I am sick, for the first time in a long time. I have been doing a lot of business networking lately to try and grow the web development business that I started, shaking a lot of hands, and I guess one of them must have had the flu.
It feels terrible to be suddenly too tired to do anything because I’ve been hustling every day for 3 months since I came back. Each day has been filled with trying to build up the life that I want and now I’m just passing time, stuck in bed with a fever, headache, runny nose, sore throat, the whole gauntlet. But I know the importance of rest and taking care of myself and it’s a good time to reflect on how things have been going so far.
I made the decision to run my life like a business and split my year into 3 month quarters, with Q1 (quarter 1) beginning when I came back to the U.S. on March 6th 2019. It’s now the end of Q1-2019 and looking back, I’ve been able to get off the ground with 2 of my business ideas: Airbnb and Web Development.
There was a period of time where I was trying to figure out how I wanted to make money working for myself but I ultimately chose these two because I have the skills, experience and resources to get them started, and I know both industries very well. Airbnb from the extensive traveling I’ve done and Web Development from my previous career in corporate America.
I have made a little bit of money from both, but this is not a brag piece because I would not call them successful by any means. However I am proud that both businesses have been launched and I know my potential with both of them and how to grow each one.
Airbnb
- Low income potential but the income is steadier compared to early client based web development work.
- Helps with bills which buys me more time to build my fickle web development business.
I have a two bedroom house and I am listing one of the bedrooms, while living in the other. I’m currently working towards renovating my garage so I can sleep in there and list my current bedroom too. This would double my income, but that would be the income cap for my Airbnb business because I don’t have the resources to get another house and expand anymore. My goal then will be working on making my Airbnb listings as self-sufficient and low maintenance as possible, because even if I can’t increase revenue, I can still increase the value by making the money ‘easier to make’ sort of like increasing profit margin.
Web Development
- High income potential but progress is hard to predict.
- Income is very unsteady.
- There is an aspect of luck to it because I need to meet the right client.
Most people start their web development business with some clients already from friends or old work relationships. Unfortunately I didn’t have any of that so I’m starting from complete scratch and it’s been tough, but the process of getting this business off the ground has been incredibly enriching. I have already learned so much about sales, entrepreneurship, networking and relationship building. However having no previous experience in sales and being a natural introvert, it has been incredibly exhausting, but I am very proud of what I’ve built up so far in the past 2 months:
- I have a properly filed LLC.
- I built up a small business network.
- I have learned so much about sales, lead generation, and client relationship management.
- I have closed a deal and completed a website project for a client I found through my networking efforts.
- I have closed reoccurring income from a client via a hosting and maintenance package.
However it has been a very bumpy ride so far. Especially after the euphoria of travel wore off and the stresses of daily life came back. The good habits I felt like I had solidified have been tested, repetitive tasks have weighed me down, and the visions I had for myself were blurred when I made mistakes, slipped into bad habits, or had weeks go by without seeing any progress.
Also I have been trying to balance taking care of myself, building out and maintaining personal relationships, and starting my businesses from scratch all on my own, and it has proven to be an overwhelming ordeal at times. There have been days where I have thought ‘maybe going back to a full time job would not be so bad’. The distinction between work time and personal time is much more clear, I would have steady income that I could use to alleviate parts of my life such as being able to order food instead of having to cook so much. If I find a good company with a culture I liked, then I would get that social aspect too vs spending 80% of my time working alone which drives me crazy sometimes.
However I have never seriously thought about throwing in the towel. I did not choose this because it was going to be easy, I chose it because this is the path that gets me to where I want to be, and it’s the path I’m proud to be on regardless of how difficult it is. I know if I fail, I’ll look back and be proud of myself for having the courage to try, and if I succeed well that’s obviously great.
‘Till next time. I am trying to fit in one blog post a week but that’s proving to be difficult, seeing as my last post was almost a month ago. I want to do too much and I am stubbornly convinced that I can.
The banner photo is a shot I took in Nepal of some Himalayan peaks between some bushes.