Finishing Course 2
Finally, I have reached the end of course 2 in the training. I got stuck on lesson 7 for so long that I had worked ahead and completed lesson 8, most of 9, and part of 10. It wasn't that I didn't understand what to do in lesson 7; I just realized that something didn't seem right about how I was going about pursuing my niche. So, I had to re-evaluate.
In the midst of this, I viewed Kyle's Creating a Massively Successful Business in a Year video and recognized that I had not done enough up-front investigation of my niche.
Progress / Successes
I am happy to report that I finally came up with some answers, posted my low-hanging fruit post, commented on several other websites, added a number of friends to my g+ circle, and here I am, ready for Course 3.
Though I have struggled with some of the details of building my website the way I want it, I have to say that I have learned a lot in my first month. This includes setting up Google webmaster tools and google analytics.
In addition, I have completely enjoyed meeting so many people, at least briefly, and finding out a little piece of their story.
Website
I do have a website up and running with the content expected from courses 1 and 2. It is http://coolbaseballmemorabilia.com, the niche being baseball collectibles and memorabilia. I have 5 pages and 3 posts to this point. Hopefully, the latest one will rank a bit better.
Plans and Goals
Am I where I wanted to be after 1 month? Not quite. The delay set me back about two weeks. I have also discovered that there is a lot to website building that I have not yet grasped. At one point I was questioning keyword positioning due to a post I had read, so I used the search tool to read more about it. Honestly, some of the posts didn't completely agree with what Kyle had taught in the lessons and it confused me more.
My original goals, without any knowledge of what I would go through, was to have an income stream of $1000 per month after 6 months and $4000 per month after 12 months. I am not yet ready to change those financial goals, though realistically I recognize that I might not meet the 6 month goal. It's still a good goal to work toward, however.
Regarding other goals:
3 months from now (end of November)
- Have a steady stream of commissions
- Be at a point of approaching 100 WA Rank (though my rank progress has not been lightning speed, it has been a steady climb from 980 on August 7 to 243 on August 31)
6 months from now (end of February 2015)
- Know that I will never have to look for another full-time job again
- Recognize that I am getting close to the point where I can decide when to end any daily grind (assuming I am able to find another job for income continuation for now, having had my job end two weeks ago)
Recent Comments
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Allyn, when in doubt I file Kyle. He's the success story I want to emulate. His teaching on keyword density agreed with what I was taught in SEO classes for writers a few years back. So I follow them. Goals are meant to be modified was a hard lesson for me to learn. I thought Moses carved them into his tablets. LOL Just keep moving forward. Doesn't matter how fast.
my son played a high school game at the HOF stadium - i have to agree with you - super cool experience - good luck with the site
Great summary post. I wonder if it might make sense for you to post a private message to Kyle and engage in a discussion with him about the issue you mentioned above where there seems to be a difference of opinion. I can say this from having hung around design engineers when working at technology companies, and that is , there often is more than one way to skin a cat, so to speak. Different approaches way all work; perhaps some more efficiently than others; some more elegantly; some in a more cost effective way . I would just ask him the question. Congrats on your progress. May you surprise yourself with what you achieve !
I start Course 2 tomorrow. I hope my website looks half as good as yours when I complete it. Nice work.
Thanks much, Phil. There were a few days when I wondered...
One thing that I have had to learn to avoid - focusing on how far behind I feel when I look at other sites. Some people come into this business with years of experience developing websites, doing internet marketing, etc. They typically are able to speed ahead, leaving me well behind. Some others simply have had more time to put into this than I have.
So, believe me, I still feel way behind some of the others who started the same time I did. Plus, I have way more questions now than I did at the end of course 1. This is another challenge - letting the training catch up to my questions, if possible, or asking them using the community's help.
You will get there. I look forward to your "finishing Course 2" message!
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Great blog post Allyn. Now I won't feel so bad if things don't progress at lightening speed every day that passes haha. Great motivation though. I'm "stuck" on lesson 2 of course 2, but I had some useful feedback which I will process in more detail later today.
The "stuck-ness" can be frustrating, but keep working at it and the soon you'll be moving on. Thanks for your encouragement.