Simonz
New Contributor
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2023
- Messages
- 1
Hi there
Some while ago I started selling 2nd hand books on Amazon to make some extra cash. It worked better than I expected. That was the start of a kind of FTE where I realised there was something there I couldn't let go of. Meanwhile I had been freelancing doing video production and editing which was a legacy of me trying to 'do what you love' - which of course, in reality, ended up being me working on a lot of shitty corporate projects eeking out a living to pay the rent however I could.
In 2020 me and my family moved to a hugely cheaper part of the UK and erased any mortgage. I took a driving temp job during the Covid time and knucled down on the side hustle of publishing stationery I designed on Amazon that I had been piddling around with for over 2 years.
It took off in 2021 and now brings in a modest full time income. This income misses the crucial ones of CONTROL & ENTRY as its tied to Amazon and they can theoretically get rid of me and I am at the mercy of their algorithm (so its essentially a 'job proxy' in a way). But it absolutely crushes it in the TIME factor - In fact in some peak seasons it sold 6000 books and I didn't lift a finger for it to happen and I have learnt that once a book has nearly 2 years of sales rank history on Amazon it is somewhat protected. In its own way this effort worked because, in however small a way, the stationery I designed gives value. So MJ is right about that no doubt. It may only be a nice gift but people write in reviews 'my nephew loved this and it made his day' etc. Anyone can upload stuff to KDP but i guess the 'value' such as it is - is bound up with my years design and experience coming up with visual ideas
Due to the massive difference in house prices we were also able to buy a small rental property - and this by itself pays most utility and food bills. No plans to expand this to multiple properties. If anything i'm looking for other realistic ways to invest the money than rental.
None of this exactly conforms to what MJ De Marco is talking about in unscripted. In fact, by some peoples standards I am probably living in 'poverty'. I don't have much clue about using investments. In fact in many ways i'm still not the best at managing money but somehow i've managed to fumble my way this far to a degree of freedom where I actually feel pretty lucky and have much scope for improving things.
.And one thing he's definitely right about - getting this far has been fired by a meaning and purpose to create some life that isn't the slave of bills and 'high maintenance life and allows me time to take my son to school rather than be rushing around in the rat race - and to pursue some projects that will deliver value in the world but will never bring in much money (and as he advises .. for some things it better if they stay that way).
I'm here to consolidate things more and get at least a bit more real about some aspects of financial management and investments- in terms of mindset etc. I don't currently see myself selling a software company for 2 million. (with some more work over the next 3-5 years what I already have could , at a push be sold for 950k which is enough... but there's more work to be done to verify that)
Also it does seem that life in the UK really can be cheaper. I have previously lived fairly humbly but comfortably on less than $30,000 per year which apparently would be considered 'poverty' in some of USA. Never owned a sport car and no desire to either. Simple tastes other than coffee and books. I'm essentially kind of capitalist hippie' that tries to look after my health - looking to clarify more precisely how that balance of 'capitalist' and 'hippie' plays out.
I'm not sure i'm 100% Mj's target demographic but I liked a lot of what he said in Unscripted and appreciated the 'wake up' tone even if probably gets a lot of peoples' backs up.
Some while ago I started selling 2nd hand books on Amazon to make some extra cash. It worked better than I expected. That was the start of a kind of FTE where I realised there was something there I couldn't let go of. Meanwhile I had been freelancing doing video production and editing which was a legacy of me trying to 'do what you love' - which of course, in reality, ended up being me working on a lot of shitty corporate projects eeking out a living to pay the rent however I could.
In 2020 me and my family moved to a hugely cheaper part of the UK and erased any mortgage. I took a driving temp job during the Covid time and knucled down on the side hustle of publishing stationery I designed on Amazon that I had been piddling around with for over 2 years.
It took off in 2021 and now brings in a modest full time income. This income misses the crucial ones of CONTROL & ENTRY as its tied to Amazon and they can theoretically get rid of me and I am at the mercy of their algorithm (so its essentially a 'job proxy' in a way). But it absolutely crushes it in the TIME factor - In fact in some peak seasons it sold 6000 books and I didn't lift a finger for it to happen and I have learnt that once a book has nearly 2 years of sales rank history on Amazon it is somewhat protected. In its own way this effort worked because, in however small a way, the stationery I designed gives value. So MJ is right about that no doubt. It may only be a nice gift but people write in reviews 'my nephew loved this and it made his day' etc. Anyone can upload stuff to KDP but i guess the 'value' such as it is - is bound up with my years design and experience coming up with visual ideas
Due to the massive difference in house prices we were also able to buy a small rental property - and this by itself pays most utility and food bills. No plans to expand this to multiple properties. If anything i'm looking for other realistic ways to invest the money than rental.
None of this exactly conforms to what MJ De Marco is talking about in unscripted. In fact, by some peoples standards I am probably living in 'poverty'. I don't have much clue about using investments. In fact in many ways i'm still not the best at managing money but somehow i've managed to fumble my way this far to a degree of freedom where I actually feel pretty lucky and have much scope for improving things.
.And one thing he's definitely right about - getting this far has been fired by a meaning and purpose to create some life that isn't the slave of bills and 'high maintenance life and allows me time to take my son to school rather than be rushing around in the rat race - and to pursue some projects that will deliver value in the world but will never bring in much money (and as he advises .. for some things it better if they stay that way).
I'm here to consolidate things more and get at least a bit more real about some aspects of financial management and investments- in terms of mindset etc. I don't currently see myself selling a software company for 2 million. (with some more work over the next 3-5 years what I already have could , at a push be sold for 950k which is enough... but there's more work to be done to verify that)
Also it does seem that life in the UK really can be cheaper. I have previously lived fairly humbly but comfortably on less than $30,000 per year which apparently would be considered 'poverty' in some of USA. Never owned a sport car and no desire to either. Simple tastes other than coffee and books. I'm essentially kind of capitalist hippie' that tries to look after my health - looking to clarify more precisely how that balance of 'capitalist' and 'hippie' plays out.
I'm not sure i'm 100% Mj's target demographic but I liked a lot of what he said in Unscripted and appreciated the 'wake up' tone even if probably gets a lot of peoples' backs up.
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