Point #2:
I am so sick of people thinking that they can just hop on the Internet, start a “business,” and retire with infinite wealth a year later.
An actual business takes work. It takes time. If you’re not willing or able to put in both, then there’s a good chance you’re just not going to succeed. I’m all for the power of positive thinking, but just visualizing success isn’t going to get you a fraction as far as actually working to make it happen.
I’m constantly amazed by the number of people who are creating a “business” by writing a blog. They seem to think that after a few months, their PPC/AdSense/Opt-InWhosit revenue is going to send them into retirement. Yeah. Good luck with that. I’m not saying it can’t happen, but putting a couple of hours a day into a website is probably not going to earn you a full-time income, especially not at first.
If you want to be successful in creating a business, then you have to be able to do the work. You have to be able to spend the time. And you have to be able to spend the money. Even if there’s very little money needed to get started (which is the original point of this whole debate, right?), you’re likely to be sorely disappointed if you think you’re all of a sudden going to get rich. On the plus side, watching your income grow is waaay better than sitting around waiting for an annual raise!
There is overhead involved in freelancing. It is much, much lower than a zillion other businesses, but you do need to take it into consideration. Likewise, you have to build a clientele. Even if you do it on the cheap, it’s still going to take time. If you’re lucky enough to have a bit of a safety net, that’s awesome. If not, then you might want to create one (get a part-time job, build up some savings before going freelance, etc.) You absolutely can be successful, but you should be realistic about it.
And a Bonus Rant:
Finally, Tamara and I are of the opinion that you need some actual skills to be successful. There are a lot of folks out there who call themselves “writers” that I wouldn’t pay to write my Christmas cards. We occasionally get messages from aspiring freelance writers who either think that freelancing is super easy and anyone can do it, or they really, really overestimate their skills. (I’m not talking about you. Or you.)
The best way to be successful is to do a great job and get repeat clients. Otherwise, you’re going to be running on a treadmill of low pay and constant worry over finding new clients.
Last but Not Least
James posed a really good question with his last post on this subject:
“If you had less than $500 in your pocket with no partner, no financial backup and no other income in sight, what would you do? Would you hit local stores? Would you sell some gadgets? Or would you freelance?”
In my case, I think I would freelance. BUT. That’s because I already know how. It’s taken more than a year for us to get to this point, and we have built a reputation and knowledge and such. If I wasn’t at this point but realized it was possible, I would go find a job that paid the bills, and I would do everything I could to start building a freelance business on the side.
As for calling us “girls” in his post’ we know that James meant no harm by it; although he’ll probably think twice about using the term with others. I let it go a long time ago and have simply satisfied myself by passively-aggressively referring to them as “the boys” once in a while. No harm, no foul. 
We want to thank James and Harry profusely for being a part of our first cross-blog debate. It’s been great to see all of the involvement on both sides. If you’re interested in doing something like this with us, feel free to send us a message; as we’d definitely consider debating another topic down the road.
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Christina Lemmey is the mother of two school-aged girls, a wife, and the owner of 
I like it when you get ranty.
That bit about people thinking they can instantly earn money online is so true. I think that a lot of internet marketing gurus really push this point, though and deceive people who are looking for information. That`s why it`s important to have blogs like yours that tell it as it is.
Great rant! I feel fortunate as well. I was able to start freelancing (on less than $100) to support our family while my husband started working on his advanced degree. Now, four years later, we make too much for him to qualify for government student loans and we are almost out of debt.
I do sometimes feel guilty-in-a-fortunate way that I have a working spouse who supplies, well, 80% of our needs- insurance being the biggy. However, the money I bring in definitely pays some bills that would not otherwise get paid!!
Allenas last blog post..Movin On UP!
Woot! Rock on, Lorna! Now that’s the kind of fire I like to read, and I found myself nodding the whole way through.
I’ll be the first to say that I don’t think either of you were the type of women (no, I didn’t learn my lesson but here, it fits) who sat back on your laurels. I know full well you weren’t rich bitches when you started out.
And I know what you both have in you. Drive, determination, guts, talent, strength and a backbone of steel.
You go. I’m right there with you.
James Chartrand – Men with Penss last blog post..When One Thing Is All You’re Missing
@Genesis – I’m very skeptical of all the blogs on how to make money blogging. I’m pretty sure they’re not all zillionaires, you know? I think they want to be “gurus” so they just pretend they are.
@Miranda – I guess not qualifying for aid is a little better than needing it, right? Congrats on almost being out of debt. That is such a big, important milestone!
@Allena – I feel less guilty about it now that we’re bringing in more than I would have been making working full-time at a local nonprofit.
@James – Here’s to making our financial goals a reality…maybe not with instantaneous Internet riches, but by paying our dues and earning our “rich bitch” status honestly.