Making money online in Zimbabwe: The Myths

Sounds interesting hey! People want to make money online and that is a good thing. I have some good news, ‘It is possible to make money online in Zimbabwe’. I have been active in the digital space for nine years now and I have seen too many people start and fail with online start-ups, digital marketing and other efforts of making money online. In this series of articles, I intend to share practical ways to make money using the internet without breaking any rules.

Making money online sounds like an easy option to many people but honestly, it is not. I remember speaking to a farm worker (my relative) many years ago and he said ‘Sekuru makakomborerwa, kushanda makagara!’ meaning ‘Uncle, you are blessed! To work while sitting down!’

With this in mind let me clear off some myths (untrue beliefs) that some people have about making money on the internet.

Making money online is easy

Firstly, making money online takes a lot of work! The honest hard truth is that you cannot escape hard work by working online. It usually takes some time before a project starts making money online. Working online takes long hours, can be exhaustive and many who try it do not get to be rich from it. So do not approach this subject with a relaxed lazy mind! It is still a hard work zone.

Millions of websites registered and started daily but only a few give the owners the money they intended to make. I do not want anyone quoting me for saying making money online is easy, NO it’s not! Are you still interested in making money online? Keep reading then.

It is for programmers and tech geeks 

The people who I know to make money online cannot write a line of code in the simplest programming language. They are not programmers, geeks, or any of such people. Being a good programmer does not mean you will make money online either. Making money online is a different skill or art that those that make it have and I intend to shed some light on this topic.

Sadly, many developers do not have the skill of making money online (I am a developer – no spite).

You have to start as a kid to learn the art

With interest, anyone from any background can learn the art, put in the hours and the thinking required to make money online. The idea of starting as a kid is an excuse from those who are lazy to learn the new things. There are very old ‘born before technology’ people who are now living off the internet.

It is very sad that some recent college graduates blame their upbringing and background for not learning the new things. Most people become successful not from classroom knowledge but what they choose to learn and force their way through obstacles.

Those things ‘making money online’ work in the first world only

Hey, the internet is the same in Africa and everywhere else in the world. Anyone can make money on the internet from anywhere in the world. The thing is many people live on what they hear from other people but never really go out there to find out the truth for themselves. This series of articles is to help shed light into making money online here in Zimbabwe.

In fact, one can make money in the first world countries while here in Africa. In addition, we will get to talk about that.

All you need is an idea

This statement is made by those that are a bit familiar with the internet but feel they need some inspired idea to disrupt the world to make money. There are too many patented ideas that never made the owners rich. The truth about ideas is that without putting in the work required to make them a reality, they are nothing.

Many people have ideas but have no clue on how to make money off that idea. Getting an idea to work for the intended audience is pre-requisite to making money online. We will cover more on this in the upcoming articles.

Just put it out there and start making money online

Build it they will come!’ is not true, unfortunately. When you have implemented your idea, then the real work starts. Real work is getting people to use and like your service or product. Real work is getting money out of your expertise or the audience around your business. Those who feel that good ideas will make money will be disappointed.

That is why people claim to have the best products or services but still have nothing to their names or companies.

Those aren’t all the myths

I am sure my list is not conclusive and that is ok. Important to capture here is that making money online is for everyone interested, it is possible but not without hard work. The hard work includes learning new things, spending long hours of work and applying yourself to the required wisdom for success.

In the next article, I will share on the general framework of making money online and building internet-based businesses for our environment. The reason for sharing this with everyone is to try to help someone avoid wasting time doing things that will not work or leave a lifetime opportunity because they did not know.

Are there any myths you think I left? Do you have a question or something I said you disagree with? Let us discuss these in the comments below.

Trust Nhokovedzo is an online business consultant with website design background. He is fond of digital marketing especially Search Engine Optimization.