Zwielicht
Elite Member
- Aug 31, 2013
- 21,128
- 40,601
10 Years On BHW!
Yeah, I made him purple. So what?
Introduction
What we're gonna do right here is go back...
Yeah, I made him purple. So what?
Introduction
Way back...
Back... into time!
https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/hello-blackhatworld-forum-members.602215/
That's right! That's my introduction thread from a decade ago! However, I'd like to expound on that introduction a little more.
Prior to signing up here, I had no business experience, no money, and I had just quit my job. I always wanted to start a business, but I didn't have anyone around to teach me the basics, so I chose to teach myself instead. Shortly after, whilst searching for questions on affiliate marketing, I found Black Hat World.
To say I'm glad I signed up here is an understatement, because the forum changed my life for the better in every way. In the ten years since I signed up, I grew my business, bought a car, got married, bought a house, and gave myself the one thing I've always wanted: a stable life.
For my ten year thread, I want to go over some lessons I've learnt and my journey in internet marketing so far.
#1: 2013 - Options
When you're new to the world of business, it can be easy to fall into the trap of offering too much at once. In the early days of my business, I did exactly that.
You see, I felt that because I could edit photos, create videos, do SEO, do 2D animation, etc; that meant that I should do it. That's right, I offered everything I could do as a service.
I still managed to land clients, mostly for photo editing, but I spread myself thin by having too many options for clients. I may have experience in doing all of those things, but offering them as a service is a different skill.
My lack of business experience also meant that I didn't consider another very important aspect: I made it difficult to compete with others for those services. After all, customers are more like to go to Joe's Photo Editing with an impressive portfolio over I-Do-Everything-But-Don't-Have-A-Decent-Portfolio-For-Any-Of-Those-Things.
This was a lesson I had to learn on my own, and when I figured out to offer only a select few services, that's when I saw my business grow.
#2: 2014 - Business
I started learning more about business in 2014. I made small steps, got a business license, properly registered my business.
These steps might seem minor for some, but legitimising my business gave me a big confidence boost. It also showed others who were doubtful at the time that I was serious about this business venture.
If I could go back, I would've registered my business much sooner.
#3: 2015 - Opportunities
2015 felt like a big year for me as this was when I started putting myself out there on the forum. Early in the year, I purchased Jr. VIP, and I start sharing more about what I had learnt on the forum.
In March, I felt confident enough to compile what I learnt about SEO into my first big guide, "The Ultimate Guide To Ranking A Website Without Building Backlinks". The positive feedback I received for that thread encouraged me to continue posting more guides on the forum
Later that year, I was nominated for Jr. Executive VIP (back when it was nomination-based) and received enough 'yes' votes from the Jr. Execs at the time to get in.
#4: 2016 - Betrayal
The first time I experienced being scammed was in 2016, but it wasn't in the way you would think.
Earlier in 2016, I started doing some SEO work for a member here. The member paid pretty decently, always paid on time, and they were very easy to work with.
Well, one day, the member just didn't pay me for the work I did. I thought this was odd, and I tried reaching out to him using all of his contact details. Radio silence everywhere.
He was banned a short while later, and I found out it was because another member opened up a dispute against him. The guy I did this SEO work for did not want to refund the accuser, got pissed with the forum as a whole, and just outright abandoned everything.
However, I didn't know this was what happened at the time. Regardless of what happened, I was upset, and the money he owed me for my work could've saved my geriatric cat's life back then. I had to put my cat down because I just didn't have the extra funds I needed.
Out of frustration, I went on a massive reporting spree. I just went and connected the account of hundreds of previously banned members on the forum. I knew it wouldn't solve my own issues, but I got some satisfaction out of inconveniencing every spammer and scammer I could find.
It was actually because of this that I got an alert from an in-house employee at the time that said, "Dude, just apply to be a mod already".
I hadn't considered becoming a volunteer moderator here before that message, but I thought on it a day and decided to submit an application.
That application I sent in got approved so quick! In a way, if that member hadn't disappeared before paying me, I wouldn't have gone on a reporting spree and I might not have become a moderator.
#5: 2017 - Failure
At this point in time, things were going well, that is until they weren't. 2017 was a very bad year for me.
I've mentioned a couple of times in the past on this forum that I have PTSD. I was diagnosed with it when I was around 13 years old. I used to not talk about it or tell anyone as I was ashamed of the diagnosis.
However, not getting help sooner was a massive mistake on my part, because I didn't want to consider that the symptoms might get in the way of my business or my life.
You see, in 2017, I suddenly found myself in a position where I was financially caring for others. I had to spend more money to keep things afloat and take on more work as a result. I was only sleeping a few hours a night because of how much I was working.
The burden became too much for me, and the stress caused my symptoms to become significantly worse (I mean, it's called post-traumatic stress disorder).
I felt myself become useless. I was unable to think straight, and I could no longer serve some of my clients. Because I couldn't serve them, I had to let them go.
Unfortunately, I saw an ugly side of business that year when one of my clients actually tried taking advantage of my condition. He used the opportunity to low-ball me by making me accept a deal where he paid me $50/month for SEO. You read that right. A pittance, but he thought I would be desperate enough to accept this. I declined the offer, but it was difficult seeing someone I had worked with for a while do that to me.
#6: 2018 - Change
In early 2018, thanks to an in-house employee at the time and the forum owner, I was offered a contract with Black Hat World. This was not an opportunity I wanted to pass up, as growing the forum and making it better was something I wanted to do since becoming a moderator-in-training.
For the most part, I ceased my other business operations as I needed time to recover throughout that entire year. Thankfully, the contract here gave me some great work and provided enough for me to keep the house I was renting.
Obviously, I still work for the forum as I'm an administrator here.
#7: 2019 - Eggs
This was the year I got married! But this thread is about my journey in internet marketing, so we'll stick with that.
I was still at a point with my business where I wasn't able to pick up new clients. Even though it wasn't necessary, one piece of advice I got from the forum years ago, "Don't keep all of your eggs in one basket".
With this in mind, did manage to get back some of my old clients. Thankfully, building up an excellent reputation with them meant that they were very eager to work with me again.
This is one reason I'm glad I focused on building actual relationships with my clients.
#8: 2020 - Shift
We all remember this year, that's when all of the lockdowns started.
Many businesses around me were negatively affected, but those of you in this industry know that internet marketing saw a boom because of the pandemic.
Businesses were willing to shell out more money for these services, but as a result, more people started getting into internet marketing.
The competition was surprisingly not too bad, but I did manage to pick up new clients for the first time since 2017.
#9: 2021 - Stability
In the middle of the pandemic, of all the times, was when I was finally achieving that stability that I've sought out my whole life.
I started making enough money to be more flippant, but rather than spend it on random trinkets, I did something even bigger: I bought the house I had been renting from my landlord.
I hated the home buying process, but buying the house meant that I was not at risk of being forced out because the landlord decided to sell it to another landlord. This is what happened to me in 2013, and it's not fun having to re-register all of your business documents.
#10: 2022 - Silence
It's not always obvious how much time and money the home-buying process sucks up; all the fees and taxes you have to pay on top of all of your taxes are a nightmare.
This meant I had less money to reinvest in my own business. The year was hectic, to say the least.
Surprisingly though, not much else happened in 2022. For the most part, it was just business as usual.
2023
Now we're back in the present. Sometimes, you spend so much time dealing with outside factors that you forget that you can become your own worst enemy.This has been a very rough year for me as my symptoms have become much worse than they were in the past. Unfortunately, it's just something that will continue happening as I get older.
However, the difference between now and then is that I have a great support network and stability in my life. Without both of these, I'd be in another mess like I was in 2017.
Speaking of my support network, there are some people I'd like to thank in this thread.
- My mother - She's always been supportive of my business, even at a time when everyone else wasn't. In fact, when I started my business, she was the one gave me $10 to buy my company domain.
- My wife - It's thanks to my wife that I'm able to manage my condition in ways I hadn't considered in the past. Believe it or not, she also helps me run my business.
- My step-mother - My first big client actually came from my step-mother recommending me to her boss. I made a trip down to Arizona and got a check for $3,000 the next day!
- "An Old Administrator" - This in-house employee is no longer here, but they're the reason I got this job in the first place.
- @BassTrackerBoats - There aren't many people I'd call a good friend, but BTB is definitely one of them. His advice and friendship have taken me even further than I thought I could go.
- @Diamond Damien - He's a good boss who's understanding and listens to what I have to say. It's not everyday you get a boss who you feel like you can speak your mind to and help come with solutions.
- @Echo - MISS Echo is great to work with, great to talk to, and someone I feel like I can call a friend.
- @MintyGreenTea - I've only recently started getting to know MintyGreenTea, but right off the bat, she's shown me more kindness than a lot of other people
