Gun to your head...what would you do?

Don David · May 20, 2015

What would you do if you had to make say 3,000 a month to support your family?

I tried and failed my last venture. I was trying to make a million...the next big idea.

But who/where to focus to get just enough to live on?

I have no problem taking action. I can focus and do things for hours on end. But they're not seeming to be the right things....

What online arena/area would you choose? Something recurring and in a market that will be around long term. I have just enough to make a final go and then it's accepting my fate and on to slowlane...

Thanks

csalvato · May 20, 2015

Get a job.

Don David · May 20, 2015

csalvato said:
Get a job.

Oh man I can't! My entire family is saying the same thing. But when you research guys making 40k a month writing ebooks and creating funnels, it warps your mind.

Stu_Hefner · May 20, 2015

eBooks and "funnels" are not the only way to make money

johnp · May 20, 2015

So if someone said you absolutely had to make money in a month or so on the internet what would you choose? Something recurring and in a market that will be around long term.

I actually wouldn't look on the internet. Sure the internet would be part of my plan but I would start make the sales offline first to get some traction fast.

csalvato · May 20, 2015

If you need to support your family in 30 days, getting to $3000 in that time will be very very challenging.

Unless you hit something hot immediately, you will probably have a few months of $0-$500 revenue as you figure shit out.

Don David · May 20, 2015

Stu_Hefner said:
eBooks and "funnels" are not the only way to make money

I know but what? I spent everything I had on the last venture. 100's of hours of research. Licenses from the state, incorporated.

But there were just too many moving parts...

I have some savings left and ready to push again but tired of the old industry I was working on.

One thing I learned is that hypothetical and biz plans in your head mean bupkiss. So I know I would have to take action from the start...but where? What industry or segment could provide this?

I am definitely on the down and out....

Thinking about affiliate stuff? but I don't know anything about it and not prepared for hours of research again to get my bearings.

blackhat · May 20, 2015

Don David said:
Thinking about affiliate stuff

Have you read the millionaire fastlane ?

DeletedUser394 · May 20, 2015

This some crap right here.

Nobody is going to spoonfeed you an answer, because most people don't have any idea, and the few that do, ain't gonna share it with you.

Get a job.

Don David · May 20, 2015

GrumpyCat said:
because most people don't have any idea, and the few that do, ain't gonna share it with you.

That's what I'm saying. Everyone's making a million dollars online...wave of the future and all that...

But where is the 60-70 hour week option for hustlin online (that then could one day catapult you up into fastlane)

Instead of just accepting the slowlane job offered me at $19.95 an hour (and in 5 years $22.50 an hour! plus 401k!)

What's an online industry that's a "can't-fail to make at least a living wage" with hard work?

Don David · May 20, 2015

blackhat said:
Have you read the millionaire fastlane ?

Good point. I have read it. Affiliate has no control.

I think I followed the commandment of control too closely I think. I waited and waited for the necessary licenses from the state and tried to do everything by the book but it was all pointless actions in the end.

Now can someone help me? Point me in the right direction? What industry can you run full bore in and make money. It seems alot of the things that have been working in the past are totally over saturated...I mean how many Pat Flynn type blogs can find an audience?

Kingmaker · May 21, 2015

Don David said:
What's an online industry that's a "can't-fail to make at least a living wage" with hard work?

Public library cam shows.

The Grind · May 21, 2015

I smell... entitlement.

19.95 an hour?

I would just about commit shameless acts to make 19.95 an hour. I barely make half that and not even 40 hours a week.

What makes you think you deserve more?

What is so complicated? Take the job to pay the bills. Be grateful you have a decent paying job. Work on a business every other spare hour you have.
Want to make 40k a month selling ebooks on amazon, awesome. Start writing everyday when your not working.

Thats it...

Do it.

hughjasle · May 21, 2015

I'll give it to you straight. From someone making money online and knows plenty of guys doing so. First:

Don David said:
Instead of just accepting the slowlane job offered me at $19.95 an hour

Take this. Feed your family. It's a short term solution. Keep your family happy and alive. Family is what we are all here for anyway, money or not - they make life worth living. Take the job to take care of them, not you.

Don David said:
What's an online industry that's a "can't-fail to make at least a living wage" with hard work?

Pretty much all of them. Seriously. Put in the time and effort.

Don David said:
Now can someone help me? Point me in the right direction? What industry can you run full bore in and make money.

Once again all of them. Affiliate marketing, amazon, authorship, SEO, craigslist/ebay hustling, you name it, you can make a million a year doing it no problem. Just pick something and start going full bore. Get ready for nonstop work. 100 hour weeks will be like a vacation when you are done because you will need to pick up a job till you get a foundation set. You have obligations that most of these young guys don't. You have a family to take care of. Use that to keep pushing forward. When you get home from those mind numbing days working hard for $20/hr use your family as your motivation to work on your fastlane biz at night in whatever it is you choose. Study, act, learn, grow.

Listen, it sucks. I've been there. I have a family as well. I missed out on an opportunity to do amazing things and work with some friends of mine last year (who are absolutely crushing it now) because they weren't strapped with family obligations like I was. That didn't stop me from making my own opportunity and my own luck.

Just remember it isn't a race to see who can get there the fastest. It's about being happy. Real happiness. For guys like us with families already, we already have the foundation for happiness. Take care of it. Say you decide you really want to be an affiliate marketer, or a writer, or whatever. Even if it takes 5 years, even 10 years to "make it". Would it be worth it? You bet. And I fully believe anyone who give it their all will get it eventually.

So just pick something and know that it is going to suck for a while, but you'll get there if you stick with it.

WarWizard · May 21, 2015

What I would do (and did) was took a job (I'm still doing it), while figuring things out by learning, testing and using feedback to learn from failures.

It has allowed me to feed my wife and son, pay the mortgage, while having little money left over each month to put into testing with buying traffic, etc.

I had been doing affiliate marketing so far, without much progress (SEO is very slow and unpredictable, paid advertising needs money to test), and am finally working towards creating products of my own that can help people, while also being on the front end of 'funnels' where I can add more value.

Kindle books seem to be a good way to go as well, to be the front end of such 'funnels'.
All I can say from my struggles is, pick one path, get some course (just one) or program in that specific area and commit to it for at least 90 or so days and till you complete the whole process at least once.

When I was desperate, I jumped way to often when I didn't see results. Now that the family is taken care of, I'm much more calmer and am making better decisions with what to focus on, how to take action on an idea etc.

All the best.

You will have to swallow your pride for a short time and get a job that will fund your building of your fastlane business.

WarWizard · May 21, 2015

Don David said:
Good point. I have read it. Affiliate has no control.

I think I followed the commandment of control too closely I think. I waited and waited for the necessary licenses from the state and tried to do everything by the book but it was all pointless actions in the end.

Now can someone help me? Point me in the right direction? What industry can you run full bore in and make money. It seems alot of the things that have been working in the past are totally over saturated...I mean how many Pat Flynn type blogs can find an audience?

LOL, you would be surprised by the number of such blogs and podcasts etc out there.

I haven't 'made it' yet, so can't really tell you to follow a certain path.

I spent some time doing a self inventory to figure out what skills I have that can serve others effectively, and what big problems I have solved in my life that I can solve for others.

From that, I'm working towards building an info publishing/coaching business in the health and fitness space.

I have come to believe that each one of us have had unique experiences and have solved problems in our lives that we can help others solve.

All the very best.

This is something I read and am looking to incorporate as part of the front end, that you may find useful -->

http://projectlifemastery.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-making-money-publishing-kindle-e-books/

&

http://projectlifemastery.com/how-to-write-a-book-in-less-than-24-hours/

&

http://projectlifemastery.com/exactly-how-i-make-six-figures-passive-income-with-kindle-publishing/

And then there are others dominating in CPA affiliate marketing, by focussing on that. I've never been able to get myself to do CPA marketing as most of the offers I see on them are 'scammy' to say the least.

As some of the guys above me, who seem to be making things happen, have said, there are many ways to skin this cat, choose one and run with it full-heartedly.

GuestUser113 · May 21, 2015

Gsuz · May 21, 2015

Read something recently that went along the lines of "If you do not have options, you do not have questions." Take the job, support your family, then figure out the next steps.

Writer7 · May 21, 2015

Online:
- Selling things on eBay, Amazon (iOffer, eBid,...)
- Selling your services (writing, design, SEO, anything you know) on Upwork (former eLance+oDesk), Freelancer, Guru, People per Hour, ...

or

Find an offline job.

But, as a first thing: search the forum! You are on a great place! Search GOLD threads (eBay, hustling, selling services...)

Get Right · May 21, 2015

Gun to my head? Ahh, grab it out of his hand, pistol whip him and then flip the gun on craigslist.

How do you think 98% of real businesses get started? On the side, while our day jobs take care of the kids.

You're asking the wrong questions.

Andy Black · May 21, 2015

Family first. That's your real job... to provide for them.

Take the job. I'd flip burgers if I had to.

Then see if you can free up an hour or two each evening on your own ventures. Knowing you have an escape plan (and that you're working towards your "freedom date" as Vigilante puts it) will enable you to put up with crap in your job that others won't.

If I had to do it all again, I'd take exactly the same route:

Find someone you know who has a local service business or is a freelance tradesman.
Get them to pay the AdWords fee, and maybe even a small fee to you.
Use *their* money to learn how to generate them leads.

Get paid to learn to generate leads with other people's money.

Read that again.

Lead generation is a genuine, in-demand skill. You don't even have to have years under your belt to earn money doing it. You just have to be able to set campaigns up better than the local mom-n-pop business trying to do it themselves, or don't know how to do anything online.

From there, there are many routes to scaling.

EDIT: Get enough points to access the Speedway forum and you'll find a 40 page procedure on how to setup AdWords campaigns for local lead generation. Even just reading all the posts linked to in my signature will put you faaar ahead of most AdWords agencies and pros.

Your call.

Polarbeans · May 21, 2015

To quote @Andy Black - Flip those frikken burgers man!

Wanna make some money online? Here, let me take that gun off your temple, instead I can offer you
a headache that will last forever, jumping from one shiny object to the other

Jokes aside, here is a list of places to make money online. Some are golden and some are dog shit. Do your own thinning.

Udemy and Amazon Kindle are pretty solid. Freelancing would probably be your best bet, because you will get exposed to loads of business ideas.

There is also a sub-reddit (don't remember the name) where redditors share their business ideas for that month (much like a free backlink campaign) and it's essentially a long list of free business ideas for you to copy and make better.

Copywriting and creating writing:

Photo, Video, Audio:

Translation:

E-tuition:

Design:

Affiliate Networks and Programs

Paid Social Media Programs

Paid Advertising

Other

main-qimg-31f65196dcd3bec46fdf53f2aebd594e

jon.a · May 21, 2015

1. Stop whinning.
2. Get off the computer.
3. Get a job.
Come back only after you're meeting your obligations to your family.

Brentnal · May 21, 2015

jon.a said:
1. Stop whinning.
2. Get off the computer.
3. Get a job.
Come back only after you're meeting your obligations to your family.

^This

Polarbeans · May 21, 2015

@Don David

Here is a great site to find a niche or an industry to enter: http://www.walgreens.com/search/topSearchResults.jsp

Don David · May 21, 2015

hughjasle said:
I'll give it to you straight.
Just remember it isn't a race to see who can get there the fastest. It's about being happy.

This is helpful. Thanks

I did the 5:00-9:00 days. Wake up at 4:55, use the bathroom and be working at 5:00 AM and wouldn't stop until my totally understanding wife would draw me a bath at 9:00 PM exactly.

I would dream about my checklists.

I am totally burnt out and guess that 9-5 job won't be so bad....

Andy Black · May 21, 2015

^^^ Exactly. What's the infernal rush?

I am not going to see less of my family now so I can see more of them later. It doesn't work like that. Kids grow up fast.

DrkSide · May 21, 2015

Don David said:
What would you do if you had to make say 3,000 a month to support your family?

Some good suggestions in the thread but I am going to throw my input in. I went through this same scenario before and what I did worked.

1st - Take the job. This will allow you some breathing room to think about what you want to do next instead of rush into it. It will also supply some funding capital and anger that can be turned into motivation.

2nd - Take a long hard look at what you can cut expense wise. Take your expenses down to the bare minimum and use the extra money for business funding only after you have a little savings to account for bumps in the road.

3rd - Get a plan together for a business. Doesn't have to be on paper but you need to decide what you are going to do and the first step to get you there. After you have done the first step move on to the next.

csalvato · May 21, 2015

Don David said:
I am totally burnt out and guess that 9-5 job won't be so bad....

It's one thing if you got some cash in the bank to have a go at it (this is where am right now).

Or if your wife is working to make ends meet while you work on the Fastlane venture.

It's another thing entirely if you have your last $4 left with a wife and kids to support. Then your only option would be debt. And debt is NOT something you want to have.

Don David · May 21, 2015

Thank you to everybody for the advice. This is a great community.

My slow lane relatives think I'm insane. Or lazy. I tell them I am working hard. But they think I'm playing around on the computer....

Oh well.

I watched an interview recently with Robert Kiyosaki and he says that his family still asks him when he's going to get that J-O-B and become a good productive employee. It's been hard going with no reassurance, so thanks for feedback.

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