Forum Moderators: martinibuster
How much income is enough? My thinking is that twice what you need to live on is a good goal. That should help offset lean months or unexpected events such as smartpricing or losing your rank.
Plan for additional costs. I think the two biggest for people living in the US are health insurance and full FICA tax. Today I get good health coverage from my employer, and pay the typical half FICA. Health insurance for the self-employed is probably a topic in itself. How to get a good rate?
Diversify. Build up more than one web site. Try not to let a single web site dominate your earnings. Have other income streams, like CJ, Amazon, AdBrite, etc. - they may not earn as much as AdSense, but it's worth the peace of mind.
Diversify more. Instead of spending excess income on plasma TVs and trips to the Bahamas, invest that money in stocks, bonds, real estate, etc. Live beneath your means and invest the rest.
Have a contingency plan. What will you do if your plans go up in smoke? Go into a new business? If so, have money set aside for it. Go back to the cubicle? Keep your skills up to date.
I'm curious about other people's experiences. Who has made the leap and how has it gone? What words of advice do you have?
Absolutely! This is a smart fellow.
One thing I have learned is that it is much easier to focus on a handful of sites and continue to build on them over time. The google game is about working and waiting. It is also much easier to drive traffic (no traffic no income) in true niche subjects.
I've always thought this too. I'm always surprised when I hear about people running dozens or hundreds of sites. How is it possible to maintain and update that many sites? I've always thought my two sites were supposed to provide information that is of interest to the reader instead of just being a place for people to surf to with the hope that they will click on AdSense ads.
Maybe someone who runs many multiple sites could shed some light on how successful this technique is. Do a few of your sites make most of the money and the rest very little?
I write about the things I'm interested in and have knowledge of, which I think helps me stay motivated.
They probably have employees or outside people to help them.
How much income is enough?
My plan is to keep my dayjob until site earnings reach 3000$, then quit my job and do it full time consequences be damned.
My logic is that if I can reach than number on a montly basis working part time I should be pretty save.
As to retirement fund I allways think the sites themselves should be that nest of eggs. I figure that if I´m still doing this in 20-30 years some of the sites I´ve made must have some value by then.
"I've always thought this too. I'm always surprised when I hear about people running dozens or hundreds of sites. How is it possible to maintain and update that many sites?"
They probably have employees or outside people to help them.
or they have sites on dog food and other BS topics that do not require many links to get to the top.
look for a WebmasterWorld member Cabbie's posts about that. guy made over 100k GBP in a year making 4GBP a day from his average site. cool money, eh? not added too much value to the Web, though.
i guess the best way is to build 1-2 core sites that you want to work with for long term. once they can pay for themselves and you have some money to invest, try some ways to get quick money without that much effort.
To work at home you have to have *motivation* to keep building your sites and *self discipline* to pay your estimated income taxes and save for a rainy day. If you aren't good with these things then I don't recommend working for yourself. I've seen some really good people fail because of lack of self discipline. That goes for any self employment, not just online.
Personally I've been pretty good about my taxes and not as good at saving, but it hasn't caught up with me yet. That is my New Year's resolution for this year.
I don't at all regret quitting my job. A friend of mine who is self employed told me that at the end of every year their family thanks God for another year together at home. Who knows what the next year will bring? Would they do it again? Yes!
I have spent the past year and a half taking care of my young children and I wouldn't trade it for anything. If for some reason my income went away I would have no problem finding a job. My old employer would likely hire me back. I don't worry about finding a job.
Then there are the questions from friends. Our daughter told a friend her dad is a crack dealer to supplement his income at Les Schwab to pay for our house and nice cars. I thought that was pretty hilarious. No one believes what I do for a living...nor do they really care to find out more about it.
What does this next year hold? I am launching 5 new web sites and plan to never grow complacent with what I'm doing. I treasure every moment!
It is funny when my wife "tries" to explain to people what I actually do for a living. Even I say something different each time.
This month I'm going with: Website Business Owner and Consultant
I like "Internet Entrepreneur", but my wife doesn't
The decision was easy to make after a rash of clients and/or servers with critical issues in the middle of the night that I'm getting to old for this nonsense.
So instead of taking on new custom programming, I started pumping up my own properties, and quickly realized that I was earning just as much cash grinding out code for myself than I was for a customer. The best part was, the work I did for myself continued to pay over and over, month after month, and wasn't a one-time payday for a one-time job.
Once you get to the realization you're building an ever growing business and the more time you invest the more money you make, more so than working a job and a web site, you'll never look back and have a lot less stress.
Everyone's situation is different, but I've never been happier with NO CUSTOMERS, NO EMPLOYEES, NO ALARMS AT 3 AM, it's blissfully quiet and cash just magically appears via EFT so I don't even have to get off my lazy butt to head to the bank.
The only downside is you don't have a boss that will yell at you for taking extended 3 hour leisurely lunches complete with beer a couple of times a week.
webjourneyman, I think the same way. "If I can earn X doing this part time, I should be able to earn something > X doing it full time." Seems logical enough. And right now I always feel like I have more ideas than time to implement them. I could accomplish more given more time.
A friend of mine who is self employed told me that at the end of every year their family thanks God for another year together at home.
sahm, that's just the kind of life I'm hoping for!
ogletree, great advice. I think saving money is key. Anyone doing this full time should be prepared for the worst, because there are no guarantees. Right now (because I still have a day job) I'm putting 100% of my web site earnings into a CD account. After the new year I will diversify by investing in mutual funds. I think it is definitely important to have discipline over your spending- save the money instead!
The best part was, the work I did for myself continued to pay over and over, month after month, and wasn't a one-time payday for a one-time job.
This is really the greatest advantage. You're building your own wealth creation machine, instead of building one for someone else. It's the same in any other business. You can either own the McDonalds or work at the McDonalds. You obviously want to be on that higher rung in our capitalist hierarchy. There is a glass ceiling for workers.
I got cancelled for an unclear reason and I am sure glad I made the smart choice and not rely on an unpredictable company.
JDT
I got cancelled for an unclear reason and I am sure glad I made the smart choice and not rely on an unpredictable company.
Glad you made the smart choice. I don't think it's the company that's unpredictable - more like the system. You have to admit that in an ideal world where there was NO click fraud, Adsense would be super!
This forum taught me that Adsense is good as the icing on the cake but not as the main course. Not knowing if I have a check coming to me the next month is not how I want to live my life.
I would say that Adsense is not a reliable source of income for living expenses when they can cancel you for whatever reason they want.
Just ask any of the millions of unemployed if employers are any better.
It's called "employment at will" and they can pack your desk up and unceremoniously shove you out the door at any moment.
Thailand, where I am based (although I do not run an Adsense business full-time) is a popular spot for guys who do run Adsense based businesses or even other online businesses like selling goods manufactured in Asia on EBay and what not.
Relocating may mean that you can lower the amount you need to live on comfortably.
slightly OT but how practical is it to gain proper residence / work permits in Thailand for this kind of business? AFAIK one would have to be over 50 for a retirement visa, or I hear things about having to employ at least four or so local staff to get a business visa.
AdSense does carry a risk that you'll be kicked out for reasons you have no control over.
How does this differ from a "REAL JOB" and your current status of unemployment?
Unless you are the boss, or the business itself, you always have a risk of being kicked out.
[edited by: Huntster at 1:44 am (utc) on Dec. 19, 2006]
i will add another adsense site and then a a fourth site with a completely different twist with no affiliate stuff at all only meant for other parts of the world other than the U.S.
i don't even put all my coins on the internet marketing as it is. i will get involved in forex also.
How does this differ from a "REAL JOB" and your current status of unemployment?
It doesn't, which is why I was making comparisons between being a publisher who sells all of the ad inventory vs. working for someone else. If you sell your ad inventory, you negotiate directly with the customer, and as long as the customer is happy, you make money.
The visa situation as changed a bit recently so be aware of that.
My Adsense income is good, but because of high expenses, the profit is still fluctuating between livable and not really livable. Even so I don't work a full time job, and got my wife to quit her job. Oh and whilst I do try and diversify and have a few interesting plates spinning, saying "diversify" to someone is about as much use as saying "buy low, sell high" it's obvious but does not help you do it!
But despite not fitting peoples criteria for being full time on adsense I am, and I'm very happy doing it. I'm my own BOSS and if the income does increase it is me who will benefit, I'm at home working the hours I want, able to spend time with family and enjoy all the things in life that money does not buy.
1) Being away from the job market for too many years in my field means I can never just write a CV and start off where I stopped, will take many years of training and lower level employment to catch up again, so there's a bridge burnt.
2) My wife still has trouble explaining how her husband works from home, I guess it carries an unemployed stigma in her mind.
3) I am worried about setting an example for my 11 year old son, I had a full 9-5 jobs career, but now his role model is working from home, I'd like my son to have full offline world work experience and interact with the world after graduating from university, not follow my suit, he can later on take on the online world after he has matured like I did, even if it pays less, real world experience and people skills are not learnt online.
But despite not fitting peoples criteria for being full time on adsense I am, and I'm very happy doing it. I'm my own BOSS and if the income does increase it is me who will benefit, I'm at home working the hours I want, able to spend time with family and enjoy all the things in life that money does not buy.
I'd love to make more with Adsense because my home catering biz is hard work, but all things considered, I LOVE working at home. Took my kids on a midnight drive and ice-cream last night, woke up late today and had a cat-nap in the afternoon... I make about as much as my full-time pay (then) but I'm so much happier now. My income from Adsense can only get better in the future so I'm very excited.
I think I had another problem. People heard that and suddenly thought we were well off when we weren't. I actually made a lot less money than my day job during the first year, but the attitude from others changed a lot. People acted differently when going out to eat or talking about spending money on something. Just because I started an online company (and just before the bubble burst), it was like I was suddenly supposed to help others and pay for things.
My reinforcement of a few things in this great thread. I save up 6 months of expenses and quit my day job in early 2000. I had just become debt free but for rent and utilities, so I suppose that's a big difference too. I started it part time but I believe you never really commit or can be successful at something just part-time. There is this incredible rush when you are without a net. (And that net of a day job isn't that safe anyway in today's world.) Everything looks different when you are on your own at first. The coffee at home is better. The beach looks different. The sand felt different between my toes. The sky looked different to me on that first day. Just a great sense of freedom and feeling that you have to do something but it's totally up to you. You can now live anywhere in the world. You can even move into an RV and change your home and office every day.
So I did okay building a site before Adsense came along. Then I added Adsense at the end of 2004 which doubled my income. It allowed me to flesh out some information that I didn't have any other money behind it. That in turn made the site more useful and rank higher, which then increased the affiliate earnings. I don't believe in relying on one affiliate or just adsense. I think one should do a combination of things. My ideal situation is if you could have three sources of a livable income. If one is lost, you can still live well.
Adsense should be part of your full time plan but you NEED a little something else. Affiliate, subscriptions, ebooks, private ads. You'll sleep better.
The one thing I wish for to make me more comfortable and that I can't control....I would like to have 33% of my search traffic come from three different major engines, instead of 86% from one mammoth one.
The one thing I wish for to make me more comfortable and that I can't control....I would like to have 33% of my search traffic come from three different major engines, instead of 86% from one mammoth one.
The solution to that is to build a kind of site that is useful enough to have word of mouth and bookmarks, and have enough traffic sans search engines, that way even if you are dropped you loose only a small percentage of your traffic and can still call it a living.
Yes, you can get more money. Yes, you feel independent. But what about feeling "connected"?
Yes, you can get more money. Yes, you feel independent. But what about feeling "connected"?
I only leave the house to get supplies about once a year and I am heavily armed...
hehe just kidding.
Ihave gotten used to it, been self employed for many years now. If you go to movies, the mall, start a hobby (I build and fly remote controled helicopters), read, all sorts of things.
The beauty of your time being "yours" is your ability to spend time as "you" see fit, instead of using valuable hours of your lifetime to line someone elses pockets.
