I like starting my posts with a question, how is 2010 treating you and your business? For me, 2010 started off great, then hit a slump, and now I’m excited to be alive and in the online marketing niche. 5 years ago I was making 30k a year and wondering how the F%ck I was going to make it 50 more years until I could retire lol. Because of the web, my life has changed forever, and I’m honestly happier than I have ever been. not because of the money (the money is good tho) but because of the potential freedom I have that not many people I know will ever understand.
This is not a “brag” post
Now I want to be very clear, this is NOT a brag post! Life is good sure, but there is a downside to online marketing and working online. Just like any other job, there is real grunt work that must be done, and unlike 9-5 jobs you are never assured of a paycheck that is a set amount. So like I said above, 2010 started very good, then I hit a slump and I wasn’t sure why. Not just a slump of income, it stayed pretty steady, but it was a creative slump and a lack of new ideas. I didn’t get into this business because I wanted to do what Poker News or CardChat was doing, I wanted to do something new and better. At some point this year I realized my sites were not doing anything special. That depressed me a little bit, I want to be different and I want to make money. Sometimes those two ideas don’t jive lol.
The Downside of working online
Sitting in front of a computer for extended periods – Int he past 4 years, I’ve put on the weight! Not just a little, a lot! The Wife and I have started eating right and exercising thankfully and I’m slowly losing weight! But sitting all day hurts your body, back, and your mind. I’ve started taking my laptop outside and getting fresh air while I work. If you have a coffee shop with wifi, take your laptop (or even a notepad) and do some work there.
Working online has a lot of distractions - Ever been on Facebook? I’ve found if I’m not careful I’ll spend WASTE a ton of time checking out websites which slows me down from working. FB, Twitter, your favorite chat forums (PAL), skype (OMG if I had a penny for every minute I’ve spent chatting about random stuff on skype I’d be a bazillionaire. Now there is cool apps you can use to ban or block yourself from websites which can be a distraction, but I think if you have any chance of being your own boss and running a company, then you should have the self discipline to just focus on what you need to do.
Too Much Brainstorming – Man-o-Man! I’m the world’s best “idea man” but to run a successful business you need to be better at executing ideas and following them to fruition. As a marketer, we have to come up with new innovative ideas for promos, bonuses, ways to get new traffic, ways to convert traffic, etc. We also get caught up in TOO many projects and not enough time. A great example is a site I just bought. I bought PKR Poker Rakeback from a friend on PAL. I spent two weeks negotiating for the domain and after I bought it, I realized I spent over $6,000 in 2010 on domains, websites, and affiliate accounts and each time I was looking too far ahead to my next purchase or project. We also bought:
- Internet Poker Bonus (My wife’s new project )
- Winning Poker (Mine and Eric’s new Site)
- Poker News Online – Ugh not sure why lol
- My Poker Corner – Partnering with Marius – Soon to be dominating the SERP’s
Thankfully my wife and business partner said “Stop, lets work on something until we reach a specific goal” – Which obviously is great advice and something I’m smart enough to know. But I get so excited about my new ideas, there is such a huge rush when you have an idea and it works. Its addictive and destructive unless you practice good follow through!
Lack of social interaction – At my old 9-5 job, I saw and dealt whit people daily with the same environment as mine. They generally knew what my job was and I knew what their job was. In the world of online businesses, we do not have that easy access “Tribe” like most people have. Our peers can be contacted through blogs, IM’s, emails, etc but unless you are super fortunate, you rarely see these people daily or face to face. So that creates a somewhat isolated environment which can become weird after a while. Think about how many people as you “what do you do for a living” – then the blank stares or constant questions from people once you try and explain it to them.
So as you can see by the small list above (and yes I could go on) that working and “living” online has serious obstacles which have to be dealt with and overcome on a daily basis. There are a ton of positive things I can list out about this job life but I bet you can guess a few of them. But the bottom line is that this is a job and one that has to be taken seriously. So many people with great ideas and even great business models do not make it more than one year doing this. IMO its mainly because when they do not see results happen right away, they get discouraged and go back to the 9-5 they tried so desperately to leave.
Finally, I ask again “How is 2010 treating you” – Are you having some ups and downs? Are you not finishing your projects or following through on your ideas? If you are like me, you have room to improve on this, and following trough should be our goals. One thing is for sure, regardless of the challenges we face, we have a life only a handful of people will ever understand, or be able to experience, so we are the lucky few.
On