Post: #126

My problem is that I'm "too qualified" to be location independent. I mean with a graduate degree in math and knowledge of low level programming (C++), it's difficult to "get down" and become a web developer. I've been told "There are a lot of programmers but not many mathematicians. Do you wanna swap your skills for something that every high school student knows??"

But of course people who say these things do not know much about money, and freedom. The best way to make money seems to be online sales for which web programming is useful (but not necessary). I can also try to become a business analytics consultant. Consultancy is still not a great way of making money (because you're still selling time) but still better than a 9-5.

Post: #127

(01-04-2019 04:00 PM)duedue Wrote:  But of course people who say these things do not know much about money, and freedom. The best way to make money seems to be online sales for which web programming is useful (but not necessary). I can also try to become a business analytics consultant. Consultancy is still not a great way of making money (because you're still selling time) but still better than a 9-5.

With you there duedue. I've been consulting more lately, and have just sent a bunch of emails to cool leads I had from a year or so ago to spark things up again.

I'm building a dropshipping business right now which I want to give me full freedom in 2020 but for now I figure a cash hustle is a good idea. Anything surplus to expenses can go into my business.

Post: #128

(01-04-2019 04:00 PM)duedue Wrote:  My problem is that I'm "too qualified" to be location independent. I mean with a graduate degree in math and knowledge of low level programming (C++), it's difficult to "get down" and become a web developer. I've been told "There are a lot of programmers but not many mathematicians. Do you wanna swap your skills for something that every high school student knows??"

Every high school student knows HTML, or maybe Python if they're doing general programming. Not every high school student knows C++.

As an aside, the Google Chrome V8 JavaScript engine (which Node runs off) is built in C++.

Post: #129

Nobody "knows" C++ anyway, Bjarne Stroustrup himself admitted knowing only maybe 60% of the language.

But C++ remote jobs do exist, I had one two years ago.
Some industries need so many people they are willing to compromise on many things.
They are especially happy when it's not about money

Post: #130

- Hired a marketing expert to help me with facebook advertising and google advertising to let my dropshipping business explode
- Did research to start selling on amazon and start with amazon FBA

Post: #131

Worked on financing for an apartment building. Dialed for dollars (called various financiers).

I need to get my act together with the accounting studies before the State Accountancy Board changes their candidacy requirements.

My game plan for the next 2-3 years is: Accumulate enough cash flowing real estate to have enough funds for me to live on (USD $5K/month) and acquire a CPA license that allows me to up my own virtual practice.

Post: #132

- Continued my first stream of income, captioning.
- Started my second stream of income, Facebook ad rating. I'll treat this as a true second stream of income when I get my first payment midway through January.
- Started working on a new piece of music. I want to have my first piece of music available to buy on iTunes by the end of March this year at the latest, if not an EP of four pieces.
- I want to start my first affiliate marketing campaign this week to open my third stream of income.

Post: #133

(12-28-2018 11:55 AM)arnoldfan Wrote:  Reviews and proven results are absolutely key. It's okay to start for cheap or free for a few projects to get some reputation established, but don't consistently undervalue yourself or mistake action for progress. Ask for video reviews from a handful of clients that they give you full rights to. Then, you can use those for FB ads to start.

Don't get romantic about FB ads though. It's easy to piss away money into the abyss and the competitive threshold for content quality keeps going up. Average videos from unestablished people/brands usually fall flat (and video is the most powerful style of content on FB).

Continue to hone your craft and document your wins in detail.

One thing that might help you establish yourself independently of Upwork and as you continue to refine your craft is giving value through longer videos (webinars), PDF's, or articles that you can share out in different communities online. People respond well to giving knowledge away for free but charging for your time/service.

Hope you find this helpful!

Just saw this. Appreciate the advice brother. When I mentioned the fb ads I actually meant for the supplement business I have that i'm trying to get off the ground.

Things are going great on Upwork though i've already made $300 working maybe 5 hours total and have a call set up tomorrow with a potential client that's going to pay $300 for revising their website copy so i'm definitely working myself up.

The free content is a great idea and something i'll consider doing, in addition to making a quick landing page with my portfolio attached. I'm not sure how i'd go about getting video reviews, i'd probably have to offer something in return like a discounted rate on the next project.

Also i've been doing Gary Halbert's 30-day Challenge and so far it's really improved my copy. The base of the challenge is to read the 7 copywriting books he recommends and nothing else, then he gives you a list of sales letters to rewrite by hand. You then go back and read the 7 books again, but this time taking notes. I just finished the third book so far and i'd highly recommend the challenge to anyone who wants to learn copy.

Here's the link with all the info on it- http://www.thegaryhalbertletter.com/news...rience.htm

Post: #134

I finished all my tasks today, been a fairly tame week. Not end of the week but will update:

* After a couple delays I'm finally ready for getting a job in a higher paying industry next week. I have stated that by end of January I will be getting a higher paying job and next week is the payoff. I'm so busy next week it is going to be hard to work out like I usually do.
* Still attending martial arts classes. Some people like myself are preparing for a post-Trump world. Currently booking a trial class right now. I so far have 12 entries in my "readiness" journal. Goal is to hit 1,000.
* Reached out to some people I've suspected were pro-Trump and we had a great conversation. I invited them to some places I hang out at.

General trend might be to get out of my current location and into a more conservative/libertarian state. I'm not opposed to living in harsh climates like Alaska or North Dakota but if police are far away from me I better learn martial arts. I think I'm about 2-3 years away from leaving this hell hole.


Thanks GT. I honestly appreciate that. They say success is a zig zag process but once you hit it you're on to the next challenge. I've tried going into various industries like welding and without any explanation gatekeepers tell me no and I'm back to square one. It's like anything in life it ain't over until it's over

Yeah and re politics I only worry about things I can control. Whether or not President Trump can turn the ship around is beyond me. If things really are headed south I'm about a mile away from the blue pilled crowd. If anything once my hard work is done people will be coming to me for help.

(12-29-2018 07:58 PM)GT777733 Wrote:  @chicagofire - I was in your position about 3 years ago. You sound like you are very consistent and persistent with your effort (you remind me of me with how manic I was with my thinking - always focussing on the next little step or solution). Keep it up and it will be a matter of when, not if, you'll improve your financial and career situation. One thing I would say is try not to worry about this political stuff as much - it's very much out of your control and it could drive you to get a bit loopy. Focus on what you can control for now - your actions and your situation. Keep going dude - you're on the right path.

@Praetor Lupus - congratulations on making that first step to go self employed. Most people never have the courage to get that far. My advice would be to be aware of fear and panic, and understand that they are bullshit feelings. Have a long term view of the self employed life, look to improve or learn a bit more everyday (and expect to make mistakes), make sure you have your bank account topped up with about 1.5 to 2 years living expenses (and enough to cover a small emergency), and you'll be fine.
If you need to go back to work at any stage to top up your bank account for another run at this - then so be it.

@superaverageman - some people are meant for self employed life and some aren't. One tip I would have to get more joy out of your current job is to focus on the money you are making. Start saving it and look at that money as money that is going into your bank account to build a buffer between you and having to work in the future. The more money you get, the less years you are going to have to work into the future, and if you do decide to go and try being self employed in the future, having savings to fall back on is such a luxury.

Post: #135

(01-11-2019 08:05 PM)ChicagoFire Wrote:  I finished all my tasks today, been a fairly tame week. Not end of the week but will update:

* After a couple delays I'm finally ready for getting a job in a higher paying industry next week. I have stated that by end of January I will be getting a higher paying job and next week is the payoff. I'm so busy next week it is going to be hard to work out like I usually do.
* Still attending martial arts classes. Some people like myself are preparing for a post-Trump world. Currently booking a trial class right now. I so far have 12 entries in my "readiness" journal. Goal is to hit 1,000.
* Reached out to some people I've suspected were pro-Trump and we had a great conversation. I invited them to some places I hang out at.

General trend might be to get out of my current location and into a more conservative/libertarian state. I'm not opposed to living in harsh climates like Alaska or North Dakota but if police are far away from me I better learn martial arts. I think I'm about 2-3 years away from leaving this hell hole.


Thanks GT. I honestly appreciate that. They say success is a zig zag process but once you hit it you're on to the next challenge. I've tried going into various industries like welding and without any explanation gatekeepers tell me no and I'm back to square one. It's like anything in life it ain't over until it's over

Yeah and re politics I only worry about things I can control. Whether or not President Trump can turn the ship around is beyond me. If things really are headed south I'm about a mile away from the blue pilled crowd. If anything once my hard work is done people will be coming to me for help.

(12-29-2018 07:58 PM)GT777733 Wrote:  @chicagofire - I was in your position about 3 years ago. You sound like you are very consistent and persistent with your effort (you remind me of me with how manic I was with my thinking - always focussing on the next little step or solution). Keep it up and it will be a matter of when, not if, you'll improve your financial and career situation. One thing I would say is try not to worry about this political stuff as much - it's very much out of your control and it could drive you to get a bit loopy. Focus on what you can control for now - your actions and your situation. Keep going dude - you're on the right path.

@Praetor Lupus - congratulations on making that first step to go self employed. Most people never have the courage to get that far. My advice would be to be aware of fear and panic, and understand that they are bullshit feelings. Have a long term view of the self employed life, look to improve or learn a bit more everyday (and expect to make mistakes), make sure you have your bank account topped up with about 1.5 to 2 years living expenses (and enough to cover a small emergency), and you'll be fine.
If you need to go back to work at any stage to top up your bank account for another run at this - then so be it.

@superaverageman - some people are meant for self employed life and some aren't. One tip I would have to get more joy out of your current job is to focus on the money you are making. Start saving it and look at that money as money that is going into your bank account to build a buffer between you and having to work in the future. The more money you get, the less years you are going to have to work into the future, and if you do decide to go and try being self employed in the future, having savings to fall back on is such a luxury.

You're very welcome.

Post: #136

(01-06-2019 07:40 PM)Praetor Lupus Wrote:  - Started my second stream of income, Facebook ad rating. I'll treat this as a true second stream of income when I get my first payment midway through January.

Well, the company paying me for this work actually processed my payment earlier than expected. It went into my Payoneer account, which unfortunately has a minimum withdrawal limit to bank accounts (which Paypal doesn't as far as I'm aware), which fucking annoys me. Payoneer has also taken $3 to process this payment (again, which Paypal has not). I've been looking but I don't think there are options to pay directly to my bank.

So, fuck Payoneer.

But I'm happy that now I've achieved my goal from late last year, which was to have multiple sources of income. Both are where I trade time for money and now as mentioned I want to build my third, and I want it to be a source of 'passive' income.

Post: #137

So it isn't the end of the week but it's worth mentioning:

I haven't done public speaking in years. Just recently did what I've been alluding to which is go into public places, make my 30 second elevator pitch and ask for an interview. This is tough when everybody is on their headphones but it is what it is.

I'm just reviewing what I did right and wrong. I'll admit it was nerve wrecking but if I keep doing this I will eventually get out of the food industry by the end of next week. The only person I lost to was myself but there's always tomorrow. I also have career fairs and networking events lined up for the rest of this week but my primary focus is the public speaking strategy.

Post: #138

30DaysToX did a post on getting a part time job:

https://30daystox.com/how-to-get-a-part-time-job/

Robert linked to a site that has information on companies that offer home based work (location independent).

Biggest takeaway is that you keep working your part time job until your main gig (your website, blog, etc) takes off.

Post: #139

(01-04-2019 04:00 PM)duedue Wrote:  My problem is that I'm "too qualified" to be location independent. I mean with a graduate degree in math and knowledge of low level programming (C++), it's difficult to "get down" and become a web developer. I've been told "There are a lot of programmers but not many mathematicians. Do you wanna swap your skills for something that every high school student knows??"

But of course people who say these things do not know much about money, and freedom. The best way to make money seems to be online sales for which web programming is useful (but not necessary). I can also try to become a business analytics consultant. Consultancy is still not a great way of making money (because you're still selling time) but still better than a 9-5.

Here is the ranking of the most in demand remote programming jobs :

https://remoteok.io/highest-paid-remote-...ort=salary



Also, a ranking ot the most in demand programming (non remote) jobs. It's from a IT recognized french web site : https://translate.google.fr/translate?sl...x-payes%2F

Screenshot of the stat of the demand evolution



You can then choose to do a job demanded both remotly and non remotly and so, be able to come back to the non remote life without having to train.

Seems like you should not have too much problems finding a C++ job

Post: #140

Woke up

Post: #141

Went to a networking event yesterday and got a potential lead that can help me out. Like I said, my week is booked and I have no time to go to the gym.

So far have 16 journal entries on my "readiness" journal. The guys who train me tell me I have to stick with MA and after about 2 years I will be devastating. This is really interesting content and I highly encourage people to look into self defence martial arts.

Filling out more applications from the stay at home jobs site. One route I can take from this is I can show future employers that I'm serious about the medical field and therefore I have skills that are transferable to medical device sales. Another is to focus on helping out foreign students and transitioning into sales with the added benefit of knowing another language.

Post: #142

Looks like I might be spending a couple of months or more back at the day job on some project work for them.

Not keen on going back but I want to buy some decent instrument libraries to do some music production this year, and could use the extra cash. I can do one of my other hustles in the evening.

Post: #143

I at best met two promising leads that can advance my career yesterday at worst nothing has come out of it. The field I'm entering in even just entry level will double my pay.

Filled out more remote job applications. Upcoming martial arts classes to cap out the week.

Bottom line is I'm putting in the work to get out of a "comfortable" situation. They say when you're comfortably making $100,00 a year and you're not progressing beyond that it's a special kind of hell. I have an inkling many if not all my peers I graduated with are more or less stuck in that zone.

Post: #144

I don't know if any of you have considered investing in real estate or property as we English call it. I bought a cheap house in Ireland with no mortgage and I rent it out. It makes me about €400 a month after taxes and expenses plus good capital gain. That is not enough to live off as Ireland is a very expensive place to live especially groceries. I'm fortunate enough to have worked for 25 years in electronics and did lots of overtime and lived a very frugal lifestyle so I have about £300k saved up. I forewent driving nice cars and having expensive TVs nights out so it wasn't a fab time all these years, but I'd like to now enjoy it before I can too much older that I can't pull any more. I'm a young looking 44 year old. I also bought an old country house to do up so I have a place to stay though its very rough you wouldn't bring a bird there.. With my savings I could buy a few more properties to rent out but am nervous about blowing it all, in one asset class. I had to leave my old job in England so I am unemployed and not doing very well so far this year apart from the above investments. Not claiming benefits/welfare either, I am lucky I have savings. There isn't any work in my field, with web design like above, I wouldn't know where to start. If you were going to live in Columbia can't you buy a load of real estate ( its cheap?) and live off the income that way?

Post: #145

Put together some packages + pricing and wrote a sales page. Setting up a sales/checkout system now. Planning to do a launch offer and get some recurring services signed up.

Post: #146

@fmman I have money in REITs since I don't have the time or money to be a landlord. Throw in the rising tide of socialism and that's why I'm on the fence about owning land. But like anything in investments diversify your assets. Who knows too if I do hit it big I might purchase land in the remote parts of the US.

I have one F2F interview today (broke my streak of about 4 months), 1 phone call interview, and just got help from someone yesterday with career advice. Also got a reply from a SDR role I applied to.

Somewhere down the line I might consider moving to Thailand.

Post: #147

(01-24-2019 08:13 AM)ChicagoFire Wrote:  @fmman I have money in REITs since I don't have the time or money to be a landlord. Throw in the rising tide of socialism and that's why I'm on the fence about owning land. But like anything in investments diversify your assets. Who knows too if I do hit it big I might purchase land in the remote parts of the US.

I have one F2F interview today (broke my streak of about 4 months), 1 phone call interview, and just got help from someone yesterday with career advice. Also got a reply from a SDR role I applied to.

Somewhere down the line I might consider moving to Thailand.

ChicagoFire, I can definitely understand your desire to get out of the food industry. I've spent plenty of years there, and it's not really somewhere you want to be long term. Just curious though how switching industries to a different career in the medical field going is going to help you become location independent / work remote soon?

If I were you, I would be thinking more along the lines of what can I do right now to make my first dollar online today. Find something you can do freelance. It all starts with making your first online money no matter how small and insignificant, then you scale.

Making a goal like somewhere down the line I might move to Thailand just doesn't sound concrete enough.

Post: #148

^^

It's a different industry separate from the medical device industry. I need to do more research but in this field there's opportunities to work internationally as well as another state. I'm currently in IL so I've been getting the wheels in motion for quite a while. Once I get into the industry I might transition into medical because I want to stay busy.

I do have a plan on making money online but it will take at least another year to get everything firing. As in I own my own business not do the Fiverr gig stuff. I've tried various things over the years like doing SEO and all that. It's possible but it sure isn't easy.

Post: #149

(01-24-2019 01:37 PM)ChicagoFire Wrote:  ^^

It's a different industry separate from the medical device industry. I need to do more research but in this field there's opportunities to work internationally as well as another state. I'm currently in IL so I've been getting the wheels in motion for quite a while. Once I get into the industry I might transition into medical because I want to stay busy.

I do have a plan on making money online but it will take at least another year to get everything firing. As in I own my own business not do the Fiverr gig stuff. I've tried various things over the years like doing SEO and all that. It's possible but it sure isn't easy.

Cool, long as you have a plan your working on, I'm sure you'll get there. My only point was there are definitely ways to get the location independent part covered faster if you're willing to freelance to start. I wasted years researching the best businesses I could start online that might have potential, but in reality are more long term plans with no promise of return. Freelancing was a game changer for me, to get cash rolling in immediately.

I more or less built a little writing business from scratch starting about 6 months ago using Upwork. Now I'm living in Mexico on about $1000/month while pulling in $2000/month gross with that number increasing every day. Not a bad position to be in and not even working that many hours really either. Got plenty of time to work on a side business if I want now to eventually separate my time from my money/ develop other income streams.

Post: #150

I got two days' project work at my old job, with more to possibly follow.

I want to use the cash to pay off my loan and buy virtual instrument libraries for my music this year.