A Late Introduction
How I Got Here
Back in 2004, I shipped off to work for the Wal-Mart mothership in Bentonville, AR. Now, a lot of true and misinformation exists about Wal-Mart and how they handle employees, but one thing is consistently true: they don't pay all that great!
I was on a mission to make some money so I could take a trip to Indonesia and meet a girl from the Internet (I know! Hush, you!) and so I put up a site selling pre-paid calling cards for people who wanted to call internationally.
As a web developer, the site was not difficult to put up. It was pure basic, static content with links to the my affiliate partner.
I put the site into the directories - Yahoo!, MOZ, etc. Nothing happened!
Well, I was sure going to save that money, so I had to figure something out. Thus, I entered into PPC. Of course, I tanked pretty hard, and - without a good resource to learn from - I wound-up punting and dropping the whole project. Both I and my 'internet friend' were a bit disappointed. Oh well. Life goes on.
I also fell pray to a "Sell Drop-Ship Products on EBay!" scam. Yeah, I had a coach call me every week, but all the guy would do is answer questions, and I didn't know what questions to ask, so you can imagine how well that worked out.
I decided that, since I was good at my day job, I should just invest in that. If I couldn't get by as a software developer, something was wrong! ... and so I set out to be the best I could at what I did.
Fast Forward To Present Day
So, nowadays, I do alright! I'm self-employed, and I demand a pretty decent rate because - in my professional experience - I'm worth every penny of it. Of course, in the market I'm currently in, I often have to discount that rate to have a contract. You can't eat pride, you know - and working at a discount keeps the bills paid, my retirement account funded ... all that nice stuff people like to have. All-in-all, we do fine.
Even though I'm successful at my day job, I've reached a place where I'm a bit discontent. The only ways I can increase my earnings would be to 1) move to another market, 2) get direct contracts and hire employees or sub-contract, 3) do workshops or something on the evenings/weekends.
Option 1 isn't an option because, well, I just moved to this market and I did it to be closer to family. Cross that off the list.
Option 2 sounds great, but I don't want to have to hassle with employees. I've sat in some pretty managerial-type seats over the years, and that's the last thing I want to become. Plus, you get into HR-type of issues. I have no desire to deal with those either. It seems like even sub-contractors would have the same challenges, but might be easier to deal with from an accounting standpoint. So, cross option 2 off the list.
Option 3! Wow, I've started to do this several times, but I just don't want to work that much ad inifini! Sure, I could become an expert and get to travel around, but I don't like to travel! I like being home. Hrm ... cross that one off the list.
... and now, my mind drifts back to internet marketing. Maybe I should try it again! Maybe, if I could find the right resources, I could even turn that into my full-time job and just fire all of my clients and really have a taste of freedom!
Enter Wealthy Affiliate
So, I find George Brown's Google Sniper, and I'm actually working on learning to promote that. ... and I ran across a "Google Sniper Scam" review. I was interested, so I go in there, and ... long story short, I wound-up signing-up for a membership at Wealthy Affiliate! It was just a starter membership, mind you. I was going to make sure that if I paid for something else it was really, really good.
I was a member for a few days. I went through all the starter stuff that was accessible to me. I wasn't getting the answers I needed though - answers related to traffic and social engagement. It was pretty clear to me by then that WA was the real deal though, so I signed-up.
Why I'll Probably Stay Right Here For a Long, Long Time
From the ground up, every step of the way, I have been impressed by the integrity things are done with here. The teaching of a code of ethics, having a code of conduct. It's good stuff! This is really the first time I felt like I could feel good about what I'm doing as relates to internet marketing. There are actually two meanings to that - let me explain.
First, WA clearly has integrity. So, I can feel really good about bringing people in! I mean, how many programs have YOU been a part of where you were like, "I'm gonna take the ride and see how it goes, but I'm not gonna tell anyone!" It feels SO nice to be proud enough that I would be happy to share this group with friends and family members.
Second, WA has brought my understanding along at a much better rate. All the dots are connected! With the courses, the classrooms, and the super-awesome live classes, there is just such a wealth of information here. ... and that doesn't even count perhaps the single biggest asset here - all of you!
I heard someone call WA a social platform once. I don't remember who, but it really is. And, I'm finding I really like that aspect of it. It's so nice to have people to help and be helped by. It makes a person feel like they are doing something to not only learn but to also turn around and give back.
Summary
Okay, I'm going to shut-up! I've written way too much! It amazes me when I write nowadays - I used to hate doing it. Turns out, when you are writing about something you're passionate about the words can just flow and flow though!
I wish each of you the best fortune you can acheive, and please feel free to let me know if you believe I can help your journey in any way.
Have a VERY Blessed Day!
Eddie
Recent Comments
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Love yr blog post, nice reading it. :) WA is indeed a great platform to educate us and also a great as a social platform. :) The people here is super helpful, lol. ;) Have a blessed day too, Eddie. :)
Thanks for sharing! I feel the same way about WA. I knew nothing about websites and internet business when I started. I still need to learn a lot, but I have a feeling I can do this! It would never have happened without WA. The lessons are so easy to follow - even I understand it. And the community... I know I can ask questions here without feeling stupid. I'm so glad to be a part of this.
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You're a very entertaining writer Eddie. I'm amazed at how long your post actually is and that I read it all. Have a great day. ~Marion
Thanks, Marion! You have a great day as well. Happy Easter!