2011 – A Look Back

It’s hard to believe that my first post for this blog was on May 10, 2011. I’ve said it so many times and probably will continue to do so.

Time really does fly.

Sometime back also back in May of 2011 I discovered an amazing blog called SmartPassiveIncome with Pat Flynn. It opened my eyes up to passive income and making money online. Making money online is something that I’ve always known about. I’ve been making money with Google Adsense since 2007.

I just didn’t know that amount of money you can make online can be so much.

In saying that, while I would love to make as much as Pat Flynn does. I would be happy with just enough to get by and be free to travel to be with my wife, family and friends.

That is what this journey is all about.

If I make as much as him. Then bonus! If not, I still get to live the life that I want.

Living off of Passive Income

Also in 2011 I set myself a very high goal, which was to be living off of Passive Income by the end of 2011. Which I found out is almost impossible to do in 7 months.

Unfortunately, I didn’t meet that goal.

There were a lot of factors that soon came into play when I started to learn about all the options that are avaialbe with making money online and passive income.

Welcome to Connect

One of those options is creating an income with iPhone Apps which is something that caught my attention and one that I have always been interested in.

There was a strong pivotal point that soon presented itself to me. It was one that I had to be quick to make a decision on. I knew that I would be sacrificing one thing for another.

Time Vs Money.

Usage of my time was and still is very critical at this stage. I could stay focused on my niche websites, Amazon and Adsense, Chitika, etc.

Or, I could learn a new skill that I could use for a lifetime.

To me, the benefits of learning an new skill, in this case Objective-C far out weighed the immediate benefits of earning money through what websites I have already.

It’s a no brainer, really.

It’s a lot of Money to Develop

When I wanted to get my iPhone App developed I placed an ad on Odesk. I searched through the pile of applicants that soon came flooding in.

I narrowed it down to a few and soon had my short list.

But, there was a problem.

The amount of money that required to develop an iPhone App far outweighed my minimal budget. To top all that off, I still had to join the Apple Developer program.

Some basic math showed me just how many Apps I would have to see just to break even.

Being smart about it and weighing out the Risk Vs Reward involved with this project. I opted to retract my project and chose to learn how to do all coding myself.

Easier said then down and half a year later.

It’s difficult to program. I’m not the best at it, but I continue to learn and study Objective-C and Cocos2D. I’ve since released 7 iPhone Apps all on my own.

Don’t get me wrong. They’re not JetPack Joyride or anything remotely close to it but they are steps in the right direction and they have also earned me money online.

100 Websites

The flip side to that coin is that I have had very little to no time at all to work on or develop my several niche websites and my 100 Websites Goal. That I set for myself back in August.

It was another goal that I set that was very high and difficult to meet. It is also one that I am continuing to work towards but at a much slower pace.

It’s just too much for one person to do. It’s as simple as that.

I may look into outsourcing some of the work for all these websites that I have laying around now that are just collecting dust.

I really feel that I probably would have met the 100 Websites Goal by the end of the year if I didn’t always have my nose poking around in Xcode.

Amazon Associates

The same goes for my experience when I did the training that Chris Guthrie has with his Niche Profit Course.

Which is a great product and highly recommend for anybody who is interested in making money online through Amazon.

I am seeing some more money coming in from Amazon now which is awesome. Also, since all the groundwork is already in place and that the domains are older now it makes it a bit easier for these sites to get a least a little bit of traction.

Which is also another reason to get started with any project that you have floating around in your mind. The longer you put it off, the longer it will take for you to potentially start making money from it.

You gotta act now.

Learn and Keep Learning

I learned a lot in a very short amount of time in 2011 and encourage you to do the same. One of the biggest things I’ve learned is not to spread yourself so thin.

Focus is very important.

I’m learning to be the Hedgehog rather then the Fox.

2012 A More Definitive Direction

While I am still going to put time and energy in to my previous efforts, websites, ec. My main focus is going to continue to learn Objective-C and keep releasing iPhone Apps. Niche websites, blogs, affiliate marketing, etc will be secondary to that.

That said, I am really excited for 2012. I really believe that this is the year that I will be totally free and location independent.

That is my goal, that is my dream and that is what I continue to work towards.

Do Not Live by Other People’s Dogma!

I’m not going to fluff things up at all. It’s been a tough ride and it’s not easy. You really must be prepared to most of not all of your spare time doing something online in efforts to get your business up and running.

If you can afford it. Then definitely outsource your work and your projects.

If you can’t or don’t want to invest the money. Then be prepared to be a very, very busy bee.

And drink lots of coffee.