The thing I’m most famous for, though still not especially famous(!), is being the owner and author of various online horse racing businesses. I started out in 2006, with an ebook called Trainer Track Stats (TTS), which was a reference manual of profitable trainer angles at each race course in UK.
Since then – I handed TTS over to my good friend and fellow online horseracing business owner, Gavin Priestley, three years ago – I’ve owned and authored numerous websites and businesses online:
- Nag-Nag-Nag.co.uk (now also run by Gavin Priestley)
- TrainerFlatStats.com
- Geegeez.co.uk
- Horse-Racing.ie
- OnlineBettingExposed.com (bought)
- HorseRacingMan.com (bought)
- FootballBettingSystem.com (bought)
- HorseRacingExperts.co.uk
- Laying-System.com
- CheltenhamFestivalTrends.com
- plus numerous others in non-betting niches
Over almost five years I’ve had plenty of ups and downs in the online business space, and I’ve learned a ton of things: what works, what doesn’t work, who to work with, who not to, how to optimally promote, and so on.
In fact, in September 2008, two and a half years ago, I literally had to re-start my business from nothing. That was the ‘genesis of Geegeez’ and, in that business year, I turned over more than £150,000!
So I know how to take a non-existent (let’s call it ‘new’) business and get it up and running in short order. Now, before I go on, I want to draw your attention to a couple of things:
Creating a successful online business – in the horse racing and/or betting space, or in any other niche – is NOT an overnight thing. Nor is it a ten minute a day thing. If you still believe that’s possible, I’m afraid you probably need to stick to scratch cards and lottery tickets. Frankly, there is no miracle solution.
It remains possible that you work really hard on your online business and make no money. If you don’t know what you’re doing, or how to leverage things, you’re likely to struggle in anything in life. Online business is no different. In fact, that brings me onto my next point …
Online business is like a business, only it’s online. If you think that sounds stupid, well yes, it probably does. But read the words again. It’s like a business, only it’s online. It requires much of the diligence that an offline business would, but with a few MAJOR advantages:
– Most solely online businesses sell digital products (ebooks and software), so they have no inventory costs. Or mailing costs. Or items lost in transit. Or damaged in transit. Or stolen from warehouses (note, most digital products are stolen and ripped off – try not to sweat it too much, and take steps to ensure that if things are stolen from you, the thief knows where you are if they like what they burgled. They just might pay for your next product!)
– No premises required. Shops, showrooms, warehouses are all very expensive. And that’s just letting them. Then there’s heat and light (commonly known as electric), staff (unless you plan to work every hour you’re open yourself), and so on.
– You are not tied to set hours, unless you choose to be. So you can work when you want, or even if you want. Note that you still have to work! And work hard, if you have any aspirations of success. But you do it at times that suit you, not your boss.
– You get to work anywhere on the planet that has an internet connection. I only have one other word to describe this freedom: bliss.
Being your own boss is a double edged sword. If you’re hard to motivate, or have little or no interest in either horse racing or statistics (or whatever is the relevant combination of knowledge for your chosen niche), then you’re unlikely to improve your productivity without anybody to check up on you. A mentor or coach is helpful in this regard, but if you’re not motivated by the idea of your own business in the first place, the mentor/coach will not by themselves be able to add the necessary ‘get up and go’ to your work rate.
You also need to be prepared to find solutions to the inevitable problems that creep up along the way. If you were learning Spanish, would you expect never to have a problem with understanding something? What about if you were training to be a chef? Is there a chance you might burn the brulee, or collapse a souffle along the way? [I cannot speak Spanish, nor cook to save my life – literally – but I hope you catch my drift]. Shit happens, and you need to pick yourself up, dust yourself down, get help, learn the lesson, and move on. If you fall down at the first sign of a problem, this won’t work for you.
OK, if you’re still reading, AWESOME! You probably have what it takes to succeed online. 🙂
Frankly, I could have summed those bullets up in two words. Desire and self-belief. OK, that might be three words, but the point is the same. If you want the kind of freedom that comes with running your own show – if you truly want it, rather than just not really liking Monday mornings – and if you believe that with guidance and your own ‘can do’ attitude, it is possible, and that you’re willing to do whatever you can to make it happen, you WILL BE successful. And I want to hear from you.
I will be opening a few spots on my private personal coaching programme – the Horse Racing Experts Platinum Programme – soon, and you might be someone who qualifies to join me.
Before we get to what the Platinum Programme is, and who it’s for, I want to be sure that your main ‘online business’ questions are covered. So if you have any questions about how to get started, how to find a product, how to get technical stuff done, how to ‘sell stuff’, then do leave a question or comment below, and I’ll cover it in a forthcoming post or video.
Also, if you’re currently running a business online and have a roadblock, let me know. Maybe I can help. Leave a comment.
Thanks for reading this. I know a lot of people are back in the office after a nice long weekend. [If you think this week sucks, just wait til next week: then you’ll be looking back at another long weekend just passed, but without the promise of more time off soon…] […Sorry!]
Seriously, there is an alternative, and it’s a fantastic one. I wouldn’t swap my lifestyle now for ten times my old salary, which was decent enough. No chance!
So, if you’re interested in learning more about online business, let me try to help you. Leave a question below, and I’ll answer as many as I possibly can in the next few days.
Matt
p.s. I was up early this morning. Didn’t need to be, but I wanted to record a video. It’s about how to research betting systems using one of the sites online that I’m a fan of. I loved doing it, and unearthed a cool little system while I was at it. That was me ‘working’! Don’t mean to gloat, just saying… 😀