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9 years ago

Originally Posted by Techalo

Hey Warriors!

I've come to a point in my life where I've reached some financial hardships and I'm looking to buckle down and generate some additional income online. Now I understand building a revenue stream online takes time, but I'm hoping to get some advice from you guys that will spark a flame and get me going back in the right direction.

A little background about me: I have a full time job in an IT Dept as an Account Manager/Script programmer. I do web development & design as a hobby/side work. I specialize in WordPress Design & Development, and I'm familiar with affiliate marketing, SEO, SEM, and SMM.

What are some things you guys are doing to generate an online income stream? How long have you been doing it? What kind of advice do you have for someone that is extremely tech savvy and is able to pick things up very quickly?

I'm very analytical, and I scored high blue on my disc assessment. It would be great to find someone to work along side with. If this is you, please shoot me a message!

I look forward to hearing what you guys have to say!

Best Regards,
Will

Sorry to hear of your financial hardship.

Well, my advice would be as follows (in the order you raise issues):

1. ecommerce (thankfully, now with much success)

2. couple of years, now (after well over a decade of trying every other online business model under the sun, with only sporadic moderate success, at that time).

3. my advice would be to put aside your identity as a technician, now focus on learning much more about online business (tech being but just one element of a much larger entity), particularly how to spot a good business model, how to gather together different platforms from different places to create a powerful online strategy, how to source from others, how to create or buy unique products, how to market in narrow terms, how to sell in specific terms, and a whole lot more.

4. being highly analytical can be a hinderance (being entrepreneurial & strategic is a much better starting point)

I hope this helps a bit.

My best wishes and good luck with your adventures.

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Randall Magwood 9 years ago

Originally Posted by ZanyZebra

...3. my advice would be to put aside your identity as a technician, now focus on learning much more about online business...

This would be my biggest advice. Don't let your stature of an IT Tech background *blind you* from how hard internet marketing can be as a beginner. I used to be a network tech, and PC tech (CCNA, Network+, A+, and MCP certified).

None of that helped me when it came to marketing online.

It's a different beast. You're running your OWN company - not someone else's who already has the tools and customers that you can serve.

Start with something easy... .like ebay or fiverr. You don't have to become a renowned internet expert if you don't want to.
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Jason Kanigan

9 years ago

Hmm. I'm not aware of colors being used in the DISC profile, and I've taught it. Must be a different version.

DISC is short for Dominant, Influencer, Steady Relater and Compliant.

Which of those matches up for you? I'll guess the C?

First, find a topic you like to talk about all day. You're not stuck with this forever...just think what will be of interest to you for the next couple years.

Take a few days and make a list of possibilities. Write them down as they pop into your head.

Make a choice and do not get stuck in 'analysis paralysis' (which, if you're a C, you'll be prone to do...always wanting more data. In business, as in war, we never get complete data. 70% if you're lucky.)

Match up a solution to a problem people are having in that niche. Make sure the revenue from solving the problem meets your money needs.

For instance, if you are set up to solve a problem for a niche that makes you $30/sale, you are going to have a tough time reaching $3000. Much easier to make 1 or 2 or 5 sales than 100, wouldn't you agree?

And a high ticket sale takes the same time and energy to make as a low ticket sale. In fact, I have learned through experience that the high ticket sale is actually EASIER to make. You know why? Because the people who buy high ticket HAVE MONEY. The low ticket people are broke. Chew on that for awhile because it's the complete opposite of what most people are doing.

Then you need a marketing piece.

Then that marketing piece must be put out in different places where you can encounter your market. It's easier to get sales from a rushing river of already-interested leads than to have to go out and hunt them down one at a time.

And finally, increase your network so more influencers know you exist and what problems you solve.

Stick with one thing. Do not jump around. Every time you hop to another shiny object, you go back to zero.

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akoster

9 years ago

Just to reinforce two elements of Jason's post

What does DiSC stand for? What do the letters mean?

D Dominance
Person places emphasis on accomplishing results, the bottom line, confidence Behaviors
- Sees the big picture
- Can be blunt
- Accepts challenges
- Gets straight to the point
Learn more

I Influence
Person places emphasis on influencing or persuading others, openness, relationships Behaviors
- Shows enthusiasm
- Is optimistic
- Likes to collaborate
- Dislikes being ignored
Learn more

S Steadiness
Person places emphasis on cooperation, sincerity, dependability Behaviors
- Doesn't like to be rushed
- Calm manner
- Calm approach
- Supportive actions
- Humility
Learn more

C Conscientiousness
Person places emphasis on quality and accuracy, expertise, competency Behaviors
- Enjoys independence
- Objective reasoning
- Wants the details
- Fears being wrong
-Learn more

You are probably strong in two area's and sometimes your stronger item is related to the type of work you do day to day. You can pivot over time. I moved from D/C to D/I

The point on high priced goods ...I often describe them as premium or luxury goods..I once had sales reps that loved to sell a fast moving product. And were always unhappy to focus on the premium goods...I explained we made as much profit to sell 1 premium product as we did selling 50 low priced options.....even with this logic many never got it.

Most great companies do this. Apple sells a laptop at 200% the price of a similar non-apple laptop. ( Iphone vs samsung etc) There are lots of examples of this ...sell premium and focus on the experience you give consumer and the quality of the goods/service you provide.

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Jason Kanigan

9 years ago

Originally Posted by akoster

Just to reinforce two elements of Jason's post

What does DiSC stand for? What do the letters mean?

D Dominance
Person places emphasis on accomplishing results, the bottom line, confidence Behaviors
- Sees the big picture
- Can be blunt
- Accepts challenges
- Gets straight to the point
Learn more

I Influence
Person places emphasis on influencing or persuading others, openness, relationships Behaviors
- Shows enthusiasm
- Is optimistic
- Likes to collaborate
- Dislikes being ignored
Learn more

S Steadiness
Person places emphasis on cooperation, sincerity, dependability Behaviors
- Doesn't like to be rushed
- Calm manner
- Calm approach
- Supportive actions
- Humility
Learn more

C Conscientiousness
Person places emphasis on quality and accuracy, expertise, competency Behaviors
- Enjoys independence
- Objective reasoning
- Wants the details
- Fears being wrong
-Learn more

You are probably strong in two area's and sometimes your stronger item is related to the type of work you do day to day. You can pivot over time. I moved from D/C to D/I

The point on high priced goods ...I often describe them as premium or luxury goods..I once had sales reps that loved to sell a fast moving product. And were always unhappy to focus on the premium goods...I explained we made as much profit to sell 1 premium product as we did selling 50 low priced options.....even with this logic many never got it.

Most great companies do this. Apple sells a laptop at 200% the price of a similar non-apple laptop. ( Iphone vs samsung etc) There are lots of examples of this ...sell premium and focus on the experience you give consumer and the quality of the goods/service you provide.

It's quick to learn and good to apply in selling situations. If you're a D, for instance, you know you should tone it down when your prospect is an S.

I was a C in Vancouver, but everything in the move to the US turned me into a D. I taught DISC as a sales trainer. The official DISC people were talking to me about being a distributor of their products a couple years back, and I took their test. It was more in-depth than ones I'd taken before, and I asked them about the change. They said Yes, stress can make you change.

For example I became a lot more decisive and less patient.

No one type is better than another, and an organization needs all of them to succeed.

Incidentally, I was listening to Dave Ramsay's radio show about a year ago and remember him saying "You want to hire a C for this role"...it was the owner of a company that transported guns and it was critical that the person filling out their paperwork was detail-oriented and a fact checker. Dave was advising him on what to look for when hiring a maternity replacement for this role. So DISC can be handy...it's even useful in understanding family.

It's natural to think other people are like ourselves. But they are not.

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sogeshirts

9 years ago

Well if you do wordpress design and Seo you can contact businesses and offer them something cheap first like setup a website or optimize their site for SEO.

Once they trust you, you can get paid what you are worth if you can rank them for their keywords in the SERPS.

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camohit

9 years ago

Just have the intention of helping others. Whatever service u decide to provide, give ur best in serving others. That's the first advise I can think of

Hope this helps

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Brent Stangel

9 years ago

4. being highly analytical can be a hinderance

Being analytical is actually your best asset.

You'll hear people (including myself) saying, "Test, test, test!" All the tests in the world are useless if you can't analyze the results.

It's a highly detail oriented business. Tiny things can make a huge difference. Some times changing a single word of copy or the color of your buy button can mean the difference between profit and loss.

I suggest you analyze the hell out of everything you do.

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Lyfe Lyte

9 years ago

I've known some guys that have done very well that are programmers etc buy either doing apps or since you're into wordpress etc...building your own custom theme and selling it etc... BOTH can be recurring income...and that is a huge part of it..I use to do a lot of one time things...which of course still work...but I'm moving more into recurring now as much as I can...because you are paying to get 1 customer that may have an average stay time of 6 months or more...vs one time and out...

Seems you love programing etc...so I tell most people go into an area that they love..solve a problem in that area...example an app that helps programmers etc....a wordpress theme that fill's a void in the market...

It also doesn't have to be something new and 100% unique..take something someone else has done..and do it better with your unique twist on it...

smashhh it!

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DWaters

9 years ago

I expect that you will do well. My best suggestion is to use this forum as a research tool. The search feature will help with that a lot. Develop a business model, learn all about and then start to execute it. You need to stay focused as the world of IM can pull you in many directions.

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TheZafraGroup

9 years ago

I'd say put your skills to good use. Cash in on what you know and passionate about. If you know SEO like you mentioned, then that alone is a huge asset on your end. Remember, your most valuable and lucrative asset is yourself. What you know and can implement will directly affect your income.

Focus on growing daily so that you stretch outside your comfort zone. Use that experience and blog about it. Build a list and live to serve because life will serve you back.

I've been marketing online for 5 years now. I started when I was 17. Nothing but an amazing journey for me. I love what I do and I'm extremely thankful to be able to do it. Not going to college was definitely the right choice for me. lol

Keep it up and believe in yourself bro.

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Techalo

9 years ago

Thank you everyone for all the positive feedback, and constructive criticism!

I've received a few messages from some fellow warriors and the community support has been outstanding. Definitely the motivation I was looking for and then some!

This has been a great discussion, and I'm curious to see what else this thread can produce.

Best Regards,
Will

Thanks

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tiffanymika

9 years ago

Hey Techalo

Sorry to hear you are in financial hardship.

I really believe that you need to be clear on what you want to do.

That would be your first objective.

I believe alot of people struggle is they are not very clear on what it is they want, they get distracted by what we call the shiney object syndrome... SO always looking for that one thing that will help them make it. -- I am sure there are many internet marketers who would agree when you first get started online you can easily get distracted as there is so much information that can easily create overwhelm.

So as I mentioned above get really clear on what it is that you want to do.

Then work towards it.

I recently went to a mastermind event and the particular speaker I was listening to as the time said this...

In order to have money.. you need these 3 elements.

1. A Burning Desire
2. Specialized Knowledge - the more specialized the more money you have
3. Have a mentor or coach

If you want to bounce ideas off me happy to help

Cheers

Tiff

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Tiffany Mika

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Techalo

9 years ago

Originally Posted by tiffanymika

Hey Techalo

Sorry to hear you are in financial hardship.

I really believe that you need to be clear on what you want to do.

That would be your first objective.

I believe alot of people struggle is they are not very clear on what it is they want, they get distracted by what we call the shiney object syndrome... SO always looking for that one thing that will help them make it. -- I am sure there are many internet marketers who would agree when you first get started online you can easily get distracted as there is so much information that can easily create overwhelm.

So as I mentioned above get really clear on what it is that you want to do.

Then work towards it.

I recently went to a mastermind event and the particular speaker I was listening to as the time said this...

In order to have money.. you need these 3 elements.

1. A Burning Desire
2. Specialized Knowledge - the more specialized the more money you have
3. Have a mentor or coach

If you want to bounce ideas off me happy to help

Cheers

Tiff

Hi Tiff,

Thank you for your input!

I can relate 100% to the 'shiny object syndrome' and I still find myself looking for the next thing, when I know I need to stick to one thing and see it through. You're right, I need to first define a clear objective of what it is I want to do. In your 3 points you listed, I definitely have the first 2, and I had an SEO mentor when I was younger, but haven't had one for years now.

To be clear and define what it is I would like to pursue: I see a lot of potential in affiliate marketing using paid traffic (facebook, or advertising networks). However, this is something I've yet to attempt due to not having enough knowledge in this area, and not wanting to waste money. I do understand you need to spend money to make money with this approach, but doing the research to find products that have the best chance to yield a return has been my struggling point.

In addition, I also have a passion for web development. I was doing web development for a business & brand management company but it was almost like I was working for them still, even thought it was through my business. Also, I didn't generate recurring income from this relationship(my fault). My thoughts in regards to offering web services was to offer cheap/free website setups, under a contract (let's say 1 year minimum), and if they cancel before the contract has expired, they would be responsible to cover the cost of the website (or pay the remaining balance of their contract). My issue with this has been over analyzing my contract/service agreement to be something suitable that I'd want to present to potential clients. I'm a bit of a perfectionist which I know I need to work on, because nothing will ever be perfect in the Information Technology world - this I know from experience.

In summation, my goal is to generate a recurring revenue stream, as I'm sure is the case with most of you on here.

I'm definitely open to all feedback and constructive criticism!

Best Regards,
Will

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Jason Kanigan

9 years ago

So...Step 1 is to figure out what kind of revenue model to create.

You say recurring income. Good idea. Now for that, you need a product or service people consume over and over again, preferably that doesn't have much variation.

Our old friends ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms).

Food products.

Toilet paper.

Web design MIGHT qualify, but you have to keep the customization down. Every time you or your staff have to create something new, that costs you money in this model.

Your approach to finding what to make or supply is: what's selling already? What are people already buying?

It's always best to pick a topic that's of interest to you, because that will make you automatically enthusiastic about it. Not necessarily a "passion"--in fact, that may be a bad idea--but a topic of interest.

Once you've narrowed it down to a few choices, find the top websites selling solutions in those niches, and use similarweb.com to find out where they're getting their traffic from. Look at how their funnels are set up. Use this as a basis and add your own uniqueness.

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sagwa02 9 years ago

I think the quickest and easiest way to get income fast will be with Amazon FBA. especially with Q4 coming.

To build any sizeable income with IM is going to take months of full time work.

You can do retail arbitrage on the weekends and make a good amount of supplemental income. And you already have a job so you can spare a few hundred bucks for inventory.

Lookup of globalvoodoo on YouTube, or "the resellers church" and watch those videos and podcasts they buy stuff and resell on Amazon you can do it too.
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tiffanymika

9 years ago

Hey Techalo

You are most likely going to get alot of feedback.

But after my own experience online over the past few years this is what you want to identify.

Look at those people who are making the big money... that's if that is what you want to do.

They all run coaching programs. That's a big nugget right there.

There are a few niches where you can do really well at... but the one that most people are drawn to and there is an endless supply of people is the internet marketing niche.

With affiliate marketing the best thing I have learned and what I apply is you want to partner with a company that offers anything from 50 to 90% commissions...

Knowing what I know now, because I didn't start off that way online... that is what I would do and is what I do now.

Just something for you tho really think about

Cheers

Tiff

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Tiffany Mika

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