2 years ago I was fired from what I hope will be my last “normal job.” I first wrote about my fireversary last year while I was in Blog World. When I wrote last year’s update I mentioned that I was still trying to reach my goal of earning more than $150,000 in 2010 and at the time I hadn’t sold Netbook Reviews in a deal for six figures. Without that sale it would have been close but I did in fact sell the website and I was able to meet crush my target income goal for the year. I felt a huge sense of accomplishment that I could be successful with this full time.
Why I Started This Blog With My Extra Free Time After Getting Fired
I built an income that surpassed my $60k a year high stress sales job in the extra hours I put into my business every day when I got home from my regular day job. So I knew that when I got fired I could use some of my new found free time to start a blog sharing my experiences in the hope that people won’t repeat my mistakes trying methods for making money that just don’t work. Some people will try to sell you on the idea that you can make money easily and instantly on the internet – this is not the case. I tried for several years to make money online and it took a lot of failure before things really started to work because I didn’t really know anyone that I could get good advice from.
What I’ve Learned After Getting Fired
I’ve learned that self employment can suck at times, but the freedom and uncapped earning potential is worth the downside. Since last year’s fireversary update I’ve also met dozens more like minded people who build, manage and run websites full time that generally don’t talk about their business success online (I interviewed some of them for an upcoming project). Last year when I wrote this update I hardly knew anyone doing the same thing that I did, but this year I’ve found people that I can relate to and bounce ideas off each other (most of my friends give blank stares when I explain what I do for a living).
What The Future Holds For This Blog And My Business
I will continue to share advice based on my real life online business experiences rather than speaking in general terms about topics I know nothing about (I’m referring to 95% of the other blogs that discuss blogging, making money online etc). I’ve also been working on some much bigger projects behind the scenes that I’m eager to share with you as well. Some of them are related to this blog but another project is very focused on mainstream use. When I open it up I’d love for you to try it out and be among the first users of this new website. I know that I haven’t described what it will do yet but it’s completely unrelated to earning money online.
Thanks for continuing to read my blog. I’ve got a little less than 19 years to reach my (admittedly silly) goal of buying the Guthrie Castle.
Note: Yes I do realize how stupid some people think I look when I continue to publicly say that I want to buy a castle that costs millions of dollars when I haven’t even made my first million. I still have plenty of time…
Edit 1: I should mention that I wouldn’t actually live in the castle, I’m too cheap and practical to do that. I’d run it as an investment property like the current owners do now. I just want to buy it so that I can say I own a castle named after my ancestors hah hah!
Congrats Chris! Huge fan of the blog here. I really appreciate your honest posts and I have really enjoyed the Podcasts as well. All the best to you man.
Thanks Dan, glad you like it and I hope I can share some more good actionable advice for you.
Many Happy Returns Chris, Also a big fan here. Here’s to Guthrie Castle!
Thanks David ๐
Chris, man that is so cool and encouraging to all of us out here wanting to be where you are. That gives me hope as I work full-time and stay up to 1 or 2am every night working on my IM. Congrats to you my friend!!
Scott
Hey Scott,
The biggest thing I did was to focus on work – and only work – for at least 1 – 2 hours a day. That’s all it really took of focused concerted effort to have it all pay off.
To your success!
Chris
Hey Chris, congrats for your Fireversary..
You made a great progress in this period and I always enjoy reading your money making advice here
Thanks,
Vijay
Thanks Vijay
Awesome Chris. I hope to never get fired but if for some reason I did I’d like to follow the same path.
Yah, I hope I’m not glorifying getting fired because it did completely suck. I would have preferred to build up a larger income level before quitting on my own terms but sometimes trial by fire works as well ๐
Thanks for sharing your story. I look forward to seeing pictures of your castle!
Thanks Jeff ๐
Chris, I can’t believe it, no freebie?
You always give something away!
What I want to know is how do I get a picture next to my name when you publish my comment?
Thanks,
Sam
It’s through gravatar.org I believe… lol no freebie? Hah I need to stop giving stuff away for free. I’ve found the people that are reading my free stuff aren’t taking action and the people that pay for something are ๐
Hi Chris,
I’ve been following you since the first blog post…congratulations on your success. And, by the way, both your course and your plugin is AWESOME. I use the plugin on quite a few of my sites! Keep up the good work.
Thanks Tammie! We’re going to be doing v2 very soon and it should be even better and best part for you = free upgrade ๐
hi chris,
thanks for your post and sharing your dreams – i think that is what this blog stands for, honesty and humanity. i am with you. today, the 13th october, is my 7 years fireversary – 7 years ago i๏ฟฝve left university with nothing but a bad burn out and no paper in my hands to show that i finally finished. lots and lots of tears later and a kick in the butt from myself i finally set up a website, failed, started to study again, set up another website and succeeded. Finally decided that i need to get another degree for my soul peace – in information technology. i worked as a teacher in my own private lessons agency and i just quit that well-paid job about 3 months ago to work full-time online. Always fight for your dreams and try everything to fulfill them. Good luck with the castle. I can see you happily living there ๐
Awesome story Monja – thanks for sharing and I’m glad things are going well for you ๐
Hey Chris, Congrats – what an incredible and inspiring story. The castle idea is not silly at all – think bigger! I am really lovin your podcasts too!
Thanks Phil ๐
Hey Chris,
Happy Fireversary!
I’ve been an avid follower of you blog ever since I realized you were in Seattle – even though I probably would have followed it anyway.
But like you:
And it’s actually turned into a pretty funny running joke now…
But anyway, it’s nice to know there are other successful people living a similar lifestyle in the local area.
Best wishes to you in year 3!
Hey Wes,
Yes we should meet up sometime. It’d be cool to do a Seattle meetup or event or something…
Chris
You guys live in Seattle? Nice! I live part of my time in the year in Vancouver, BC. Pretty close as well! However right now I am living in the Caribbean.
Nice! So, do you prefer the Caribbean or Vancouver? Ha. Just kiding – I’m sure I know the answer to that.
Definitely, Chris!
Just let me know.
Haha – I like them both for different reasons. There is tons to do in Vancouver but it’s always nice and sunny here in the Caribbean. So I like a mix of both which I get to do which is nice.
Great update Chris. Very motivational to see that you can get fired from your job and continue to be successful online. That is my end goal result too. Hopefully I can get there in the next couple years as well. Would be awesome to live the lifestyle of making my own hours, working from wherever, and making unlimited income. Sounds great to me.
Keep up the great work Chris and thanks again for the interview on my blog.
Hey Michael,
Yes glad I could do the interview and best of luck with the websites you’re building as well ๐
Chris
Thanks Chris. Right now I have two in the works that I am trying to get up by tomorrow and then do another 8 more by the end of the month :). It will be exciting to see the results.
Chris Congratulations!
You really deserve it. It is so good to see the ‘good guys’ who make money online win-win BIG TIME!!
I want to thank you for doing a webinar for my group. We made a nice piece of change but more over you did my first joint venture that went very well for a beginner in the game.
I left online for a minute because of a major Google slap and Google Panda fiasco. But people like you and Spencer (Nichepursuits.com) encouraged me to get back in the game and be among some great company.
Like my son would say,you ROCK!!!
I will see ya at the top, over the top, and at the bank-cha-ching…
Best to ya,
Elon
Nice inspiring post Chris and I’m glad this all panned out for you. Looking forward to seeing your new site when it’s ready.
Mike
Great article, glad to see your insight send some inspiration our way!
Also, not sure if you’ve heard of the “simple reach” plugin before either, but a few bigger websites use it so you can bounce easily from article to article on websites. To be specific, Entrepreneur.com uses it for there articles and I tend to cruise the website a little more with it in place. Thought it may be of interest to you. –> simplereach.com
Hey Eric,
I’ve seen that before on other sites and I’m going to try it out right now thanks for the reminder.
Chris
You are welcome! Glad I could help and it looks and functions great on your website and definitely isn’t too intrusive at all. Glad to see your one year later article appear on the slide out.
Nice dream to own a castle, but asking price will rise by that time it might be economical to build a new castle and name it after your name.
Better you start a new business with that money; manufacturing, investments to build multi-million dollar businesses. Then you can buy as many castles you want!
Best wishes!
Well, I’m sure the price will increase as well and I’d rather buy this castle than any other castle because it’s named after me great ancestors and the history behind the castle is pretty cool. In either case I’m a long way off from where I need to be to buy it still anyway lol…
Chris you are a HERO and a MENTOR! Keep it up sir!
Thanks Mike ๐
If I would ever have a real job again it would be in online marketing at some big known company or I would get back into my real domain, maritime navigation officer, yeah, I know how it sounds, all that school done for nothing. But what can I say, the idea of getting stuck on a big metal boat for 6+ months with other 10-15 men doesn’t work for me very well…
Congrats on thriving since your fireversary (cool word). Look forward to seeing your castle in the future!
Hey Benny,
Hah hah thanks – I need to follow up with you by the way on something unrelated so I’ll send an email over shortly.
Chris
It is plain to see that getting fired was a blessing in disguise. For a lot of people, getting fired would lead them into a place of depression and not knowing what to do. You concentrated your efforts on what you know best and it is working out well for you. I hope you go much further than this and turn what you put as a silly goal into a reality; The Guthrie Castle. ANYTHING is possible!
Thanks Gerri,
I appreciate the kinds words and am happy to have seen you around on the comments for a long time now ๐
Chris
You have a very inspiring story. I’ve been trying to make a fulltime living online for 2 years. My problem is not being able to stay focused while on the net as there are too many distractions. I get very excited when I see money in my adsense account or I make a sale on amazon but the problem is it’s not consistent. I have all the tools, I know what to do, I just have to do it every day. I’m laying out a plan for the new year and, hopefully, I will have my first anniversary of actually making good money from focusing on actual work!
Hey Daisy,
Yes it’s very tough, I even find it difficult still to be able to focus heavily on working every single day as I get distracted on occasion too ๐
I make it a habit to not check specific websites unless I’ve completed enough of the tasks I set out to do.
Chris
Lol, i remember talking about your nintendo websites back in school, look at you now…congrats chris.
Thanks Feng ๐
All the best Chris for the next 2 years, the castle awaits, never stop believing… As for me I just need to stop thinking about setting up a business and get on with doing it, I think the first step is always the hardest…All the best.
Hi Chris, Meant to ask, other than your blogs and podcasts etc can you recommend any other sources of advice/info for the beginner re starting a business on the Internet..cheers.
Congratulations, Chris! Your success is so well deserved. You are exactly right that making money online is not easy and takes a good amount of failure before really getting it right. That said, it is possible to make a full time living online. You are living proof of the dream, keep up the great work.
Best,
Ian
Thanks Ian!
Congrats, I’m glad that you’re better off without that job. People with special talents cannot work under a suppressor for long ๐ Its true self employment sucks but at least one can plan quality time accordingly.
Congrats on all the success. I for one think a castle is a swell idea. Who wouldn’t want a castle? The only downside to them is that the utility bills for them are massive – heating them in the winter is a real nightmare. Of course, you could probably stick some solar panels somewhere ๐
lol, yah well my plan would be to continue running it as an investment property. I wouldn’t live in it lol.
Congrate Chris,You are an honest writer.Keep it up!
Congrats on your fireversary. I am new to your blog but have been devouring the massive amounts of free info contained here. Thanks and I hope to become a regular reader,etc.
Thanks, glad you could make it! ๐
owning a castle is definitely NOT silly. support you all the way!!!!!!!
I came across this joke called ‘Work vs Prison’ and thought it was fitting for this blog post. You might have heard it before. It gives a good perspective of what working for someone else is really like, yet it’s funny at the same time.
In prison you spend the majority of your time in an 8×10 cell. At work you spend most of your time in a 6×8 cubicle.
In prison you get 3 meals a day. At work you get a break for 1 meal and you have to pay for it.
In prison you get time off for good behavior. At work you get rewarded for good behavior with more work. In prison you can watch TV and play games. At work you get fired for watching TV and playing games.
In prison a guard locks, unlocks, opens and closes all doors for you. At work you must carry around a security card and unlock and open all doors yourself.
In prison you get your own toilet. At work you have to share.
In prison they allow you to visit your family and friends. At work you can’t even speak to family and friends.
In prison all expenses are paid by taxpayers, with no work required. At work, you get to pay all the expenses to go to work and then they deduct taxes from your salary to! pay for the prisoners.
In prison you spend most of your life looking through bars from the inside wanting to get out. At work you spend most of your time wanting to get out and inside bars.
In prison you can join many programs that you can leave at any time. At work there are some programs you can never get out of.
In prison there are wardens who are often sadistic and psychotic. At work we call them managers!
lol nice list