Forum Moderators: phranque
Just yesterday I saw Extreme Makeover: Homeowner's Edition where they rebuilt the house of a girl alergic to sunlight.
This girl would never be able to earn a normal wage, she cannot be near any windows or sunlight, pretty much banning her from 50% of office buildings.
The entire episode all I could think about was how perfect earning a living from the internet would be for this girl.
So I could obviously understand why she would want to, but why do you want to?
What about this type of work appeals to you?
For myself it is the possibility (only a possibility currently) of having a semi-autonomous income. Currently I live (poor but comfortably) off my amazing parents while I get my undergrad. However in two years I'm going to go for a PHD and will be doing this without the nice monthly checks from my parents.
If (in two years) I can earn a decent ammount of money from my website ($90-100 a day is the goal), enough to allow me to pay for food, fun, and rent that would be awesome. Even if I had to do some part time research job to make ends meet that would still be excellent. Of course tution would be in a loan or scholarship.
My greatest fear (admittedly because I have never lived without the financial support of my parents) is that I will live a daily grind of pathetic shifts at BestBuy and classes. I hope my website can prevent this.
My fiances parents are trying to do something similar. Currently they have this modeling business which gives them quite a bit of spare time, however they have been toying with the goal of living and working in an RV while they travel around the US, an internet income would be perfect for that.
($90-100 a day is the goal)
Are you sure that's enough? 30% - goes to taxes so you'll really be earning $63-$70 a day.
You get to work from the comfort of your home, you don't even have to go anywhere. You work whenever you want. You are your own boss, nobody tells you what to do. You get lots of free time and take vacations whenever you want and make them as long as you want. There is no limit on how much you can earn.
Those are the good things...
But after a while I found out that there are some bad things about that type of work too. If your business relies on search engines (most likely it will) it is really unpredictable what can happen, so I find it a little stressful to see my traffic and revenue go up and down. (i'm talking about organic SEO here). Also you get to work alone and you don't really communicate with others face to face, you get to do everything through e-mails, chats, forums....So it gets kinda lonely and boring, so you will most likely find it hard to motivate yourself at times.
I've been doing this for about 4 years now, since high school, now I earn a full time living doing this. The good things of course outweigh the bad by a truck load...
Seriously, I have never liked working in a corporate setting just cant stand the BS and inflated egos that fly around the office.
I work part time now and the rest on the betting exchanges working as a bookie -will go full time early next year.
I generally don't like associating with people (customers), really. People want stuff, they want it now, they want it customized or half-off... and I could care less about any of it. I had a job as a bus boy once. It lasted less than one shift. You can be sure it was a people-intensive environment.
Lunch with my co-workers was usually a bust; after work social events were worse since they always seemed to hinge around alcoholic beverages. Ho hum...
Staff meetings, corporate environments, managers at all levels are things that irk me to no end. I did it because the money was there, and raising a child takes money. And at that time, the internet was still taking off.
I like to travel, to be outdoors, to make a lot of noise, to visit with friends and make new friends. Having a dependable income helps makes this possible. I would say, however, that it is possible without the income.
Earning a Living from the Internet
Why do you want to do it?
Now IMHO anything is better that that..
If I ever have to go back to a 9-5 or working for someone else job I would probably see that as a hobby and have a much more care free attitude towards it.
Working hard for someone else and not get any recognition and just knowing that you can be made redundant no matter how hard you work really really really burns you out.
In my previous job it totally drained me and effected my home life too :(.
Currently I live (poor but comfortably) off my amazing parents while I get my undergrad. However in two years I'm going to go for a PHD and will be doing this without the nice monthly checks from my parents.
Wow. I can't even imagine what it must be like to get checks every month from my parents while I was going to school. Christ, you must be spoiled rotten.
The one exeption can be workling for yourself. Hard (-and smart-) work sometimes pays off. (Hopefully it will for me!)
Secondly, and there I seem to be beside the norm, 3 months after thinking there might be money on the net, I made enough to support myself, a friend, and my parents who were having a hard time, with a decent livestyle, although far from rich.
and if you add above average income and basically no active work, you'll realise that if I could overcome my own inertia, I could easily expand my income greatly... So add future expansion possibilities too.
SN
I can work when I want to from anywhere in the world.
I can fix problems immediately, and have all my customers have the fix in one shot.
I don't need an office or a commute.
I still have to market and sell and travel and deal with customers, but I can be more playful about it, since it's my own company.
Working hard for someone else and not get any recognition and just knowing that you can be made redundant no matter how hard you work
This is exactly what happened to me. I worked for a trade newspaper as a French, Russian and German speaking correspondent 7-10 hours a day, writing industry reports for Bloomberg (zero compensation), working as a wire journalist on the internet publication and as a reporter for the offline newspaper.
It wasn't interesting, it was depressing. The office was about as basic as they come.
One and a half years... two small payrises (though the starting salary was awful), no support, no perks, no bonuses. Then, one day, as the company continued to lose money after the internet crash my boss said:
"Your position doesn't exist anymore. I'm afraid you are being made redundant in one month from now."
So there you have it, pure capitalist exploitation.
[Fast forward the clock three years...]
Now I write about what I want to write about, work when I want and not when I don't, go on holiday six times a year and earn twice as much as I did when I worked in that newsroom. Added to that the commute from my pillow to my desk is about three metres.
I can work late and sleep in. I can go to bed early and start work very early. My weekend is whenever I choose it.
I control my own means of production and - whenever I want - I can work a three-day week. It may just be one of the only achievable ways to have a socialist style working-life from within an exploitative, short-termist, consumerist society.
I for one, having tasted it, wouldn't have any other way.
I wake up every morning and actually look forward to my day. I consider myself extremely lucky in that regard (as my wife heads off to work, dreading her job).
I have to work hard and constantly continue to educate myself but I have much greater control of my own destiny.
Are you sure that's enough? 30% - goes to taxes so you'll really be earning $63-$70 a day.
Hmmm... I better make it $150 a day then :P
Christ, you must be spoiled rotten.
I absolutely am! Thats why I want to take advantage of these "free" years and get myself a nice income.
4 years later, stuck here with a H*LL of a lot of pressure, 17 staff, a psychotic business partner (;)), ulcer, annoying clients, and constant shuttling between several EU countries.
But it's an amazing business - every day brings a new challenge, my job lets me jet around seeing different countries, bringing me into contact with new people and new friends, and offers a unique working experience.
But on the downside I don't honestly know if I wont burn out before I make enough to retire on - any day now I'm expecting the men in white cloaks to turn up! I find it too difficult to hold down a proper relationship, and frankly some days can't be bothered to get out of bed.
But then another tax bill hits and I get off my posterior and into the office.
So here's a tip to you newcomers to the business - if you can build it up enough yourselves to keep yourself going, don't get tempted to go down that corporate route. Putting a laptop into your backpack and hitchhiking round the world while the cash piles up? Lucky sod!
Ah well, ex nihilo nihil fit. Or, as my Gaelic friends would say, cha bhi fios aire math an tobair gus an tràigh e. ;)
The owner was making awesome money so he decided to expand.
He got more employees, got bought advertising, more products, hired lawyers, copywriters, SEO experts etc...
Within a year or so he was bankrupt.
At the end of the article he said the smartest piece of advice about the internet I've ever heard: (I'll paraphrase)
It is easy to earn money with a tiny internet business, it is easy to earn money with a massive internet business,
but it is impossible to earn money with a medium sized business.
I don't want employees, I don't want office space, all I want is a subtitute for a "bestbuy" type job.
I believe this may be called "freedom"?
I believe this may be called "freedom"?
Amen
Was quite inspired by your post. I also want to opt something like this, to start earning thru Internet. Can you suggest some possible ways, earning without having a website - is it possible...
You all being much experienced, surely can give your valuable inputs, Looking forward to your replies. Thanks in advance.
Really, anyone who wants to make a living on the internet should at least have a token website, since sometimes it is hard to get affiliate status without a website to apply with.
I run sites that would put lives at risk if they were down for more than a few minutes - so having to conference call internationally, fly back and train to london at 4am just isnt possible...
god - no commute, masses of control and freedom - if you can do it (motivation wise, both under and over!) and can earn enough from it - why would anyone want to work un-footloose!?
Im also a Pro photograher - and thats the only thing that prevents me from being rather like that girl, since I rarely see daylight otherwise!
One of the other most important aspects for me is that we are able to work, build something - and leave while earning.
In normal business - you earn a salary directly connected to how much you work, and the goal of anyone in business is to get someone else working for them - so that you can earn money without having to directly work for that money. In our jobs - this is natural...you can earn money while you sleep, money while you holiday, and most importantly of all - make money while building things that will make more money!
Harley
Harley
I run sites that would put lives at risk if they were down for more than a few minutes
community sites are tough when they are giving such a nessesary and 'depended on' service - users/members cannot just go to the next site in the search engine listing...
many members openly admit near addiction to the site, and totally depend on it daily to gain support and advice when they need it most, for free 24/7/365
The site I was referring to is the worlds largest self-harm support community, getting about 2.5 million hits per week (1 million individual pages served) - thats a lot of people that, if you wernt around when they really really needed you - wouldnt be able to go elsewhere nessesarily, and would put their lives at risk because of it...
The site is around 3000 unique pages,
while the responsibily is mind blowing, creating a site of that size and success at 18 (5 years ago) is something I am very proud of, and utterly dedicated to...
Harley
