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The title says it all – Happy New Year 2020.
Looking at 2019, it was the year when I tentatively returned to working online to build a part-time retirement business, having had more or less a year off for my move to Norwich UK.
Sadly the businesses I was promoting in 2018 just before I made my move didn't stand the test of time. I stopped promoting them just before I moved because I wasn't happy with the trends they were showing so I could no longer recommend them.
After moving I took a break from online business, because I was more interested in settling into Norwich, getting my house in order and making new friends and connections here.
Happily all those areas have been successful, I love it here and was just saying to my Dad this afternoon, it's been the best move of my life.
What Didn't Work in 2019?
Business-wise, 2019 wasn't such a success story.
Having decided to look for something new, I spent the last few weeks of 2019 evaluating businesses to replace what had been working in 2017 then stumbled in 2018.
I have mostly spent that time reconnecting with ‘old' friends and deciding what businesses to promote going forward. It turned out that many of them were also unhappy with what they were promoting, so there was a general unease in those of us with a conscience.
So I looked further afield and found had two candidates for 2019.
The first I should never have joined. It was a startup (always dangerous) and too hypey by far. Not my style at all. Smacked wrists to me for being taken in.
More to the point, it needed such deep pockets I wouldn't wish it on anyone (unless they already have a huge mailing list – which I didn't, and neither do most people I know). On the positive side, I will say that I took it on as a one month trial and the company honored their promise that if it didn't work out they'd refund my start-up costs quibble-free, which they did, so thanks for that.
Time wasted, rather than money. (Of course, time can never be replaced, money can….)
The second was also run by very ethical marketers and I love their products. However, the product licensing path I chose wasn't cheap and while it was actually excellent training and value, full participation still needed deeper pockets than mine.
Others in the same group have been successful with it, and anyone interested in product licensing is welcome to contact me for a chat about it. Although I still recommend these marketers I'm no longer an approved affiliate for their product licensing program, so have no axe to grind.
Looking at the positives, the successful part of both those programs was that they did what they promised and built me a list of newsletter subscribers, so all was not lost.
My Blog in 2019
I have been plagued with blog commenting problems in 2019, and although several friends and technical support guys have tried to help, sometimes my patience has been stretched to the limit and I'm sorely tempted to just turn off comments altogether. The jury is out. I'm trying yet another another approach, but haven't the spare time to keep wasting on this, especially when most comments are obvious link-drops by people trying to promote their own site.
Do they think I am completely stupid? Let's see what happens in 2020….
So… What For 2020?
My blog problems and initial explorations of 2019 left me wondering what to promote, if anything.
I'll be honest, it could well have been nothing based on my disappointing experiences.
Then a couple of previous contacts from ‘way back', seeing me online again, got in touch with me and I am evaluating two different programs.
UPDATE MAY 2021
Haha – well who could have seen 2020 coming? But with it there was the usual culling of programs that failed to deliver on their promises.
But still delivering, and going from strength to strength….
VCCrowd Private Members Club – This is a definite keeper for me, assuming it keeps up as it has done (after just a couple of months). I bought their Advent Calendar offer and it delivered more than the promised value (with no promotion – it was just their Christmas special offer). Initially I was nervous about promoting because of the industry, but I showed it to one friend whose career was in financial services and he was satisfied with the compliance side of the business and joined right away.
Although you've probably missed their Advent Calendar offer, they are involved with several exciting businesses and I've finally found something I'm proud to promote.
Click here to learn about long-term wealth generation.
(Update December 2023 – I am still extremely happy with VCCrowd, and still earning from it every month.)
Happy New Year 2020
So that's my round-up of 2019, which was a bit of a washout for online business, and resulted in a clear-out.
But my researches have left me with renewed enthusiasm for 2020 so all the remains is for me to wish you and your family a very happy and successful 2020.
