How to go from 0 to 1

[cpacanada]

Hello everyone,

I have been a lurker for a few months now and finally decided to post.

I am at pretty much the lowest point (money wise) in my life at the moment. I am 28 and in debt almost 10K. I make 18,000 a year at the moment from my job.

I have a question for everyone here, what can I do to make a little bit more money on the side so that I can save up some money to put into my ideas. is there any legitimate ways on-line to make money without investing any money?

any help will be very appreciated.

 

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[Mamadoo]

Offer a service. Thats about the only way. Write articles, do people's essays, (check fiverr.com) shovel driveways etc...

 

[mt_myke]

I have a question for everyone here, what can I do to make a little bit more money on the side so that I can save up some money to put into my ideas. is there any legitimate ways on-line to make money without investing any money?

Depends what skills you have. I've gotten gigs on elance that paid significantly more than my day job. But then again I put in the 10,000 hours doing computer stuff before that event...

 

[Don David]

Don't put money into ideas, make your ideas make the money.

Like the title of your post, Peter Theil (the founder of paypal, first investor in facebook) in his book "Zero to One" talks about how all rewards go to the monopolists and not to people competing one another.

He also says that rewards go to those who create on a vertical. So a horizontal expansion would be like, toaster-----better toaster------smart toaster 2000----smart toaster 3000 etc. But a jump from 0 up to one is a true act of creation and will be rewarded accordingly.

I don't know cpacanada, I wouldn't know how to do that in your circumstance (still trying to figure it out in mine!)

Try conjoining two different mini-verticles, so (if cpa stands for certified public accountant in canada too); maybe "the amazing accountant!" youtube magic tricks highlighting magic done with your tax return. Seeking a monopoly shouldn't be hard, I doubt there are other cpas attempting to diverge and stand out from the pack. And then the only question is how then do you monetize it.

Rereading it sounds hokey and this probably wasn't helpful.

But good luck though in trying something/anything new to get those funds up!

 

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[McNandez]

Forgive me if this is presumptive, but if you got into debt by buying things you didn't need, you might consider selling on ebay or CL. Ebay will take a fee, and you'll need to ship, but you'll get the psychological boost of having recouped at least some of your money, plus the feeling that you made something happen to get you closer to your goal.

I've been there too and I know how insurmountable it feels when you finally take action to turn things around. I went the selling and reselling route, and I also signed up at places like iwriter, textbroker, and fiverr. I also dog-walked and pet-sat during breaks from school and on weekends. It wasn't easy, and it took time, but it was zero-to-low cost and I was able to pay everything off and start focusing on my goals.

Also, welcome!

ETA: P.S. Good luck!!

 

[Unknown]

18k a year is rough. Can you get a better job? If not, then buy and sell stuff. You don't even have to buy stuff at first. Talk to your friends/family and see if they have anything they need to sell, but don't want to deal with. Ask them how much they want for it, and then sell it for them. Instead of selling it for what they want try to sell it for more so you can keep the extra.

 

[smarty]

Do live-cam dancing.

 

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[jmusic]

While it's easy to focus solely on the income side (and at $18K/yr you definitely SHOULD!), also pay attention to your expenses. Yes this is "slowlane advice," but it's still better than the sidewalk where you are now.

If you have pay for any of the following then they should go RIGHT NOW:

• Cable TV (Fastlaners don't watch TV!)
• $60+ Internet bill. (You don't NEED 100mbits!)
• $100 Cellphone bill. Switch to Republic, Ting, or any other low cost MVNO. I guarantee that you'll save money even if you have to pay an ETF. No, you don't need the 128GB iPhone 6 Plus.
• Car Payments - Either pay it off or sell the car if newer than 5 years.
• Do you have an extra bedroom where you live? Get a roommate!

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/04/18/news-flash-your-debt-is-an-emergency/

I've been frequenting frugal blogs before learning about TMF , but I find that they actually complement each other nicely. One key takeaway: If you have to "think about" the affordability of ANY purchase you're making, then you CAN'T AFFORD IT. MJ's Lambo probably represents 1 month of his income (+/-)...

 

[The Grind]

While it's easy to focus solely on the income side (and at $18K/yr you definitely SHOULD!), also pay attention to your expenses. Yes this is "slowlane advice," but it's still better than the sidewalk where you are now.

If you have pay for any of the following then they should go RIGHT NOW:

• Cable TV (Fastlaners don't watch TV!)
• $60+ Internet bill.
• $100 Cellphone bill. Switch to Republic, Ting, or any other low cost MVNO. I guarantee that you'll save money even if you have to pay an ETF. No, you don't need the 128GB iPhone 6 Plus.
• Car Payments - Either pay it off or sell the car if newer than 5 years.
• Do you have an extra bedroom where you live? Get a roommate!

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/04/18/news-flash-your-debt-is-an-emergency/

I've been frequenting frugal blogs before learning about TMF , but I find that they actually complement each other nicely. One key takeaway: If you have to "think about" the affordability of ANY purchase you're making, then you CAN'T AFFORD IT. MJ's Lambo probably represents 1 month of his income (+/-)...

Always golden advice, so many people can't move out of the house they financed into a cheap apartment because of their ego. "I'm too good for an apartment". I've gotten my expenses to 600 a month total. Still struggling to pay that lol.

 

[GuestUser113]

Read this, Jay Abraham Mindshift Challenge.

 

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[Mattie]

60+ Internet bill.

How do you suppose you start a fast lane without any internet. And back in the day when I was in that position, I shut off the cable part, for watching television, but Internet part is necessary. And the cable would be $140 with internet, cable, and phone. You must be in a cheap area. Last time I knew, even if you want to stay in sidewalk mentality, applications are online. Not to mention if you seriously want out of sidewalk, internet is a world of knowledge and resources. So that one would be axing a life line, especially networking with other entrepreneurs and business.

 

[jmusic]

How do you suppose you start a fast lane without any internet. And back in the day when I was in that position, I shut off the cable part, for watching television, but Internet part is necessary. And the cable would be $140 with internet, cable, and phone. You must be in a cheap area. Last time I knew, even if you want to stay in sidewalk mentality, applications are online. Not to mention if you seriously want out of sidewalk, internet is a world of knowledge and resources. So that one would be axing a life line, especially networking with other entrepreneurs and business.

Ah yes, of course someone questions this. Note that I said "$60+ internet bill," not "internet." Most of us have WAY more than we actually need. The only reason you "need" faster than about 10mbits is arguably to game (really the latency is more important) or to get illegal downloads really fast.

http://unbreak-it.com/2012/02/what-speed-do-you-need/

 

[Mattie]

This is what I know about side walkers. They sell everything they have to survive that is worth money. And when they run out of their own stuff, they steal other people's crap, and pawn it, and the selling stuff works so far. It's not fast lane, it doesn't get you more than a few bucks here and there. Any sidewalk hustler isn't out of poverty from selling stuff on e-bay, or pawning crap. Maybe if you have the money to invest to begin with in some product you can actually make a business out of, you might succeed. Your personal possessions only go so far, and you have fees for listing on e-bay whether you sell it or not. Basically you have to have spare change around to be venturing off to start a business on E-bay just for fees.

If you're making 18,000 a year, your first priority is Gas, water, electricity, and gas money for transportation. If you have anything left, then internet is usually about $60 for basic internet without phone and television.

If you have to wash your clothes that costs money too, and eating, without going to fast food places. Basically the lowest you can live on with all this being paid is $800- $1,000 dollars a month. Just for basic living expenses. That is if you're lucky to find somewhere to live for $400-$500 a month.

Problems you run into renting rooms and sharing apartments. Alcoholics/Drug addicts don't take life serious, and couldn't give a crap whether you pay your bills or not, succeed or not, and usually you may end up with some person at this stage that takes advantage of the situation, and then you pay for all the expenses anyway. If they have mental issues, or just have the wrong mindset, they can be more of a problem then help. You're talking side walk here, and then you have legal fees trying to evict them.

This is all survival skills and pretty much you have to be wise, and spend your money wisely. For some people geographical location is the reason they don't have better jobs. There are none in some cases, there's not traffic like subways, buses, etc. and just paying for your car expenses can be one huge battle, and many people drive around with no car insurance and hope they don't get caught.

While you might be able to sell a few things on craigslist and e-bay usually that money ends up going into bills or survival. And really it doesn't last long, or enough to go into a business.

It would be better creating an app, or having a legit business as a freelancer, some sort of service, but again you have to learn all the stuff, and learn it fast. Because time is your enemy in sidewalk. You don't have time to waste. M.J.'s book tells you good advice, but this shit I'm reading in the thread doesn't work, unless you have money to begin with in your back pocket.

I watched people do this shit all my life, and they don't make a whole lot of money if you ask me. And they are taking slow lane advice, don't know what they're doing to begin with, and don't know their niche that do have the money to back them. And it all became clear when I entered this forum. They see it as hobby, not a business. And basically if you don't have the mindset, discipline, and patience, know the goal, and why you're doing what you're doing, you're just wasting your time.

I'm not saying this to be negative, but basically there's a lot of b.s. out there, and listening to the wrong people, and not having the right guidance, you're just wasting time, money, energy, and wondering why you're not succeeding. I would say if you don't have something that scales, and long term, you might as well skip it, because if it's selling stuff for a month, that's not helping you with long-term goals.

 

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[Mattie]