If you don't think you can do any of the services listed on elance, then you have several options:

1. Re-sell someone else's services.

   The only thing you have to watch out for there is the problems that happen if the person you're relying on you doesn't come through for you.

2. Get a skill.

   To acquire a skill you can sell on elance isn't that hard. For example, you can buy a training CD on how to use Front Page or Dreamweaver and learn to create web sites.

   Or you can buy a rather expensive program called Photoshop and learn graphic design.

   If you can't afford Photoshop, you can get Paint Shop Pro or Photoimpact.

   You can even get these training CD's if you're outside the U.S. Just order them on Amazon.com. There are many very good training CD's available that make learning software programs simpler than you may think.

   What's more, all you have to do is search on google.com and you will find tons of FREE tutorials right online to teach you how to use most all the software programs you see on elance that people need help with.

   My Director of Customer Service has a relative who is 14 years old. He is already creating eye-popping graphics with Paint Shop Pro and he taught himself!

   Some of my friends have taught themselves CGI programming just by reading books. If you put your mind to it, and focus, you CAN learn a skill.

   My dad learned to fix TV's by taking a correspondence course. That's what got him started.

   I learned to be a writer by studying and doing. Working for clients cheaply until I got better. You learn by doing.

   Most of it comes down to WANTING to do it. The drive. The desire. The energy.

   See why that daily morning exercise comes in very handy? Because it is what gives you the DRIVE, the movitation and the ENERGY to apply yourself to learning or performing a skill.

   If you want to learn Photoshop or other graphic design programs, go to: http://www.google.com. Type in the words "Photoshop Tutorials" and you'll get access to lots of free tutorials.

   You can also type in "web design tutorials" and you'll get a lot of web sites that teach you for free.

   Photoshop is a complicated program to learn. That's why you can get paid very well for design services if you learn it.

   If you work at it every day consistently, you CAN learn it. The best book I've ever found on the topic is "Photoshop Down & Dirty Tricks" by Scott Kelby. My designer learned Photoshop in about an hour a day in 1 month using that book.

   Photoshop is the king of the hill. It's a very advanced program but extremely powerful. If you can use Photoshop with a degree of skill, you can make money online.

   If you're disabled or out of job, why not? What else do you have to do with your time? You can feel sorry for yourself or get into action, learn a marketable skill and make money.

   It's all about having a skill that people will pay money for. You gotta have a skill. The skill I learned was writing sales letters. There's a real art to it and not a lot of people do it well.

   That's why I got paid a lot of money to do it. I bet there's something you can do that people will pay you for.

   They don't care if you're an alcoholic if you can get the work done. They'll never see you. You can work when you're sober!

   They don't care if you're disabled, in a wheel chair or type with a pencil in your mouth! Hey, if you can get the work done, that's all people care about.

   You've got to do quality work. You can't do crap. You have to master your skill. But at first, you can start with easy projects that are within your skill level. You'll improve as you go along.

   There are many places you can market your services.

   Now, there are many other skills you can market and many other places you can market them other than elance.

   Look around your city or town.

   See the services people perform. Be on the lookout for people with PROBLEMS!

   Every problem causes pain. If it causes enough pain, someone else is going to be willing to pay for a solution.

   I learned a lot from Anthony Robbins. Some people think he's all hype. But they just don't get it. Anthony teaches in his outstanding book "Awaken The Giant Within" that all human beings are motivated by the desire to gain pleasure or avoid pain.

   That's it ultimately after you boil it all down. You want to get something or you want to avoid something.

   Psychologists call that approach/avoidance.

   So anyway, look for people with pain because they are going to be motivated to get rid of the pain or solve the problem. They are also going to be motivated by the desire to obtain a result.

   If you see people in pain, do you think they might be wiling to pay you to fix their pain or get rid of their problem?

   You bet.

   That's how may dad made a living fixing TV's.

   I help people sell products... I teach them HOW to do it.. . so I'm on the other end of the stick. I help people get a result.

   Here's an example: Did you ever scratch a CD?

   A service you perform could be as simple as studying the different solutions out there for fixing scratched CD's. Then offering to fix all your friends scratched CD's.

   After that, you could start running little ads in the newspaper:

   "I fix your scratched CD's."

   Look all around you. Open your eyes. Problems are everywhere. People are willing to pay more money to solve some types of problems than they are others. And they are willing to pay no money to solve some types of problems.

   So look at what problems are out there. How much do people pay to get those problems fixed?

Assignment:

Look through the classified ads in your local papers and magazines and study all the different kinds of services people perform for others.

Ask yourself: What problem are they solving? How much money do they get for solving that problem? Why are they getting paid that amount of money to solve the problem?

You can charge a lot of money to solve a big problem for someone.

You can also make a lot of money by solving a little problem for a LOT of people. That's called the fast food business.

You are hungry. That's a problem. You buy a burger or chicken and now you don't have the pain of hunger anymore.

That's a solution.

People won't pay $10,000 for one hamburger. But what if you sell 10,000 hamburgers in one day?

The problem with the burger business is the law of supply and demand. How many burger places are there? Tons. Is it easy to make your burger much different than the next guys? In other words, is it easy or hard to differentiate your service?

It's hard isn't it? Not a business I want to be in.

Look for businesses where it's easy to be a little different from the next guy or gal.

Sometimes you are your own differentiation. I'm 6' 4 1/2" tall. So when I speak, do you think I stand out? You bet.

Back to our main point. You don't have to offer your service on elance.

You can offer a service locally through your classified ads. You can run an ad in a magazine or newsletter that targets the people with the problem you solve. Or the people who want to get the result.

That brings us to the point of talking about your marketing and advertising. How do you get the business?

Finally, we're getting there. Slowly but surely.

Do you feel yourself growing smarter and wiser about marketing by the minute?

Well, just hold on. It's getting better.

(end of chapter seven)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: This month's article has been written by Marlon Sanders, author of "The Amazing Formula That Sells Products Like Crazy!", "Gimme My Money Now!", and 13 other courses. Marlon Sanders is a renowned marketer on the Internet with customers in virtually every country of the world. He lives in Dallas, TX and can usually be found at a bookstore scouring pages for just one more little marketing technique that brings in extra profits. For more information about Marlon Sanders or any of his courses, check out: The Amazing Formula That Sells Products Like Crazy! Gimme My Money Now! Push Button Sales Letters