After Wes Welker won a lot of money — about $57,000 — at the Kentucky Derby, he started dishing out hundreds of dollars to random strangers. But now it turns out that payday was too good to be true. A series of errors meant Churchill Downs overpaid Welker nearly $15,000… and now the racetrack wants their money back!
Any Internet marketer who’s ever been faced with an account freeze or commissions clawback knows the feeling. All of a sudden Google Adwords decides they want to ban you… and that big payday you’ve been looking forward to disappears off into never-never land. And, unfortunately, the way most marketers manage their money doesn’t help.
Let me explain. Take a group of Internet marketers at a seminar or conference, standing in a little circle and comparing their Rolexes, and it’s easy to get the feeling everybody’s rich. Then you ask them, “so, how much have you guys got invested?” and… you get back blank stares. Invest? Save? “Naw, man, the money from my CPA campaign is just going to keep coming!”
Unfortunately, all too often the CPA campaign peters out, and the guy who was raking in $50,000 a month (or $50,000 a day) is now seeing big fat zeros in his bank account. Same thing for many affiliates, arbitrageurs, you name it. Even product creators get this. Just ask Frank Kern — the FTC famously took ALL his money in 2003, just like that!
So, what can Internet marketers learn from Wes Welker?
Never take your good luck for granted. When things go your way, don’t just look that gift horse in the mouth. Send that gift horse in for a full medical check-up, and make sure it doesn’t have any nasty surprises. Keep living cheap and save up your first big earnings (or better yet, invest them) until you’re absolutely sure the money is going to keep rolling in long term.
Then, and only then, can you buy that Porsche.
Absolutely,,,great advise. I amazes me sometimes that such talented people can rake in the money but are a bit challenged when it comes to making it work for you.
Steve – this is exactly the way it is put in Rich Dad Poor Dad. The middle classes and newly rich make the big mistake of blowing all the money on gadgets and status symbols, rather than buying assets. ALWAYS better to invest in passive income streams which retain their value. Buying fancy cars, for example, is like taking out a mortgage on an ice cube!
Thanks for sharing this great information.
That is exactly true Steve! You always need to keep investing and re-investing in yourself. The market changes and strategies change, you need to be ready for this. Nothing lasts forever… Thanks for sharing this!
Easy come, easy go! Another good example would be PayPal. You spent the money you think you have until they decide to freeze your cash flow. very painful!