He’s very successful now. But it wasn’t always that way. Here’s his “rags to riches” story, in his own words.

Be encouraged by it.

And–take note, there is a gift at the end you won’t want to miss.

What $12.95 Can Mean

Early in our marriage, my wife and I got deeply into credit card debt. (I’m talking tens of thousands of dollars in debt at 18% interest.) We had a combined annual income of just under $30,000 and couldn’t pay our monthly bills.

We had to charge electric bills, food and other necessities on our credit cards because we were so far off budget due to the debt.  When we made a $800 payment to the credit card, about $650 of it went directly to interest payment.
We did the math:  making the minimum monthly payment (which was growing!),  it would take almost 70 years to pay off.

Things weren’t looking good.

Then, something happened:  I made $12.95.

Ten years ago a $12.95 order came through a secure order form at my website. It was for a small information product that I had put together which taught how to earn affiliate commissions with X.com (which later became Paypal).

I had to manually process that order on a credit card machine that I used for a small gift shop I owned in my home town. When the order came in, I hand typed the numbers and expiration date and then “batched” out the order at the
end of the day.

The memory of my wife and I dancing in the small living room of our small home over that $12.95 order is still vivid in my mind.   We were so excited!  I had generated a sale completely online.  It wasn’t much money, but it was a
start.

Paula was a few months pregnant with our soon to be firstborn son.  My hope was to get this Internet business up and running so she could quit teaching and stay home as a full-time mom.

Little did I know at the time how dramatically our lives would change as a result of that first $12.95.

I stepped out on faith, sold my retail store and went “full-time” as an internet marketer.  That was ten years ago this month.  That’s when I launched ProfitsVault.com.  That $12.95 turned into a six-figure income my first full year
in business.  And that six-figure income has grown to numbers so far beyond my expectation that I still have trouble believing our good fortune.

Paula, by the way, resigned as a teacher and has been a full-time mom ever since.  She’s in her fifth year as Jacob’s homeschool teacher, and loving (almost) every minute of it.

I’ve been blessed.  Like it, don’t like it … God has been good to me.  During the past ten years the Lord has not only blessed us with a lot of income, but with some WONDERFUL friends that have come into our lives as a result of this
business.

We have no debt now.  Our home is paid for.  Our vehicles are paid for. We travel a lot, do a lot of mission work and help people around the world.
Thank God!

Ten years later, our lives are much different.  That’s what we’re celebrating this week … not just ten years online, but the result of those ten years:  freedom from debt, flexibility to do what we want.

That’s our story.

I hope it encourages, inspires and challenges you to create your own story!

Let me give you a nugget of truth to hold onto that may help…

Leading up to this ten year milestone, many people have asked me the question: what do you do differently now than you did back then?

With all that’s changed (I certainly don’t hand key in credit card numbers anymore , much of what I do has remained the same.  When Armand Morin interviewed me back in 2003, I explained the process that I had been using for three years at that point.  Seven years later, I’m still using it…

1. Create an offer.
2. Mention it to my subscribers and lists.
3. Invite affiliates and partners to promote it.

While there are a lot of variables – and, to be sure, many of those variables have morphed into new things – the core foundation that my business is built on is unchanged.

I share that because one of the things I’m convinced of is this:  the reason most people fail in this business is because they abandon their foundation and attempt to try “every new thing” that comes along.

Sure, there is a time to experiment.  There is a time to tweak.  There is a time to try new things and fine-tune old things.

My challenge to you is this:  keep things simple.  Find something that generates revenue and then duplicate it.  I’m a big believer in this advice that I regularly pass on…

*** Strip everything down to as FEW steps as
possible to get the job done well. ***

You want to do the MINIMUM amount of activities as you can in order to achieve the result you want.  Everything else is a distraction.  Everything else is taking away time from the things you started this business to free yourself up to do!

I’d rather be playing tennis or serving on the foreign mission field than experimenting with some new “idea of the week.”

Thanks for the advice, Jimmy!

And if you want to learn the 10 Lessons from 10 Years in Business Jimmy is passing on for free, go here to either view the video, listen to the audio, download the transcript–or all three!

As usual, Jimmy offers a lot of great content, in a way that makes you believe, “Hey, I can do this!”

This is one series you’ll want to add to your library and really STUDY. Takes notes, for they chart a pathway to author success based on real life.  So far they’ve covered how to Claim Your Expertise.

I’ve listened to two of the three so far and all were excellent! (Sorry, Andrea Lee, I’ll have to catch yours on the replay later–the weather derailed all ability to listen).

I encourage you to sign up for your free pass now–so YOU won’t miss any more.

Especially since tonight (August 5), they start on Step Two: Expand Your Vision.

The guest will be none other than Michael Gerber, definitely a thought leader and best-selling author qualified to expand your Vision!!

You can catch some of the highlights from my Tweets about it, which I wrote as I was listening.

More will be forthcoming tonight…

Or at least, not only a book.

One reason people don’t get published by commercial publishers is their idea is not really a book. It may tell how to do something, but it’s not unique enough to stand out from a crowded niche. Publishers (and authors who self publish) invest a lot of money upfront for a physical book.

These days, there are other days to get information out, if it’s pretty much just information you are offering.

And these ways are faster and more profitable than publishing a book.

What I”m talking about is creating information products, which can (and should) take any number of formats. It can be video, audio, printed, or a combination thereof.

Another important and wonderful  thing about information products is you can create them quickly. Conduct a series of interviews (or even one interview), record a video of you giving a talk–and potentially, you have a product.

Then it’s a matter of the mechanics of setting up to sell online (the best way to sell info products), marketing, and making the sales.

All of which can be daunting, but not if you have a blueprint. And Mark Joyner, one of my favorite mentors, has just launched a “13-Day Info Product Creation Kit” that will show you exactly how to do everything you need to know.

And it’s risk-free.  If you do what he says, and don’t make money, you get double your money back.

I have taken several of Mark’s Simpleology courses, and they all follow the same fun, multi-media format, are very practical, and really do work.  I’ve never even considered asking for my money back, because I’ve always gotten great value. (And I can only say this about a handful of courses.)

So if information is your thing, and you want to get on the fast track with exactly how to do it (including setting up a website and writing a sales letter–he gives you the templates), check out this course. The price is extremely reasonable for what you get. (As all the Simpleology courses are–especially Simpleolog101, which is free!)

J

I was very impressed with the way they are going about the launch, which you can view here. Please view it in your browser after reading this post, and you’ll have an example of what I consider to be a “book launch” with panache–something you can model for your own.

What I like about it is, first, it’s not full of hype. Even the clean look of the site adds to this feel.  (The actual topic is incredible enough, it doesn’t need any more hype. This truly works–I’ve tested it for 3 years,  my own testimonial can be viewed here, and I’ve seen it work wonders with many, many other people as well–including my 78-year-old mother.)

Second, they give you a couple of free videos whether you buy anything or not. Yes, they are building their mailing list, but with integrity. The videos add to the value of the book  (and yes, the desire to get it) in an honest way. (The Dr. Bruce Lipton video is in 7 parts, at least 70 minutes long.)

Third, you get truly valuable bonuses: access to a teleconference series, “Secrets of Dynamic Living,” as well as other bonuses. Classy bonuses, related to the book’s topic, from people who truly know about The Healing Code and want to promote it. Not a bunch of no-value bonuses from everyone under the sun.

So check out the launch page, buy the book, enjoy the bonuses.

And if you want to read an excerpt, you can do that here. Note: If you missed out on the launch, you may still get the book and the bonuses, but only here (my special, which includes free shipping and bonuses of my own, as well as the ones offered on launch day).

Nowadays, to the media, it’s less important if you have a printed book than it used to be. If you have a well-visited blog that looks professional and people visit and comment on, you are seen as an expert. Read the rest of this post and listen to the teleseminar replay.