My Story

If I can do it.....

I am guessing that if it you have made it to this page, you have tried to make some money online. Or at least you have done some research on it. Maybe fantasized about being able to walk away from your job and never have to go back! Dreamed of traveling off the money you make online and earning big bucks while you see the world.

Here is the thing…it is possible. But what most of the sites pushing the latest and greatest, “must-have” internet marketing products won’t tell you is that it is hard work. I am living proof. I have been at this since late 2007 and I’m not traveling the globe on the millions I have in the bank. But I am building alternative streams of income that can replace a salary from a job. And once you get there…everything snowballs. But you have to put in the hard work.

There are lots of ways to start building your online income streams. There is e-commerce, writing a blog, being an affiliate and good old offering services, products or consultations. What there isn’t, is an Easy button. No matter which path you choose, there  is a learning curve. But it is learn-able. I was a bit of a Luddite when I got started. All I ever did with my computer was check e-mail, surf the net and play poker. Now I can build websites, manage e-mail lists, do SEO, build info products, source wholesalers, install a blog – you name it!

And I would like to show you how to do these things too. Most of time people get information overload and paralysis by analysis. I am going to break things down here for the beginner and walk you through the whole process.

Sign up for e-mail list (top right corner) to get inside info, e-mail only specials and step-by-step instructions on how to build your online business.

Well…I wouldn’t be a family man if I didn’t bombard you with some family photos. So here is my story, peppered with some candid shots.

"Relaxing" on the Couch Before the Jets Game

My oldest son was born in November of 2005 and as soon as I went back to work after he was born, I realized there had to be a better way. My job required 60 + hour weeks at times and I was almost never home for dinner. We lived in Reno, Nevada – pretty far from our New York based extended family. By mid-2007, we realized we had to make a change. I quit my job and we moved to Charlotte, NC. A much more family friendly place and a long drive or short flight away from Grandma and Grandpa.

When we first got to Charlotte it was my beautiful wife who was working the 9-5 and I was home with Jake. This gave me the opportunity to get started online. I did Ed Dale’s 30 Day Challenge in November 2007 and have been making money online ever since. The whole point of the challenge was to learn how to make $10 online in 30 days, without spending a cent. I only made $8.67. But I was hooked and built my first website.

Child Labor Saves Lots of Money

Sites I Make Money With:

GetaBartendingJob.com – this was the first one and it still holds a dear place in my heart. It can earn up to $650 in a month. Not HUGE money, but it was a start. It is a terrible looking website – I truly set it and forgot it back in January 2008. Now that I have you guys to share experiments with, I think I will update it and try new forms of monetization for all of you to see.

Ecommerce sites – TheComfortBikeShop.com and  ToastyJoes.com – These sites transformed my internet marketing “late night hobby” into the family business. Trish got on board with me and helps manage the wholesalers and customers of these e-commerce sites. By this time Trish had been laid-off from her job and was pregnant with our second son, Connor. She handles most of the day-to-day operations for thee stores. If you are in the market for a comfort bike or an outdoor fire pit, by all means check out our sites.

GoBeyondSEO.com – This is more than just a website, this is our SEO and internet marketing business. If you want to make money online you have to learn how to get your content in front of the right people. You also need to know what to do with those people once they make it to your site. I learned quite a bit of SEO by ranking the bartending site and took the knowledge to new levels with the two e-commerce stores. At this point we also “went public” with what we were doing. And to our surprise, there are lots of businesses out there that do not know how to use the internet effectively. Here we were, creating sites to sell something while all these businesses had plenty to sell but no idea how to get noticed online. We started offering small business seo services and off we went.

LoseYourChains.net – You are here! I created this site because I know there are lots of people out there who want to learn how to start a business online and create multiple streams of income. I also know that most information out there is designed for the quick sale. They fill you with images of life on the beach and cocktails at noon. I am going to give you the straight dope. Doing this takes effort. But that is it…it’s just effort. Doesn’t your job right now take some effort. Wouldn’t you rather put that effort towards your own business? Stick around and learn how to get started creating your escape.

Welcome aboard!

Fun Night Out

P.S. – I need to fill you in on something here. It is technically called my affiliate disclosure policy. But I like to call it my honesty guarantee – how’s that for some kick-butt marketing! In writing content for this blog I will recommend certain people, products and systems. If there is a link to someone or something that I am recommending, you should assume that I will make a commission if you decide to click through and make a purchase. Affiliate marketing is the heart of my Free blog set ups. Check that out to see how it works.

Here is the honesty kicker though. I will never recommend somebody or something unless I have used it myself, absolutely loved it, AND think it will help you along your journey to creating online income streams. If I talk about a product or person that I think sucks, I probably won’t even honor them with a link, but if a link is used you know I will not make any commissions from that…as a matter of fact, please do not buy from them. I do not want to steer anybody in the direction of bad stuff. Just awesome stuff here!

Glad that is out of the way – Welcome Aboard! -  Now let’s get to it!

Hey…if you would like to connect on Google+ – Click Here