Inspiration and insight can come from the most unexpected of places and people. It’s easy to assume that the best place to learn about Internet marketing and professional blogging is from Internet marketers and professional bloggers, but you can learn so much from almost anyone else who has achieved a great level of success.
One such example is Eddie Huang, a man who has not only made a name for himself through YouTube, but is also a highly successful entrepreneur and small business owner in his own right. And his reach just keeps getting bigger and bigger.
1. Know Your Strengths
Eddie Huang knows good food. He knows about marketing and he knows about how to draw attention to himself. Where he may not be quite as strong is with the day-to-day logistics and operations of a brick-and-mortar business.
That’s a part of the reason why his brother Evan took care of the day-to-day of running Baohaus, their New York eatery, while Eddie Huang took care of other things. Making money online is much the same. Focus on your strengths and outsource the rest. Your time is far better spent that way.
2. Express Yourself Openly
You can glean this lesson from our very own John Chow too. People tend not to attach themselves to cardboard cutouts. If you’re just another guy spewing out generic information in a not very interesting way, you’re going to have a hard time standing out from the crowd. If you’re too careful with your political correctness and always take the safe route, no one is going to notice you.
This is not a problem for Eddie Huang. He freely speaks his mind on just about any subject, from religion to race to culture, and he’s not afraid of the repercussions. You’ll also notice just how much of his personality comes screaming through with his choice of wardrobe. He’s not wearing a mask. What you see is what you get.
3. Build Your Brand
I came to know about Eddie Huang through a Vice video series on YouTube called Fresh Off the Boat. In some ways, it’s similar the travel food shows that people like Anthony Bourdain have done with No Reservations and Parts Unknown, but with Eddie’s unique spin, perspective and personality.
Eddie took that same name and applied it to his first memoir. The original Vice series has since been renamed Huang’s World, but only because Fresh Off the Boat is the name of a sitcom on ABC based on Huang’s book. Eddie really played up the “Fresh Off the Boat” branding and it has worked to his advantage. Own your brand and make sure everyone knows who you are and what you’re about.
4. Embrace Your Passion
It’s very cliche to say that you should just do what you love, because the money will follow. Truth be told, that’s just not how the world works. However, if you get into something solely for the money, you’ll either lose motivation very quickly when the cash doesn’t come pouring in right away or you’ll feel empty doing something that you don’t enjoy.
Eddie likes food. Eddie likes culture. Eddie likes food culture. And everything that he has done in his life has been based upon these key guiding principles. As an Internet marketer or blogger, there’s nothing wrong with you looking out for your bottom line. Just make sure you’re having fun doing it and you’re pursuing verticals that actually interest you.
5. Always Be Hustling
To say that Eddie Huang has been a very busy man would be a severe understatement. At any given time, he’ll have multiple projects on the go and he’s always on the lookout for what could be his next big thing. He was working on his Vice series at the same time as his book, all while trying to keep Baohaus profitable and successful.
On this blog, we talk a lot about pursuing the dot com lifestyle and having the “free” time to do what you want, when you want. It might sound like the constant hustle is completely counter to that, but it’s not. When you are embracing your passion and pursuing projects that get you excited, you’re still living the dot com lifestyle.
Because you’re doing it for fun, not for the money… and a happy byproduct is the money you’ll make for doing it. Maybe you’ll get called up as a guest on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert too.
6. Broaden Your Horizons
Making money online can feel like a very isolating experience. You’ll hole yourself up in your home office and just stare at a computer monitor for hours on end. While you’ve got to put in the hustle, you also need to expand your perspective.
Go out and see the world. Meet new people. Experience new cultures and gain a whole new vantage point on how everything can fit together. It’s truly inspirational when you go to an entirely different part of the globe and surround yourself in a brand new environment. Eddie does it all the time for his Vice series and you can globe-trot to your dot com lifestyle’s delight too.
Traveling the world could be the best investment in your future success.