Unsure of title... maybe "help?" or "i'm new :P"

[Magius]

Hello everyone, brace yourself for a story.

I am not quite sure if this is the correct place to start a thread on this, would a mod kindly move it if i have misplaced ? Oh where to begin, where to begin. I guess i shall start from the beginning so you all will know who i am. I go by the name Magius. Real name is Adam. Getting close on 30 and having a very difficult time in life.

This is entirely my own fault. I have found by lurking the last couple days that there are literally thousands of people here and i am hoping i can get a bit of guidance. Back story: When i was 18 i was with the wrong crowd and stole things and broke into a few buildings. i was sentenced to 5 years in Michigan State Prison. After 2 years i had finally completely changed my mindset and started my own personal rehabilitation. I completed 2 years worth of community college on general studies and industrial courses, as well as received my Michigan State Master Automotive technician certification. When i was released, within three weeks i was enrolled in Colorado Technical University Online for a bachelors in software systems engineering.

This did not go well as i could not find stable work due to my previous convictions.

I know some of you really dont care, but i just like to show my commitment to change.

I am in very rough times, work has been cut to 12 hours per week, so i am barely making $400.00 US per month. My car insurance has just been canceled so i have no transportation. I have tried for the last year to find viable ways online to better my situation. only with no money, it is hard to do so with no help. Most forums, actually all forums i end up going to i just get trolled and flamed. I don't see that here which is why i decided to post.

I have no idea what direction to go. Of course, i have done the "get paid by clicking links"( made 4 dollars ), make money of twitter ( made 2 dollars) tried some ebay stuff. I just cant seem to make anything work. I didnt like the twitter thing i had tried because, it felt wrong. I came across a PDF floating on the interwebz the other day and the author spoke very highly of this site which is why i am here.

I am not asking for any handout, unless someone feels compelled to I really would just like some real guidance, so i can really get turned around.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can lend a helping hand.


Adam


tl;dr
terribly broke, need guidance

[Matt Maiden]

Hey Adam, welcome.

You said you know some software engineering? You could do some freelance work in coding. If you don't have enough experience in that then you should look in to other forms of freelance work.

But to be totally honest with you, the best way to earn extra money fast is working offline.

Look for day labor jobs in your area. Read the classifieds for any high turnover jobs like telemarketing or other "crappy jobs" nobody else wants to do.

I got married at 20 and we had my son at 21 and his hospital bill almost buried us. I was lucky that I am 6'5" and I could walk onto any construction site or truck loading dock and make cash for labor.

Then when I was too worn out from lifting things all day, I could go do telemarketing, door-to-door selling, a tour guide...I did whatever it took and discovered that I don't care what the media tells you about the economic situation there is always work out there.

There is always something nobody else wants to do and if you do it then you get paid and your kids get to eat and your lights stay on.

Start looking for those jobs then build up some Internet start-up money.
Then come back and start an Internet career.

I know it's not what you wanted to hear but I think it's the best advice I can give you.

Matt

[Magius]

Thanks a lot for the reply Matt.

I appreciate your input. The offline things you have pointed out are things i am constantly working on. The thing with the "crappy jobs" in my area is they are already taken. Reason being, my local 3 county area is full of migrant workers, and the business's tend to hire them because they can get away with worse treatment and lower wages. Don't get me wrong though, I do whatever job i can get. good thing winter is coming and i still have a strong back to shovel and whatnot. While i do that though, i still have a lot of time at night to work on things.

Unfortunately, the school i was going to had their plan of study set up for all the general courses first then the career courses later on. so i basically got myself in debt to relearn math. So i wont be offing any services as of yet.

What would be a good area for me to start researching that would possibly be somewhat beginner friendly? I have been going over the forums here nonstop for the last 3 hours and my mind is full of possibilities. The only problem is i think i am being overwhelmed by the same massive amount of possibilities.

[Fred_Acker]

Hi Magius,

Congrads on the life change... Don't Stop! Been in a very similar boat as you many years ago.

Here's my 1.5 cents...

Forget the job. Forget looking for a job. Forget even thinking about the word J.O.B.

If you're only making a whopping $400 per month it's not even worth getting out of bed for.

But (and this is just my opinion) Everyone has something to offer.

If you don't mind labor, place an add in the local newspaper for handyman or yard clean up or even window washing. Being a handyman was actually my first business venture and it paid the bills. Eventually I passed that business onto a kid I hired who was getting ready to graduate hs. He's still doing it

While you're fixing peoples stuff, cleaning up yards and washing windows look for ways to expand those businesses. Hiring hs students is relatively cheap.

You'll get several life learning experiences from doing this that could make you very successful later on down the road...

1. You'll know and understand what it takes to start and run a business
2. You'll know and understand what it takes to be a business owner (with employees)
3. You'll learn marketing and sales (probably the most important lesson you'll ever learn)

You don't have to have huge startup costs to start a business of this nature. And for $25 or whatever it costs to place the small ad in the classifieds you should probably see a quick return on your investment.

You can also offer services to folks here if you can write well or do design (or anything related to the internet really).

But I'd be concerned about getting a steady cash flow coming in on the outside as well.

Desperation can be a great tool for making big bucks :0)

Good luck with what ever it is you decide.

Fred

[Matt Maiden]

Originally Posted by Magius

What would be a good area for me to start researching that would possibly be somewhat beginner friendly?

Do some niche research for a market where people spend money.

Search the forum here for "niche research" and you will see that it does not take that long.

After you find a niche go to Blogger, Squidoo, Hubpages, and have a look at putting together a blog (pretty easy) about the niche.

Write 7 - 10 articles ( at least 300 - 400 words sprinkle with your keywords) to use as posts.

Main keyword would be first one, then next 8 or 9 related longtail keywords.

Go to Clickbank Marketplace and sign up as an affiliate.
Find three products that match your niche blog.

Put the banners and ads for products on your blog.

Write a "pre-sell" post for one of the products.

After making the posts, "ping" your blog.

Now take those posts and submit them as articles to directories.

Go sign up for Twitter and Youtube.

Make a video out of one or two of your articles and upload to Youtube.
Tweet your new videos.

Look through the forum for information about "backlinking".

Start backlinking.

Congratulations. You are in business.

Matt

[Magius]

Wow, thanks. that actually sounds fairly easy. I actually started researching a bit into this exact area last night.

Tonight I plan on starting on the various suggestions brought out so far in this thread. I have already made a really nice flier for computer work that i have put up in the local laundromat and a few more area businesses. Tonight i will work on a flier for handyman services. If i do lower rates than the 3 other fliers posted around town, hopefully i can get some business.

Really do appreciate the ideas. I think i just need to market myself better