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What Are You an Expert In?

Posted on 20 November 2008 | 2 responses

I had to answer this question recently. I realized that the answer I gave had more to do with my degree of self-confidence than any actual ability.

The obvious answer is that I am an expert in education. I have a master’s degree in that field, and I have taught for 15 years. However, today when one of my students threw a fit and wouldn’t listen to me, I didn’t feel like much of an expert. What I felt like was quitting.

I thought about the other things that I know how to do. I am what you might call a “dabbler”. I know a little Spanish, how to do the basics of crochet, knitting, beading, scrapbooking and just about every other craft; and how to write. Actually, I do a lot more than dabble at writing, although writing thousands of articles for SEO purposes does not make me the next Stephen King.

So how long does it take to become an expert? “Experts” will tell you that you can learn just about anything in three months.

Does that include electrical engineering? “Cause if it does, I know what I’m learning over summer break!

I’m sure I could become an expert in something if I would focus. I’m also sure that I could present myself as an educational expert if I did the marketing right. Because that’s part of what being an expert is all about–marketing yourself as one!

At any rate, it’s the information age. It’s time to get expert in something!

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Do Online Work Offline

Posted on 16 November 2008 | 1 response

I’ve been noticing more and more opportunities to take online opportunities offline and vice versa. Although, I suppose putting offline work online is a bit more like the usual way that things work.

But what if you’re not suited to sitting in front of a computer for the majority of the day? What if you’re a “people person” who gets depressed without a reason to put on the new outfit you bought over the weekend?

I’ve noticed that several companies are melding online and offline work–Avon and Mary Kay come to mind. Yesterday, though, I got an interesting proposition in my email box. It had to do with becoming a VistaPrint Reseller. This is one of the few offers that I’ve received that I’ve taken seriously. That’s because I like VistaPrint’s product. I first noticed them because of all of the free promotional products they offer. For example, right now, they are offering a free t-shirt of your own design, and they even have them in black! There’s lots of other freebies as well, like car magnets, notepads, business cards…that’s how I got hooked!

At any rate, here’s how the reseller program works: Basically, you behave as a print broker, although you could advertise as a printer. You advertise the (your) services, products and rates. You use the VistaPrint website like your own personal graphic editing tool. The prices are generally marked down from the prices on the regular site, and products are drop shipped directly to the customer without the VistaPrint logo. So far, this is sounding pretty cool. Here is a list of the benefits:

The one thing that aggravates me about this program is that there is no referral program associated with referring people to the reseller program, as opposed to generally referring people to VistaPrint products. I suppose I’m still in online mode. Still, if you are a social type, why not set yourself up as a person who offers print services? It looks like you could make a bundle.

Photo Credit: OLD SKOOL Cora

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Get the Confidence of a Four-Year-Old

Posted on 6 February 2008 | No responses

When I was four years old, my mother bought an old bicycle at a thrift shop. Her intention was to donate it to a family that had a few older kids. At that age, I didn’t have much of a philanthropic bent. All I remember is being enraged that there was a shiny blue bike in the garage, and it was for another kid. I begged my mother relentlessly to have the bike for my own, but she always told me that I was too young to ride a bike. Finally, I said, “So what if I learn how to ride it? Are you going to give it away then?”

Feeling safe in the knowledge that her timid four-year-old was not going to learn how to ride the bike in the next week or so, she said yes. After all, it didn’t even have training wheels.

As soon as I got her answer, I considered the bike mine. I didn’t think for a moment that I wouldn’t learn. Four year olds can have lots more confidence than ability, as those of you with children probably already know. They think they can fly, for crying out loud. This is why you have to supervise them around trees, ladders and accessible roofs.

For about two hours, I got on the bike and fell off the bike. On. Off. This repeated itself probably fifty times. Finally, I stayed upright for a few seconds. After that, it was only a few minutes before I was cruising around the block on my new bike. I kept that bike for years—it had been too big for me—and it always reminded me that with enough determination I could get what I wanted.

Sometimes as an adult, I’ve left that determination sitting somewhere in a dusty garage with the bike. Something happened to that confidence that I had when I was four years old, and I’ve worked hard to get it back. How can you get the confidence of a four-year-old?

1. Remember what it was like to be four. Or three. Or five. However far back your long-term memory happens to take you. Think about all of the chances you took, and then think about it—that was YOU!

2. Make a list of things that you have accomplished so far. Read it over. See? You rock!

3. Take risks. When you were four, you were ready to show your mom how you could fly like a bird from the top of the car. I’m not suggesting that you jump off of a high building, but investing more than 20 bucks in your latest venture might be a positive start. (Don’t be a victim of tiny thinking!

4. Don’t worry about what other people think. When you were four, you didn’t worry whether or not the neighbor down the street would think you were a loser if you fell off your bike. Everyone had visible signs of failure—skinned knees. You just picked yourself up and went on. Being afraid to take risks because of other people’s evaluations of you means that you have forgotten that they have their own failures. At least if they’re trying.

5. Keep on keeping on. Another thing I did when I was a kid was make some wings and try to fly. Over and over again I would run down the hill, flapping. Alas, after a couple of hours of this, I got nowhere. At least I tried. I proved to myself that I couldn’t fly. If I had only tried two or three times, I might not have known for another couple of years, right? You never know when you’re going to hit it. Try to fly. Try to ride a bike. Try to start a company.

6. Don’t be afraid to demand what you want. While this is not appropriate all of the time, there are times in life where people will plant themselves very firmly between you and your goals. When this happens, step up to the plate and don’t budge. Channel that inner four-year-old, and most people will give in.

Four year olds have big dreams. Just ask one of them what they want to do when they grow up sometime. I guarantee that the answer will not be, “Be a person who types all day and worries about money”. No worries. Make it happen.

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How To Tell If You’re Going To Fail

Posted on 2 February 2008 | 2 responses

You know how you never really notice the hum of the air-conditioner or heater in the background? However, without climate control, most of us living in hot or cold climates would be absolutely miserable. The mere fact that the thermostat exists makes a huge difference in our lives. In a hot Texas summer, it can literally be the difference between life or death. At least the heat can make you wish you were dead, preferably by freezer burn.

Our thoughts work the same way. Most of them hum along in the background, never making much noise, but having the potential to make our lives comfortable or miserable. Since so much is riding on these “invisible thoughts”, we have to train ourselves to catch them and make them work for us. Here are some examples of what might be running in the background of your mind:

I’ll get around to it when I have time.

It’s too hard.

What will people think if I can’t do it?

I’ve never done anything like this before.

If you’ve been entertaining the idea of quitting your day job and working as a consultant, for example, do you think you’ll ever “get around to it” if you have these thoughts running? Absolutely not. The only way you can be successful in whatever endeavor you choose is if you really believe that you can do it.

Another way to tell if you’re setting yourself up for failure is by listening to what you say. Do you find yourself saying the following?

I can’t remember anything. I must be getting old!

I’m so busy I don’t know how I’ll find time to work on my business.

I’ll probably be able to get to it tomorrow.

What you tell other people is also what you are telling yourself. In the above example, you are telling yourself that you are tired, old, forgetful, bad at time management and that you do not have concrete goals. If you hear statements like these coming out of your mouth, change them! I’ve never heard successful, confident people speak like this. On the other hand, I’ve heard others say these things so many times a day that the words have become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Replace the words. Replace them with words that indicate success. For example, you can say, “I’m so glad to be here this morning”, or “I’ll be able to get to that by noon tomorrow.”

You must replace words of failure with words of success, or you have predetermined what is going to happen. While failure happens to people who are positive thinkers, it is not a guarantee. It is a guarantee, however, that negative thinkers are not going to get what they want in life.

All it takes is finding out what those thoughts and words are that are influencing you like a well-functioning or broken air-conditioner. If you’re comfortable, you’ll get a lot more accomplished.

Photo by lurker4hire

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How to Make Money From Your Content Over and Over

Posted on 27 January 2008 | 2 responses

If you have ever tried to monetize a blog, you know how difficult it can be to make money. If you break down how much you are “getting paid” per post, chances are it is in the neighborhood of twenty-five cents. This scenario doesn’t have to be quite so depressing, because you don’t have to depend on your blog to earn money for your writing. Make your writing work for you outside of your blog!

The way to do this is to register at Constant Content. You have the option of selling content that you write three different ways.

Usage: This is the way that it works if you want to sell something that you have already published on a blog. This means that the buyer can use the content once on his or her website. The content stays on Constant Content to be sold again, and again and…again.

Unique: In this scenario, the buyer can add the content to multiple websites, and the content is removed from Constant Content. So, it’s a one-time deal.

Full Rights: Authors charge the most for full rights. This is because not only can the content not be resold again, but the byline can be removed, and the author has given up all rights to the work. It is not an option to sell previously published blog posts in this manner.

Of course, in order to make sales, you have to have the right kind of content. The type of content that sells on Constant Content are third person informative articles targeted towards niche markets, big and small. Articles with bulleted points, such as 7 Ways to Landscape on the Cheap sell quickly, in my experience.

Some people may be concerned about duplicate content penalties. At this point, I’m not. Page rank seems to be given and taken on a whim, and my blogs do not depend on having a high page rank, although for some activities having a PR of 3 is helpful. I’m learning that you can make quite a bit of money from a blog with a page rank of zero. At any rate, think about the last time you queried Google about a weight loss technique or something else that is fairly popular. Have you seen all of the duplicate content that comes up on the very first page? It certainly isn’t hurting those sites, so don’t lose money by worrying about something that theoretically could happen and probably won’t affect you even if it does.

There are other content sellers out there, such as Associated Content, that I would imagine you could do the same thing with. I haven’t tried Associated Content, so I’m not sure if it is as good of a market. It might be a better one! I’ve certainly heard about a lot of people using it. However, one of the things I seem to hear is that the sell prices are low.

Regardless of where you sell your work, make sure you aren’t being a tiny thinker and price your work accordingly!

Photo by -sel

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Happiness is Having Options

Posted on 27 January 2008 | 1 response

At this point, I make almost the same amount of money working online as I do teaching. So why don’t I quit my day job? Well, this strange thing happened. Before I started making money online, I loathed my job and couldn’t wait to earn enough to make my exit. But as soon as started making enough for it to be a feasible option to walk out the door, I started enjoying my day job more. Why is this?

Imagine that you have a house that you like very much. It is decorated in just your style, and is very comfortable and cozy. Then imagine that someone put some bolts on the outside entrances and locked you in. Would you still enjoy your home as much?

It’s the same way with work. If you are trapped in a job, with no other options besides perhaps taking another, equally crappy job, then the feeling you have associated with that job won’t be good. Here is how having options has changed my outlook on my day job:

I am much more willing to do things the way I want to do them.

Mentally, I am able to take a step back from my work.

I’ve found that I’ve become much more creative.

I appreciate the interactivity I have at work more. It’s easy to take something for granted until you don’t have it anymore. I spent the majority of the Christmas break (I’m a teacher) working online. When I returned to work, I really took a lot of pleasure in the social interaction that accompanies working with others. If I ever go freelance full-time, I will have to make sure that I integrate daily interaction with various people into my life.

The lesson in all of this for me is that it’s important to have options in every area of life, except, perhaps for your marriage. That might cause some problems. Although, isn’t one of the reasons that people cite for being unhappy in marriages “being stuck”? It tells you something.

Develop as many streams of income as you can without spreading yourself too thin. The more options you have, the more satisfying each one becomes.

Photo by ViaMoi

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Are You a Tiny Thinker?

Posted on 21 January 2008 | 5 responses

There’s a statement that I’ve read far too many times on blogs.

I’m making enough money to pay for my hosting costs, and that’s a good thing.

Or something to that effect. Who the heck goes online to make money with a goal of making $10 a month?!? I mean, if that is all you want, come to my house and I’ll pay you $20 to clean my house! There is simply no way you are going to make money online or off if your goal is to make $10 a month.

Here are some examples of tiny thinking:

Surveys

The companies that “pay” you to take surveys know this. Sometimes they don’t even bother to pay you with real money! This summer, I played around with the survey scams and found exactly one reputable company, Pinecone. I signed up with them, and six months later, my inbox is still full of questionaires, most of which are unpaid ones. The paid ones pay…are you ready for this…$3.00! Is your time really worth that little? Yes, it may only take you ten minutes to fill out a survey, and that’s $15 an hour. But not really. Try adding up the time you spend doing the unpaid ones. It gets sad real fast.

Personal Items on eBay

I see tiny thinking a lot on eBay. Selling your kid’s old jeans will net you five dollars, yes. But, you had to…have the product, clean the product, take the photos, upload the photos, set up the eBay page, write a description, take measurements, find packaging, deal with emails and inane questions, drive to the post office, wait in line and finally mail the dang thing. For five dollars. If you have done this, you are a victim of small thinking.

Adsense on small sites

By small sites, I mean any site that gets less than 10,000 hits per week. Even with 10,000 hits a week, you are going to be doing good if you make $5.00 a day. Wait, did I say good?!? Eeek. That’s not good. Not unless you have multiple sites with that kind of traffic, which is highly unlikely. I’m not knocking it, because it will buy you your daily Starbucks. But it’s not something to crow about.

Selling Crafts

I look on Etsy and I can tell who has a business plan and who doesn’t. Most people don’t. Most people are selling items that cost $5.00 to produce for $8.00. These same items took them about two hours to make. Not counting all of the picture taking, shipping, etc. that’s $1.50 an hour. That’s really small. Of course, no one is selling enough to actually make $1.50 an hour, so it is more like $1.50 a week. Switch to Folgers. There are ways to make money with crafts, but you have to be smart about it, and you have to think big.

Underpricing Services

I’ve found that there are some really talented people out there who will charge five dollars for a Photoshop banner. This is good for people who can’t design, but bad for the designers! There is no reason for this. If someone wants a Photoshop banner in the style that you produce, they’ll pay $50 as soon as they’ll pay $5, except in rare instances. And the rare instances don’t count, because since you are now charging $50, you can definitely afford to lose those $5 customers.

I could go on and on. You see so much small thinking out there. If you are willing to accept only five dollars for your time, then that is what you’ll get. Period. If you see yourself in any of these examples, stop.

You can change tiny thinking. Here’s what you do:

Decide what you are going to focus on.

differently

Find out how the big boys are doing it. Ask yourself why you aren’t doing the same. There are really no excuses. Using the “make money online” industry as an example, if you can’t program, hire a programmer to implement your idea. There are plenty of programmers who are small thinkers, so you’ll be able to afford it!

Set a goal. For crying out loud, please set a goal. It should not be something like “quit my job and stay at home”. That is very vague, and it doesn’t specify whether or not you will be eating oatmeal three times a day while you are at home or whether your personal masseuse will be arriving at 10:00 each morning. Instead, decide how much money you want to make and give yourself a realistic time frame in which to make it. Then, when you’re exploring opportunities, if what you’re looking into doesn’t fit that model, then you can ditch it right away and not waste your time dithering away.

Tell people you are what you are. Even if you are currently making a few cents a day writing, if that is how you have decided you are going to make money, then tell people you are a writer. You don’t have to tell them how much you make. Or perhaps you are a marketer. Or a quilter. The idea is to convince yourself that your endeavor is a career, not a hobby, and careers make money. Your expectations of yourself will change.

My purpose here on this blog is to point out as many money-making opportunities as possible that will make you independent from a bricks and mortar workplace. Opportunities can be approached in a big way or a tiny way. It all depends on you. So think huge!

Photo by fofurasfelinas

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