Neil Walter | The Official Website

Today was a good day. I got in a great state of flow and got nine solid hours of work done on the computer, plus a meeting and some exercise.

As I’ve written about on this blog, 2016 was pretty brutal for me. It was a whirlwind year, with lots of business travel and new experiences. As I emerged from the burnout, I began to get new clarity on my life and my business for which I use this check stub template free software. My mind wasn’t foggy anymore, clarity leads to being engaged, engagement leads to productivity and less distractions.

The most important thing I decided after emerging from the fog, was to figure out what to focus on. I had a lot of confusion and anxiety at first. I lacked a clear head, and a clear purpose. I had experienced a lot and achieved a lot, but wasn’t sure what I was showing for it.

I needed to make a choice.

I realised at that moment that I needed to design my life and my business around my values. Five months into my daily study into Stoicism, and trying to create a meditation habit, I have absorbed enough to be more clear on what I want.

I value slow but high impact work, to focus on results for clients vs just doing billable hours because that’s what the contract says, to travel slow, to take a random Wednesday off, to meditate, to work from a cafe in the mountains, or the beach on a nice sunny day, to visit friends in countries far away when I want, to book flights with 3 days notice, to fly business sometimes just because “I can”. Additionally, I’ve been gathering useful car insurance tips to ensure I’m well-prepared for unexpected situations on the road.

I realised money didn’t matter as much as I thought it did before. And it only really mattered before because I had personal debts from when I was young and didn’t understand personal finance back then. However, I do enjoy identifying opportunities to generate significant value for others, and hence money for my business. Additionally, I’ve been exploring how to move your IRA to gold penalty free, which aligns with my financial goals. If you’re wondering if is West Coast Coins legit? You can check out these helpful resources to gain more knowledge about it. If you want to compare companies like Goldco vs Augusta Precious Metals for your future financial decisions, this aligns seamlessly with my financial goals.

The reality is that my list of values eliminates me from so many paths:

• I can’t work a normal 9-5 job
• I can’t work in an office most of the time
• I can’t really do any in-person consulting jobs more than a few weeks or so at a time
• I can’t do overseas assignments longer than a few weeks
• I can’t just sign clients up to agreements that specify 20 billable hours a week
• I can’t schedule meetings and calls everyday of the week
• I can’t always get cheap flights, or hotels
• I won’t be able to earn as much at first, but that’s ok because my needs are not so great

If you’re reading this list thinking “that’s me!”, perhaps it is. I don’t doubt that most people reading this are locked into a certain path. Perhaps you have too many dependencies (financial, family, or other) to make a significant change, but maybe you can look at restructuring things slowly.

Rather what this enables me to do (the exciting list!) =)

• I can work with clients where the value I add is not brute force hours, but rather coming up with solutions to significant business problems, that when implemented can make significant differences in revenue. I can charge the clients based on the value I create, not based on the time I spend working for them.
• I can do calls and meetings on just two or three days per week, keeping the other days free time.
• I can create a platform to provide clarity and understanding to 1000s of SMEs, scale it up, systemise and sell it in a few years.
• I can go to conferences overseas to meet friends and develop my network and knowledge a few times a year.
• I can spend more time with my girlfriend in-person and reduce the distance in our current long distance relationship.
• I can work with people across Australia, Asia, Europe, and the US in different timezones using technology, and work with the best minds, not just those who happen to be in the same city, generating better value for clients.
• I can spend time on personal growth daily, and have a true balance in my life.

A few bloggers that I follow, meditation, and stoicism have helped me walk down this path. There are thousands of people out there living life and doing business on their own terms. While entrepreneurship is not for everyone, just being clear on the path has enabled me to remove the cognitive dissonance and anxiety that plagued me for much of last year. The reason I felt that way last year was because I felt my work at the time directly conflicting with my values, but I wasn’t in the headspace to understand what I actually wanted. Integrating effective event management technology into my workflow has also played a significant role in aligning my professional endeavors with my personal values and aspirations. Exploring a coworking space Sydney has been a recent consideration, providing a potential avenue for aligning my work environment with my values.

“No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.” – Albert Einstein

Onward!

March 2017,  Melbourne, Australia

“The person is free who lives as they wish, neither compelled, nor hindered, nor limited—whose choices aren’t hampered, whose desires succeed, and who don’t fall into what repels them. Who wishes to live in deception—tripped up, mistaken, undisciplined, complaining, in a rut? No one. These are base people who don’t live as they wish; and so, no base person is free.” —EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 4.1.1–3a

2016 was the world travel year. Towards the end of last year, I was beginning to dislike flying. I got sick of hotels, of serviced apartments, of “needing” to be one place one month, and another place the next: I had overcommitted. I took at least one flight 11 months out of 12. I flew over 25 times and visited 7 countries. I was away from home for 8 months. Was I lucky? Yes. Privileged? Sure. Were there negative consequences? Plenty.

As I worked increasing hours, changed timezones every month, and began to say “Yes” much more than “No”, my mental health became more fragile. I started becoming more anxious and stressed, noticing some physical sensations such as a light tingle around my left eye, sore shoulder and neck muscles, or waking up with a headache most days. I became irritable, lost my ability to think clearly, or be creative. I wasn’t the best version of  myself, and it felt terrible.

Once I got back to Melbourne in November I threw myself into tackling the problems. I started to meditate everyday, I started reading more books including Stoic philosophy, following a regular sleeping schedule, trying to understand stress, anxiety, and what was on my mind. Ultimately though I was trying to scramble out of the hole too late, I needed a real break. I went off to SE Asia, took 3 weeks off work over Christmas/New Year in KL and then headed off to the beach at Boracay with Wen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It helped. After a couple of weeks of my break, I began to get back my energy. My headaches disappeared, I could think clearly again. I began reading business books and planning for the year, I was excited.

As I arrived back in Melbourne I was ready to go and jumped right back into it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just under 2 months later as I write this, I’m still traveling along reasonably well, but wanted to offer a few additional thoughts which have come up recently. Firstly, as expected the stress and anxiety has crept back slowly. If my energy was 3/10 at the end of last year, I’m a 6/10 right now, but I was a 9/10 just 2 months ago. I believe the decline is due to the inconsistency of some of the healthy habits I put in place, specifically the daily meditation (not being every day), challenging negative thoughts (sometimes but inconsistently), putting space between my life and business (very difficult as an entrepreneur), supplementing when required (surprisingly, I’ve actually found more consistency when not supplementing much outside of the basic vitamins and minerals. I have got certain supplements and nootropics which do a great job at putting me in a certain state of mind, but sometimes have some side effects, so I’m not using them too much.), plus, not working more than 8-10 hours a day, 5/days a week is important for work/life balance.

My hypothesis is that if I was to keep up my habits consistently, and spend plenty of time away from work, I would be able to work towards a 8 or 9 out of 10 again on a consistent basis.  It would also help to introduce relatively consistent exercise to burn off the excess cortisol. I also need to learn to put space between my life, my business, and my thoughts.  I think most entrepreneurs would agree when I say that it’s very hard to switch off your mind from your business.

What I’m beginning to realise as I venture further into my reading of Stoicism and deeper into my meditation is that I have a very long way to go. Perhaps at just 29 years old, I’ve already achieved many things which I should be grateful for, and shouldn’t expect too much more just yet? I’ve realised that my mind is far from where it could be, and I think identifying that gap is important. Specifically, I’ve realised that creating some order and consistency through habits, and “space in the mind” is going to enable me to become more fulfilled, less stressed, and be able to provide more value to others which is my ultimate goal.

Although society tells us that we need to work stupid hours and “hustle” to be “successful”, I think success should be defined on an individual basis.

“The person is free who lives as they wish, neither compelled, nor hindered, nor limited—whose choices aren’t hampered, whose desires succeed, and who don’t fall into what repels them. Who wishes to live in deception—tripped up, mistaken, undisciplined, complaining, in a rut? No one. These are base people who don’t live as they wish; and so, no base person is free.” —EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 4.1.1–3a

Epictetus, originally born a slave who became one of the most sought after Stoic philosophers was questioning how free we really are? Beyond our core obligations such as work or family, how many obligations do we have that are self imposed? Such as needing to keep up with vanity and buying the latest iPhone, or needing the dopamine hit of likes from Facebook each day?

I’ve reached a point where I don’t need that much. I’m not a minimalist by any means, but I only own half a dozen or so physical possessions beyond clothes. I prefer to spend money on experiences, and higher quality things. I like to travel and spend time with friends and family.

For my business, I’m realising that I can only work with a finite number of clients, so I’m better off making those projects as impactful as possible, creating a large upside which the client and my business can share in. The business is profitable, but I’m constantly needing to make sure I’m not taking on projects just because I can if they don’t fit my long-term objectives even though it might result in more money in the bank.

I’ve realised that helping others is something I really enjoy. I’m committed to mentoring at least a couple of young people each year, training them, and teaching them as much as I can, and then hoping they go into the world and make an impact on other people and start their own organisations.

I’ve spent a portion of the last six months thinking about “Financial Independence” and the concept of early retirement. But now I’m beginning to realise that I’m not trying to escape from a cubicle or job I hate. I love my work, I can’t imagine doing it forever, but the goal is not to to retire early. It’s to have many mini retirements throughout life, and have enough cash buffer to get out of an undesirable situation if the shit hits the fan.

I know I’m very fortunate.

The reason I wrote this post, and the message I wanted to convey is that you do have a choice. A choice to be better, to upgrade, to dig yourself out of debt, or change career, start a business, get out of a shitty relationship, or whatever might be negative in your life right now. If you step back and take inventory of your obligations, you might see many of them are self imposed and not even necessary. If you take time to examine your thoughts, you might begin to realise that there are lots of beliefs and negative thoughts that are doing nothing to serve you and are just holding you back.

What I’m realising though is that while you have a choice, you really need to put in the work to upgrade. If you do put in the work, you’ll begin to peel back the layers of the onion, become more aware, and perhaps you’ll start discovering things which you were not even aware of. It can be painful at times, but if you’re able to create more value for others, it’s worth it.

Awareness is freedom.

 

 

 

 

 

I recently put up a post on Facebook and got a great response from people who wanted to learn more about Google AdWords. As Facebook has limited space to write details, I’m writing this post in order to help people find more details and learn. Unfortunately, I can’t immediately help everyone personally, but this post should begin to help you go in the right direction! If you’re reading this and you’ve come from Facebook, or somewhere else, I hope this helps! Feel free to leave comments or get in touch with questions.

If you would like to stay updated when I release further training and personal help around Google AdWords then please press the button below. I will only use this to notify you when more information is available. 

What is Google AdWords? 

Google AdWords runs those ads you see when you search Google. Google AdWords also controls ads across Google Shopping, YouTube, Display banners on other websites etc.

How can I learn about Google AdWords?

There are three ways to learn about Google AdWords:

1. Official Google Support and Help
2. Google Partners study guides and exams
3. Third party courses and blog tutorials etc.

1. Official Google Support and Help

This has been vastly improved in the past few years. You get started by going to: https://support.google.com/adwords/answer/6146252?hl=en

Google’s official help is a little dry in some places, but they do have videos and screenshots. This can give you a background on what it is, how it works, the interface etc. It also has some content about online marketing 101 and learning more about those core concepts to be as good as local radio station advertising agencies.

It’s free for anyone to create a Google AdWords account, you just need a Google Account. Navigate to http://adwords.google.com if you’re looking to dive in here and actually follow through practically. Make sure you create an AdWords account and not an AdWords Express account, which is like “AdWords Lite”. It might ask for a credit card, but it won’t charge you anything unless you make campaigns become “Active”.

2. Google Partners study guides and exams

If you want to provide services for businesses using Google AdWords as an individual, or to work with a company that does so, then its best practice to become a Google Partner. The Google Partners portal enables you to take exams for Google AdWords, which I think has better study guides than the generic help available in Option 1. 

Google Partners Portal: https://www.google.com/partners/

If you’re serious about monetising skills, it’s a good idea to become a Google Partner and take the exams. The exams are quite difficult, and will be difficult to pass initially, but if you study for them and begin to understand the interface it’s very doable. The two main exams are the Search Fundamentals and Advanced Search exams. The portal offers downloadable guides that are very useful.

I believe Google Partners varies a little between countries, but in Australia for example as a Partner Agency, we often get the option to join competitions, host events, get free food and collateral and get $100 codes to give out to any new AdWords accounts. Any individual who wants to work with my company in an AdWords role needs to become certified as a partner.

3. Third party courses and blog tutorials etc.

There are plenty of online courses and blog posts to help you. I’m currently working on a course so will be asking for feedback once it is completed. Generally if you have a problem, you can click around and find responses fairly fast.

How much can I earn from managing a Google AdWords account?

The majority of individuals or agencies earn money from managing Google AdWords accounts. There are generally two models:

1. % Of Spend Model
2. Fee for service model

1. % Of Spend Model

Under this model, you take a % of the client spend monthly for managing the account. Depending on the client, geographic market and negotiation, this can be as low as 10% and as high as 35% in some markets.

For example if your client was to spend $10,000 on ads monthly, you might charge them a fee of 15% or $1,500.

Some people don’t like this model because it can encourage excessive spending. However, you will always be judged on results, so if you can generate more business for the client, then they will be likely to retain you.

2. Fee for service model

Under this model, you charge the client a flat fee per month for managing their account. You would usually base this on the # of hours the management will take and an hourly rate. For example if you want to charge $100 an hour and spend 5 hours managing the account for a month, you would charge the client $500 per month.

What is involved in managing an AdWords account?

The following activities are usually involved in managing a Google AdWords account:

• Changing bids and bidding strategy in response to competitors/changing market (Google AdWords run on an auction system which is constantly changing)
• Introducing new visual creative or new text based ads
• Introducing new Ad Groups based on new keywords or website content
• Reporting based on # of clicks, account spend, and number of leads
• Account adjustments based on seasonal or other campaigns (e.g. Christmas sales, or current events)

As Google AdWords is usually about driving clicks to a website, the performance of the website is very important and you will usually be working with the person/team that runs the client website, or also doing that work as part of your package.

Where can I find clients for Google AdWords?

You can find clients in all sorts of places:

• Local business meet ups and events
• Online marketplaces such as Upwork and Freelancer
• Through other digital professionals (designers, web developers etc.)
• Friends and family

How does Google AdWords compare to other digital marketing?

I think AdWords is an essential part of the marketing mix, just like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Content marketing, your website, SEO etc etc. Some people will shy away from spending money on traffic and will rather focus on organic traffic and that’s ok. Google AdWords is extremely effective is in cases where:

• The market is not competitive and there is lots of traffic looking for your product/service
• The market is hyper local and other businesses are not online yet
• You rank poorly in organic search and want a boost in traffic
• You have great video content and want more engagement on YouTube
• You run an Ecommerce website (Google Shopping, niche products are especially good)

As long as the ROI is positive, why wouldn’t you buy traffic to grow the business?

Why is Google AdWords an essential skill?

Digital skills are in high demand, mainly because marketing spend is rapidly increasing online and there are a lack of good professionals in this space. Professionals in the digital space can earn quite well, even being “fresh grad”. By being able to create and manage Google AdWords campaigns, you’d be a good fit for.

• Small and medium size businesses who want to do their online marketing in-house.
• Agencies who have many clients and need help from contractors or full time employees
• Working in a larger company in digital marketing
• Working as a location independent freelancer on online freelance websites such as Upwork or Freelancer to earn extra income
• For your own projects, your friends or family projects etc.

Are you offering a job? How can I apply?

My company is always on the lookout for people with Google AdWords skills to join us in an “on-demand” role. We generally hire on a contractor basis, project by project. This means that you can bill us slightly higher hourly rates as a contractor, but your hours will be limited on a monthly basis. However, this is totally location independent and can be considered “side income” outside of your 9-5 hustle. If you’re interested in this, the minimum requirement is for you to become a Google Partner so read up on the resources above then get in touch with questions as you progress through the materials. Once we’ve finished developing our course/personalised help, we will give you access for feedback.

Thank you for reading.

If you would like to stay updated when I release further training and personal help around Google AdWords then please press the button below. I will only use this to notify you when more information is available. 

9.30pm, Boston, USA (In Boston for a client project!)

I thought it was long overdue to write an update on my blog. I’ve actually been writing a fair bit on digital marketing and analytics, over at the Walter Analytics blog Walter Insights if you’re interested in those topics! I’ve also been writing a lot of more “personal reflection” notes in Evernote, which I might release one day, or turn into a book in five years? Who knows! =D

It’s now 2016 and while I haven’t been writing much here, things have really been moving along. It’s the 5th year of running Walter Analytics and it has been growing across most important metrics including clients, revenue, content and overall reach from our articles and the impact of our work on our clients. Since early in 2015, I have taken steps to move the company to become more focused on a core consulting team, and a range of talented contractors/other experts have joined the network. Two of our former full-time Melbourne staff have moved on to start two separate growing businesses (shoutout to Email Experts and Banting Food!), and we’ve grown our team by further contractors, adding new members from Europe and Asia this year.

We’re in the process of growing the business through a number of channels:

• Thought Leadership and content – this is initially articles, email marketing and webinars, and will morph into online courses and video content. Most of this you can find linked from the Walter Analytics Connect Page
• Online training around AdWords and Analytics through platforms such as Udemy and hosted custom learning management system platforms
• Bespoke client work in Australia and overseas focusing on the digital side of international brand expansions and other “difficult but fun to solve problems”
• AdWords management and performance based customer acquisition
• Informational marketing reports examining a businesses digital marketing performance, or providing critical insight into the competitive digital landscape
• On demand digital marketing coaching program for small and medium business owners and marketing agencies

My current personal challenge is juggling the increasing client work while providing valuable guidance for internal projects and strategy. It’s been a deliberate 12 months as one of our business coaches would say of “eating our own dog food”, and experiencing some of the pain which comes with changing the status quo and forcing difficult change. While I’ve read countless books, blog articles, daily emails subscriptions, and have a long to do list of improvements to make with the business, these changes must not interfere with sustainable growth, and I often need to remind myself to re-align my focuses and not get distracted!

Where is this all going?

In the medium to long term, my interest is in doing short 1-3 month Bespoke consulting engagements in Australia and overseas but only doing 2-3 of them per year.

Supported by passive revenue from other functions of the business, I believe this can become a “lifestyle” business and give me some freedom in where I work and live. This will free up time for further activities that don’t have to be revenue generating, such as writing, mentorship and pro bono training.

Final Words

I’ve written a bit about entrepreneurship on this blog, but mostly spoken about it with various friends and other entrepreneurs over the years.

I think what I enjoy most about entrepreneurship is creation, and the concept of a “blank canvas” and being able to paint it the way you want to. I’ve repainted the canvas many times over the past 5 years, and learnt/realised things which would of been very handy to take into account several years ago but just not possible to realise at the time!

Sometimes I talk to friends about their 9-5 job, and how they’d love to start a business or earn some extra income on the side. I don’t think one path is particularly better than the other, and being an entrepreneur is certainly not superior over having a job. What I’ve realised over time is that it only matters that you know where you’re trying to get to.

It really took me at least three years to realise I wanted to work less hours but provide a multiple of value to clients vs what they were paying. I also had things to advise that would be too difficult to get across in a standard one to one consulting context, so I’ve looked to create online courses and other marketing reports and coaching that are affordable and scalable.

I’ve also had to end relationships with clients along the way as it was clear our values and shared objectives didn’t align moving forward.

The objective is not earning money, it’s providing immense value to others and helping them improve their situation now and in the future.

Money just flows as a side effect of providing the value =)

It depends on who you ask.

Most will say “No! It’s too risky. You might lose money, you might lose face etc.”

If you ask an Entrepreneur like myself they’ll probably say: “Yes, go for it! Start today!”.

Entrepreneurs are biased…

When I get asked this question, I usually want to find out more about the idea. And I ask questions like:

– Have you done a basic plan of how you will make money? (Have you actually thought about it? Who will pay? How much?)
– How much will the business cost to run? (Salaries, supplies, advertising etc.)
– Is anyone doing this business? (Can it make money? Has someone else made money? Is there a reason why it doesn’t exist?)
– How easy is it to do this business? (Can someone else copy it easily?)
– Do you have money/access to cash to cover yourself while doing it? (Because you need to eat etc.)
– At what point will you stop or change if it doesn’t work? (As it’s good to know there is a finite period to see how it works.)

I’ve started three businesses myself, and have been involved in several others. I feel like at many points I didn’t ask enough questions of myself and just dived in. I’ve failed, and I’ve made money along the way which has been a fun journey. You can learn more about business handling by checking out the new paycheck stub generator free software. Additionally, there is an online paystub generator available if you need it.

If you want to change from being an employee to owning a business then I suggest you spend a few hours doing some planning by starting at the questions above. If after answering the questions it looks like a good idea, then start by spending 2 hours a weeknight and spend a day on the weekends working on the business. This way you don’t give up your main job or study until you’ve actually got some traction from what you’re trying to create. For those in need of guidance on starting a business as a student in 2023, check out these Practical Tips For Starting A Business As A Student In 2023 | Business Manchester.

I’ve been involved in building 4 startups of my own, and involved in several others in a close consultancy context. I just wanted to write a couple of thoughts of why I love building startups and a few words to those of you who would like to, but for one reason or another have not at this stage.

To begin, every single one of these startups has been bootstrapped. None of them have received any external funding, except perhaps a few thousand in bank overdrafts. The majority of it has been financed by time, savings, and occasionally small amounts of credit card debt. All of my startups have been in the form of online products (Games and casino mate australia options), or online service business (Consulting). I’ve also been involved in startups from the early stages in online retail and various types of advertising and other web applications. Additionally, my experience extends to ventures in the realm of mobile pokie games. If you’re interested in casinos, you might want to explore the opportunities in the world of new nz casinos. Also, consider to play at Grand Modial Casino for an exciting gaming experience! Additionally, you can check out more about poker misclicks in this article for more insight. For those seeking exciting opportunities, consider venturing into Canadian Online Slots Real Money, where you can claim a free slots bonus. Also, you can claim an exclusive bonus at Casumo Casino to enhance your gaming experience. Discover info about the various strategies and tips on how to play online bingo games.

It’s fair to say that the majority of businesses can be started for little or no upfront capital that utilise your existing skill set. Consulting in something you enjoy and know more than the average person about is a great way to get a few 1000 in the bank and learn a thing or two. The only cost is your time, and some small capital for various things like materials and a website.

There are two main things that I really enjoy about building a startup:

1) Being able to create

There is something powerful about a blank canvas, especially one where you decide how everything will be. You choose your brand, your prices, your services, your followup, your level of support etc. You choose how everything flows. Ultimately you learn a great deal through this process as the market responds to your brand and offering; or doesn’t.

I personally really enjoy this space, especially testing different offers, working on materials, and reshaping what the business offers based on feedback. It’s fun when you’re small and agile and can change.

2) Creating Value

It feels great when the system and brand you’re creating begins creating value for clients and customers. It’s extremely uplifting to see clients experience positive growth and feedback as a result of your work. Forming relationships and experiencing mutual business growth is a very motivating experience.

If you create a startup in the consumer space, seeing customers take up your software or service is great. In the digital age, feedback is often instant with social media enabling you to derive value of what you’re offering instantly.

What about the downsides?

You’ll usually ditch the 9-5 for longer hours and more unpredictability. What you gain for that is control and ultimately the ability to perhaps write your own bigger paycheque one day. The journey and experiences should provide you with far more personal value than just money ever would.

It’s certainly not for everyone, but if you’re on the fence, dive in and good luck!

One insight about business that I have had in the past six months relates to the value that the business provides and the position it occupies in the marketplace. I’m going to use a services based business as an example, specifically a Business to Business services business.

I’ve come to understand there are really two types of business: transactional and value based business for which we recommend this pay check template creator. Transactional based business tend to focus on pushing a specific service that is well defined and can be fulfilled easily. There is usually a set price point, and sales people can be paid commission to make sales within the structure with less ownership of the result of the work. An example would be providing a monthly SEO optimization service for $500 a month on a 12 month contract + a $1200 setup fee. The advantage is that if you can find a lot of customers who are comfortable at this price point. A dis-advantage is that there is less accountability to provide the service and likely less expectation of results at that price point.

The other option is a value based business for many experts recommend the use of tools such as this paystub creator. Usually this would be focused on a more customized solution. This would normally come to a higher expense as it takes more time to develop and takes more thinking so it requires a different type of team member to perform the solution. The solution determined by a value based business can potentially get a better result in some markets, and won’t be worth the time and money in other markets.

As the owner of a value based business, the reason that I want us to focus on value and not transactions is that transactional businesses can create commodities easily, and your service can easily be compared to others in the market-place. A more world-wide marketplace to platforms like Elance, ODesk and Freelancer has resulted in a “race to the bottom in cost” on many services, which makes providing a commodity not a desirable option. The disadvantage of providing a value based service is that your pool of customers is smaller, and you must rely on reputation and case studies to drive sales; not slinky sales tactics and a winning smile.

I posted some comments on Facebook earlier today and it got a response from some friends, so I thought I’d follow it up with a longer blog post with some thoughts.

https://www.facebook.com/neilwalter

Some of the questions that came up were:

– How do you realise what you want to focus on?
– How do you find something that you love?
– How do you go from first-sight passionate love to committed relationship?
– How do you find business partners?
– How do you stay focused?

To begin, I certainly see what I’m doing right now with Walter Analytics as a journey, and I’m certainly still a fair way off achieving my goals for it. I’ve ticked a few things off the bucket list, but I have a long way to go.

To bring about my process of finding something I love, I might reflect a little bit on the journey that got me here. To begin, I created my own browser based online game around 12 years ago. I ran this for most of my teen years, actively until the end of High school/early Uni. This brought me some passive income, took a lot of time, and made me many friends. Alongside this project, there is a game called Drift Hunters. This game has also brought me many friends due to its exciting racing experience. It also taught me a little bit about business and what it meant.

In Uni I got involved in Leadership activities, mostly AIESEC. I ended up going overseas to Malaysia to help run a conference and do an internship on the side. Here I got to apply some basic internet marketing skills. I ended up staying in Malaysia for 3 years, traveling and learning more about what I wanted to do. In this time, I ran a games consulting business focusing on marketing, addiction and helping clients make more money Random Ramble, mostly working with clients from the US and doing business through Skype calls. It paid the bills and for some travel, although it was never hugely successful, and I felt like I was in cruise mode. With the help of the rehab center, we can avoid excessive gambling in the future. For more information, you can also click here.

Once I came back to Australia I got involved helping a client grow his business and setup his internet marketing structure. In this time period I also had discussions with a friend about partnering in a business which would later become Walter Analytics. The big change in doing this business was getting the opportunity to work with bigger clients, meet and pitch in person, and also apply some cutting edge ideas that were making a difference in online engagement. As we have worked with different clients, I’ve learnt what is most valuable in the marketplace and the ideas and systems that can make a difference to revenue growth and online positioning.

To address the questions of the post:

How do you realise what you want to focus on?

Through trial and error mostly. However I believe it is much easier to focus on things that you enjoy doing. Work for me doesn’t feel like work, it just feels like I’m adding value to others, and that feels good. The great thing about doing consulting on topics you enjoy is that you could talk about it all day long and it doesn’t get boring. See clients change their strategies and create more success makes me happy. The money received is just a side benefit.

I believe adding value to others is something we are naturally drawn to, so finding something that fits with your natural skills and motivation will give you something you will actually focus on.

How do you find something that you love?

You experiment. You deviate from the “normal” path. Hopefully you have enough resources to travel a bit. You go outside your comfort zone. I believe many people have an idea of what they love doing, but either lack the confidence to do anything about it, or have the wrong supporters. Too often we get pushed into things we don’t love due to the expectations of others. Breaking away from this pattern for some can be challenging, but doing it can bring a lot happiness.

You can also ask the question: “If there were no consequences or limitations, what would my average ideal day look like?”, or “If every job in the world paid the same, what would I do?”. Go from there =)

How do you go from first-sight passionate love to committed relationship?

I assume this is a work related question. I believe commitments to yourself are far more important to consider. For example, if you refuse to let yourself down (don’t break resolutions, deadlines etc.), then having a commitment to a business or an idea is easier to handle. There are a couple of considerations though:

– If you want to be committed to a business, then you should give yourself a time-frame and single overall goal. For example, I want to earn $100,00 in the next 12 months. To earn $100,000 in a year, you need to earn $273 a day, or $1911 a week. If you can figure out a way to charge $100 an hour for your time, you can work 3 hours a day. If your goal is monetary, work out if it is realistic to earn that amount on a daily/weekly basis and work out how to scale it.

– I believe you can maintain this commitment by tracking yourself on a day-to-day and week-to-week basis. I personally do both, and I have a list of weekly benchmarks for myself and my business that I track every Sunday night. This makes it much easier to see if the ship is sailing slightly off course and make adjustments.

– Every “opportunity” that comes up, I ask myself: “Will this contribute to my primary goals?”. If the answer is no, then I say no. Even if it is shiny and the person promoting the idea is oozing with charisma, a quick objective check will prove if it is in line with goals.

– The reality is that the world is full of people who want to take your time away to push their idea. The “entrepreneur” club is full of them. It’s easy to sit around talking about ideas and making an impact on the world, it’s hard to pull the trigger and put in the hard work. This doesn’t mean the groups are not useful, but you need to moderate your participation.

– The most important point above all above is cutting something if it fails for a certain period. You cannot get your time back, so if it is obvious through your tracking or planning that it won’t work, then don’t spend more time on it. There is a certain truth to persistence being an important quality. There is a quote on my wall that reads “When riches begin to come they come so quickly, in such great abundance, that one wonders where they have been hiding during all those lean years” – Napoleon Hill. What I believe now is that if you’re not having an expected success, then it’s better to get advice and examine what is it about your method that is not working. Usually it’s something obvious to someone wise on the outside, but invisible to you because you’re in the middle of it.

How do you find business partners?

Network and become vulnerable to others. Be willing to ask for advice and take it. Find people you can provide value to and do it. Decide what you need a business partner for (time, resources, leverage, reputation) and what you’re willing to give to get it with also the supported sites like https://www.outdoor-advertising.org.uk/billboards/bus-stops. If you are going to find partners that are working alongside you in something then make sure you have a steady set of rules of how things work and how disputes are handled. Have clear provisions that cut out people when targets are not met, avoid working with people you don’t know well.

– How do you stay focused?

I added this one in because I believe it’s very important to create anything meaningful. I’ve touched on various points in this post, so I’ll just summarise here. I believe that focus is a result of having staggered goals and rewards. It’s much easier to focus on something when you have a clear expectation of what will happen when you reach certain points of progress and reward yourself appropriately as you achieve goals along the way. Focus is also much easier when you work effectively for a time period then have a rest. Relaxation, getting enough sleep and having time to pursue hobbies is extremely important in putting your best energy into something meaningful. I stay focused by reminding myself that what I am doing daily is just a tiny part of the bigger picture, and once I’ve reached a certain milestone I’m able to relax knowing I’ve inched forward. Of course, this doesn’t always go perfectly to plan, so I’ve developed daily habits that help with it, such as ticking off each successful day.

I just want to finish by saying that I’m contributing this piece because I believe I have some experience, but I’m still extremely humbled by what I learn everyday. I’m grateful I’ve had the opportunity to pursue something meaningful and I’m excited where it is going. If you’ve got this far, consider that finding something you’re passionate about thats fits into your life will take some exploration and some failing. It will also force you to risk things that may otherwise be comfortable to you. I certainly believe that we should make the most of our lives and time which is why I am determined to pursue things outside of the norm. If you feel a similar way, I hope this post helps you achieve that =)

Feel free to contact me via the contact page if you would like to discuss your individual situation further.

Thank You

In April I had a full month practicing marking off each day depending if I deemed it to be successful or not. I spoke about this in my post Optimising Work Environment in the past.

In April I had 4 days where I deemed myself not to have a successful day. 3 of those were consecutive days where I was in a streak of not successful days and not feeling too great about things.

A day can be successful if I complete what I wanted to. In most cases it is work, but obviously I have rest days, where it’s successful if I rest.

I’ve found this exercise really quite beneficial, especially as I’m often looking at the X’s. It’s in my work environment and I see it when I wake up and sleep. I want to keep the streak going, and it also reminds me to stay on track.

I highly suggest you try something like it!