We are having a good start to the year here at the channel. I am stoked on all the progress and I am stoked that I can STILL say it hasnt been a year since I started this project.
I cannot tell you how scary it was to leave a cushy job to take a risk on my life. I could not get fired from my old job, if I was late nobody cared, and I could leave when I wanted as long as programming was done for the day. I could take days off when I wanted and I could ask the bosses for raises when I wanted. I got all the credit for everything programming. I had all of the recognition I could ask for after 8 years tennure. I was booked solid with lessons and clinics and even had coaches running lessons and clinics underneath me. I recieved commission off of each programming sale and the sale of my student coaches.
Why would I leave that?
Here is the answer. Even though I got everything in the paragraph before, I was making next to nothing compaired to what I invisioned an almost 40 year old with 25 years of experience in his field. My dad was making over $30 per hour at my age with less years experience in his field and he wasnt even in charge of others. I used this as my guideline. I saw a meme with a cartoon character with his head down saying "I should have accomplished more by now".
That hit me hard. Real hard. I had just asked and gotten denied a particular raise, and I knew it was time for me to explore what it would be like to make my own money... starting from scratch. I listened to all of my students, their parents, my adult clients, and my peirs. For years they have been telling me to start my own business because I have the characteristics to make it work. I never had a lot of confidence in myself becuase of all the failing I have done. To gain more confidence I started reading books and watching videos of self made millionaires.
Then one day my boss gifted me a book "The 21 Irrefutable laws of Leadership". I ate it up. I considered my denied request for the pay I was looking for, I took a deep look into my life, my daily encounters, the stress some of my co-workers brought to me, combined with the compensation ratio of time vs. pay. I decided myself I could accomplish more. I took the risk. The same risk every self made millionaire I read about took. The same risk my bosses took when they started their company. I quit my job and started my own business and went full time with it immediately.
I saw a lot of success in my first month of making videos and starting a website. I have a third of my current subscribers in my first 2 weeks. Since then growth for the channel has been extremely slow. I sold merch to every person I knew, but now cannot sell to anyone I dont know. So needless to say, it slowed down and things got a lot more grim. I started regreting my decision to quit my dream job in chase of my vision of creating more money and opportunity for myself. I had always my whole life worked for someone who decided how much money I make and decided how many hours I had to commit to. I never had that experience of making my own decisions and paying the consequences for the wrong choices, and cashing in on the good ones.
But I knew, from all the new books I had read and all of the videos I watched, that quitting was the worst thing I could do. The more I do with the channel, the better I get.
Im waking up earlier with goals and purpose. Im cultivating relationships and gaining supporters. Im constantly trying new things. Im constantly evaluating the things that arent working. Im not stopping the conversation. This is going to happen.
This spring we unleashed an extremely organized Season 2 on the YouTube channel with the Season Fanale set to be released early next week. We have accumulated 2 new sponsors for the channel. I have partnered with 4 local shops here in the area and have ran, or are scheduled to run free clinics to meet new clients. I have an opportunity to coach a group of kids twice each month for a paycheck. I have gotten myself a social media account to run through a local landscaping company due to the experience I obtained using my camera and social media to promote my own business. This pays the bills. I took on a 3 day a week 30 hour a week bike shop job in order to grow my coaching business and get clients handed to me through an already existing business. This is huge because this is how I got so much exposure to be a coach in the first place,,, the company I worked for handed me clients. I now have that again. I have a membership program that grows each month. Im coaching lessons each week. Im making ads for my friends who own their own companies and have been successful at getting them business, and me making commissions. I have my new invention IN HAND!!! Going to Portland soon to get them powder coated and boxed ready for sale.
I have many more things in the works. I am working on getting all of my "Coaching Tools" and slowly obtaining each piece I need. I have a tool to teach the perfect bunnyhop and jumping 101 lessons. I have a Grind rail to teach the BMXers to grind. I have a little kicker ramp to help riders learn fakies (riding backwards). I have the tools needed to do bike repairs on the fly. I have a bike work stand. I still need a manual machine, a airbag lander, a metal framed launch ramp for said airbag, a generator, and a truck and trailor. Then I can drive around and have the tools I need to run clinics anywhere!
Im stepping my conversation game up. I have been asking for partnerships and logos to make myself look like I am sponsored. Im now asking for financial backing and bigger favors to move the business forward. I havent had any success here, but remember what the worst thing is that I can do? Im not stopping. I have been taking online marketing classes. I have been meeting with retired proffessionals who have been able to help me streamline my goals and have a better organization of them. EVERY ONE OF THESE MENTORS HAS TOLD ME I AM GOING TO BE MORE SUCCESSFUL AT THIS THAT I THINK. And I HAVE THE CHARACTERISTICS NEEDED TO SUCCEED. And TO NEVER STOP!
Thanks for reading this. Consider joining my membership program on my website. There is even a FREE teir. Try it out. Cancel anytime. Upgrade if you like it.
Coach
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