Oh the irony. Here I am registering an account on a forum to ask questions and try to contribute something that might help others. I got my start as an entrepreneur 15 years ago... building forums out of all things. Back then it was all about vBulletin. It's nice to see this site using Xenforo, my new favorite forum software. After spending the last few years navigating through FB groups looking for help and having my inbox filled with entrepreneurial-related emails, it's only fitting that I end up back in a forum reading through threads that have delivered more valuable insights than all of the FB group discussions combined. And everyone likes to talk about how forums are dead 
I'm here because I realize that my mindset is holding me back from achieving my goals. I had a little success early on in niches I enjoy, creating forums and monetizing them. I actually quit my job for about 8 years and we lived mostly on the advertising income and consulting income. Instead of running it as a business though, I ran it like a freelancer and ended up being forced to go out and get another job. My original forum still brings in some decent passive income, but revenue is on a downward trend due to the niche, even though the site still draws 200k+ uniques per month.
It's been about 5 years now since I went back to being a slave to an employer and I've worked on several side ideas trying to get back to being self employed, but nothing has produced results. The stakes are higher now than they were the last time I made the jump, having 2 young children and being the sole bread winner. I'm subscribed to several entrepreneurial email lists and FB groups - one of which I even had D. Halpern take a shot at me because I pointed out (in my usual cynical tone) how the trend seems to be to make a little bit of money online and then pivot to selling info and training to entrepreneurs on how you did it, a-la Pat Flynn
I feel like I've been watching scores of people around me find success, while I chug along in the slow lane - a hybrid state of being a business owner and making extra income on the side but not generating enough income to be my own full time boss, and no real solid path to get there, only ideas. And it has to change soon.
I've recently focused on offering digital services, mainly because I have a lot of experience that clients find valuable, but I'm not sure if that's where my heart is. It sometimes feels like I'm trading one boss for several. I also lack a good system to scale the effort well, running things like a freelancer again - and yes, I plan to buy the book this weekend
One thing I feel I struggle with is limiting myself to ideas involving only niches I enjoy. Then I spend a lot of time trying validate the ideas and determine if they'll actually generate enough profit to justify diving headlong into it. I know that part of the reason I had success with the forums is because they were built around niches I knew well, which made it easy for me to work on it and not see it as hard work.
I've built countless Wordpress sites and am intrigued by the idea of creating a blog (not to be a professional blogger, but instead more of a community/niche) site that is focused on content I enjoy. I tried it a couple times just to test out the process, not as a serious effort. My dream has always been to make a living doing something fun and completely different than the majority of society, not being a slave to the work, and ultimately being my own boss. I'm not sure I have the personality that will draw people in like many of the top bloggers, but I am willing to do the work to make it a success. I just don't want to keep living in the slow lane trying to make a square peg fit in a round hole, which I feel like I've been doing for the past 10 years.
I'm off to go read more threads and start the process of transforming my mindset. Hopefully I can contribute and some can benefit from my experiences in some way, though I feel like I may not be the best person to get advice from just yet. Looking forward to getting into some discussions with a lot of you in here.
I'm here because I realize that my mindset is holding me back from achieving my goals. I had a little success early on in niches I enjoy, creating forums and monetizing them. I actually quit my job for about 8 years and we lived mostly on the advertising income and consulting income. Instead of running it as a business though, I ran it like a freelancer and ended up being forced to go out and get another job. My original forum still brings in some decent passive income, but revenue is on a downward trend due to the niche, even though the site still draws 200k+ uniques per month.
It's been about 5 years now since I went back to being a slave to an employer and I've worked on several side ideas trying to get back to being self employed, but nothing has produced results. The stakes are higher now than they were the last time I made the jump, having 2 young children and being the sole bread winner. I'm subscribed to several entrepreneurial email lists and FB groups - one of which I even had D. Halpern take a shot at me because I pointed out (in my usual cynical tone) how the trend seems to be to make a little bit of money online and then pivot to selling info and training to entrepreneurs on how you did it, a-la Pat Flynn
I feel like I've been watching scores of people around me find success, while I chug along in the slow lane - a hybrid state of being a business owner and making extra income on the side but not generating enough income to be my own full time boss, and no real solid path to get there, only ideas. And it has to change soon.
I've recently focused on offering digital services, mainly because I have a lot of experience that clients find valuable, but I'm not sure if that's where my heart is. It sometimes feels like I'm trading one boss for several. I also lack a good system to scale the effort well, running things like a freelancer again - and yes, I plan to buy the book this weekend
One thing I feel I struggle with is limiting myself to ideas involving only niches I enjoy. Then I spend a lot of time trying validate the ideas and determine if they'll actually generate enough profit to justify diving headlong into it. I know that part of the reason I had success with the forums is because they were built around niches I knew well, which made it easy for me to work on it and not see it as hard work.
I've built countless Wordpress sites and am intrigued by the idea of creating a blog (not to be a professional blogger, but instead more of a community/niche) site that is focused on content I enjoy. I tried it a couple times just to test out the process, not as a serious effort. My dream has always been to make a living doing something fun and completely different than the majority of society, not being a slave to the work, and ultimately being my own boss. I'm not sure I have the personality that will draw people in like many of the top bloggers, but I am willing to do the work to make it a success. I just don't want to keep living in the slow lane trying to make a square peg fit in a round hole, which I feel like I've been doing for the past 10 years.
I'm off to go read more threads and start the process of transforming my mindset. Hopefully I can contribute and some can benefit from my experiences in some way, though I feel like I may not be the best person to get advice from just yet. Looking forward to getting into some discussions with a lot of you in here.
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