I love it, Fresh out of highschool, and already making a "living" as a webmaster Right now, by "living" I mean like a broke kid with 2 roomates (saves money on rent)... But anyway , I'm happy that I ignored all of the people who said it can't be done. Since I just started, I think I can continue to build up to the point of a successful web entrepreneurs such a shoemoney or Digital Points own, Shawn Hogan I've been working on the internet making websites since I was thirteen so I have experience, but I was playing around and didn't realize the potential to make money with it In these last couple of years, I've learned that the four most important things to know in order to be successful on the net (whatever that is to you) are... 1. Be the first, and do it the best - This will guarantee success, don't do something that's been done over and over, and if you do, make sure your site is the best 2. There are No Secretsto making money on the internet! It's just one big business, look around, study other sites, understand what people are looking for. 3. Money doesn't buy everything, other people will never care as much about your project as you do, learn a little designing, a lot of seo, it's all easy if you truly care about being a webmaster 4. Do something that you love! - If you yourself aren't interested in your own site enough to go there everyday, you probably don't know enough about a subject to be making a website about it, plus you'll lose interested quicker I just wanted to share my experiences with the wonderful people at digitalpoint, thanks for your time
very true point. i'm 18 and started out as a graphic designer. now i'm doing that along with webmastering. pretty decent income and i've only been at it for about 6 months now seriously
I love it to I never had a job and i plan and hope will never have ... I'm earning double then anuoane i knew and has jobs i love it PS : i'm staying olso in rent for the same reasons and + here a house is very expensive
Thanks for the replies I know, its awesome, you get to choose your own hours and you don't have to go to work everyday The only bad part is, it can be hard to stay motivated to work on your sites
Hi BigRob-- I am always interested in those making money via the internet. I was wondering-- the video sites, are those affiliate links? Or is it the google ads that generate the revenue? Q...
Good thread BiGRob. I also love being a webmaster. I can work from wherever I want, when ever I want and with whatever I want. I'm also making money on something I love. Still, there is a few of your tips I don't totally agree on.. You don't always have to be the first. Over the years, there have been several community sites, but they still keep coming. Once in a while we see new community sites become world popular (facebook recently), and their not even better than many of the others. They just used smarter marketing strategies. Anyway, be smarter than your competitors - study them, learn from them and be smarter. Almost true. I don't think we could call it "secrets", but everyday people find new methods of marketing their sites. It's all about keeping your head up and being on step in front of you competitors. Follow the trends and listen to your users. This is damn true. I personally mean that you can't run something you don't know. How can you run a car-factory without knowing anything about cars? Also true. You got to have interest in the sites your running, or else you will loose interest. Seriously, how can you run a site you wouldn't even visit yourself? I would also like to add a 5th tip: 5. When you make a site or something for a site, think from a users perspective, not the webmasters. If you run a soccer-site, most of your users won't be perky webmasters, but soccerfans. See your sites from your users views, not your webmaster buddieses.
It is great to hear that so many younger people are making a good living from the Internet. Here is my advice, coming from a bit of experience myself... I was 17 (24 now) when I switched from a normal hourly job to a "full-time" online business. My advice is to still get some college courses as you work your business. It will never hurt you to have some education, especially if something hits the fan and your online income disapears. Take some night courses, or simply do 1 day a week of college. Focus on something you can use, like contract law or business ethics. It will pay for itself 100x. Plus, as long as you are a legal company, you can write off most of your education on your taxes. Business can be intimidating for the younger professional. Try to walk into a conference room and present a slideshow on why they need a website... unless you look old for your age, you are in for a rough ride. Keep at it, be professional, know what you are talking about... you will find the age gap disapears very quickly. -Matt
Great story I too am a webmaster, but not full time. I agree that the benefits are great! Especially for college students who need a flexible schedule job!
Thanks for the comments Thats true, knowledge is key. Maybe I should've said it'll be easier if your the first Actually, Facebook use to be very popular underground, only IV Legal College Students were allowed from certain schools, and there was a huge backlash when it was opened to the public Well actually I don't make very much money from the sites in my sig, mainly because their is no traffic My money comes from 3 things 1. A Popular High traffic Website, mostly google and "type in" traffic - Adsense is the majority of the money, but it would probably makes about the same or better from a good cpm network 2. 2 Web stores, A DVD Store and an Electronics Store 3. A little Free Lance on the side, some people just don't have the time to do things, so they pay me and I do it. The E Commerce and Free Lance both take experience, trial and error and the for the website you need knowledge of SEO (easy) and like Cypherus said, look at your site from a user's perspective I know very little about affiliate marketing, but I hear it can't be done just by placing banners on your sites Those are good points, I still haven't made my business real legal businesses yet for fear of extra taxes
One thing I appreciate - You took action. If not you would be no where. Congrats on making it to the 1% who take action. Secondly, you see someone else's model working? Use that model as base, see what they lack, research what your customers want, list the value ads, build your business, you'll be a success. Re inventing the wheel may not always be successful, but tuning the wheel to get better performance-- you'll almost always succeed. What do you think "Big G" did .. not that search engine was altogether a new idea. They copied the concept, built a better product .. Look around for opportunities and be the first to jump into them at the right time. You'll be successful again. For your success, Regards,
Strange, I find that I loved website design before making it into a profit thing Some people say it's not a good idea to blend in hobbies with work
Hey their, what type of work are you doing? Websites or doing SEO for people? I am interested in what you are making money off of right out of high school that is quite a accomplishment!