Who am I, where do I come from and how did I start 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 an internet entrepreneur is, it’s my alternative term for entrepreneur, since I run an online business.

I started my online business in July 2008, but before that, I used to be a bummer having accepted many jobs due to lack of interest in studies, poor grades and limited knowledge.

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

Now what happened was a series of rollercoaster rides that I didn’t want to openly share due to poor decisions and ignorance that caused my family, relatives, and so-called friends to put me down.

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

For the first 2 companies, I worked as a telemarketing agent arranging appointments for agents to meet with prospects while I was taking my insurance exams, which is mandatory in my country for anyone to get certified as a financial services consultant or advisor even earlier. to start his career. career.

But because I failed my basic insurance twice and investment-linked policies 3 times, I couldn’t continue as the first 2 company managers I worked for couldn’t tolerate the shortcomings of my exam and didn’t see any value in it. continue with my services as it occurred to the relevant authorities. better prospecting system than just telemarketing.

For Manulife Financial, I was accused of cheating on investment related exams when all I did was submit the formula table, as Mathematics has been my weakest subject throughout my school life. And since I was only given 1 week to study and understand the basics, I couldn’t do it and was under enormous pressure to excel and get fully certified as a Financial Services Advisor.

I was fired by Manulife and banned from getting involved in all insurance related jobs and careers for 5 years. And I can tell you what happened after that, when everything went downhill financially, mentally, and spiritually.

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

And for the next 7 years, I worked various jobs like telemarketing for credit card call centers, accounting software companies, and timeshare companies. I also worked as a freelance manager for a brokerage firm and was getting paid $1500 in full despite that.

But in 2008-2009, exactly 10 years ago, that’s when I reflected on myself and my family. Because 3 things happened that finally made an indirect transition.

The first 2 were what everyone knew. Barrack Obama was elected as president of the US and the global financial crisis, while the third was the effect that the global financial crisis had on my father.

Now, in addition to being a teacher, my dad was also an investor in stocks and shares. 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, however, is that after the news was announced, he went into depression and frustration, which everyone thought was crazy.

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

About 3 months later, the doctor diagnosed him with end-stage liver cancer that he had 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 the bosses and even the government for my living, even against my mother’s wishes.

About 3 months before the Global Financial Crisis, I developed an interest in the possibility of earning money online. The first 2 programs were email processing jobs and data entry work from home. Unfortunately, despite following the instructions in the letter, I did not make any money.

It was only in the third program that I joined, also a data entry program, that I started earning 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 also many other programs, products, and services. That’s when I was also introduced to online marketplaces like Paydotcom, ClickBank, and Amazon.

However, my only regret is that despite earning money online, the amount was not enough to save my father from his eventual health and financial problems. By right, as any Asian should by being affiliated, he 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, courses from Ewen Chia and Jaz Lai, local experts I met at their internet marketing seminars and other marketers who recommended me as a subscriber and customer. In addition to the courses, I also invested in many software tools and resources.

Keyword research, content generation and website builders. Whether desktop downloadable and web based.

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

Apart from 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 search rankings and traffic. Because the higher your sites are, the more exposure you will have and the more money you will potentially earn.

But due to certain unethical practices of Internet marketers that gave the Internet marketing industry a bad reputation, Google made a series of changes to demote sites that were perceived as having low quality content and that they just wanted us to vendors put them up to make money.

In 2013, I switched to Amazon affiliate marketing. Compared to digital products like e-books, e-learning videos, and software, selling physical products was easier but commissions were much lower. This was due to warehouse, shipping and delivery staff who make a living making sure customers get what they paid for in perfect condition and on time.

In addition to this, I also spent a lot of time building 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 don’t have to look typical, but actually attract prospects to customers.

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