I was going out for a date on a Friday (counted as just yesterday, because it is already past twelve.) with my girlfriend in the afternoon. We went to a bookstore called PageOne at VivoCity. I went through all the books on blogging to see how much I can learn from a big bookstore there. I was surprised to see quite a number of new books about blogging. However, only one book caught my eye while the rest are so vague in contents. I can’t remember what title that was, but it tells me so much about the authors who wrote the books that the things they talked is so “surfaced”.
I was asked in an email from a reader if there is any earnings on my side so far. I thought it might be a good idea to post it here instead of just replying him since I have spent some time out to accompany my girlfriend, and my new post is not up yet also. I like to do “kill two birds with one stone”! haha
How much I am earning?
Well I just started only in June 22nd, so as you can see in my blog obviously. Now, I am earning between zero to a few dollars in a day (still not exceeding my first $10 a day yet.. damn it!) out of this blog itself. I do have other sites that I am testing it out which are also helping me me with a little money here and there. In fact, you can be assured that I am here to stay to do my Internet business because I start to see money already…
How to start working on your own Internet Business?
Well, maybe you have another question to ask me if I have any mentors… I hope I would have one… Nope, I am just learning from the fellow bloggers and they are teaching me well… They are a bunch of really good online friends I have made… Thanks to all my blog friends! You are all loved by me!
I went for those World Internet Summit or something like that in Singapore, I just don’t find them useful at all… The things that they were saying are just so surface again… And how much time can they give to “teach their students personally”? Well, if you can catch here and there, you will learn some useful tips from them in the seminars. All we need to do is to learn and apply it immediately. Because there is this “deep learning curve” that every one of us has to go through in order to cross the barrier and set our momentum. If we stopped trying while we are in the beginning stage of “deep learning curve”, we are going to demoralize ourselves and start wondering why it doesn’t work.
Please allow me to tell you a secret about doing your own startup business… Actually, all you need is a good book (or a piece of really good information or report) that teaches you how to make money and you are set off to make some good money already… You don’t really need a mentor to help you yet… (not along the line of Internet yet at least…) A mentor is there only to tell you a tip or two when you are already doing well! That mentor is actually there to fine-tune your work… If you are still just starting out, you have to cross that “deep learning curve” before you talk about anything… Well, if you have been spending money over and over again, you must be thinking that you can “shortcut” that “deep learning curve” with money… I am sorry to say money is only used for buying tools to help you in the form of outsourcing or assistance.. Money wouldn’t help you cross that barrier that you have to cross yourself personally… Mentor cannot cross that barrier for you…
How can I keep myself afloat without income since June 2007?
- Well, I previously have done some businesses (check this post) and hence I have some savings out of it. I quited doing brick-n-mortar businesses with my partners and started working on Internet businesses on my own since June 2007. I have never believed in doing things in a part-time fashion. In fact, I have been doing business since 2003 till now. So, I can understand the initial phase of any new startup business which involves a lot of education and mistakes to be made and how fast I can admit my mistakes to improve and move on as soon as I can.
- What I have learned is that if we focus ourselves in doing something, all the factors of attraction will come to us directly or indirectly. People of the same interest will come to me, while people who no longer have the same interest will leave me. “If you are still working in construction industry, will you be still talking to me?”
- I keep my expenses as low as I can, while maximizing my income as much as I can. Business areas that need money, I will see if it can be done in the no-money method. And if it requires me to pay some money to take up somebody’s course to learn my new business, I will see if it fits my budget and also to see if I will really implement it. Or else, I will think of a way to do it my style without reinventing the wheel. Oh yes, I have not married yet and so my expenses can’t be any higher as I am still staying with my family…
- Capital investment for Internet businesses is always very affordable. And out of the Internet businesses, we can work out to bring extraordinary values to the internet business itself.
- How much are we paying for a domain name? About SGD$15 per year
- How much are we paying for a shared hosting service? About SGD$11 per month
- How much are we paying to install a blog software? Free
- How much are we paying to start this business right away? Free
- Even my Sole-Proprietor fee of S$65 is more expensive than my business!
So do you get it why I wanted to start Internet businesses already and not like most Singaporeans who wanted to do a brick-n-mortar business? I have been through it myself; the capital to pay for the vans, employees and all the miscellaneous costs of telephone bill, internet bill, office rental of at least 1 to 2 years of contract, finding money to buy goods to sell, finding people to work for us, etc… And the worst scenario is to have communication breakdown with your partners and your staff…
In fact, when I do Internet business, it is so much more scalable. Because as I build up my income of probably $3000 to $5000 from here, I might want expand my business to look into setting up an office to work more towards developing better sites by outsourcing my work to my staff or to the experts in Singapore. Singapore has so many IT expert companies out there for me to leverage on… That’s something good about doing business here.
Conclusion
Oh wow, actually I never realize I would type this post out a lot. I just thought I am just sharing how I am surviving doing business… Well, I am used to it already… If you are already paying for house loans or car loans, you better don’t quit your job yet because you have to think of how to settle your liabilities before you can be at my stage…
