Friday, August 30, 2002

(Web) Working@Home

August 1, 2002, marked my first year of working exclusively on the Web. It marked the first year of being my own boss -- and growing my own little 'Web Empire'.

My bedroom is my office, and I work my own hours. I have no one to report to, and bundy clocks are off-limits in my home. After more than 3 years of commuting from my home in Laguna to my workplace in Ortigas, and then later in Makati, and back, my commute now takes 30-40 seconds -- the time it takes for my modem to get me on the cyberhighway ramp.

I literally work in my pajamas; and most of the time my feet are on a little foot pedal-cum-exerciser, pedaling away while I beat a client's deadline, or I code the foundations of another income-generating site.

But in the beginning... and all stories -- and businesses -- start at the beginning... nothing was easy. The beginning for me was full of challenges; I screwed up more times than I care to count before I finally found my (Web) rhythm.

With less than PhP30,000 in my savings, and 2 credit cards when I started over 12 months ago, I took the biggest leap of my life: deciding to work for myself rather than for someone else. The decision was both a blessing and a curse, but now, a year later, I am convinced it *is* a blessing.

If there ever is a perfect working set-up for me, a writer, it's working at home, on the Web...

Coming up on Tuesday, 03 September: Coffee, Tea, or Hot Domains & Products?

I'm a domain junkie. I like to buy domain names for the sake of owning them. A year ago, I'd buy an average of 2 domains every week. It was hard to stop when I became addicted to online shopping -- particularly to domain shopping sprees. But somewhere between buying my 31st domain and receiving my latest credit card bill in November, I knew I had to take control of my 'addiction'. When I finally made my brain cells function properly again, I began milking my domains for what they're worth. And oh, how I milked them! Two domains are now bringing in a combined $900-$1,200 a month, and no, it isn't because I joined any online MLMs...

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