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Dropped everything and got on a plane four years ago......still figuring it out!

MADAMEK

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I’m 38 and I left my old job which was for a mortgage company in the UK about 4 years ago. I was there 7 years and it sucked the life out of me whilst I was saving money to throw at a deposit for a house with a man I no longer I loved, so I left him and then went traveling for nine months with absolutely no plan of where I would live or what I would do on my return. Travelling was fun, I studied yoga, lived in a ski resort for a bit, went to Asia, the usual cliche stuff that felt very needed at the time.

When the money started to run short I came home, rented a room from a friend, ended up back in an office which didn’t last long thank god and of course I got cozy with someone new who I am happy with now.

I’ve always loved languages and enjoyed teaching, so I teach English to Chinese kids five days a week for about 4 hours, it’s fun and I’m told I’m good at it. I don’t have another job, apart from I help my partner run his gym. Top of my list is that I maintain some freedom, I want all of my work to be done remotely. Although I enjoy teaching its not a long term plan. It just doesn’t pay enough and to do it full time would take the fun away. If something is going to be NOT fun, it needs to be worthwhile in the long term.

I don’t have a solution to a problem that I can make a business out of right now, but I need to get started on something to at least learn by doing and If I can actually make some extra money that would be a bonus as I’m pretty skint right now and feeling the pressure. Perhaps it might lead somewhere or inspire me in another worthwhile direction. I have started setting up a Shopify store selling women’s clothes and swimwear, it’s not yet live though. I have a foundation degree in photography and design, a keen interest in style and I worked in retail for a little bit of time a few years ago. I’ve studied a little about marketing and read some stuff on e-commerce over the past eighteen months. I read some other business titles too, but these two were the best and I didn't even make a dent hardly on a Tony Robbins title (what an utter bellend!) before I found MJ's books via Alux.

I kind of feel like I initiated this change I’m in when I left my old job four years ago now and I haven’t yet finished off or got back on track so to speak and now and I’m two years off 40 with very little to my name. Suggestions, advice, and input are all welcome. I'm pretty excited to be here.
 
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The Abundant Man

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Welcome!
I’m 38 and I left my old job which was for a mortgage company in the UK about 4 years ago. I was there 7 years and it sucked the life out of me whilst I was saving money to throw at a deposit for a house with a man I no longer I loved, so I left him and then went traveling for nine months with absolutely no plan of where I would live or what I would do on my return. Travelling was fun, I studied yoga, lived in a ski resort for a bit, went to Asia, the usual cliche stuff that felt very needed at the time.
You could maybe write the next Eat, Pray, Love book.

In all seriousness, get that ecommerce store going. You've got more than enough knowledge. Time to get it live and start marketing. Marketing...marketing and marketing.

Wish the best of luck to you!
 

MADAMEK

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Thanks for your encouragement!

Welcome!
You could maybe write the next Eat, Pray, Love book.

In all seriousness, get that ecommerce store going. You've got more than enough knowledge. Time to get it live and start marketing. Marketing...marketing and marketing.

Wish the best of luck to you!
 

RazorCut

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Welcome @MADAMEK . Womens clothes and swimwear may be a tough sell as there is a lot of competition but at the very least you will be learning a new skill while you work on your plan.

One thing I will say is figure out how you would like to live your life and build a business that is a good fit rather than start a business then have to fit your life around it.

The bad news about being 38 is time is ticking. The good news is you now have a wealth of experience to draw from which should make your journey to success a little easier.

I'm sure you will find lots of inspiration within the threads here.
 
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MADAMEK

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Welcome @MADAMEK . Womens clothes and swimwear may be a tough sell as there is a lot of competition but at the very least you will be learning a new skill while you work on your plan.

One thing I will say is figure out how you would like to live your life and build a business that is a good fit rather than start a business then have to fit your life around it.

The bad news about being 38 is time is ticking. The good news is you now have a wealth of experience to draw from which should make your journey to success a little easier.

I'm sure you will find lots of inspiration within the threads here.
Thanks Razorcut. In answer to your second sentence. I already know how I want to live my life, I just don't know exactly what will work for that yet, however top of the list is that I continue to work remotely, I spend lots of time in London with family, but I am based in the southwest. Thanks anyway :)
 

minivanman

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But, you DO have a solution for a problem..... you are already doing it. You are teaching English. Are you doing this through a company? In person or on the internet?
 

Xavier X

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@MADAMEK I think one area you might need to address is "depth of commitment."
Your first post leads me to believe you do a good amount of surface scraping. So my suggestion is that at this point (which you consider crunch time), commit to something with real potential and drill deep.

The more "it's just for now" things you engage, the longer it takes to get where you wish to be.
For instance, if teaching English online is your thing, instead of doing it through a third-party site, get direct clients and cut the middle man. More money and control for you.

With more clients, get referrals. With even a handful of students, you can create your own platform (easier to set up a learning website than you might think). With your own platform, you can delegate some or most of the teaching. With proper delegation, you have earned back your free time and freedom (emphasis on earned). With proper management and marketing, you can definitely scale a learning platform massively.

This Wordpress theme is $59 (there are many on Themeforest). You could literally launch a learning platform with it today, if you wanted. So that takes care of the popular convenient excuses of "it's too capital intensive," or "I'm not a programmer/web designer."
 
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Ernman

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Welcome to the forum. You've had an interesting journey thus far in life. Perhaps there is something buried in those experiences that just needs to be mined.
 

MADAMEK

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@MADAMEK I think one area you might need to address is "depth of commitment."
Your first post leads me to believe you do a good amount of surface scraping. So my suggestion is that at this point (which you consider crunch time), commit to something with real potential and drill deep.

The more "it's just for now" things you engage, the longer it takes to get where you wish to be.
For instance, if teaching English online is your thing, instead of doing it through a third-party site, get direct clients and cut the middle man. More money and control for you.

With more clients, get referrals. With even a handful of students, you can create your own platform (easier to set up a learning website than you might think). With your own platform, you can delegate some or most of the teaching. With proper delegation, you have earned back your free time and freedom (emphasis on earned). With proper management and marketing, you can definitely scale a learning platform massively.

This Wordpress theme is $59 (there are many on Themeforest). You could literally launch a learning platform with it today, if you wanted. So that takes care of the popular convenient excuses of "it's too capital intensive," or "I'm not a programmer/web designer."
I have toyed with this idea before and I think I may revisit it. I got put off this idea previously because I envisaged tonnes of individual lesson planning to cater for different needs and giving away far too many freebies for too small a return, its a reality for many teachers and I think all this extra time they spend unpaid doing this then takes the higher pay per hour part of it away. I've read an article today about creating a program that is specific for a niche, so the more you deliver it, the better you become and also its sold in packages, not individual lessons, so it means more money earned. I'm sure I could manage the WordPress aspect of things, that does not put me off. You are right about scratching the surface and commitment.
 

MADAMEK

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Welcome to the forum. You've had an interesting journey thus far in life. Perhaps there is something buried in those experiences that just needs to be mined.
Thanks, yes I think so. Lots to reconsider and this forum seems to be helping.
 
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MADAMEK

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But, you DO have a solution for a problem..... you are already doing it. You are teaching English. Are you doing this through a company? In person or on the internet?
Over the internet through a company.
 

minivanman

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So why not start your own business and then add on your own workers?
 

MADAMEK

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So why not start your own business and then add on your own workers?

Hi, this was my response to XavierX who had a similar comment to yours.

I have toyed with this idea before and I think I may revisit it. I got put off this idea previously because I envisaged tonnes of individual lesson planning to cater for different needs and giving away far too many freebies for too small a return, its a reality for many teachers and I think all this extra time they spend unpaid doing this then takes the higher pay per hour part of it away. I've read an article today about creating a program that is specific for a niche, so the more you deliver it, the better you become and also its sold in packages, not individual lessons, so it means more money earned. I'm sure I could manage the WordPress aspect of things, that does not put me off. You are right about scratching the surface and commitment.
 
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Seamster

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I did something similar. Left to see other countries and woman and decided to get on with my future later. Finally came back to the States to live off passive rental income (fail). Then I tried blogs (fail). Then I tried a job....and now I have a good job. Next I'm going to start a cell phone app. Millionaire Fastlane convinced me that the app idea I've had for years needs to be made.

For you though, like, due to my above failures, you might want to leave China and go somewhere else and enjoy things while you can. You can come home and try to start a business but it takes years and most fail. Look at me sitting here at work 9-5 Mon - Fri.
 

The Abundant Man

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I did something similar. Left to see other countries and woman and decided to get on with my future later. Finally came back to the States to live off passive rental income (fail). Then I tried blogs (fail). Then I tried a job....and now I have a good job. Next I'm going to start a cell phone app. Millionaire Fastlane convinced me that the app idea I've had for years needs to be made.

For you though, like, due to my above failures, you might want to leave China and go somewhere else and enjoy things while you can. You can come home and try to start a business but it takes years and most fail. Look at me sitting here at work 9-5 Mon - Fri.
Why did those ventures fail?
Here are some good real estate threads:

 

Seamster

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Why did those ventures fail?
Here are some good real estate threads:


Blogging is a job. You have to keep updating them, playing with keywords, and learning Google's ever-changing rules. I hated it, it wasn't passive, and I already had a job.

Real estate: you pay $350/mo to own the place and you rent it out for $700. $350*10 months and that's $3500 cashflow per year with a little safety net. Get 8 of those you cashflow $33k/yr at a 15% capital gains tax, right? Well....

Actual scenario:
Tenants come in a pay for say 7 months (+$2450 in my account). It takes 3 months (-$1050 paid to bank) to get them out. Then they trash the place so it costs -$2000 in repairs and 2 months (-$700 to bank) to fix it up. Do the math $2450 - 1050 - 2000 - 700. That's a $1300 loss, not to mention that you get stuck with their water bills and have to spend time fixing it up. "How to Find Good Tenants" is the book I should read!

The only reason I've broken even overall is because I do have some long-term tenants, I take a big down payment, and I have 2 of the 8 houses paid off.
 
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MADAMEK

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I'm not living in China....I live in England and work online. Perhaps that wasn't clear? lol
 

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