Hello all!
I would like to start by saying that I have been using BHW since around 2014. I actually joined in 2015 (I could be wrong but I believe it was around that time frame) I believe, and have never done a proper introduction!
So, First and foremost, Hello. My name is Ryan.
I've always had this strong urge to do more with my life, and it was around 2013 that I realized that the internet could be the key to what I am looking for. I started my journey with twitter, by making a fitness page and growing it to 13k followers in about 2 months. I was not really sure what to do with those followers however, and I kind of let it go to waste. I think I made a wix website with a really crummy landing page for some clickbank products and made one $36 dollar sale. That sale brought out the inner child in me and it has been a game changer since then. It didnt take long for me to start exploring other options in the world of IM.
My next move was drop shipping items from aliexpress. I started drop shipping knockoff designer belts, and did pretty decent for my first real website. I used shopify, and put some real time into making it look professional. I made an instagram account for my website, and just started following a s*** ton of people that were in the niche, and got around 5k followers in 2 months. I started making maybe $20-$30 a week plus or minus a few bucks. It was a good feeling, hearing that cha-ching notification come through on my phone from shopify, but I soon realized that it was not a sustainable way to make money. Also, I started to dislike the foundation of what I was doing. I wanted to sell things that people actually wanted, and be a business that they could trust. So I closed my website, and came back to the forums for wisdom.
My next move was very similar, except this time I was selling clothing. Just regular T-shirts, also off of aliexpress. I put countless hours into the website, worked on my seo, and things really started to look good after a month or so. The new Instagram account I made for the site ended up gaining around 9k followers in 2 and a half months. I was making some great sales too! I had some days where I was making between 5 and 10 sales a day, with each sale making me over 10 bucks profit! Anyhow, i ended up getting an email from some copyright company, and it turns out that the images I was using on my website from aliexpress were all stolen images. The company showed me proof that their client had the rights to the photo I was using, and demanded that I pay them around $1200 in damages and remove the image. I did remove the image, but did not pay the $1200 haha. I respectfully told them I would remove the image, but that they would have to pursue me in court for financial reparations. They never did. This sort of scared me, and made me realize that a lot of my images were from aliexpress, and who knows how many other images I was using belonged to someone else. I started to take my website down, and eventually closed up shop.
It has been about a year since my last escapade. I have an alright job, I don't make a killing though. I live paycheck to paycheck, and make just enough to support myself, my wife, and our daughter. I'm tired of living paycheck to paycheck. A fire ignites in me every time I see those Facebook videos "How I made 10 grand in 10 days blah blah blah". I see these people and i just wonder why it cant be me. The thing is, it could be me. It will be me. It has to be me. And BHW is the place to make it happen. There is an unimaginable amount of knowledge on this website and I keep coming back for more.
My next move is to figure out a new method. I don't want to do the whole aliexpress drop shipping method anymore. I want to do something sustainable, and something that can be scaled up once a small success is found. If anyone could point me in any direction to research, I would be forever grateful. Also, feel free to comment below and introduce yourself as well. I've come to realize that friendship in IM is a great tool too. Its networking! I am looking forward to whatever my next move is, thank you for taking the time to read my introduction!
I would like to start by saying that I have been using BHW since around 2014. I actually joined in 2015 (I could be wrong but I believe it was around that time frame) I believe, and have never done a proper introduction!
So, First and foremost, Hello. My name is Ryan.
I've always had this strong urge to do more with my life, and it was around 2013 that I realized that the internet could be the key to what I am looking for. I started my journey with twitter, by making a fitness page and growing it to 13k followers in about 2 months. I was not really sure what to do with those followers however, and I kind of let it go to waste. I think I made a wix website with a really crummy landing page for some clickbank products and made one $36 dollar sale. That sale brought out the inner child in me and it has been a game changer since then. It didnt take long for me to start exploring other options in the world of IM.
My next move was drop shipping items from aliexpress. I started drop shipping knockoff designer belts, and did pretty decent for my first real website. I used shopify, and put some real time into making it look professional. I made an instagram account for my website, and just started following a s*** ton of people that were in the niche, and got around 5k followers in 2 months. I started making maybe $20-$30 a week plus or minus a few bucks. It was a good feeling, hearing that cha-ching notification come through on my phone from shopify, but I soon realized that it was not a sustainable way to make money. Also, I started to dislike the foundation of what I was doing. I wanted to sell things that people actually wanted, and be a business that they could trust. So I closed my website, and came back to the forums for wisdom.
My next move was very similar, except this time I was selling clothing. Just regular T-shirts, also off of aliexpress. I put countless hours into the website, worked on my seo, and things really started to look good after a month or so. The new Instagram account I made for the site ended up gaining around 9k followers in 2 and a half months. I was making some great sales too! I had some days where I was making between 5 and 10 sales a day, with each sale making me over 10 bucks profit! Anyhow, i ended up getting an email from some copyright company, and it turns out that the images I was using on my website from aliexpress were all stolen images. The company showed me proof that their client had the rights to the photo I was using, and demanded that I pay them around $1200 in damages and remove the image. I did remove the image, but did not pay the $1200 haha. I respectfully told them I would remove the image, but that they would have to pursue me in court for financial reparations. They never did. This sort of scared me, and made me realize that a lot of my images were from aliexpress, and who knows how many other images I was using belonged to someone else. I started to take my website down, and eventually closed up shop.
It has been about a year since my last escapade. I have an alright job, I don't make a killing though. I live paycheck to paycheck, and make just enough to support myself, my wife, and our daughter. I'm tired of living paycheck to paycheck. A fire ignites in me every time I see those Facebook videos "How I made 10 grand in 10 days blah blah blah". I see these people and i just wonder why it cant be me. The thing is, it could be me. It will be me. It has to be me. And BHW is the place to make it happen. There is an unimaginable amount of knowledge on this website and I keep coming back for more.
My next move is to figure out a new method. I don't want to do the whole aliexpress drop shipping method anymore. I want to do something sustainable, and something that can be scaled up once a small success is found. If anyone could point me in any direction to research, I would be forever grateful. Also, feel free to comment below and introduce yourself as well. I've come to realize that friendship in IM is a great tool too. Its networking! I am looking forward to whatever my next move is, thank you for taking the time to read my introduction!
