Every year more and more people are looking into the concept of working from home and/or running their own business from home. The onset of the Coronavirus has only cemented this concept and has opened the eyes of millions of people that otherwise probably would have never considered it or thought it to be possible.
Maybe you are curious as to the different challenges that you may face if you make that choice to work from home. No matter what path you take or what program you choose to learn, for the most part, the challenges will be the same.
I wanted to kind of switch gears a bit with this post to talk a little about myself on where I was, where I am heading and how I am going to get there. Sit back and relax because this could be a long one.
My Work From Home Experience
I feel that it is important and relevant to this site simply because, in many ways, affiliate marketing (that’s what I do in case you have not figured that out yet) is very similar to pursuing your own bookkeeping business. Both require the same type of mindset. Both take time for things to get moving in your favor. Both can be very rewarding.
I want to talk about the process that I have gone through to get to this point and where I am now. What kinds of things have gone wrong and how have I overcome them? What have I accomplished? How much closer am I to reaching my goals?
If you are considering starting your own business, whether it’s bookkeeping or not, do me a favor be conscious about what you’re thinking and feeling as you read this post. I am hoping that you can relate to what I am saying and that I can put your mind at ease by showing you that what you may be thinking or feeling is completely normal.
Becoming an entrepreneur can be scary, exciting, challenging, and very rewarding all at the same time. It is how you approach, attack, and celebrate these emotions that will determine your success.
My 1 Year Anniversary
November 22nd, 2016, I began my journey as an affiliate marketer. I had searched and searched for years for a way to get out of the rat race. To be honest, I lost a lot of money along the way trying this, that and the other.
The sad thing is that in the back of my mind, I knew this or that probably wouldn’t work out as I had planned. At the time though, I was looking for a quick fix.
I was searching for the “easy” way to earn money from home. The search for a legit easy money maker became a frustrating battle. One that quickly became very clear that I would simply never win.
What I did know is that I couldn’t escape the thought that I wanted more out of life. I didn’t want to spend the next 30 years punching a time clock and, at the same time, not truly being able to get to where I wanted to be financially.
Yes, I make decent money at my full-time job. The benefits are great, I contribute to my 401k and (at one point in time) would work 60, 70, and sometimes 80 hours to get there quicker. What ended up happening was I was becoming a worthless POS at home.
I was simply too tired to do anything. Quality time with my wife and daughter (now daughter and son) was nonexistent. I had been burnt so many times trying out things online that my hope that there was a better way was beginning to fade away.
Through my search for trying to find a program that I would build a future with there was one thing I came to realize. Quick easy money promises are only going to burn a hole in your pocket.
I don’t want to say that this is impossible, but wading through which programs are actually legit and, in many cases, having to build a team under you is very difficult to do.
Disposing Of The Easy Money Mindset
After being defeated time and time again, there was one way that I knew would work, but I also knew that it takes time for my work to take hold. That way was affiliate marketing.
The concept was simple, find programs that you like, promote them, and then earn commissions by having others order through the links that you provide. While the concept is simple, there is a lot that goes into it.
You have to build a website, learn about SEO (search engine optimization), and lots and lots of quality content. After even you accomplish this, it is going to take months for Google to recognize your site as having any authority before you begin getting good rankings for your posts.
For the longest time, I simply didn’t want to put the time in. After all, I knew absolutely zero about SEO or building a website so I had a choice.
Accept the fact that I will be punching a time clock for another 30 years and hope and pray that I will eventually have enough money for retirement, or commit to learning everything I can to create something better for my family.
I chose to accept the fact that this was going to take time. No longer was I going to chase after the easy money. Even as an adult, you tend to forget those simple sayings that you have heard time and time again throughout life.
“If it were easy everyone would do it”
“Nothing in life comes easily”
“If you want to be the best, you better work harder than everyone else”
“Patience is a virtue”
Sound familiar? The only thing I needed to do was to simply take action. So that is what I did.
Where Would I Find The Time?
Now, how I was going to find the time to commit to this was a whole other story. After all, at the time, my wife was pregnant with my son, my daughter was 9 and active with sports throughout the year, I didn’t want to take time away from my family and still work my full-time job.
What I did know is that if you want something bad enough you will find a way. I came to the conclusion that the evenings would never work for me.
Simply too much going on and by the time the kids are in bed I am tired myself. I knew nothing would come out of building my business at night.
So what I decided to do was to start getting up 2 hours earlier every day. So that’s what I did. Day after day, I set my alarm for 3:40 am to build my future. The TV is never turned on and everyone else is sleeping. For 2 hours every morning, I have zero distractions.
It is said that it takes 21 days to create a new habit. That’s 21 days to solidify your new routine. After that, it becomes much easier to do. Working towards building and running your new business becomes a new way of life.
Is it always easy to get up? No, not always, but what I can say is that if you have a drive and a passion for what you are doing it is easier than you may think. It’s to the point now where I don’t even set my alarm clock. I just automatically wake up at 3:40 every morning.
Quick side note… if you are single without kids and are considering starting your own bookkeeping business then I’m going to tell you, do not miss out on the extra time that you have to build your business.
You have the opportunity to make things happen much quicker! Anyone with a family knows exactly what I am saying here I think, but I digress.
Paralyzed By Fear
Fear of the unknown is a funny thing. The games that fear can play with your mind are crazy. Nobody likes change, but if you are going to become an entrepreneur, change is a must! And the fear is going to come at you from many angles.
We have all been programmed to think a certain way from birth. That is to get good grades, get a good job, and work “for the man” until retirement.
Stepping outside of that box can be a scary thing to do. The fear of the unknown is abundant. What if it doesn’t work? What if I fail? What if it’s too hard?
You are going to have to change your mindset and tell yourself that you can do these things… because you can!
If you want it bad enough it will work! If you want it bad enough you won’t fail and give up! If you want it bad enough, you won’t give a damn how hard it is… you’ll still do it!
After learning how to do affiliate marketing and spending 5 months building out my 1st website a funny thing happened. I earned my first commission! I was over the moon! All of that hard work had finally started to pay off. All of those early mornings became worth it!
So what happened after that? You’re not going to believe this… I stopped writing! I stopped building my business. You probably weren’t expecting to hear that were you? I had solidified that what I was doing actually works and I simply stopped doing it.
Remember how I said that fear can do funny things to your mind? This is simply another example of that. I guess a froze.
I think maybe a part of me thought that maybe my job was done, that I didn’t need to do anything else. That I had done enough and the rest would take care of itself.
For most people, it’s not natural to go out and earn your own money. We are told by society that we will never be successful at this. People think that you are trying to scam them. So maybe this played a role in why I stopped as well.
Or… maybe I had falling back into the trap of easy money. Maybe I was thinking that I was done and that the money would continue to roll in on its own from here on out. And to a certain extent, it did. The commissions still came (which was nice) but it wasn’t growing and it sure wasn’t nearly enough to quit my job.
So after 3 months of not doing anything with my business, I had a moment. I asked myself, “what the hell are you doing, Nate?” Why would I simply stop the moment you have a little taste of success? I vowed to once again take action and commit to refocusing on building a better life for myself and my family.
I will no longer let fear paralyze me. And so, here you are on Bookkeepers Paradise. My 2nd website focusing on bookkeeping as a niche but more specifically promoting Bookkeeper Launch.
Our Businesses Go Hand In Hand
Like I said earlier, learning to start your own bookkeeping business really is very similar to what I do which is the reason for this post. In a lot of ways, you are going to run into the same types of hurdles.
It is what you do in those moments that is going to determine how successful you will be. What I can say is that, just like starting any business, it is going to take work and you will encounter bumps along the way.
One of the best ways to be successful is to have an excellent support group in place to help you out when needed. When I began my venture to learn affiliate marketing I had all sorts of questions. Luckily I had awesome support at my fingertips anytime I had a question.
One other major point that needs to be pointed out was how those thoughts of quitting would creep back in my head every time something would go wrong or when I wouldn’t understand something.
Simply keep in mind that as long as you have a support system in place, you will be just fine.
Know that if you decide to take advantage of Bookkeeper Launch you will have all the support you will ever need through a private group. Even though you will learn how to become your own boss, you are never really going in alone.
I Was A Complete Newbie
I mentioned earlier that I knew nothing about affiliate marketing. This can be scary since you never really know what you will be learning.
I knew what affiliate marketing was but not a single clue on how to do it. It almost seemed impossible that I would be able to compete with others that have been doing it for years.
Once I went through the course though I realized that I couldn’t have been more wrong. All I needed was a willingness to learn and take action to be successful.
The same goes for learning bookkeeping through Bookkeeper Launch. You don’t need experience in bookkeeping to take this course. In fact, the course is designed as if you know absolutely nothing about it.
Set Those Goals
Without a vision on where you want to end up, you are setting yourself up for failure. One of the most important things you need to do is to set goals.
I set out a year ago to have my wife retired in 4 years. That goes along with being completely debt-free as well, house and all. Yes, to some this may seem pretty lofty and a year ago I don’t know how much I believed my goals myself.
Do they seem more realistic though today? You bet they do! Funny things happen when you have an endgame in sight. You would be amazed at how focused and determined you are when you have goals in place. Set those goals and you will set yourself up for success!
Now Go Forward My Friend
Being an entrepreneur can be scary and lonely for a lot of people. Just know that it is possible to create a better life for you and your family. Know that at times things will be difficult or may even feel impossible.
My advice to you is to never stop taking action. As stuck as you may feel at times, just don’t stop! I have been an affiliate for Bookkeeper Launch for almost 6 years now and I can tell you that it is VERY possible to turn this into a full-time career for you.
I have seen proof time and time again of students achieving this in much shorter times frames than what I have set out to do myself. This program is very real and it does work!
If you have been having doubts about whether this is something you can make work for you I hope I was able to show you that the thoughts you are having are normal. It’s normal to be skeptical but sometimes you need to simply take a leap of faith.
Do yourself a favor and check out my review of Bookkeeper Launch. I would never expect you to go into this blind so I show you everything about the course to help you make an educated decision.
After that, sign up for the FREE training videos. Don’t worry, this isn’t a trap. These videos help you to figure out whether bookkeeping is a good fit for you, as well as, all costs associated with starting your own bookkeeping business.
If you have any questions feel free to drop them below. Also, if you have your own business and would like to share your experiences or thoughts you can drop them below as well.
Best of luck in whatever path you take and I hope that I will see you on the other side!