Your Portable Empire: How to Make Money Anywhere While Doing What You Love

Chapter 22. On the Back Roads with a Portable Empire

Colin Joss

In late November 2006 I launched my first e-book, Inspired Attraction, on an unsuspecting public.

For most of the first day, I sat at my laptop computer, clicking the refresh button every couple of minutes, waiting for the sales to roll in.

And surprisingly they did. By the end of the first day, I'd earned $154.54. By the end of the first week, I'd earned $2,129.70. And by the end of the first month, I'd earned a jaw dropping $5,926.09.

I had a grin to beat the Cheshire Cat.

Less than a year earlier I was struggling in a nine-to-five hell, living for the weekends and family vacations. If success was a journey, I was broken down on the side of the highway.

But now, with Internet marketing, I'd discovered a back road to financial freedom and peace of mind.

Like most people I'd tried to make my fortune on the Internet before. I'd heard the runaway success stories of Google and Lastminute.com. All I needed was a million dollar idea and a hot web site.

But after the fourth or fifth web site failed, I abandoned the sites like junked cars at the side of the highway.

After that, I read there was money to be made with online auctions. I bought a trinket from a local store and listed it on eBay. And it sold.

With the profit, I bought a couple more trinkets and listed them. Both failed to sell. By that time, however, the thought of a spare room crammed with products and endless trips to the post office killed my desire for an eBay fortune. ...