Working hard to change my life.

12 years ago

Hey Josh,

First of all, sorry to hear about your situation. By reading your post i can see you have some passion and will to become successful online. I'm sure you will make it!

If i were you, i would think what i'm good at, what i'm passionate about and what i would love to do. When you have found an answer to those questions, go deeper in that particular niche and read and learn, read and learn and so on.

I see many people (including me in the past) jumping from subject to another and really have no idea what should really do and what niche to stick with. That must be one of the most common reasons failing online, no idea what to start, where to start and how, and then end up buying get rich over night guides to hope becoming successful. And most likely won't give any effort on those guides as well. And there you are again in the same spot.

"I have a bachelors degree in business administration with focus in marketing and entrepreneurship. I have an associates in graphics, game design, and computer animation."

Some opportunities to get capital while putting up business/niche/plan/ideas:

https://www.elance.com/r/jobs/q-game%20design/
https://www.elance.com/r/jobs/q-animation/
https://www.elance.com/r/jobs/q-marketing/
https://www.elance.com/r/jobs/q-assistant/

Hopefully you find interest projects there and might become part of some!

Try to list your cons and pros to yourself and think what you really are into. If you are enough passionate about something, you will succeed after all. Just don't give up and keep on going!

Some motivation for you

Good luck,
Aleksi

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MissTerraK 12 years ago

Josh,

According to your post, you are educated in areas that are necessary for Internet marketing. My suggestion to you would be to start freelancing in the area of graphics, game design and computer animation to get some cash flow in all the while working on your own products in those areas for long term returns.

With marketing knowledge and entrepreneur education, you should be able to be up and running in no time.

I wish you colossal success!

Terra
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bigjc

12 years ago

Originally Posted by Designs1

Hey Josh,

First of all, sorry to hear about your situation. By reading your post i can see you have some passion and will to become successful online. I'm sure you will make it!

If i were you, i would think what i'm good at, what i'm passionate about and what i would love to do. When you have found an answer to those questions, go deeper in that particular niche and read and learn, read and learn and so on.

I see many people (including me in the past) jumping from subject to another and really have no idea what should really do and what niche to stick with. That must be one of the most common reasons failing online, no idea what to start, where to start and how, and then end up buying get rich over night guides to hope becoming successful. And most likely won't give any effort on those guides as well. And there you are again in the same spot.

"I have a bachelors degree in business administration with focus in marketing and entrepreneurship. I have an associates in graphics, game design, and computer animation."

Some opportunities to get capital while putting up business/niche/plan/ideas:

https://www.elance.com/r/jobs/q-game%20design/
https://www.elance.com/r/jobs/q-animation/
https://www.elance.com/r/jobs/q-marketing/
https://www.elance.com/r/jobs/q-assistant/

Hopefully you find interest projects there and might become part of some!

Try to list your cons and pros to yourself and think what you really are into. If you are enough passionate about something, you will succeed after all. Just don't give up and keep on going!

Some motivation for you

Good luck,
Aleksi

Thank you for your reply!

I'm going to look into some of the freelance, but I don't want to put my eggs in one basket. In freelance do I charge them first or when I'm done the project? I'm wondering because it's hard for me to make a portfolio (have a basic netbook), and I remember how common it is for people to scam designers.

On a side note I made a meeting with a prospect tomorrow to sell my services.

I'm focusing solely on online and offline marketing, freelancing, and any ideas that are suggested here. As a result I'm not looking for a job.

I'm alive and working hard. I have until Friday to succeed.

Thank you for the replies so far,
Josh

PS: I love the picture!

Thanks

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seasoned

12 years ago

Aleks,

You might want to reconsider your examples. From what I have heard, a lot of the info on Einsteins "failures" is garbage. HE, for example, spoke to his supposed problems with french. He had NO need, and thus no passion. When he had the need, he learned it FINE! That is the way it USUALLY is! Yet ANOTHER reason more people in europe are multilingual than in the US, etc...

The michael jordon statement is probably wrong. He was on a team and cut, and CRIED over it? DOUBT IT! Anyway, that is NO failure! Lamentation is an INCENTIVE to success! The failure is not the lamentation, but failure to act on it. It is the old "get back on that horse" theory.

Walt disney had inspiration, etc... HE was the one that wanted to develop land, create amusement parks, create animation, etc... Again, FAR from a failure!

Steve jobs basically ASKED to start it, etc... He was lucky he was there, etc... To this day, the friend that did more to start it was simply happy he was pushed. I actually asked him about it.

Oprah ended up in what apparently is a LOW END job! She was a local weather woman! YUCK! That is probably BECAUSE she was fired! If so, she could THANK the guy that fired her! She was THEN noticed by a guy that wanted to start a local talk show, and he hired HER!!!!!!! It was a BLAZING SUCCESS, TOOK OFF, and that is what gut her to where she is TODAY!

The beatles had a couple people that came up with some good songs, and practically MADE the group. After a few good venues..... The rest was history.

Steve

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Designs1

12 years ago

Originally Posted by seasoned

Aleks,

You might want to reconsider your examples. From what I have heard, a lot of the info on Einsteins "failures" is garbage. HE, for example, spoke to his supposed problems with french. He had NO need, and thus no passion. When he had the need, he learned it FINE! That is the way it USUALLY is! Yet ANOTHER reason more people in europe are multilingual than in the US, etc...

The michael jordon statement is probably wrong. He was on a team and cut, and CRIED over it? DOUBT IT! Anyway, that is NO failure! Lamentation is an INCENTIVE to success! The failure is not the lamentation, but failure to act on it. It is the old "get back on that horse" theory.

Walt disney had inspiration, etc... HE was the one that wanted to develop land, create amusement parks, create animation, etc... Again, FAR from a failure!

Steve jobs basically ASKED to start it, etc... He was lucky he was there, etc... To this day, the friend that did more to start it was simply happy he was pushed. I actually asked him about it.

Oprah ended up in what apparently is a LOW END job! She was a local weather woman! YUCK! That is probably BECAUSE she was fired! If so, she could THANK the guy that fired her! She was THEN noticed by a guy that wanted to start a local talk show, and he hired HER!!!!!!! It was a BLAZING SUCCESS, TOOK OFF, and that is what gut her to where she is TODAY!

The beatles had a couple people that came up with some good songs, and practically MADE the group. After a few good venues..... The rest was history.

Steve

Hey Steve,

Well... I didn't do this picture and your just pointing the same things than the picture.

"Walt disney had inspiration, etc... HE was the one that wanted to develop land, create amusement parks, create animation, etc... Again, FAR from a failure!"

"lacking imagination" and "having no original ideas" i guess that's why those are between "" and it pretty much shows sarcasm. Anyway, don't want to argue about this. Don't think that picture is pure BS and someone just made it up from nowhere.

-------------------

And Josh

"I'm going to look into some of the freelance, but I don't want to put my eggs in one basket. In freelance do I charge them first or when I'm done the project? I'm wondering because it's hard for me to make a portfolio (have a basic netbook), and I remember how common it is for people to scam designers."

Read these:

http://help.elance.com/forums/220621...nce-Protection
http://help.elance.com/forums/22077837-Getting-Paid

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tagiscom

12 years ago

Originally Posted by bigjc

Thank you for your reply!

I'm going to look into some of the freelance, but I don't want to put my eggs in one basket. In freelance do I charge them first or when I'm done the project? I'm wondering because it's hard for me to make a portfolio (have a basic netbook), and I remember how common it is for people to scam designers.

On a side note I made a meeting with a prospect tomorrow to sell my services.

I'm focusing solely on online and offline marketing, freelancing, and any ideas that are suggested here. As a result I'm not looking for a job.

I'm alive and working hard. I have until Friday to succeed.

Thank you for the replies so far,
Josh

PS: I love the picture!

Yep, l agree with others, probably the only way to make some money by Friday is to find someone throwing some good junk out, on the side of the road, and reselling it on Ebay?

Ask first of course, it is illegal to fossik in AU, but not if you ask first. And stay with wealthy areas, they chuck out some great stuff, now and then.

The freelancing sites mentioned, and Fiverr, etc will all take time to make profitable. And yeah, l have heard horror stories about them.

I paid a programmer to do something for me once, and he told me stories about how others would not pay for the software, etc, or pulled out at the last minute.

I would personally recommend doing what l am doing. Which is go to Graphicriver.

Facebook cover | GraphicRiver

And finding a hot area, like the above Facebook cover. The catch is it may take a few days to get your offer accepted and longer if they soft reject it.

But it can and will make money that will grow over time, especially if you outsource.

If you don't have Photoshop then the free option suggested before is probably the best way to go, but if it is the source l am thinking of, then Photoshop will probably seize up in the next 6 months to a year, and then if you uninstall the lot and reinstall it may work for an hour before seizing up again.

Adobe doesn't give out outright freebies without nobbling it in some way, but it is a good short term option.

Probably the fastest way of making money is to go to Amazon, buy something that is high demand, but hard to find, (like a B/W classic movie) then double the price and resell it on Ebay!

You would need to package it again and set it up, and advertise to get it going, but it could be the quickest option, apart from doing odd jobs on the WF, (classified ad)..

I was trying to find a very hard to get movie, and saw this descripency with prices. $13 at Amazon, but $25 to $30 on Ebay for the same movie????

Do some homework and l am sure you would find others?

I would rather build an investment or something l can forget about one day, than a job, so the Ebay option isn't something l would consider.

Good luck.

Shane

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bigjc

12 years ago

Hey folks,

Thanks so much for your support! I actually lucked out with two sales! I had a friend buy a WSO and put a little a little twist to it.

My first sale was a website deal for $822, 40% paid upfront. I also got a deal for 5,000 menus, 250 business cards, and email management for $1,575.53

I'm so excited that I was able to do this. I have businesses scheduling appointments for this week and next week. A little leg work went a long way!

I think I'm going to try my first steps in online marketing by sharing my success in an e-book.

I'm still looking to build up into online marketing as I don't know how sustainable this is in the long term, but for right now I have food in my belly, clothes on my back, and a roof over my head. This is way better than it's been.

Once again thank you guys for your support! I'm definitely not giving up now that I tasted some success I'm hungry for more! It's just unbelievable how putting a little effort forward can make such an amazing difference.

The client I'm making menus for is a pizza shop and I told him what I offered. He was like "haha yea well I get menus for $.57 each." I cut him half of that and he was like "B.S." I told him no, showed him some solid info, and twenty minutes later I had a free pizza and the $1575 deal. That's just a test run! I'm honestly shaking with excitement.

It's raining today so I'm going to get a phonebook and call businesses. In the meantime I owe someone a huge thank you.

Thank you all,
Josh

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bizgrower

12 years ago

Very, very good.
Thanks for the update.

Originally Posted by bigjc

Hey folks,

Thanks so much for your support! I actually lucked out with two sales! I had a friend buy a WSO and put a little a little twist to it.

My first sale was a website deal for $822, 40% paid upfront. I also got a deal for 5,000 menus, 250 business cards, and email management for $1,575.53

I'm so excited that I was able to do this. I have businesses scheduling appointments for this week and next week. A little leg work went a long way!

I think I'm going to try my first steps in online marketing by sharing my success in an e-book.

I'm still looking to build up into online marketing as I don't know how sustainable this is in the long term, but for right now I have food in my belly, clothes on my back, and a roof over my head. This is way better than it's been.

Once again thank you guys for your support! I'm definitely not giving up now that I tasted some success I'm hungry for more! It's just unbelievable how putting a little effort forward can make such an amazing difference.

Thank you all,
Josh

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Kay King

12 years ago

I'm still looking to build up into online marketing as I don't know how sustainable this is in the long term, but for right now I have food in my belly, clothes on my back, and a roof over my head. This is way better than it's been.

You ARE doing online marketing - you are using the internet/computer to create products for offline businesses.

Many of the people who promote "online only" don't have the style/education/guts to go out in person or get on the phone and SELL. Honestly - 'how to make money' ebooks written by newbies are a dime a dozen - you can do better than that.

My advice is to keep going for now with what is working for you. Build up some reserves so the food and roof are assured going forward before trying to move into another area of IM.

Good work!

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lcombs

12 years ago

IMO you need to provide off line and on line marketing.
I would focus more on on line marketing for small, local businesses.

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CigCarter

12 years ago

Hi there, you know, nobody in this world will ever try of not failing, the real victory is when you stand up and continue fighting.

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Kay King 12 years ago

I don't want to put my eggs in one basket. In freelance do I charge them first or when I'm done the project?

Don't worry about baskets and eggs at this point - that's one of those cliches you can save till later. Right now you need to find a way to get ONE egg in ONE basket. Diversification is great - but first you have to build that first "thing".

On freelance sites such as elance you are often protected as a seller because the buyer places the fee in escrow and then releases it when the job is completed. On some larger jobs the buyer may set "milestones" - where you are paid a portion of the job as each part of the job is completed.

However, no freelance site is going to be able to provide you with money by Friday. It's not realistic. That said, if you choose job ads carefully and bid like crazy day after day you can have enough work to keep you busy and earning within a couple of weeks.

If you take that route now or later - spend hours on the site - submit dozens of bids a day and write your bids carefully. Tell about yourself focusing on your knowledge/education - not on your current circumstances.

Offline is the only marketing path I can see that could yield money by Friday so I think you are wise to focus on that right away. (By offline I mean local businesses willing to pay you for online services).

kay
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KenThompson

12 years ago

Hi Josh,

Listings for game designer at indeed.com

Game Designer Jobs, Employment | Indeed.com

Also search for other areas in which you have expertise such as computer animation, etc. Look for opps in your area as well as telecommuting.

Do you have something like photoshop? If not, let me know. There was a thread here not long ago with a link to an older version of ps and it had the license key. Nothing pirated. Adobe was making it available.

Don't despair. I've been in your shoes. You must train your mind to focus on the positive at all times.

Do you have a paypal acct that is verified?

Search craigslist for graphic design opportunities. I've found work for freelance writing using cl. It can be fast or slow and you never know. It's a numbers game, so reach out as much as you can. Maybe focus on larger cities. Negotiate payment upfront or down payment to begin work. Don't compromise on that.

Check out indeed.com because they have lots of unusual listings for all over the place, in the US.

If things get dicey, see about staying with a friend or something. If you have to, stay in a shelter, and you can find soup kitchens and charitable orgs that serve dinner. It's all right. Just do what you have to do and keep working on all this stuff. It will pass. All things, good and bad, come to an end. Look for the good in this because it is there, trust me. It sucks right now but the outcome will be determined only by you.

Ken

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bizgrower

12 years ago

Michael Jordan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Michael may have been discouraged when he did
not make the Varsity team his sophomore year because
he was only 5'11".

It was probably at this point (as I've read elsewhere)
that a family member gave him a "if you want it, you
have to work for it" speech. And that's when he
started practicing 6 to 8 hours per day, became a
Junior Varsity star, happened to grow 4 more inches...
And the rest is history.

----------------------------------------

Josh,

I don't think you have to make it in marketing
by Friday. Nor do I think it realistic that you will get
paid by anybody (for marketing services) by Friday.
I do wish you luck of course.

I DO think you need to start making money by any legal
means possible by Friday. I think that means that
you go around to businesses or residences and
offer to paint stuff or clean cars, yards, garages, windows...
(Some small car dealers pay pretty well and pretty
consistent to keep their cars clean.)

Then you keep doing that. Then you get the computer
and the software (Gimp is free and like Photoshop) you
need to provide offline marketing services such as graphics.

Also, then get a place to live that you can afford.
A small studio apartment or a room that somebody rents...
Internet connection or use the public library or free wifi
somewhere.

Take a day or two off from doing odd jobs and try to
get marketing services projects by cold walking or cold
calling. Contact local printing companies and let them know
your skill set... Go to Chamber of Commerce mixers and other
types of events that are free or cost little...

Come back to the Warrior Forum offline section often
to learn how to "Build a business... not a job"
http://www.warriorforum.com/offline-...-business.html (See post #8 by Dan McCoy)

http://danray.me/start-an-agency-1/

Don't try to start a business when you are desperate for money.
Don't be desperate for money.

You can do it.
If you want to do it, you have to work for it.

Dan

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kash21

11 years ago

It was really interesting to read your story.

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Working hard to change my life.

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