Forum Moderators: martinibuster
My mother and father became very curious and worried when they saw me staying up late into the night (intensely researching every ounce of information as how the big leaguers do it) and demanded to know why I “was wasting my time on the computer playing games at night.“ I explained to them what I was doing but they think it is still “a game“- especially my father.
He is now hounding me to get a “real job before they’re all taken“, that’s not the least bit helpful when I’m researching and working on sites. I understand his concern because he is retiring next year with nothing in his 401(k) and a bad pension plan and the family income will stop (my mother left the working world 9 years ago to focus on us) and will start going down if they don‘t realize the importance of passive income now.
To make matter worse, my mother has told me that if I am serious about making money online I will make enough to cover my tuition for the upcoming semester- by August. The only problem is that is an impossible challenge. Firstly, because I have no credit card to pay for hosting or domain names and am worried to put my bank account information online via Paypal with all the horror stories I’ve heard.
Making 8,000 on the Internet in three months is flat out impossible using only free sites and not spending a dime on advertising, especially. Not to mention starting from PR0. You can’t make money without spending money first.
I am determined to make my first adsense payout before the end of this month. After reading Robert Kiyosaki, T. Harv Eker and Barbara Sher I know anyone can do anything though their determination of the spirit, the power of their mind and the power of being informed. Their books have also taught me to listen to my heart. People who are successful listen to their hearts and take calculated risks. The people who are crazy enough to think they can achieve their dreams or change the world are the ones who do.
This will probably worry many members because they are parent's themselves but I’m thinking of taking the semester off and focusing on working for myself online. I’m enrolled in the school of Art and know that will never make me financially free, unless I sell artwork like crazy. I’d rather pay myself first and live with the top 3% of the nation does the same rather than work for someone else and wonder what I could have accomplished.
I also want to start the wealth building process now, it will take a lot of time and I want to enjoy it when I’m young and help my parent’s when they are still middle age
How can I get my father on board with me without having any large checks coming in? He’s not business minded at all. My mother more business oriented and is looking for someway to work at home but didn’t really understand the importance of what I told her. Finally, is it safe to use paypal to pay for domain names? Is there a safer alternative if not?
[edited by: Ehanson at 6:01 pm (utc) on May 10, 2006]
I ran into someone the other day who was working 3 part-time jobs to live on her own at 20 and try to save up for college. It wasn't happening, she could barely get by, and yet she wanted to study music. Had no idea what if any career she could find with that. Hello? Reality check - it costs to live, quite a bit if you wany any semblance of comfort at all. Handle that first, do the rest later. She could have become a musician later, or even on the weekends. I mean, art and music are similar - if you're REALLY good, like super-talented, there's hardly any need for schooling. If you want to become an art or music teacher, or something like that, OK, that's a career path, maybe worth the investment. Get a loan, get through school as fast as possible...
Forget the naysayers's about Rich Dad, his essential MESSAGE is right - multiple streams of passive income is how people get rich. And wealth = freedom, true freedom of choice. We're only a year into a 10 year plan to achieve this ourselves, and I can see how its working.
I think that's pretty hard to do given that a publisher's earnings in AdSense and YPN are such volatile variables and subject to change for the worse anytime - without notice or recourse. Recent changes on Google's end (Big Daddy, Froogle links, who knows what!) have set me back about $250 a month. Will that drop reverse itself at some point? Maybe, maybe not.
AdSense has only been around for, what, 3 years? Just 3 years from now the landscape could have changed totally. This is really not a business you want to skip college for, unless at the very least you have proven success and a reasonable belief that if AdSense income dried up tomorrow then you could continue to eat.
Better that he do it now before college and get the skills necessary, than to get through college, have educational debt to pay back, car loans, family obligations, and so on.
And I agree that things are massively in flux - we just went up and down 25% in the last 2 months - but that's part of the fun. Many businesses have good and bad months out of their control.
[edited by: martinibuster at 7:30 am (utc) on May 12, 2006]
[edit reason] Keeping it on topic. [/edit]
You are still young so go out and get a job, even if it is part-time. You don't want to sit on the computer all day long. I've been there. It's not that fun.
I do have several back up plans if it all tanks. For that, schooling or some kind of trade skill is helpful. So I relent on the schooling aspect, but I still recommend part-time schooling and in something that will ensure a job (not art or music or philosophy or history... etc.)
What I could do is get create a seperate account so just in case someone in Thailand gets a hold of it they will only steal a few bucks. I could also pay through money order, but it is a slower process. Plus, I would feel silly ordering a money order for such a small amount.
Before anyone gets too worried I want to clarify something. My parent's have extra money saved up due to my father's having nothing in the 401k. We're not destitude by any means and we aren't on the brink of going bankrupt, we live in the third most expensive zip code in our state. 20 years ago my parents were living in an impoverished area of the city and now live in a hosh posh suburb similar to Greenwhich, CT. I don't know how we did it but we did it. Living proof you can come up from nothing. (Social mobility is a topic for foo.)
Anyway, thank for your concern:)
Just to update everyone I'm still job hunting and have registered for two business classes for next semester. (Suprised I was able to do that without being in the school). Also, I'm still keeping my prospects open and refocusing my efforts on my website.
IMO, take some risks while you're still young, you only live once! Yeh, your hopes for adsense are unrealistic, but not impossible. Anything is possible for you, man! Most people are so beaten down by the hardships in life (and life is really tough, you know) that they forget their dreams, or even how to dream anymore.
16 years ago, I dropped out of an English/Math double major on full scholarship to start making money in computers. Everyone, without exception, thought I was nuts - I didn't even own a computer! My parents were so disgusted that they didn't talk to me for five years after that!
My idea was to teach myself 'C' programming and build a text-based game. The idea was so stupid and unrealistic, it makes your ideas look like that of an MBA! I spent a year on it, fostering a life-long love of programming. After one year, purely by chance (funny story in fact), I met a consultant who started feeding me projects to work on at home. I never looked back... as a contract programmer, I'm proud to say that I have NEVER held a "real job" in my life. I have worked for huge well-known corporations all over the world, as well as risky start-ups for little money, but always on my own terms.
you'll indeed understand why sometimes $12.00 in Adsense earnings is worth more than $100,000 at a conventional career
Exactly! I recently quit a contract that pays well into six digits to work on my site, which needs some tender lovin'. Cos, even though I'm pushing 40, I don't ever want to lose the youthful hope that you have in abundance. I'm flat broke, everyone thinks I'm nuts, and I *just don't care*.
BTW, after 5 years, my site earns $1000 from adsense on a good month.
Good luck, Ehanson, and thanks for this very honest and - for me - inspiring post.
