I lost my way! I lost my will!

In the last several months I totally lost my focus in my outsourcing and in my systems. Some of them broke and I did not rebuild them. Some of them simply needed to be updated and others needed to be trashed because they were not producing results.

So here I am today… rereading Source Control by David Walsh. I am starting from scratch again in a sense.

I know that sounds terrible, but it is a lesson I needed to learn.

I decided to scrap the opengoo project management system. Although it was free and pretty good, I have found a couple more that are even better.

Clocking It

The first one and completely free project management system that I tried and heavily recommend is clockingit.com.

My partner told me about it a while back but I basically didn’t care for it at the time. One of my big concerns for a lot of web apps is the ability to self-host the app. This was my original reason for trying opengoo. I wanted to be able to host it myself for security reasons.

In the last couple of months I got over that being a big issue. Apparently there are million dollar marketer use clockingit and love it. So, basically if they can trust their business to this app, why can’t I?

When I finally became a believer was during a rough time I was having with a web application I am developing. I hired a programmer on odesk and was having a lot of trouble tracking tasks. The email system of assigning tasks was just not working. Many tasks were just not getting done and simply getting lost in all the emails.

So I decide to give clockingit a try. I saw the light as soon as I started to create tasks and assign them inside clockingit. By doing it this way we could track individual tasks and follow up a lot easier. My programmer could simply comment and update me as needed.

I felt a huge sense of relief as soon as I was able to give him all my my concerns, improvements, new features, etc. It literally was a weight that was weighing me down.

Since we started to work strictly through this system we have been able to move my app near completion.

I have exposed a couple of friends to this app as well and they have fallen in love with it as well. One of my of my friends has even moved his entire company to clockingit soon after being exposed to it.

If you want free and easy… GET THIS NOW! I get absolutely no money from this recommendation. It’s simply the truth!

Basecamp

Now basecamp is what I am testing and have also fallen in love with.

There is a cost with this app that will likely turn a lot of people off especially if you are on a tight budget. The basic plan will run you $49. Ouch!

However, after testing it out in the last 3 weeks and seeing the functionality and ease of it, I can see why so many companies and marketers use it. It is truly worth the price.

It is so good that I am going to be moving over to it exclusively as my project management system after the completion of my web application.

Yes! I know you’re thinking: “Didn’t you just go on and on about clockingit and you’re about to jump ship?”

It’s that good and with all the projects that I will be working on I need the easiest way to manage them all and the staff that I am developing.

It is simply worth it. Once again… like above, I am not getting any money for promoting basecamp (although I looked into it They are considered one of the best project management systems for a reason. If you can afford the price and imagine having multiple projects with multiple staff members, than you should really consider basecamp.

What can I say about this video that doesn’t become evident as soon as you view it.

One of the interesting things that he does that I will need to do is to travel to other countries and get social jobs. He gets simple jobs to just meet people and learn a new skill.

I find that to be extremely simple and fun! What better way to enjoy the people and their culture than to serve them  and learn from them.

Thank you to @josh_crocker for sharing this on his blog. I still sometimes lose my focus and need to be reminded why we do what we do.

I remember why do we dare dream that we can actually enjoy life and give back to the world.

This is a time of year where one is supposed to be grateful for those things in our lives.

I am thankful for a million things. Both good and bad. They all have helped me get to where I am.

Today is my older daughter’s birthday. She took my breath away for the first time seven years ago. My other princess turned 5 last month. They grow up soooo fast, it’s unbelievable.

Knowing that I have spent almost every moment (as allowed by my divorce decree) with them makes me happy. You see, before I became an internet marketer exclusively, I worked in retail management. And as many of you may already know, a manager’s schedule in retail has little to know life nor control of their schedule.

I quit about 9 months ago. I spent the entire month of July with my daughters with them. I would never would have been able t0 do that working at my J.O.B.

I am not successful enough to tell you I take them to Disney World or buy them anything they wish. Although I probably would not do that if I had the money.

What I have been able to give them is my time. My love. I have not had to rush like a maniac to take them from aunt, to grandmothers, to babysitters and then have little to no quality time with them.

There is absolutely no doubt in their minds who their father is and how I feel them. I have a theory, if I tell them how much I love them over and over and over, I just might get Love Credit that I can use when they are teenagers. Thoughts?

We do simple things. I hope to instill in them how to appreciate those simple things. How to appreciate walks around the park. How to appreciate not having a television and having to talk to each other and share our stories.

I have begun to teach them how to handle a deck of cards like a magician. They are beginning to learn New York Salsa On2. To share with you all I have done would make this post a novel.

I would not be able to do any of this if I was still working a 5am-4pm or a 3pm-1am. Those are grocery management shifts.

Next year I have huge plans! HUGE!

I refuse to trade my time for money. My children deserve more and so I give it to them.

I am a big fan of Brian Clark. Copyblogger.com has been a mainstay on “favorite list” and rss reader for over a year. I always look forward to reading what he writes and the content he delivers. As an added bonus his guest writers also deliver quality post after post.

He has been an influence in my writing as a blogger and I highly recommend his site to anyone.

I was a member of his membership program “Teaching Sells”  The information I found in his course helped me put together our first membership site.

Knowing that he is from Dallas too make me more of a fan-boy.

The Outsourcing Conspiracy

I was on his site recently and couldn’t help but notice that he had a graphic for a free report titled The Outsourcing Conspiracy. Oh boy! He had me hooked.

The biline even says: What the 4 Hour Work Week and Internet Marketing Gurus Aren’t Telling You About Outsourcing.

Being that this site is built around the premise that outsourcing does work (because it does) I immediately downloaded it and devoured it in about an hour.

He’s Absolutely Right!

Outsourcing is not for the new person this business. His argument is that outsourcing can lead to a lot of frustration and money being thrown away. Which it can. However his model of outsourcing is that of hiring a freelancer from services like Elance.

He goes on to say that you will find yourself consistently having to find new people and hoping that they will be available the next time you have a project to outsource.

However, the method I promote is a spin on what is written in the 4Hour Work Week. I have hired and trained someone to work for me full time.

Knowing that she will likely stick around with me gives me the confidence in knowing that I will make mistakes. It also allows me to have patience when she makes mistakes. It is just a part of life.I am able to go back to her and ask her to make some changes or simply do it all over.

Can a person that is working a full time job and learning how to me an internet marketer in their spare time afford to hire someone full-time? It is likely they can’t.  So outsourcing is not for everyone.

There I said it.

I was at the point where I had too many ideas that needed to be implemented and I just couldn’t handle it anymore. What I pay her gives me peace of mind when I am out at the park with my daughters.

So What’s Brian Clark’s Point?

Ahh, yes. You know he has to have one.

He wraps up the report by presenting the idea of Partnering instead of Outsourcing. He writes that the best proven method to be successful in business is to find a partner to work with. He has a product he is launching  called Partnering For Profits that will teach you how to do just that.

Even though he argues against what I preach, I do see his point and would recommend what he is suggesting to anyone. I believe that he will deliver the information you need to be able to find the partner you need to help you on your path to freedom.

When I got started in this business I had a partner (and still do). I was in no position to hire someone at that time.

In the process of creating the product and building the site we have learned a whole lot about the business. And being accountable to each other has helped us when times got tough. There is something to be said about building something with someone that you can count on.

So what do you do? Replace Myself or Partnering for Profits? It all depends on your time, energy, and resources.

Yes it is. Tim Ferris doesn’t even work 4 hours. Hell, even John Jonas markets his material by saying he works 17 hours.

I find that hard to believe given the work he does and the products he has on the market. However, I believe that both of them do it by choice. They both have the ability to outsource most of their work and even their writing.

Working only 4 hours has never been my motivation. My drive came from idea that I could possibly make my own hours and actually stay home and raise my daughters. A long-term goal of mine is to operate a community center in my area.

The more I learned about what it takes to be an online marketer, the more I needed to learn. There really never seem to be an end to this entire process of training myself.

Don’t get me started on the HOT product of the week that my colleagues are all promoting and shoving down my throat because if I don’t buy it my business will never succeed.

One of the added benefits of hiring someone is that if I feel compelled to buy a new product with a new strategy, I can simply hand it to my employee to learn and implement. Although I love to be an expert at everything we do, sometimes I just don’t have time.

I recently got a little report by a 15 year old marketer(he just turned 15). In this report he lines out a strategy for ranking high for certain keywords and then being able to generate sales from that organic traffic. I asked her to read it and give a report on it and tell me how she thought we could best implement it.

Needless to say she was all over it and it is now the foundation for a lot of what I do in my marketing in the products I promote.

No, I do not work only 4 hours. And I never plan on just working 4 hours. But it is quite possible I may work 20 hours a week in July  when my daughters spend the month with me. It makes me happy to think I even have that choice.

The 4-Hour Work Week

It was December of 2007. My good friend insists that I read this book named “The 4 Hour Work Week” written by Tim Ferris.

Brad insisted that I pick it up and read it immediately. I obliged and even bought a copy that night. Needless to say I devoured it. Apparently I wasn’t reading it fast enough though. Brad was eagerly waiting to hear my opinion to Chapter 8.

What’s in Chapter 8 you wonder? Well it’s the chapter where Ferriss goes into the idea of outsourcing your work. I was immediately floored by the idea of outsourcing. How was this possible? Could these people possibly be any good? I had a ton of questions.

The book actually shared many other great concepts and ideas that have changed my life. It introduced internet marketing to me and the possibility of owning my own business. Although at the time it seemed a far fetched idea. It now is a reality.

I now work for myself and am also a partner in another internet business with Brad. Yea, that same guy that recommended the book.

Tim Ferris’ book is the book I needed to open my eyes to the possibility of sharing more of myself to the world and giving me the liberty to work from home. It is one of my favorite books right up there with “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”. Between the both of them I was able to change my mindset and become a businessman.

What About the 4-Hour Work Week?

Well I am still working on that. Hiring a virtual assistant wasn’t something that I was able to figure out. I saw Brad try it and have his difficulties and I did not have the resources yet.

However we stumbled on a product that spins Ferris’ idea. What about hiring someone full time? Instead of hiring someone to do some tasks we came across the idea of actually hiring an employee to work for us full time. AHA! And this is where we are now.

We hired 2.5 people for our business and I recently hired my own employee to help me build my business. Through this blog I will share my story. My journey. My struggles and my triumphs.

I am not working the 4 hours yet. And truthfully I doubt I ever will. However, that will be my choice.