I don’t read blogs much anymore. Heck, I don’t read much anymore at all. But the other day, I happened to have a few minutes of free time and clicked through to a nichepursuits.com blog post about Spencer’s income report. I had actually started on a similar journey back in 2009 when I started my first WordPress blog. My idea was simple. Make $25,000 in the last 100 days of 2010. I had always been ambitious, but at that point I had not quite learned the difference between learning and doing.

Up until this time, I had been in a network Marketing company (more on that later) which I had joined just out of high school in 2004. I thought it was going to be my ticket to the big life, but after 6 years, I had lost my enthusiasm and was looking for something a bit different. To make a long story short, I had learned to make WordPress sites from an online info course I had purchased, and I felt empowered! I ended up buying another course called StomperNet (no longer available), and I was on my way to a life in internet marketing.

I started a site called OnlineSuccessin100Days.com (now defunct), and got off to a great start. However, it wasn’t long until I gave up on the project as it got more difficult to find things to write about. I realized I was writing all about how to make Money online so that I could make money online when I had no idea how to make money online. From what I’ve encountered of other would-be internet entrepreneurs since that time, I found that I was not alone in my position then. Nevertheless, I didn’t finish out the project and of course, I didn’t make any money.

Since that time, I’ve tried several online money making ventures varying from Adsense to Amazon selling to affiliate marketing to building websites for customers to online network marketing to buying websites to selling WordPress themes and services and several other things in between. Spencer’s post reminded me how much fun I have trying different things, and I thought he had a pretty cool thing going with sharing his income reports along with the various ventures he works on. So I’ve decided to pick up blogging again for a few reasons:

My Goals for Restarting This Blog

1. I absolutely love learning, sharing, and helping people. I especially enjoy learning about marketing and about making money. There are so many routes to explore and so many creative ideas out there, and I think that blogging again will give me an outlet to share what I’m learning with others. I’ve started to have friends and family ask for advice on some of my strategies and methods, so this is for them too.
2. I really like writing. I like being able to express myself through writing, and this blog will give me a great outlet to practice and get feedback.
3. I want to make more money. This blog should be another income stream to add to all of the other things that I’m doing.
4. I want to grow my network. The internet is the most powerful tool for meeting people from around the world, and I’m looking forward to the networking aspect of blog comments, discussions, and guest posts.
5. I could use more accountability. If I write that I am going to do something for the whole world to read, I need to do those things. I am hoping that this blog can help me stay focused on my projects to see some of them through to completion.
6. I want some good partners. I have more ideas than I can do alone, and I know there are many others out there that I can learn from and with whom I could work together to build something great.
7. I want to have some fun! Writing about this stuff is fun for me and helps me order my thoughts. Undertaking this will help me enjoy life more!

Where I Want to Go – 3 Projects

This is me “starting over” in a sense. I’ve tried a lot of things, had some successes, and had more failures. Sometimes it’s good to just get back to the basics – to go back to the beginning and start a new, being sure to take every necessary step.

With this new chapter, I want to bring back to life a few of my “side hustles” that have fallen by the wayside due to busyness, neglect, and distractions. They are projects that get me excited, and ones that I don’t mind sharing. Though I have started working on all of them at some point, in many ways I’m starting over, so I think they will make for good projects for me to cover on this blog. Here they are in no particular order:

Bitcoin – Robert, a good friend of mine has recently taken a MAJOR dive into the world of crypto currencies. He and I have been friends for about a decade now, and it’s the type of relationship where we can openly share our successes and failures as we try to inspire each other towards success. It’s always nice to have friends on the journey with you.

I saw Robert go from knowing virtually nothing about Bitcoin to making > $100/day. within about 30-60 days which was absolutely mind blowing. I couldn’t believe those numbers, and I couldn’t believe he was buying “nothing.” I mean, after all, bitcoin is really just 0’s and 1’s right? There isn’t anything behind it?

…. Or is there?

His results spoke so LOUDLY I couldn’t ignore it. They are insane. So I’ve begun to dive in myself and learn about the crypto space. Robert and I are both “sponges.” When we get into something we absorb as much as we can as fast as we can. We buy courses, we watch videos, we talk to friends, we research, and we experiment.

I would like to share this exploration with my readers here.

Network Marketing – My very first entrepreneurial venture was a network marketing company. I joined just out of high school when I was 18 and then spent the next 6 years going to meetings, awkwardly trying to start conversations in the business book section of Barnes and Noble, and utterly failing to make any money whatsoever. It was one heck of a learning experience. I did walk away with a couple of HUGE lessons that are invaluable and which, I think, made the time and effort worth it.

Since I left that first company, I felt that something in that industry was still unresolved. I figured I’d make a foray back into network marketing at some point in the future, but I didn’t know when. I’ve looked at several companies over the years, and even joined a few, but I wasn’t really excited about any of them until Bonvera came along. I think they “get it,” and I think they have fixed many of the issues that I saw in my first company. If you understand the history of Bonvera, you’ll understand why I think this is redemptive opportunity that I have been looking for.

I actually signed up just over a year ago when they were in pre-launch, and I started a small marketing campaign which I eventually lost interest in. It was actually working though. I’ve added a couple of hundred people to a newsletter, signed up a handful of people, and most months I actually make a few dollars from the items that others buy on my team or through my affiliate links. I plan to revamp my marketing campaign, and I think this will be a fun project to track over the next several months. Unlike most networkers though, I plan to use the internet to build teams and drive sales instead of the face-to-face, door-to-door model that most networkers are accustomed too.

E-Commerce: Drop-shipping and Online Arbitrage with Amazon FBA and eBay – I started drop-shipping on Amazon about a year and a half ago, and had immediate success. A few months into it though, Amazon “slapped” my account and restricted me to FBA only. Since then, I’ve shipped in a few FBA items, but I would like to do lots more. I recently got my Amazon account unsuspended, so I am still moving forward with drop-shipping, but I think that FBA will be a great additional income stream. There are several strategies for selling stuff on Amazon, but I would like to focus on Online Retail Arbitrage which is the art and science of finding and buying great deals online and then “flipping” them on Amazon through FBA.

On top of Drop-shipping and FBA, I would also like to explore other aspects of e-commerce such as eBay and other marketplaces, having my own store, wholesaling, private labeling, and more. I’m looking forward to being able to share details and earnings to help inspire others who are on the same journey.

To Infinity and Beyond

Aside from these 3 projects, I will surely come across a million others. Sometimes my friend Robert or I will stumble across a course that looks cool, so we’ll buy it and try it. I love the discovery process, and I love learning, so you will probably see several one-off projects that may go somewhere or they may not. I want to stay focused on the main objectives while having enough freedom to explore other opportunities. Heck, if you already know of something that makes money online or if you want me to test it out for you, I may be willing to be your guinea pig, just get in touch, and we can chat.

In the end, I’m looking forward to writing again and to be able to share what I’m learning to help inspire others to see that they too can go from where they are at to where they want to be.

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