So... Are We Having Fun??

I'll fess up as well...two years into this crazy obsession and while I am making money, that is, I am in the red considering all my monthly subscriptions and my one full time and one part time outsourcer, I thought when I got into this thing that I would be much farther along by now!

I am in my mid fifties and one thing I need to say about this bumpy IM ride--it keeps my mind nimble! The mind needs plenty of stimulation when you get in the second half of the 5th decade of life. Learning all the pieces of the IM puzzle and how they fit together keeps my mind buzzing... and heck, as a hobby it is paying for itself, and as a retirement partial funding source, it is looking better every day!

I love it! Most people my age watch/go to movies, read books, play games. Instead of these "normal" things you will find me in my spare time reading up on a topic doing SEO on my websites, keyword research etc. My parents think I am a nutter and spend to much time on the computer . . . They might understand when I am paying for their retirement home

I have to say I am in the same boat when it comes to fessing up.....I got into IM thinking it would be a cakewalk, throwing up a few (or many!!) websites, getting things going would be simple and I would be a multimillionaire today lol

That being said I totally agree with you Sal there is so much doom mongering in general that people hardly stop to smell the roses as it were. I actually have learnt more about myself in these past 2 and a bit years than through university or any other period of hard work. I have started to relish the challenges that each day brings, and as things have started to 'click' into place and I have been making a consistent income life has become as much about enjoying IM as it is about being frustrated when things dont go to plan.

I think thats the essence of it all really....things never go to plan but if you dont enjoy the journey then perhaps its time to consider another career path. For me, this is the place to be and every day that goes by makes the experience more positive. I love this quote by Einstein because I think it really sums up our profession:

“You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.”

Addicted..... but still waiting for the golden egg

I personally am having a blast.

I really am!

For years, I've written big huge glorious magnificent tomes of scintillating brilliance (yes, I can now poke fun at meself!) that everyone who bought, thought was wondrous...but sales were slow indeed because they were *too* comprehensive.

Then, thanks to the insights of Erica Stone, I started focusing instead on simple slices of specific tasks/functions/accomplishments/etc.

The results were eyeopening to say the least!

And I will confess - getting emails that say, hey! Your material is so simple even a newbie can make it work....

That just plain *rocks*. I love teaching, and it seems like I'm finally on the right path for it.

In my location, there's a lot of challenges for me to face in order to make a decent income online.

I had few adsense sites which I am having trouble now. So my main income at this point in time is offering services especially on web development.

Anyway, as long as one is ready for the learning curve and the passion to work online, then there's a good chance of embracing success.

But of course, there's no successful person ever got success handed to his/her for free, or without hitting roadblocks along the way.

So far, I am having fun despite the challenges and difficulties sometimes.

I have major problem with motivation. Big swings in the last couple of weeks.

I still remember my first take on the internet all those years ago, after getting my dial up account, fitted my modem, scoured the magazines for help and visited my first bulletin board.

I turned to my wife and said "this internet thing will never take off, there's nothing to do"

A year or so later I had registered my first domain, computerbooks.co.uk, with the novel idea that I might be able to sell digital versions of computer books but the publishers wouldn't co-operate with me and besides it seemed you needed a degree in computer science just to set up your hosting and get some kind of payment processing going on.

Since then it's been an on and off addiction.

What I really like is that there is always something new to learn and a new idea to follow, a new project to start. But that is it's own problem! In the words of my wife - I'm a great starter but a poor finisher.

I am full time online now and soon, no doubt, I will be working 30 minutes a day in my million dollar business, sipping cocktails by the pool as I check my latest passive earnings and conferencing with my team of Phillipine outsourcers.

Until then you'll find me here, in front of the computer, 12 hours a day explaining to my wife why I can't start renovating the house because my business needs me!

Gee Sal - one can of worms on this one.

I never got online to become a successful marketer. I HATE marketing and am the furthest thing from a salesperson you will find. I'm also not technically inclined and while I know I need to understand some of it, I will never seek a full education in the tech ends of this business and would want to shoot myself if I got stuck in the tech ends even if I knew what I was doing.

When I got online it was because I had no Internet skills and was starting to lose my competitive edge offline. I had an idea for a website I wanted that dealt with my first love in hobbies that translates to business at some ends - rock and gem hunting. I was unemployed when my ex and I split up and had to turn to the Net to save my hide at the time. Since then it's been a struggle between working offline sometimes, online sometimes -- anything that keeps enough money coming in to support myself, which isn't easy with prices what they are and no second income in the home or help available to fall back on when problems crop up - or any of the daily tasks of normal living.

I got the website I wanted - rockhoundstation1.com. The php got totally trashed about 2 years ago so I had to completely start over on the .net side (php), but am still having fun there when I have the time. I have a good crowd there, and occasionally meet my members and go hunting with them. We'll be having a rockhound Pow Wow at my house next summer. How can I not love that?

I've learned hella amounts of stuff in here - and actually started creating my own products, which I never expected to ever do. That part is a kick. I love creating reports and ebooks. I've also found that if I put them out as PLR I don't really have to do much marketing. People want the stuff so all I have to do is tell them what the heck the product stats are and what the subject matter covered is, stick it in the WSO forum, and it sells. Now there are a few other sources I can stick stuff on (like Kindle) if I want to so I'll be trying that out some time. My next product, though, is going to have to be marketed, so while I will enjoy creating it, I dread the marketing I will have to do afterwards to get it out there. Might be doing some outsourcing on that one so I don't have to do the stuff that I don't really have any interest in bothering with. I figure if I can keep away from the stuff that I hate to do and just do what I love, I'll always love being online.

Other than product creation, I have no intentions of ever being a full time IMer. It drives me crazy to be trapped at a computer all the time. I LOVE tourism - it's a job I can go to and never have a bad feeling about going to work. I worked in resort towns for years, once as a business owner, and loved every minute of it. My interest is in getting an ecological specialist certificate so I can go back into the field at a level that I can make a substantial living. I'm not real materialistic and don't need much money to be happy. A roof and good food keeps me just freaking jolly as long as I'm in an area with a lot of open land with gemstones to hunt.

If I ever accidentally get rich at this stuff, I will do more traveling for gem hunting - but I will always want to be involved with tourism at some point or another, brick and mortar. I will also always be online creating a report or ebook here and again. Nobody ever told me that I had to make a choice between the two worlds and I have no intention of doing so. I like having the best of both worlds and intend to keep right on enjoying both. I feel sorry for people who's sole purpose on here is to get rich. What a drag their lives must be to be driven by bucks instead of love of a field.

Absolutely, I am having fun.

My job before this - for close to 3 years - was sitting in an office, working 9-5 and making the owner a hefty profit.

I can't wait to get up every morning and my to do list is so long, I wonder if I'll ever get through it. My goals are realistic and I am making as much money as I was with the 9-5 that I absolutely hated. I have no doubt I will double, and then triple my earnings over the next two years.

I can certainly understand the gloom and doom. I am still advocating for homeowners facing foreclosure and too much of that really gets to me. I am learning a balance, cutting back the hours I work as an advocate and trying to get thicker skin.

There is no other way for me. I'm an entrepreneur and always will be. And I'm having a blast.

Although I am not really a newbie, my success or lack of qualifies me as such. Too many shiny objects, too little focus. At least I have dropped all my monthly subscriptions and decided to get back to basics. I have more information than I could ever use. I am not buying any more! Anyone believe that? LOL

Great post Sal. I got started in IM when I was in college. I got into the whole eBay ebook craze with resell rights and set up my first automated eBay ebook store. At the time I was really excited. Although the ebooks weren't selling for much (£2 at the most) it was really exciting for me to be able to sell and make money when I without actually being involved in the sale. The whole concept of being able to go to bed then wake up the next morning with money in my PayPal account and the ebooks delivered was just out of this world.

Off the back of this eBay store I actually released my first ebook which was pretty successful. It was called; 'How To Set Up A Successful Automated Ebook Business on eBay'. I also got a reasonably successful affiliate blog going which reviewed all the tools I used to manage the eBay store (website, autoresponder, automated delivery etc).

Unfortunately, in 2006 (I think it was 2006 - seems so long ago now) eBay changed the rules on selling digital downloads which meant you had to make them physical either as a printed copy or by posting a CD to your customers. The whole reason I liked the eBay business was the automation so as soon as they changed this rule I decided to pursue other ventures.

The other bad news with this change was that my; 'How To Set Up A Successful Automated Ebook Business on eBay' was no longer accurate so I had to take it off the market. I was effectively starting from scratch again.

Shortly after that I set up my fitness website and have continued to grow that for the best part of 4 years. It was doing really well until the recent October 14th Panda update where I got seriously slapped (about 50% of my traffic gone).

As you can see I've had quite a few ups and downs on my journey.

Now to answer your question...am I having fun? Yes and no.

Although the thing that pulled me in with IM was the automation I still never saw it as easy money. I am a very hard worker and I understand with any business you have to work hard to make it successful. When this hard work is rewarded I love it. Even if the reward is really small compared to the effort I put in I still love it.

However, sometimes no matter how hard you work it all goes wrong and you don't get your reward. For example, the recent Google slap was a really big kick in the teeth for me and when something like that happens to your only source of income it is definitely not fun. It becomes all you can think about.

Overall, as a total journey it's definitely been fun and even during the periods when it's not fun I'll keep plugging away. You can't beat the feeling of having your own business and I would never trade it for a 9-5.

Tom

Absolutely LOVING every minute of it. I learn something new everyday and whenever I get a little despondent about my progress, I just remind myself how little I knew four months ago.

Of course, that just reminds me that the more I know, the more I realise how little I still actually know.

Never stop learning

Di

For the first time in years, I wake up eager to face the day every single day. I *finally* know what I want to be when I grow up, and I'm loving every minute of it!

Fun? I wouldn't exactly call it fun. If it was, then everyone would be doing it and succeeding with it. I will say that I am satisfied with what I do online though. It provides a challenge, forces me to learn about a wide variety of topics, and allows me to interact with people that I wouldn't otherwise interact with. I'm appreciative of that.

If I want to have fun though, I'll watch a football game with some Papa Johns.

LOVE WHAT YOU DO & DO WHAT YOU LOVE!!!!

I've been in IM for almost two years now? I think... I start to lose track.

It's not easy money and there are certainly periods of very long hard work but I get a good hourly return I reckon and the boring parts are still less boring than sitting hours in a call center or go with my original plan of risk management *shudder*.

I love being accountable for my own success and I enjoy the freedom and (most) of the work itself. So yes, I'd say I'm having fun compared to the alternatives.

I love it. It pays a hell of a lot more than some "job" in the "real world" haha

I got paid last night while I was playing MW3 on my new PS3.. so pretty much I got paid to play a video game. Then made more while I was asleep, so I pretty much got paid for sleeping.. How could you not love that?

i still remember the day when i created my first website u13.biz ( around 4 years ago ) with zero skills in hand ... at that time i just want to have my own website ...using free domain and free hosting with their google ads on my website ....then after 4-5 months i figured it out that i can make money from it ... I said WOW ,,, online money making it IT ROCKS ...
After spending months on website i started making 6-20 cents per day that time i was using Contextual Online Advertising and Behavioral Re-targeting Marketing Services as a publisher and it was my first earnings ,,, according to clicksor policy we have to earn minimum $20 to withdraw funds in paypal ... after working many months on my website i got $20 in my paypal .... that time paypal don't have option to withdraw funds in bank.....but i managed to get someone who need paypal $ and transfer money in my bank.....
& when i got money in my hand i was very happy at that time i was 17 ... all my friends and family members used to think that i m wasting time in front of pc but when i got my first earnings they was very happy


After working hard on website i started getting 10K+ hits per day but unfortunately my website was on free hosting and server often gets down and within few weeks they closed my website
it was my first website and all my hard works dran into water.

I was new to online world and had excitement of earning money online which keeps me boosting everytime .....with in few weeks my friend gave me a job in his WAREZ forum which was using VBULLETIN .. my job was to clean his forum from spam + daily post 20 new downloads + submit that downloads to DDL sites ...and my pay was $6 per month in paypal.....I worked 4-5 months in his website and then later on i started my 2nd website & bought domain and hosting from the money which i earned
My 2nd website was warez forum as i had good experience how to run warez forum i started rocking ,,, and used clicksor again as publisher in my website but here also my bad luck started again ... every month i pay $5 for hosting + paid 1 time for domain and the money which i earned not last longer .... and after few months i dont had money to pay for hosting and hosting company switched off my website ........

All this was 3 years ago ......

Have more more things to write but i know many people will skip my post because it will be too long ,,, so will continue some other day

Internet Marketing is about patience and time. Regardless of how many times e-books tell you methods on how to make instant cash overnight....in reality, it takes time...a lot of time and a lot of patience.
Write up a plan of how you are going to make a specific goal...1 week from now...2 weeks from now...4 weeks from now...etc. Stick to that plan, and you will start making money. There is no LEGAL plan on getting rich quick

Absolutely having fun!

My first business failed because neither my partner nor I understood marketing.

My second business has done well, primarily because of referrals.

Then I spent 6 months creating a product... and sold zero copies of it.

So, I resolved to learn about marketing, no matter how...distasteful... it might seem to be.

It turns out that marketing and sales is an incredibly interesting field, and for about 3 years I read anything and everything I could get my hands on about selling, copywriting, et al.

Still enjoying it, learning something new almost every day.

To be honest I've just started out so It's hard to say anything.
At the moment I find a hard time putting all the pieces of the puzzle together so.. it's not fun

Yes.

But I don't always live up to my expectations for me.

Good morning...

Too many replies here for me to thank as I'll use up all my credits. So a massive thank you to all.

There's some truly inspiring stories in there... one and all, regardless of where you are at.

I think it's a great share and for those struggling... you're not alone.

It's kinda funny because you can sense in people's replies which category they fall into. So having followed some of your careers, I'm not surprised at what you have written.

But yes, you have to smell the roses... or risk losing your sanity. Or as one cow said to the other: sometimes you just gotta stop and eat the roses.

As some may tell, I don't take myself too seriously any more.

when I refer to the gloom, I was more referring to the gloom on here. But I guess this place mirrors the real world where gloom and sensationalism get more air time. Like Lisa, I tend to not watch TV any more for these reasons. I'd rather use my time productively.

On a side note, I think I shocked a fellow Warrior the other day when I told him that the money does not motivate me any more.

These days, it's the challenge of taking a concept and bringing it to market that firs my motor.

Have an awesome day!

Sal

MW3 is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

AWESOME GAME!!!! So much better than MW2 was.

I love it. But like a lot of you, it has turned into a bit of an addiction. I also love not being “normal”. Lisakynan said, while everyone else is going out to the movies, I’m at home doing LW research!!

You know what? I was actually thinking about this exact thing today when I was sitting at my laptop, looking outside at a massive blizzard coming down and thinking to myself - man I'm glad I'm not out there right now!

It's strange. There's times when I can't even open up my laptop in the morning and times when it's all I want to do and I end up spending the whole day working(like today).

The nature of this game is very up and down. It's a real rollercoaster ride and I think it's important at times to try and compare it to another situation. ie. like working outside with snow crashing into you from all angles.

I know which one I'd prefer.

hating it....
nothing works for me

I do live the internet lifestyle, working from anywhere I want to
with just my laptop, or iPad, and maybe a wireless card.

It only took 15 years, and certainly more failures than I care
to think about, but it's been a fun ride.

Now, if it's not fun I simply don't do it!

Willie

Hi:

Shireen here :-)

Yes, I'm having more fun now compare to last time (when I was having a job)

I was having a lot of fun but I think I broke my foot..

lol now its not so fun