affiliate software to track affiliate sales and commissions
3. Autoresponder
4. Payment Processor
Discovering what software to use was a matter of trial and error, but I finally ended up choosing:
1. Membership Manager from GroundBreak
2. Ultimate Affiliate Manager to handle the affiliate functions
3. Autoreponse Plus for the autoresponder software
4. PayPal / 2CheckOut to process recurring payments
The next step was to have a programmer connect the dots and make all three programs play nicely together. This was the step where I realized I'd done everything backwards.
Instead of finding the software and then the programmer, I should have found the programmer and let him decide how to create the system. I was now at a fork in the road. Do I scrap the software that I already purchased and start from ground zero, or do I invest in a programmer to attempt to make all the software play together.
To make a long story short, I decided on option two and paid a programmer a small fortune to attempt the impossible. In the end, The Business Professional works 90% on autopilot and 10% on manual.
It was a long and costly process, but a fantastic learning experience. And the adventure was far from over.
Now I had a cool Private Membership site, with a $5,762 price tag. Next, I had to fill it with content. It took another two months to top up the content and get things rolling.
Fast forward to today.
Challenge:
Both Edwin and I are spending 80% of our time marketing The Business Professional and don't have enough time to build solid content into the member's area.
Solution:
Outsource the marketing to a handful of skilled entrepreneurs, so we can focus on upgrading the member's area.
The marketers collect and keep 100% of the membership fees, and we get a continual stream of new members who order our products and services. This cooperative business model builds a stronger, more profitable business for everyone.
Summary:
Generating a monthly recurring income by building a membership website is a great concept. In practical terms, it's a costly way to learn the ropes.
My recommendation to anyone who is considering a recurring monthly income is, start out promoting an existing product or service. You'll save a lot of time and energy and can start generating a profit, your first month in business.
Without expenses, it's all profit :)
"You are going to have a baby!" This statement is greeted with joy by any woman, especially if she is a mature adult, has a secure source of income, and people to support her emotionally and physically. The same does not hold true for a young girl who is still too wet behind the ears to handle being a teenage mother.
While the news that the rate of teenage pregnancies is going down is welcoming indeed, there is also concern expressed for those pregnant teenagers who wish to carry on till the end and give birth to their babies. The path they have chosen is full of challenges, whether it is related to personal health, health of the newborn, or what lies ahead in the future.
The first obstacle to happiness for a teenage mother is the disapproval expressed by society. The same social haunts where they were greeted with cordiality earlier such as 'school/college, the church, houses of friends and relatives' now become a curse because they are looked down upon by all and sundry.
In addition to the trauma they are already facing because of a sudden pregnancy and birth, these young mothers are forced to leave their happy teens behind and behave like mature adults now. This may prove to be too much, too soon! The family members of a teenage mother go through a traumatic time too. They have to face society's taunts as well.
The stress associated with an unplanned pregnancy and delivery of the baby has a bad effect on the teenage mother's health too. Later years are going to prove equally difficult. This mother runs the risk of developing preeclampsia leading to high blood pressure, STDs, and anemia. The high blood pressure may become a lifelong illness. There are chances of developing obesity too.
The baby born to a teenage mother faces health risks too, especially malnutrition, seeing that the mother herself is little more than a child and has no idea about how to take care of her own nutritional needs during pregnancy. This ignorance and immaturity leads to the birth of premature infants or newborn infants being born with a low birth weight. Even after birth, an unhealthy mother is unable to provide proper health care for her newborn.
The addition of a baby to the household makes it difficult for the teenage mother to continue her education. Skills to be developed for earning an income are left incomplete. Most often, she gets no monetary support or childcare support for taking care of her child. Proper living conditions cannot be provided for the infant as the mother herself is on the brink of poverty.
Thus, the overall picture does not look too good. Hopefully, with proper counseling, today's adolescents will be well on the way to developing self-confidence, learn how to blend with family and society, and ensure themselves of a good education. And we shall get to hear less and less about "teenage mothers"!
Both Terry Telford & Abhishek Agarwal are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Terry Telford has sinced written about articles on various topics from Email Marketing, Computers and The Internet and Site Promotion. This mini report has been brought to you by Terry Telford at The Email Wealth Toolkit. If you're not making at least $5,000 a month online, this home study course will show you exactly how to do it.. Terry Telford's top article generates over 2400 views. to your Favourites.
Abhishek Agarwal has sinced written about articles on various topics from Surveys, Camping and Camping. Abhishek has seen many childbirths in his huge family! Visit and Download Abhishek's FREE Report "How To Dress And Look Your. Abhishek Agarwal's top article generates over 368000 views. to your Favourites.