[PROGRESS THREAD] (24 y/o) Sick and cognitively impaired for 2 years... Doing the work anyway

[DoTheWork]

Update: 1/1/2023-1/7/2024
Google Ads Trouble, Feeling Better, Lots of Biz Changes Underway

Total working hours: 27.5

Health updates:
Felt a bit worse this week. Starting another several months of detox shortly. Meeting with health coach tomorrow.

Business updates:
WordPress management business

• Google Ads are on pause until I meet with @Andy Black
• Customers were excited about the rebrand and happy that they'll be getting better service at no extra cost
• Uploaded 3 WordPress tutorials to the YouTube channel
• Wrote a script and started recording a basic WordPress maintenance mini-course that I will release for free as a lead magnet. Will finish recording this week (and edit/upload if I'm lucky with time)

Automotive websites

• Largest website is now down to $55/day (down from $500/day) - No additional interest from buyers - Lowered the auction reserve price
• Developing some solid plans with my business partner for the other automotive site (not yet generating profit). I have plans to rent a truck and film 4 YouTube videos next weekend. Scripts are ready to go.

Overall, this is the most uncertain times that I've dealt with since 2020. I need to grow my WordPress management business by at least $2k profit to cover my living expenses as soon as possible.

 

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[NewManRising]

My Health Situation and Constraints:
In November 2021 I developed post-viral syndrome which I am still dealing with to this day. We suspect it is chronic inflammatory response syndrome (CIRS) caused by mold exposure while living in several water-damaged buildings throughout my life. About 20% of the population can't naturally detox mold from their system due to genetics. When I got sick with a rough virus, it sent my body over the edge into chronic inflammation. I now deal with constant fatigue, vision issues, trouble breathing, and, most significantly, cognitive impairment.

1st of all, congrats on your success despite your health challenges. I wish you good luck in your recovery. Some of what you describe about cognitive impairment sounds similar to disassociation (response to high stress). It's usually more mental/emotional, but due to your physical challenges, I imagine it takes a toll on your emotionally.

• Current portfolio:
  • Website #1
    • Automotive
    • Generating 98% of income for this business
    • Started in May 2022.
    • Planning to sell for $80-150k (formerly expected to sell for $400k+)
  • Website #2
    • Automotive
    • Started in April 2023
    • Looking to continue growth so it can start generating revenue
    • Will be expanding more into YouTube
  • Website #3
    • Agriculture
    • I started in 2019, sold in 2021, and bought back in 2023 for 15% of what I sold it for. Sold it again because I don't have time for it.

Could you elaborate a little more on these sites? Are you writing blogs or what exactly are visitors coming to your sites for? Are you monetizing strictly with display ads or is there products you sell?

Thanks, and hang in there.

 

[Theorangeogre]

Just read your progress thread and I have to say I am really astonished by your work ethik? How do you manage your time and tasks with your given situation?

 

[DoTheWork]

1st of all, congrats on your success despite your health challenges. I wish you good luck in your recovery. Some of what you describe about cognitive impairment sounds similar to disassociation (response to high stress). It's usually more mental/emotional, but due to your physical challenges, I imagine it takes a toll on your emotionally.

Could you elaborate a little more on these sites? Are you writing blogs or what exactly are visitors coming to your sites for? Are you monetizing strictly with display ads or is there products you sell?

Thanks, and hang in there.

Thanks!

The websites publish written content, each about a specific make/model. Mostly topics related to ownership and using the vehicle. In one of the sites, we are expanding into a YouTube-first approach and potentially adding a forum.

I don't sell products. Nearly all revenue is from display advertising.

 

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[DoTheWork]

Just read your progress thread and I have to say I am really astonished by your work ethik? How do you manage your time and tasks with your given situation?

I use Trello to manage my to-do list. I have 20+ Trello boards, but I use a Workspace view in Trello that grabs all tasks from all the boards and funnels them into a single to-do list.

Each day, I knock out the to-do list as soon as I can. The to-do list typically contains things that I have to do to maintain the businesses.

Then, I keep a short list for each business of activities I can do that will directly move the business forward. These are the only things I should be doing once the Trello to-do list is complete.

Step 1: Identify your true business constraints
Step 2: Create a recurring to-do list that addresses the constraints

Examples
Website management business
Constraint: Not enough Leads
Actions to take:

• Create video tutorials for YouTube
• Transform YouTube videos into blog posts
• Analyze and optimize Google Ads

Automotive websites
Constraint: Not enough traffic
Actions to take:

• Plan/script videos
• Record videos
• Edit videos
• Plan new written content
• Update outdated written content

I'm always thinking about whether or not the things I am doing are actually driving the business forward. Most people keep themselves with garbage tasks that don't make a difference.

 

[NewManRising]

Thanks!

The websites publish written content, each about a specific make/model. Mostly topics related to ownership and using the vehicle. In one of the sites, we are expanding into a YouTube-first approach and potentially adding a forum.

I don't sell products. Nearly all revenue is from display advertising.

How to you attract traffic? Mostly SEO? Paid ads? I think you touched on this in some of your earlier posts. How much of each would you say you use? What is better in your opinion?

Thanks,
Dylan

PS: I read the part about your mom. I can relate with chaotic family members. Distance always helps. I refuse to compromise, since I have done so much to sacrifice in the past. No more.

 

[DoTheWork]

How to you attract traffic? Mostly SEO? Paid ads? I think you touched on this in some of your earlier posts. How much of each would you say you use? What is better in your opinion?

Thanks,
Dylan

PS: I read the part about your mom. I can relate with chaotic family members. Distance always helps. I refuse to compromise, since I have done so much to sacrifice in the past. No more.

For the automotive websites it's all SEO. Ads wouldn't be cost effective.

For my website management business I will be using Google Ads while working on a long term content marketing strategy.

Totally agree that distance is beneficial. Proximity kept dragging me into problems with her and stressing me out. More than 2,000 miles away now!

 

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[DoTheWork]

Update: 1/8/2023-1/14/2024
Offer of $60k, Weekend of filming automotive stuff, Google Ads back on track

Total working hours: 37

Health updates:
Not much change. Not feeling great, not feeling terrible.

Business updates:
WordPress management business

• Met with @Andy Black who helped me solidify my Google Ads strategy and gave some other tips for growing the business. THANK YOU!
• Currently running $30/day for the Google Ads and closely monitoring and optimizing.
• Recorded 2 videos for my free website maintenance course.
• Got swamped with lots of customer tasks this week which slowed me down.

Automotive websites

• Received an offer to buy Website #1 for $61,850. I counteroffered with $74,074.07 which would allow me to walk away with $55,000 after fees and taxes. I had some good points for my counteroffer. May hear back today or tomorrow with another offer.
• If this is the first time you're reading about this website, I was expecting a valuation of at least $400k in 2023 until the traffic tanked. Then even just a month ago it was valued at $150k, but it has lost even more traffic.
• The site has still earned me more than I would've planned for selling at this price, so I'm hanging onto that.
• This weekend I filmed 7 videos for Website #2. Our primary focus is on YouTube. I'll start editing these on the weekend.

 

[DoTheWork]

Update: 1/15/2023-1/21/2024
Site probably not selling, HUGE changes to my pricing, progress with YouTube

Total working hours: 37.5

Health updates:
Felt pretty terrible most of the week. A few possible reasons. Used my new suana blanket for the first time and started feeling some improvements after that. Still not great, though. Currently introducing a new binder for mycotoxin detox, so it's expected that I'll feel worse right now.

Business updates:
WordPress management business

• Made some major improvements to my pricing plans.
  • After discussing with someone else in the industry and listening to observations from my sales guy, I decided to offer a very low-cost management plan ($49/month).
  • I had 3 tiers, so I got rid of my top tier and shifted the other two up, then added the low-cost plan at the bottom.
  • I only had 1 customer on the top tier and 50%/50% on the other 2 tiers, so that confirms that my top tier plan wasn't very helpful.
  • I could manage about 100 sites on the $49/month plan for less than 1 hour of labor per month!
  • I've increased my ad budget to $50/day (probably temporarily) so I can get some more data with the new pricing)
• Finished filming a free basic website maintenance course to use as a lead magnet in the future
• Spent some time considering different growth strategies (LinkedIn, SEO, etc.). For now, I plan to do Google Ads and SEO.

Automotive websites

• Haven't received a counteroffer from the person thinking about buying website #1. Just sent a follow-up email. At this point, I'm willing to just hold it and maintain it. Doesn't seem like it's going to sell.
• Edited 3 long-form and 3 short-form videos for website #2.
• Improved subheadings across all posts on website #2
• No-indexed my 20% least performing posts on website #1 per advice from my SEO consultant

 

[DoTheWork]

@MJ DeMarco

Any possibility for me to edit my original post? Some info is outdated. I'll edit it so it doesn't need to be edited again in the future (didn't realize it would lock).

 

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[DoTheWork]

Update: 1/22/2023-1/28/2024
Big partnership opportunity, Google Ads changes

Total working hours: 41
Probably the most I've worked in quite a long time, which is not really a good thing. I overworked myself this week and had bad days because of it.

By the way, I track my time as "productive" time. If I get up to do something or stop focusing, I stop my timer. I'm sure most 9-5 people only have 3-4 productive hours each day, so 41 productive hours during the week is quite impressive, especially for my limitations.

Again, many of those hours were working on limited brain power or in an extremely foggy state because I overworked myself. Will try to cut back this week.

Health updates:
Many ups and downs this week. Mostly downs and the ups weren't very "up". Again, I'm back in detox mode so that's expected, but some of the bad days were because I pushed myself too hard with my workload. Hopefully I can take it easy this week, but I had a lot of random tasks to take care of.

Meeting with health coach tomorrow.

Business updates:
WordPress management business

• Published my website maintenance mini-course
• Re-worked my Google Ads campaigns
  • Clicks were too expensive and I've only received two leads from $2k in ad spend. Terrible results.
  • New campaigns are seeing CPCs ranging from $4-8 instead of $10-12, and I think the strategy is strong.
  • Will be spending $30/day across 2 campaigns indefinitely while I continue to test
• Built a list of 50 WordPress developer agency owners or freelancers to consistently engagement with on LinkedIn with the hopes of making connections for referral partnerships
  • Will add another 50 to the list this week and engagement with them daily
  • Just exploring this to see how things go and may dive deeper into LinkedIn if it seems promising

Automotive media business

• Had a big partnership opportunity come up!
  • A local auto shop reached out to me and they are one of the biggest (if not THE biggest) aftermarket manufacturers for the vehicle that I'm writing about.
  • This shop had the 2024 version of this vehicle in their shop while NO other shop in the country has access to it. This vehicle isn't even in production yet! They have close ties with the auto manufacturer.
  • They want to collaborate with me on content
  • They said they would allow me to film with their vehicles, which would eliminate the $200-400 per month that I'm spending on vehicle rentals
  • Using their vehicles allows me to do things that I couldn't do with rental vehicles (like off-roading)
  • Hoping that this goes well. I met in-person and toured their shop. Because of my cognitive issues, I was not very talkative but I tried my best. I really struggled. A few things I said didn't make sense, but everything ended well.
  • Sent some video ideas to the shop owner yesterday, so we'll see if he approves of me using his vehicles for the type of content I want to create
  • Also considering purchasing my own vehicle which would be $45-55k
• Uploaded a couple long videos and a handful of shorts to YouTube and TikTok
  • Most recent video has nearly 1,000 views within 36 hours. 22 comments. That's a huge win already.
• Researched and prepped a new article to be written this week. The info is great and I'm excited to get it out there.
• Listed my other auto site on Flippa for a 30-day auction with $70k reserve. Not expecting it to sell, but this is my last shot at trying to sell it unless an opportunity to sell privately comes up.

 

[DoTheWork]

INSIDERS - View full details of this update (links, etc.) here: https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/co...rs-doing-the-work-anyway.112304/#post-1107688

Update: 1/29/2023-2/4/2024
Another partnership opportunity, Google Ads traction, $55k purchase coming?

Total working hours: 36.5

Question -- Would anyone be interested if I re-posted these weekly updates in an INSIDERS thread with full details? Links to my websites, landing pages, photos, etc.?

So there would be a public version without sensitive details, then an INSIDERS thread with the same updates, but with all the links and details.

Also -- a random personal finance win. I just saved up enough cash to live off for a year with 0 income. It would be very unlikely that I would end up with NO income, since most of my customers are loyal and have already been with me for 2+ years. Worst case, maybe I would lose 50% of my income and I could draw on my savings for 2 years. I also have another $15-25k in other accounts which I'm not counting. What I'm counting is what I specifically have in a separate account reserved for income protection.

Keep in mind that if my website sale goes through, I technically am no longer making enough profit to pay my monthly bills (only barely), but that's why I'm running ads. The high health expenses make things more difficult.

Health updates:
More consistent with how I felt this week. Definitely not great but nowhere near my worst days. Overall manageable.

I've been able to consistently work 4-6 hours per day since December while over the past 2 years I've been limited to 2-3 hours per day. That's a huge win and I think it's here to stay. I'm sure I'll have some flare ups that push me down temporarily, but it seems like I've discovered a new baseline.

Business updates:
WOW - It's only been a week? A lot has happened.

WordPress management business

• Last week I re-worked my Google Ads.
  • Previously I received 2 leads for $2,000
  • This week I received 2 leads for $150...
  • The lead quality needs improvement but this is HUGE!
  • We'll see how this plays out with more data. The cost-per-lead will go up or down.
• I noticed some people visiting my landing page would bounce within 5 seconds.
  • The landing page is offering a free fix to a specific WordPress issue
  • I suspected that these bounces were people looking for answers about what is wrong with their site
  • To combat this, I introduced a new section on the landing page directly below the primary heading and lead form
    • Roughly 4-6 sentences about what could be causing the issue
    • A 1-2 minute video where I discuss the potential causes, then explain that we're offering a free fix for it
    • I implemented this in 3 of 7 ad groups and will record videos for the rest of the ad groups this week.
    • Not enough data yet to see if this new section makes a difference.
• Had 2 small web design projects pop up this week on the same day
  • I don't normally accept these because we stick to site management, but these are small and helpful to my existing customers
  • One is a one-page site for an existing customer to act as a landing page for ads that pushes to their single Amazon product - $750
  • One is for a dog rescue non-profit that was referred to me from an existing client (also dog rescue) - $400
  • Yes, these are underpriced.
    • The $750 site is my biggest customer who has been with me for years.
    • The $400 is a nice old lady who runs this non-profit mostly by herself, so I am happy to support the cause.
    • These should bring in $80/month in recurring revenue after being built
• Had a lot of miscellaneous customer edits to make this week, including onboarding a new customer. So that took up a lot of time this week.

Automotive media business

• My business partner and I ran some numbers and realized that it makes sense to purchase a vehicle instead of renting 3-4 days out of the month.
  • It's more expensive overall, but we will have access to the vehicle 24/7.
  • We expect the vehicle to cost $55,000.
  • We can rent the vehicle on Turo to help recoup costs when not in use.
  • We will have more time to film and plan our videos which will improve quality immensely.
  • Cuts down on 2-3 hours of travel time to coordinate rental pick-up and drop-off.
  • Saves time so I can reduce costs for video editing, scripting, social media mgmt, etc.
  • These vehicles are not available at the dealerships yet, but will start arriving at the end of February.
  • We are ready to lock in a purchase!
• Had another potentially lucrative partnership opportunity come up this week for my automotive site.
  • I called my local dealership (highest volume dealer in the state for this manufacturer) and I had the right salesperson pick up the phone.
  • The salesperson is very interested in what we're doing and he does YouTube himself.
  • He is interested in letting us film (on-site) with their vehicles when needed and can also be in the videos himself to talk about the vehicles.
  • He said he could get us a very great deal on the vehicle we're looking at (could be what he says to everyone, though).
  • Haven't heard back from him yet (possibly because the end of the month is busy for him), so I will follow-up tomorrow.
• Uploaded a new video
• Published a new written article (which turned out great)
• Updated 20 posts with info for the new 2024 vehicle model. 55 posts to go.
• Have a few interested buyers in my other auto site. Auction ends in 7 days. Fingers crossed.

 

[MTF]

Question -- Would anyone be interested if I re-posted these weekly updates in an INSIDERS thread with full details? Links to my websites, landing pages, photos, etc.?

I'd be interested, particularly in your automotive media business project.

 

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[DoTheWork]

I'd be interested, particularly in your automotive media business project.

Posting the details right now! https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/co...red-for-2-years-doing-the-work-anyway.112304/

 

[DoTheWork]

INSIDERS - View full details of this update (URLs, etc.) here: https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/co...rs-doing-the-work-anyway.112304/#post-1108519

Update: 2/5/2023-2/11/2024
BIG MOVES! Website sold for $62k, vehicle purchased for $56k! New growth idea.

Total working hours: 44.5 (too much)

Health updates:
Started feeling worse towards the end of the week. Sauna 3 days per week is too much for my body to handle. Already started to break up of this minor flare up. Will reduce sauna to 2 days per week after I get back to base line.

Business updates:
WOW - Just another week? It feels like it's been month. Lots of big moves this week.

Website #1 - SOLD FOR $62,500
This could've sold $50k-100k for more if I didn't get into contract with Motion Invest originally. I did a 2-week Flippa auction at sold at my reserve price for $62.5k. It's not what it could've been ($400k+) but ultimately it grew more than I would've ever expected and it provides me with some needed financial security for the next couple years.

Website #2 - Bought a vehicle for the website!
This week I purchased a brand new vehicle for $56,500 for 100% use for this website! It's being built as early as March 7-10 and could arrive 1-2 weeks after being built.

The price was originally $61,000 but I negotiated $4,500 off the price. I was literally walking out of the dealership when one of the other sales guys talked to the GM and told him I'd promote the dealership on the website if they could make the deal happen.

On other notes for this site, I prepped an article, continued updating content for the 2024 model, and improved some design aspects to increase professionalism, trust, and credibility on the site.

WordPress management company
As you can see from my last post, I made major progress with my Google Ads, but ultimately I still think I'm too far off with the numbers. I think I'd have to throw another $2-4k in to see if it's actually viable or not. It just seems too competitive, at least with the current business model I have going.

Instead, I had a new idea for how I could shift the business.

What’s my biggest problem right now? Getting in front of people who need our services.

Outside of targeting someone who is searching for something in Google w/ ads or SEO, it’s been difficult to find people who need help with website management/maintenance.

The ads might work, but we’ll need to spend thousands more for the chance to be profitable. And eventually, ads won’t scale.

A major weak point is that we don’t get many referrals. For example, a great fit for our services is a marketing manager at a small or medium-sized company.

How many other marketing managers are closely connected with other marketing managers at other companies? Maybe some, but not many.

Alternatively, we could partner with developers, but any leads they send to us are an opportunity that they are missing to have their own recurring revenue.

However, if we could get referrals, that’s an easy way to gain trust since we’re being recommended by someone who already trusts us.

So my idea is to narrow our focus on bloggers. I think this might be great because:

• I have extensive experience in the industry since 2018 (and so does my salesman)
• I have connections with people in the blogging space
• I understand the needs and desires of bloggers and can speak to that directly in my marketing
• Currently, since we accept many types of businesses, they all have different goals. Some want to save time, some want to keep their website up and running, some want help with content edits, etc. It’s hard to speak directly to their needs right now because it’s too broad.
• I know where bloggers like to hang out and communicate online, and I already engage with them frequently because I enjoy it
• Bloggers always know other bloggers. It’s a community. This opens up a great opportunity for referrals.
• A strong referral system allows for significantly higher return on any promotion and advertising that we do. If we pay $500 for one customer but that customer brings 3 customers over their lifetime, that’s a great opportunity.
• There are also plenty of blogging courses and paid communities that we can partner with
  • We could offer WordPress advice in their paid communities in exchange for promotion
  • We could offer a discount to the group members
  • This is a win-win-win situation!
• Bloggers may be easier to work with because they have some basic technical understanding.
• Bloggers always want to save time
• Downtime is an immediate loss of revenue for them
• Our new pricing is affordable, even for a brand-new blog generating zero revenue

 

[DoTheWork]

INSIDERS - View full details of this update (URLs, etc.) here: https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/co...rs-doing-the-work-anyway.112304/#post-1109316

Update: 2/12/2023-2/18/2024
Busywork, Reddit Ads, Organic Growth Ideas

Productive working hours: 45 (Looks like I'm back to working full-time after being unable for 2 years)

Health updates:
Not feeling great. Not feeling terrible. Still recovering from overuse of the sauna.

Business updates:

Website #1 - Sold Last Week for $62.5k
Last week I sold my site, so a lot of time was spent this week getting stuff transferred to the new owner. Will hopefully finish this in the next 7-10 days and get the funds.

Truck Website - Looking Steady
Posted an article, prepped an article, edited a video, uploaded 9 shorts. Also solidified a process for producing one video and one article each week while still maintaining high quality.

Still working on updating old posts for 2024. About 25 posts left.

Added a one-sentence summary and key points sections to my posts which should help with engagement and user experience.

Today we decided to start expansion into Pinterest. got 42 high-quality pins created and scheduled today.

WordPress management company
Changed my messaging to target bloggers and niche sites in accordance with my notes from last week's post.

Man... Niching down has sparked so many marketing opportunities and ideas for me.

I'm currently testing Reddit ads and reaching out to creators in the niche for sponsorship opportunities.

Reddit Ads are targeting blogging communities. Getting clicks for $0.19! Probably low-quality, but that's so cheap that it might work.

Will likely spend $300-1,500 on a sponsored post in someone's newsletter, website, etc. once I find the right creator. I don't know what to expect from it. I feel like I might through a bunch of money away, but it could be the exact opposite...

If Reddit Ads don't work, I will test FB ads.

Lastly, I have been engaging heavily with people on Reddit and Facebook related to my niche. I've been doing this for fun for more than a year and people already recognize my username on Reddit, but now I'm really diving into it.

Going to create a subreddit this week for bloggers who are serious about turning their sites into real, thriving businesses instead of just hobbies. Eventually I can monetize that audience.

 

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[DoTheWork]

Was just writing a check to mail to my accountant and remembering how I used to struggle so much to write a check because of my health issues.

I'd go through several checks and envelopes because I would make countless mistakes trying to write the amount, date, etc. It would take me probably 15 minutes to write a check.

Now I can write a check like a normal person (for the most part)... without having to struggle and have intense focus on the task.

How did my businesses even survive the past two years??

 

[DoTheWork]

INSIDERS - View full details of this update (URLs, etc.) here: https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/co...rs-doing-the-work-anyway.112304/#post-1110220

Update: 2/19/2024-2/25/2024
Subreddit growth, private ad placement

Productive working hours: 40

Health updates:
Feeling better this week. Will try the sauna again sometime this week and hopefully work myself up to 2 times per week without symptoms.

Business updates:
Car Website (Sold)
All assets are transferred to the new owner. Should get a deposit of $57,000 today or tomorrow (price after the broker fee). Meeting today with the new owner to do some training.

Truck Website
Posted an article and finished updating all content for 2024. Created and scheduled 70+ Pinterest posts.

WordPress management company
Grew my new subreddit to 327 users this week!

Still testing Reddit ads and will likely do so for a while at a slow pace. From what I'm reading, my CTRs are above average. The traffic quality isn't great, but the clicks are extremely cheap so that's not surprising. I'm trying to claim their $200 ad credit by spending $100.

I had many conversations on Reddit this week and made a post in another subreddit that did very well. This post links back to my subreddit to help attract members. Ultimately, I'm hoping that this post ranks in Google.

I also assigned a $500 budget for a private ad placement on a website that contains my target audience. I negotiated $4 per click, which seems pretty good.

Still concerned about growing this business. It needs to grow so I can afford to live. No traction on new customers in months. I'm hoping that growing this subreddit will help me reach my target market.

 

[DoTheWork]

INSIDERS - View all details of this post here:

https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/progress-thread-24-y-o-sick-and-cognitively-impaired-for-2-years-doing-the-work-anyway.112304/#post-1111156

Update: 2/26/2024-3/3/2024
Reached my first $100,000, Subreddit growth, Truck being built soon

Productive working hours: 28

Health updates:
No change. Meeting with health coach tomorrow

Business updates:
Car Website
Received my deposit of $57,000 for the website sale. I now have a bit more than $100,000 in cash! In terms of net worth, I'm at $80,000 because of student loans. Not bad.

Now that this website is sold, my current income is not enough to cover my living expenses, which is scary. However, I calculated that my average expected withdrawal from my savings would be $1,500 per month.

This assumes that my income does not go up or down. Based on this, I can go for 6 years to grow my income streams before complete failure.

Truck Website
Researched and outlined an article to be written this coming week.

My truck is supposed to be built towards the end of this week, then maybe 1-2 weeks to deliver it. Can't wait to continue on YouTube.

WordPress management company
My subreddit has grown to 461 users!

Spent $100 on Reddit Ads and now have a $200 ad credit. I'm getting clicks for $0.12 on average. If I can't get any leads with $300 in spending, I'm going to pass on continuing the Reddit ads.

The $500 that I spent on a private ad placement on a website very closely involved with my target audience is going well in terms of website user behavior, but no leads yet. Might try another $500 on there before concluding that experiment for now and transition to focusing on my subreddit and eventually monetizing that.

 

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[DoTheWork]

INSIDERS - View all details of this post here: https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/co...rs-doing-the-work-anyway.112304/#post-1112268

Update: 3/4/2024-3/10/2024
New services launched, potential truck build delays, 65% traffic drop

Productive working hours: 36

Health updates:
Went to a rodeo and almost had to seek medical attention because my throat closed up being around animals.

Otherwise, feeling "decent."

During the meeting with my health coach, they pointed out something pretty interesting. When I'm by myself, I can only walk 5-10 minutes before my mind/body starts to shut down from post-exertion malaise.

However, when I've been in situations with my brother where we need to walk 15-20 minutes somewhere, I'm usually fine. What we realized is that when I'm with my brother, I always know that he can go get the car and pick me up if I start to feel sick. It seems like this eliminates a subconscious fear in my head when I'm walking alone and worried that I won't be able to make it back if I start to feel sick in the middle of my walk.

Totally makes sense to me and seems to match up with everything that I've experienced. Regardless, 20-30 minutes of walking seems to be my limit. Right now she has me doing a 2-minute walk (alone) every day and we will very slowly work that up.

Business updates:
Truck Website
Truck technically should've been built by yesterday. No updates yet. I'm not surprised if there is a delay.

Uploaded a new video to the YouTube channel.

Website took a 65% downturn from the recent Google update, but it still has another 3 weeks before it fully rolls out, so I'm not making any conclusions until it is finished.

Even if traffic stays down, I'm more focused on YouTube so it's not a huge fear.

WordPress management company
This week I launched a big list of one-time services based on some feedback I received from my audience.

These services are highly relevant to things that my target audience would need help with. It's not just generic stuff.

My subreddit has grown to 629 users!

So far, I've given quotes for $249/month and $880 for someone and sold a $85 one-time service. Not bad since I'm just focused on having conversations with people right now and the subreddit is still very new and small.

Really happy with the rate that it is growing. The engagement is good and I'm not the only one posting in there.

I started a thread about Reddit marketing, which you can find here: MARKETING - Marketing & Selling on Reddit? (Without Pissing People Off)

 

[cmh]

Very cool thread, and congrats on your successes and perseverance through setbacks. My family has also taken great pains to get clean and improve our health. None of us were suffering quite to your extent, but we've all seen big improvements! It's kind of shocking once you go down the rabbit hole to see just how poisonous everyday things can be.

Now, on to business. I have a couple of questions for you. I am technically proficient but a bit of a neophyte to the concept of monetizing websites.

What is your preferred place to buy a website or business?

Do you prefer Google AdSense or other ad revenue streams?

Finally, if the page is static, will the ad update and allow you to make revenue twice on the same page? I ask because I wonder if a long form article could be good for multiple ads.

 

[DoTheWork]

Very cool thread, and congrats on your successes and perseverance through setbacks. My family has also taken great pains to get clean and improve our health. None of us were suffering quite to your extent, but we've all seen big improvements! It's kind of shocking once you go down the rabbit hole to see just how poisonous everyday things can be.

Now, on to business. I have a couple of questions for you. I am technically proficient but a bit of a neophyte to the concept of monetizing websites.

What is your preferred place to buy a website or business?

Do you prefer Google AdSense or other ad revenue streams?

Finally, if the page is static, will the ad update and allow you to make revenue twice on the same page? I ask because I wonder if a long form article could be good for multiple ads.

Thank you! Yes, you learn so much about the food and health industry once you get sick. It's life-changing. I think this experience will enhance my life overall with what I've learned, after I heal.

I've never bought a business (except one that I bought back a year after selling), but have sold several websites and have researched a fair bit about business acquisition.

A few recommendations:

• Flippa - A wide range of websites when it comes to price-point. Mostly low-quality, but you can find gems.
• Empire Flippers- More expensive websites. Higher quality and vetted.
• Quiet Light - If I wanted to buy an online business, I'd go to them. Good podcast too.

I use AdSense when starting, but the goal is to get qualified for Raptive or Medavine as the earnings are 5-15x over AdSense.

Ad networks will refresh the ads every 15-30 seconds, so every time they refresh that counts as an impression. So the longer someone is on the page, yes, you'll earn more as long as the ad network pays you by impressions instead of clicks.

Even if they DO pay by click, you're more likely to get clicks since the ads are always refreshing.

 

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[DoTheWork]

INSIDERS - View all details of this post here: https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/co...rs-doing-the-work-anyway.112304/#post-1113179

Update: 3/11/2024-3/17/2024
Significant price changes, new blog posts, truck build delays, 90% traffic drop

Productive working hours: 39

Health updates:
This has definitely been my best feeling and most stable month! Still WAY off from my "normal" life from years ago, but it's great to be stable. Any good days that I've had in the past several months have been thrown off by significant flare ups.

Business updates:
WordPress management company for digital publishers
I've finally used some of the goodwill that I've built up with various people to ask them for feedback about my services.

Based on their feedback, I ended up changing my pricing structure as follows:

OLD:
Basic - $49/month
Standard - $129/month
Premium - $249/month

NEW:
Start - $19/month
Grow - $99/month
Thrive - $199/month

The lowest-tier plan allows for a reasonable entry point to my services even if someone isn't making money with their website yet. Also, the new plan names are more descriptive for my target audience (digital publishers and bloggers).

Reddit results:
Subreddit has grown to 744 users in less than 1 month.

I've sold a $85 one-time-service and just got an estimate approved for a $1,000 project. Not bad, although my goal is still recurring revenue. The subreddit is still very small so I think this is a fantastic start!

Blog posts + YouTube strategy
This week, I started creating high-quality posts on my website's blog. I've posted 2 this week. These are also being reposted to my subreddit and recorded in video format for my YouTube channel.

Since rebranding and switching to my new domain name my Google Seach traffic has increased quite a bit! I'm excited to see how this SEO/YouTube strategy goes in addition to Reddit.

Truck website
Truck is delayed. Not surprised.

Added a new post to the website and planned a new article to be written this week.

The website downturn that started last week has continued. I've now lost 90% of my Google search traffic. Absolutely terrible. Luckily my website hasn't been de-indexed from the search results (yet?) like some others have experienced. Google is a joke.

Anyway, I'm focused on YouTube. It sucks, but I'm just going to shift my plans for monetization. Even though the search traffic dropped 90%, the total website traffic has only dropped 40-50%.

Still a chance that the traffic will turn around in the next 1-2 weeks while the Google update finishes rolling out, but I definitely don't have my hopes up.

 

[heavy_industry]

Awesome job my friend!

I can't wait for the day when you'll be able to say that you've fully recovered - you're a 300 HP vehicle with the handbrake stuck. You're still pushing with all your might, but one day, the handbrake will be released.

NEW:
Start - $19/month
Grow - $99/month
Thrive - $199/month

Amazing names for the tiers!

The website downturn that started last week has continued. I've now lost 90% of my Google search traffic. Absolutely terrible.

This shall be a kind reminder for all of us that CENTS starts with C.

Anyway, I'm focused on YouTube. It sucks, but I'm just going to shift my plans for monetization. Even though the search traffic dropped 90%, the total website traffic has only dropped 40-50%.

Do you plan on focusing on YouTube to bring traffic to your website?

Have you considered moving the community from Reddit to your own forum on the website? I would imagine that more content (user-generated comments in this case) would only help with the SERP calamity.

 

[DoTheWork]

Awesome job my friend!

I can't wait for the day when you'll be able to say that you've fully recovered - you're a 300 HP vehicle with the handbrake stuck. You're still pushing with all your might, but one day, the handbrake will be released.


Amazing names for the tiers!


This shall be a kind reminder for all of us that CENTS starts with C.


Do you plan on focusing on YouTube to bring traffic to your website?

Thanks! Love the handbrake analogy.

Yes, a great lesson of Control. I knew the risks going into it, but it's also tempting to ignore! Still willing to accept the risk and have been focusing on diversifying my traffic sources to improve Control.

Right now I'm not sure if YouTube should be a source to direct traffic to the website (of course that will happen to some extent naturally) or just focus on YouTube as my hub for visibility, engagement, and monetization directly.

I'm planning to work with leasing brokers to earn referral fees for sending them customers. So that, ad revenue, and sponsorships are probably my best options for monetization.

Have you considered moving the community from Reddit to your own forum on the website? I would imagine that more content (user-generated comments in this case) would only help with the SERP calamity.

I actually started with a forum. I worked hard and used the many connections I had with people on Reddit to kick off the forum... Only got 1 registration after a week of promotion (I also ran ads). Did not work out well.

 

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[DoTheWork]

INSIDERS - View all details (links, business names, etc.) here: https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/co...rs-doing-the-work-anyway.112304/#post-1115072

Update: 3/18/2024-3/31/2024
MAJOR PIVOT - New Business Strategy, New Brand

Productive working hours: 40/week

Health updates:
I overworked myself because of the big changes I've made in the past two weeks. Trying to slow down and relax more now. Still not feeling absolutely terrible though.

Business updates:
WordPress Maintenance for Bloggers - PROJECT STOPPED
I've taken lots of time to get feedback from both my target audience and those who run businesses serving my niche. I had the realization that this isn't going to work.

So, I posted this thread with my concerns: https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/co...ndustry-with-opportunity.112779/#post-1113457

Many things started to become clear about why this business is not going to work. In short, I diverted my services away from what used to work 2 years ago and I'm serving a dying industry.

I focused on what I wanted my offer & operations to look like instead of what the market really wanted. I changed my services to what was EASY for me (preventative maintenance & security) instead of what was valuable to my customers (design, development, site edits, etc.).

Also, the niche I was targeting (bloggers) is a dying industry. WordPress is probably slowly dying too, which is what the entire business was serving.

I asked myself if this was a business I could work on for 10+ years, and my answer was "HELL NO!". The chance of this industry dying in 10 years is too high. Anyway, it's not what the market wants and I'm just competing on price with all the other companies that do the same exact thing as me.

This business will continue to run, but I'm not going to grow it unless new leads trickle in through SEO.

Enter my new brand & strategy...

WebUltimate.io - Subscription-Based Website Management for Mid-to-Large Companies - NEW
I spent the last two weeks researching my market and potential target audiences (and creating a website).

I landed on offering subscription-based website management services (design, development, troubleshooting) for mid-to-large companies. I will serve more than just WordPress sites.

My services aren't focused on preventative maintenance anymore, but rather on building out existing sites for growing companies, which is more closely tied to revenue growth. From my experience, people get much more excited about building out new pages, features, and design than preventative maintenance (no one gets excited about website maintenance...).

Think designing new landing pages, taking the load off small marketing teams managing their own web content, and being on-call in case something breaks and needs fixed. All stuff that my current clients have found very valuable (and they can understand the benefits of, while they don't easily understand the benefits of preventative maintenance).

Pricing ranges from $195 to $1,995 per month.

I'm not sure how I'm going to market this yet, but I have some ideas. Just started a thread discussing it: MARKETING - Low-Cost Marketing Strategies for B2B Serving Mid-Large Companies?

The website is basically complete. I'm just waiting on a DBA to be approved so I can open up a bank account and get my payment processor integrated.

I'll need to hire a few people (as contractors, for now). WordPress developer, web designer, and a no/low-code designer.

Here's a similar company to what I'm trying to make: Design Dash - Unlimited Webflow Design Subscriptions for Growing Startups

I'm ready to make this big. The series of pivots I've made over the past year have led me here. Hopefully, I'm close to where I need to be to make this work. I feel good about it.

Truck Website/YouTube Channel
Truck was supposed to be built yesterday. No updates yet.

My business partner had some good ideas for our YouTube strategy and we're heavily deprioritizing the website (lost 90% of traffic recently).

Unlikely that this project will work out with the changes Google has made to the algorithm. The model that I had proven to work in the past will no longer work, so it's just more risky. We're going to give it at least 6-months to show a path to revenue before we sell the truck and move on.

 

[DoTheWork]

Seeking feedback on my LinkedIn "About" section.
Business: Subscription-Based Website Management for Mid-to-Large Companies
Target market: Marketing leaders
My full profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-g-buckley/

----
ABOUT:

As a marketing leader, it's your job to use your company's digital presence to drive growth and revenue.

It's no easy task, especially when working with limited resources, juggling multiple priorities, and lacking technical know-how.

The result? Poor campaign performance, brand reputation, and ROI.

Constant redesigns, more functionality, and following superficial trends are not the solution.

Stick to what works:
Prioritizing the core user experience
Making strategic design decisions
Optimizing for conversions based on data
Implementing solutions that drive results

We collaborate closely with you to understand your objectives and implement website solutions that drive growth.

We're not another web agency that wants you to rebuild your website from scratch. Our specialty is expanding and improving your existing website.

With WebUltimate, there's no need to hire expensive in-house employees, unreliable freelancers, or exploitative web agencies.

We're flexible and cost-efficient. Unlike traditional agencies that bill expensive hourly rates, our flat monthly fee is predictable and scalable.

Lengthy contacts? No thanks! You can stop using our services at any time.

If you're serious about driving results for your company, let's talk! ️

Book a free website review and discovery session: WebUltimate - Website Management for Growing Companies

We can't wait to learn more about you and your company!

 

[DoTheWork]

The truck has arrived!
2024 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road Premium

 

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[DoTheWork]

INSIDERS - View this post in full detail w/ links here: https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/co...rs-doing-the-work-anyway.112304/#post-1117158

Update: 4/8/2024-4/14/2024
Truck filming has begun, new business is ready to launch

Productive working hours: 35

Health updates:
Feeling a bit better because I spent more time relaxing this week.

Business updates:
Website Management Business
Website, DBA, bank accounts, etc. are ready to go. My LinkedIn marketing strategy is ready. I just need to start creating content, then I'll start outreach via LI. I'll spend this week prepping content so I can get ahead on that first, then I'll start outreach.

Truck Website & YouTube Channel
The truck finally arrived and I filmed the first video w/ new camera equipment and the new truck. Very very nice truck!

I recorded a video giving an overview of the truck and asking for video ideas from my audience.

I lost my good microphone audio for the video except for the intro and outro. Other than that, it went well.

This week I'll edit a bunch of b-roll and plan to film/edit another video on the weekend.

 

[DoTheWork]

INSIDERS - View this post in full detail w/ links here: https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/co...rs-doing-the-work-anyway.112304/#post-1118085
Update: 4/15/2024-4/21/2024
Exercise, more truck videos

Productive working hours: 25

Health updates:
Feeling good most of the week.

Went golfing on Saturday (9 holes with a golf cart). Ended up being more exercise than I anticipated, haha. Definitely the most I've exercised since getting sick. I have post-exertion malaise (like being allergic to exercise).

All the club swinging is like lifting weights for me. I could feel all the little muscle tears happening during each swing. It hurt! That's a lot of my body to recover from.

It's Monday and I'm still exhausted, but overall my body handled it pretty well. I'm not having overwhelming symptoms other than some fatigue. I'm taking it easy until that passes.

Business updates:
Website Management Business
Putting this on pause for a while so I can focus more on the truck stuff and my health. I'm not in a huge rush since I have 3-4 years of savings built up.

However, I'm still writing 1-3 LinkedIn posts each day. I'm not posting these yet, but just getting a backlog prepped for when I'm ready to launch.

Truck Website & YouTube Channel
Filmed lots of b-roll and published 2 new videos.

From what I understand, we are doing well for a new YouTube channel. We only have 10 videos published (most of which are garbage quality) and we already have 60k views. If anyone has experience with YouTube, let me know how this performance is.

Planning to upload weekly from this point on.