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August is going to be crazy August 3, 2007

Posted by Niels in : Passive income, Personal, Work , add a comment

August will be a month of change. I’m going to be on the road almost non-stop. My parents will be visiting me here in Seattle until I take off for London. I’ll be leading Art of Attraction in London, followed by a vacation in Stockholm, followed by a wedding in Detroit followed by a couple days off in Seattle before I head to San Francisco for the Advanced Tactics Art of Rapport. I have the option to spend the next weekend doing a workshop in Toronto, but I think I’m going to withdraw from that. Enough is enough. Though that would open up the possibility of going to Burning Man…

Besides, I’m also going to be moving forward on my plan for a The 4-hour workweek while at the same time participating in the Thirty Day Challenge, a free internet marketing course.

By September 1st, I will be an seasoned world traveler, savvy internet marketer, and successful entrepreneur. I can’t wait!

Your thoughts?

My new career begins July 29, 2007

Posted by Niels in : Passive income, Personal , 3 comments

I spent Thursday moving from the unemployed end of the spectrum to the self-employed end. Or at least slightly closer to it. Craig and I began by brainstorming our past talents, interests, hobbies, and careers. A sample:

Guitar, magic, running, triathlon, memory, electronics, computers, lockpicking, BJJ, swimming, biking, climbing, rowing, clarinet, investing, evolution, poker, home repair, drawing, college admissions, socializing, electrical engineering, Microsoft, windows security, balloons, busking, fashion, building a computer, speed reading, improv, public speaking, basketball, how to study abroad, how to quit your job, math, standardized tests, quick healthy eating, coldreading, how to learn a language, negotiating, internet banking

Next came a trip to Barnes and Noble to browse the magazine aisle. As per Timothy Ferriss’ instructions, we’re searching for a market to develop a product for, not the other way around. Our goal: discovering a niche market in an area of our expertise lucrative enough that it has one very specific magazine dedicated to it. Ad rates should be below $5000 and circulation above 15,000.

I found the 2008 Writer’s Market extremely useful. It has hundreds of pages of niche magazines, organized by subject with brief descriptions of each.

It took a couple hours to look through all the magazines. Whew! Work is tiring. And it wasn’t over yet. I spent a few more hours looking up rate and circulation information for all my prospects. But I’ve narrowed it down to eight markets that look interesting, all but one of which fall well within my area of expertise.

The next step is the fun part - coming up with a product!

Your thoughts?

A How-To Guide for Passive Income July 27, 2007

Posted by Niels in : Passive income, Personal , add a comment

I have a new bible. The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss is the best book I’ve read in recent memory. It combines concepts I’ve heard from lots of different friends into one big picture.

I’d already begun piecing together a lot of what I want from my job. Time freedom, location flexibility, passive income. I knew it would have to be a product based business with dropshipped products and it would have to be internet based. I’ve started learning about writing copy, Google AdWords, and product launches. But Ferriss goes into excruciating detail about every step of the process.

From finding a market niche, to coming up with a product, to testing interest, setting up a website, driving traffic to it, and then automating the entire process so you can take yourself out of the loop entirely, Ferriss gives examples, details, references, and lists the websites you need to get the ball rolling. I’m excited - this is exactly what I’m looking for.

First piece of advice: don’t make the mistake of creating a product and then looking for a market. Find an market and then create a product. So tomorrow morning, I’m going to Barnes and Noble to browse the magazine isle to find my niche market. I’ll be looking for a magazine with a small target audience with a full-page ad rate around $5000 and at least 15,000 subscribers. By Ferriss’ timetable I’ll be testing product ideas by this time next week.

Full speed ahead!

Your thoughts?

My interview in Kiplinger’s Personal finance June 20, 2007

Posted by Niels in : Beauty and the Geek, Magazine, Other, Personal , 3 comments

Kiplinger Personal Finance magazine profiled me in this month’s issue. Unfortunately, all you can get online is the blurb: “From Engineering Geek to Dating Coach: A PhD student in electrical engineering changes direction after a stint on the reality TV show Beauty and the Geek.” But if you swing by your local bookstore, you can check me out on the last page of the July 2007 issue. I do have to say, it was a great experience working with a photographer who was working to make me look cool rather than geeky.

Your thoughts?

Advice from David Braun June 2, 2007

Posted by Niels in : Personal, Work , 2 comments

I’ve found that I get most of my best ideas while talking to other people. I had a great dinner with David Braun the other day. It turned out that we’re working toward the common goal of simplicity in our own lives. To that end, David has consolidated everything he needs for work onto his laptop and now spends his workdays at local cafes and coffeeshops. I love this idea! With Skype and my laptop, I really do have no more need for a home office.

And, I learned quite a bit about Second Life, which David expects to be the next iteration of the internet. Time to look into that.

Your thoughts?