Securing Future Income Streams
Hi guys, I'm completely new to the internet marketing world, and developing websites, so I thought I'd share with you the news that I have just secured a contract where by I will receive £50 a year indefinitely. This is the third of it's kind that I have received in the last few weeks. How am I doing it? By making websites! Hehe
In August I set up my blog which was to be a great shifting moment in my life. It opened me up to an internet hunger, one where I wanted to learn everything there is to know. How it works, the psychology behind it, how people make money, the programming, new technologies, the best and the worst.
After making my blog I came across Wordpress, the same platform PUALifestyle.com uses. I tried it out for a week or so, and thought it was pretty damn easy. But like a fool, I claimed I could do it all. At the time, I was working for a catering firm, going round the country to massive fairs and shows when sitting next to the owner on the long drive home, he began talking to me about his website and how it needs updating.
Jumping at the opportunity, I (naively) boasted about my new found skills and told him I could do it. So eager to prove to myself that I could, I worked all night analysing his current website, despite only having slept several hours for the last few days. The next morning, I handed him a 10 page document, going through everything that I thought was wrong, and what I could do.
He saw my determination, and gave me the go-ahead. I had a £100 budget, in which to develop a website and to pay myself. I thought it'd take a day...maybe two. Oh no no no no. After a week of wrestling with internet jargon, following multiple tutorials to the fine letter, working nights and days I finally had it finished.
People laughed at me how I had spent so much time and only got £100, of which £60 was costs. I could have babysat for 5 hours and got the same amount. I didn't care though, I had learnt skills.
I had bought a server (or hosting) that could hold up to 25 websites. At the moment I only had one. It didn't take long for me to think of some money making plans. I went back to my (no-longer) catering boss, and explained to him that he'd have to pay £45 a year for his website to be hosted and for the domain name. I also explained that he would be part of my 'joint hosting partnership' where by he'd share hosting for less money.
Happy that he'd received a good website, with cheaper than normal hosting he agreed - allowing me to let out a sigh of relief.
Then came website number 2. It was for a chemical firm, they wanted something very simple (5 pages, no pictures), but it had to look good. I decided that I'd push it this time, try and do everything properly. My first website I was paid in cash. This time, I sent an invoice (my first ever), with a reference number, VAT, sub-totals, totals, addresses...the works.
To be honest, I just copied the format of the invoice my hosting providers had sent me. I pushed the prices up, again explaining the 'joint hosting partnership' and still allowed them to save quite a bit of money (which I proved by showing normal costs vs. my costs). Waiting for the reply took ages. I expected them to say 'no way!' but days went by with nothing. Then, after a week, I got the OK and received an initial payment via PayPal of £250 to set it all up + domain name costs.
After they were satisfied with the website (which didn't take long at all now that I knew exactly what I had to do), they agreed to the annual fee and that was that.
It was at this point that I began becoming interested in the internet marketing sides of things. I created my own website Flabble to learn about marketing as I knew nothing about it. Sadly, this has dwindled down as I have lost the drive to maintain content creation as I'm going away for 5 months soon. Although I'm fairly sure I'll still be attracted to the idea of picking it up again upon my return. There are still many ideas that haven't been implemented.
With 3 quality websites under my belt, all modified Wordpress Templates, winning over my next 'client' wasn't an issue at all. In fact, it was word of mouth that lead him to me. My friend told his girl friend about me and what I do, his girl friend then told her mum, who's boss just happened to be thinking about creating a website for the first time.
Sweet. At first he (Roger) sent me an email asking whether a budget of £600 is enough. Laughing in the face of greed, I replied with a long(ish) email, showing him the exact costs which came to £85. This included the template, hosting and domain.
When you're told that something will cost 85% less than what you thought it would, you become a happy man. And it seems I made Roger's day. Determined to do an even more professional job than last time, I wrote my emails thoroughly, going through every minor detail and telling him (or his PA) everything I was doing.
I had one major goal this time though, and that was to receive my costs payment before I bought them. Previously, I had bought the domain names before I had been paid for them - an unnecessary risk. This time, I explained in a straightforward manner that I would only purchase the domain name etc. after receiving an initial cheque for the £85.
Two days later, I got it. That same day I set it all up - I bought the domain, the databases, got the hosting sorted and bought the template. That day was yesterday. Today, after a heavy night out with some remarkable stories that will have to go in another post, I finished the job by modifying the template substantially and creating the content that Roger required.
In my first email to him, on the 30th of December, I wrote this, "I am going away for 5 months come mid-February, so let's set a goal of getting the website up and running by January the 15th, giving us some leeway." Today is January the 6th, 9 days earlier than promised.
Although I have secured an annual payment of £50 a year from Roger, we never discussed the start-up fees. My payment for getting it all set up. Every other job, there was a set amount I would get before I started. This time however, I'm going to ask Roger to pay me how much HE thinks I earned.
Sounds bizarre doesn't it, and one hell of a risk. He might pay me nothing; that's an option I have to accept. He may pay me £10, or he may pay me £200. I'm doing it because I want to learn what the perceived value of the work I did is. I don't even know how much it is worth myself.
Nevertheless, I have my first 3 annual payment contracts (although...there is no written contract as of yet. If they don't pay, their website gets the axe. Simple as that.) Although as an aggregate it isn't that much - about £150 a year, it's a start. And it pays for my own hosting. Just think, imagine if I did get 25 websites going...all paying £50 a year - that's £1250 a year for doing nothing other than allowing people to share my server for a lower price.
I'm developing some sort of drive, that I just want to do more...for example I've just thought of the idea of how these 25 websites could then be invited to help market each other, so that we all benefit, and then everyone gains more value! What about if they allowed me to put a little bit of advertising on as well? Diversifying my income streams...
Anyway, I just thought I'd share with you my story as to how and why I've got £150 less to worry about next year.
Hope you're all well and keeping those creative juices going,
Tom
p.s. being a member of Warrior Forum, if you want some extra cheap hosting - just gimme a PM, I'd be glad to help out a friend.
In August I set up my blog which was to be a great shifting moment in my life. It opened me up to an internet hunger, one where I wanted to learn everything there is to know. How it works, the psychology behind it, how people make money, the programming, new technologies, the best and the worst.
After making my blog I came across Wordpress, the same platform PUALifestyle.com uses. I tried it out for a week or so, and thought it was pretty damn easy. But like a fool, I claimed I could do it all. At the time, I was working for a catering firm, going round the country to massive fairs and shows when sitting next to the owner on the long drive home, he began talking to me about his website and how it needs updating.
Jumping at the opportunity, I (naively) boasted about my new found skills and told him I could do it. So eager to prove to myself that I could, I worked all night analysing his current website, despite only having slept several hours for the last few days. The next morning, I handed him a 10 page document, going through everything that I thought was wrong, and what I could do.
He saw my determination, and gave me the go-ahead. I had a £100 budget, in which to develop a website and to pay myself. I thought it'd take a day...maybe two. Oh no no no no. After a week of wrestling with internet jargon, following multiple tutorials to the fine letter, working nights and days I finally had it finished.
People laughed at me how I had spent so much time and only got £100, of which £60 was costs. I could have babysat for 5 hours and got the same amount. I didn't care though, I had learnt skills.
I had bought a server (or hosting) that could hold up to 25 websites. At the moment I only had one. It didn't take long for me to think of some money making plans. I went back to my (no-longer) catering boss, and explained to him that he'd have to pay £45 a year for his website to be hosted and for the domain name. I also explained that he would be part of my 'joint hosting partnership' where by he'd share hosting for less money.
Happy that he'd received a good website, with cheaper than normal hosting he agreed - allowing me to let out a sigh of relief.
Then came website number 2. It was for a chemical firm, they wanted something very simple (5 pages, no pictures), but it had to look good. I decided that I'd push it this time, try and do everything properly. My first website I was paid in cash. This time, I sent an invoice (my first ever), with a reference number, VAT, sub-totals, totals, addresses...the works.
To be honest, I just copied the format of the invoice my hosting providers had sent me. I pushed the prices up, again explaining the 'joint hosting partnership' and still allowed them to save quite a bit of money (which I proved by showing normal costs vs. my costs). Waiting for the reply took ages. I expected them to say 'no way!' but days went by with nothing. Then, after a week, I got the OK and received an initial payment via PayPal of £250 to set it all up + domain name costs.
After they were satisfied with the website (which didn't take long at all now that I knew exactly what I had to do), they agreed to the annual fee and that was that.
It was at this point that I began becoming interested in the internet marketing sides of things. I created my own website Flabble to learn about marketing as I knew nothing about it. Sadly, this has dwindled down as I have lost the drive to maintain content creation as I'm going away for 5 months soon. Although I'm fairly sure I'll still be attracted to the idea of picking it up again upon my return. There are still many ideas that haven't been implemented.
With 3 quality websites under my belt, all modified Wordpress Templates, winning over my next 'client' wasn't an issue at all. In fact, it was word of mouth that lead him to me. My friend told his girl friend about me and what I do, his girl friend then told her mum, who's boss just happened to be thinking about creating a website for the first time.
Sweet. At first he (Roger) sent me an email asking whether a budget of £600 is enough. Laughing in the face of greed, I replied with a long(ish) email, showing him the exact costs which came to £85. This included the template, hosting and domain.
When you're told that something will cost 85% less than what you thought it would, you become a happy man. And it seems I made Roger's day. Determined to do an even more professional job than last time, I wrote my emails thoroughly, going through every minor detail and telling him (or his PA) everything I was doing.
I had one major goal this time though, and that was to receive my costs payment before I bought them. Previously, I had bought the domain names before I had been paid for them - an unnecessary risk. This time, I explained in a straightforward manner that I would only purchase the domain name etc. after receiving an initial cheque for the £85.
Two days later, I got it. That same day I set it all up - I bought the domain, the databases, got the hosting sorted and bought the template. That day was yesterday. Today, after a heavy night out with some remarkable stories that will have to go in another post, I finished the job by modifying the template substantially and creating the content that Roger required.
In my first email to him, on the 30th of December, I wrote this, "I am going away for 5 months come mid-February, so let's set a goal of getting the website up and running by January the 15th, giving us some leeway." Today is January the 6th, 9 days earlier than promised.
Although I have secured an annual payment of £50 a year from Roger, we never discussed the start-up fees. My payment for getting it all set up. Every other job, there was a set amount I would get before I started. This time however, I'm going to ask Roger to pay me how much HE thinks I earned.
Sounds bizarre doesn't it, and one hell of a risk. He might pay me nothing; that's an option I have to accept. He may pay me £10, or he may pay me £200. I'm doing it because I want to learn what the perceived value of the work I did is. I don't even know how much it is worth myself.
Nevertheless, I have my first 3 annual payment contracts (although...there is no written contract as of yet. If they don't pay, their website gets the axe. Simple as that.) Although as an aggregate it isn't that much - about £150 a year, it's a start. And it pays for my own hosting. Just think, imagine if I did get 25 websites going...all paying £50 a year - that's £1250 a year for doing nothing other than allowing people to share my server for a lower price.
I'm developing some sort of drive, that I just want to do more...for example I've just thought of the idea of how these 25 websites could then be invited to help market each other, so that we all benefit, and then everyone gains more value! What about if they allowed me to put a little bit of advertising on as well? Diversifying my income streams...
Anyway, I just thought I'd share with you my story as to how and why I've got £150 less to worry about next year.
Hope you're all well and keeping those creative juices going,
Tom
p.s. being a member of Warrior Forum, if you want some extra cheap hosting - just gimme a PM, I'd be glad to help out a friend.
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karlp295 -
Thanks
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