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The best way to spend your money for newbies

by XanBarksdale
8 replies
I'm fairly new to the board, but I keep seeing the same questions pop up over, and over, and over...

"How would you spend $XXX?"

This isn't a definitive guide of what you must do, but simply my opinion. I'd love to hear what others think too! Reply to this thread with your answers so newbies will have a good thread for reference.

$0 - Learn as much as you can! Start a blog on WordPress.com so you know how it works when you're ready for your own domain.

$1 - Aweber Trial (will only last for 1 month)

$5 - Buy a domain name for your business or YourName.com (if it's available)

$10 - Hosting package (will only last for 1 month), or a subscription to WarriorForum

$20 - 1 month of AWeber service ($19/month)

$25 - Plenty of good books for this much that will help you learn IM

$50 - A professionally made WordPress theme for your site

$100 - OptimizePress or a high quality microphone (I use the Blue Snowball)

$250 - Something branding related (professional headshot, logo, twitter/facebook/youtube graphics, etc.)

$500 - A 2nd monitor (having 2 monitors makes me A LOT more efficient!)

$1k - HD video camera and nice lens (I use a Canon T2i and a 7D)

$2.5k - A nice computer and an external hard drive (I'm an Apple user and wouldn't use anything else, but there are plenty of good computers to choose from)

$5k - Invest in having your own product/eBook made (doesn't have to cost this much, but you can hire quality graphic designers, copywriters, etc.

$10k - Start hiring people to run your business, update your sites, virtual assistants, etc.

Some of these things depend on what type of websites you're running. Ex. I like having a nice camera and microphone for video reviews, voice overs, etc., but you won't need that if you're just promoting affiliate offers.
#money #newbies #spend
  • Profile picture of the author Warrior X
    I was right there with you for about the first half of the list. After that... well... not so
    sure ($500 for a monitor? where are you shopping?)

    Anyways, some good investments there.

    Jeremy
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    • Profile picture of the author Dustin Lyle
      Great post man! Pretty much straight-forward aside from that 24k gold plated monitor! lol j/k

      Dustin
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      • Profile picture of the author XanBarksdale
        Originally Posted by Dustin Lyle View Post

        Great post man! Pretty much straight-forward aside from that 24k gold plated monitor! lol j/k

        Dustin
        Ha! Like I said, I use all Apple stuff. IMO it's the best and I wouldn't ever go back to PC. Here is a link to the 27" Apple Cinema Display - It costs $1k, but I know you can find cheaper off brands.

        As a side note, I'm running a 27" iMac with a 23" Apple second monitor.

        (Link to monitor is not an affiliate link)
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        • Profile picture of the author Dustin Lyle
          Originally Posted by XanBarksdale View Post

          Ha! Like I said, I use all Apple stuff. IMO it's the best and I wouldn't ever go back to PC. Here is a link to the 27" Apple Cinema Display - It costs $1k, but I know you can find cheaper off brands.

          As a side note, I'm running a 27" iMac with a 23" Apple second monitor.

          (Link to monitor is not an affiliate link)

          Oh I'm not hating man! I wish my business was at the point where I could move *up* to a MAC... It is pretty insane though, the price difference between Cinema displays and the almost comparable HD screens of similar size on the budget shelf...
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          • Profile picture of the author pdooley
            Nice list!

            Right now I'm in the $500 range (at a time). Most recently I invested in a new mic, the Shure SM7B... oh yeah, sound like my local NPR station now.

            Also, just picked up Optimizepress and wishlist member for a new site I'm about to launch.

            The biggest purchase I've made so far is a Canon T2i for HD video making.

            Everything else like writing, sales copy, marketing, I do myself. I wish that I could afford a virtual assistant though. I feel like I waste too much time on small stuff.

            Love that Apple monitor... very nice.

            My advice to a newbie is: Start small and do as much yourself as you can. Then start to outsource what you can afford through Odesk, Elance, etc. That's pretty affordable.
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    • Profile picture of the author XanBarksdale
      Originally Posted by TrustedCopy View Post

      I was right there with you for about the first half of the list. After that... well... not so
      sure ($500 for a monitor, $2,500 for a computer? where are you shopping?)

      Anyways, some good investments there.

      Jeremy
      The apple store! $2500 will get you a 27" iMac and external hard drive. When you're building websites, doing graphic design, editing video, etc. you NEED all the real estate you can get! If you've ever used a dual monitor setup you'll know what I mean.
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  • Profile picture of the author Oliver Williams
    When you are still learning a business model especially in IM there will be mistakes made and some of these will cost money.

    My advice is learn what you can through doing (experience in you friend) be prepared for some failed experiments and minimize your expenses as much as you can in the knowledge that you are still in the process of learning do not spend big until you know what you're doing.
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  • Profile picture of the author Warrior X
    BTW You can start outsourcing your business for a whole lot less than 10,000
    bucks Just sayin'

    Jeremy
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