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- May 1, 2011
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That's because nobody is going to sit down and write a huge response to all the questions.
I want to know who here achieved financial freedom. How long did it take?
I had been consciously and actively pursuing financial freedom roughly between the ages of 17 to 27. At 27 I started feeling financially free. But in reality between 17 and 24 I wasted time trying new businesses every few months and never having enough discipline to keep going when things didn't work.
What value did you add to society?
I self-published over 100 titles, mostly non-fiction books. The 100+ titles contain short stories, translations, bundles, etc. so in reality it was a few dozen books. I've sold my books in all formats, including ebook, paperback, hardback, audiobook, and courses.
What knowledge brought you there?
Almost purely my writing experience. I must have written a few million words in my life already.
Various skills I picked up trying different businesses before self-publishing (stuff like a bit of copywriting, marketing, outsourcing, etc.) probably helped, too.
How hard was the start-up phase?
Prior to self-publishing, I gave up on pretty much every business within 6 months. Then I would inevitably get depressed for a few days to a few weeks before starting and failing with another business.
The one that worked best before self-publishing was a SEO-based business based on old high-PR domains. I sold it within a year of starting after getting hit by a Google update. I think I sold it for $20k. I remember I felt like the richest guy on the planet when the deal was finalized.
With self-publishing, it actually was quite easy in hindsight. I started making over $5k/month within a year. It was a great business model fit for my skills and the right time to enter this industry (not so much today) and I think that's what made it easy.
What are your advices to people fighting for financial freedom?
Pick just one business idea that you know works for other people and do NOT try anything else until you make it work.
Don't try to be original or come up with something new. You won't have the confidence that it will work and you'll be tempted to quit.
For example, I knew that the books I was writing were popular so it was possible to succeed just like other people have. If I had written some creative/unique books I wouldn't have had that conviction.
Outside of self-publishing, here are some examples of businesses that are proven to work:
- Digital marketing agency. Perhaps you need to come up with a unique twist (like a digital marketing agency for the travel industry) but it will work for sure if you keep at it.
- Content creator in a big niche like self-improvement, business, fitness, technology, etc. Thousands upon thousands of examples of people who kept creating content in their big niche and are big names today. It's impossible not to make it work given enough time and dedication.
- Real estate. Millions of people have achieved financial freedom through real estate and it'll never change. But this depends on where you live.
- Lots of B2B businesses. Just find an existing successful one, copy it and do something better.
Were you alone during that journey?
Yes, alone but my parents supported me by not throwing me out of the house when for years I was pretending to be an entrepreneur.
I think they don't regret it considering I was later able to buy them a new house
Is there anybody who helped you beside authors?
One random stranger gave me advice that pretty much made me millions.
Other than that, I didn't have any everyday personal help or support except for this forum.
What was your work environment like?
A crappy small room with a cheap adjustable Ikea desk. Because of back/hips issues caused by too much sitting, I later started working half-sitting/half-lying from my futon and do so to this day.
Were you regularly travelling from country to country for variety?
I started traveling more often when I was confident my business was working well. I also lived in a few different countries for up to a few months.
I don't think it's a good idea to travel while you're building a new business. You'll be too distracted.
With how much money did you start up and how much did the execution cost?
Pre self-publishing: I started with what I had saved from freelance work but it was almost nothing (like a few hundred bucks). I kept reinvesting if I made any money (I rarely did).
For my self-publishing business I bought a course for $797. After that, I spent on average no more than $400-500 per month until I was able to invest more and improve the quality of my products.
How was the execution like?
A shit ton of writing every day until I burned out (but thankfully by that time I had written enough to build momentum). Then I regained my energy and kept writing for the next several years.
Did you ever have "sucidal thoughts" given on how hard that is? How did you deal with that?
I've had way more suicidal thoughts AFTER I achieved financial freedom than before. The hustle motivates you to keep going, even if you fail over and over again.
Once you achieve the biggest goal in your life, you lose meaning and it's very easy to feel like shit and want to die because there's nothing more you want to do.
I alter between "life's good" and "I can die today" every few weeks these days.