What were you before.......this?

14 replies
If you are now making your living from Internet Marketing, I'm curious - what, if anything, did you do just before going fulltime IM?

I came into the game back in 2000 after having owned a successful local automotive repair shop for several years.

Auto shop grossed about $120k per year, I got about $55-60k after expenses. Not too shabby but very fast paced work, especially during the winter.

On a very cold day in Feb. 2000, I finally decided to make a drastic career change. Sold the business dirt cheap that very day and bailed out to persue my heart's desires - Programming and IM.

Friends & family thought I was completely nuts or else going through childhood #2. Some said take pills. Others said get therapy. Still others said (and I quote) ".....Leave that computer stuff to the eggheads and go back to work!".

But not my wonderful wife. She has never tried to discourage me in any way. And ya know what? since my transition into IM, I've paid off our home, and my wife has been able to go part-time (just 2 hrs./day!) at her job. Now she works only because she wants to.

My old friends don't laugh anymore but they still don't really understand what I do.

And after 8+ years, I still get asked by old customers to work on their cars. And sometimes I do .

So what were you before.....this?


- Darrell
#beforethis
  • Profile picture of the author Anup Mahajan
    I was a programmer..

    I started my career in 1999 with Web Designing and Programming. Gradually I moved to more complicated stuff like Databases and Datawarehousing..

    I shifted to IM last year after working more than 8.5 years in Software Industry ...

    And my wife is supportive though I can't explain what I do online to my parents.. They don't get it.. So I simply tell them I do freelancing

    Cheers,
    Anup
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    • Profile picture of the author Joshua Uebergang
      I wasn't anything really, being at a young age. But I guess you could say I was a business student at uni. Having graduated, you'd think I'd have some gems of advice to share, but I don't. That's uni for you.
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      • Profile picture of the author MoonLoh
        I'm still working full time but I could see the future of mine in internet marketing. Many people just do not treat internet marketing as a business, but in my mind, it's a real business with high profit margin and could earn me lots of money if I work hard to get the things done.
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        • Profile picture of the author dbh
          Originally Posted by MoonLoh View Post

          I'm still working full time but I could see the future of mine in internet marketing. Many people just do not treat internet marketing as a business, but in my mind, it's a real business with high profit margin and could earn me lots of money if I work hard to get the things done.
          Thats a great attitude, and it will serve you well
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    • Profile picture of the author Kim Standerline
      Originally Posted by anup.mahajan View Post

      I was a programmer..

      I started my career in 1999 with Web Designing and Programming. Gradually I moved to more complicated stuff like Databases and Datawarehousing..

      I shifted to IM last year after working more than 8.5 years in Software Industry ...

      And my wife is supportive though I can't explain what I do online to my parents.. They don't get it.. So I simply tell them I do freelancing

      Cheers,
      Anup
      lol why would a programmer (especially if you're good), want to go into IM.

      Good programmers are like rocking horse crap, (extremely hard to find). you can practically write your own paycheck

      Cheers
      Kymi
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      • Profile picture of the author Joe721
        Originally Posted by Kim Standerline View Post

        lol why would a programmer (especially if you're good), want to go into IM.

        Good programmers are like rocking horse crap, (extremely hard to find). you can practically write your own paycheck

        Cheers
        Kymi
        Yes, but we dont all want to work for other people. I create and solve my own technical and coding problems and solve them all as I want to. My timeline, my project managament, my software, my ideas, my own boss, and an income which now rivals what I was earning and keeps growing.
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      • Profile picture of the author fred67
        I was a successful plasterer for 38 years until MS kicked me in the ****

        If I get the chance, I'll be back doing it again.
        But in the meantime, I'm getting addicted to the IM world, and have made many top connections with people I could never have imagined even crossing their paths in my 'normal' life.

        Pete.
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  • Profile picture of the author Joe721
    I was doing the same thing, only different software, specific geo location, and all for other people for a high but definite wage. Now I just solve my own technical problems instead. Never been happier.
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  • I think "broke and struggling" sums up what I was doing before I decided that there has to be a way to make money online. Then, I pushed a button on my computer and money came pouring out!

    NOT! In fact, that's when the real work began...
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    "The will to prepare to win is more important than the will to win." -- misquoting Coach Vince Lombardi
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    • Profile picture of the author SuzanneH
      Put me in with the programmers in IM, who would rather work for themselves!

      I worked as a secretary, while studying for a programming degree at night; got a job as a programmer and then got laid off after two years, in the big bust of the early 2000s.

      I decided I wanted to worked for myself and that online was the way to go (online was a no brainer, really). Taught myself php, mysql and what I needed to know about servers (had already been building basic websites since 1995). Was able to build myself a weight loss website with fitness calculators, an online calorie counter, a fitness tracker (tracks calories eaten/burned), plus content.

      Of course, when I put the site up and the money DIDN'T come flowing in, I had to find other ways to support myself. I worked from home as a transcriber, and then started a pet sitting/dog walking business, while taking care of my website AND creating a website for my huband (goal tracker).

      At one point, I was working 4 "jobs." As more money came in from IM, I was able to let each job go. The pet sitting was the last to go in November.

      It's been a long haul (not to mention stressful!), and I still have a ways to go to get where I want to be, but it's been worth it!

      Suzanne
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    • Profile picture of the author cashcow
      I was a fancy schmancy high tech software engineer - I tested software for routers and other networking "stuff" and wrote automation code and got paid a ton of money. I was in that industry for over 20 years and getting rather burnt out.

      Then I stumbled across IM and thought "What a COOL way to make money". So I started working on building websites after work and on weekends.

      A couple of years ago, I got laid off from my fancy job and decided to never go back!

      Now I am quite happy sitting in my PJ's all day working on my computer. I put in a LOT of hours and make way less than I used to.

      Almost every day, some well meaning friend or relative nags at me to "get a job" and reminds me of how I could make so much more money if I "went back to work". My hubby is really supportive though so that helps a lot.

      The thing is that I know I have the potential to make so much more than I could if I went back to work for someone else. I'm willing to work hard for that and, after 4 years, I think I am finally starting to put the pieces together.

      Plus I don't play well with others anymore so if I went back to working at a company I'd probably be fired after my first week!

      Lee
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      Gone Fishing
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      • Profile picture of the author John Taylor
        Would you believe I used to wring out the chamois leather
        for a one armed window cleaner?

        Thought not!

        The reality is that I ran a very successful offline consultancy
        working with blue chip clients such as CocaCola, Sellotape and
        Glaxo-Welcome. The business was turning over $2M at its peak
        and I retired to messing about online.

        John
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        • Profile picture of the author ali_ravians
          I am just doing it as part time till I complete my studies.

          After that, I will give my full time to IM
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