What up all. Journal time - they keep me accountable to myself with the added social pressure of knowing people are reading it.
Quick background: when I turned 18 (8 years ago), I started playing online poker with a $100 deposit. I made enough to pay for 4 years of college at a UC school, and coached and invested in players. I quit poker in April 2010 after winning the 3rd tournament I'd ever played (mostly played cash games).
In 2010 I floundered a bit, chasing interests with full passion for about a month or so. I drew, surfed, drummed, etc. No real business aspirations per se.
In 2011 I began designing websites with WordPress, but soon got sick of it due to the tedium and fact that it was not a recurring revenue business. I learned how to market sites via SEO by building a couple of my own affiliate sites.
In 2012 I got more serious about the marketing consulting, and picked up a small but stable client roster. I started to learn about outsourcing, systemizing, and growth, but not enough to really see the business explode. I made money in 2012, but not much...not more than I would have made at a normal job in the field I graduated in (accounting). I also started working with a friend on his SaaS company that was already generating decent revenue and we were able to increase revenue for a bit before the entire business model started to become outdated.
In 2012 I also experimented with an offline business - growing and selling microgreens to restaurants. This was my first taste of cold selling, as well as physical products. I walked down the richest street in my city and tried to sell to restaurants...and landed the best one on the street. I produced microgreens for them for 6 months before they cancelled due to seasonality. In retrospect, the only thing that hampered me from growing this business was my own limiting beliefs, and the split focus as I was still doing marketing consulting.
In 2013 I continued working with the software startup, and then launched a small test business doing website audits that ended up getting traction. We took about 20 orders or so, with the final two being larger corporate audits that paid decently - but we were always doing all of the work.
Right now, this is what I have:
This year, I'm cutting down the amount of things I focus on and would like to make eCommerce happen. I've already picked out a niche, researched it and think that I can outperform the current players in nearly every regard, and have an expertise in the niche already.
This will be my progress journal. Thanks for reading!
Quick background: when I turned 18 (8 years ago), I started playing online poker with a $100 deposit. I made enough to pay for 4 years of college at a UC school, and coached and invested in players. I quit poker in April 2010 after winning the 3rd tournament I'd ever played (mostly played cash games).
In 2010 I floundered a bit, chasing interests with full passion for about a month or so. I drew, surfed, drummed, etc. No real business aspirations per se.
In 2011 I began designing websites with WordPress, but soon got sick of it due to the tedium and fact that it was not a recurring revenue business. I learned how to market sites via SEO by building a couple of my own affiliate sites.
In 2012 I got more serious about the marketing consulting, and picked up a small but stable client roster. I started to learn about outsourcing, systemizing, and growth, but not enough to really see the business explode. I made money in 2012, but not much...not more than I would have made at a normal job in the field I graduated in (accounting). I also started working with a friend on his SaaS company that was already generating decent revenue and we were able to increase revenue for a bit before the entire business model started to become outdated.
In 2012 I also experimented with an offline business - growing and selling microgreens to restaurants. This was my first taste of cold selling, as well as physical products. I walked down the richest street in my city and tried to sell to restaurants...and landed the best one on the street. I produced microgreens for them for 6 months before they cancelled due to seasonality. In retrospect, the only thing that hampered me from growing this business was my own limiting beliefs, and the split focus as I was still doing marketing consulting.
In 2013 I continued working with the software startup, and then launched a small test business doing website audits that ended up getting traction. We took about 20 orders or so, with the final two being larger corporate audits that paid decently - but we were always doing all of the work.
Right now, this is what I have:
- Dwindling marketing consulting business as I become less and less interested in doing this type of work. I'd rather do it for my own business, or turn the consulting into an agency, which could actually be a Fastlane strategy.
- 3 content websites that generate around $2,500/mo in income. I only own one of them outright, and the other two are joint ventures.
This year, I'm cutting down the amount of things I focus on and would like to make eCommerce happen. I've already picked out a niche, researched it and think that I can outperform the current players in nearly every regard, and have an expertise in the niche already.
This will be my progress journal. Thanks for reading!
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