Part of the college curriculum is the ever present cash flow conundrum. How do we pay for all these books and fees and computer hardware, on top of the tuition and travel, not to mention the life we'd like to be having? I thought about this a lot - who doesn't? - and would like to share my best recent conclusions.



What's with all these profits I'm hearing about from a couple off campus friends and their e-commerce ventures, considering how they seem so thoroughly involved and passionate with what they're doing? They warned me that some of the online success stories are totally bogus. Some are filled with hype and flash and it's useful to be skeptical of those.

But some stories - telling of legitimately making hundreds of dollars a day - within the first few months online - some of these are true. Some determined entrepreneurs, starting from scratch, now bring in even a thousand dollars some days - and sometimes within their first few months. These are special cases, admittedly. But it is do-able.

Even if you have no prior experience marketing online, but just your personal determination and vision, along with a clear sense that SOMEBODY is making that money (it might as well be you) then with a little willingness, you can begin working toward a piece of that same success yourself.

With billions being spent online every year, and real online growth expected to continue expanding for at least the next five years, I'm convinced this is worth giving a careful look and consideration.

First, as a grad student, give yourself some real credit:

To have come this far with your studies is a powerful tribute to your perseverance and self discipline. These qualities of character can be precious touchstones as you begin creating and building your business online. Or in any venture life brings.

All the decisions to keep on, to persist with your studies when you see so many fall away, having to move on; this shows a willingness to be true to your personal vision, to keep believing in a future worth working for, even amidst a culture that's changing and re-patterning itself almost daily all around. That this determination still holds somehow even as you see the vision might need to be revised along the way, there's wisdom in knowing this, in giving yourself proper credit.

Second, develop your personal vision, give it a full life and wings.

Breathe your life's passion into this - so you can better nurture the dream. Take time with this. Write the vision down, in the most active terms you can. You'll want to re-read and re-write this magical vision as it becomes more detailed and rich for you. What would it be like if you could afford the life you want? Imagine being unencumbered by debt, able to take on any new project you like. Shaping, massaging and cultivating your personal vision can be central in supporting any meaningful success in life. There's an old saying, "Where there is no vision, the people perish." A well tended, written vision can lead to your heart's desire.

Third, be willing to explore opportunities - outside the box - beyond the obvious.

You can create your own personalized sense of what a new online business might look like, writing your own version of what the specific opportunity can mean for you, in terms of paying for school, covering regular bills, extra cash for weekends and travel, enjoying that special date on occasion, imagining even more to come. The specifics, well detailed, will draw you to them as they unfold more precisely in the future. Set your course directionally.

Again, let me remind you, there are billions of dollars paid for products online every year, with many well known merchants depending on outside advertisers - that's potentially you and me - helping bring customers to their sites. Everything from dating services to computers to vacation packages, to credit card offers, cell phone services, on and on and on. There are connecting sites where you can search for businesses compatible with your vision, ready to help set up links, at no cost to anyone but the end merchant. They track your clickthroughs and when there's a sale, you get part of it. The payoff can add up quickly - a couple hours daily of honest, disciplined work, with a fair measure of persistence - and within a few months you can begin seeing hundred dollar days yourself, provided you stick with it. It can happen even sooner if you really go at it.

Finally - realize, know, understand, believe, consider again - that you are absolutely worth making this extra effort, putting in the extra couple hours a day to create your own real business, nurturing your dreams, watching money flow into your accounts, first a trickle, then a stream, then a reliable source for paying your way to the life you want and deserve. But you have to keep your focus - that's why the personal vision is so important - make it as clear and flexible as you can.

So, take a friendly pass on the chatfest down the hall, back off some on the YouTube sessions reviewing the latest hot videos, do the rain check thing with the next party at some friend's place back home - if these folks are true friends, then they have to want you to succeed, regardless. If not, why are you wasting your time?

Maybe someday soon you'll be showing them how they can succeed as well with their own piece of the e-pie.

Imagine your life a year from now, where might you be? Three years from now? Five years? If you had the means to accelerate your progress today, to evolve with confidence into your personal vision, might that be worth some serious consideration?

Many of these businesses are in fact started and sustained with little more than a hundred dollars, wisely managed - a modest amount that can be repaid in the first couple months by carefully working the penny pinching strategies which are detailed for you online.

Many decent people, with every imaginable vision, are giving this a second look. You can succeed here as well. There's room online for all of us, as we each have something unique to offer.

My personal vision has me graduating debt free, with a financial freedom ready for whatever life has to offer. How about you?