I suppose an “About Me” page is where you would expect to read a third person professional write up on myself. Hmmm…. well that’s not really my style, so I’ll just go ahead and tell you “about me” in my own words. 
80/20 Rule in Failure Vs. Success for Internet Entrepreneurs
November 15th, 2007 by Jeremy EnkeOften times it is easy to look at the super affiliates and think they somehow had a magic formula or were “in the right place at the right time”. Or it’s easy to think that for some people, everything they touch turns to gold. This really isn’t true at all, especially for internet entrepreneurs.
I got the idea to write this post from a blog post over at shoemoney. The one thing I have always tried to do in this blog is be real and be myself. I realize some things I say may stir up controversy or could make me look like a clown. But to be honest I own 100% of JeremyEnke.com, and this is who I am. If you don’t like it, look to the top right and click the red X.
So now let’s talk about failure. When I think back over the last 10 years of being an entrepreneur, I can think of about 10 things that have been extremely successful. On the flip side I can think of 90 things that have failed miserably. The failures started with an online casino that I pissed away somewhere around $15K - $20K on. At that time I really didn’t have that kind of money to lose either, oops. I tried Ebay, I tried vitamins, I tried porn, you name it I have failed at it.
These were the early days though. Heck, for some of you that have been around over the last few years, you can probably think of some monumental JE failures as well. This is all part of the game though and I am not embarrassed by it or afraid to talk about some of my debacles in business. Aside from deep frying turkey’s, I am not perfect. Failure, risk, and losing money is all a part of this business at some point. Luckily so is making tons of money when your ship comes in.
Over the years I have seen many affiliates come and go. Typically the ones you see go are the ones that have some great idea that is going to make millions. When it doesn’t they simply give up. Nothing gives me more pride though than seeing the guys that started out with nothing, and are now doing this full time making a nice income.
My favorite quote that I have in my forum sig. is “There are a million ways to make a million dollars, you only have to find one”. This is the truth too. And believe me, there is a 99.9% chance that you will not come up with this idea in your first 10 attempts.
In order to be a super affiliate or ultra successful, you have to realize that failure is part of the business. You also need to embrace failure and use these experiences as learning experiences versus discouraging experiences.
I hate to fail at stuff, but it is all part of the experience in the pathway to success. My latest failure was putting Adsense on this blog….. well that and the FullTilt banner. What a waste. FWIW, affiliates don’t click on anything here except that sweet corner peel! So I did the only logical thing I could think of and signed up for affiliate programs selling Pimp Chalices and Sweat Sedos! Play on Playa.
November 15th, 2007 at 3:04 pm
Great post as always, but how long did it take you to find affiliate programs for Sweat Suits and Pimp Cups? lol
November 15th, 2007 at 6:29 pm
There is nothing like the feeling of working your ass off at something, to the point where you are at wit’s end and ready to give up the struggle, and all of a sudden things start clicking.
I am still working toward the click in this business
November 15th, 2007 at 11:53 pm
Great post. It is funny though. When I look back at my failures I sometimes laugh, because at that time I honestly thought that there was absolutely NO WAY it was going to fail. I guess that is the mindset you need though right?
November 16th, 2007 at 1:15 am
some nice advice to keep me going… lol and I love the pimp cups
November 16th, 2007 at 9:42 am
Thanks for the reminder that failure is a part of the business. Whenever I get frustrated I look at all the affiliates at PAW and CAP that are doing this full time.
I inspire to be in this group very soon.
November 16th, 2007 at 10:58 am
You guys inspired me to get back in the business. I never took this serious, I started out just wanting to learn how to make websites for fun. Just like everything else I do though, I wanted to be good at it. When I realized I wasn’t very good I kinda gave up, sold my site for a tidy profit and just played poker.
Funny thing is though, I still visited Party Riches/PAW - I think I needed to do that to understand where I went wrong. I think I needed to fai to be more successful. Of course I have MJ, Randy, and you to thank for helping me keep my eye on the prize.. Good things happen when you are around winners!
Thanks man!
November 16th, 2007 at 12:16 pm
15 Sweat Sedos ordered…. I’m already waiting at the door anticipating their arrival.
November 16th, 2007 at 5:09 pm
Man this is so true. If you are afraid of failing then you shouldn’t be in business because not everything works, even if it is a great idea. The people who emerge are the ones who never give up. Great post.
November 17th, 2007 at 2:00 pm
Great Post and very true. Thanks for being so open with your life stories.
November 18th, 2007 at 1:10 am
I just realized I have that same picture “Risks” in the conference room at work.. I knew I had seen that somewhere before..
Also, well said Kyle!
November 19th, 2007 at 10:50 am
“There are a million ways to make a million dollars, you only have to find one”… I think that is a great quote also. You really gotta take chances if you ever really want to succeed. After all, its better to have tried and failed, then to never have tried at all.
November 20th, 2007 at 9:17 pm
I really need to find just 1 way to make a million. Or 2 ways to make a half million, I’m not picky.
November 21st, 2007 at 9:05 am
***My latest failure was putting Adsense on this blog….. well that and the FullTilt banner. What a waste.***
Why were the google ads a waste? did they just take up space with no purpose? it drives me nuts to know that if your content sucks, people are more likely to click an ad. but i still thought the google links got enough clicks to make them generally worthwhile.
i “know a guy” who makes $3k a month on a travel site using only google ads — he has been for years.
November 22nd, 2007 at 12:18 pm
I agree Dan, the whole adsense scam is kind of stupid, but definitely does work. Make a site with crappy content so your users want to click the ads. I have thought about doing it so many times, but each time I try I get tied up with work on my poker site.
November 27th, 2007 at 9:55 pm
Excellent post & very true. Failure is unavoidable in business & life in general. The key is to keep trying new things. Eventually you will succeed. Heck, even a broken clock is right 2 times a day. Always remember that failure is not fatal, and success is not final!