Entrepreneur and Finance Nerd Making Money Online

If you saw my last earnings report, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that I don’t make enough from my business to live on. I have a day job. I have a full-time career in the lending industry that most people would be quite happy with. It’s a great company, great pay, great benefits, great co-workers, and on and on….

The problem is, it’s still a job.

One of the biggest reasons I’ve always dreamed of working for myself is the flexibility it brings. I have twin boys baking in the oven right now. It would be fantastic to be able to stay home with them.

I’m spending 50 hours away from my family each week right now. That is a lot of time that I am missing out on with my family. If I could work from home, there is so much more that I would get to see.

The Reason Most People Fail

One of the hardest things (and the reason that most people fail) in internet marketing is finding time to work on your business when you have a full time job. This internet marketing gig isn’t something that you can just mess around with here and there and expect to strike it rich overnight. It is at the very least a part-time job.

Only, this isn’t the kind of part-time job that you can just show up, clock in, mill around for a few hours, clock out and collect your paycheck. No. This is like a sales job. You don’t work, you don’t sell, you don’t earn a commission.

To succeed in internet marketing, you have to work at it. This is the big challenge of balancing internet marketing and a day job. It’s something that has always been a struggle for me. The only way I have been able to get anything done is to treat my business like a job.

My Typical Schedule

• 4:00am – Alarm goes off. Drag myself out of bed. Get coffee.
• 4:15am – Sit down at the computer. Write one content post for one of my sites. (But don’t post it)
• 4:45am – Check e-mail, forums & RSS feeds
• 5:00am – Write two backlink articles
• 5:45am – Go running
• 6:30am – Get ready for work
• 7:30am – Out the door to work
• 6:00pm – Get home from work, relax, spend time with the family, etc.
• 10:00pm – Proof read content post written that morning and post it.
• 10:30pm – Bedtime

That is a pretty typical day for me.

I think it is super important to have a set schedule. A set schedule keeps you focused which makes you more productive.

How many times have you set down at the computer, fully intending to get some work done only to find out 2 hours later that all you have done is check e-mail, stats and forums? It’s fine to do all of those things, but they should come after you have gotten some kind of work done.

It is also important to have a specific time each day that you have blocked out to work on your business. Many people just work on their sites “whenever they have the time.” Life can get really busy though and most days you’ll never find the time do get anything done.

I want to treat my business like a job. I have set work hours. Within those hours I have specific tasks that need to get done.

But 4:00am…Ugh!

I’m sure most of you think I’m nuts for wanting to get up that early each day. I get up that early though because it’s the best time of the day for me. It is when I have the least distractions and I am the most focused.

That’s not to say it’s easy to get up that early. It’s a regular occurrence that I have to drag myself out of bed. But, I have made up my mind that success is more important to me than sleep. That’s not to say that I have my off days and hit the snooze button for the next 2 hours. But I make the absolute best effort I can to stick to my schedule.

Do you have to get up before the crack of dawn to be successful? No – the time of the day has nothing to do with it. It’s all about finding a time that works for you and sticking with it.

The Other Important Part of the Balancing Act

I think it’s important to note that you need to keep your priorities straight when you are trying to build and business and work a job. If you are getting a paycheck from a company, it is your responsibility to give them your best effort while you’re at work. Don’t let your business distract you from your job.

I know it can be temping to sneak in some “extra-curricular” work while you are at your job, but don’t do it! Your employer is agreeing to give to a paycheck. In return, you’ve agreed to do your job.

It takes so much discipline to be successful in internet marketing. It can be so frustrating to keep working on something for weeks or months before you see any success, but that’s how this game works.

What about you? What’s your biggest struggle in this business? Do you have any tricks that keep you focused?

I’ve had a mantra for a while now: “The value you provide to your customers is directly proportional to your income potential.” Value = Income The idea is that any successful business provides value to its customers. Or to put it another way…a business is successful because of the value it provides to its customers. [...]

In an effort to be as transparant as possible, I’ll be publishing a report on the first of each month outlining my income for the previous month. I’ll show all of my income sources, passive and otherwise. If there are any expenses associated with that income, I’ll share that as well. Things like hosting, PPC [...]