How To Chase Your Dream When You’re Broke (Part 1)

I had the good fortune of starting my first business at 19 years old, I kind of lucked into it. The only problem was I didn’t know anything about running a business and that soon caught up with me.

My business was a service business where we ran bread routes for independent operators who owned their routes. These guys hadn’t taken a vacation in years before I started, so business quickly grew.

At the height of the business, I had five employees and we ran routes in three states. Our best year brought in close to $500,000 in revenue. Despite making good income I didn’t know enough about business to not be in the business.

More than that, I was foolish with my spending, I lived like a rock star back then. I bought everything you could think of, I was in my early twenties without a care in the world. Things came to a head when I bought a brand new, fully loaded Nissan Armada which was $55,000. The payments were $1,200 a month but I only made three of them.

What should have been a good life turned bad, pretty fast. I owed money to everyone, my wife and I separated. I can clearly remember sitting in the living room of a friend’s house where I was staying, crying.

My wife and I reconciled but our money problems still remained, to be frank, we were dead broke, living paycheck to paycheck. It was during this time that I first started to dream of leaving this business.

When I sat down and thought about my dream, I knew it involved writing, I love to write. I also knew that I didn’t want to be tied down anywhere, I wanted to be free to travel, see the world and write about it.

It was a life-changing moment when I first read about Amanda Hocking and how she had self-published some books and sold a million copies. I read her story and had hope for the first time in a long time.

I decided to take action, Amanda’s story and a book I read (48 Days To The Work You Love) convinced me this was possible. The only problem: I was broke.

How could I make my dream a reality with no money? How can you?

One of the most searched terms that leads people to my blog is “I’m (insert age) broke, how can I chase my dream?” I read that everyday and my heart goes out to them, I’ve been there and know exactly what they’re going through.

If you’re reading this and you’re broke or living paycheck to paycheck or have a dream but not enough money, I’d like to share a few thoughts with you over the next couple of posts.

What about the internet?

Most of what we do these days is on the internet, so it should make sense that your dream will involve the internet somehow. You may not be a writer but you might like video or you might like audio. You might like to draw or create things.

The internet is a great place to start something at little or no cost. If you really wanted to, it could be no cost. It’s as simple as going to wordpress.com and coming up with a name, within minutes you can have a real website.

We all have different passions and you see that with all the different websites. Even if your dream involved a physical location, you should still start online. There are over 2.3 billion users online everyday and in five years that number is going to triple.

If you’re ever wanted customers or an audience, there’s no better place than the internet. Start your website and start figuring out what you want to do. Do you want to help people get through something you went through?

Do you have a passion for a particular topic? Maybe you craft, have you seen what Ana White built with her passion? She did it at a time when things were rough for her family financially. It’s possible, you just need to start.

Don’t listen to the haters that will tell you that you don’t have “credentials” or that you’re a “self-accredited life expert,” you’re not trying to be a doctor, you’re helping people get through something you’ve experienced. The only credentials people care about and actually follow are real life experience and you don’t learn that in books in a classroom.

Start something you’re passionate about, serve and help others. Ignore the haters and the negative voices of doubt and fear. Life is too short to let them win. Consider starting something online. I’m here if you need help. We’ll continue this on Tuesday.

Have you started an Internet business? If you have, why online?