You’re reading this post because you want to experience some of that financial success yourself. That’s how I found Pat Flynn’s blog on how to use the Internet as an income stream. Pat’s different than many Internet marketers because he’s succeeded primarily by promoting a solid, non-Internet marketing product: an architectural exam study course. What’s more, Pat is very open about where his earnings come from, and even discloses his web site traffic statistics to help instruct his readers.
Pat generously agreed to answer a few questions about how and what he learned to achieve Internet marketing success. My questions and his answers are below:
Question 1 – What did you study formally in school, and how much of that knowledge contributes to your income/success today?
Pat’s response…
In school, I studied architecture. Although it doesn’t seem like architecture would contribute at all to doing business online, it totally does.
For example, I learned a lot about presentation and getting people to understand my ideas – both through what I was saying and what I was designing. Every line we drew and every piece of every model we built had to have a reason for being there. I apply the same rules online. I’m often told that what I write is really easy to understand and I think it’s because of this kind of thinking.
On a technical level, I’m very skilled with programs such as Photoshop and AutoCAD. Photoshop is an obvious benefit for my online businesses because I can create all of the graphics I need myself, which saves me both time and money. AutoCAD, although not directly related to what I do online, has taught me how to troubleshoot code, which has helped me to figure out a lot of the technical website stuff out on my own as well.
Lastly, being in architecture school has taught me all about getting things done. If you’ve ever had an architecture student as a roommate, you’re very lucky. Why? Because you probably had the entire place to yourself. Architecture students are known for virtually living in their workspaces because there are always new deadlines to be met, and there just never seems to be enough time to get things done. I had a pillow and a blanket stuffed in my desk because I knew that I would save more time by sleeping in studio, rather than going home and having to come back later. For my final project my senior year, I stayed up for 72 hours straight, because that’s what it took to complete exactly what I wanted to do before my presentation.
And in case you’re wondering, after that 72 hour stretch of staying awake, I slept for 24 hours and missed graduation.
Question 2 – Knowing what you know now, would you have made the same educational choices you did in the past? Why/why not?
Pat’s response…
That’s a tough question, because I know that all of the experiences that I’ve had in the past and the choices I’ve made in my life so far, including my education, have led me to where I’m at today. If I hadn’t studied architecture, for example, I wouldn’t have known anything about the LEED exam, which is what my first and most profitable website was about. In that sense, I wouldn’t change a thing. I’m happy with everything I’ve learned along the way.
However, if you had asked me before I exited high school, “If you had the choice to go to architecture school, study for 5 years, work for 3 only to be laid off and live off of unemployment because no one would be hiring at that time, OR, learn about starting an Internet business that allows you to work from home for just a few hours a day, and earn more than you would as an architect, which would you take?” I think the answer is obvious.
Question 3 – What kind of things did you need to teach yourself in order to start making money online, and how did you learn them?
Pat’s response…
All of the technical stuff can be done by other people. You don’t NEED to learn any of those things, although it does help a little. The most important things you have to teach yourself involve the mindset that you must have before starting a business and earning money, regardless if it’s online or off.
First, we have fear. Whenever we start something new, or introduce some sort of change in our life, we’re met by a combination of both excitement and fear. Excitement helps you get things done, while fear is the opposite, and slows us down. Unfortunately, in most cases, fear seems to outweigh excitement most of the time, and this is why good ideas fail.
We have to conquer fear. Yes, we can read and do research all we want, but that doesn’t CONQUER the fear, it only minimizes it. The only way to conquer fear is to just do.
Secondly, we have the idea of perfection. We have to learn that perfection is not necessary. in fact, it’s a killer – a time killer, and an opportunity killer. So many people worry so much about getting things perfect before starting a business or before launching a new product, that they miss out on opportunities to get things done and start making money. As I always say to my readers, “You have to get something on sale yesterday, because everyday you don’t have something for sale is a day of potential profits lost.”
When I launched my first website, it wasn’t perfect. In fact, it was full of dead links and poorly formatted text. But that didn’t matter. The core content was still there, and that’s what matters – because that’s all the people really want. The sparkles and glitter can be added later.
Lastly, and probably most important in regards to the mindset, is the idea of giving up. With anything that requires an exhaustive amount of hard work and dedication, such as going on a diet, working out at the gym, or starting your own business – we’re all going to want to give up at one point or another. Once you give up, that’s it. Your ideas, all the prep work and the potential for a future that you thought you could have all go out the window. That’s why it’s important to know how to not give up.
In my article entitled 5 Ways to Hack Giving Up, I talk about exactly how you can train yourself to never stop trying to achieve your goals. I won’t highlight all of the points here, but the most important one, I believe, is finding a way to get connected and chat with other likeminded people with similar goals as you. That’s why they say it’s always easier to stay on a diet or workout at the gym if you have someone doing it with you. The same goes for online business. Find a mastermind group, and you’ll all encourage each other to succeed and never give up.
Question 4 – All the technology associated with your site and media was probably a beast to learn – how did you stay motivated?
Pat’s response…
Call me crazy, but learning all of that stuff was actually kind of fun. I love working hard on something and having other people enjoy it. That’s why I like to cook, that’s why I studied architecture, and that’s why it was easy for me to figure out all of this web stuff. If it’s fun, it’s not work anymore.
When I did come across a problem that I didn’t know the answer to, or took me longer than 15 minutes to figure out, all I would do was simply ask for help. Your twitter list, your Facebook fans, and even people on forums are always willing to help – it’s amazing.
Question 5 – What are some of the things that are on your current “I’ve got to learn that” list?
Pat’s response…
Most of what is on my “I’ve got to learn that” list involve the skills I need for some of the major projects I have coming up. For instance, I will be hosting a podcast very soon, and I would like to learn about how to get the best sound quality in my recordings, as well as how to better speak on the microphone. To help me with the latter, I’m actually going to force myself to attend some Toastmasters meetings in the very near future.
The other important thing on my list involves learning how to balance working from home with raising a newborn. My wife and I just had our first boy on Christmas Eve (woohoo!), so it should be interesting to see what the work/”be with my son” dynamic will be like, because I can’t help but want to spend every waking moment with him.
I only review/recommend other sites and products that are ethical and worthwhile. Pat’s blog is worth following. You can also subscribe to his email newsletter and get a free eBook on publishing eBooks. You might want to become a Facebook fan or follow him on twitter. If nothing else, read his story in his own words and learn from what he’s done.
Update! Pat Flynn was just interviewed by Problogger Darren Rowse. I’ll post a link as soon as the end product is available.
