About The Authors
Career Evolution is written by two successful online entrepreneurs, Pete Casale and Becky Turner. We're not internet gurus nor overnight millionaires - we're just regular people who enjoy finding new ways to make money from home, with a particular focus on internet technologies.
Nothing we do is particularly technical though, and we steer clear of internet scams and complicated ways of making money. Our mission is to make passive income streams more accessible to average Joe - so that you can set up an online business that generates a continuous flow of income.
We also encourage people to find an online business or freelance career that suits their best skills and qualities. When you have a passion for your work, it no longer becomes work, it's an enjoyable hobby. Imagine getting paid to do the thing you love doing every day. That's the dream job right there. And hopefully we can help you achieve that.
Pete Casale
Co-author of Career Evolution |
About Pete Casale
My name is Pete, I am basically just another guy. Look at me: I'm clearly not super cool,
nor am I super clever, nor super lucky. Even my choice of clothing is
often mistaken for a poor joke. But I have started a few businesses,
and made money on all of them.
In 2007 I retired from the rat race
aged 27, so I could work for myself. This was crucial for
achieving my life goal of not having to get up at a specific time
every morning.
My decision was made when I was at work in London, a year or so earlier. I was particularly tired that day while speaking to one of my former colleagues. Gary was a very clever Financial Analyst, who was
telling me about his new job, which was paying £60,000 per year. At the time I was earning less than half that amount. I remember thinking dejectedly, "I'll never earn that much. Graphic designers simply don't command that kind of income."
Then again, I've always had the motto: there is ALWAYS a way. So I set out to find a way that I could make a good income, while still having a fun job. That train of thought eventually led me to where I am now; earning good money from home, and working when I feel like it.
My First Business
I started my first business when I was a teenager. I bought a bunch of second-hand vending machines, stocked them with snack foods which I bought wholesale, and placed them at boat-building yards. For a couple hours of work per week re-stocking the machines, I was making several hundred dollars a month. Eventually I sold my vending machine business for a 400% profit. And that was when I was young and naive. I still believed the only (legal) way to make money was a slow climb up the career ladder.
Several years later, having climbed that ladder halfway (working as a graphic designer for various firms) I turned around and jumped off. I can say with 100% certainty that it was the best thing I could have done.
My Path to Passive Income
After I left the rat race, I went full swing with Cre8ve Media, my own website design company. It began as just me freelancing my graphic design skills, then Becky joined as a writer, and with a contract web developer on hand, we had a full service media agency going. Cre8ve Media provided the backbone of our income when we left London in 2007, giving us the stability and freedom to work from home while setting up other businesses with passive income streams.
In 2008 I launched a business called MMA GEAR - now New Zealand's only dedicated importer of Mixed Martial Arts branded clothing, offering brands like TapOut and Sinister straight from the USA. It was the riskiest business we ever started, requiring a US$12,000 investment to start up. But the reward was worth it. With the website automating orders and payments, and a local WAHM (work-at-home-mom) doing all our deliveries and customer service, MMA GEAR pretty much runs itself, generating a 95% passive income for us. It was profitable from year two.
Most
recently, I've started my first content-based website called NLP Secrets which reports my studying of the art of neuro-linguistic programming. This website generates a passive income by way of affiliate sales, and I have extensive plans for its future development.
Nowadays, I spend my time trying out strange new business ideas, and enjoying our dream house which we purchased in 2010. I don't mean to sound like I am boasting, because I'm not. Truly, nothing I've done is remarkable, nor terribly difficult. It's just that I gave it an honest go.
And I hope to share everything I've learned in Career Evolution, a site that introduces work at home business as a reality to people who never thought it was possible for them. Well, it is :)
Becky Turner
Co-author of Career Evolution |
About Becky Turner
My name is Becky, and for the last three years I've earned my entire living from the internet.
I'm a former financial journalist and my forte was analysis of growth stocks - something which helps me to identify good self-employed business opportunities today. But I wouldn't say that was critical to my online success.
It all boils down to motivation. You don't need to be a big risk taker (I'm definitely not) nor have lots of money to get started. If you are passionate about what you do, the knowledge and hard working attitude follow you all the way.
In 2008 I launched my first passive income website. I based it on my interest in lucid dreaming and attracted serious web traffic by publishing original content. Then I monetized it via affiliate programs and writing my own ebooks. Today it's responsible for more than half my income, generating thousands of dollars each month, and has inspired me to make more content-based websites:
It's been three years since I sacked the boss and I've never looked back. All of my self-employed ventures are passive-income generators and I am always on the lookout for ways to create additional passive income. I avoid start-ups which require a lot of time or money, instead focusing on businesses that will quickly run on autopilot.
That's just one aspect of my philosophy - and by exploring Career Evolution I hope you will come to understand a lot more about it, so that you can use these principles to start your own profitable business too.
Going Freelance Part Time
The first time I took my career in my own hands was when I began freelance writing, aged 23. I had a regular job as a financial writer in London but wanted to expand my horizons - not to mention earn some extra cash independently to see if I really could make it on my own.
So I started writing for other clients in my spare time. My stock market reports were featured in offline tip sheets and magazines. I also found online platforms where I could write on more varied topics in the personal development field, and became a writer for Suite 101. The latter didn't generate mega bucks, but it did enable me to hone my skills as an online writer, which really contributes to my online business today.
Going Self-Employed Full Time
Shortly after I moved to New Zealand with Pete, I launched my first website, World of Lucid Dreaming. I worked on it for just a few hours per week, setting up free content and product recommendations that generated money 24/7. Since then my annual website income has double every year. I realized I was onto something big...
The only reason I started that website was because of Site Build It. This is the program that showed me the potential of online business, and Career Evolution wouldn't be here without it. If you have any interest in starting a profitable website based on your own interests, I urge you to read my article How to Build an Income Generating Website. For me, this is the most exciting, creative and fulfiling way to earn a living online.
After my initial success, I launched more websites based on everything I had learned to date. Each time, the start-up process became easier, until I found that friends and family were picking my brains for tips on making money online. I realized I had become a bit of an expert, and had a lot of knowledge I could share with others on the subject...
Why We Started Career Evolution
One day, Pete and I were discussing our next website concept when we suddenly realized it was staring us in the face: the work at home dream. We have both actively pursued this lifestyle for the last three years and now run 7 successful online businesses between us. We know our subject matter extremely well - and feel that we have something of amazing value to share with our audience: the knowledge, the skills, the motivation, and the mind set of a successful entrepreneur.
Our goals for Career Evolution are:
- To produce a valuable resource of personal experiences and career advice that helps other people go self-employed.
- To become widely known and respected as a source of entrepreneurial career advice distinct from get-rich-quick sites.
- To generate a healthy passive income stream from affiliate product sales, advertising, and our own products.
If we can achieve all of those I will be a very happy gal. And probably ready to start my next online business... whatever that may be!
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