Day 1 of 365

A New Year - A New Chapter

Well, here we are!

2020 has finally gone and 2021 is here at last...

Presonally, I am no stranger to the fact that this year is going to present even more challenges than last year. I do not expect the landscape to change much. Needless to say, I'm not naive enough to believe the challenges will go away just because we turned the page on a calendar.

On the bright side, 2020 produced some hillarious content on the internet...

Hopefully that lifted someone's spirits...

I know I chuckled.

In all seriousness though, 2020 was a difficult year for EVERYONE!

It was no respecter of persons.

And I think people are beginning to wake up to the fact that they are going to have to operate a little differently moving forward.

Those of us who operate in the sphere of the World Wide Web have known about the real power of the internet for some time.

I'm not talking about being beholden to a Social Media algorithm and spamming your friends list either.

There is something to be said about...

The beauty of having websites.... Having a blog... Owning online real estate that you can use to scale your business, diversify income streams, automate processes, and reach an audience that is virtually limitless.

Understanding the power of link tracking, SEO, social proofing, and analytics...

Having a million products to promote at the click of a mouse, and being able to capitalize on the opportunity.

Being part of an AMAZING Community of millions of like-minded people WHO ACTUALLY HELP EACH OTHER!

I LOVE YOU ALL!

Seriously, the WA Platform is unlike anything else that I have seen in almost 6 years of working online!

As some of you know, I went away from WA for a while, and I officially came back to Premium on the 16th of December, 2020. The year from Hell.

For years I knew that I needed to automate and diversify. I knew that I needed to plug my business resources into a WA Blog and begin to utilize the power of this platform to scale my business.

For a year and a half I talked about it with my wife and close friends. But I did not take the required action to fully implement. In the Summer and Fall of 2019 I began to accumulate equipment to make better content as we traveled with our business. Cameras, mics, software, etc. California, Texas, New York City...

I never stopped learning, but I should have been blogging!

I should have back-linked ALL of my websites into a WA Blog. Even if I had set it up and PARKED it! Just building Site Health and SEO proofing would have been helpful... But I didn't.

Finally, in December of 2020, the foot traffic declined in our Brick & Mortar Location to the point that I was no longer juggling 5 flaming potatoes and a beautiful thing happened...

Aside from a hand-full of dedicated patrons, all of my clients were remote accessing our services online!

I finally had no excuse. I came back to Wealthy Affiliate and began to chip away at the training modules. I ended up backing off after I got to Level 3. Turns out it's kind of like riding a bike.

You just get back on and go!

Within 2 weeks, I have seen results off of about 120-130hrs of diligent and consistent work.

Not only have I begun to monetize my WA Account, but I have seen a massive spike in SEO and traffic on all of my websites across all my hosting platforms.

I have expanded my network on multiple platforms, and I have begun to further diversify my income by placing less emphasis on face-to-face and more emphasis on Affiliate Programs.

I have 1 Student who has gone Yearly Premium, and 6 more at the Starter Level.

I am consolidating all of my training and I finally got set up to Vlog properly so that I can streamline my processes and duplicate my efforts!

I have started a Break-out Bootcamp for my Independent Distributors that is based off of the curriculum here at WA. Slowly but surely, my team is beginning to see the power of what I have my hands on here.

I even saw an increase in cold-calls for our products and services!

My business has been effectively transformed!

NO MORE LINEAR MINDSET!...

Basically, I was able to do with ease in 2 weeks on WA, what has been a daily grind for 5 years. Even with some pretty advanced hosting platforms...

So, The Good News!...

Even though we took a hit with COVID initially, and then when our business was dazed and confused the Governor swooped in and kicked us in the nuts repeatedly because we are a Health Club...

Even though we saw a massive decrease in foot traffic at our B&M Facility...

Even though my Google Business Hits went from 3,900/mo to 763/mo since this thing started...

Yeah, OUCH!...

Even though I have taken the 2020 Entrepreneurship Slide over and over consistently for almost 365 BLEEDING DAYS!!!...

MY STORY IS NOT OVER!...

ON THE CONTRARY, IT'S JUST BEGINNING!

Yeah, we've shaved a few pounds off:

• Got rid of some expensive CRMs that were nice but ultimately unneccessary.
• Streamlined our processes and whittled it down to the essentials.
• Moved to a web-based remote services primary operation and in-person secondary.
• Sublet and listed our 1,300sf Commercial Location and converted my 350sf Man Cave to a Home Office.

I have a wood stove, and my morning commute is 30 feet this Winter. I'm absolutely chuffed!

The BEST Part is....

We are 100% operational and no longer limited by restrictions imposed on Brick & Mortar Facilities.

We are growing again and beginning to expand and scale for 2021.

What initially looked like a bleak situation is beginning to shape up for a bright future.

2020 ultimately gave me the push I needed to cause me to rethink my situation and do what I've needed to do for years!

Efficiency Is Key!

I know that my situation is not unique. There are millions of people who have lost jobs, lost homes, lost marriages, lost loved ones, even lost their lives...

It is not my intention to make light of that, but if we can't laugh about the irony of all this we will go insane. The $h!ttiest Year Ever, and not a square of TP in sight... Okay, last one... I promise.

Starting the Year With Gratitude!

I honestly don't know where I would be right now if I hadn't joined Wealthy Affiliate 5 years ago and known about the resources that were available to me here. If I didn't know that I could legitimately come back to the Platform and monetize my everything in an instant.

What we have here is SO UNIQUE and SO VALUABLE!

I don't ever want to take it for granted again!

I did not place enough emphasis on the value of this Community last time I was here...

I am so thankful for every single member who has spurred me on since I have been back.

You have been an encouragement and an inspiration during a very stressful time.

This has been our hardest year in business since Year 1, but not our worst year, and I know that I have finished strong.

2021 is shaping up to be our most successful year starting 1/1/2021, I am confident of that. And it's because of the value that I have been able to tap into with the WA Platform.

It's because of people like Simone, Jeff, Bux, and so many more who are always running point as active members of this community.

It's because of the thousands of hours of catalogued training that I have at my fingertips thanks to the genious and tenacity of Kyle and Carson.

As I write this, there is something that keeps repeating in my mind:

"We are hard pressed in every way, yet not crushed; perplexed, yet not in despair; struck down, yet not destroyed."

As we move into the new year I am thouroughly excited about the resources and opportunities that are available to me.

I am so grateful for the opportunity to be able to offer viable options to my team, many of whom have never truly built online.

I know that I would be in a very different place today if it was not for Wealthy Affiliate, and my desire is to pay it forward.

My focus for 2021 is not on capital gains as much as it is to be a catalyst for helping others to flourish.

So let's crush it this year, right out of the gate!

You're beautiful WA!

So don't go changin'...

Cheers,

- Ian