I had a great opportunity to interview Scott, author of Broke to Ballin. I found Scott in one of my favorite forums stating that he has recently quit his day job. I was interested to hear how he quit his job and what he does for a living now. With that said, I asked Scott if he would be able to answer some questions for me about how he went from Broke to Ballin'.
Lets Start the Interview:
Thanks for your response and I hope that I and others can learn from you and your personal experiences. With that said let us start the interview.
Ian: Scott, How are you can you please introduce yourself to me and the other readers?
Scott: Yeah, my name is Scott Murdaugh. I've been making money online for about six months, primarily with search marketing, but I do some other stuff too, web design, selling stuff on ebay, what ever is making me money at the time.
Ian: I decided to interview you because of a post within DigitalPoint forums, which I see is you favorite forum. You posted that you have quit your job, may I ask what your previous job was?
Scott: I was still working in my families piano store. It can be a fun job sometimes. There's some decent money to be made in that business if your heart is in it. It's just not what I want to do with my life.
Ian: How has not having a job makes you feel?
Scott: A year ago I'd be scared to death. But, I've got a little bit of experience under my belt now. If I can take what I was doing part time, and replicate that full time, I'll be earning a much more comfortable living than I ever have with a regular "job."
Ian: I also understand you are a veteran of the US Air Force? How long were you within the forces and how has that helped you with your entrepreneurial mind?
Scott: I just did one term with the Air Force. It's something I'll always be proud that I did, and I'd be lying if I said it didn't play a part in shaping who I am today.
I started playing online poker in the Air Force. That got me interested in poker affiliate programs, and a poker business project actually got me into web design, so it's kind of played itself out from there.
Ian: I also understand you use to sell computers, pianos and houses – how has that came about?
Scott: For extra money I used to build computers in my spare time, and sell them to people I know.
The piano thing is something that I really just got thrown into, my dad's been selling pianos his whole life. I barely even play the piano, but you can be really creative when you sell them, it can be fun when you're making money.
I never sold houses. I was a loan officer for awhile, so I sold money. I liked that job alright, but I wanted to go out and network with realtors, builders, and other people for my sales leads. My boss wanted us to cold call all day, which I hate. So, I decided I'd be better off selling pianos to people than sitting on the phone 10 hours a day.
Ian: Adjacent to the above question, has your experience with selling houses increase your thinking?
Scott: I think we learn from every experience. Yeah, that's high pressure sales right there. You learn how you react to pressure, how to persuade others to your way of thinking, a lot of the same skills it takes to make anything online.
Ian: I was reading one of your posts about ebay – did you start out on ebay?
Scott: I was selling on ebay before I knew what a blog was, so I guess you could say that I started out on ebay. Only recently I've begun to really understand the potential that ebay offers. Almost anyone, if they really worked hard at it, could make a full time living on ebay. It's just the way the world works today.
Ian: One of your posts also says you recently became interested in internet marketing. What attracted you to internet marketing and when did you start internet marketing?
Scott: Well, poker is actually what got me into it. I had a business idea for sort of a poker league. It was going to need a website, and web design was something I'd always wanted to learn anyway. So, I started reading. At this same time period, there where a bunch of guys at 2+2 (a poker forum) talking about starting a "forum project", where just for fun we all built websites, I built my blog, just to see what happened. Some of us kept going with it, and I'd guess that most of the people gave up.
Ian: Did you struggle when you started on the internet?
Scott: Definitely. It sort of depends on what I'm doing though. I've never been good at content sites. My blog still makes me almost zero money, not enough to really count anyways.
When I first started PPC I didn't understand how to track adgroups, or do keyword research, or improve my quality score. It can definitely be frustrating at first, but it's something that can be learned.
Ian: Do you still sell houses, pianos and still market on the internet? Does it bog you down?
Scott: No. As of right now I'm trying to make 100% of my money online. So far everything is going well, but it's still early.
Ian: What strategies can you provide to others on how to quit their day job?
Scott: I wouldn't recommend what I'm doing to anyone. I quit my job almost dead broke. But I'm also 25, I don't have kids or many bills, so if I fail I'll be fine. It'd be a different story if I had kids and a mortgage.
I'd recommend saving up at least enough money to live on for a month before attempting to quit your job. Also, have a plan. I knew before I quit my job exactly what I was going to do. I've got a game plan, things that have already proven to make me money. So I'm not exactly wondering in the dark.
Ian: How happy were you when you finally quit your job?
Scott: I've been working longer than usual, that's for sure. I've got a lot of fun projects on my plate, and it's do or die now, so I'll be staying busy for awhile. Overall so far I'm not complaining.
Ian: Since I saw your post in Digital Point, I also read that you are part of Wicked Fire. How often do you contribute to the forums?
Scott: I'm actually more active in the wickedfire community than anywhere else. It's just a fun forum full of some really smart people with great ideas. I really learned the ropes at wickedfire.
Ian: Recommending ClickBank, have you had success with it and in your own words do you believe in all the ClickBank products out there?
Scott: To be honest, I haven't had success with clickbank, but I haven't invested much into them either. I've got some friends that do great with clickbank products though. You have to find your niche, and personally I seem to do better with CPA offers, like those you'll find on Copeac and Azoogle. I know clickbank can be very lucrative for affiliates and publishers alike.
Ian: In conclusion, I appreciate you being with me and my readers – what words of wisdom do you suggest to my readers and others alike?
Scott: If you're just starting out you need to read up in the forums, ask questions, and learn. Once you get a basic idea of what it is you're supposed to do, just go do it. I fell into the trap of being afraid to lose money in adwords. And I did lose money. But that money taught me how to make money. You almost have to learn what doesn't work in this business to figure out what does work. So taking action, in my opinion, is the only way to really learn, once you understand the basics.
My OverAll Conclusion:
Scott has a great mind and great tactics to fully fulfill his dreams. A simple chain reaction leaded to his success, starting out with eBay and playing poker online. His mind simply just grew to a mind where he realize a "job" is not for him. I too started with web design when I was very young, and was rewarded when a publisher wanted to pay me to advertise his banner on one of my GeoCities sites. That is when I started to explore what else the internet has to offer.
With eBay I gained a lot of knowledge from eBay gurus and reading lots of articles, eBay for me has giving me the potential to think about not having a job. It was the easiest way for to have created an income online. As for Scott I enjoyed interviewing him and I hope to speak with him down the road and share ideas and exchange information!
