If you don’t want to read it, you can watch this video.
Why am I talking about this? I got a comment. People talk about my competitors, right? The thing is I don’t have any competitors. I’m going to tell you why all these gurus are living on the beach or in Thailand. Many of these people have you gassed up thinking that’s where you want to live too.
The explanation is not going to be pretty. The number one reason you see all these people in these exotic locations is because they can’t afford to live in a first world country. You’ll see it. They are on the beach in these exotic locations.
Do you know how much it costs to live in the Philippines or Thailand? If you have $1500 a month coming in in Thailand, you’re doing great. You have your own place to stay. You have a chef, a maid, a driver. You can have all that for $1500 a month or less. That’s why they’re there, because they can’t compete over here.
This is one of the reasons I’ve become the cranky hustler. I live in the USA. I make my bread here. I live here and I’m successful here. I get very irritated when I get compared to somebody who isn’t doing that.
Let’s talk about these minimalist people. I don’t believe in clutter because I think clutter jacks up your life, right? It’s not that I don’t like clutter because I can’t afford anything. That’s where a lot of these fake minimalists are coming in. They’re living in trucks or going across country in a van. That could be cool if that’s you. But there are a lot of people forced into that situation because they are broke. It’s not a choice for them.
I see some stuff that is about to drop in the hustler porn bubble. I see all of these people online teaching how to get wealthy. There was this one guy who was talking about all the money he made on Shopify. He was in Thailand. He said he was retired. He’s twenty-five. Based on whatever money he has, he can live well there. I’m not saying there is anything wrong with that.
If you want to move to Thailand because the cost of living is substantially cheaper, do it. It’s a win. But, do not act like you are making millions of dollars, when you could be living the high life on $1200 to $1500 a month in one of these third world countries or emerging economies. You see a lot of that stuff.
One of the things that I see that happens quite a bit with this internet stuff is that many people feel because it is the internet, it’s not real. Many people feel that you don’t have to have real business skills. Many people feel that everybody is equal online. Everybody is not equal online.
Many people miss opportunities because they are expecting the opportunity to look like a long lost lover. You know, you meet. You finish each other’s sentences. You connect on that cosmic level. Some of the best opportunities I had, they looked like street people. Storage units are an example. I routinely hauled off trash, garbage and burnt out units.
In the online community, everybody knows everybody. This is how I know many people are not being completely honest with you. That’s why I get cranky when people compare me to these people because I made my bread out here in the real world in the private sector.
I can make money offline or online. A lot of these cats can’t. If you took these people’s Facebook ads away from them, they couldn’t make money.
There are a lot of people building their financial empire based on Facebook ads. As long as their ads work, they’re going to make bread. What’s going to happen to them when Facebook makes changes.
I’m looking at some changes that Google AdWords just made. So what are you going to do when you become a one skill wonder.
The USA is one of the easiest countries to make money.
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Question: Would you expand your business outside the USA?
Answer: I’m already international. Here’s the thing with Facebook, YouTube and Instagram. Anybody that can get traction on any of those platform can get an international audience. It’s interesting that you asked me that. I am going straight, 100% American. I do advertising, and I am not doing advertising anywhere else. This is why. There is a cultural disconnect. They have different laws or few laws. Sometimes their environments are unstable. The advice that I give here will not always be relevant for other countries.
DO this. Go to Craigslist and go to Rome, Italy. Look at Craigslist and see what you use. If you’re in Rome and you want to meet a girl. You’re not going to meet her on Craigslist. Your ass is going to have to go to the bar and chat her up. Culturally there are a lot of places where the internet does not work like it does here.
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The world is getting smaller. Typically, when someone wants to run to another country, it’s part romance and fantasy and they’re trying to escape something. Do what you need to do. If you can’t make money here, the chances of you making money somewhere else are pretty slim. It’s easier to make money here than any other place in the world. I’m talking about making six figures or a million dollars.
It’s important to remember that a lot of places you go, depending on your VISA, you can’t work. Go to these expat blogs and see what these people go through when they move to another country.
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Question: Do you use Instagram to grow your business and if you don’t why not?
Answer: I use Instagram for fun. What’s that saying…if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. I am learning Instagram right now. I have 849 followers. I would need to have 10K, 15K, 20K or 30K invested followers to really do anything.
Here’s another business lesson for you. If you have something that is making you money and getting you traffic. Do not stop doing that to do something you don’t know how to do.
In order to win today, your marketing must be consistent and often. Do things to get yourself out there that other people aren’t doing.
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Question: What’s the most challenging thing in business?
Answer: To stay consistent. It’s not super complicated. Keep it simple. Be consistent and pound it out. It can get boring. It’s hard to resist moving over to a new shiny thing.
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