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Wrong side of 40, new dad, time for a rapid lane change.

NickNack

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Hey folks, I’m Nick.

Per the subject header, I’m 41, a new dad, and feeling very much like I need to step things up on the income front,

We hadn’t planned things quite this way. My wife and I started trying for a family about 7 years ago. After three years of not much joy, we tried IVF, and after another three years, two miscarriages, and a LOT of money spent, we finally had one stick, only to find out at the 12 week ultrasound that he had a pretty significant congenital issue.

Yay...

On doctors advice we relocated interstate to be near the best hospital, and after a very dramatic birth, 67 days in the NICU, and a few near misses, we finally brought home a beautiful baby boy. He’s 5 months old today, doing great, and was worth every dollar spent, and every moment of terror and panic.

HOWEVER

Now the pragmatic world approaches. We don’t really have any financial reserve left. My wife has a great job, but she has had to take a lot more time off than we had planned. Our son’s prognosis is just fine, but he will need a bit more care in his early months/years. Also, a big contract that I’d been banking on to get us over the income shortfall has been delayed by months (and counting), and we’re starting to scrape dangerously close to the edge of our resources. I’d never really thought of us as a “sidewalk” household, but circumstances have kind of stripped away the illusion.

To be clear, I’m not looking for sympathy - we made decisions, we stand by them, and I wouldn’t trade my son for all the money in the world. But nevertheless I find myself in need of an income paradigm change, and pretty fast. During a recent trip back to the hospital for a followup I came across the Millionaire Fastlane , and it hit a nerve. So here I am!

WHERE I’M AT

I currently run a couple of small business.

One is a video production business servicing my local state market. Largely low-ish budget local TV commercials, some corporate videos etc. That’s my bread & butter income, and generates around AU$120K a year, split 50/50 with a business partner. It’s extremely variable from month to month (so very tricky to budget).

My other business is doing sound design & music for video, primarily for the one client (which is not a safe position!) This is the one that’s been delayed, and has laid bare the precariousness of my income situation. I wasn’t expecting the delay, and I didn’t have a backup.

THE PLAN

I’ve been planning out a productised service business based on a subset of my existing services, but given the urgency of current circumstances I’m putting that to the side for a month or three. My new priority is to hustle for short term income over and above my usual bread and butter. That means freelancing, so I’ll be dusting off my Upwork account and trying to put some of @SinisterLex ‘s teachings into action. I know freelancing isn’t really fastlane, but alas I’m just scratching to bring in dollars right now.

I hate that I’m in this position at 41. In my darker moments I get very angry with myself for wasting as much time as I have, and for letting us get this close to serious problems. I know we’ve had exceptional circumstances, but it’s still hard not to feel like I could have done things better.

Anyway... nice to be here. I’ve been reading a lot of threads, and there seem to be some pretty great people here. I’m looking forward to getting to know you all.

Nick
 
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RobD88

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Hey folks, I’m Nick.

Per the subject header, I’m 41, a new dad, and feeling very much like I need to step things up on the income front,

We hadn’t planned things quite this way. My wife and I started trying for a family about 7 years ago. After three years of not much joy, we tried IVF, and after another three years, two miscarriages, and a LOT of money spent, we finally had one stick, only to find out at the 12 week ultrasound that he had a pretty significant congenital issue.

Yay...

On doctors advice we relocated interstate to be near the best hospital, and after a very dramatic birth, 67 days in the NICU, and a few near misses, we finally brought home a beautiful baby boy. He’s 5 months old today, doing great, and was worth every dollar spent, and every moment of terror and panic.

HOWEVER

Now the pragmatic world approaches. We don’t really have any financial reserve left. My wife has a great job, but she has had to take a lot more time off than we had planned. Our son’s prognosis is just fine, but he will need a bit more care in his early months/years. Also, a big contract that I’d been banking on to get us over the income shortfall has been delayed by months (and counting), and we’re starting to scrape dangerously close to the edge of our resources. I’d never really thought of us as a “sidewalk” household, but circumstances have kind of stripped away the illusion.

To be clear, I’m not looking for sympathy - we made decisions, we stand by them, and I wouldn’t trade my son for all the money in the world. But nevertheless I find myself in need of an income paradigm change, and pretty fast. During a recent trip back to the hospital for a followup I came across the Millionaire Fastlane , and it hit a nerve. So here I am!

WHERE I’M AT

I currently run a couple of small business.

One is a video production business servicing my local state market. Largely low-ish budget local TV commercials, some corporate videos etc. That’s my bread & butter income, and generates around AU$120K a year, split 50/50 with a business partner. It’s extremely variable from month to month (so very tricky to budget).

My other business is doing sound design & music for video, primarily for the one client (which is not a safe position!) This is the one that’s been delayed, and has laid bare the precariousness of my income situation. I wasn’t expecting the delay, and I didn’t have a backup.

THE PLAN

I’ve been planning out a productised service business based on a subset of my existing services, but given the urgency of current circumstances I’m putting that to the side for a month or three. My new priority is to hustle for short term income over and above my usual bread and butter. That means freelancing, so I’ll be dusting off my Upwork account and trying to put some of @SinisterLex ‘s teachings into action. I know freelancing isn’t really fastlane, but alas I’m just scratching to bring in dollars right now.

I hate that I’m in this position at 41. In my darker moments I get very angry with myself for wasting as much time as I have, and for letting us get this close to serious problems. I know we’ve had exceptional circumstances, but it’s still hard not to feel like I could have done things better.

Anyway... nice to be here. I’ve been reading a lot of threads, and there seem to be some pretty great people here. I’m looking forward to getting to know you all.

Nick

@NickNack Welcome to the forum. Your story somewhat resonates with me. I found myself in a similar situation when I was 34 only as a single dad not knowing how I was going to raise a daughter alone. I wasted so much time trying to do the "right" thing through the slowlane.

Now at 47, with my daughter about to run off to college, I'm starting my fastlane journey. I feel your angst regarding the wasted time. If only I had known or found MJ's books sooner right? Well...several things I have come to learn on this forum:

  • No use worrying about the past. Drive forward and create the life you want.
  • You're never too old to start. More than one financial success started past the age of 40 and I plan to be one of them. You can too.
  • Most of the people on this forum are more than happy to help and if nothing else, cheer for you and your successes.

You have the enviable postion of already having your own business and the experience that brings. I wish you the best in putting that experience to work and hope to see stories of your successes and failures along the path to the fastlane.
 

c_morris

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I hate that I’m in this position at 41. In my darker moments I get very angry with myself for wasting as much time as I have, and for letting us get this close to serious problems. I know we’ve had exceptional circumstances, but it’s still hard not to feel like I could have done things better.

Welcome.

You can't change your past, but you can impact your future.
 

p0stscript

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Welcome @NickNack
It's amazing how focused and determined you become when you have a kid, especially your first. I was unemployed when we had our son so I mowed pub lawns and did their gardens, helped put up fencing at a local farm and basically did anything to bring in the money (I unfortunately then followed convention and got a job) - point being the birth of our son focused me on opportunities and solutions, as I'm sure the birth of your son will do with you.

As @RobD88 says
You have the enviable postion of already having your own business and the experience that brings.
like him "I wish you the best in putting that experience to work" and will follow your progress with interest.
 
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Iammelissamoore

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Nick,

Welcome aboard, it is human of us to dwell on the past and regret the things we should have done but didn't, don't beat yourself up about it, now, the best thing about reflecting is looking at what the genuine lessons were/are, rather than focusing on the regret. Take the lessons and charter your new course, put your action plan in gear and take your family to new heights of wellness.

You are here now, therefore you've got what it takes to rebuild and renew.

Wishing you all the best on your journey.
 

MJ DeMarco

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Welcome to the forum Nick and congrats on the baby boy!
 

David Young

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Hi Nick,
Welcome to forum. You have fought hard for what matters to you - congrats. For me, family is a foundation stone of the fastlane. If you apply the same level of determination elsewhere you will soon be flying.
 
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Andy Black

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Congrats to you and your wife Nick.

Before you even look at Upwork, are there any other businesses local to you that you could help?
 

NickNack

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Congrats to you and your wife Nick.

Before you even look at Upwork, are there any other businesses local to you that you could help?

Thanks Andy (and everyone!) :)

That’s a very sensible question, and one with an answer that I wish was slightly less complicated.

The business partner I referred to in my last post - we have a bit of a difference of opinion on that. He’s happy to trundle along with our current workload/income, and has resisted previously when I’ve broached thr topic of expanding our roster of clients, or broadening our base of services.

I can easily frame an argument there that allows me to strike out and seek that work on my own (basically “if you don’t want it, I’ll take it”) but doing so would undoubtedly create friction, whether I feel justified or not, and possibly jeopardise the one income source I do have at present. For now I want to avoid any hint of competing against our shared business, which is where Upwork is attractive.

I know, it’s untidy, and it’s a situation I absolutely need to get on top of (or out of) eventually.
 
Last edited:

Andy Black

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Thanks Andy (and everyone!) :)

That’s a very sensible question, and one with an answer that I wish was slightly less complicated.

The business partner I referred to in my last post - we have a bit of a difference of opinion on that. He’s happy to trundle along with our current workload/income, and has resisted previously when I’ve brough up expanding our roster of clients, or broadening our base of services.

I can easily frame an argument there that allows me to strike out and seek that work on my own (basically “if you don’t want it, I’ll take it”) but doing so would create friction, and possibly jeopardise the one income source I do have at present. I want to avoid any hint of competing against our shared business, which is where Upwork is attractive.

I know, it’s untidy, and it’s a situation I absolutely need to get on top of (or out of).
Upwork is just a place where you can get clients from. Whether you're competing or not with the business you're working in would be more down to the client you took on?

Maybe I shouldn't have said local. Maybe "close" to you - in terms of people you already know?
 
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NickNack

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Maybe I shouldn't have said local. Maybe "close" to you - in terms of people you already know?

Ahhhh yes, I see where you're coming from. That's a really good idea. I'll do a pass over the contact list and see if I can think of any opportunities to provide value.

On one level I'm a bit leery of trying to exploit non professional relationships for conversion into "leads", but I guess if I can create genuine value then it's to our mutual benefit...
 

NickNack

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Maybe "close" to you - in terms of people you already know?

So I went through my contacts with a fine-tooth comb and it hasn't yielded a lot of gold so far. I have done production work for friends and acquaintances in the past, but it's a well that's largely been tapped - if they ever had a need I could fill, I've likely filled it already. I will keep an eye on this angle though - never know when an opportunity may pop up.

I'm also trying to keep a bit of an outward focus - I'm on the board of a local screen industry education/support body, and will be nominating for the executive at the AGM this week, which will get me in rooms with bigger players in the local business scene, as well as helping out younger players who are keen to get into the industry. Looking into other professional bodies I can join too, although obviously I have some demands on my time at home with the family :)

In the meantime, I've updated my Upwork profile and have been pitching jobs. No success as yet, but it's early days and audio/video production seems to be a competitive area.

I've also dusted off my old Fiverr account. I actually had some modest success with this last year doing voiceovers, including a $1000+ month. Not FU money by any stretch, but it took negligible time out my days, and was useful extra money. I'm going to use Fiverr to road-test a couple of my productised service offerings too - if I'm going to spend time there, I might as well try to get some market validation out of it!

I'm also persevering building out my productised service business, despite what I said in my first post about putting those plans on hold. I'm now considering that a damn stupid idea. The website is largely functional already, and just needs a small amount of polishing to make it look somewhat professional (I need to be careful not to get too distracted with busy-work there...) The sooner I can get it up and running, promote it and get a few customers on board, then the sooner I can fold my time back into growing it, rather than scratching around for freelance scraps. And if it fails, then at least I know and I can move onto the next thing :)

I should probably start a progress thread on the productised service thing - I presume that might be of interest to people?
 

Tommo

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Hey folks, I’m Nick.

Per the subject header, I’m 41, a new dad, and feeling very much like I need to step things up on the income front,

We hadn’t planned things quite this way. My wife and I started trying for a family about 7 years ago. After three years of not much joy, we tried IVF, and after another three years, two miscarriages, and a LOT of money spent, we finally had one stick, only to find out at the 12 week ultrasound that he had a pretty significant congenital issue.

Yay...

On doctors advice we relocated interstate to be near the best hospital, and after a very dramatic birth, 67 days in the NICU, and a few near misses, we finally brought home a beautiful baby boy. He’s 5 months old today, doing great, and was worth every dollar spent, and every moment of terror and panic.

HOWEVER

Now the pragmatic world approaches. We don’t really have any financial reserve left. My wife has a great job, but she has had to take a lot more time off than we had planned. Our son’s prognosis is just fine, but he will need a bit more care in his early months/years. Also, a big contract that I’d been banking on to get us over the income shortfall has been delayed by months (and counting), and we’re starting to scrape dangerously close to the edge of our resources. I’d never really thought of us as a “sidewalk” household, but circumstances have kind of stripped away the illusion.

To be clear, I’m not looking for sympathy - we made decisions, we stand by them, and I wouldn’t trade my son for all the money in the world. But nevertheless I find myself in need of an income paradigm change, and pretty fast. During a recent trip back to the hospital for a followup I came across the Millionaire Fastlane , and it hit a nerve. So here I am!

WHERE I’M AT

I currently run a couple of small business.

One is a video production business servicing my local state market. Largely low-ish budget local TV commercials, some corporate videos etc. That’s my bread & butter income, and generates around AU$120K a year, split 50/50 with a business partner. It’s extremely variable from month to month (so very tricky to budget).

My other business is doing sound design & music for video, primarily for the one client (which is not a safe position!) This is the one that’s been delayed, and has laid bare the precariousness of my income situation. I wasn’t expecting the delay, and I didn’t have a backup.

THE PLAN

I’ve been planning out a productised service business based on a subset of my existing services, but given the urgency of current circumstances I’m putting that to the side for a month or three. My new priority is to hustle for short term income over and above my usual bread and butter. That means freelancing, so I’ll be dusting off my Upwork account and trying to put some of @SinisterLex ‘s teachings into action. I know freelancing isn’t really fastlane, but alas I’m just scratching to bring in dollars right now.

I hate that I’m in this position at 41. In my darker moments I get very angry with myself for wasting as much time as I have, and for letting us get this close to serious problems. I know we’ve had exceptional circumstances, but it’s still hard not to feel like I could have done things better.

Anyway... nice to be here. I’ve been reading a lot of threads, and there seem to be some pretty great people here. I’m looking forward to getting to know you all.

Nick
Hi Nick Welcome mate. Great that the baby is fine and congratulations. It will change your life and attitude and your focus trust me. This forum imo is a fantastic positive place if you have the nous to ignore the noise which is minimal. Welcome.
 
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NickNack

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Welcome to the forum Nick and congrats on the baby boy!

Oops, I didn't spot that MJ had replied. Thanks for the welcome, and thanks also for establishing the forum & writing the book (TMF - I'll check out Unscripted next).

And thanks to all who replied, and sent well wishes for myself and my son. Nice to have good vibes coming from all over the place :)

Af anyone is interested, I'm pushing forward with the productised service thing, and will be keeping an execution thread here.

Onward! :D
 

Kennypaul

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Hey folks, I’m Nick.

Per the subject header, I’m 41, a new dad, and feeling very much like I need to step things up on the income front,

We hadn’t planned things quite this way. My wife and I started trying for a family about 7 years ago. After three years of not much joy, we tried IVF, and after another three years, two miscarriages, and a LOT of money spent, we finally had one stick, only to find out at the 12 week ultrasound that he had a pretty significant congenital issue.

Yay...

On doctors advice we relocated interstate to be near the best hospital, and after a very dramatic birth, 67 days in the NICU, and a few near misses, we finally brought home a beautiful baby boy. He’s 5 months old today, doing great, and was worth every dollar spent, and every moment of terror and panic.

HOWEVER

Now the pragmatic world approaches. We don’t really have any financial reserve left. My wife has a great job, but she has had to take a lot more time off than we had planned. Our son’s prognosis is just fine, but he will need a bit more care in his early months/years. Also, a big contract that I’d been banking on to get us over the income shortfall has been delayed by months (and counting), and we’re starting to scrape dangerously close to the edge of our resources. I’d never really thought of us as a “sidewalk” household, but circumstances have kind of stripped away the illusion.

To be clear, I’m not looking for sympathy - we made decisions, we stand by them, and I wouldn’t trade my son for all the money in the world. But nevertheless I find myself in need of an income paradigm change, and pretty fast. During a recent trip back to the hospital for a followup I came across the Millionaire Fastlane , and it hit a nerve. So here I am!

WHERE I’M AT

I currently run a couple of small business.

One is a video production business servicing my local state market. Largely low-ish budget local TV commercials, some corporate videos etc. That’s my bread & butter income, and generates around AU$120K a year, split 50/50 with a business partner. It’s extremely variable from month to month (so very tricky to budget).

My other business is doing sound design & music for video, primarily for the one client (which is not a safe position!) This is the one that’s been delayed, and has laid bare the precariousness of my income situation. I wasn’t expecting the delay, and I didn’t have a backup.

THE PLAN

I’ve been planning out a productised service business based on a subset of my existing services, but given the urgency of current circumstances I’m putting that to the side for a month or three. My new priority is to hustle for short term income over and above my usual bread and butter. That means freelancing, so I’ll be dusting off my Upwork account and trying to put some of @SinisterLex ‘s teachings into action. I know freelancing isn’t really fastlane, but alas I’m just scratching to bring in dollars right now.

I hate that I’m in this position at 41. In my darker moments I get very angry with myself for wasting as much time as I have, and for letting us get this close to serious problems. I know we’ve had exceptional circumstances, but it’s still hard not to feel like I could have done things better.

Anyway... nice to be here. I’ve been reading a lot of threads, and there seem to be some pretty great people here. I’m looking forward to getting to know you all.

Nick
Welcome to the forum Nick.We've all make mistakes,wasted our time,and really made some bad decisions.This goes for me too.But that's all in the past, we can't change that.We now have the knowledge of the fastlane,which I believe we can use to impact our future.Once again, WELCOME!.
 

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