If you happen to be over 50 and have spent most of your adult life working with computers then you can most probably recall a time when the internet was only used between techies, universities and government agencies. Back then the internet was nothing like it is today (in size or content). Most of the stuff on the internet was simply messages being passed from one computer in one location to another elsewhere.
Yet in those days, not even the most visionary techies, etc could have conceived the way in which the internet would evolve to become a large aspect of all our lives. From online shopping and watching movies to simply keeping abreast with current events, the internet has had an impact on nearly all of our lives.
What you may not be aware of is how the internet has also changed the way that we work and ultimately – make money. Scary as it may seem to those who aren’t familiar with this technology, the internet has pretty much levelled out many traditional hierarchy industries, thereby providing the average person with more ways than ever to make a living. For example, authors on completing a new book usually had only one option which was to go the traditional publishing route (where they’d approach a traditional publisher in hope their work would be accepted). Back than self-publishing wasn’t really feasible due to cost and time of making and marketing your own books!
Fast forward to nowadays and with eBooks (books in digital format) many authors are now consciously choosing to by-pass the publishing houses with the knowledge that they can probably earn more royalties on their own. Many publishing houses are now even beginning to come after authors, a complete reversal from a mere few decades back.
The biggest advantage however is the severely reduced cost and risk associated with starting a business. Traditionally a business would have required a lot of time and financial risk to get off the ground (an option only for brave and foolish or those with money behind them). Nowadays one can start a business on the internet for absolutely nothing!
Furthermore, many of these business opportunities can lead to the holy grail of finance, passive income! Imagine doing something once and getting paid repeatedly for your effort, potentially for the rest of your life. That is the power of passive income. Examples of passive income include money from book you wrote a long time back, recurring income from repeat sales from a customer you only sold to once a while back. Before the internet it would have taken ‘Balls, Luck or Wealthy Backers’ to get such an income stream. Now such income can be created from next to nothing.
If you happen to 50 or older, than now is the time to learn how to secure yourself for retirement (and even if your younger than 50, it is never too early to start learning).