You often say that everyone can make money because everyone is an expert in something. That's an inspiring statement without much practical value," Radhika said to me. "What makes you think so?" I asked.
"I can speak good English and write poems in English. Who will buy my poems?" Radhika said. "I know many poets that make money online," I told her, "You are good in English. But, most people don't read poems and that makes your market small. Think of something that attracts all and you'll discover an infinite market in no time."
"Most urban Indians want to speak in English as they want to imitate Americans in all walks of life," said Radhika. "You are right. We mistake fluency in English for intelligence, though they have no relationship. We have contracted the bad habit of appreciating a thing only if it is endorsed by foreigners. Relying on its natural strengths is the best way for rapid development for India. At the same time, we should not hesitate to follow the good things in other cultures. But, many Indians have become Westernized Indians by rejecting their true values and accepting trivial foreign things," I told.
"Do you think Indians need not learn English?" Radhika asked. I replied, "We must treat any language as an instrument of communication, progress and prosperity. The Internet and the computer world are dominated by English. So, learning how to communicate in English and ecommerce will open up global self-employment opportunities for Indians."
Radhika asked, "There are zillions of English coaching classes. How am I going to compete with them if I want to teach spoken English?" I replied, "Niche market and the Internet are two powerful prosperity engines that can take you miles ahead of your competitors. Making spelling mistakes is a problem for children and adults. It is a niche in teaching English. There are shortcut methods to permanently solve this problem. If you create a tool and sell it on the Internet, the entire world will be your market."
"Please give me an example," said Radhika.
"Our mind tries to understand unknown things only through known things. This weakness can be put into a positive use by linking easy words with difficult words. Many people confuse between naval and navel. If they read the following sentence a few times, they will be free from confusion: navAl is nAvy, navEl is bElly. NAvy does not have e. Naval is connected with nAvy. So you know the word is naval and not navel. Belly and navel are closely related. In belly, there is no a. So the word must be navel. If you make the confusing characters stand out, our mind knows where to look for clue. Here is another example. People confuse between stationery and stationary. Tell them that stationEry is lEtter and stationAry is stAnding. A teenager had this problem with 50 pairs of words and the above method cured his problem in 2 hours. Actually it took more than an hour for me to write down the sentences but the method worked at the speed of thought. If you work hard, you can create such tips for 500 to 1000 confusing words. Create an ebook with these tips and sell it on the Internet," I said.
"I like this wonderful system. I will do research on it and create an eBook. Ah. What is an eBook?" Radhika asked me. "Ebooks are digital versions, usually in PDF format, of paper books. If you know how to use Word, you can create a simple eBook." I told her and explained to her about creating ebooks and selling them online.
Radhika called me over phone after four months. "I never knew that making money on the Internet is fun, real and easy. I collected tips for 500 words and requested a freelancer, a scholar in English, to proofread my work. He writes articles for an Australian ecommerce company. He was impressed with my work and put me in contact with the Australian company. They bought the book from me for US$3,500 (Rs,1,50,000). They have also hired me as a freelance article writer for $5 an hour. This work generates $300 (Rs.13,500) a month. I work for 2 to 3 hours a day. Now I understand why you give so much of importance to self-employment and entrepreneurship. Had I gone for a job, I would never have earned so much of money."
What is your choice - Job or self-employment?