This is a subject I seldom talk about: switching job from sales job to another job function. I have experienced it in 2008 when I re-enter the job market, but other than that, there's so little to talk about.
Not like our previous discussion on determining your value in a company. There's so much to gossip on that subject but we better leave it for another day.
But I'll just share the little experience that I have.
It felt good, initially, to finally be able to do as you please; no call need to be made to customers, no boss to show the day's or project progress, no paperwork, almost nothing related to job, and I thought I was going to enjoy moment like that for the longest time.
But NO!
A few weeks passed and a sense of boredom creeping in. I felt something was wasted. I just feel it but I don't know what it is.
Until I stumble upon online business:
My days began to change.
Now, I had something to look forward to. I live everyday in anticipation. "What will I be doing tomorrow?" was the constant question I asked myself.
For some of us, who have no idea what an Online Business is, here's my simple, brief explanation:
I started off with promoting other people products and earned commission from them. Such operation is called "affiliate marketing".
I only get to know recently that there are people, out there, who "despise" such operation and some people really make a "killing" as affiliates.
For me?
It's a "hit and miss" relationship. I DO earn with some programs and products, and just flop with another. In another words, my earning as affiliate marketer (if I can call myself that) was pretty inconsistent.
Then I evolve.
I got my hands on an offer one day, and the next day, I was a proud owner of a digital e-book store. YES! This business model looks appealing and I was expecting high turnover from it.
The way I run my e-book store operation back then was like this:
I would acquire digital products from producers or authors, and I purchase resale rights for them. They can be e-books, website templates and software. Technically, I owned these products, and the best part was, I don't need to crack my head to create them.
And with that, I can earn higher margin than by becoming an affiliate per se.
Oh! I need to mentioned this also, while I still remember it:
I've used this blog once, to "replicate" what I do in the real world: selling healthcare products. I signed myself up with a few online pharmacy, and I promote products that were too familiar for me (which were manufactured by a company I used to work for).
And I expect to make a "killing" doing that too!
But that was way, way before authority ban online pharmacy. I'm happy to report that I've never made a single dime from the outfit. Otherwise, I would've grieved for what I've done.
Let's just say I am highly ethical person.
Back to e-book store or back to my online business venture:
You see, going online requires certain skill sets. I realized that I know how to sell. I know what it takes to turn product to revenue.
But what I didn't know was, online, the way to sell is TOTALLY different from offline or on the street. I suddenly hit the wall and discovered that I need to know, more than what I already knew, to sell using the internet.
One critical skill is "Copywriting".
This particular skill was not taught, neither during my study years nor during my working stint with the previous sales job.
I was struggling, but in a favorable way.
You see, I never felt like my chore, learning and practicing how to write copy, a torture. I learned new thing and "meet" new people daily. I embraced that fully.
I grew everyday. That's how it was.
And one of the obvious lessons I've learned, and tend to miss until later, was:
Business can take you as far as your profitability permits!
Yup! How did I miss that one?
When my cost to purchase new products to resell increase, when my cost for own domain and hosting increase, when my cost for advertising increase, and my profit was way too low, I went belly up. It was not easy. It was not pretty either. But it's a lesson I'll remember forever.
And at last, I re-enter the job market. To prove my self worth, I joined another industry, but
still sticking to the same thing: selling.
I still got a few points to share with you but I have to scroll way down to find this paragraph...
...it's a sign that I need to wrap this up :-)
So, what are the take home message?
If you planned to or forced to move from a job, you have variety of options to choose from. I've shared you mine, which hinge around business and internet, and the pre-requisite before you can pick it up.
You probably will end up re-entering job market, like me, but you'll end up with something anyway,
whether you venture online or off.
I recommend you get yourself educated first. Armed yourself with the right skill sets and tools and plan properly.
You can't go wrong doing what is right.
Not like our previous discussion on determining your value in a company. There's so much to gossip on that subject but we better leave it for another day.
But I'll just share the little experience that I have.
It felt good, initially, to finally be able to do as you please; no call need to be made to customers, no boss to show the day's or project progress, no paperwork, almost nothing related to job, and I thought I was going to enjoy moment like that for the longest time.
But NO!
A few weeks passed and a sense of boredom creeping in. I felt something was wasted. I just feel it but I don't know what it is.
Until I stumble upon online business:
My days began to change.
Now, I had something to look forward to. I live everyday in anticipation. "What will I be doing tomorrow?" was the constant question I asked myself.
For some of us, who have no idea what an Online Business is, here's my simple, brief explanation:
Online business is when you use the internet to run certain type of business. Space and time are limited to explain all the type of possible business you can run online, but, again, I'll share with you what I did back then.
I started off with promoting other people products and earned commission from them. Such operation is called "affiliate marketing".
I only get to know recently that there are people, out there, who "despise" such operation and some people really make a "killing" as affiliates.
For me?
It's a "hit and miss" relationship. I DO earn with some programs and products, and just flop with another. In another words, my earning as affiliate marketer (if I can call myself that) was pretty inconsistent.
Then I evolve.
I got my hands on an offer one day, and the next day, I was a proud owner of a digital e-book store. YES! This business model looks appealing and I was expecting high turnover from it.
The way I run my e-book store operation back then was like this:
I would acquire digital products from producers or authors, and I purchase resale rights for them. They can be e-books, website templates and software. Technically, I owned these products, and the best part was, I don't need to crack my head to create them.
And with that, I can earn higher margin than by becoming an affiliate per se.
Oh! I need to mentioned this also, while I still remember it:
I've used this blog once, to "replicate" what I do in the real world: selling healthcare products. I signed myself up with a few online pharmacy, and I promote products that were too familiar for me (which were manufactured by a company I used to work for).
And I expect to make a "killing" doing that too!
But that was way, way before authority ban online pharmacy. I'm happy to report that I've never made a single dime from the outfit. Otherwise, I would've grieved for what I've done.
Let's just say I am highly ethical person.
Back to e-book store or back to my online business venture:
You see, going online requires certain skill sets. I realized that I know how to sell. I know what it takes to turn product to revenue.
But what I didn't know was, online, the way to sell is TOTALLY different from offline or on the street. I suddenly hit the wall and discovered that I need to know, more than what I already knew, to sell using the internet.
One critical skill is "Copywriting".
This particular skill was not taught, neither during my study years nor during my working stint with the previous sales job.
I was struggling, but in a favorable way.
You see, I never felt like my chore, learning and practicing how to write copy, a torture. I learned new thing and "meet" new people daily. I embraced that fully.
I grew everyday. That's how it was.
And one of the obvious lessons I've learned, and tend to miss until later, was:
Business can take you as far as your profitability permits!
Yup! How did I miss that one?
When my cost to purchase new products to resell increase, when my cost for own domain and hosting increase, when my cost for advertising increase, and my profit was way too low, I went belly up. It was not easy. It was not pretty either. But it's a lesson I'll remember forever.
And at last, I re-enter the job market. To prove my self worth, I joined another industry, but
still sticking to the same thing: selling.
I still got a few points to share with you but I have to scroll way down to find this paragraph...
...it's a sign that I need to wrap this up :-)
So, what are the take home message?
If you planned to or forced to move from a job, you have variety of options to choose from. I've shared you mine, which hinge around business and internet, and the pre-requisite before you can pick it up.
You probably will end up re-entering job market, like me, but you'll end up with something anyway,
whether you venture online or off.
I recommend you get yourself educated first. Armed yourself with the right skill sets and tools and plan properly.
You can't go wrong doing what is right.
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