Who I am, where I come from and how I started my online business

I am from the southeast island of Singapore and I am an internet entrepreneur by profession. In case you’re wondering what internetpreneur is, it’s my alternate term for entrepreneur, since I’m running an online business.

I started my online business in July 2008, but before that, it used to be a bummer after taking many jobs due to disinterest in studies, poor grades, and limited knowledge.

I started as an administrative assistant in July 1996 after completing my National Service. But because the pay was quite low, at $ 650, I finally quit to dedicate myself to data entry at a local Hong Kong company that specializes in computer and office supplies. Although the pay was slightly over $ 800, I decided to seek better prospects after working again for 1 year.

Now what happened was a series of roller coasters that I didn’t want to share openly due to poor decisions and ignorance that made my family, relatives and so-called friends look down on me.

I quit my data entry job for what was supposed to be a lucrative career in insurance at Prudential, American International Assurance, and Manulife Financial.

For the first 2 companies, I worked as a telemarketer setting appointments for agents to meet potential clients while taking my insurance exams, which is a must in my country for anyone to be certified as a financial services consultant or advisor even before starting your professional career.

But because I failed my basic insurance twice and investment-linked policies 3 times, I was unable to continue as the first 2 managers of the company I worked for could not tolerate the shortcomings of my exam and I did not see any value. to continue with my services, since the relevant authorities established a better prospecting system than simple telemarketing.

For Manulife Financial, I was accused of cheating on investment-related exams when all I did was bring up the formula table, as Math has been my weakest subject throughout my school life. And given the fact that I was given only 1 week to study and understand the fundamentals, I was unable to do so and was under tremendous pressure to excel in order to obtain full certification as a financial services advisor.

Manulife fired me and got kicked out of all insurance related jobs and careers for 5 years. And I can tell you that what happened after that was when it all went downhill from there, financially, mentally, and spiritually.

That was in April 2000, and job competition had become fiercer than before. I could no longer find the jobs that I used to do as most companies preferred women and eventually I reduced labor costs by getting automated software and systems to do all the administrative tasks.

And for the next 7 years, I worked various jobs such as telemarketing for credit card call centers, accounting software companies, and timeshare companies. I also worked as a freelance manager for a brokerage firm, and despite that, I received a full salary of $ 1500.

But in 2008-2009 exactly 10 years ago, it was when I reflected on myself and my family. Because 3 things happened that finally transitioned indirectly.

The first two were the ones that everyone knew. Barrack Obama was elected President of the US and Global Financial Crisis, while the third was the effect that the Global Financial Crisis has had on my father.

Now, in addition to being a teacher, my father was also a stock investor. But if he invested in Lehmann Brothers, how much he invested and lost, those questions remained a mystery to me and my family. What I do know, though, is that after the news broke, he went into depression and frustration that seemed crazy to everyone.

Before that, he approached all his friends, who borrowed from him, to return his money and then to the board of CPF (Central Provident Funds), which was our government body, which administered our pensions, health coverage and housing. to withdraw all his pensions, but was rejected by all of them.

About 3 months later, the doctor diagnosed him with end-stage liver cancer, which he had contracted 2 years before the global financial crisis. His losses worsened his condition and he passed away on June 25, 2009.

That was the day I decided not to depend on bosses and even the government for a living, even against my mother’s wish.

About 3 months before the global financial crisis, I developed an interest in the possibility of making money online. The first 2 programs were email processing and data entry jobs from home. Unfortunately, despite following the instructions in the letter, I did not earn any money.

It was only in the third program that I joined, also the data entry program, that I began to earn not only my first dollar, but my first $ 100, and from there, I progressed to earn my first $ 1700.

Because unlike 2 other programs, I was not only instructed to promote that program that I joined, but many other programs, products, and services as well. It was also then that I was introduced to online marketplaces such as Paydotcom, ClickBank, and Amazon.

However, my only regret is that despite making money online, the amount was not enough to save my father from his financial and eventual health problems. By right that any Asian should stop being a subsidiary, I could have worked for bosses just to make ends meet for me and my family.

But not me. Instead, I used my share of Dad’s inheritance and invested primarily in internet marketing. First, the courses from Ewen Chia and Jaz Lai, local experts I met at their internet marketing seminars, and other marketers they recommended as subscribers and clients. In addition to the courses, I also invested in many software tools and resources.

Keyword search, content generation, and website builders. Either downloadable desktop or web-based.

That was towards the end of 2009 and the beginning of 2010, which really marked the transition for me in life and in business. But like everything else, life has also had its ups and downs even though I have the flexibility to work and earn anywhere and anytime I want.

Besides being engrossed in list building and email marketing as the main fundamentals of internet marketing, he was also obsessed with building niche sites and getting to the top of Google for free traffic and search rankings. Because the higher your sites are, the more exposure you have and the more money you can earn.

But due to certain unethical practices by internet marketers that gave the internet marketing industry a bad reputation, Google made a number of changes to downgrade sites that were perceived as low-quality content and only wanted that marketers put them to make money.

In 2013, I switched to Amazon affiliate marketing. Compared to digital products, such as e-books, e-learning videos, and software, selling physical products was easier, but the commissions were much lower. This was due to warehouse, shipping and delivery staff who make the most of their living to ensure that customers receive what they paid for in perfect condition and on time.

In addition to this, it also took me a long time to build high-quality ecommerce stores even though I was only promoting other people’s products and not my own. But the trick to being successful is that your affiliate sites should not look like the typical ones, but really attract potential customers.

4 years later, I combined what I learned from physical and digital product promotion as an affiliate and product provider and shared with people what I learned and know so far in my 10 years of internet marketing.