This has been my very first year online. “JamestheJust on Elance,” a brand that I accidentally created along with “The Average Genius,” both arose out of the ashes of a wrecked existence. I wish I was exaggerating.
This was no ordinary year – it’s been longer than 365 days for me. 2010 was a Pluto year, back when Pluto was a planet…
Better than that, though I am road-weary and still have my Converse on with my piggies poking out of the hole I’ve worn in ‘em:
This year is / has been a Phoenix year. 2010 marks both a beginning and an end for me in many ways. Sometimes I can’t decide if I’m being “reborn” in flames or about to turn into a cooked bird.
What 2010 Ended For Me
Employment. Ever. I tried writing this post many ways, but I can’t ignore this monumental, flaming ball of a white elephant, only much smellier.
I’ll encapsulate: I worked for about 3 years for a “family” business and proved to the world what a horrid, stupid idea that was. I am a huge Dave Ramsey fan, love the guy and cannot possibly commend him enough.
He writes about getting out of debt and becoming wealthy, all from a position of integrity (he’s a Christian but his principles are timeless and without a doubt effective). I bring him up because Dave always shudders at the thought of working for family…
For good reason. Needless to say, I proved that this is indeed a salient warning – although I’m sure it doesn’t always end the way my situation did. I don’t want to go into more detail, but that was a cataclysmic event that affected my family and especially me as a man in a number of ways.
I’ll sum it up by saying my attitude in 2010 was
frustrated / angry / incredulous / Incredible Hulkish.
Where did it get me?
To the top of Google, making sales, and making decent money on Elance. It also taught me this: I don’t get bullied anymore. Done with that.
The bad news of all that is that I strained my marriage and family ties with my kids as much as possible, and it all stemmed out of frustration at a situation I couldn’t control.
Backed up into a corner, kicked while I was down and then spat on – and this is not me using colorful language, just painting a picture. This was 2010, the gritty underbelly of why I’m driven to make 2011 my 5 figures a month year (I mean, before the decimal point).
Why am I driven? Because I care about my family – and I hate begging my way around to make it.
You want to know the honest, gutter truth? Being backed into a corner and then unleashing your anger isn’t all that bad – as long as you take it out on the SERPs, and learn from the wounds.
What ended for me: being pushed around. Being bullied. Being worried. Being frustrated at stubborn mountains that won’t move out of my way – I’ll either climb them or plow through them with a bunker buster.
I’m also done with being an employee – ever. Not a good, wholesome reason for it – more like, “I’m not going to be treated that way again and put someone in power over me if I can help it.”
What 2010 Began For Me
My 8th child – his birth began this year, and now he’s walking – and I get to see every single moment of this kid’s life.
Priceless.
Writing for MONEY? Score! Dream come true? Check.
Working from home = Freedom, or the first steps down that road. This is the biggie for me as you can tell from the foregoing, I don’t like to be trapped with my back up against the wall for some odd reason. Working for clients is great.
Writing for myself?
Takes the cake.
What I Learned
SEO.
Copywriting.
Freelancing.
Internet Marketing.
Blogging.
WordPress.
What I Need To Learn
Balancing family / work.
Time management.
Making more time off for playing with the kids, dating my wife every week.
How to remember what happened in 2010 so I never go back to those ashes, or repeat my mistakes.
How to incorporate watching “The Office” into my to-do list.
How to play poker with the kids since I bought the family poker set for Christmas…
How to keep normal hours…
How to exercise with my wife and kids regularly.
How to systematize what I’m doing so it’s not so frenetic.
How to add more pages every single week no matter what to my own properties – OR – backlink what I have published until it ranks in the top 3.
How to write less and make more. –> Read: PASSIVE INCOME
How to get paid what I’m worth – I can’t afford to be the bargain copywriter.
My big killer is really time management / time spent.
I’ve included the off time as a realization that I’m not the T-1000, I can’t keep working like this machine I’ve become. It’s burned me out and strained relationships around the house, not to mention pushed me to a dependence on Ibuprofen.
Not good.
Earlier this year, a reader emailed me and asked me to write a post on succeeding with Elance – I refused because at the time I was planning on busting out 100 sites in 10 days or something ridiculous (now I’m being fecetious but that’s the gist)…
I was planning on putting Elance behind me mid-year…
But I’m glad I didn’t, and I’m glad I didn’t write that post: I’ve picked the wrong jobs this year, or at least fit myself into an impossible-to-live budget writer mold.
I learned in 2010 how to write more and make less…ouch. Reality doesn’t bite, sometimes it bludgeons you with Thor’s hammer. I am really glad I didn’t write a post on making a career out of Elance…not yet, anyway.
You know what? I can’t afford to be Mr. Nice Writer – and I mean that not to sound cocky, it’s just the truth.
I have a large family, and when I started out this year I got a lot of jobs because I could do them at bargain prices (I had a full time job). Then I lost the job…and out of fear I didn’t raise my prices.
That was a colossal business mistake, but I’ve been firing my clients left and right so to speak – and don’t read me wrong, I don’t “fire” clients, but I raise prices or bid what I’m worth and I don’t close as many jobs.
That’s OK by me. People who know my skills or who know I’m not “just” a writer who knows grammar will be glad to pay me. People who can see I rank websites and then convert traffic into money in the bank – they know they’ll make their money in spades.
There is an actual ROI on what I write.
It’s dawned on me: I think I can write. More than that: I can sell. I’m not a brash fella by trade, I hate that sort of “puff out chest, boast here” attitude…ugh!
At the same time, I can’t possibly afford what I’ve done this year – write all day and night long, some days I’ve logged 18 hours on these keys. It’s ugly. It needs to stop – and at the end of the day? I’ve worked that hard for budget jobs because I care more about writing than in spending time with my wife and kids – at least, that’s what it feels like.
I’ve prioritized work over family, at the end of the day.
That has to change. If for no other reason than the effect it has on my family life – it’s not worth it. Even if I had made 6 figures, work is not all there is.
You know what, though?
I met my goal for 2010
You all didn’t know I had set it but it was something my wife just recently reminded me of. My goal was to make $2,000 a month passively by the year’s end.
As Martha Danielle Natalie Susana Stewart says, “That’s a good thing!”
I (might) not make quite that much this month, but it will be close enough that I can smile about it. What that tells me is that in the ensuing weeks and months, to keep it up, I need to write like a machine for just a bit longer.
Then backlink. Then repeat with another page.
Where To In 2011?
I sort of gave this away, but I need to get more organized and treat this as a business – Yolanda has a list of 27 questions in her look back on 2010 that I found helpful, and I think there’s a bit of this in that post.
Time management has already begun, it’s as simple for me as using a calendar (quit laughing, I hate organizing schedules), writing out my goals, and now that I know my speed of writing, I can give more accurate, and profitable estimates.
What I plan to do is:
Make Amazon sales my first priority – I still haven’t followed through here with backlinking, hence my link wheel idea. And on that note – if I can monetize my links, I am going to reach my goals faster.
I want to be making $3k a month in Amazon alone by year’s end of 2011, as a LOW figure.
I’m taking off a month this next year in 2011 from all freelancing. In that month, I will make some serious headway by writing for my own private websites – I may even take a month off The Average Genius, which means: guest posts, please.
Send me your ideas and we’ll plan it out, but cut me some slack since I’ll be taking the month off when we get a tax return. Or so the plan goes (I can’t control the future). Send me your guest post ideas anyway, I can use them at some point.
With that month of concentrated effort, I should have made enough headway that when Google ranks the reviews, I’ll be able to take even more time off as the sales roll in…praying that works as I envision.
By the end of 2011…
My goal is $5k with Amazon, and $5k with CJ and another $1-2k with my other affiliate programs combined. My “low” tolerance will be $3k Amazon, $3k CJ and $1k with every other passive income.
So: $7,000-$12,000 a month in November / December of 2011 of passive income. That’s my big “8 ball, corner pocket” shot call.
I plan to publish my own ebook and have my own report for download posted here, with an email list of 1000 by year’s end. One of the funnest and most rewarding jobs this year was writing the book for MatthewDC at SEOSage.org – an IM guide for newbies that hopefully others find helpful.
That’s a goal that will mean I need to actually build a list, and I’m thinking I’ll do what I normally do: start off small with a budget plan and upgrade.
This means PHP List and a cheap subscription plugin – unless I can somehow get my hands on Subscribers Magnet, which I really want. Yes, I missed their sale.
:(
This may be my last year as a freelancer or on Elance – from here on out I plan on phasing out of the niche of budget writers (with few exceptions). I have to take on projects that will give me some space to breathe.
Don’t worry. I’ll deliver the goods.
What about you? What are your goals of 2011, and lessons of 2010?
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James – It’s been wonderful watching your progress over the past year, discussing with you different strategies and software, and sharing successes and failures in this crazy business.
You did great things in 2010 – not only learning the ropes of this business (and writing a kick a** ebook about it as well), but also hitting the 2K a month mark – which is truly exceptional for someone at this for only a year! I’m certain 2011 is going to bring you some wonderful surprises (and probably a few challenges as well, but so is life, eh?) – AND some well deserved earnings.
I think you are right on track with working to put the focus on time management and spending quality time with your family, and I sincerely hope you are able to create a right balance for yourself in the near future.
Congratulations on meeting your goal for 2010, and I would not be surprised at all if you even surpassed your 2011 earnings goals (with the right moves, and a little luck). But regardless, I’m sure you are going to see some real “good things” in the year to come!
Michelle recently posted..Weekly Update 30- December 22-28
Thanks, Michelle – you’ve been one to watch and your progress / organizational skills has been enough to make me demand a mind meld via internet (do they have that?).
I’ve been taking copious notes from you, but the key difference is the money allocation – if I could outsource, I’d love to – maybe this next year since I’ve learned to live on dirt and lawn clippings for some awesome mud pies you wouldn’t believe.
A little salt. Whoo! You’re in business. (That was so fun to write and so not true.)
I very much appreciate you commentary, and it has been a great year building some connections and business relationships via Twitter and the blogosphere. PAC N-WEST gotta stick together. (Isn’t Idaho Pacific NW? Hmm…let’s pretend.)
I love mud pies – and we certainly got a lot of them here in the Pacific Northwest right now (and, yeah, I’d say Idaho belongs to the Pac N-W).
It’s funny, because I’m often jealous of those who can work full time at IM and I frequently wonder where I’d be now if I was able to do that. Well, jealous might not really be the best word, as I wouldn’t give up a minute of the time I have been able to spend caring for my son full time during the days (and my aging mother increasingly as well). But still, I’m sure you get the gist of what I mean… I can’t afford not to outsource, because my time is just so limited. For you, it’s the opposite issue, I guess, since (thanks to a wonderful wife) you have the time to work – but not the money to outsource.
Anyway, I certainly hope that as your earnings increase you’ll be able to have the wonderful ‘luxury’ of spending more time with family, and much less time in front of your computer. :)
Michelle recently posted..Weekly Update 30- December 22-28
James,
This post echoed a lot of the same sentiments I expressed in my post scheduled for New Year’s day. To prevent sounding like I’m repeating myself though, I will say that you’ve come a long way in 2010 and I know you’ll exceed your goals in 2011…especially when you finally can put aside client work and begin to work full-time on your own websites.
The key though is to find the perfect balance! I’m sure trying to build passive income while still working for active income (which I might add there is nothing wrong with) has caused strain on not only your body, but your family as well. I really had to step back this year and look at where I was going because I noticed that I was logging too many hours on the computer — when all the while, I was neglecting other duties around me — like putting a good meal on the table before 8:00 (which is far too late for my husband and I to eat).
I think at some point there has to be healthy balance and this can only come once we realize that we are Internet Marketer’s and not superheros. Additionally, we can’t measure our success against someone else’s success because we’ll constantly be playing catchup and it will wear us down eventually.
Cheers to your success in 2011…I know you’ll crush it! :)
Great of you to comment, Yolanda. As I mentioned, you’ve had a huge impact on me – even encouraging keyword research manually, and mentioning Leo Dimilo the first time (love that cat). You were one of the first to get me out of the programmed box of “This is how you do this….” which I had because I was sure John XFactor invented the internet at the time.
Even using Micro Niche Finder was “it” for me – but thankfully people like you challenge the status quo (and MatthewDC, Aaron Wall, Salty Droid…) and it was refreshing. I resonated with your post on the 27 questions – and look forward to your 2011 post.
I was going to do the same thing, actually, but have other obligations and clients to write for at the moment, I don’t know if I’ll make the New Year’s post.
Too true!! Best of luck to you, Yolanda, and I know you’ll dominate your niches, miss “175 articles in one day” — ?!!
I think you forgot something else really big that happened in 2010.
Carrie recently posted..November Earnings and Updates
Que?
If you mean what I think you mean, I skipped it only because it’s in question as to the veracity of it…but not sure if we’re talking the same turkey. What do you mean?
The veracity of it? Now I want to know what you are talking about!
I was talking about meeting me! Hello!
Carrie recently posted..November Earnings and Updates
Weeeeeellll, I have no idea what you’re talking about. Obviously you were talking the wrong turkey. Clearly.
I deny saying that. I have no idea what you’re talking about, “veracity.” I don’t even use the word…
:/
James I am sure you will reach your goals in 2011. You certainly have the work ethic.
I have been thinking a lot about productivity lately and will write a little about it in my new blog post. But I think the main thing all of us really need to do is simply focus on what is really working and go for it.
Get rid of anything that is a time suck and does not lead to a better work/rest balance. If that means only checking your email every other day at 5PM then maybe that is not such a bad thing?
I just read the 4 hr work week and am well motivated to not work, if that makes any sense ;)
Dave recently posted..Happy Christmas
Hey, playa!
Funny, I’m spinning a boatload of articles right now for a client and took a snack break…probably shouldn’t be awake the same time the Europeans are…maybe I just need to move.
Anyhow, if I could, I’d set up a Dave cam so you could shout at me, “Get off Twitter, now! It’s not making you money.” And such things.
A lot of my work ethic lessons originate in reading blogs like your own – yours has influenced my thinking greatly.
I’m not quite done with 2010, I have 2 more posts over the next few days that won’t quite stay in my noggin, they want out, so I’ll save the rest of what I was going to say for one of them.
But rest assured, I appreciate your tips and friendship, Dave. You’re one solid dude, and an inspiring chap.
(I used “chap” to try out my English accent…did I pull if off?)
Spot on old bean, anything else just wouldn’t be cricket.
Ta ta, time for tea don’t you know.
Dave recently posted..Successful Internet Marketing Strategies
Dave, don’t pay attention to James’ dodgy attempts at being English. He watches a BBC production of a Jane Austen book and thinks he knows it all.
Carrie recently posted..November Earnings and Updates
You say that as if there is ANY other rendition to speak of. Puh leeeeaze…
OK, maybe the second round of BBC Jane Austen renditions were spot on, old garbonzo.
What’s “cricket”?
Great post James! You’ve certainly come far and have a lot to be proud of, but good on you for admitting what you still have to get better at too! A lot of people in internet marketing write about money as a be all and end all, but we all know that the hard work can definitely come at a cost. It’s not really about money but more about time, freedom and having enough money to be happy doing things that matter.
Your goals are grand ones, but based on what you’ve done in 2010 I’d say they’re very much possible. You have such a big family it’s so great you’re working towards having more and more time to spend with them :D Which will hopefully be the same for me when I have my own family.
Very honest post, I am struggling to do my own “2010 review” at the moment!
Ruth – Web Career Girl recently posted..My Earnings For November
I think with the right product selection and ability to rank a page, the amount of money to be made isn’t really limited.
The big limiting factor for me has been sheer and utter panic and being frenetic in what I’ve been doing. Cleaning things up should make things come together methinks (but it’s all against my grain!).
I just have a bunch of growing up and getting over it to do. Thanks for dropping by and leaving the kind words, Ruth! You’re definitely one who’s been an inspiration this past year.
Keep it up, you’re a joy to read! And I love your PLR btw – won’t say which I bought but there will be more in the future. Great job with that!
Hey James – thanks for reminding me that I haven’t documented my learnings/goals in public yet.
Well done on the $2k a month passive income – I think that’s probably where my goals lie for 2011. So maybe I’ll be aiming for 5 figures (before the decimal point!) in 2012.
Amazon sites are going to be my main area of focus in 2011 so I look forward to learning from your efforts :)
Clare recently posted..The Seven Pillars to a Perfect Article
Hey, Clare!
Well, the $2k in passive income is the end of year highlight – when I look at Google Trends or Insights for search, my peak was November, with a slow climb to oh…April-ish.
Then everyone pecks at my product, tire kickers and all.
So – I need more pages / rankings, but now I’m established on CJ and the folks who denied my request a year ago are knocking one by one on my door – to which I laugh maniacally.
It sounds like (in a baritone, no less):
Mwwa…ah…ah….ah…
ah.
MWUAHHAHAHAA!
ha!
And then I add the links and reviews and pull the slot machine lever on Google’s backside, hoping coins fall out.
And when they do, I laugh again. It’s down to a science, see.
What I’m trying to say is, I’m not sure what the first quarter will bring, but I sure hope to swing for the fences (with my cricket paddle thing, that looks like an oar).
Oh! And “Learn from me” is a stretch – I think the shoe’s on the wrong foot. You’ve been at this much longer – and if you learn from anyone, it’s Dave or Tracey. I’m pretty sure I simply picked the right product the first time around, then wrote like normal.
Then ranked. Nothing really to learn, per se, except this:
Swing big. Pick a heck of a product, one that you might never buy because it seems expensive and who on Earth would buy that? Then write well, rank, cash the check…
Crossing my fingers that I just made sense. I’m going to bed, been spinning all night sorta.
James, Congratulations on meeting your $2k /month goal. I’m sorry you went through the strain of the family business issues. It sounds like you’re using the experience and emotions in a positive way. Don’t get angry, get even (in a good way) comes to mind. Congratulations also on the new baby!
You’ve become one of my favorite writers and I always look forward to your posts.
Happy New Year!
Sandy
Thanks, Sandy – the check is on its way!
I am happy to turn the calendar year – this is an interesting new chapter of life for me, entrepreneurship “take 4.”
Only this time, I’m where I need to be, playing to my strengths. Thanks for the encouraging words, that’s better than a pitcher of green tea or a copy of Black Ops for the 360.
Not that I would be, you know, drooling over the game because…well…that would be silly.
James, this is a great post! I think along with Clare, your 2010 goal will be my 2011 goal, although I don’t anticipate making nearly that much until the last bit of 2011. I know from experience that it takes time and I don’t have too much of that right now.
BUT…, I would like to be getting bizchickblogs.com to the $5-7K month mark by the end of next year. That will be partially passive as I’m only going to be writing some of the content. So quarters 1 and 2 will be solely focused on traffic and demonstrating a clear demographic. It’s an aggressive goal but I don’t see the point in making easy goals (and neither do you it looks like)!
My consulting practice makes about $4k per month right now, so if I can focus on bizchickblogs.com, consulting, and a little bit of more passive income, I will be doing alright for a single mama, eh!?
Tia recently posted..The New Easy Way to Customize Thesis
You and Antonio Coleman with the consultancy…we need to chat I think. That’s nothing to shake a stick at! Sweet.
I’m excited with BCB taking a direction where you can leverage that sort of income, and I’ve noticed the amount of bloggers in the contributor side down yonder them thar hills.
I really, really want the interview we’ve danced around, Tia…c’mon…putting you on blast now…
:)
James.
I was a member of Jack Humphrey’s blog Success group a while ago. There was a guy there named Rusty Moore. He was working full time but had a single authority site in the fitness/body building niche. His website design (link below) is very vanilla. He did that consciously. He had never really focused on building a list but he started doing that. Yesterday I ran across a WF post by him (below) where he describes how he used Squidoo lenses to help build his list. He wrote a couple of E-Book products that sold well. Then he reached his target monthly income through the web site which is now a PR-4and quit his regular job to focus on the web site. As far as I can tell this is his only web site. You may find something of value in his approach. rusty is also a very nice guy and likes to talk to people doing IM in case you have questions for him. Sandy
rusty’s Squidoo List Building strategy:
http://www.warriorforum.com/adsense-ppc-seo-discussion-forum/299225-traffic-squidoo-hubpages.html#GpMseNtW7sSi5HTK
Rusty’s web site:
http://www.fitnessblackbook.com
It sounds like your 2010 was an up and down rollarcoaster but I have no dount that 2011 will be so much better for you. I can definitely relate to you on the balancing of time with work and family. Sometimes I feel guilty for working and then I will feel guilty when I’m not working. Something that I need to work on in the new year as well. Work smarter not harder!
Good luck on your goals for 2011 and I have no doubt you will reach your goals. Although I set my goals a little shorter than you, I think both of us have a lot of work ahead, but I’m actually looking forward to it! Looking forward to what you have in store for 2011 and seeing where you are when you write your end of year post for 2011!
Tiffany recently posted..My Passive Income Goals for 2011
Tiffany – I’m in the middle of posting a reply to your recent post. I see you on Dave’s site – he’s really done a spot on job with inspiring the right sort of work ethic.
He had a section on a book he recommends, I bought it right there on the spot, it should arrive Jan 3, 2011. It’s a “book book” that I can’t recall the name of at the moment (I’m transitioning as we speak from vampire hours to “Oh, I have a wife and kids that are solar powered so I should probably do the same…”).
All that to say: I’m pooped at the moment but wanted to say: I’m not sure I’ll meet my goals this time. But I’m swinging for the fence anyway.
Even if I only hit $5k a month next year this time, it’s progress, which is fine by me.
But $12k a month would be even finer. :)
I’m certain you’ll make your goal this next year, and at the end of it all, being a mommy, you already have the most important job in the world – that’s sacred ground.
JamestheJust recently posted..2010 Lessons And 2011 Goals MMO YR 1
James,
I just made you my first RSS subscription. I too am learning about all this internet maketing stuff and find your post extremley fun to read and worthwhile. Might just set some goals for myself.
Keep it up.
DD
Dave Dedrick recently posted..Solar Fence Lights
For someone who’s learning about it – your site sure has a TON of backlinks. Strong ones, too. Nicely done.
Thanks for dropping by, I’m definitely still learning, so I’d urge you to check out the others in the blogroll and blogs that flip my lid.
Really enjoyed reading your year in review along with what your plans are for 2011. I’m wishing this time next year, you’ll have written a review post beaming with all that you’ve achieved.
I’m still thinking about what I’d like to achieve this year, but what last year has taught me is that fear can be HIGHLY disabling, and that there is a difference between the drama a fearful mind creates and what actually is.
ebele recently posted..Happy New Yeeee-haaaa Year December 2010 Earnings Total 2010 Earnings
Your comment on fear is too true and familiar – Tracey Edwards, Dave from MakingMoneyOnTheInternetFree.info, Sara from Noteworthytips.com, Michelle from PassiveIncomeOnlineBlog.com and really the folks who’ve bothered to comment here or are on the blogroll…they’ve been great inspirations for me to overcome a lot of barriers.