I have a confession to make: During the entire 6 years I ran my hosting company, I pretty much stunk at marketing.

I’m embarrassed to admit that my hosting company’s website actually won a contest where the goal was to find a profitable hosting company with a terrible website. (The prize? A website redesign, of course.) Our Adwords strategy was never profitable. I even failed at promoting profitable affiliate programs to our clients, and I never built a list. Frankly, I was awful at anything related to marketing.

But we lined up client after client. (more…)

One thing that consistently amazes me is the sheer number of inventive ways frugal bloggers reduce their expenditures. From making your own laundry detergent to sneaking candy into a movie theater, there are many options for those who want to make every dollar stretch farther.

What I haven’t seen, though, is a detailed breakdown of whether some of these activities are worth it for those of us who are not on a salary. (more…)

This weekend, I was in San Antonio, speaking at Pat O’Bryan’s UnSeminar5. Somehow, I had found Pat O’Bryan on Twitter during my recent foray into Internet marketing, and when he announced he had two Erics speaking at his UnSeminar, I told him he needed an Erica, too.

Of course, Pat had no idea who I was, so I sent him an email. I wrote the following:

“I am 26 years old, and recently sold my Internet-based business (a web hosting company) for $1.1 million. I started my web hosting company at age 20, having little or no concept of how to run a business, and very much ‘flew by the seat of my pants’ for a few years!

In a commoditized industry with over 20,000 companies competing in an often cutthroat manner, I grew my business from $0 to over $1 million per year in revenue — without taking on any investors, and while spending less than $25,000 on marketing (most of which was wasted money!) (more…)

One of the most common questions I receive is, “How did you make a million dollars at such a young age?”

This is a popular question. In a recent book, “The Middle-Class Millionaire: The Rise of the New Rich and How They Are Changing America”, the authors take a look at households with a net worth between $1 million and $10 million, which they call “Middle-Class Millionaires.” In the book, which was written by interviewing more than 3,600 middle-class millionaire households, they drill down to the same question: “How can you become a Middle-Class Millionaire?”

I read the book and was surprised to find that many of the ideals espoused by middle-class millionaires are ideals that I share. Below, I will outline five ways of thinking that helped me to sell my business for $1.1 million at age 26. (more…)

If you have ever said, “I just don’t have enough time to do [an activity I love]”, this advice is for you. Be prepared: This post is designed to get you thinking differently about your business and your life. Your ego is guaranteed to raise objections to this type of thinking. As those objections surface, write them down, and consider how you can overcome them as you give this advice a try. (more…)