In 2011, I discovered the “online world.” The idea of making money from the Internet seemed like the world’s biggest scam to me. After spending over $5,000, my wife had enough. This is how I turned things around.
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I’d love to tell you that everything was smooth when I built my dream/business. The one thing you hear a lot is that you need support, I didn’t exactly have support in the beginning, but it was all my fault. What started out as my wife supporting me, turned into arguments about why I needed to quit this “hobby.”
In 2011, I discovered the “online world.” The idea of making money from the Internet seemed like the world’s biggest scam to me. I worked with my hands and never touched computers, but reading the story of Amanda Hocking making MILLIONS from her self-published books caught my attention. I started to believe.
I told my wife that I was going to self-publish a book, and she thought it was great. The problems came when I started telling her about the cost of the dream. I had to pay $900 to get a website designed, the book cover done, and the editing of the book. Then, there were other expenses such as hosting for the website, the domain, hiring a coach to help me launch the book, and a few other odds and ends. As the expenses started to add up, she got antsy.
After launching the book and officially have an online business for six months, she wanted to know when the business would start making up the money I spent. Now, I want to make it very clear that everything we talked about, and she asked about, was reasonable. Six months in, I had spent $5,000 and hadn’t made a single dollar. Back then, we didn’t have the money to spend, but I did it anyway.
I kept giving her excuse after excuse and tried to convince her I needed to take a course from a “six-figure” Internet marketer to learn how they did it. Looking back on it now, it’s scary how much money I would have spent to get information that’s freely available if I had just done the research.
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I thought spending money was the answer. I thought Pinterest was the answer (that was the new hot thing back then). I thought affiliate marketing was the answer. I thought it was 1,000 other things other than for me to stop talking and start focusing. I think in my mind, I was battling self-limiting beliefs that kept me from what led to income in my dream/business.
Is This Your Hobby?
I treated this as a hobby. I talked about all the things I was “working on.” I chased shiny objects. I listened to all the guru’s because I believed the hype. I justified what I was doing even though inside I knew it didn’t make sense. I forced my wife to hate this dream because what I was doing was hurting our family, not helping.
It’s amazing what you can learn and accomplish with what’s available through blogs, podcasts, and videos–FOR FREE. The truth is; you don’t have to spend a dime to make progress and income from your dream. The right course and coach can help, but only after you’ve done something on your own. You take action. You do the work and then when you need help on your next steps, you take a course or hire a coach that can help you build upon the foundation that you’ve already established.
I have talked to many who read my blog. I know there are several circumstances of a spouse that wants to see that this is more than a hobby. I know of several dreamers who have had to get a job so that the tension at home dies down. Spouses have a reason to be upset if all dreamers do is spend money without making any.
This can’t be a hobby—it’s too expensive. You have to treat this as a business and make business decisions. Yes, this is what you love and enjoy. Yes, you have fun doing it, but at some point, it should make money. Think about it. The dream is to make a full-time income doing what you love. That’s where this should be leading.
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What Does This Mean?
It means you turn off the constant learning mode. It means you stop giving into information overload. It means—above all else—you stop spending money when you haven’t already done the foundational groundwork. It means you weigh every decision against how that decision fits into your plan.
It means you stop being afraid to sell—this is one that hurts many. At the end of the day, if you’re going to make money, you’re going to have to sell. Selling is uncomfortable, but if you can’t do it, your dream will never make money. When your dream doesn’t make money, all you have is a hobby that your spouse will get frustrated with. I want to see you win this year.
P.S. Your dream is possible 🙂
Audio version:
How are you treating your dream like more than a hobby?
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This article originally appeared on KimanziConstable.com.
Photo: Flickr/ Chapendra