Is Fastlane US only?

[Synapse]

Hi all,
I'm Jim, I'm 26 and this is my first post. I basically am a seo/web designer, I know html, css, php, photoshop, etc. Every musts for online creations. I'm from Southeast Europe, where the average paycheck is 300$/month.
Luckily I've quit my job this summer.

Since then I went freelancing for local owners im my town (200k population). I'm doing some websites (price range from 200$ - 500$) and local seo (around 500$ a site, for an average kw, ~2-3k searches, #1 spot).

The web design part, even though I love coding, because it's so under priced and because clients are so picky, got me fed up. And beside, there is no actual scaling, how many websites can I do in 1 month? 4-5?

On the side, I had 2 news sites in my language with nation-wide audience. Each was hitting about 60k-150k UV / month with a whooping 70-100$ adsense earnings / month (each). I did not had both at the same time since they weren't autoblogs and ate most of my time. Sold the 1st one for 2k € and second for 1k € (this with 4-5 months invested in each).

Web design sure is not the way to go and here comes my dilemma: I don't like to brag, but I know my way around SEO so I was thinking to set up my nation-wide seo firm since I already had success in this area and I have some sort of portfolio. But it's a little bit tricky... SEO can never be fully on auto pilot, the keyword research for clients must always be done by me (now I also have a couple link building techniques that I do manually).

In the beginning I gave some economic pointers about my country and now I ask you, Is a SEO company Fastlane?

Or should I use my set of skills in making and ranking my own web site in another area, non SEO related? Or better yet, don't even try doing something in my country (remember my 200k city population? only 70k of them have Facebook accounts, and mine is the second biggest town here)?

If my SEO dream is not my Fastlane I'm sort of lost and I'll get back to the drawing board since I've never thought about any other area...

Any pointers will be much appreciated and also please excuse me for my poor English, but it's not my native language.

PS: I have about 1k-1.5k € (startup) cash so there's no way to invest money in something right now, maybe after I make a couple (more) sites...

 

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[awesom-o]

PS: I have about 1k-1.5k € (startup) cash so there's no way to invest money in something right now, maybe after I make a couple (more) sites...

If you already have the programming knowldge then I see no reason why you couldn't set up an online venture if you put the hours in. Build the site yourself it can be promoted on a shoestring with social media, online press releases etc in my opinion.

Good Luck :fastlane:

 

[wade1mil]

Spending your time doing SEO as a job isn't fastlane, but you have a skill set that you could apply to a fastlane business to help it grow quicker than someone that doesn't know SEO (or afford to outsource it).

Or should I use my set of skills in making and ranking my own web site in another area, non SEO related? Or better yet, don't even try doing something in my country (remember my 200k city population? only 70k of them have Facebook accounts, and mine is the second biggest town here)?

I live in a town of 90k and the 2nd biggest city anywhere near me is about 15-20k. We have the internet, which is a city that has billions of people. Don't let a 200k population stop you.

 

[Synapse]

Thank you both for your replies but I think I wasn't to clear in my OP... My dilemma is this: Can a SEO company be a Fastlane roadmap?

There is the need for website traffic, clients and new business, the entry level is sort of high because even if anyone can proclaim himself a SEO expert, only those who really deliver are ranked for lucrative SEO keywords and it will be a tough job to compete with them.The control is as much as in any other business, there is no field where you can have 100% control; even if you grow grain you will be dependent on many factors (rain, etc.). It is scalable because it only depends on my choice to offer local, nation wide, or international SEO. The only true issue is my time. As we speak not everything is automate and, as I see it, even if I'd manage to outsource all the manual labor, the true essence of SEO, keyword research, can never be done by a third party.

In truth, my question is this:

To offer SEO for clients, as a business model or just 
use my know-how to dominate some online nieche?

 

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[FastLane_Addict]

I would like to know this too.

Consider this in the software development world, would u rate a software development company(developing customized software for regular clients not own software/saas) in the fastlane? time would be needed to talk with the senior manager and sometimes the team of programmers according to the project requirements.

the owner has a manager who handles the programmers when the company is built up successfully in a few years. Would the owner be considered a fastlaner just like a content website owner with advertising income?

 

[nausbot]

In short: Yes.

If you're good at SEO you can drive quality content. Build audiences with quality content. Mega players buy audiences.

 

[codo3500]

In short: Yes.

If you're good at SEO you can drive quality content. Build audiences with quality content. Mega players buy audiences.

SEO violates the Commandment of Control, it's no longer possible to rely on it. Even big sites get whacked by Google randomly.

 

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[GuestUser113]

I would like to know this too.

Consider this in the software development world, would u rate a software development company(developing customized software for regular clients not own software/saas) in the fastlane? time would be needed to talk with the senior manager and sometimes the team of programmers according to the project requirements.

the owner has a manager who handles the programmers when the company is built up successfully in a few years. Would the owner be considered a fastlaner just like a content website owner with advertising income?

In short: Yes.

If you're good at SEO you can drive quality content. Build audiences with quality content. Mega players buy audiences.

 

[theag]

Didnt read the answers, but: Yes, fastlane is US only. Its impossible to build a business outside the US.

/thread

 

[andyteleco]

Didnt read the answers, but: Yes, fastlane is US only. Its impossible to build a business outside the US.

/thread

Could you please elaborate on this? I'm not in the US either and I would really like to know what makes it so hard/impossible to achieve success abroad.

 

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[csalvato]

Could you please elaborate on this? I'm not in the US either and I would really like to know what makes it so hard/impossible to achieve success abroad.

(He was being sarcastic)

 

[andyteleco]

(He was being sarcastic)

Thanks, I guess I'm a bit dense today... although most success stories on the site are from people in the US so there might be something in tit

 

[GuestUser113]

Could you please elaborate on this? I'm not in the US either and I would really like to know what makes it so hard/impossible to achieve success abroad.

@jockinbox

 

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[csalvato]

Thanks, I guess I'm a bit dense today... although most success stories on the site are from people in the US so there might be something in tit

A lot of countries really hamper innovation. The more socialist a country is, generally, the harder it is to generate massive cash, and the rewards for that wealth generation go down (because you get taxed so heavily).

Denmark is a great example of an extremely socialist country that has a hard time producing entrepreneurs. Same for Norway. The amount of taxes you pay in these countries is so high, there's almost no incentive to kill yourself for the entrepreneurial dream.

America is a great place to innovate compared to Denmark, but it's still not the best. IIRC, Asian countries are actually the most rewarding when it comes to generating massive wealth.

Countries in Europe tend to be slightly more socialist (heavy handed with the taxes) than America. So compared to Europe, the US is better. In my experience living in Europe vs. the US....innovation and the entrepreneurial mindset are leagues and bounds ahead in most of the US. In hotspots like Seattle and the Bay Area, high school kids are starting startups.

That's not to say it doesn't exist though. Skype, Nokia, and several other fast-rising companies are EU based.

That aside, there's also the element of a good environment/surroundings. Head over to the bay area and the environment/mindset is so vastly different from, say, Birmingham, UK. This also plays a major role, because you are a product of your environment and the average of the 5 people you hang around with most.

The disproportion of US success stories is also a result of this forum being heavily US based, and that the US population, overall, is much higher than individual EU/pacific countries.

 

[jockinbox]

some people really need to read the book @Raoul Duke

 

[nausbot]

what's the squirrel face for? No one has ever gotten rich selling websites?

 

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