The first year I made money as an entrepreneur (back in 2004-2005ish) I made a whopping $3800.
Seriously.
It was a struggle.
I was doing affiliate marketing for poker sites at the time.
So I built out websites and article pages that I SEO’d.
Some months were flush and I’d make $500 in affiliate commissions.
Others sucked, and I made nothing.
But I did make a little money.
Which was cool.
However that first year that I made money, I felt like I was in a whirlwind.
I didn’t know what I was doing.
I didn’t have a game plan.
I had no mentor to ask questions to.
I was basically jumping from idea to idea with no direction.
I constantly doubted myself.
I posted a little snippet talking about this on my Instagram yesterday and got a bunch of DM’s from people who were shocked that I struggled that much early on.
They all thought I was successful from the get-go.
Which is hilarious to me.
I was the furthest thing from successful.
I had no idea what I was doing.
And I never made more than $25k for the first few years.
It took me nearly 6 years to start making a consistent 6-figures.
And it took me about 11 years to make 7 figures (in personal income).
I was not an overnight success by any means.
But here’s the thing…
And I want you to understand this…
Especially if you’re new and just getting started.
THIS IS NORMAL.
Most people struggle in the beginning.
It’s not normal to make 6-figures right out of the gate.
Sure, some people do it…
But they’re outliers.
Most people struggle like I did.
I was just smart enough to stick with it.
And to eventually learn from people smarter than myself about what I should be doing.
That’s really what changed everything for me.
In the beginning I was too stubborn to do this.
I thought I could figure it out on my own.
And I did figure a little bit out.
It just took a LONG ass time to do it.
I wasted years and years…
And went down a hundred different rabbit holes that never turned into anything.
Anyways…
I wanted to share this with you…
Cause if you’re just getting started…
Understand that it’s normal to struggle right out of the gate.
Those first few years are the hardest.
Most people give up in those years
But you shouldn’t.
Cause what’s coming for you is better than you can imagine…
The freedom to do what you want…
The sense of pride that you made it on your own…
All of that is coming for you.
So if you’re in the struggle right now…
Embrace it.
It’s just part of the game.
– Justin
P.S. – if you want to get to the next level quicker and easier than I did…
Then I suggest you come to the next Copy Accelerator mastermind that Stefan Georgi and I are putting on in August.
You’ll get to learn from both Stefan and I as well as superstars like Chris Haddad, Josh Snow Elitztxe, Sabah Karimi, Dan Ferrari, Ian Stanley and a mystery guest from the $400 million dollar Golden Hippo brand.
If you’re serious about making a big leap with your biz or your copywrriting career, then I suggest you apply for a seat at the event.
You can get all the details right here.
If you want to hear more from Justin, he has a private email list for top marketers, copywriters and business owners. To apply to be on the email list simply click the button below that says “apply now”.
