This week’s letter contains
- 1 Nugget
- 1 Gig Idea
- 2 Gig-Treats
Nugget
Last week, I promised to give you the second most important lesson I’ve learned from my failure to capture my dreams within 2 years after university.
I’m not afraid of talking about failure. I’m a very normal guy who sometimes fails to put in the work and then later asks God why things are not working, as normal as they come.
I also think that by sharing my failures, I’m telling you exactly where you’ll be in the next year if you don’t learn from my mistakes and take action.
So here it goes….
I failed because I tried to reinvent the wheel.
Back then, I would come across an internet “guru” selling a digital course with the description “Get the exact process I used to make millions online” and dismiss it.
My reasoning was, why do they have to sell a course if they can make millions with the tactics they’re teaching in the course?
It still holds some water, but I’ve pivoted my perspective after suffering the fate of trying to reinvent the wheel.
Reinventing the wheel means
- Doing it all on your own
- Figuring out everything from scratch
- Not seeking help or guidance.
One sure way to delay your success is by reinventing the wheel. And if you’re a sucker for instant gratification, you’re in for a generously served plate of disappointments.
So, Elvis, how would you have done it better?
Thanks for asking.
Well, If Musk had just invented the time-machine and I somehow got a chance to ride it back to September, 2020, I’d do this…
- Look for the most inspiring successful writers in the world
- Find out one that offers personal coaching through their (tried and tested) course
- Summon my financial might and buy the course
- Make it the center of my life for the next 6 months
- Ask questions, seek guidance, get an accountability partner and make the best out of it.
The easiest way to achieve your mentor’s success is to learn from them and apply.
Bearing in mind also that they’re so many fake gurus out here, you need to do due diligence and find out how helpful someone’s course has been to others before investing.
Gig Idea – Online Class Monitor
Midway through last year, I was on an extrovert frenzy, eager to invite myself to any tech function in Nairobi, meet with people, and make friends with the future tech leaders.
During one metaverse event at I-Hub, I stumbled onto a former high schoolmate who we had worked with in the scout’s canteen.
While catching up, we dove into our careers, and I found his particularly interesting.
“I make like Ksh. 3,000 a day managing social media discussions. I work from Monday to Saturday; my shifts are often during the day, but sometimes I hold through the night.”
Of course I had to mention what I do—write, and I did it with such underwhelming gusto so we could get back to his story.
Over the course of the event, he went on to explain how he works, and I was quite fascinated.
Not enough to venture into it because I prefer personal creative work over socializing online, but fascinated because I saw it as a gig unknown to many people: Community management.
What is Community Management?
It means interacting with a brand’s or organization’s online community members through social media, forums, and other online channels.
As a community manager, you are the face of a brand. You chat with people in the community, answer their questions, keep their conversations on track, and solve problems.
Brands today understand the power of a community. So they create communities on platforms such as Telegram and Discord to engage with people and steer their agendas.
Web 3 brands in particular have picked up community building since their business model is mostly based on the number of people actively using their technology.
How do you become a community manager?
It starts with the obvious: being a member of the community. Most communities source their managers from within. So you need to look for communities within the niche you enjoy and join them.
- If you like discussing crypto, join crypto communities.
- If you live gaming, join gaming communities
While in the groups interact, share resources, learn the lingo, and kind of get the hang of how things are done there. Be very active to get noticed. When the community leader needs people to manage or moderate the group, you’ll be among the first people in minds.
But it’s never a guarantee. Sometimes, you might have to grind for months for free to establish your name. If you’re passionate about the industry, you’ll enjoy this period.
Once you’ve established your name, expect to make an average of $600-$2,500 per month.
The best part is that you moderate several communities at the same time while working a full-time job if you’re a go-getter. Imagine juggling three such jobs and making $1,000 from each one monthly.
For a job that only requires a decent phone, access to reliable internet, and regularly checking conversations (a task we do every hour), that’s an unbelievable amount of money.
If you spend more than 6 hours a day on your phone, you should honestly consider this.
Gig-Treats
- Bing Chat: Most AI tools are costly, and ChatGPT lags sometimes. Simply turn on your Microsoft Edge browser and use the newly introduced Chat element to generate content.
- The age of AI has begun. If you haven’t read it yet, Bill Gates himself has written about what the future holds. Learn where you can thrive in the AI era.
That’s a wrap for today. Keep grinding