This was a comment that I just received from a fellow blogger …
I didn’t know I had any ‘fellow bloggers’, but bloggers seem to have an ‘unofficial’ fraternity … so, I guess it’s kind’a nice to be part of a ‘group’ even if I didn’t set out to do so.
I have been communicating off-and-on with one particular fellow blogger that I only know as the mysterious blogrdoc (that’s him in the picture!) ever since he left me a rather ‘flattering’ comment on one of my earlier posts:
I’m sorry, but if you made $7M, you would *NOT* be running a blog.
I immediately knew that I would like this guy!
After we got to ‘know each other a little better’ through a series of comments and e-mails, blogrdoc asked me a question that I thought I should share with you all:
I wanted to get your opinion on something. I’d *like* to make 7M in 7 years. Do I *necessarily* need to assume a lot of financial risk to do this?
No … blogrdoc … you just need an awful lot of luck 😉
You also need to take at least some risk and put in an awful lot of sweat … it’s just that the risk doesn’t need to be financial, and the sweat can be a little less or a lot more depending upon how quick you want to become rich (and how much ‘rich’ means to you) …
Let’s look at it this way:
If you want to make $1,000,000 in 20 years, just buy a house and keep up the payments and … wait.
Guaranteed millionaire!
If you want to make $7,000,000 in 7 years you need massive passion/action – and, a little (or a lot!) of luck – to get it …
But, if you want to end up somewhere between the two, then we can talk turkey.
First, here is blogrdoc‘s plan:
My Strategy is a multi-layered approach and will include: 1. Blog/Ad based revenue (for starters, I am aware that this is extremely difficult to monetize. Particularly for me since I don’t have too many connections. 2. Several product based revenue ideas. May file for a patent then license. 3. ???
Blogrdoc has hit the nail on the head … these are excellent Making Money 201 strategies:
1. Blogging may not make much money, but it may bring in some (at least 50% of which should go towards your Investment Plan) … the more money it brings in, the shorter the time to the ‘end game’.
2. But, blogging also brings those ‘connections’ that you need to make your life a success … this is just a new twist to an old game called ‘networking’ … it’s not what you know, but who you know that counts.
3. Product based ideas become businesses … businesses (with a lot of hard work, and a little luck) become income … income becomes fuel for your Investment Strategy and we are back to 1. … the more money these businesses bring in, the shorter the time to the ‘end game’.
Now, here is where I think the people who have taken the time to read this whole post get their reward:
In none of these cases am I anticipating putting more than $10k or so at risk. My main concern is that I’ve got a family and I just don’t have the stomach to put too much at risk. I can’t just leave my day job or anything like that. Do I have a chance? Am I looking at this all wrong?
No, my friendly-neighborhood-bloggerman, you are doing this all RIGHT!
Even THE Guy Kawasaki (Apple co-founder; founder/ceo of Angel Investing firm) started his last two successfull online ventures (including Alltop) on something like $10k each … I am into three right now, with a max. of $50k committed to each.
Here’s the low-risk (but, not no-risk) way to reach your financial goals … for any blogger and/or just-starting-out business person out there:
… I can’t promise that this simple plan will make you $7 million in 7 years (first, you have to really need it to get it … just wanting it won’t cut it), but it has a better-than-even chance to make you more money than you ever thought possible:
i) Maintain your Making Money 101 habits: pay yourself first (you know, that “10% into your 401k” thing); pay down your consumer debts (car loans, c/cards, etc.); buy your own house (better yet, buy a rental).
ii) Accelerate your income: Use any excess cash from your job, your side ventures (e.g. ‘starbucks experiment’), tax refund checks, anything that helps you to build up little pots of investment capital.
Hint: that does NOT include anything in (i) … never ‘gamble’ with anything you cannot afford to lose … and you cannot afford to lose your savings or investments … ever!
iii) If you want to get rich slower, simply add these ‘pots’ from ii) to your Investment Plan … if you want to ‘roll the dice’ and take, really, only a little extra risk to (maybe) get rich quicker, use these little pots of investment capital to fund your ‘product based revenue ideas’ and fund those patents.
Warning: this money has to come from somewhere … it will probably be the same money that you used to use for vacations, new sunglasses, baseball tickets, fancy dinners … you know. ‘stuff’ that you couldn’t possibly begin to do without 😉
iv) Starting more than one venture part-time (not necessarily more than one at a time, though) is exactly the kind of ‘controlled risk’ thinking that I like … just make sure that you have your ‘end game’ in mind right from the start (who are you going to licence those patents to? Who is going to buy those ‘micro businesses’ that you spin off).
v) Until the income from one of these ‘side ventures’ makes it seem stupid for you to do otherwise (you will know when this time comes), by all means: keep your day job and keep feeding your family!
vi) If you work hard, delay gratification, stay innovative, keep investing, get lucky, and keep those Step (i) Money Making 101 habits in place the whole way through, you probably won’t need $7 million to do whatever it is that is in your Life’s Dream … but 7 years should be just about enough time to get there.
Good luck to blogrdoc and all of the other Personal Finance (and other) bloggers out there …
… indeed, good luck to anybody who is reading this in order to break out of the pack. Hopefully, by following the advice in this post and others, you’ll need a little less of it (luck) to succeed!
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What can I say, I’m verklempt! Thanks AJC! There’s so many kooks out there. I’m now convinced you are legit and are who you say you are. It is plainly obvious that you offer practical advice while at the same time, inspiring us to aim high (which is the part that I need to be reminded of).
@ blogrdoc – you, and your fun financial ‘experiments’, are a role model for those aspiring to get out of the ‘rat race’ and onto financial independence … just don’t aim higher than the tiles on your cubicle 😉
Blogrdoc, I’m starting to monetize my blog too. If people like Guy Kawasaki, Dilbert’s author, and other wealthy people all put ads on their site to make money, then there’s no reason why we should not. John Chow is making $30,000 month off his main blog so there is always an opportunity to make money through your blog.
For me, it’s not about how much money I can get from the blog. $100 extra per month is good, but I can just sit down and work for an hour or two and make more than that. The real incentive is the psychological encouragement that your blog is making money for you while you sleep, eat, take a shower, etc., and yes, you can replicate the result with other services. Since I am a web developer, web is my strength and I am leveraging it as much as possible. If one website can make $100 per month passively, open up 5 sites and you are making $500/month.
I’m turning 24 this year so for me it is another 6 years till my goal. AJC, I’m still learning but I can tell, this journey is worth every sweat of mine.
@ Alex – Great minds think alike: I just finished penning a post on exactly this subject (blogging)! Look out for it in a week or two …
Thanks for the good advice fellow bloggers 😉
Great post again. I now have three links to you on my main blog page!
I am using my blog to make money, but not in the way you may think. I am using it to establish the fact that I am an expert in specific areas….then when I talk to my investors I can show them the articles I wrote and how it all works. Basically to give credibility.
Next I also use the blog to sometimes promote my computer company. I have not received any sales. but it is a hope.
The main thing I use it for is motivation, so that I keep going on my path to being wealthy.
Jason Dragon
http://capitalactive.wordpress.com/
@ – Sara
@ Jason – Soon, I will be writing a post about blogging … my view is that the money is generally weak and you should find another angle; sounds like you already have!
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I think it’s all very valid advice; especially the 50% of your income from your blog goes to investments… Good call…
Why is blogrdoc wearing a pair of underwear over his face? 😉
For my two cents, the thought that “If one blog makes me $100, 5 makes me $500!” didn’t work for me. It’s too difficult to scale that kind of enterprise. If you want $10,000 per month, you’re going to have 100 websites? That’s certainly possible, but they won’t be updated very often, and the content will certainly suffer. I’d suggest a few blogs/websites, maybe 5 or so, and concentrate on making those great. That theory has worked for me, at least – I made a little over $100k last year from my websites.
@ Hank – Thanks … are you going to do it??
@ RP – Blodrdoc assures me that they are CLEAN underpants :))
Who are you going to SELL your web-sites to, RP? If you can’t easily sell them, then you have a JOB not a BUSINESS … you don’t HAVE to sell them, you just need the option.
@RP
“I made a little over $100k last year from my websites.” — This is NOT an April Fool joke right? Thanks for the tip and I understand one popular site can make a lot more from 10 or 100 smaller, less-known sites. And maintaining 5 sites to maintain is much better than maintaining 100 sites. Out of curiosity, can you share me some of your experience? I’m always open up for new ideas and partnership.
I don’t quite get your point. I mean, irregardless of whether or not I could easily sell the sites (I could), what’s the difference? I could work from home if I wanted to, be my own boss, and make plenty of money, etc. It’s a job to run a business, right?
Okay, I’ve thought about it, and I get your point. I guess I thought you were implying that a business is less work than a job, which you probably weren’t.
@ Alex – You are a flexible entrepreneur! I am sure that you will ‘make good’!
@ RP – To me the difference b/w a ‘job disguised as a business’ and a ‘true business’ is: 1. Could it run 3 months w/o you?, and 2. Can you sell it? Otherwise, you are right, it is a flexible job with extra benefits … but, a job none-the-less, just like a self-employed accountant/doctor/etc.
I think I will post on this, because it is an important point!
“I think I will post on this, because it is an important point!”
You should. I want to start my own business in an artistic field and everytime I think of having an employee create my vision, I shudder, just a little bit. That’s where modelling someone comes in.
Model those who were able to export their vision to other people.
@ Anthony – I should, I will, and I have … you just need to wait until I have an open-slot to publish it in … keep checking in 🙂
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