wumpus

Any newbies with a family trying to get their feet into Internet marketing?

I work full time, am married and have two young children. So basically I have at most 2 hours of day late at night before my brain and body go asleep on me. Even then it isn't quality time, what with a teething infant waking up randomly and the general state of my brain after working a full day as a Windows sysadmin.

What approach do you take? My approach is research, try, stay up too late, try and try again. At this stage I seem to read more than try. It's really quite frustrating and easy to lose track of projects. It can take me a week to get 10 hours of time at this which isn't much when you're starting out.

The only thing that keeps me going is my vision. I want to break free of the 9 to 5 rut and have the freedom to live where want, and provide better for my family. There is nothing more motivating for me than not being to do this or that for my children because our lame ass health insurance just shot up to $580 a month, etc. These are highly motivating factors that never existed for me when I was single and spent 20 hours a week playing Quake 2.

Based on my current estimates, if I just made a steady US$100 a day profit we could move to any Small Town, USA, since my current employer is willing to pay me part time to do remote support. So I'm keeping my goals realistic but also diversifying my approaches so when I fail it wont' be all or nothing.

Surely I'm not the only newbie family man?

What are your goals? Have you figured out any strategies to help you stay focused and organized?

dragonhawk28

Your not alone man. I am in the same boat. All I can say is stay focused on one project at a time so that you won't be jumping around and wasting time trying to figure out where and what you left off with.

Keep a notebook handy to jot down any to-do's or ideas that might pop into your head.

If nothing else, bounce a few ideas off your kids, I find that they are great listeners.....especially if they can't talk yet.

neonlights

I am married with a kid too. It's not easy to find time and (more importantly) energy. I love my kid and I like to spend a few hours hanging out each day but it is so draining! I'm lucky though coz I have a good passive income from my existing business. And an office. And no full-time job to worry about.

Just stick at it I say. $100 a day is a pretty good goal. Same goal as mine right now. It might not sound like much but $100 more than what you are making now is a pretty big deal in my books.

Good thing is kids keep you honest and in perspective. I'm more interested in financial security these days rather than buying the latest gadget.

eliquid

same here, married and 3 kids all under 8.

just got laid off, but had been doing this on the side with my full time gig for well over 14 years ( freelance web design, then moved into programming, then into Internet marketing, now full time affiliate marketing. )

You can do it.. I did it for a long time before I was laid off.

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fm1234

Not a newbie, but with two small kids (including one less than two months old) and a teenager who is here during the summer, all I can say is: learn to love being awake. Ironically, cutting back on stimulants like caffeine, nicotine, and uh "other" stimulant drugs will help you get better quality sleep, thus decreasing your overall need for sleep. What has worked best for me is being an early riser -- going to bed as early as possible and getting up as early as possible, working like hell for a couple hours and then just quitting until everybody's down for nap time.


Frank

The Phantom

Where's the vice squad?

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wumpus

Nice to hear from some fellow parents.

One thing I have learned is that your motivation has to come from within. Especially if your spouse is indifferent or even hostile to your attempts. When nobody else cares or seems to understand what the hell you're trying to do, you have to rise up and grab that monitor and keyboard like your sword and shield and start attacking this stuff again. It really takes heroic effort sometimes under the strain of so many responsibilities.

Not to mention patience. No wonder 95% of people who try this fail or give up.

One thing I do is write down every little idea that comes to me for future consideration or otherwise I'll forget them. Then I just hack away bit by bit at my most promising stuff.

fm1234: I'm going to try your tip about laying off stimulants. I find it very difficult to sleep even late at night if I've had more than one small cup of coffee during the day. I came home early from work just to catch up on sleep after a long work weekend and couldn't get a wink.

Later next month my family will be out of town for a week and a half. I'm so damn excited because it means I'll have quality free time to work at this, something I haven't had in a year or more. Hell maybe I'll even start a thread detailing what I accomplish in that short time, just to inspire newbies.

FatalError

I'm in too! doing AM since about 6 months. got married 5 month bak

erect

Same boat but not new.

You didn't mention it so I'm going to assume. I realize this probably won't be an immediate option since A> you have 2 very young kids & B> "your spouse is indifferent or even hostile to your attempts" but I'll still suggest it anyways.

Get your girl to get a fucking job, even delivering pizzas or waiting tables. Her laying around watching The Young and The Restless while yapping on the phone with her sister is not going to get your family where it needs to be. She whines about your working on web income because she wants you to be a loser like her. It's very common for nerds like us to have underachievers as significant others.

It took a looooooong time but my wife is doing well at work now. Just passed 2.5 years on the same job which is a miracle. Your's just needs to understand that with this work you need to put in the time now so you can be free later. Chics don't have long term vision so it's going to be tough to get across but it's a necessary point.

Chunkles

Hey Wumpus,

When I read your post, thought I was reading a post that I might have written!

I'm in a nearly identical situation ... all the way down to the teething infant!

With the small amount of time we have to work on AM, it's too easy to spend it all reading Wickedfire, etc... That's what I need to work on; more doing, less researching.

silentbob

I'm in the exact same position. 2 kids under 3 years old. Work a 9 to 5 and find no time to work on my business.

I used to have this problem too. Wife complaining about me "playing" on the computer all the time. I found a solution for it though.

I created a website on a subject she was interested in and asked if she would help out creating content. As she was on maternity leave at the time she agreed. After a couple of weeks her exact words were : "Damn, making websites is hard work"

So now she sees that I do actual work and gives me respect for it.( and time ... saturday is "work on my business" day. sunday is family day)

It is working pretty well. After content creation I learned her how to build links, administering a forum, etc ...

So the bottom line is : involve her in your internet marketing business so she understands that it is work but the payoff can be huge. (and free labor is pretty sweet too )

linkbuilding

every thing will be solved

regards
ashwini

-----------------------------

Link Building | Article marketing |

hunmik

I'm in the same boat. A set of twins toddlers. My goal is not to quit my job and do this full time (well, maybe someday), I just want to make up for the income we lost when my wife stayed home with the kids.

I try to work a little (check stats, look at new offers) at night after everyone is in bed, but I do most of it from my 9-5 job. My cubicle is out of the way and I have all the software I need on my computer. The projects I work on for my employer come in waves which means that I work my ass off for a couple of weeks and then I work on my on stuff for a couple of weeks. As long as I look busy and make some bs up for the weekly IT meeting I'm good. It's a pretty sweet setup!

My wife didn't think much of my money making schemes first, but got really supportive after the checks and money transfers started to came in.

turbolapp

Look at all the wf families...who knew? I am married with a 6 year old and another one due in 8 weeks! I started out with this about a year ago working full time. It was definitely an adjustment for my family. Luckily I have a very supportive husband (well not really "lucky" as I looked damn hard for him) who really believed I could do this. I quit back in December to do this full time. My hubby still works full time (he claims to love it ???) but he works on alot of things like writing scripts for my campaigns and other projects. This way he really feels included (and he's very valuable!) and we can share in the glories and the miseries together...just like a marriage, aye? So, yeah, I would highly suggest getting your spouse involved if at all possible.

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ArtRage

damn turbolapp you're lucky one
For me 's easier to find new wife than get one involved in my business
the only thing she's like to do is to read my stats

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amateursurgeon

My wife occasionally kicks my ass about getting a real job. But then she see's quite how determined I am to make my evil plans come to fruition and leaves me to it. She's very into her work as well (she's a scientist) so at least she can understand what it's like to be passionate about something.

Moving into running your own business is tough, takes a lot of guts, and will create a lot of fear and misunderstanding amongst your friends and family who have always been employed. I'm lucky - my father has always been self employed, so it set me in the right pattern, and means I get support from my folks. My wife respects my dad a lot, so the fact he's supportive helps from that front.


Some stuff I've found good to stay motivated:

-Read Think & Grow Rich by Napolean Hill. The Self Talk Solution by Shad Helmstetter's pretty good as well. Don't worry about all the cosmic vibration BS in it. The fact is, if you listen to yourself saying how great and successful you are often enough, your subconscious will start to believe it.

-Write your goals down. Make small goals like making $10 per day, $20 per day etc, and write down a reward for achieving each goal.

Sign up for SEO Mike's next No More Excuses thread as well. Although I didn't do a huge amount with the site I got in it, it got me properly going and I'm now up and running doing PPC.

argh01

woot! gratz turbo!

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nmwando

Its not going to be easy, but i beleive you can do it.

elime

NoMarriage.com - honest marriage and relationship advice for men.

Choller

I'm not married but i have been with my gf for 11 years and we have 2 kids (3.5years and 7month old).

My gf isn't "hostile" though because she knows how it feels like to have these kinds of money, she actually encourages me (probably only because she can buy more clothes online....).

Kids... they are kids, especially the youngest one not sleeping through the night. That really drains alot of energy and i haven't been able to put the time that i wanted to put into this since he's been born.

It doesn't matter at what time he wakes up i always think "noooo... not now".

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amateursurgeon

This is bollocks. My wife's ace.

Although that said... she is asian. Brown booty rules.

argh01

I have a wife, two daughters, three cats and two dogs. And two mortgages. And a full time job, a half time job and I'm looking for ways to make even more money

I remind myself of that old Jamaican skit on SNL. "I've been working sixteen jobs since 4AM!"

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hazzan

I have a family and a full time job in the real world. I'm looking for similarly motivated people to work with. Hit me up If you have a project laying around that you'd like to cooperate on.

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hazzan

Oh yeah...

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shudogg

I am 22, just married, and our daughter is 2 1/2. We have a house and basically are living like we are in our 30s. Sometimes we forget that we are still really young. We are very family oriented.

I just started my site a few months back, and affiliate marketing about 2 months. So far I have made about $200 in affiliate marketing. Not much, but it is a decent start. My advice is to keep reading,learning, and trying hard. Ensure you don't just blow all your money because it is really easy to click and add more money. You just don't want to feel it later. Starting off, you are lucky if you stay breaking even, and even luckier if you make money. You have to start your campaign, blow money on wasted click to get the right keyword list. Then scale the campaign and profit, if it is even able to be profited. Some campaigns fail for you no matter what. Just be careful with how much you are blowing and remember you aren't a super affiliate able to blow thousands on a test campaign. As long as you learn as you are going, and learn from your mistakes, you should be alright.

That said, track all your damn campaigns and converting keywords. It will be very hard doing this blind. Also make sure you leave time for your family. If you spend 100% of your spare time on the computer, it could stress your family life. Your kids need you as well.

I balance a hell of a full time job. It is very stressful and physical. It rotates between days and nights, and is 12 hour shifts. I work like 4 days on nights, have 2 days off, work 3 days of days, 3 days off, 3 days on nights, 2 days off, then work 4 days of days. I ensure that I spend time with my daughter as she is at a very crucial stage in her life. Also my wife works 2nd shift, 3-11:30. After she gets off work I usually stay up a little with her and watch tv and have a snack with her. I also ensure to spend some time with her before she goes to work.

Just don't ignore your family. The extra money is not worth it if you don't have someone to share it with. I would rather be dirt poor than filthy rich and alone.

My long term goal is for the both of us to not have to work, and have everything paid for. My goal right now is to see my first $100 day, and then make it consistant. If I could do about $1000 a week constant, I could pay off our Jeep payment and my student loans. Then keep doing that and save it up. Eventually pay off our house. I am not looking to make millions, but a nice extra income would be a blessing.

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fm1234

posted by turbolapp:
Hey, remember the thread where I grossed out all the kids by talking about how hot pregnant women are? You were, if my math is right, pregnant at the time! Heh. So was my wife. Heh. Breeders are teh hawt.

Seriously, all the best on the incoming baby turbo.


Frank
/seriously, preggers are hawt

argh01

Frank:
No shit. With the birth of my first kid, suddenly pregnant women and young mothers were suddenly hotter than the young girls I was attracted to previously. I could never explain it, I just enjoyed taking my kid to daycare and to play dates a lot more than I should have

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Echo-Radius

Two kids here. Currently, I'd like to find a supplement income to fill the void left by my employers less-than-desirable pay.

Maybe if I find a niche, I can grow it further, and quit my job.... time will tell I guess.

furiousfox

A friend sms me today: "Tell me... How can I make money?"
I’ll give you the same answer as I gave him.

Easy/simple product. (Move fast, be flexible)
Huge demand for your product/service. (Market needs)
Access to huge number of customers/Touch the hearts of millions (Leadership)
Exponential growth. (Leverage)
Can be maintained while you are not around. (Retire young)
Build it for long term. (Vision)
Build relationships with your customers (Legacy)

But most important of all:
Be passionate about it and stay focus!

With passion and focus, you will break any barriers.
Then, and only then, people will follow and support you.

stack paper

what the fuck?


and grats turbo!

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goddfadda

Fiance for 11 years + 2 kids. Just had the second one 2 weeks ago. I've been working from home for 2 years. Decided its time to do it on my own and quit my $78k/year gig doing programming. Did it fulltime for myself instead. Scary few months, but necessary.

I've *known* about aff marketing for years, but never knew about the PPC side of it. We used to buy tons of shit through our CJ account for ourselves, just to save some $. When I saw the light about PPC I jumped on and now I'm doing AM full time, supporting our family just fine. We live comfortably. Not "just getting by".

Always have a fallback. For me, I can get a high paying PHP gig within hours. I know if AM tanks on me tomorrow, I have back up. Without backup, I probably wouldn't be so aggressive with spending $ like I am now. I literally treat it like monopoly money but it works.

HTH, good luck...

janwonders

I have a 1 year old & Im a ''chic with long term vision'' but although finding time can be hard sometimes, I'm finding ways to manage quite well. I have IM podcasts on my iPod for when I take my boy for a walk. I have lots of good articles printed off that I can read whenever I get a spare few minutes, either out and about or having a cup of tea.
I have a notepad with me at all times, to either write down ideas or plan strategies for my next project. I probably don't do as much housework as I should but I try to balance out PC time with housework while my son is asleep and that's when I crack on with anything I've got pending in my notebook. I started in March and have made $600. I've probably spent that on domains and hosting but at least I can see the potential.

My boyfriend doesn't really have any interest in what I do but he likes the fact I leave him in peace to watch TV! I'd agree that it's important not to overwork, quality time with your family will always be more important than making a quick buck.

farhan713

nice thread.......me too a newbie with a family...a wife and a 2 month old son.......on my own.....nobody understands what i am doing and no use making them understand........so now i have decided not to talk abt work...........just show them the paycheck and things will b fine.......this is my full time job.....started earning some money.........still new and looking to focus on one thing at a time and get settled...........

shudogg

I think his period gets stuck............................................. .................................................. .........................

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wumpus

I find I often have "blackouts" where I simply cannot do any Internet stuff for days because life has become hectic (baby sick or not sleeping, wife exhausted, or some other problem).

These are very frustrating because I feel I lose pace and track. But Firefox's ability to reopen all the sites I was on helps a wee bit.