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How I Made $11032 In 2 Months With Less Than 1.30 Hour Of Daily Work

Damian Pros

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Hey OP, first of all, thanks for sharing your learnings.

Are you still active on Fiverr? If yes, how's it going?

I'd be interested in reading an update on this thread.

For the ones contemplating Fiverr as an option to start - I did too but moved away just a few weeks later, despite being successful.

I explain why in my progress thread here.

It's booming.

september earnings dareandconquer fiverr.png
 
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Damian Pros

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I explain why in my progress thread here.

I gave a quick look at your thread. Most of your observations are solid, but you are overly negative and some of the things you said are incorrect. Like (2) and (3).

1) Things like timezones would apply to any business. You could simply not promise 24 hour delivery. Miscommunication with buyers could also happen in any business. You either choose to help them or tell them to go to hell.

2) If you deliver on time, and then a buyer requests a revision 2 and a half days afterwards, the timer shows you are "late" but this is just a bug and doesn't count as late delivery. Only your initial delivery matters.

3) I have cancelled 500+ orders. My rankings haven't dropped at all. They get better every day. And so do my sales. Only when the cancellation isn't mutual and initiated by the buyer, it affects your rankings negtively.

4) What you said about leaving feedback for the buyer is true. Sellers are disadvantaged in this area. You learn to hone your persuasion and customer service skills to deal with this, and you turn a disadvantage into gold. I admit it takes a hell of a lot of patience.

5) Fiverrs takes 20% because they provide the platform, do the marketing and a hell lot of other staff that you would have to do if you were on your own. It's not the best case scenario, but a fair exchange.

With all that said, nothing is perfect. You just have to find what suits you the most.

Wish you all the best buddy!
 

Nicoknowsbest

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It's booming.
Congratulations, it is booming indeed :)

I gave a quick look at your thread. Most of your observations are solid, but you are overly negative and some of the things you said are incorrect. Like (2) and (3).
Thanks! I admit to being negative towards the platform, but all I say is based on my actual experience.

1) Things like timezones would apply to any business. You could simply not promise 24 hour delivery. Miscommunication with buyers could also happen in any business. You either choose to help them or tell them to go to hell.
Yes. But time is money. If you meet a local business owner and metaphorically take him by the hand and walk him through whatever you do, he will feel safe when it comes to investing in you. On Fiverr, every "unnecessary" word annoys buyers. At least, this is my experience, overall. Of course you have the other extreme too - buyers who want to tell you where to put full-stops etc. Both is challenging when you deliver logos in the range of $ 5-20 and invest one hour messaging back and forth with your buyer.

About promising 24 hour delivery - I had to add that, since I had a lot of buyers contact me if it cannot be delivered earlier.

2) If you deliver on time, and then a buyer requests a revision 2 and a half days afterwards, the timer shows you are "late" but this is just a bug and doesn't count as late delivery. Only your initial delivery matters.
It's just hard to imagine that a platform this big has such a crucial bug for so long.

3) I have cancelled 500+ orders. My rankings haven't dropped at all. They get better every day. And so do my sales. Only when the cancellation isn't mutual and initiated by the buyer, it affects your rankings negtively.
How do opened disputes on the buyer's side affect your rankings?

4) What you said about leaving feedback for the buyer is true. Sellers are disadvantaged in this area. You learn to hone your persuasion and customer service skills to deal with this, and you turn a disadvantage into gold. I admit it takes a hell of a lot of patience.
Agreed.

5) Fiverrs takes 20% because they provide the platform, do the marketing and a hell lot of other staff that you would have to do if you were on your own. It's not the best case scenario, but a fair exchange.
Well, this is a matter of personal taste. Yes, they provide a great platform, but 20% is too much for the pitfalls in my view.

With all that said, nothing is perfect. You just have to find what suits you the most.
On a side note: have you ever considered moving away from Fiverr? Are you serving clients outside of Fiverr? If not, why?
 

Frankie Relax

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You say: "You should have at least 2 of everything"
MJ says: "Monogamy is better than polygamy"

It's fun to see how opinions of successful entrepreneurs - sometimes - can differ so much from each other...
 

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Fantastic post. Made me realize I'm too soft with the people I work with. Also, that's likely a biz I would start if I had to come up with plan B. Reps transfered
 

BrooklynHustle

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It was longer than the forum's limit and I had to break it down into 2 parts. I hope that's not a problem.

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THE Tragic Mistake I Made That Almost Ruined The Whole Thing (And How To Avoid It)

As with any business you start, you will make mistakes.

You can't avoid making mistakes. You aren't the God. You don't know everything and can't predict everything.

However, what matters is 1) to get back on track as soon as possible and 2) to predict what could possibly happen before it does.

Learn from my mistake, and don't do what I did.

What was my mistake?

I became incredibly complacent.

As soon as I had my first guy working for me, I thought I had succeeded. The first 3-4 days, I didn’t work at all.

After all, I had the freedom to do anything I wanted. Someone else would do the hard work and money would keep coming in, right?

Well, after 20-25 days, that someone told me that he couldn't handle the volume of orders I was sending to him. He told me he could only do HALF of what he was doing before.

I was left flabbergasted.

I had to go back to work and help him with the orders for a couple of days. It only took me 2-3 hours of my time, which wasn't so much.

But, it slowed me down. I had other things to take care of. My schedule was suddenly messed up.

I lost myself in the freedom I have won, thinking that everything would work automatically from now on. That I would just watch the money coming in.

And I couldn't be more wrong.

I paid the price by missing a very important deal I was working on.

These 2-3 hours for a couple of days cost me a lot of money I could have earned if everything has gone as I have planned.

I forgot one of the most important laws of nature. That things change fast.

Things were changing and I remained static.

Never, ever remain static. You will have to pay for it sooner or later.

Never become complacent with your success. You should always be hustling for more.

So, what should I have done to avoid this disaster?

I had no other choice than finishing the remaining orders for my Fiverr customers.

If I cancelled them, I wouldn't only lose money, but this action would hurt my reputation.

What should I have done?

I should have found a back-up guy from the beginning.

I should have thought that something might happen to my one and only worker.

He could get terribly sick. He could have a car accident. Whatever, it doesn't matter.

If for any reason he couldn't work, what would I be left with?

Angry customers on Fiverr, asking for refunds, posting negative reviews and losing their trust on my service.

But I was too busy enjoying the extra free time I have earned, that I forgot to think rationally.

Key Takeaway: You should always be prepared for shit to happen. Things change fast. If you don't predict the changes, you will pay for it.

And all this brings us to the next, super important lesson.

The Only 1 Rule You Need To Follow To Eliminate 90% Of Your Trouble In Business

It's funny.

A couple of weeks before all this happened, Victor Pride recommended me to read a book called "Ruthless Management" by Dan. S. Kennedy.

I picked the book immediately (I always act on the advice I am given from successful people) and started reading it.

image-5.png


One thing that really stuck in my mind was a rule Kennedy says you MUST follow in business and life.

The rule was:

One is the worst number. Never have just one. Always have two of something.

Here is exactly what he says:

The worst number in business is one. One of just about anything is a bad thing.

In my little home office, where I work under deadline pressure as an advertising copywriter, I do not have one Mac. I have three.

Why?

So when Mac #1 freezes up, crashes, or requires an exorcism, I can move what I'm working on and urgently need to print out before the day's FedEx deadline to Mac #2.

And in case Mac #2 has indigestion or PMS or leprosy that day, I have Mac keep them in different rooms to prevent contagion. My Mac is my employee.

If Mac were a living, breathing human employee who, say, printed what I wrote in booklets on a printing press, I'd want at least two of those Macs and two printing presses. NEVER one.

Do you see his point?

The funny thing is I read that. I had that in my mind. Yet, I finally experienced what he said, first-hand.

Now I can personally vouch with pride that his advice was more than correct!

However, it would be 10x better if I couldn't vouch for it. It would be 10x better if I have simply followed it.

Fortunately, I have learned from my mistake.

Here is how I fixed it and started following "The rule of one":

For each service I sell, I now have two guys working on it.

Some of them work on multiple services. It doesn't matter. What matters to me is to have two people who can do the same job.

However, I put in some extra effort and did more than that to ensure the prosperity of my business.

I took just 10 minutes to write and post an ad on a site like Craigslist.

Immediately after the add was published, I received dozens of messages from applicants interested in the positions I was offering.

image-2.png

(FYI, the word «ΒΙΟΓΡΑΦΙΚΟ» means “Biography” and is the Greek translation of CV.)

I even had to shut down the ad in less than 24 hours because I was getting too many applications!

Afterwards, I took 3 more minutes to thank everyone for applying. I told them that I will check out their CV and will contact them anytime in the future that the position is open.

(I only picked one of them - I didn't need more)

What happened now?

I have two guys responsible for each of my services. If one of them leaves or can't work for a day, I will have another one to handle the whole work.

Also, if one of them leaves permanently, I have 3 dozen of CV's in my inbox.

I can contact some of these people and quickly find a replacement.

One final safety measure that I have taken is that I ask my employees to sign an agreement. If they want to leave, they should notify me 2 weeks before the day they stop working.

No complacency any more.

Everything in your life changes. If you don't adjust yourself and try to foresee things before they happen - you are screwed.

Key Takeaways: The worst number in business and life is one. Never remain static. Always be hustling for more.

How To Deal With Your Employes Even If They Are Much Older Than You:

One of my employees is 42.

That man could be my father. He has a wife, a family and kids close to my age.

In common terms, I am his "boss". I give him the work and pay him at the end of each month.

I have to admit that when I started conducting interviews to find my employees, I felt intimidated talking to people older than me.

It was like I was interviewing my father or something like that. It felt uncomfortable.

Also, I felt intimidated when I started to deal with accountants and lawyers. (If you are a young entrepreneur, you will probably experience this.)

What I found out is that it's all in your mind. It's just your perception of life. And if you want, you can change it.

If you are in your 20’s and feel the same way I did, then what I will tell you is going to help you a lot.

It's all about your self-image.

We have been conditioned to believe that success is something that depends solely on your age or experience in life.

For instance, let's take the job of the waiter. Mark could say that he has 10 years of experience and he should be paid more than John who has only 2.

However, John gets more work done, hustles more and serves the customers better than Mark.

Why should Mark be paid more for doing less?

No logical reason.

Anyway, John feels intimidated in front of Mark.

He gets paid less even if he does more. When he is around Mark, he feels intimidated, angry or whatever because he is being treated “unfairly.”

Here is what I want to say:

Sometimes, young guys think they are of less value just because they are younger.

That's not always true.

In the same way - when I started meeting lawyers and accountants who were 10-20 years older than me - I felt like I was of less value.

There are four things that helped me deal with that.

1. Power Posing

Your body language affects the way you feel about yourself.

In essence, taking specific poses called "power poses" can affect your brain's state and push your body to produce testosterone while also lowering cortisol (the stress hormone).

I could talk about this for hours, but to save you time I will only ask you to Amy Cuddy's Ted Talk.

Amy Cuddy, a social psychologist, has worked many years on that and this 20 minute Ted Talk will get you through the basics.

2. Building Your Physique

In a world where most people neglect their physical appearance, taking care of your body is one of the best things you could do to improve your self-image.

It instantly boosts your confidence, self-esteem and makes you feel more self-assured.


image-1.jpg

Believe me, the guy on the right has more confidence than the guy on the left ever had.

3. Dressing Sharp

I used to dress like shit in the past.

I gradually started to improve it, but only fully understood the importance of dressing sharp when I heard about the Halo Effect.

The way you dress hugely affects how people behave around you. This is called the Halo Effect. You can’t go to a high-end lawyer and be dressed in athletic pants and trainers.

I like to do 3 things to improve my style.

1. I go to Instagram and search for the tag [HASHTAG]#menstyle[/HASHTAG] or [HASHTAG]#style[/HASHTAG] or something like that. I get ideas on how men dress to impress.

2. I try to dress simple. The casual style will never disappoint you, especially if you have a great physique.

Take care of your appearance and dress as sharp as possible every day. It can make a huge difference in the way you feel.

4. Self-Talk

This tip is a little “cocky”. But it worked for me and it might as well work for you.

Feeling intimidated when working with people who have 2x your age is a self-imposed struggle.

You create it by the way you think. The 3 tips above can really help you change your self-image.

But even if you have the most incredible body, the most outstanding style and trick your brain with power poses - you could still fill intimidated in front of many people.

(Just imagine being in a room alone with someone like Donald Trump)

Even with guys like him, he could still control your thoughts and say: "FU, I am better than you".

I don't mean that you should disrespect the other party, tell him FU or start arguing about who is better.

Obviously, that’s not the point.

I mean that you should think yourself as “ Superior" - even if you are not yet or will never be.

No matter who you have to deal with.

If you are much younger, think about what you have done, that the other party hasn't done at your age.

Think about it multiple times. Think of at least one thing that makes you superior.

It doesn't matter if you are better at only this one thing and the other guy is better at 12 other things. You want to focus only on the one that you dwarf the other guy.

(If you can't think of anything, then you must probably work more to accomplish more.)

Again, don't tell them that you are better. Don't disrespect their power or authority. Don't argue.

All you want to do, is to manipulate your thoughts and convince yourself that you are not inferior just because you are younger.

In reality, you are not. Your brain is stupid though, and has been conditioned to think in another way.

Manipulate your brain. You are free to believe whatever you want.

Deal with others like you would deal with your little brother or best friend. You won’t feel intimidated by the age difference again.

Final Words: “Could This System Work For My Business?”

This question should be wandering in your mind from the moment you started reading, right?

So, it's time to answer it, because nothing of these matters if you don't apply it to your unique situation.

I believe that any of the above can be applied to almost any business.

Of course, there are businesses in which you can't outsource all the work you have to do.

You can't outsource everything, but there are things you can outsource.

If you want to make more money and have more free time, outsourcing is a must-use strategy.

As I said in the beginning, it's impossible to do everything on your own.

As Robert Greene says in the 48 Laws Of Power: "Put others to do the work, but take the credit".

You should think of ways to outsource as many tasks as possible in order to free yourself time. That's the point of having a business.

Freedom.

If you can't detach yourself from your business, then you don't have a business.

You have a J-O-B.

Your business should be able to operate and bring in money without putting your personal time into the financial equation.

Also, you should be able to scale your business to increase your profits. Outsourcing helps with that too.

If I worked on my own on Fiverr, I could only deal with X customers a day.

If I have 10 employees, then I can deal with 10X customers = MORE MONEY!

Note: To understand the concepts of Time and Scale I would recommend reading the classic business book The Millionaire Fastlane .

Conclusion

Stop being afraid of outsourcing. I see many businessmen not moving forward because they are driven by that fear. They get trapped in their work schedule.

They end up working 14 hours a day and eventually lose their fire, give up or become miserable.

Outsource. Start from the things you don’t like much, so you can spend more of your time on the things that matter.

Lastly, remember to not have only one of something as one is the worst number.

Don’t become complacent after your first small success. Keep hustling!!!

And spend some time to design a system that will help you get the MOST value out of the time you invest.

Talk Soon,

Damian Pros
Great posts!!
 

MJ DeMarco

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You say: "You should have at least 2 of everything"
MJ says: "Monogamy is better than polygamy"

Apples and oranges.

I wonder if the OP would like to provide an update to this thread?
 
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D

Deleted20833

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Lack of delegation was the reason I had to close one of my online stores
I tried doing everything myself and burned out :(
 

Caramel

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There's one thing I don't understand about OP's way of delegating and I'd love if someone could shed light on it.

I'm assuming these employees had some kind of skill(set) that enabled them to fulfill an order. What would keep these employees from just starting up a Fiverr account themselves?

OP himself said (earlier in this thread) that Fiverr deals with all the marketing etc, so what exactly is his role in all of this besides some short customer communication? That makes him seem like a very unneccesary middle-man.
 
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Merging Left

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There's one thing I don't understand about OP's way of delegating and I'd love if someone could shed light on it.

I'm assuming these employees had some kind of skill(set) that enabled them to fulfill an order. What would keep these employees from just starting up a Fiverr account themselves?

OP himself said (earlier in this thread) that Fiverr deals with all the marketing etc, so what exactly is his role in all of this besides some short customer communication? That makes him seem like a very unneccesary middle-man.
The short answer is that some people prefer to be employees or don't know there are other options.
 

Caramel

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The short answer is that some people prefer to be employees or don't know there are other options.

Yeah but they're "technically" still freelancing, besides the need to search their own customers. Considering OP paid them job to job, I think?

I get what you mean, but I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around it.
 

Merging Left

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Yeah but they're "technically" still freelancing, besides the need to search their own customers. Considering OP paid them job to job, I think?

I get what you mean, but I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around it.
The definition of "freelance" on Google is: "working for different companies at different times rather than being permanently employed by one company."

With this in mind, are his employees still technically freelancing? I guess it depends on what else they do with their time.

If you really want to explore this, let's think about what prevents OP's employees from starting their own Fiverr account and competing with him. NOTHING. Absolutely nothing is stopping them from making more money doing exactly what they're currently doing. The only things preventing them are their own mental barriers and self-limiting beliefs. They don't think they can get customers. They don't think they're good enough to advertise their skills. They don't know that it's an option to them. Blah blah blah.

Now, let's explore the value that OP offers to both his customers AND his employees...
1) The offer to his customers is obvious. He provides a service that they're happy to pay for (again and again and again). The customer is completely indifferent to whether he has employees or not.
2) The offer to his employees is consistent, sustainable work and pay. He aggregates their work, sends it to them in a tidy little package, explains exactly what he needs from them, and pays them when it's done. Without fail.

Why do companies have managers? It's the lower-level employees doing all the work, right? The managers are kind of like middle-men between the executives and the employees (for lack of a better term). WRONG. The manager gets paid to delegate. Their job is literally to keep the machine running efficiently and orderly. People get paid a LOT of money to delegate. It's an invaluable skill, especially in entrepreneurship.
 
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instafamous

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op this is truly fascinating.
but * how * did you get customers ?

did you have your own fiverr account where you offered services ?

and then once you got orders then outsource to other fiverr sellers ?
following.
 

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op this is truly fascinating.
but * how * did you get customers ?

did you have your own fiverr account where you offered services ?

and then once you got orders then outsource to other fiverr sellers ?
following.

Well I doubt he would get business on fiverr without actually having an account on fiverr...
 

Damian Pros

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op this is truly fascinating.
but * how * did you get customers ?

did you have your own fiverr account where you offered services ?

and then once you got orders then outsource to other fiverr sellers ?
following.

I do not outsource to other sellers. Only have in-house staff that I meet and interview in person.

How do you get customers? Well, that can get extensive. There is no one line answer. Will create a resource guide about it in the future.
 
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Damian Pros

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If you really want to explore this, let's think about what prevents OP's employees from starting their own Fiverr account and competing with him. NOTHING. Absolutely nothing is stopping them from making more money doing exactly what they're currently doing. The only things preventing them are their own mental barriers and self-limiting beliefs. They don't think they can get customers. They don't think they're good enough to advertise their skills. They don't know that it's an option to them. Blah blah blah.

No.

It may have little to do with own mental barriers or self limiting beliefs.

Don't think that because it's on Fiverr, it gets so much easier and simpler than running any other kind of business.

A sales clerk wouldn't easily leave the department store to start their own. Start-up capital requirements aside, they lack other kinds of skillsets and business knowledge that would be fundamental for their success.

Even on Fiverr, where essentially entry requirements are abysmal, they would not be able to do it on their own, at least not as successfully as I am doing it. Plus, they would most likely be crushed by competing against me.

Another important variable is the uncertainty of striking out on their own, versus the certainty they have working with me.

Do they really want to abolish the safety of a good paying job, betray my trust and go against me?

Most of them, I built em up from scratch. They go against me, believe me, I won't forget. They are by no means imprisoned to working for me forever. I will be the first to advise them and help them if they want to do something else. But if they directly go to compete against me, I will crush them.
 

Damian Pros

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OP himself said (earlier in this thread) that Fiverr deals with all the marketing etc, so what exactly is his role in all of this besides some short customer communication? That makes him seem like a very unneccesary middle-man.

Without a knowledgeable and skilled individual making essential corporate decisions, managing the overall operations and resources and doing the marketing/branding, any company would fall into decay.

All the other company members would be like chickens running with their feet between their legs.
 

Damian Pros

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Delegation... why is it so scary?

Some explanations among the many:

1) New skillset you've got to learn. People are resistant to change.

2) Fear. What if they screw up? What if they harm my reputation.

3) Requires major systemization, otherwise you will spend more time managing those to whom you delegate than you would spend working on it yourself, which in a sense negates the purpose of delegating. I am overgeneralizing of course, because it depends on the kind of task you delegate, but generally systemization is essential.
 
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Damian Pros

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You say: "You should have at least 2 of everything"
MJ says: "Monogamy is better than polygamy"

It's fun to see how opinions of successful entrepreneurs - sometimes - can differ so much from each other...

Depends on the context to which the above advice is applied.

Under certain circumstances, one of the two may be wrong. Like the billionaire Charlie Munger said: "to the man with the hammer, every problem is a nail".

You have to use your critical judgement and decide the tool that's right for the particular set of circumstances you are faced against.
 

Damian Pros

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@Damian Pros would like to know the answer to this as well

Reasonable concern.

Fiverr prohibits you from offering the same services outside. They have to be exclusively on Fiverr.

Other services? Sure.

I talked about this when I got interviewed for an article at the world class Entrepreneur Magazine.

I am grabbing the opportunity and posting the article here: How to Use Fiverr and Skyrocket Your Startup's Growth

You may also want to look for my interviews and featured articles on Forbes, Huffington Post and INC. as well. They might provide helpful insights for your entrepreneurial journey.
 
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Damian Pros

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I wonder if the OP would like to provide an update to this thread?

I try to answer whenever I can, but I am very busy.

Running 3 businesses at 21, launching a book, having a decent social life, building your personal brand, traveling, learning dancing, english, martial arts, going to the gym + a dozen other things I am doing at the moment, puts me on a very tight schedule.

I appreciate the patience of all of you. It may take me days, weeks or months to respond. You may want to follow me on Instagram and Twitter where I am active daily, if you have an urgent question or something else I can help with.
 

Damian Pros

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I try to answer whenever I can, but I am very busy.

Oh by the way, this article that just dropped on Victor Pride's Bold and Determined gives a sort of a progress upgrade: How to Start Your Journey of a Thousand Long Miles

Also has great insight too, and I would suggest that all you entrepreneurs read it. The underlying message of that article is a fundamental of business success in my opinion. So many don't get it.
 

Damian Pros

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Some explanations among the many:

1) New skillset you've got to learn. People are resistant to change.

2) Fear. What if they screw up? What if they harm my reputation.

3) Requires major systemization, otherwise you will spend more time managing those to whom you delegate than you would spend working on it yourself, which in a sense negates the purpose of delegating. I am overgeneralizing of course, because it depends on the kind of task you delegate, but generally systemization is essential.

Also, you have to understand that responsibility is incredibly scary for most people. They are just not ready for dictating all decisions. And although most employees bitch about taking orders, it's far easier than giving them.

Hence why they'd rather be employees, rather than employers.
 
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@Damian Pros congratulations on the success of your businesses, especially at such an early age. Thanks for sharing your progress report, it makes interesting reading for anyone looking for inspiration.

It really is booming by the look of things. Might I ask, how much of the $40k / month goes towards expenses?

I'm very familiar with Upwork, and have been successfully outsourcing some of my client work to other freelancers.

Currently I'm at a crossroads, and Fiverr is something I'm looking at. At the low prices clients can find gigs at, I'm at a bit of a loss as to how to make it work other than through massive quantities.

If you have a moment, could you shed some light on these questions:

- even with premium pricing, and up-selling, is it purely a numbers game on Fiverr?
- what made you decide to employ people, rather than using freelancers?

(In return, send me a DM if I can help you with any Upwork related questions you might have.)
 

NewManRising

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Incredible post. Especially coming from someone your age. Thanks for all the tips and motivation.
 

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