Starting a Business – Looking Into It

The other day I was sitting listening to all the drama and commotion happening at work, and I realized, even though I have a few affiliate sites that are bringing in a little income, it seems that I am still working extremely hard. Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind the hard work; the thing is that all my hard work is making someone else look good, and make more money.

Now, if I could only channel that energy towards something that is mine, maybe I could start making more money. Now, I have bills to pay and they won’t wait for anyone, so I need to have some consistent income coming in, at least for now…so my thing is yes my affiliate sites are working, but like I said before they take time to build…so I need to find something I can start on my own…a physical business. I personally would like to open up a night club, but that of course takes a bit more money than what I have now. Now, this may sound weird, but I thought about two things…for now. I thought maybe selling cardboard on the side and donating Plasma…yah that’s weird…Plasma, but some places…depending will give up to $240 a month…not sure all the details, but I am going to find out and once I do, I will definitely post about it.

Anyhow, so the later of the things I mentioned above, the cardboard and Plasma selling…I thought maybe the two things combined, might be able to produce about, maybe $1000 a month….if I am able to locate enough cardboard to sell and of course if they pay $240 for the plasma as they mention in their ads. Anyhow, the thing is I would do this only for a short period of time, actually use the money or the part I won’t get taxed on…and invest it…in a few things I have. Or wait, maybe I could accumulate enough alongside what I am saving now…and maybe try and see about opening a night club or investing in one.

I don’t know…I am sure I am like many - many others, we are swimming upstream and it is getting extremely hard to get out or get to where we would like to get. I just feel like sometimes I am simply going to have to work for the rest of my life…no real retirement for me in the horizon…something that is becoming more and more of a possibility for my future. Sad is in-it? To think, I have been working hard since I was about 8 years old…saving…the first time it was all gone was when I first got married…I ended up paying off all of my wife’s debt…which was a lot…I did it, so we could start a life together debt free…together…build…well that went out the door…after she decided to well…I won’t go there…that’s not what this post is about.

Anyhow…so I have been thinking and looking…at some business for sale and there are a few, but I would really like to open up a night club....yah I am stuck on that night club thing…but…anyhow. I have been looking I am crossing my fingers, looking hard, searching, reading, analyzing every options available and maybe one will pop-out to me and allow me to direct all of my energy I have towards profit…but for me. With things looking grim around my day job it has become a bit tense and even though they might tell me that I am safe, it still makes me wonder, when it will be my turn. So, while I can I am searching right now to add some additional income only to provide a cushion…in case. My affiliate sites are doing their thing…don’t get me wrong, it will be nice in say 10 years to have that little extra income coming in with out any effort…or minimum effort on my part. I know it sounds far away…but 10 years before you know it…do sneak up on you.

So for now, I am looking to see if I can start a physical business, whether it is a night club, restaurant, or Beauty Salon maybe something will pop-out to me.

My Perspective:
I understand that things are tough for everyone, and I understand many folks have families that need attention, so your time is precious. But I have to suggest that finding a few minutes out of the day…whether it is 10 minutes a day or 15 minutes every other day…making time to build something on the side or something that is all yours…should be apriority right up there with your family…because eventually we all get old, it gets tougher to work and maybe those are not the reasons…but maybe you want to enjoy your golden years…or at least some years after having to work so long so hard…you deserve it and you kids deserve your presence when they get older, married and with children. I am not trying to sale you any of the affiliate sites I have…but I am saying to search and believe me some affiliate sites do work…you just need to sit down and research all the options and of course take it slow and never forget there is no such thing as a quick rich scheme…time is all you have and the right path and most importantly “Patience”. So get out there and find that extra 100, 200 or even 1000 dollars a month income…generated by something other than your normal job. It is there.

Thanks for reading till next time Latino Man signing off.

Re-branded Ideas

I wanted to touch a bit on this, it is something I have come to notice, but I am sure that others have already found this out. Now, for the past 20 years I have search for some type of business that I can work hard at and of course start to make money but of course work less. I know that with any business you need to work hard for three to five years, but once established, and if you have the right individuals in place to continue running the business, then you can stop working as hard.

Now, I have done everything from Don Lapre  to The Cash Flow Industry, to vending machines to selling on eBay, to signing up with Affiliate programs and well the list is incredible and let me say some of the things I mention to work, they take time to build, but of course time is and has always been the essence for any individual to want to make money…any many of us…try and find shortcuts or just simply don’t have the patience to stick to it…this is play and simply true.

Now, I have come to notice that many things or business opportunities have come around once again, you see those famous “Info-mercials” selling an idea, and dream or opportunity, how ever you want to see it. The thing is that they are simply the same thing offered 5-10 years ago, with slight modification to fit today’s’ internet world of getting information out to the masses and of course a new salesman pitching the idea.

Now, this is not only true to business opportunities, but to fitness programs, I have noticed that these PX90 and Zumba and many others are really only remakes of old work out programs created in the 80’s or 90’s, of course once again they change it up with a few different moves, or equipment maybe has moved forward, but they are the same, different name and of course a new salesperson pitching the program.

The thing is with the ever growing population there is always someone believing, dreaming and purchasing these products or services or ideas. And what happens is the cycle begins, the user will try to cut corners, or simply give up after 6 months or so…the only difference now is that with the internet, people can voice their un-happiness and the fact that they got scammed…never really to think if it was completely the program or them, but the cycle continues and there is always someone climbing aboard the cycle. You’ll see that in another three years or less we will see a new face on that noticeable business opportunity or fitness program.

I wanted to point that out, I know times are extremely tough for many people and trying something new right now that costs anything is probably not the best choice or simply put we can’t afford it. But if we as an individual put a small amount of effort, consistently for more than 3 years on something that is a good opportunity, and then the income will follow. I was thinking with some affiliate programs out there that cost nothing, except the cost to advertise and that can be $50 bucks a month or so…and an actual physical business, where hard labor is required or better said…body movement is needed, then you can build it, stick to it for at least three years, then find the right people to help maintain/run it then maybe we can establish something that will allow us to live comfortably on our retirement years…because we can’t count on Social Security or our 401(K)….we need to establish a little some more….only saying.

My Perspective:

Look closely at what you might purchase in regards to anything, business opportunity or fitness program for that matter. It could very possible be that an old business opportunity one pitch 5-10 years ago, with some slight modification but the same idea…I come to realize that these are only real gimmicks and those behind the pitch person are the ones making the money…now don’t get me wrong…some business out there are legitimate…seriously…the thing is that in order for them to work…you need to be patient and most important consistent. Remember anytime you start a business get a business license and a fictitious name and deduct the any expense [legal] that you incur form the business from your taxes…it can be done. Maybe a business name that is high level, s that it can be used for other business idea that you do or find, after much research, these are my suggestions and have worked for me….so like I said I am sharing what I do and learned…I am not offering any tax or legal advice simply sharing an idea.

Thanks for reading and till next time…there are real opportunities out there…just remember stick with it, start low in marketing costs and be patient. Good luck and Latino Man signing off.

Trying to Find Other Income

You know like many of us we try and find some kind of legitimate way of increasing our income or maybe replacing the income we currently make. But, withal those affiliate programs on the net, Avon, Amway, and other business opportunities…it seems that once you find something that is real…bam…it turns south. Now, I have tried everything…for the past 20 years, yes…placing little ads in newspapers, to selling in the swap meet, to vending machines to Amway, to Real Estate to loan Processing…well the later two actually do work and I am active, but of course times are rough and that doesn’t come in as easily as before.

But the thing is whenever you find something…that really feels good or that you researched for months and feel man this could work…then you go head in and a few months down the income starts to dissipate, making you wonder what is going on.

Now, I found a few online opportunities that I believe the concept and business plan made sense, the thing is if you don’t have the money to start your own business and you try and piggy-back on someone else business…that seems to always never work for us trying to find something.

So yah the business concept looks solid, but you need 50 to 100 thousand dollars to get started…so how many of us have that laying around. So you entrust yourself and spend say 1500 dollars to get into the business, the thing is you need to count on someone else for the majority of the process…then you really can’t see what you are really making…it becomes tough and all of a sudden you are left with the short end of the deal…you thought would make you some money.

I am currently running an affiliate business, and I started about 3 years ago, you know what…it has taken me just a little over three years to even start seeing some kind of checks in the mail. Yah the affiliate program is actually paying for the marketing and I have a little left over…ok…nothing to write home about…but I am talking about 300-500 dollars a month…but maybe by the time I retire I will be able to have at least 600-1000 dollars a month..Not rich but that little income can sure come in handing when I am living in a 1 bedroom apartment…ok…well you know what mean.

So my point here is there are some programs out there that do work, but they certainly are not going to get you rich quick and possibly not rich at all, but you will see some income…why…because 97 percent of the people that try it out give up after the first 6 months to a year…so unless you stick it out like I did, you won’t see a dime, but if you set it and forget it…you could eventually see 300-500 a month after 3 years on a 60 dollar a month marketing budget…yah that’s what I was spending up until recently…I now spend 300 a month and some months I am left over with 150-200 dollars. I am eventually going to put that back into the marketing and see if I can also increase the income coming in.

The thing is I really want to make certain I have money when I retire, sure I have a job now, I have a 401(K), I have my Real Estate license, which I do close 1 or 2 transactions a year, yah I am have this business online and yes it is giving me some income, but I would really like to rest easy that when I retire I will have some nice income. Ok, I am not asking to be living in a 10,000 square foot home or vacationing every year to an exotic location, but just having income for something. And most importantly I really do not prefer to have to work when I am 70 years old…not looking for that.

I just wished if someone did find something that could be shared among individuals and still make a nice income…say 3000 a month…and yes it should take work on our part, but if you put in the time…you should see a return on your investment and time. Having a business that works, and sharing to the world, but then really only allowing them to make smitten while their business makes even more money off of your hard work…really sad and well it happens, which it shouldn’t.

Ok I sound like a huge complainer and probably only venting, but you know…over these many…many years I come to find I am not the only one. People are wiling to work if they can truly make some residual income. Where can we find a business like that, or where can we find an individual that is willing to take on 5-10 people and their money and make it work…that would be fantastic…and possibly a great way to make money.

In the meantime, right now the business I have, is working….slowly but it is working and I would highly recommend it…it’s free and with a shoe-string budget of 60 a month you can begin building…I say building the business to eventually provide you with residual income. If you are interested, click on the Tab above named Income and read about it…it doesn’t cost a thing and only takes a few minutes to read…plus I tell you about the marketing I use and works for me.

Hey I appreciate you reading my blog and till next time Latino Man signing off. Remember it’s out there, we’ll find it…things will be ok.

Corporate World -

“Ok so my topic is one that I am sure many of you can relate to…it’s about the “Corporate World”.

You know I have been in my profession now for 18 years…wow…I just got a flash back…on my first job in the industry…ok…I am back. So, of course I was young and dumb and probably a little too eager to please or shine…yah…you how that is…I sort of had blinders on and went full speed ahead. You see I was a cook while attending college…so entering the “Corporate World” was…well…you know…my eye were huge when I went to my first interview…5 story building, glass windows everywhere…suits…nice cars…oh yah…it was where I wanted to be. I really wanted to get out of the kitchen. So I took the plunge and of I went. So anyhow, not trying to tell a whole life story here and bore you to death…just wanted to share some of the things I have seeing through out my 18 year tenure…you know…bosses, fellow employees, and everything that came with working in a corporate office.

In my current position I believe I have moved desks at least 5 or 6 times in the past 5 years…it’s amazing. I have seeing people come and go, whether a lateral moment within the company or an outside new position or a new face. Now the thing is I have had many of bosses, and I could honestly say now…that many different types of personalities as well. It was always and enjoyable and of course always a learning experience with each and everyone. I learned a lot from all them…things to do, things not to do…I know that sounds funny…but hey I was out on the trenches so I always was in the grapevine…I knew what they thought of “the Boss”. So when I had the opportunity to become a “Boss”, I recalled all the things from those great bosses and of course all the complaints from the employees to make certain when they talked about me…it was good…I hoped.

The thing is through out these many years I am still amazed on how these huge corporations makes the millions or billions they do…I honestly think they could probably make a lot more…not that I am supporting the idea but only because of all the time that is wasted by employees, supplies, internet surfing, sick time, not taking their job seriously making mistakes…on purpose because they are upset and then these employees have been with companies for 5-10 years. I think if you just took a moment and looked around; if you work in a corporate office or any office for that matter…you’ll see a lot of waste, either materials or time being sucked up by employees or bad processes. Hey I am an employee…I see it…I am amazed.

Now…I am also amazed at how a company can stay in business with some of the management in place…not that I am the best or that every manager is bad, jus that its amazing at who is at the helm…running things…it amazes me. They don’t have a clue and waste as much time and materials and money as any other employee…ok...well…as I continue with my observations…I see people…colleagues with master degrees or doctrines working in a service related industry and it’s not because they want to, but because they can’t find work in the industry they studied and graduated from…so that’s another thing. I am so amazed on corporate business…you know it brings me to think I always wanted to run my own business and grow, but seeing how things really are…I think I rather not…lol…maybe just being an affiliate of these big corps and make some extra cash…signing up with many…would do it for me…LOL.

Ok…so I work for a pretty big company…there were nearly 1000 employees in 2 buildings…just one of the many offices…we are down to about 300-500…well not sure exactly on the numbers but let me illustrate it…we use to occupy 2 buildings filled to capacity…well…we all have been moved into 1 building and well…you can see the major change in numbers alone…but yet…the company stills makes lots of money…and the employees still waste time and materials…the only difference being now…they worry about loosing their job…geez….go figure.

Ok…I have to finish this up with…thanks to all those wonderful bosses that new how to encourage and lead by example, and of course thank you to all those bosses that taught me what not to do when I moved into management…no offense. Thank you to all those wonderful colleagues that showed me the importance to do a good job and of course thanks to all those colleagues that only complained about everything…it was very entertaining…no offense. But just remember the next time you enter your office…look around and observe…try not to be so obvious…you’ll see some amazing things and then you’ll start remember all those conversation with colleagues and bosses…and you’ll wonder how in the world is this company still running and making so much money. Then when you do, step back and make sure you really enjoy your work…not so much the company…but what you do…because you need to enjoy what you do, and believe me you’ll never find that perfect company…it’s impossible….so enjoy what you do and the rest you should be able to handle…why or how…not sure, but I enjoy what I do very much and I am good at it…everything just can’t be perfect…so I just keep plugging away.

Thanks again for reading…hope your days are filled with productive moments that are enjoyable.

Business – My Income Opportunity is Finally Paying Off

Once again…welcome to another of my posts, today I actually get to look back at one of the business I have been working on since February of 2006.

Today’s post is about a web-based income opportunity that is actually giving me some income.

Now, I am not here trying to sell you anything or asking you to signup for anything, this post is just a little reminder to me that there are business opportunities out there that will actually give you some income…ok…it may not be nothing to write home about, but hey if it is not costing anything to run, right now, and it is paying for its own marketing and giving me a little “extra cash” for that piano lesson for my son, then hey it was well worth the wait.

Let me start from the beginning, February 2 of 2006 I found a company that allows you to own a piece of a website business that is well known and all you have to do is advertise it…get it out in front of the world-wide-web (people). Not only do they offer one website, but many websites that you can promote (advertise) and make some money. I’ll get to there names in a minute…now I know that there are all kinds of methods out there to advertise, but I will let you know the methods I am using right now that are working for me and those that I tried and just wasted my money on.

The website(s) I am talking about are, Adult Friend Finder, Friend Finder, Amigos, Cams, Penthouse and well a lot more to choose from so that you can market. Now, I tried several of them over the last 3 years and the one I have noticed that is constantly giving is Adult Friend Finder, not saying that the others weren’t…it’s just that I decided to concentrate my efforts on this one. You might have a different choice, but let me continue. I joined, it was free to join, and I started to promote on Forums, Craigslist, Back pages, I bought visitors, I bought re-directed visitors, I bought signups, and I campaign though Yahoo Pay Per Clicks and Google Pay Per Clicks. Let me tell you…buying visitors or re-directing visitors or buying signups didn’t work for me, those so called marketing companies that market for you, they didn’t work for me either. I even had a company run a Pay Per Click campaign for me and that didn’t work for me…let me tell you I tried each one for 3-4 months…I gave them a chance…and it did not work…I spent lots of money…maybe not a whole lot but for me it was.

Now, the method of marketing for my online business, “Adult Friend Finder” is through Yahoo Pay Per Clicks. Google is ok, but I always had issues with the ad or campaign and I really did not like their customer support…not saying they are bad…it just wasn’t working for me.

I stuck with Yahoo Pay Per Clicks and I was spending for the first year about 99 dollars a month, now I didn’t see anything except 1 or 2 sales that whole year…the only thing I saw was my membership signups was increasing. About the 15th month I started seeing enough income to pay for the 99 dollars of marketing cost…give and take a few months that year where I had to put in some money. Now about 22 month or so into it…I started getting enough income to cover the cost of Yahoo pay Per clicks…so from month 22 to about 32 the campaign was running all by itself and it was paying itself…ok…please realize that I did nothing really except watch my Pay Per Click campaign key words (I’ll explain that later) during those 9-10 months.

Now, let me rewind how the business works. You sign up for free with this company, you market one of the many websites they offer…you get a number assign (web address link) to you so when you market that website and some one signups as a member you get the credit…which currently is $75 per sing-up…not bad. You set the amount of check you want mailed to you, it’s defaulted to $50, but you can set it to $500, $1000, etc. once you reached that amount a check is mailed to you…I believe it’s set for every 2-weeks…so a person visits your website, they signup for a free 14-day trial membership and if they like it…they convert into a full-time member…this is when you get $75 dollars for that signup.

Now what I did was…I went to Go Daddy and bought a web address for 2 years…and then re-directed that website link I was assigned to that purchased web address…my business so happens to be called 1AdultFriend.com. Ok…so I have Yahoo Pay Per Click campaign running since February 2006 and even though I wasn’t getting any income at the beginning but I did notice that my members count was increasing and well, the more I had the more probability there was for a signup. About 3 or 4 months ago I received a nice check…I had it set to a higher setting…I didn’t want to get $50 dollar checks. And shortly after that I received another nice check…well…I used some of that income to increase my Pay Per Click Yahoo campaign to $150-175 dollars a month, which I have been running for about 2 months and I have to say…the business is paying for that campaign and I have some left over to pay for that 80 piano lesson and that sports signup of $240…oh by the way I put some away…so…I am not rich…and it’s not a whole lot, but how I see it is, if this business is paying for its own marketing and it giving me just a little to pay for some extra curricular activities…its not a bad start. How I see it is, in another 3-4 months I should be able to increase my marketing budget to $300-$400 per month and still have a little extra left over.

Ok…I know it has been three years, and the first 2 ½ years I had to put in my own money…not a whole lot, but I did. But at this rate I calculated that in another 14 months (about May of 2010) I would have broken even…meaning I would have paid myself back for those 2 ½ years of investing my own money and from that point on…it’s all profit…well minus the marketing campaign cost I have through Yahoo Pay Per Clicks. I see that in another year and half I could be making some nice income…so with many trials and errors this business has taken me to build from February 2006 to about May of 2010 to build a real residual income for my household…keep in mind I have a full-time job, and a part-time job, beside a full time family…so my time on this business was no more that 1 hour a day or even less on some days…from day one.

Pay Per clicks through yahoo explained…when you do a search on yahoo…sometimes you’ll see sponsored ads at the top or sides, highlighted in blue…well those are Pay Per Clicks. You sign up through Yahoo, create an ad, then associated key words to that ad, (those words or phrases you use to search the internet…those are key words). Then when someone types in a related key word, then your ad will appear at the top or close to the top maybe within the first 5 entries…depending on your bid, meaning what you are willing to pay to get a higher placing on the search…it could be $0.05 or $4.00 dollars depending…let me say I don’t think I have one key word more that $0.13 cents and I am getting visitors. You set the budget…you could spend 1 dollar a day, that is multiplied by 30 days…that’s what yahoo calculates you marketing budget…realize this like I did…the less you spend the longer it takes…if you could spend $200 a month for 18-22 months…you will build up your business quicker and it could start giving you sooner. Of course do what I did and spend 99 dollars a month and it took me nearly 3 years…and I still need to break even, which I will within the next 14 or so months.

Buy Visitors, re-direct visitors, buy sign-ups…well I tried a lot of different companies and many of them just took my money and honestly…I did a lot…I mean a lot…I never saw one membership signup with any of those companies….so do your-self a favor…and this is only my opinion and what worked for me….doesn’t mean you have to agree…but stay away from those companies that offer, visitors, re-direct visitors or signups…it s just throwing away your money.

Craigslist and BackPages…also work for a nominal fee…they’re not bad…I think I paid 75 dollars for 16 weeks to advertise in Backpages to appear on the top or as a sponsored website…Craigslist…I think there is a 1 or 5 dollar charge…not sure…I really don’t use them any more…but I got some signups. My best marketing venue is Yahoo Pay Per Clicks marketing campaign….that’s just my opinion and I am not getting any credit or money from Yahoo…I just truly like there marketing campaign it works for me.

My Perspective:
As with any business, it takes time…especially on line…yah many would have given up the first year or even after the first 6 months…but I stuck it out and it has worked out…I signup for free and I am actively marketing 1AdultFriend.com through Yahoo Pay Per Clicks, I started with 99 dollars a month and did that for about 22 months, then it started paying for itself for about 8-10 months…give and take a few months I had to put in a little of my own money and now I spend about $240 a month (8 dollars a day) and the website business pays for itself and leaves me a little something. I will continue…and let me say…this is like an investment…you know you could invest in stock and just as easily it could drop…so I see this as an investment. Even if the next 3-5 years it just keeps giving me enough to pay for its marketing and my sons piano lessons of 80 dollars…I truly believe that in 1 or 2 years on this road I will be able to generate enough money after marketing and taxes as a normal full time employee making minimum wage or a bit more…and it all done automatically…all I do is every so often check my keywords and their bids…this business runs day and night24/7 so there is always a chance anytime of the day to get a new member sign-up.

So, if you were ever thinking of investing in your future, again not that I am selling you anything, consider joining for free through www.1AdultFriend.com and set aside an investment of $30-99 dollars a month to market your website business using Yahoo Pay Per click or any other venue of marketing you like…and most importantly…I cannot stress this more…be patient…the business will not make you rich over night…but with time, maybe 3-5 years (maybe sooner) and hardly no work on your part…you could be surprised with monthly checks…for the rest of your life. $30-99 dollars a month marketing investment is not a whole lot…if you look close enough I am sure you could find a monthly marketing budget that will fit your life and remember its like investing in stocks…or commodities…you are looking for a long term investment…this website business will do that for you.

Hey I appreciate you reading this post, and all I ask is that you research this business…its solid and long term. Visit www.1AdultFriend.com and scroll towards the bottom and click on the Affiliate button”…get the information to make a sound decision…remember there is no cost to sign up. Your only investment would be about 30-99 dollars a month for about 2-3 years (you decide on that amount)…and then you should start seeing income to pay for the marketing… you not having to take out from own pocket…then maybe by the 3rd or 4th year you could start increasing you marketing budget and then by the 5th or 6th year and beyond you should start receiving a nice monthly check…I don’t know. It won’t cost a thing to research it and joining is free…if you decide to move forward the only cost would be for marketing…just a thought…visit www.1AdultFriend.com check out the affiliate section and thinking about it…I think if you join and move forward…you’ll be happy with your decision. If this is not for you…hey I understand…I just wanted to share one of my real life experiences…that’s all…and hope that maybe it could make a difference in someone’s life.

Take care and till next time or better said…till the next post.