KopyKidd's Road To The Fastlane

[KopyKidd]

I've been MIA from the forum for the past few months due to a series of rather unfortunate events that:
1. would take too long to describe, and
2. no one really cares about.

Long story short, I wound up bringing in 2013 broke, laptop-less, cell phone-less and idea-less, with about $750 in debt from a credit card I didn't even know I had until two days ago... And my gerbil died on New Year's Day.

Lovely.

No time to cry, though. Even though my life has swallowed more balls than Ms Pac-Man lately, I've still managed to make progress from nothing.

Here's what I've done in the past month and a half:

Got A Job
While I love working from home, I need a taste of the real working world. I'm 18 and still wet behind the ears. I've never had a real job, and I've never really learned the value of hard work. No time like the present, right?
I know I won't be able to truly appreciate the Fastlane without experiencing just how crappy the Slowlane can be.
When I reach success, I don't ever want to make the mistake of taking it for granted.
I'm currently working for a whopping 8 bucks an hour at Payless and saving every nickel, dime, and penny I get.


Assloads of Volunteer Work
See #1. Lately, if I'm not working, I'm volunteering at a local mom-and-pop business.
While I do enjoy the warm, fuzzy feeling I get from helping people in my community, that's not why I'm doing it. I'm really building a network of local business owners that I'll have in my Rolodex when I start my own business.
If working for free and kissing a few butts every now and then will get me where I wanna be, so be it.


Birddogging
I've always wanted to get into real estate, but I don't have the cash or the know-how right now. I figured birdogging would be a good place to start.
I got in contact with a bunch of local real estate investors (those "we buy houses" signs are goldmines) and asked if they were looking for birddogs. Some of them said yes, and I chose the guy with the best reputation and made a deal with him: my birdogging in exchange for mentoring and $500 for every profitable property I find him. He agreed. As long as I don't take up too much of his time, I can come to him with anything real-estate related.

I've been hunting for vacant properties on weekends and sending them to this guy for the past two weeks (I can usually find about 100+ properties on an average weekend). Nothing's paid off yet, but he's already taught me some great stuff. I'm definitely gonna keep at it.


Reading a Ridonkulous Amount of Books
Pretty self-explanatory. Me and the staff at my library are on a first name basis now.


I've got a pretty full plate nowadays, but I'm still restless... Like I'm not doing enough.

Could I be doing more? I'd appreciate any opinions/advice.

 

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[DennisD]

I think if you did more, you'd burn out and wouldn't accomplish much. Do you have a solid direction?

If you want to do real estate, are the mom+pop shop contacts necessary?
If you want to become a marketer or own a franchised retail shop, is the real estate experience necessary?

A few years ago, I tried doing too many things at once.
-worked a fulltime telemarketing job
-ran a popular blog
-wrote/sold infoproducts
-wrote freelance articles
-designed + sold clothing

My justification was that I was 'learning marketing.' However, marketing's too big a target. Everything was about 1/3rd there. I was doing poorly in many departments. I bet you could multiply your efficiency by picking a definite end goal and then choosing activities based on that.

Do you want to go into real estate? Why not get your real estate license? Many brokers will train you and pay for you to take the test if you show promise. You'll be working in an environment you want to immerse yourself in long-term, AND as a bonus you get to practice selling. I imagine you'd learn a lot more by focusing your efforts to a specific niche or skillet.

Keep reading. What you read doesn't need to be niche related... I believe all non-fiction integrates (books about networking, body language, investment strategies will give you innovative ideas related to your chosen industry)

 

[St.Alpine]

Good read KopyKidd as always. You sure know how to write an appealing text.

To your situation:

I would focus on learning the stuff problem orientated
and would only concentrate my efforts on one area.

A.
When I started out late last year, I just concentrated on one thing.
That was building my online shop and everything
what had to do with it.
I was able to create a great connection with the
manufacturer in China, build the entire website and sold products besides
the web-business. I think I could only push it that far, because I just concentrated
on this one thing.

B.
In my opinion, learning problem related is more efficient.
I've learned everything on the fly last year building my website (havn't
written about it, because I was to busy building it)
when problems occurred.

I also once tried to learn programming by reading books.
It didn't work.
Our rate of remembering the stuff from reading is
20% percent, whereas the rate when you apply what you've
learned is 70%.
Why do I know these numbers?
I teach this stuff the people in our first aid courses.

I like your idea of bird dogging.
In my area, we don't have many RE investors because
it's not a very profitable area (rural, minimum wages, funny wether,
young kids are moving to the cities).
But I'll find me one when I move to Stuttgart (big german city) in october.

 

[KopyKidd]

First of all, thanks. You guys kick three different kinds of a$$. :urock2:

I mainly want to do real estate right now, since it's a great way to earn passive income and the market is ripe in my area, but I wanna keep the mom & pop contacts in my back pocket for the future. I have a product idea that I've been holding on to for a while, but don't have the cash to develop. This product falls in the category of the establishments I've been volunteering at (health food stores, small fitness centers/health clubs, etc), and I want to make sure I have a few places to test this product once it's ready.

But before I can even think about working on that product, I need cash flow. I think real estate is the best way to get it.

Through my own research, along with what I've learned from my mentor, I've found that rental property/rooming houses are the best way to go in today's real estate market, especially in my area (I live in the DC metro area). I've tested it myself by posting ads on craigslist for rooms/houses for rent. I tested various price points, amenities, and locations to see what got the best responses.
With every phone call/email I got, I told them the house (or the last room) had just become unavailable, but I'd take their contact information, put them on my wait list, and call them if and when I had any vacancies. I have 112 people on that list so far, and about 75 of those people were inquiring about rooms, not houses.

So I know that I want to own a rooming house. What I don't know is how the hell I'm gonna do it.

Why not get your real estate license?

Great idea. I'll get that ball rolling today.

 

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[St.Alpine]

Have you thought about getting your feet wet with mobile homes? I am looking into that right now. GAlexander had some respectable success with it.
It doesn't require much cash and the risk is reasonable.
Here in Germany it doesn't look like mobile homes are widly established unfortunatly.
Speed ++ for making shit happen

 

[KopyKidd]

So here's what's been happening since my last post.


My Mom Sucks, And So Does My Checking History

I tried to open a bank account a day after my last post and found out that I owe $1,900 to a bank that I've never even had an account with.

Thanks, ChexSystems.

Add that to my credit card debt, and I'm over $2,650 in debt.

Then I find out that my mother is the cause of it all.

I'm not gonna go into details, but long story short, she managed to screw up my checking account history before I turned 18, and now I have to deal with it on my own. Wasn't that sweet of her? However, she's paying on "my" credit card, and my credit score is 678 and improving, so that's... something.

While this is a bit of setback, I'm not too down about it.

I was able to work around it and open a business checking account with my LLC (Oh yeah, by the way, I formed an LLC).

I'll get into that in a bit.

In other news, I dropped all of the volunteer work I was doing and decided to go balls to the wall with real estate. While I've decided not to go after my real estate license (I don't think I need it where I'm going), I've taken some pretty big steps, if I do say so myself.

F*ck You, I Own Myself

After consulting with my REI mentor, who has taken quite a shine to me, I decided to do real estate under an LLC instead of going it as a sole proprietor. Not only because my credit and checking history suck a$$, but because rentals and rooming houses leave a lot of space for lawsuits.

I want as little liability as possible.

My a$$-kickingly awesome boyfriend gave me $150, drove me up to Baltimore, and my company was formed in a little under 4 hours.

My baby, BCJ Properties Ltd., is a little over 5 days old now.


My First Birdogging Payday

My mentor (let's just call him Bob) was able to flip one of the properties I sent him.

As I mentioned earlier, he's decided that he likes me, so he's taking a much more hands-on approach with me than either of us initially thought he would. He showed me everything he did with the deal, from looking up the property records to tracking down the owner to finding buyers.

The owner was easy to track down and the deal was done REALLY quickly. I got my $500 check and learned a ton of great shit. Bob's also making moves on several of the other properties I've sent his way. If things go well, I'll have the down payment for my first investment before I know it.

Also, this was an assignment deal. Its done by securing and assigning purchase contracts on properties for a fee. Not a bad way to supplement income from rentals if you have vacancies or shitty tenants.

I've decided to play copycat.

I'm gonna get my feet wet with assignment deals while continuing with my birdogging, since the two go hand in hand, until I have enough money to buy my first property, which will probably be a Fannie Mae/FHA property (since my credit's good enough and the down payment requirements are low).

While $500 isn't much and I'm still working my crappy job at Payless (not to mention the $1,900 cloud hanging over my head), I'm more excited and motivated than I've ever been.

I've gotten a little taste of what my future could be... Now I'm hungrier than ever.

Comments, opinions, and other stuff would be greatly appreciated.

 

[andviv]

I just found out this thread, very interesting for two reasons:

1. You know copy and have experience in marketing and it seems like you can sell. This talent takes time to refine.

2. Real Estate is not that passive

So I am surprised you are following this route.

It is very cool to see you doing this at such a young age. I envy you.

Also, you mentioned Baltimore, so I take it you live in the suburbs in MD? Just so you know, a couple of times a year we in Northern VA get together with people from the forum just to talk and put faces to the usernames. Pay attention to that and you are welcome to join us for the next one.

Oh, and I agree, you don't need the Realtor license, however...

What if you look for a job in a mortgage broker or RE broker office?

Even if your job is just to get them coffee and make copies, starting in the mail room, whatever, you will be in the industry, will make great contacts and will get to learn a lot from people that make a living out of this business.

Another silly suggestion, and I read that you are not planning to spend time with charities, but what if you get in touch with the local Habitat for Humanity and see if you can get to work with them in building a couple of houses?

You will get a great amount of information and knowledge about what it takes to build and rehab a house, and this is great knowledge to have when evaluating deals.

Please do keep posting progress, ok?

 

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[JAJT]

Dude - if I can offer one small piece of advice.

Cut your mother out of everything to do with your finances TODAY. Cancel the credit card, close the bank accounts, kick her off anything with your name on it.

You shouldn't care if she screams and yells and throws dishes against the wall - get out of that shit. If she wants your assistance she has to ASK, and then you have to AGREE. She can not have free-and-clear access to your finances in any way.

Get your own card, your own bank account, call up anywhere with your mother's name on it and kick her off the accounts. If you have to hire someone to figure out if she has other, hidden accounts - do it.

I might even go so far as to open up a PO Box and have all personal mail delivered there instead so she can't intercept it.

That's behavior is not cool.

 

[KopyKidd]

You know copy and have experience in marketing and it seems like you can sell...
... So I am surprised you are following this route.

Actually, I changed routes a couple weeks ago
I was doing due diligence on a property I'd found, bored to tears, when I had an epiphany...

Why the HELL am I getting into a business that I-
1. Know NOTHING about.
2. Takes a lot of time to learn
3. Takes a lot of capital to make any REAL money with
4. Isn't passive
5. Bores me to tears

ESPECIALLY when I already have a skill that's leverageable and can make me a rich a lot faster?

It was like my common sense bitch-slapped me and said, "Wait a minute... I'm a freakin' COPYWRITER!"

So here's my new idea...

Sell ready-made marketing systems (ads, flyers, postcards, sales letters, and other direct response marketing materials) to professionals in a niche of my choosing. I'm probably going to sell them electronically (higher margins & lower costs for both me and my customers).

I'm going with the health & fitness niche, selling money-making tools to personal trainers, gym owners, fitness instructors, nutritionists, and fitness coaches.

I got the idea from THIS thread on warrior forum, and decided to play copycat.

It's great because I'll be developing a money-making SYSTEM, not just a business. I can rinse and repeat this system in any niche/industry and make myself rich over and over again.

I've been so busy creating materials and building a buyers list that I haven't had much time to update.

@JAJT, already done.
My mom officially has nothing to do with ANY of my financial life. The card's been canceled, as have the bank accounts she opened, I'm disputing every penny of every charge she's made in my name, and I have all of my financial statements sent to me electronically.

 

[infinitus]

Good on you man, keep at it..Id throw in start going onto a Raw food diet to boost your energy, exercise daily, and buy yourself a cheap mp3 player and listen to the best educational audio books around. Use your intuition and gut to hone in on your wealth personality, your strengths and passions and talents you can turn into market value, and create a goal, and turn it into a basic self hypnosis audio which you listen to at least 1x a day best before sleep. I like where you are going with the marketing idea there is tons of room for bringing value and innovation in marketing, as there are tons of backward ideas in the industry

 

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[DennisD]

Great freakin news. I thought it was weird you were taking such a strange direction.

Keep us informed, "man"

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk 2

 

[CEBenz]

Good read. For some reason, I enjoy your writing style.

I know what you mean about real estate. It fascinates me but at the same time, it's about as riveting to watch as a sloth. I do still see a value to it.

I think the rooming house would have driven you bat shit crazy. I usually rent out 2 rooms at my place but now I'm just done with it. After the 2 current roomies are out, I'm not renting rooms ever again. The people that want to rent rooms are usually pretty much broke. Next time, the whole place will be rented out(after management fees, I should still $300-400/mth positive cash flow off of it.

Good luck! I look forward to reading more.

 

[Runum]

KopyKidd, it seems to me that if you recently turned 18 then all of the bad banking stuff would have happened when you were 17 and a minor. You may not be liable for those bad banking transactions due to your age. May be an angle to discuss with the bank or the state Attorney General.

Good luck.

 

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[KopyKidd]

Thanks everyone.

ALSO, I forgot to mention that I got fired earlier this week... Fine by me.

Luckily, I saved up enough money to get things going with my company, so this business is my full-time-plus-overtime job now.

I've been spending a lot of time on health and fitness forums, learning the space and studying the culture of the health and fitness industry, and I've found a few widespread problems in the health & fitness industry that I could easily capitalize off of:

1. Non-franchised gym owners have difficulty selling their memberships.

2. Personal trainers have difficulty selling themselves.

3. Fitness instructors have difficulty selling themselves to hiring gyms.

I smell money :groove:

 

[andviv]

1. Non-franchised gym owners have difficulty selling their memberships.

2. Personal trainers have difficulty selling themselves.

3. Fitness instructors have difficulty selling themselves to hiring gyms.

Have you researched how this works?

When I go to my gym, I see some personal trainers but I have to hire them directly, it does not seem to involve the gym other than they being allowed to be there. It sounds like a captive market to me, as I can't choose my trainers, it is who happens to be there at the time.

 

[KopyKidd]

Have you researched how this works?

I've started talking to personal trainers on bodybuilding/fitness forums, asking them questions and finding how they find/keep clients and what problems they have. I'm gaining a lot of valuable insight.

In doing this, I'm also building a network of people that'll be open to testing/buying my products once I launch.

When I go to my gym, I see some personal trainers but I have to hire them directly, it does not seem to involve the gym other than they being allowed to be there. It sounds like a captive market to me, as I can't choose my trainers, it is who happens to be there at the time.

In this scenario, it is a captive market.

I don't think my customer should be looking to sell his services to people who are already in gyms (especially large-chain gyms), as most people who go to gyms either-

A. Think they've already got things figured out, even if they don't.
B. Would take it upon themselves to find a trainer outside of the gym, if they're committed.
C. Are either considering quitting their membership (or already have), if they don't have what it takes.

Trainers don't want these kind of people (the I-think-I-know-what-I'm-doing-so-I-don't-really-need-you guy, the sometimes-I'm-dedicated-sometimes-I'm-not guy, or the book-one-session-and-never-call-again guy) as clients.

They need clients that'll be on board for the long-run and bring them steady income.

And partnering with a large gym can suck up half your profit, and you'd still have to pay liability insurance.

Trying to find PT clients in a gym would either be fruitless, or produce rotten fruit.

I say, "Go where the fat folks are".

-Daycares (Moms need to lose that baby weight, right?)
-Video Game Stores (Avid gamers are usually either stick-thin or fat)
-Bridal Shops (Bride-to-be's want to look their best on their day)
-Health Food Stores (People that shop there are usually health nuts anyway)
-Restaurants/Bakeries/Ice Cream Shops/Etc (Pretty self-explanatory)

These places can be GOLDMINES for personal trainers.

Talk to the owners of these establishments get permission to hand out postcards and flyers.

-Have a "Bridal Bootcamp" plan for brides-to-be.
-Have a "Mommy Makeover" program for those busy moms.
-Have a "Gamer to Gainer" program for those lazy gamers.

And use my ready-made flyers/postcards to spread the word.

 

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[andviv]

I like where you are going with this. Please keep the updates coming.

 

[DennisD]

A while back Sears was trying to break into the fitness industry. They were working on creating a social network which would allow personal trainers to work with clients via streaming video classes over the net.

I was tasked with all the video stuff. A few seconds is actually the first thing on the reel (the guy working out + the titles immediately following)
[video=youtube;Fl4RfZeavpA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fl4RfZeavpA&feature=youtu.be[/video]

I DON'T think you're going in the right direction by looking for places where "fat" people are. Yes fat people have the biggest NEED for a personal trainer, but they don't have the biggest WANT.

Are game shops really a 'goldmine' for a fitness instructor? Not unless the fitness instructor has a side business selling cookies. The best are people who enjoy being active and just need the push. The gamer demo enjoys playing games, and surfing the internet.

I think you're going in the right direction by looking to moms. I wasn't tasked with doing the sears research, but I did see first hand the type of people we were targeting. I'd suggest taking a closer look at these groups:

1) People with mid-term goals. People looking to get in-shape for some one-off event. Examples include people looking to get fit in time to look good in a swimsuit, a wedding, a high-school reunion, etc.

2) People who enjoy being active but don't have the time/guidance/motivation to self direct themselves.. Moms are a good example. They have SO much on their mind already, it's easy for them to just do what the trainer tells them to do. No crafting their own workout, no figuring out how many calories their burning, no choosing which workout tapes to buy next.

3) Single men who are lonely and want to attract a woman.

Just looking at these groups and what they want, the copy practically writes itself.

 

[KopyKidd]

Yes fat people have the biggest NEED for a personal trainer, but they don't have the biggest WANT.

Correction: Go where the MOTIVATED people are.
Thanks for the insight.

 

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[Stu_Hefner]

Hey Kopy,
First of all congratulations with the real estate stuff! (even if it was short lived)

When I started reading this thread, I said to myself: "why the hell dont you just do what you're good at?" So i'm glad to see that the plot twisted the more I kept reading.

As a lot of people mention (and for good reason) you have a great writing style that captivates and draws the attention of your audience. You can easily market and offer copy services. Currently, im subscribed to an email newsletter by a brilliant copywriter. you remind me of him - plus the fact that you have just turned 18 makes it almost unreal to think about how far you can go with this.

If I can give some words of advice (my apologies if you mentioned this earlier; you'll have to excuse my memory this time) - look into creating some copywriting info products. You would build an awesome relationship with your prospects just on your skill alone.

You can even get hired for your services on odesk and freelancer. Some people/companies dont mind forking out the big bucks for high converting copy. Doing a few contracted gigs would always be helpful if you needed some extra money.

We both know how much copywriters can get paid for their sales letters. And heck, a majority of the internet marketing niche could use a lesson or three in proper copy that converts.

Edit: Nevermind. Just seen that WF thread you linked too. That is very fastlane. Go for it!

 

[KopyKidd]

So I've been working my a$$ off lately... Literally. (I've lost like 5 pounds, probably from forgetting to eat)

But enough bad jokes, let me update you guys on the goings on of my business.

I'm going to be providing marketing advice and ad templates/marketing tools for personal trainers through my website.
I'll expand my reach to other health/fitness professions if things go well.


In a nutshell, I'll be giving away:
- Marketing, copywriting, and salesmanship articles
- Downloadable New Client Packages (daily exercise/food journals, progress tracker and more)
- Downloadable forms (liability waivers, medical questionnaires, progress charts, etc.)

And I'll be selling:
- Downloadable Flyer/Postcard/Newspaper Ad/Brochure Templates
- Downloadable "Bootcamp In-A-Box" Packages
- Downloadable newsletter Templates
- Printed New Client Packages


I've been going balls to the wall (metaphorical balls, that is) with creating templates and content for the site, so I've got an assload of copy and "inventory" on my hard drives, ready to be posted and sold.

I also have a website, and I'll post the link for critiquing once I finish designing it (which will probably be within the next few weeks).

So yes, I've been a very busy young lady lately

I'm gonna start building some buzz through the fitness/bodybuilding forums I've been lurking on lately.

I could go to the personal trainer's subforums and find a few of the members that have the most rep power. Tell them about my company and my products, give them some samples, get a testimonial, and ask them to spread the word (on the forum or otherwise).

Worst case scenario: I've tested my product and got new contacts in my network.

I'm also considering-
1. Giving away a short ebook/e-report on salesmanship for personal trainers. I could have it written within a week, so it wouldn't be too much of a time investment.

2. Selling training equipment. Small stuff that I could import from China without paying out of the a$$ in shipping (fat calipers, resistance bands, and heart rate monitors).

 

[CommonCents]

Go hang out at, network at, exhibit at fitness competitions. Many of them are trying to market themselves in the industry at least on the side and need marketing help.

 

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[DennisD]

How's it coming?

 

[KopyKidd]

WARNING: This is going to be a depressing a$$ update.

I've been MIA again, and the events behind my MIA-ness are even more unfortunate than the first time.

Here's the story...

On March 22nd, I found out I was pregnant.

Was I scared shitless? Yes.
Was I more motivated than ever? Hell yes.

I started working even harder to get my business going, started contacting twice as many personal trainers, making twice as many postcards and flyers every day, you name it , I did it.

I wanted to get some pre-launch market testing done, so I went to some of the trainers in my rolodex and showed them my templates, asked them how much they'd pay someone to make a flyer like that for them... The response was great!
In a nutshell, I could charge $100 for just ONE of my templates and STILL be more-than-reasonably priced. I felt great.

My plans for my business were coming together, I was in the process of moving out of my mom's house and moving in with my boyfriend, and I was -happily- pregnant...

... And then I wasn't anymore.

I lost my baby on April 9th. I was 8 weeks along. Worst pain I've ever felt.

I went into a severe depression after that. Didn't care (or want to care) about anything. Didn't want to get out of bed, didn't want to leave the house, didn't want to eat, nothing. I didn't care about my business, didn't care about myself... Just didn't care anymore.

I wouldn't answer calls from anyone but my boyfriend, I slept all day when I could, ate only when I felt like I had to.

I lurked on the forum, replied to a few private messages, but not really interacting with anyone.

And then my boyfriend, being the incredible man he is, sent me Eric Thomas' "Pain is Temporary" speech.

Was I instantly "all better?" Nope.

But it was a push in the right direction.

I still have my depressed moments, but I've started letting my business be an outlet. Working on it has become therapy for me. The three weeks I spent in what I call my "depression coma" slowed things down considerably, but I'm still working at it and even more motivated than I've ever been.

I'll be keeping you guys posted on my progress.

 

[jon.a]

Yes that more than sucks, I know from experience.

My first wife and I lost our first also.

The doctors told us that the most probable reason for a miscarriage would be that there might have been something wrong with the baby.

I accepted that, it really helped thinking that it was natures way of protecting itself.
I think that rational helped my wife also. We tried not to dwell on the loss and went right back to trying to create our first baby.
We we're quickly blessed with a "perfect" son.

Also, with the few people that we spoke to about the miscarriage, we found out that it was much more common than we realized. It just rarely comes up in normal conversation.

When you're ready get back to work to create your perfect baby.

jon

 

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