How I Got Started Online

OK. In this article I’m going to tell a bit about myself and about how I got hooked on Internet marketing. I’m not writing this to boost up my ego but rather to help you know me better, and to inspire you to follow your passion as well. It’s a bit long (albeit interesting, I hope..), so if you want you can skip the last part. Now go grab yourself a coffee…

My early train spotting years

Railway to heaven...

I was born in 1978 in England. I was an only child until the age of 10, and I grew up in a small village and then we kept moving around different homes and towns. In fact, I can hardly remember how many times I’ve moved houses. I guess the fact that I’ve changed schools and surroundings so often has shaped my character in the sense that I’ve become pretty sociable and a people-lover. It wasn’t easy back then, as I’ve never been the most popular in class, I was ‘different’ and I was often bullied at school but I guess that was a blessing in disguise…

As a child I was a curious sole. I used to be addicted to magazines (I still love them…). I had a dream of starting my own mag. I loved drawing, especially cartoons and comics. I also loved things in motion. I used to have a box with little engines, electric wires, cogwheels and other techie bits and I would often play with them. I would draw sketches of different machines with great detail. One that comes to mind is an ice cream factory belt. And a miniature theme park. That was a big one. It never passed the planning phase thoughL

I also loved airplanes and cars and trains. My favorite toy was a Lego electrical train with railroad tracks and stations and the whole nine yards, and I would play with it for hours, changing tracks and wheeling the train around, fascinated. At some point I lived close to a railroad and whenever I heard a train coming, I would pop out to my balcony, and count the railroad cars. I also liked writing and corresponding with pen friends. (I had quite a few of them. Women of courseJ). I loved languages. And I also liked recording myself and producing audiocassettes full of waffle. (Have I said that I was a chatterbox?).

Life was good back in the 80’s…

The good old college days...

The wonder college years

In my early 20’s when I was seeking higher education, Visual Communication (aka Graphic Design) seemed like the natural choice. Back in 2000 Internet was at its infancy but as I’d already been fascinated by it, and I liked moving stuff, I specialized in Interactive Media. Funnily enough, those four years were probably the hardest in term of stress and workload, but in retrospect they were my funnest. I’ve got so many sweet memories from that period and I made a few really good friends back then.

In 2003 I was given an internship at WGSN, an online trend-analysis and research service located in London. They had over 80 employees and it was a large open space buzzing with activity. I was working with the Graphics Directory, which was fun. I guess that experience of seeing how a website works from the inside excited me. I came back home wanting more…

London calling

Fast forward to 2005. I was working as a graphic designer in IBA News (Israel Broadcasting Authority). It’s the Israeli equivalent of the BBC if you like. My job was to produce the graphics for the evening news edition. At first it was exciting, you know, you get to see all the TV ‘celebs’ and see the studios and all the broadcasting equipment. And then there’s that buzz and thrill of ‘news in the making’, and back then there was a lot of news in Israel, mostly bad news…

Caught without makeup...

After about two years I started feeling I’d had enough as the job was not creative and daunting, and so I decided to move on. Funnily enough it took me another year to actually do that. I believe it was fear that had set me back. I was nearing 30 and started getting obsessed with the idea of moving to London and working there as a graphic designer. At that time I was getting interested in personal development. After watching the movie “The Secret” Bob Proctor’s words kept echoing in mind:

“What do you want? What do you really want?”

“London!” I would reply, enthusiastically.

I still remember the text message I wrote my mum when I’d made up my mind:

“I’m going for London. There’s no better time than now.”

A rainy day in London town

"Mr. A. Troudart, please rush to gate no. 20..."

I still remember my first day in London. It was pouring rain; I think it was Halloween and while people were walking around with costumes I was feeling so miserable and helpless. And wet. At some point I sought shelter at Paddington train station. In my first week in London I was staying in hostel dormitories, which wasn’t such a pleasant experience.

Now the recession had just hit about a month earlier, and there was a very disempowering and negative atmosphere in Britain back then. I did go to a few design job interviews but I was unconfident and didn’t pass any of them (I did wear a really nice suit though, but it didn’t helpJ). Money was running out and things looked pretty bleak. I had to do something…

I was at the point where I would take any job, just to pay the rent and to stay in London. (Not the cheapest city on the planet, mind you…). In less than 2 weeks I found a job at Starbucks, as a barista (The guy who pours the coffee). It was just a few weeks before Christmas. Overwhelmed with joy, I treated myself to an ice skating ride in Hyde Park.

Adam starts his buying frenzy

And so my London caffeinated-days had begun.

A double espresso to kick-start your day, and then hours of making coffee for London’s busy people before they board the Tube (The Underground train). That’s how most days would look like. The work was hard but I didn’t mind that. As time had gone by though, frustration started building up. One of the things I was really striving to do was to connect with costumers. But it was impossible. as soon as a conversation had begun you had to serve the next person.

"Thank God, no frappuccinos today..."

At that point my interest in personal development had grown bigger. I started reading a lot and buying online courses. One of my main inspirations at the time was Bob Doyle. As I had bought his course he started emailing me, and in one email he was recommending me to start an online business as a way to get financial freedom. He was using words such as autopilot income and other magical words that enchanted me. The sales letter he referred me to was listing different IM products and goodies from Jo Vitale. I scrolled down the page, delighted at the price: Only $27. I pulled out my credit card…

Now here’s the thing – once you get sucked into that buying frenzy, it becomes an addiction. A little bit like gambling, where you know you’re losing it but you’ll have another go on the roulette just to prove to yourself that winning is still an option. Well, that’s what happened to me. I was buying products like crazy. Some of them were actually pretty good. But here’s what I didn’t do – I didn’t take a consistent, continuous, focused course of action.

I allowed myself to become the rug doll of so-called ‘gurus’ who would seduce me with sneaky email subjects such as “Adam, you’ve made a sale” or “I need your Paypal address”. Or by using nasty forced continuity and false scarcity tricks.

Hey, it was my fault. But at that point I was vulnerable and a soft target for these sharks. I vowed never to do the same to my subscribers.

As time went by I was accumulating debt of a few thousand dollars. I could hardly support myself and even the little money I’d made in the café would hardly keep me afloat. Things spiraled out of control and I would receive text messages from the bank telling me about this and that and God knows which payment I’d just made. I was under constant stress as each month I didn’t know if I could even pay the rent.

I felt lonely, desperate, and broke. And it all started feeling really pointless. And to top it up, it was winter…

(Hey, I know it sounds like the typical ‘Rags to riches’ sales letter but there’s no product to buy, so relax! )

"Looks like a perfect day for a picnic..."

How 3 days in Bristol turn my life around

Somewhere around February I received an invitation to the LFMpire Builders Workshop in Bristol. The sales letter was so upbeat and uplifting. The slogan went: “Success is waiting… You must show up!” So I did… It wasn’t easy and wasn’t free either but I decided to make the effort and stayed in a hostel to save some cash. Those 3 days changed my life.

Donna Fox & friends during a 'hot seat' session in Bristol

You see, the difference between reading emails from marketers, going through their blogs or even chatting with them in forums to actually meeting them face-to-face is immense. I would highly encourage anyone to go to an offline event, at least once. Especially if you’re starting out. It can easily be the springboard for your Internet success, as it has been for top marketers such as Keith Wellman and Omar Martin.

During the conference I met like-minded people, chatted with top marketers in the hotel bar and got exposed to powerful income strategies I would never have come across online. You see, marketers share on stage much more than they do on the Internet.

And most importantly, I got the proof I needed to wave goodbye to all the doubts I’d had about making money online. I was watching a top marketer as he logged into his merchant account on his laptop. The numbers were staggering. He had made about $100K over the 3 previous months. I believe all of us need this kind of proof to have full faith in the process. Otherwise these doubts and fears immobilize us and sabotage us.

Adam discovers his true calling

One thing left to another and I started going to a few other seminars and networking events. I think these events are great, as long as you don’t become an ‘event junkie’. Going to these events and swiping business cards won’t get you a long way if you don’t follow up with a good plan of action.

The last seminar I’d gone to was Mark Anastasi’s Clickbank Millionaire Masterclass in London. The event took place in June 2010 and we enjoyed four days of value-packed presentations by big names such as Chris Farrell, Saj P & George Brown.

Suddenly, everything started making sense...

The seminar ended on Sunday night. People started pouring out in hordes, and I just popped over to the bar to get some water. As I

was standing there I had a chat with a fellow attendee. We were sharing our impressions from the seminar and then she said that she had enjoyed it but couldn’t get much of the techie stuff, like SEO for example. I told her about myself and about my background and that I was going back to Israel in a few weeks.

Then another guy who had been hanging around had overheard us and came along. He seemed really friendly and interested in talking to me. We exchanged contact details and he seemed really keen on getting all of my details, even my phone number, as if he really needed to get hold of me soon.

And then, as I was walking along the river, on my way back, it dawned on me:

There it was, my true calling. That was the place were everything came together. My passions – design, writing, teaching, and helping others. My talents – social skills, communication, technical skills and more. Internet marketing has it all, and so much more than that!

So finally I can share all of that knowledge with people who need it, and help them pursue their true passion, while making a decent living as well. Bliss!

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