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From Nothing To Everything - My Journey

A detailed account of a Fastlane process...

rynor

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Mar 15, 2019
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Update - 07/28/2019

Here's what I've been doing since last Sunday (07/21):
  • Still working on a WordPress job for a client via Thumbtack [forever in-progress]
  • Still working on an old colleague of mine's WordPress portfolio [waiting on reply still]
  • Finished a small Squarespace job for a client on Upwork
  • Migrated girlfriend's website from WordPress.com hosted to Blue Host
  • Sent out proposals via Upwork
  • Read a bit of my rental property investing book
  • Vacation July 22-27, showed parents around town
 
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rynor

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Mar 15, 2019
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Update - 08/11/2019

I missed last weekend's update, but here's what I've been doing since then (07/21/2019):
  • Followed up on WordPress job for a client via Thumbtack
  • Finished a small job for a business client
  • Went onsite for part-time work at a client's office both Monday's (07/29 & 08/05)
  • Started part-time remote consulting for a small MSP in New York, worked with them T-F of last week
  • Started a couple of jobs for clients via Upwork - one web design, one G Suite-related
  • Sent out proposals via Upwork and Thumbtack
  • Read more of my rental property investing book
 

Ismail941

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I love your dedication.
Thanks for sharing! I appreciate you!
 

rynor

Bronze Contributor
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Mar 15, 2019
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Orlando, FL
Update - 08/19/2019

Here's what I've been doing since last Sunday (08/11):
  • Working on a website design project for a client via Upwork
  • Working on G Suite migration project for client on Upwork
  • Worked on a small data migration project for a client via Thumbtack
  • Went onsite for part-time work at a client's office Monday (08/12)
  • Worked remotely for another client Tuesday - Friday
  • Finished a small job for a business client
  • Sent out proposals via Upwork and Thumbtack
  • Read more of my rental property investing book
 
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rynor

Bronze Contributor
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Mar 15, 2019
110
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Orlando, FL
Update - 08/25/2019

Here's what I've been doing since last Monday (08/19):
  • Working on a website design project for a client via Upwork [in-progress]
  • Working on G Suite migration project for client on Upwork [in-progress]
  • Worked on a small data migration project for a client via Thumbtack [in-progress]
  • Went onsite for part-time work at a client's office Monday (08/19)
  • Worked remotely for another client Tuesday - Friday
  • Spoke to a colleague about potential consulting partnership
  • Read more of my rental property investing book
 

rynor

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Mar 15, 2019
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Orlando, FL
Update - 09/02/2019

Here's what I've been doing since last Sunday (08/25):
  • Working on a Wix design project for a client via Upwork [in-progress]
  • Completed a G Suite migration project for client on Upwork
  • Completed a small data migration project for a client via Thumbtack
  • Went onsite for part-time work at a client's office Monday (08/26)
  • Worked remotely for another client Tuesday - Friday
  • Spoke to accounting firm about quarterly tax payments and some necessary cleanup
Have been getting quite a few inquiries via Upwork for web design/other projects, but don't have much time with my two gigs at the moment. Going to be diving more into those this month.
 

rynor

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Mar 15, 2019
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Orlando, FL
Update - 09/08/2019

Here's what I've been doing since last Monday (09/02):
  • Working on a Wix design project for a client via Upwork [complete]
  • Went onsite for part-time work at a client's office Tuesday (09/03)
  • Worked remotely for another client Wednesday - Friday
  • Hired accountant for reconciliation
  • Previous clients followed up about repeat work
 
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Last edited:

rynor

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
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Mar 15, 2019
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171
Orlando, FL
Update - 09/22/2019

Some life changes since I've last updated, so I missed last week's update. Here's what I've been doing since last Monday (09/08):
  • Finished design project for client via Upwork
  • Went onsite for part-time work at a client's office Monday (09/09 and 09/16)
  • Worked remotely for another client Tuesday - Friday both weeks
  • Closed out some old contracts with clients via Upwork
Girlfriend and I broke up, so we're parting ways. I'll be starting my trek back to Florida on 09/30. Expected to arrive 10/04 or 10/05. Moving back to my hometown to build a financial base and to start buying investment properties.
 

Vairavan

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Aug 13, 2019
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In your heart
Hey Fastlaners,

(Apologies in advance - this is going to be a beast of a thread.)

It's time to be brutally honest with myself so I've decided to make this thread to have accountability regarding my business. This thread will also serve as a rough timeline of my journey.

Often, I will spend too much time going down the rabbit hole of the Internet, watching videos, and overall working on tasks that don't move the needle. I want to focus more on the 20% of things that bring 80% of the results. I need to make progress, desperation is starting to kick in.

I also think this will be an awesome way to look back on how far I've come in the days, months, and years to come. More importantly, I hope this can help somebody else along the way and prove to them that if you remain focused and consistent, you can succeed. That's my Why.

Entrepreneurial Journey So Far
Like many other entrepreneurs on this forum, my journey didn't start after joining The Fastlane Forum. Also, like many others, I had small gigs here and there since I was a kid: mowing people's lawns, raking leaves, doing chores for people, etc. But up to this point, I've had 3x "serious" businesses (2x e-commerce/dropshipping, and 1x local services business) to date. They all failed because of one reason or another: a personal lack of focus, being all about the money, and not bringing credible solutions to market. Truth be told, I didn't want it bad enough. I only thought I did.

The first time I ever seriously considered becoming an entrepreneur, it was late May of 2018. I had just turned 26 years old (I know, I'm late to the party ha). A couple years prior and up until that point, I was being worked to the bone by a boss that could care less about my well-being. I would look at how he would take vacations whenever he wanted while the rest of us just had to keep working, likely to pay for those vacations. I always thought to myself that I could be my own boss and would rather delegate tasks than to have them delegated to me. Often, I would look at the decision-makers in my previous companies and think "I could do that." Ultimately, I knew there had to be a better way for me.

I spent the next 7 months learning about investment vehicles that could foster my "get rich" mentality while also working a full-time job. I stumbled upon Forex trading and dove right in. I took online courses, throwing roughly $300 of my hard-earned cash towards so-called "gurus". I would wake up at 5AM to study a few hours before work, come home, and then study until 7-8PM each night. I started trading with a Demo account ($50,000 fake money) and struggled. It was crushing to my ego to barely ever win a trade, but I persevered. I eventually opened a Live account and funded it with $1,000. I ended up with a net -$36, FAIL. Again, I felt as though I didn't want it bad enough.

During those 7 months, I would also listen to, read and take in any material I can find on entrepreneurship, success, wealth, you name it. I would listen to podcasts from CEO's, business owners, motivational speakers, etc. I read more books since May of last year than I have in my entire life combined. I was never a reader when I was young. Quite frankly, I still read slowly.

Skip to Now
All my previous experiences have led to now - I started my most recent entrepreneurial journey in late January of 2019. After quitting Forex trading, I decided to go back to what I know best: technology. I purchased my current domain (atechnextdoor.com) on January 26th. The gears started turning in my head, I was trying to determine a need in the current market. I decided to revisit an old idea that I never executed on: residential IT services.

Thus far, my business has 0 clients (yep, you read that correctly) and my website has been live less than a month. I spent a good portion of a month reading into digital marketing strategies, I took a Udemy course and have been trying to learn as much as I can to ensure I'm successful.

I've learned a lot about what it takes to run a business in the process. Now, I'm just trying to build a customer base and brand awareness.

Current Statistics
newsletter signups: 0
Customers: 0
Website sessions: 510
Users: 461
Page views: 1,436
Net income: $0


Business Goals
Short-term
  • Customers: 25
  • Recurring revenue: $2,500/mo
  • Help at least one person/day
Long-term
  • Customers: 2,000
  • Recurring revenue: $100,000/mo
  • Employees: 50+
  • Help 10+ people/day

My goals will change as progress is made. When growth accelerates, I will change the goals according. Aim high, shoot high.

To make these goals happen, I will have to do the hard stuff: cold calls, attend meetings, give presentations, and ask for help. I'm painfully introverted, so this is an ultimate test for me. If you're enduring something similar, Godspeed.

TL;DR - This thread is for me to hold myself accountable in terms of making weekly progress towards my business goals. I will report back weekly or sooner with updates.

Wow! It sounds like my story minus the girlfriend part. Congrats!

I've gone through this thread and I've few doubts:

You said you're answering some questions in quora. Is it helping in acquiring clients? Do you leave the link of your service at the end of your answers?

Do you use Agency accounts on Upwork? Do you work with those clients again outside of Upwork?
 

rynor

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
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Mar 15, 2019
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Orlando, FL
You said you're answering some questions in quora. Is it helping in acquiring clients? Do you leave the link of your service at the end of your answers?

Do you use Agency accounts on Upwork? Do you work with those clients again outside of Upwork?

Thanks!

To answer your questions - unfortunately, Quora has cracked down on this sort of thing. Every time I would answer questions and put pingbacks to my own website, they would take down my answer.

I don't use an Agency account, but I do work with clients outside of Upwork for continuous work. I have a client right now that found me on Upwork and contracted me to help them in a support capacity.
 
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Vairavan

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In your heart
unfortunately, Quora has cracked down on this sort of thing. Every time I would answer questions and put pingbacks to my own website, they would take down my answer.

Thank God! I have a quite popular quora account. I thought about adding my service link to my popular answers. That could have got it removed.

I do work with clients outside of Upwork for continuous work

I think it's against their TOS to get paid outside of their service with the clients you found there. I've heard horror stories of accounts getting permenantly banned even for mentioning Paypal in their chat. How did you get around that?
 

rynor

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I think it's against their TOS to get paid outside of their service with the clients you found there. I've heard horror stories of accounts getting permenantly banned even for mentioning Paypal in their chat. How did you get around that?
I'll clarify since it sounds worse than it is haha. The client found me on Upwork, we set up a contract, I did some work for them, and ended the contract shortly after. The client wanted to pay outside of Upwork due to the service fees for the contractor (me), so they contacted me outside of Upwork entirely. That's basically it.
 

Sadik

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Jan 26, 2017
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Hi @rynor do you only do wp design or development as well?

In either case, I would suggest you to create a useful theme / plugin and put it out on wordpress plugins / theme directory. You can then a> use the plugin / theme to establish authority when talking to potential clients b>It might lead you to a freemium model product business and c> you will learn a lot on how wordpress's business side works.
 
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Vairavan

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In your heart
I'll clarify since it sounds worse than it is haha. The client found me on Upwork, we set up a contract, I did some work for them, and ended the contract shortly after. The client wanted to pay outside of Upwork due to the service fees for the contractor (me), so they contacted me outside of Upwork entirely. That's basically it.

Now I understand. You don't ask them to contact you directly for their next project which is against the TOC of Upwork. They're doing it themselves which is cool. Do all your clients contact you directly for their next project?
 

rynor

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Do all your clients contact you directly for their next project?
Not all, but a lot do. Typically what I do is look for smaller jobs that I can finish very quickly (1-2 days), and complete all of the requirements up to expectation. This allows me to show my value and start to build the relationships. I also make sure to keep the client 100% informed of my progress throughout the project, regardless if they ask or not. I get a lot of repeat work from doing all of these things.
 

rynor

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
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Mar 15, 2019
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Orlando, FL
Update - 10/27/2019

Hey Fastlaners, I've been gone a while. I moved across the country back to Florida.
Here's what I've been up to since my last update (09/22):
  • Finished various projects for clients on Upwork
  • Worked remotely for client in New York, Monday - Friday every week
  • Closed out some old contracts with clients
  • Read more of my rental property investing book
 
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rynor

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
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Mar 15, 2019
110
171
Orlando, FL
Update - 01/19/2020

Hi Fastlaners, I've been gone quite a while... again. After moving back to Florida, I've been working on getting my capital back in order, and thinking about my next moves and what I really want out of life.

Admittedly, not much has happened in terms of my professional life. I work full-time for a client in New York and received a promotion recently. I've been focusing on building my skills and learning everything I can from this business. It's a good temporary situation for me because I can work on myself and my own goals while growing my capital.

Here's what I've been up to since my last update (10/27):
  • Finished various projects for clients on Upwork
  • Started small project for client on Fiverr
  • Worked remotely for client in New York, Mon - Fri every week
  • Received promotion from remote client
  • Read more of my rental property investing book
 

BaiAnrui

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Jul 30, 2019
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The Netherlands
Update - 01/19/2020

Hi Fastlaners, I've been gone quite a while... again. After moving back to Florida, I've been working on getting my capital back in order, and thinking about my next moves and what I really want out of life.

Admittedly, not much has happened in terms of my professional life. I work full-time for a client in New York and received a promotion recently. I've been focusing on building my skills and learning everything I can from this business. It's a good temporary situation for me because I can work on myself and my own goals while growing my capital.

Here's what I've been up to since my last update (10/27):
  • Finished various projects for clients on Upwork
  • Started small project for client on Fiverr
  • Worked remotely for client in New York, Mon - Fri every week
  • Received promotion from remote client
  • Read more of my rental property investing book
Just read your story...just keep on posting. The field your in is not my cup of tea but love reading it. Good luck for now!
 

rynor

Bronze Contributor
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Mar 15, 2019
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Hi Rynor, excited to see what is next for you. What is your fastlane strategy?
Good question, @guidaccio05. Eventually to build something that cash flows without needing constant surveillance, either by way of rental properties or a business.

It's still a work-in-progress for me.
 

rynor

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
155%
Mar 15, 2019
110
171
Orlando, FL
Update - 01/27/2020

Here's what I've been up to since my last update (01/19):
  • Finished small projects for a client on Upwork
  • Finished small project for a client on Fiverr
  • Worked remotely for client in New York, Mon - Fri, as helpdesk manager
I have plans to sit down and have a discussion with current client's CEO about extending into my territory in Florida. I'd be solely responsible for bringing new clients on board, getting a team together, etc.
 

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