Made redundant - what next?

[peacock]

Hi All,

Just been given 3 months notice by my employer, so I immediately started thinking about my "employment insurance" which is a collection of websites.

I would love it if I could replace my income from my own digital marketing business.
I know my way around most online marketing including Adwords, SEO, Affiliates, retargetting.

Any hints, tips or inspirational tales appreciated!

 

[Aiden Roberts]

Wow sorry to hear that, sadly it's a sign of the times. Probably not qualified to give you advice but I genuinely believe that things happen to test us, it's how we react that's important so good luck in whatever avenue you take.

Aiden

 

[EdwinEdwin is verified member.]

Bad luck, but hopefully you'll be able to transform your income from a salary to "multiple revenue streams".

Do you have a website or niche where you're doing better than others? If so, that may be where you can most usefully focus your energy. It's probably better to work on a few "larger" websites than a collection of mini-sites, since Google's getting tougher and tougher to please.

Also, if you're anything like me, you'll have to fight hard to distinguish between stuff that soaks up time (e.g. posting on forums, reloading Google Analytics every few minutes, checking affiliate stats) and stuff that may actually result in new income coming in (e.g. writing good quality content, link-building etc.) as it's very easy to spend the day in front of the PC and realise at the end that nothing that day quite falls under the "real work achieved" category.

 

[monaghanmonaghan is verified member.]

This is what we did a few years back when I was made redundant, the up-side was that I'd been wanting to return back to my own company full time but needed a bit more financial security which the redundancy cheque gave us.

Look very honestly at what you can do and see if you believe you can generate income from it.

Look for multiple streams in different areas so you are not dependant on a single income. (My company is offering domain catch, web programming, web hosting, systems admin, consultancy and systems management for local business.)

Re-evaluate your lifestyle

• We factored our allotment (which had been a hobby) into our calculations as we knew we could grow a lot of fruit & veg.
• Cut wastage - eat all of what you buy & buy just what you need
• Get a big freezer - if something is on offer at the shops buy bulk and freeze it
• Cook your own meals, it is much more fun to make something than to pull a ready made version out of the fridge. - I made 32 rolls and 2 loaves of bread yesterday - the kids asked me not to buy shop bread again when I started making bread!
• I initially saved £30-40/month by cycling to school rather than taking the car a short slow inefficient congested journey, I guess I'm saving much more now.

I'm sure there's much more others can add, but in summary, look at the big picture, evaluate what you've got, what you need and think outside the box.

Find things you enjoy doing and use these to generate revenue, you are the boss so might as well have a say in what you do all day.

Our family quality of life is much better as a result of redundancy

We've not skipped a mortgage payment or missed a meal yet (although it has been close on occasion!)

As Edwin suggests, you need to be disciplined otherwise you'll be "playing" all day and not generating income.

 

[Sussexite]

Sorry to hear your news.

My tip is, if you want the web to become your main source of income, make sure you jump in with both feet into something you are 100% sure you want to jump into. Edwin's suggestion about a small number of really good sites is a good one.

Whichever site(s) you choose will become

• something you think about every day
• something you do every day
• a part of your identity; and
• part of your cv - and should help you get back into employment if it doesn't work out.

So choose carefully and then commit to it 100%. You're choosing what you want your life to be like for the next five years.

And the very, very best of luck.

 

[acceleratoraccelerator is verified member.]

I know my way around most online marketing including Adwords, SEO, Affiliates, retargetting.

Any hints, tips or inspirational tales appreciated!

Try and focus on a handful of sectors, i.e. don't spread yourself too thinly.

It's all about the rank you can achieve on Google!!

Rgds

 

[Stas]

Relying on affiliate sites, google for income can be very stressful. Can make good money one day, spend more than you make next, get slapped by google and not make anything for next few months. And might need to splash out good money on links, domains, content etc at times. So I suggest getting involved with variety of projects, some that will not rely on organic google traffic too much, and sorting out a nice credit line. Puting those extra hours into your own business can work out much more profitable than working for someone in the end.

 

[dragon]

Relying on affiliate sites, google for income can be very stressful. Can make good money one day, spend more than you make next, get slapped by google and not make anything for next few months. And might need to splash out good money on links, domains, content etc at times. So I suggest getting involved with variety of projects, some that will not rely on organic google traffic too much, and sorting out a nice credit line. Puting those extra hours into your own business can work out much more profitable than working for someone in the end.

Couldn't agree more with the above - also work out that some sites may take months to go up in google, so either ppc to get 'instant' results (still a wait to be paid from merchant though) - or think of related services/etc that will result in being paid sooner, such as ppc consulting/management/advice for ex.

 

[AdminAdmin is verified member.]

Sorry to hear this news, it hangs over us all these days but must be an aweful feeling when you actually get hit with it.

Let me know if there is anything I can do Acorn-wise to help you i.e. help with anything you are stuck on for your sites, advice, etc.

I just purchased SEO Powersuite so can run some SEO checks for you on your domains etc., I also have an Estibot account so can run your portfolio through that to give you search and other stats.

Good luck

Admin

 

[viceroy]

Sorry to hear that, I just narrowly missed being made redundant last month - scary. All of the above are great suggestions but I'd also try and get involved in something 'outside', something not related to web development/ design/ admin. Keeps the mind open to new ideas and gives you time to think away from that screen. I reckon that it'd get rather depressing sitting in front of a pc at home?

 

[Brassneck]

Really sorry about your news but as others said could be a golden opportunity.

I am actually in the fortunate position of spending 50 per cent on my own business, and 50 per cent employed. I could easily give up my employed job (money-wise as it stands today) but like others have suggested with web stuff you are rather exposed to outside forces such as Google. When I look at my mix of income at the moment, it is very different to two years ago and no doubt will be different again in two years time.

Best wishes

Stephen.

 

[vizzo]

I agree with most of what's been said already.

I've spent the last 5 years gradually trying to ease myself out of my other non web based self employed job. I'm getting there but I'm not sure I could have jumped straight out of employment into 100% web based income.

It's good to dream, but be realistic.

Have multiple income streams. I know too much of my income is adsense but for me it's the easiest way to grow my income. I also do web design for customers in a particular sector as well as for some local businesses. Then at least I know I've got something to fall back on if tGoogle sends things pear-shaped.

Although it's easy to waste time on forums and the like, it can also be the source of new ideas and inspiriation. For instance i saw something on this forum a couple of months ago that gave me an idea for a new mini-project that has seen my income grow by 10%. Similarly although you shouldn't spread yourself too thinly you need to keep trying new things - then know when to pursue them or when to give up and move on.

 

[getmeingetmein is verified member.]

Sounds like you've got a decent and broad skill set. If I were you I would take stock of the web properties you have now, decide what you can improve to create additional income fast (which given you have time on your hands, you can realistically implement).

If you need an income fast I think there is a huge market for helping smaller local businesses who have little/no online presence. I know we can often spend a lot of time obsessing about numbers of exact searches etc as domainers. But for a small local business, 50 laser targeted searches a month can have a meaningful impact on their business. If you've still got a copy of the yellow pages, pick it up - find sectors where you have lots of paid advertisers to get a feel for the sorts of niches to approach. You can always find free adwords vouchers, to get them started - offer some sort of free trial and see how they get on. Speak to them often, show you are proactive.

Over and above this - sites like people per hour, post lots of jobs which you sound like you'd be more than capable of doing.

As others have mentioned look to generate multiple income streams which have a low level of correlation to each other. Probably the most useful advice in the thread is from Edwin - don't kid yourself about the difference between meaningful work and messing around.

Good luck - you are fortunate that you have skills which are in demand, so if you apply yourself I'm sure this will in time show itself to be a great opportunity.

 

[retired_member34]

In 2003 my daughter was diagnosed with a serious condition that made the travelling required for my then consultancy unbearable, so I looked for a business that not only could I could run from home, but one that I could take extended periods off when my daughter needed me. I ended up buying a website, cheaply with a lost database that needed reconstructing, that forced me to learn more.

Since then I have provided for my family exclusively using income generated online. I have had 4 main sites in that time that have generated good revenue, but finding one that does it over an extended period (say beyond 3-4 years) has proved more difficult, partly because my interest wanes. So I would say pick a niche that you are interested in - once the initial excitement of the design and launch of the site has passed you then need to spend time constantly marketing the site, and this quickly becomes tiresome if it is in a niche that does not naturally hold your interest.

If you did all the work for your whatcontract_co_uk site you put up for review then you certainly have the skills required. You just need to follow that up with long term slog, and the rewards will come. I see the site now redirects so I assume you flipped it?

 

[halhal is verified member.]

Sorry to hear that Peacock. For better or worse there is no job security these days. Hopefully your redundancy will work out for the better like some other Acorn members including Alex.

Alex those are some good tips. You are right the bread in this country is absolutely tasteless and probably not that nutritious. You need to go to a specialist bakery to get anything decent but then you still are paying a fortune for something that costs very little to produce.

I also find that fruit and vegetables are much cheaper as well as tastier and fresher when you get away from the supermarkets and go to markets or medium sized grocery shops such as the kind run by Indians. For meat, which is the probably the largest component of cost in a nutritious diet I really recommend getting a slow cooker. You can cook every cut of meat in a way that basically requires no effort and comes out super tender every time.

 

[FutureDomain]

Sorry to hear your news, I have had a few buddies who have been forced out, they did manage to get a good package and unlike you did not have any experience in domains or site building but I gave them a few tips and made sure they invested the money on useful tools, domains and good hosting and they now wish it had happened earlier.

It’s not good to hear that it’s happened but with experience I am sure you will find a great way of making the best of the situation.

Despite the sites/domain you already have sometimes its good to find a niche you would really like to get into or even enjoy, and build a business out of something you enjoy, of course keep the others on an upward trend for the steady income streams. I am currently doing some SEO and format conversion work for a friends Amazon ebook, even sorted out the TM’s and based on experience he should do well out of it, plenty of people are.

I wish you all the best of luck in whatever you choose to do.

 

[JMOT]

Deffo dont do anything that relys on SEO thats for sure lol.

Sorry to hear ur news.

 

[peacock]

Thanks for all the replies, advice and encouragement!

 

[boxfish]

Thanks for all the replies, advice and encouragement!

So what's the plan?

 

[peacock]

Don't have a rock solid plan yet. Still having to work my notice but hoping to get out soon and with some gardening leave. That period will be a brilliant opportunity to test out working methods and see what kind of results I can get before cash gets critical.

I guess the plan is something like:

websites / domains
- Don't spread myself too thin - I've got over 100 sites, many of which are just wp installs with a couple of posts. Now I will have time to add content to them of course, but still I think it will be best to focus on a few sites and really make them good. By my nature I will probably end up concentrating on at least 10 though.
- On a similar vein, will try and spread myself over some different niches.
- Primarily focus on sites that hold an interest for me, or I have a good knowledge of. I think the enthusiasm & experience comes across in my writing and just makes life easier all round.
- To a certain extent "forget SEO", think about (relevant) traffic and hopefully the SEO will sort itself out.

Other
- I registered on peopleperhour and tidied up my linkedin profile
- Have had some chats with people in my network about some interesting projects
- Have today applied for a job that I liked the sound of.