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What is GoldRush Syndrome and how to avoid it
By Mark Porch
Many budding online entrepreneurs are drawn to well written ads and splash pages like moths to a flame. The lure of online passive residual income is a strong one, especially if marketed with an emphasis on quick profits for little or no work. If you spend a little time researching ads for online home business opportunities, you might wonder why everyone is not doing it if it can be so easy.
Throughout history as new technologies and marketing methods have evolved, the marketers have adhered to a simple set of rules. Play on greed, offer a way to make money that requires little effort or knowledge, find those that want more money or are in a distressed financial position and make your price point just enough to allow them to get involved.
Many of today's online opportunity marketers are no different than those from the days of the gold rush in the 1800's. In that era, entrepreneurs sprung up everywhere jumping on the fevered bandwagon of great riches just waiting to be had by all.
It was an irresistible lure to many, the thought of gold just lying around in the streams and mountains of the west. Even those with no knowledge of proper prospecting or mining methods were led to believe that they could easily learn how to produce immense wealth overnight.
The stories were everywhere of previously poor and destitute people staking claims and becoming overnight millionaires. Many of which were spread by the marketers selling claim stakes, prospecting and mining instruction books and the implements with which to gather the gold just waiting to be had.
Many people were made rich by researching the areas where viable claims could be had, learning the proper mining techniques and putting in the many days and months needed to be successful. Millions were in fact made by many people who followed the above steps.
But a whole different group of people fell victim to marketers who played on greed and used the stories of gold riches and the ease with which they could be had as a selling hook. Greed was a powerful force for even the stoic 1800's pioneer who often struggled just to survive under tough living conditions.
The parallels to today's internet "gold rush" are uncanny. One quick search through any online search engine for "home business opportunities" or "home based business" will quickly illustrate the point. You will find thousands of marketers selling exactly the same items to the uninformed public now as then.
Think about it. The claim stake now is your internet domain or affiliate website. The mining instruction book or manual is now the EBook, the online secret methods course, software or instruction manual. The implements like the shovel, pick etc. are now the traffic generator, auto responder, ezine and opt in list to name a few.
Today, just as back then, those who take the time to learn the proper way to build wealth and put in the necessary effort will have a chance at online success. Constant learning and educated utilization of available tools will allow them to work their "claim" into a profitable business.
Those who jump in without looking and expect to have piles of money sent to their bank account will resemble those who lost everything buying into dreams of unbelievable wealth for little or no work.
History is littered with stories of the "goldrush" syndrome and the marketers who exploited it. As George Santayana, a notable philosopher said, "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it." You can learn from history and benefit from it by allowing knowledge and not experience to be your teacher.
About the Author
Mark Porch is a home based business entrepreneur living in Canton, GA.
www.privateretirementstrategy.com
Article Source: http://www.simplysearch4it.com/article/30149.html
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