Barely surving. Tips for the hard times

What ever you are going through, many people who are now successful, have gone through themselves.

Always have faith in yourself and never give up no matter what happens or how hard things become for you.

I am not going to get into detail of what you need to do to succeed but I am only going to encourage you to never give up and always try different things until something is working for you.

If you have web design skills? Sell them here.

Craft yourself a smashing graphical sales copy and post a WSO - you will get plenty of work, believe me. Undercut and over-deliver, you can't fail. (Just to jump-start some solid work flow and cash flow for you, and open up your connections to internet marketing professionals).

As far as staying sane and staying positive: I find success cures the feeling of failure. That's why I recommend you launch a WSO because I know you will get a great return on your investment. Watching the custom and money flow in will revive your enthusiasm.

If your skills are in Linux and scripting and coding: get involved in those online communities and speak to other professionals about how they profit from their skills and find work.

Hopefully you will realize that comfortable profits come from running/hosting such communities.

Business is simply business - if your product is geared towards festival lovers; it might be a good idea to get a pitch at festivals.

Hope I answered your question, feel free to interrogate me if you need further help.
Peace,
Skolr

You can always get a job or two and work in your spare time to figure out the online stuff.

Your situation is a very tough one my friend. I have been there and in even worse ones.

I have been homeless a few times while pursuing my dream online.

I did everything I could to make it happen. I failed many times and even took a couple of breaks from it.

But I just kept going cuz I had a dream and I had a lot of faith. You gotta have faith and believe that you can make something happen.

Belief is the most fundamental part of this entire process.

What also helped me keep on going was motivational content. And also listening to other successful people. I would listen to motivational audios and also informational audios.

I would also read positive and entrepreneurial books daily. I just kept on feeding my mind with positive information and energy on a daily basis. I would even fall asleep listening to audios.

It helps A LOT - trust me! .. I'm telling you from experience!

You need to work on your mindset A LOT while you are working online.

You also need to learn the right knowledge to get the right results online. I highly suggest you to learn everything about Internet Marketing - as much as possible. Then take as much massive and consistent action as possible.

If you have more than 8 hours in one single day to work with internet marketing - then you can definitely build a nice income in a month and a half. It is very possible my friend, believe it!

Since you already got some good technical skills, you are already ahead of many other people who are trying to make money online right now. Think about this.

Most new people online, the 'newbies', don't got any type of online technical skills. And you do. So you should be earning a lot more than any newbie online.

And take note that there are many newbies out there who started making money online fast.

So it is very possible that you start making money online very fast, with all of your current skills.

What you can do to make quick paypal money is sell Freelancing Services Online.

You can use sites like Fiverr.com or Elance.com to sell your freelancing services. Services like Article Writing, Social Media Marketing, Virtual Assistance, Website Building, Programing, Marketing Assistance, etc.

You need to sell what you are good at - then implement multiple internet marketing strategies to drive targeted traffic to your landing pages online. Landing page selling your services and products.

So it is important that you build your own pages selling your services online. I highly recommend you to build a Wordpress Blog Site to help you promote your freelancing services.

Learn about SEO and Blogging - then implement the work on a daily basis. Be very consistent and you should be able to start earning some good money very soon.

By having your own blog site - it will automatically help you look a bit more authoritative online. You can have more authority online by owning a nice blog site. People just take you a lot more serious like that.

What you need to do is learn as much internet marketing as possible - do it fast and start implementing what you learn right away.

It is very important that you take massive daily action. If you don't then don't expect the same results. Be real with yourself and understand that it does take hard work at the beginning.

Once you build a blog and monetize it with your own services - the next step would be to build up a targeted flow to the blog.

You do this with internet marketing strategies like article marketing, video marketing, social media marketing, content marketing, forum marketing, audio marketing, file-sharing marketing, etc ...

You just need to learn as much as possible and take a lot of freaking action!!

If you do, it can really change your entire life in a matter of months! ..

We are talking about your entire life here, after all, right! .. so I highly suggest you to take all of this very seriously!

I hope this helps!

You can do it!

I wish you the best of the best!

Cheers!

musicxray.com pays you for listining to music matched to your profile. Don't expect to make much though, maybe $10/month tops. But if you only need $200 that would be 5% at least, better than nothing. Good luck friend.

Okay this is a very tough situation to be in and I'm sorry to hear your in it. Making money online isn't tough as long as you know what works and what doesn't. The thing you need to do is reflect on why you didn't get people to invest in whatever you were selling. Was it due to you being pushy? Was you marketing incorrectly? It's very hard to self critique yourself as we get very defensive when someone tells you your doing something wrong. It's human nature, but trust me it's necessary evil and will help you in the long run.

Take what you found and tweak your technique. Success starts with you and your mindset. If your able to think clearly, able to focus, have the ability to self motivate yourself and prepared to put in the necessary hours to make it work then you are 75% there. You see I have always said that you can teach skills but you can't teach attitude.

Now the problem you will face is one of desperation and that's understandable but my advice would be yo get a job and learn to work online as a side hobby. The reason I say this is because working online isn't a get rich quick profession despite what these so called gurus say. Earning money is hard work and it's certainly some of us who made money can relate to. I'm not discouraging you I just don't want to see you homeless.

In terms of learning about making money, my suggestion would be to decide on a method that suits you and learn all you can by a certain deadline. The reason for a deadline is to prevent you from 1 having the same problem that most newbies face and that's information overload and 2 this will prevent you from falling into another newbie trap of not taking action.

Research > Master > Exercute = Results.

All this talk of you need to learn SEO, you need to learn about traffic generation is not relevant until you have a solid foundation and understanding of how the basics works. Don't get me wrong they are important but it's not super important to start earning some money. The last thing I want is for you to get overwhelmed and get stuck in limbo. I want you to make progress no matter how small.

Listen if you want some more advice please let me know. I'm not saying I know it all but I definitely been in your shoes. Good luck and I hope things work out

Owen

I agree.

Too many people give false hope in an attempt to sell something. They couldn't care less what happens to you.

You can pretty much tell the truly successful people from the posers by the "advice" they give.

Not long ago - I was scrambling around trying to find more sources for writing jobs.

I switched sides and started looking for writers and found tons of information that I had never seen before.

The path led to better business partners who are willing to answer my questions and provide real guidance. I had to get off the side of the sellers and into the realm with the buyers.

I am still not sure why it worked.

Warriors have been more helpful than anywhere I have ever been. People have great ideas.

I think you might be in the right place to jumpstart your future.

Never give up! Ask questions and let these guys keep you encouraged.

I wish you all the best.
-- Mialei

Adrianh i feel your pain. Took me a long while to understand internet marketing, and to reach even the smallest of all goals ($100/month). It was crazy. One of the sane and logical things i did when i didnt know anything about marketing was sell on Ebay. Became a powerseller in 90 days, and even sold a $500 course. Was the easiest thing ever. But ebay brings the buyer to you. With your own site, you have to pay to get the prospects. Keep your head up, and give ebay a shot if you want to. It may be an "easier" way to make money, but money is money.

If I were in your shoes I would focus ALL of my time and energy looking for a traditional job. If you have to wash dishes for $7.25 an hour do it! Get some reliable/consistent income coming in before you decide to start making money online. From my experience making money online is a slow process if you don't have a budget to advertise with.

Since you have some web-programming skills, I recommend selling your services on the many freelance sites such as Fiverr, oDesk, Elancer etc. Sign-up for them all (it's always free), put up a good portfolio of your previous work, and apply for every job that you can do well. To start with you should apply to jobs by quoting a lower price than others to do the job, and say honestly that you are doing this to get positive feedback because you are just starting.

When you've got a few positive feedbacks from doing a few jobs really well, that will make it much easier to get more work, and the people you do good work for will be likely to come back to you for other work in the future.

One way to get work on Fiverr is to continually scan the "wanted" list and each time you find a request for a job that you can do well, immediately create a custom Gig using their exact wording, giving them exactly what they want, and send that to them. It's never taken me more than a few hours to get a job on Fiverr that way, and once you've done a few jobs and got positive feedback, it will be easier to get other jobs.

Another "trick" you can use with some types of work, is to actually do the job before applying for it but prevent them from using the finished work until they pay you. So for graphics work, you could do the graphics but add "demo" across it so they can't use it until they pay you, or for article writing, show them half the article very well written. Yes you will do some work that doesn't get paid, but if you do that a few times, you are making it very easy for the buyer to say "yes" to your work, and you will get some work paid, and get positive feedback.

Selling Ebooks is difficult. I recommend putting it on JVZoo with at least a 50% commission, so that other people will sell it for you . . . I did one IM method, and in the forum for that method, was used by the seller as the example of how to do the method "perfectly". I made one single sale in 3 years from my own website, using that method (and none of the other 88 people on that forum said that they had made any sales at all in the few months the forum was running), but then a kind member of this forum advised me to put it on JVZoo, and now I sell one or two every month, which is not a lot, but a lot more than one in 3 years!

Selling is difficult. I advise most IM newbies to start with affiliate marketing, because then you don't have to sell anything, and if you do it right, it is a totally reliable way of making money. But it won't make much money quickly, so it's good for a long-term residual income, but not suitable for someone who needs significant money quickly. So I advise you to make money rapidly on outsource sites, then when you are making enough to live, learn a good affiliate marketing method and build a residual income (I can give you a link to my 42 page affiliate marketing course, free, if you send me a Message).

Hope that helps.

Chris

I would suggest to get a real job first to sustain yourself and free up with all the stress you have currently, at least for a few months. During this period you'll be able to work online, pursuing your dreams on part time basis and with almost ZERO pressure. This short break could work wonders for long term, trust me because I've been there a few times. The conclusion is to work out something to sort your short term goals (to survive - work 9-5 job) and gradually work your way for long term goals to build an online business (dream job!).

What are your skill sets? I'm guessing you have some IM experience. Hit me up. I might be able to help you out on this. Can't guarantee anything, but I will try. I've been through such a phase myself and understand the situation fairly weel.

I hate top see people go back to office jobs. That's the only reason I'm willing to help you here. You can PM me.

Thanks,
Angshuman.

Quite honestly, you just sound lazy. You gave a book to 7 friends and made 4 phone calls to businesses? If that was the formula to earning money I think there'd be many more billionaires around.

Decide on a business and work tirelessly to make it succeed.

Figure out what you're really good at and offer it as a service. Either that or find a gig because internet marketing ain't get rich quick.

This video should really help...

I haven't read all the posts in this thread, so I don't know if anyone else has mentioned this or not.

You said you tried making calls to local businesses about your web services. Why aren't you on sites like freelancer, odesk, etc. to give bids to businesses? This seems like your BEST option, and you can make much more than what you need to live frugally.

Get at it... you can make a lot of money very quickly.

Hi adrianh.

I was in your position once. I didn't get into internet marketing because I thought it would liberate me, make me rich, or anything like that. I do this stuff for a living because I have to. I made the mistake of actually finishing college; employers won't hire me for low paying manual labor for fear that I'll run off as soon as I have an opportunity worthy of a degree.

Meanwhile, most of the hiring done at my level across almost all companies in my industry is performed by a single algorithm, which in its infinite wisdom has decided I shouldn't work in the field I'm specifically trained for.

'Specialize as much as you can,' they said. More like put all your eggs in one basket.

But I digress.

There's good news, and there's bad news.

I hope this good news is actually news to you, because I find your situation kind of surprising. You're struggling, sure, but... you're a Romanian IT guy that's struggling.

I'm not sure if you've denied or confirmed this, but I'm going to assume from my own experience with the tech crowd in your country that you're good.

And for others reading this, a quick google search of 'romanian it guy' pulled this up:

Europe's Hidden Entrepreneurial Tech Hotbed; Romania Powers Up - Forbes

If I weren't dealing with the chaos caused by the most recent Google update, I'd try you out as a freelancer myself. The budget for talent scouting isn't what it was half a year ago, sadly.

I'll see if there's someone I can point you to. I can't make any promises, but I'll give it a shot.

The bad news is, it is within the realm of possibility that things might have to get worse before they get better. Now, barring any other factors about your situation we don't know about, there is AT LEAST as much certainty, if not 95% certainty, that you're eventually going to be doing just fine. K? It's coming. But there's no way to guarantee that things will move forward quick enough.

So this brings me to two questions before I get back to work:

1. Whatever the worst possible situation to come happens to be, is it going to be one where you still have internet access? I'm almost assuming the answer is yes, but I just wanted to make sure.

2. This is actually a request and not a question: send me a PM and keep in touch. I'll do my best to figure out how to point you in the right direction.

Hang in there.

It would seem appropriate to start by learning the basics of selling yourself. Get "the SPIN Selling Fieldbook." It's an oldie, so it can be found for cheap. Then apply it to finding gigs using sites like elance.com. Frankly, using these sort of marketplaces where businesses are already looking for freelancers is likely your best bet for finding something that pays quickly.

Then, once you're stable, start turning your eyes towards your long-term goals.

There's a lot of people here giving you some great advice, and I feel your pain, believe me I do.

You just have to do what ever you can. Stay focused, do things that are going to benefit you, your life and your business on a daily basis, no matter how big or small, just do something constructive. it will all add up.

In this day and age, it takes money to make money, and if your in a situation where you need money, then unfortunately that may mean trading your time for it. (JOB)

But, there is always a way out. Life throws a lot of knock backs, but it's how you come through them that counts.

You seem very intelligent, with the level of skills you already possess...

So with that in mind, I would create video's and post them on YouTube. Just a taster video, direct them to your own website where you offer services or products that will solve problems.

This could be an eBook, video course, personal one on one coaching, consulting. It can be anything, where people pay you for your time.

Just some things to consider.

Best of Luck.

Don't focus on marketing your services locally. Use the internet and phone to contact people all around the world.

You did all of those crazy things and never thought to ... oh .. I dont know ... get a job?

I advice people to get a job better if it's a job that doesn't demand extra hours and doesn't get you exhausted mentally. Even if it pays poorly you will get a check every month. Now with the other set of extra hours you got you can start your online business.

If you have good skills go to sites like freelancer or Odesk and start bidding on all the projects that you can do. Making $200 per month this way shouldn't be too difficult.

The problem I find here is that the majority of people who turn to the internet to make money do so when they have no money to invest.

In my own personal experience this is a losing battle.

You need to get a job, save money while you learn what you are doing. Read blogs that teach you how to monetize a site correctly. Stay well clear of selling digital crap and building lists to flog complete crap as all you are doing is selling to people that are in your position so think about that for one second.

Once you have saved money then invest that into something you want to do online. Keep saving and working as you grow your revenue you online then make the switch.

My other advice would be to ignore 99% of signature links that have the words "FREE" "NEWBIE" "MAKE MONEY" "$10,000 IN ONE DAY" or anything similar for that matter otherwise you will find yourself on several different lists that will bombard you with nonsense trying to sell anything that pays a decent commision.

Keep a clear head and take one day at a time and do not expect success overnight.

Two of the best threads on how to earn when you're desperate:

http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ate-index.html

http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...2-24-11-a.html

Focus on one or two and take action!

So sorry to hear about your current circumstances. My suggestion would be firstly to surround yourself with real friends or family who can support you through this difficult time. Online friends can be useful however at times like these you also need someone you can talk to you face to face.

Just remember that many successful business people have been in the exact position that you now find yourself in. The key is in turning your circumstances into determination to succeed. In many ways you stand a better chance than someone simply seeking to earn a second income as you have more to lose.

Might be worth you considering signing up with content writing services like textbroker.com.

It sounds like you might have a passion for writing so consider turning that skill into cash as this may be a really good option for you.

I really wish you all the best for the future and please come back and post here again when you succeed which I know you will

Spain was probably not the best destination for you to go, the economy is in bad shape at the moment. With your technical skill set which looks pretty formidable, you could get a job in a Country like the UK or Germany. If you hare determined to do marketing I would go offline and start generating income by offering site building and getting leads to local companies. You will have the hassle of dealing with customers which is not ideal, but you should get income faster than trying to do it purely online.

Best advice from most of us is still this: GET A JOB FIRST

Get a job, then you go figure out how to make money online at your spare time.

Don't believe in too much about successful multi-millionaire Internet Marketers that are sleeping till 10am, click an email and boom! $10,000+ in their bank account and idle at the beaches.

Yes, there will be such people, but majority of the Internet marketers are making enough to live very comfortably and are still working off their asses when needed to (eg. product launches, etc).

Trust me, even the successful Internet marketers have a JOB as their "sideline". I'm one of them.

So, the bottom line is: Get a job.

I worked for a cruise line ages ago. Best jobs are bus boy or waiter. There are some luxury ships that hire all european crews. Most of these guys are from romania. Hey, I was there and you need an agent to get you a job so ask around bro and go on an adventure. Hope you have a clean record - no crimes.

First off, it is long hours with low pay approx $20,000, but it is cash money. Like you get tips from passengers. Also, you get free food, free room and board, as well as your uniform and free medical care. Time to go on a voyage. Sail the seven seas.

Be sure to check out this thread, too: http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...desperate.html

As will be suggested more, getting a job is always a choice.

The fact of the matter is you'll truly see what you are made of when your ass really gets to the fire.

Be sure to make the most of it

The best way to start online is through services.

Give a few review copies of your services. Give them the best
service possible over and over again. Once your value is realized,
money will start to come in.

Ill pm you how to start.

Look, I have been on the internet for at least 15 years now.
The bottom line is that just like anything else, you will hear about those that claim that they have made a lot of money basically doing nothing.
Nothing can be further from the truth. (Don't get me wrong, there are exceptions to the rule.)
Having said that, I have always made a point to keep my job, Always made it a point to look for another when I was threatened with a lay-off, and my latest job I went to 5 interviews for.

Full time Internet Market is for those that do not need the money or those that are willing to live in extremely cheap areas and take their chances at hitting it big time.

Otherwise, internet market is something that you do on the side more as some supplemental income.

I get it bro, once you've made up your mind to be wealthy and be free, there's no turning back. You can't deceive yourself and settle for anything less... I completely understand - same thing with me, I can never work for someone else (long-term). Getting a job will always be the last resort.

BUT right now you should keep sell a little bit of your time for money to alleviate the stress associated with being penniless, acquire some capital and from there divorce your income stream from your time. Keep taking the right actions consistently and you'll see results.

Good luck, do keep us updated.

Good luck

You're going to need it.

Might aswell get a job and work IM in the meantime..... And then work on the Internet business until you can live off only from the money made from IM

Wishing you success,

MeelisM

Wow man.. sounds like you're hitting what we all call "rock bottom" and that's okay because many of us have been there..

Here's a "of the wall idea" that you may take and run with..

It seems like you have no problem creating content and sharing with others, so what you may decide to do is start a YouTube channel where you tell others your story of struggle an dhow you keep pushing forward towards greatness. Give real examples and share how you're able to keep going.

You could then link this to an affiliate product, or create your own small product and promote it on your channel. People like to be inspired and if you can build a real connection with viewers, you can use that relationship to turn them into paying customers.

The process would obviously involve a more detailed, step by step blueprint, but this is something to consider because it's a free option that could potentially build an income to keep you going as you start building your bigger online business!

Best of luck! Keep working hard and keep your head up your grind will turn into shine!

I lived through 3 mid-life crisis' and and living in a tourist town, it turns into a 'ghost town', after Labor Day. I was making thousands of dollars a week and Corporate company files for bankruptcy, plus, a bunch of other misfortunes.

After feeling sorry for myself, I had to get up and fight for survival. That mean't working 4 jobs a week and doing whatever it took.

I wrote about it in my latest e-book and hopefully give people, in your situation hundreds of opportunities to come out on top. I started from my spare bedroom and you can too!

Keep The Faith!

We all start off from nothing mate. Just keep working hard and never give up! You'll reach there!

If you're any good at graphics then there's a place called SelfPubBook covers where you can submit book covers for sale to authors in need of one. I came across it the other day while looking for something else and so have never used it, but they claim to pay out within 48 hours if you're lucky enough to make a sale. I've just looked it up again to find the link for you and apparently the minimum you can charge for your cover is $69, of which you get $50.

I imagine it involves more than having fun with Photoshop, but it might be worth investigating if you're not focusing on another avenue now. Don't let it distract you if you are. Perhaps it might help someone else instead.

SelfPubBookCovers: One-of-a-kind premade book covers where Authors can instantly customize and download their covers, and where Artists can post a cover and name their own price.