I’ve been quite busy with a few things lately. Being a dad (trying to be a good one!) is certainly one thing that tops my list and no matter what will remain my number 1 priority!

There’s also a couple of projects that have taken so so much of my time in January, February, March and April. But I have made quite a bit of progress developing an idea that I’ve always had for an online business that would mostly cater to a local market.

Time is always one of my biggest challenges!

Something that’s been eating at me alot is the  fact that I’d been sitting on this idea for this particular online business for a long time. For a few years actually. There was a couple of times that I just dove into putting it together, but I always seemed to get bogged down in certain aspects of it.

At one point, I remember getting bogged down in the technical aspect. What would I use? There was functionality that I wanted to included and figured that maybe building it all myself would be the way to go because I could then make everything work exactly as I wanted. But then the “time factor” would come into play and I’d realize that I just don’t have time to code it myself.

I’d ponder what CMS I should use? Wordpress? Drupal?

Then I’d get all bogged down in thinking about learning how the code is structured…. using PHP alot more (which I was not quite proficient with at the time) and figured it would lead to the same equation…

There was another time I’d jumped in to this project and got bogged down in just how to organize the information. How to properly categorize. How to market and promote…

Again, listening to my own thoughts, the door was shut and the possibility that this business could bring was shut out by discouragement.

A different approach!

In an effort to not repeat past mistakes and/or past mistakes I made some realizations and also some changes to my approach.

I’d been meeting with a local business person whom I had done some work for. Through some brain storming sessions we had come up with an online business idea. This particular idea we had at first was not for a local market but something we could possibly develop as a world wide resource. The idea was good but there were many challenges. One aspect that seemed a bit challenging was making sure we could come up with enough good content to make it work and give people value on the site.

But it was an area that I was not quite knowledgeable in and one problem or challenge that I  saw was that we may struggle finding enough content. We had thought about getting local experts in the field to write some material, but then the immediate problem was how to properly compensate them starting up.

After a couple of discussions, I thought maybe I would invite this person in on my idea. As a partnership. I’d known him for a while and he had been in business for many years.

Thinking about it more…. we also had a varied skill set. I was and am much more “techy” and he seemed much better at steering the ship with getting the word out, marketing…etc.

When we chatted about it, he accepted and understood the concept. We both started getting pumped about getting this thing going.

So I’ve been making time for this project over the last few weeks. Wordpress was chosen as the platform to develop on and it the timing seemed right as so far in 2010 I’ve been in PHP full time.

The idea to go into this project with 2 heads instead of 1 was definitely the way to go and when we’ve met the few times we have to get ideas it’s moved along quite well. We’ve chosen tasks, we’ve both had ideas when it comes to marketing

Creating a website that generates an income source…. well, you can read a whole lot of stuff online about buying content generators and all that crap. But really, if you can make any money, it’s a fly by night affair. Building something, building something useful, that people will come to over and over again requires alot of work. Alot of planning.

It’s not any different than building a business of any other type. You’ve got to plan. You’ve got to spend hours thinking about your idea, evaluating your idea and refining it. And how your going to promote your idea…. and how exactly it will function! What’s your business model????

There are really very few instances where you can cut corners and create an income stream. If it were the case anyone could half heartedly do something and create wealth.

I’m working hard. Hope you are too!

If you’ve got an idea for an online business eating at you, take the chance to work towards realizing it. Otherwise, something you’ll sitting somewhere thinking about that idea.. and all the “what ifs”. Time waits for no one.

Peace.

Yesterday I read this great article by Yaro Starak’s blog “Entrepreneurs-Journey”.

I’ve been following Yaro’s blog for a couple of months now… really since I decided I wanted to learn about generating income online and how to develop websites/blogs.

There’s always a wealth of information on his website.

In this article “How Can You Make Passive Income Online?” he shares insight on a few important subjects.

One thing that I always get out of reading some of his articles is the importance on defining what it is that you want to develop. Like a business plan really. I had never thought of blogging that way before. On my personal blog I would often write about anything at all but since trying to do some of the things suggested by Yaro and others… I’ve created a more focused blog.

A big point in this article too is that I believe it to be of the soundest advice!

There’s no “make quick money”, “money for nothing”, “it’s so simple and easy”….

It’s important to be realistic about the internet.

Your audience can be HUGE online
- That doesn’t mean it’s a sure bet
- That doesn’t mean you’re not gonna have to learn
- That doesn’t mean you’re not not gonna have to spend hours working on your project
- That doesn’t mean that you’ll make millions

But at the same time, you very well succeed and make millions. Many do.

It’s important to be realistic

I’ve been self-employed and a small business owner for 3 years out of the last 5 and have had some success, at times it loooked VERY promising, at times it looked totally like it was gonna flop. I’ve had highs and lows both in business and my personal life in this time.

An online venture is no different.

My favorite quote from the article may sound bleak to some, but I take it as realist. And there’s a positive.

“Failure As A Path To Success”

To generate income online is much like creating a business and there’s a pretty high chance that it will require lot’s of time, thought, patience, effort, love, persistence…. and accepting failure or challenges as a learning experience.

Head up. So far in a couple of short months while I haven’t seen any real financial rewards for my efforts some very encouraging doors have opened for me… with the possibility of being a guest writer for a few other reputable blogs in certain “niches” and one of my blogs was recently mentioned on a radio show.

So following the simple steps I’ve learned from Yaro and others, doors have opened for me. This is still a hobby for me but I see that with work, time and effort…. anything is possible.

You can read Yaro Starak’s article “How Can You Make Passive Income Online?” here.
(Well worth the read!)

Since I started this blog which is about my experience in learning to be a better blogger and also learn to generate income online, I think I’ve come to a couple of conclusions.

1. I believe more then ever that creating a successful blog where you build a readership takes serious time and effort.

2. Starting with 1 may be a good idea

I picked 2 topics that I’m passionate about one of which I had begun writing about 10 months ago… so the idea was to try and better develop what I had started. After that it was work on my second blog.

As I started working on my second blog it came quite clear that to do each site justice requires time.

Writing material that’s worth reading takes effort and trying to get out there and participate in the blogging community also takes effort…. and a great deal of time.

So I’ve probably taken on a bit much to start with. Really, to be honest, sometimes I envision in my mind that things will happen much easier then they sometimes do… that might be a touch of nievity but it’s also a touch of inexperience when it comes to writing lots of content and connecting with people. Building my readership…. as I participate in readership on other people’s blogs.

My goal first and foremost is to develop these 2 particular blogs…. building readership and as mentioned participate in readership among other bloggers.

Would I love to generate income from this?

Yes. Of course.

As tempting as all those “wonderful” programs out there that automatically spew out content sound… because it makes it sound as though you’ll prosper for nothing… building a readership is connecting with people. I don’t believe people will or can connect to a site built with robot blurbs.

At least, that’s what I think.

Have I jumped ahead too much taking the task of developping 2 blogs?? Possibly. Hindsight will tell.

Ever want to build a new business? Ever have ideas on how you would do things a bit differently and get excited about it? Ever day dream about what “the results” would be? I have!

Only problem is that wanting to do something, ideas about something, excitement about something and foreseeing what the possible results would be are only a starting point. At least that’s what I’ve found out.

If your dream is to build a new business or create that great blog or website that’s going to generate passive income then all those elements mentioned above are great assets. Good ideas, excitement, the dream…. they’re all important ingredients.

But along the way some things will surely happen as you’re “trudging the road of happy destiny”….

Personal challenges

You may come across situations where someone in your life is not supportive of your idea or your dream and may try to shoot it down. Ridicule you and you’re idea… It becomes very hard to focus and to believe! And believing is certainly vital to any successful venture.

I’ve come across MANY personal challenges in my small business. Currently going through personal challenges!

But speaking with other entrepreneurs and reading about others experiences has always inspired me and show me that others have gone through some of the same trials.

Remember the “Pet rock”?? Some of you might, some might not…. I personally wouldn’t have thought of it as a great idea at all… but someone did and believed… and sold a great many!

Financial challenges

Quitting a job and trying self-employment can be scary. It seems like jumping into the unknown at times. And many options like getting financial credit for cards or a house may not be easy for a while.

Being challenged with the finances is something that I’ve been faced with quite a few times. I’ve been fully self-employed on and off since early 2004. At times it seems as though everything is coming together… coming together quickly… and then boom… everything slows… money is tight.. etc.

Through those times it’s very hard to see any light at the end of the tunnel. This I know from experience.

One of the most encouraging things that I’ve ever done is speak with others (again!) who have small businesses or have been there.

I remember speaking with a man who runs an insurance company and I started asking him questions while I was there on business. Eventually we got on the topic of starting up a small business and the financial ups and downs. He went on to tell me some stories about himself, about some of the very things I had gone through and yet here he was running this stable company employing several people.

I’ve always found encouragement speaking to others who’ve walked the path before me. Even if their business was different then mine there can be many similarities.

Reading blogs is very inspiring for me… in learning to create different types of websites.

Starting up any new venture takes persistence… takes time.. and you gotta believe! Gotta want it. Gotta do it. Then you can make it happen.

At least that’s what I think.

While trying to learn new things and taking steps towards developing a new business or writing for that new blog… it’s important to stay inspired and rekindle the love for the ideas.

Found a gem of an article I found VERY inspiring…

Over on zenhabits there’s a great article about becoming self-employed.

Back in 2004 I became self-employed for the first time and I was very green to it. In fact I think I still am today!

The article outlines many great topics such as overcoming FEAR, which may be a major blocker in someone’s wanting to start up a small business or quit their day job.

There are a great many valuable tips that I believe are key given in the article’s text.. about financial security, the state of the economy, learning…

I know I’ve found some inspiration in reading it and I would invite anyone to read it if self-employment is something you’re interested in or are currently self-employed.

The article is called “The Get-Started-Now Guide to Becoming Self-Employed“… Enjoy!

When I first started to look at learning to develop some websites to create a passive income I read a few articles by some people who had succeeded in their ventures. In one of the very first articles there was mention of testing different things… one of which was ad placement. So I tried it and saw that numbers reacted very soon after.

On one site in particular I had decided to try the experiment of placing Google AdSense ads in different locations and see how it affected the site’s eCPM. I was inspired to try this after reading John Chow’s article “How to make more money online”.

I had a wide skyscraper banner ad on a site and decided to take it out. The skyscraper banner was a bit low on the page, so I put a 250 x 250 square ad higher on the site then the skyscraper was and also moved a 468 x 60 banner to a different location.

I used this Google AdSense ad placement tip and figured the new placement might be better.

To my amazement my eCPM started going down. It actually went way down. I figured I would leave the ads “as is” for several more hours just to see if it would in fact change but it didn’t. It got a little worse.

So by the day’s end I had decided to revert to the way it was and I did that. After reverting it I had the idea of rearranging the navigation menu so that the skyscraper would be a little higher then it had been previously.

After several hours in it’s new position there was a change, going back to being consistent with where the eCPM had been prior to my experiment and to my surprise it has actually increased in the days that followed. It’s still not very high but I have noticed that since placing the skyscraper just a bit higher it (the eCPM) is now averaging higher then it had.

From what I’ve been reading there are several factors that go into what the eCPM number is for a website. So I’m not expecting it to reach really high numbers but it helps to motivate me by reading great information (such as that article by John Chow) and by experimenting.. and learning by it.

It’s not rocket science… but it takes time and effort!

Related article:
How to place website ads – my beginning

It seems like every now and then everything is in balance. My work, my family life, my finances… but every now and then I come to a realisation that the scales have tipped and the balance I thought I had is gone.

Tonight I had one of these moments.

Although I’ve known for some time now that there’s a rough patch to go through and my head’s been in my work quite a bit I hadn’t really sat down to think about it. It’s my beautiful little girl’s 6th birthday tomorrow and as I was putting her to bed I started thinking back. I noticed she was asleep and I kept thinking about her…. 6 years she’s been a blessing in my life. Then I started to realise just what it means to her when I spend time with her and by that I don’t mean sitting in the same room as her or the car.

Spending time with her and being able to give her my full attention. Bring her to soccer and watch with interest as she learns with the other kids. Bring her to the park… color…. all kinds of stuff.

So tonight I saw that I must adjust things in my life.

Why am I writing about this?

Because it seems when some things are out of balance everything gets messier.

Blogging is something I really enjoy and when my head is worn out or buzzing because I’m totally focused on work or whatever… then it becomes quite hard for me to write. It gets very hard for me to study and learn which is part of the motivation behind this blog. To learn about monetizing websites and even blogging in general.

And sometimes when everything gets really rushed it’s important to find the priorities. I identified mine tonight. There’s no doubt if I have some fun with my daughter the experience will be refreshing and it will certainly apply to both my work, blogging and my studies.

Knowing when to “just do it” (start a blog, study…etc) and when “to slowdown” (family,enjoy life, friends,rest,read…etc…).

Sounds so simple.