the long, long road...
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- dconstrukt
What a long road it's been to get here...
I started off as a designer... while in advertising school here in Miami, i needed to make extra cash, so I was designing graphics and websites for people...
probably like many of you guys reading this.
One day, I stumbled on these people who were making money from the internet... and started designing sites for them... this is back in 2000-2001... when you had to convince people to spend money on a website.
had some clients that were banking HARD... so I would drill them with questions to learn and see how they were making so much money.
Keep in mind, I come from a very middle class family. My dad was a car mechanic and worked so damn much I didn't get to see him that much, my mom worked in a dept store.
These dudes were making more in a month than my folks were making a year and it seemed like they were barely working.
long story short... took what I learned from these guys... I started a site selling some info product and crazy enough, it took off...
made 100k the first month.
keep in mind at this point, I had 2k to my name.
2k to 100k.
life changing.
I was on top of the world.
I remember coming downstairs to tell my folks that I just made 10k and they were like "yeah ok"... went back down a few hours later "dad... I'm up to 22k"... then he was like "what? what are you doing?"
everything I did was to make my dad proud.
he worked so damn much I just wanted to make him proud of me and to help him so he didn't have to work so much and so hard.
3 weeks later my dad was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer.
FUUUUUUCK.
it was the worst possible news anyone could get.
You never think this shit is going to happy to you.
Ever.
I nearly went bankrupt getting him whatever kind of treatments we could find to help him, however he passed 2 and a half years later.
it was like my entire reality was shattered.
Everything I thought about life was wrong.
Things I was chasing didn't matter.
What I thought was important, wasn't at all.
I spent the next few years in a fog... I smoked more reefer than most humans would in 2 lifetimes... I think I played call of duty all day and smoked reefer... that was it. (I got really good at call of duty tho)
I couldn't even tell you anything about the first few years other than that, cuz I honestly don't remember.
Finally, 3 years later, things started to calm down and I had my head out of my ass.... and then my mom gets it!
Luckily they caught it early and she's ok.
(thank god)
the last few years really made me think about where I was in life and what I was doing... and what I wanted moving forward.
I had no clue what was my next move.
Until I met a self made multi multi millionaire... dude is 32 and worth over $600 mill.
while smoking reefer with him one night in miami (see a theme here?)... he asked me what stuff I was working on....
he told me point blank...
I don't know shit about your current stuff but I know its just a money maker... you're never going to get rich doing this unless you somehow get really lucky with a great offer or some new traffic source.
And deep down, I knew this was true.
I had been thinking about this same thing for a couple of years.
But you know when you're in your thing, its hard to just stop and do something else... especially with bills, family etc.
I was somewhat struggling (for me), hovering around the same income level for a few years and I could see the possible decline coming.
Thats when I told him about this crazy software Idea I had.
I bought the domain name a few years ago just out of a crazy idea I had. didn't even think anything of it afterwards... you know, just an idea you had and your'e back to your normal life.
well this guy thought the idea was fucking great and encouraged me to do it.
me... the designer... building software.
LOL. okay... why the fuck not?
man... I've been learning everything on the fly as I go.
made a bunch of mistakes, but I'm happy to say...
18 months in and we are almost done with the software and ready to launch. I've poured in a bunch of cash into this, it's GOT to work and I'm busting ass to make this a success.
There is nothing else like this in the market.
I still need to work on the front end site and more importantly the marketing to get new users.
posting this for a few reasons....
1. I was a member here from day 1 and this site and community helped me over the years so much. I used to love coming to NT and seeing all the cool new design stuff....
all the kickass shit I was in awe with....
back then it was 2advanced... hillman curtis... and all these swedish designers doing some crazy "tech" designs I only dreamt about being able to do back then.
2. I want you guys to think bigger.
just cuz we are designers doesn't mean we can't think bigger and do more. We have MAD SKILLS people are dying for. Don't sell yourself short.
partner with the right people who have opposite skills from you and you'll crush it with the right mindset and a good work ethic.
I realized I'm great building things, but I suck at traffic generation, so for those businesses, I just partner with someone great on that side and it allows me to make money by focusing on my core strengths.
3. I want to make a big fucking splash in the market...
I'm on a shoestring budget (for now) and for me its about using the skills I have to outsmart and outwit the competition... my creativity, ingenuity and skill set. (plus a little help from the reefer lol)
I want to show the market that someone like me CAN do this and be successful and do it their way.
so if you know any kickass video guys feel free to comment and lets talk. :)
Thanks for reading this crazy rant.
Hope it helps you or inspires you.
happy to answer any questions.
D
- since19792
Thanks for sharing your experience. You are right money isn't everything but I find that it does matter.
Life seems to always demand a balance.
I am in Broward, if you are still in the area and want to explore possibilities you can message me.
- thx dude. just PM'ed you on FBdconstrukt
- Broward? sounds like some sort guys only patreon website. Help a bro out with browards...fruitsalad
- lolsince1979
- "let's bro afterwards... "
Browards.since1979
- fruitsalad2
- "ooh, the cocaine...."since1979
- ladies and gentleman... introducing troll #1... fruitsaladdconstrukt
- It's not trolling man. It's just a "whoah, okay" after quite a story. Chill.monospaced
- @monospaced, what the fuck am I a mindreader or psychic? show me where this post says that? IMO this is a troll.dconstrukt
- huh? it's what she's saying in the gifmonospaced
- yeah dudes, after an emotional long post, it just seemed very 'QBN' to go with a Hillary 'whoah, okay..'.fruitsalad
- dconstrukt must be fun at parties! SMH.chukkaphob
- ask your momma, she didn't complain :)dconstrukt
- @fruitsalad... i all good bro.thx for clearing it up :)dconstrukt
- @dconstrukt OMG, I haven't heard that comeback since primary school. So clever. So strong. You are amazing at this!chukkaphob
- funny, your mom was saying the same thing the other night... i had to dump the bitch cuz she sucks in bed.dconstrukt
- now go grab me a beer jabronie.. and when I want you to talk, I'll point at you, until then go back to that dungeon called your mommas basement and play WoWdconstrukt
- bahaha! just like i said... immature dorkiness, paired with try-hard-to-sound-co... lameness: confirmed. LOL!chukkaphob
- *try-hard-to-sound-c...chukkaphob
- Gnash2
yes, thanks for sharing. and sorry to hear about your dad.
- Gnash3
when your'e able to, post your product.
- will do... as soon as we get the front end site up...dconstrukt
- deathboy-3
- Hayoth2
Great story. You got this man.
- GeorgesII1
great post man, life is a goddamm rollercoaster,
I wish you the best on your project- thanks dude. yeah no shit... its been crazy as fuck.dconstrukt
- exador13
as another long-term member here (actually, at this point, i guess we all are ;) I couldn't be happier for you and your success (which I'm sure is immenent
Super sorry to hear about your Dad... but glad to see things were treatable with your Mom...
as GeorgesII said...life's a rollercoaster...like everyone else here...looking forward to seeing your product/service etc...whatever it might be...
post it when you can dude...all the best!
- thanks dude... its been up and down, i've done okay over the years (its all relative) but shit, if I can do it, anyone can.
will post it when its live. :)dconstrukt
- thanks dude... its been up and down, i've done okay over the years (its all relative) but shit, if I can do it, anyone can.
- utopian1
website address?
- sorry about your dad, and a great story!utopian
- thx dude. appreciate it. when we get the site built, i'll post. theres literally nothing there, been focused on the softwaredconstrukt
- cannonball19780
African mango?
- _niko8
I always felt that we have something quite special here, but I also feel we spend too much time bickering and shit talking to really help each other out and excel.
How do you say we're proud of you without sounding like a total cunt lol
- thanks man. sadly, qbn has turned into a den full of lotsa trolls. sadly. back in the day it was rocking and everyone was super cool to everyone. And thx a lot.dconstrukt
- <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<keewee
- dconstrukt
so now we arent cool anymore :(sureshot - We weren't cool - that's what makes us cool ;)matski
- We've always been assholes, trolls and alright types on here. Just depends where we are in our cycle...detritus
- the place went down hill if we're being honest, back in the day everyone was cool, now as you can see from some sidebar comments, trolls galore :-(dconstrukt
- Fax_Benson1
what happens if you try to embed a tweet on here? I'm assuming it doesn't work and you look like a tit?
- noneck12
"partner with the right people who have opposite skills from you and you'll crush it with the right mindset and a good work ethic."
This is the fucking truth. I was telling this to another designer last night.
You can make a little bit of money as a designer, climb the greasy pole at some studio/agency, maybe start your own firm, but it's all shit. You'll struggle every day against people who are just as talented as you, have the same ideas, and are after the same clients.
But if you want to have more fun, and more money, partner with someone else (not a designer), and go into business. Bring your talents, your experience, your insights to a totally different field. You'll do so much better than any of your competition. They won't have a chance.
Great post.
- "climb the greasy pole" I'm going to use that oneArchitectofFate
- Like what kind of field?bainbridge
- But if you find your equal, work may be fun and you guys can become famous for one thing / style.bainbridge
- I've been searching for this. Partner, where art thou?Mattjanz3n
- I think that's what my boss and his partner did. Partner left 2 years ago, he was the designer. My boss thinks he's a designer and it's all shit now. Good one.Maaku
- dude, we have SUCH an advantage over most online cuz of the design skills, don't sell yourselves short. People NEED what we do.dconstrukt
- Bennn1
"I started a site selling some info product and crazy enough, it took off... made 100k the first month."
What are "info products" ??
- https://web.archive.…bokse
- https://web.archive.…bokse
- http://www.insiderin…bokse
- http://www.insiderin…bokse
- https://www.youtube.…bokse
- : oBennn
- . . .deathboy
- ughrobthelad
- basically sucker bait.fadein11
- LOL. for ex. I have one site with a friend from HS who is a fitness pro & trains pro/amateur golfers to add yards of distance, so we made a product for golfersdconstrukt
- it works. I met my wife with it, and we have over 40+ guys who have as well, plus hard to refute the proof. I wouldn't have been in playboy, wsj if it was fake.dconstrukt
- but you know what they say, haters gonna hate, right fadein11? :)dconstrukt
- fadein11, maybe you should hustle as hard as you hate. :)dconstrukt
- noneck3
Partner with someone totally unrelated to design.
Like, let's say your wife is really into yoga. Partner with her on a yoga studio. Let her be an expert on yoga and running the studio, classes, instructors, etc. is her area of responsibility.
You design the shit out of everything. You work with her on the name, but you work up the full identity program, marketing, studio design, website, etc.
When you start up, because you've put $100k+ worth of design into the place, you're way beyond any of the competition. Your studio has a unique advantage that's going to be very difficult to overcome.
This is something that I've done personally, and I've seen friends do it as well.
- yeah, my landlord when I lived in amsterdam did that, was really rich, would partner with ppl with other skills/assetsdconstrukt
- ideally someone who is good with TRAFFIC generation - since you can design. this works great (at least for me)dconstrukt
- microkorg2
Enjoyed reading that. A lot rings true over the other side of the pond too.
When I hear stories about people nearly going bankrupt it reminds me of how lucky I am to be living in a country that has a free national health service and pray it remains that way.
Your article is also a reminder for me that I need to kick my ass into gear and get back on track with a side project that'll be both fun to do and hopefully bring in some extra moneys.
Look forward to hearing what your project is.
- dude. you got this. if you got design skills you've got a BIG headstart over most ppl.dconstrukt
- I just need to finish the actual website now... LOL just started doing mockups and shit. been so focused on the damn software and trying to figure that all outdconstrukt