Assignment 3A - Your Entrepreneurship Story
Hello everyone! My name is Jacob. I'm a third year Information Systems major in the combined degree program for a graduate degree in Information Systems and Operations Management. In the summer following my freshman year of high school, I decided that I wanted to start a website. At the time, Instagram had only been out for a few years and I really enjoyed the app so I decided to make a website about how to gain more followers on Instagram. I wrote guides, listed popular hashtags, and had a tips and tricks section for content. The first way I tried to monetize it was with Google AdSense, which added ads to your website. For about a year or so, that was my main method of monetization, with the highest amount earned per month reaching just over $100. A few years later, I decided to get into a more lucrative part of Instagram: selling likes and followers. I researched how others were doing it on internet marketing forums such as BlackHatWorld and Warrior Forum and figured out the best way to do it. I would be the middle man, essentially getting customers for people with like/follow bots and taking a percentage of the profit. What I had found about most people doing a similar service was that they were very dishonest about the process. I was very up front with my customers that these were not real likes or followers and would refund anyone who was misled. My income tripled my biggest month with AdSense the next month. I decided to remove ads from my website and focus solely on selling likes and followers. About a year later of successfully selling likes and followers, I found an eBook that I liked that showed people how to make money from Instagram in a more "ethical" way. I added the eBook to my website as an affiliate and sold it to my readers/clients. The website turned out to be a major blessing for me as a high school student, as I was able to buy things on my own without asking my parents for money. I also had a job with Chick-fil-A at the time and quickly realized the value of entrepreneurship. I could make an entire days worth of salary with Chick-fil-A from just one or two big sales on my website.
While the website was an amazing introduction to entrepreneurship, I am now looking to move on to something more stable and professional. I hope to gain inspiration from others and learn techniques that I can apply towards my future endeavors, and of course earn an A in the class to bump my GPA up.
While the website was an amazing introduction to entrepreneurship, I am now looking to move on to something more stable and professional. I hope to gain inspiration from others and learn techniques that I can apply towards my future endeavors, and of course earn an A in the class to bump my GPA up.
An old banner from the early days of my website
This is a great example of entrepreneurship. You saw an opportunity to help people gain Instagram followers and ran with it. I find it very impressive that you were able to start this business at such a young age! As a user of Instagram, I like when I get more followers, so I can definitely see how this opportunity exists.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great story! Your experience with entrepreneurship seems so unique because you put a lot of time and effort into your website to make it work. Your idea, as well, was great because there is definitely a need in today's digital age/influencer culture for followers, like, etc. Just like an entrepreneur, you addressed an unmet need very early on. And the fact that your income tripled proves that a strong work ethic can pay off.
ReplyDeleteHey Jacob,
ReplyDeleteNot only was this blog very well written by you, but it was also a fascinating story. I am very impressed with how advanced you were in the field of entrepreneurship and business at such a young age. That is such an interesting sector of business to get into and I am surprised by how well it appears you did. Not only did you make you create a killer website, but you had a great source of income in high school. It looks like you have a real step up compared to a lot of people, including myself in this class.
Hello Jacob,
ReplyDeleteYou are a natural! Your story is very fascinating. I am very impressed by how you managed a form of income, despite of you being so young. I have a friend that started a restaurant when he was only 20 years old. Today, he is 25 years old and he owns three restaurants placed in some great locations! I think that if this is your passion, you should go for it! It seems like you will have no problem making your business grow! Good luck!