Arigato gozaimasu to Financial Samurai for his hard work organizing Yakezie and creating a strong, positive force in the blogging community. I’m honored to be involved in any way I can. My first encounter with Sam was during a time I was looking for a staff writer for Consumerism Commentary. In organizing all the responses, I regrettably didn’t respond to Sam’s email, and he rightfully called me out for my negligence. I’ve been working at improving my communication habits, but I know I have a long way to go.
That was my primary reason for joining the Yakezie. Although the goal of this network is focused on Alexa ranking, my motivation for including Consumerism Commentary within the network is to work more closely with a group of financial bloggers. Here’s a little of my history.
I started building online communities as a kid in 1991. I ran a dial-up bulletin board system that friends and strangers called with their modems in order to chat online about… well, I don’t remember the content of the messages, but I do remember getting to know a lot of people whom I wouldn’t have known just by socializing within my own high school.
While in college, the World Wide Web was born and I left the BBS behind. I ran a web server from the computer in my dorm room hooked up to the college’s wide area network. I learned HTML, and besides teaching professors how to maintain their own departmental or staff websites, I began updating a personal website, a manual process that once mostly automated would come to be known as blogging.
Personal finance never entered the picture until I was out of college. With my degree in music education and a minor in music management, I eschewed the public school system in favor of working for a non-profit arts organization. After a few years of a long, expensive commute, 80-hour work weeks, and a paltry salary, I realized my finances were in trouble. I had an “a-ha” moment and started learning about managing my own finances, thanks mostly to the message boards on The Motley Fool.
I decided to start a new blog in addition to my personal blog to focus specifically on keeping myself accountable for my financial decisions and learning about personal finance. I randomly picked the anonymous moniker Flexo, influenced by a cartoon that happened to be on television when I made this decision. I never thought anyone else would be interested in reading the website. There was no community of personal finance bloggers at the time, no role models in the niche, no mentors. Consumerism Commentary was one of the first blogs to be dedicated to this topic.
There was also no thought of earning money from Consumerism Commentary at that time, but after a few years, it became clear that advertisers were interested. Now writing for the web is not only something I love doing, but I can make a (good) living doing it.
The Next Step
At this point, I am strongly considering writing full time. I’m still holding down my day job — a job that I don’t love, but it continues to surprise me almost every day. I’ve been earning more from Consumerism Commentary than I have from my day job for the past three years or so, so the two remaining questions are whether quitting the day job will allow me to further enhance my online projects while keeping my sanity and whether I would be able to quickly recover if the income were to disappear overnight.
While these are my issues to consider, while I’m figuring my life out, I will continue to make myself and my collection of experiences available for anyone who would like to discuss writing for the web. I’m hoping to continue getting to know more of the members of Yakezie and to find more ways to work together for the benefit of all our projects.
For a taste of what I write about at Consumerism Commentary, take a look at these articles.
- Why Be Wealthy? Focus on Real Goals, Not Net Worth
- Seven Zen Principles to Guide Your Money and Your Life
- More of The Best of Consumerism Commentary
This post is part of the Yakezie Member Post Series. See all member posts here.
Gosh, someone else who remembers BBS…. Great story and lots of experience in that yellow head of yours.
Look forward to working with you here at Yakezie.
Thanks, Dr. Dean! The BBS era was quite a fascinating time in my life…
Flexo, you wouldn’t happen to have heard about “The Digital Underground”, Roland, and 96 Faces in your BBS days, would you?
The Digital Underground sounds familiar but there could have been 500 BBSs called “The Digital Underground.” :-) The others don’t ring a bell.
Great story. It’s always great to hear someone doing something they love for a living, especially unexpected. I truly hope to have the same outcome as far as my blog goes. Thanks for sharing your story it’s very inspirational.
Flexo, I’m a huge simpsons fan (lionel hutz being my personal favorite) and yet I can’t remember your moniker. Can you refresh my memory?
By the way, I can remember the decline of BBS’s when I was in college too! We must be about the same age.
Hi Car NC,
Flexo comes from Futurama, a series created by Matt Groening and David X. Cohen of Simpsons fame. He’s an occasional guest star.
Uss!
Dude, I never knew you studied music! So did I.
Great to hear a little about your background. You’re a great example of how a person can take what they love and transform their lives with it.
I didn’t know either of you studied music! I have some ideas I’ve been sitting on in that area that I have been meaning to pitch to the group..now I really know I need to put them out there with so much musical background in the group!
A blogger wind ensemble? Jazz quartet? Rock band? Clarinet choir?
I could pick up my saxophone again!
I can kinda play the guitar so I’ll join u guys!
Great story, and inspiring for a lot of other bloggers out there who would like to make a full time income by blogging! Ah… the good old days of the BBSs – i can almost hear my modem dialing in right now!
The funny thing is that part of my day job occasionally requires dialing into a bank’s BBS, so the 57.6kbps handshake tones are fresh in my mind. Good old 1990s technology there.
Most days I forget that you’re still working full time! The amount of (great) content you’re able to put out is pretty amazing. We should all be lucky to have that much energy! :)
I’m thrilled that you decided to be a part of this network.
I really enjoyed reading about your background, Flexo! I know you hear this a lot, but you’re one of the PF bloggers I “looked up to” as I got started (and I still do). You’ve accomplished a lot, helped many people, and remained very transparent despite your cartoon nickname. (I remember reading somewhere when people attacked you in the comments for that choice. Ridiculous!)
Thanks for continuing to give so much back to your fellow bloggers. I’m looking forward to working with you once I become a full-fledged Yakezie member!
I will admit choosing a cartoon name was kind of silly, but “personal branding” and “respect” were not on my mind at the time. Being anonymous has allowed me to post the intimate details of my own personal finances without fear of some future employer Googling my real name and getting a peek inside my bank accounts.
Just wondering – why might you not want an employer to see that? In your case, you’ve been quite successful. I understand the sentiment of wanting to keep things private – especially to protect family/friend relations. That’s been my reason for not sharing more details so far – though I have been toying with the idea of being more open about it. But I was just curious why the employer aspect is what you picked up on instead of the family/friend aspect.
For example, at one point I was posting my full income report. With a little bit of math, my salary could become evident. I wouldn’t want a future employer to have that kind of information; at least, I would want to control it differently. As far as friends go… only a few read Consumerism Commentary. As far as I know, they don’t care about the details. My family reads all the time, though I didn’t tell them about the site at first — ended up offending my dad when he found out about it by not telling tell him.
I remember those old BBS days… makes me feel like a young kid again ;) Nice to see that it’s possible to reach your dreams!
I vaguely remember the BBS days, though I was in college at the time and not very computer literate. What I remember most is trying to surf the infant “web” through netscape (ugh, was that not fun.)
Your story is quite inspiring and impressive. I also forgot you were employed full-time. Maybe a change is in your future?
Flexo, good to know you better via your post. This is quite a background and interesting to know about how Consumerism Commentary got it’s started. I’ve been a follower of CC for a while now and really enjoy the podcast!
Thank you! I’m thankful Tom has been doing a great job hosting. He recently found a new “real” job, so he’s going to have a lot less time to work on scheduling and hosting interviews. I’m looking for another host to help out occasionally, so if you know anyone…
It was nice to meet you. I have no idea what BBS is/was, so that obviously dates myself…it’s pretty cool to know someone who has been involved with “online” (is BBS considered online?) communities for so long! Very cool indeed!
If I ever make more from BFS than I do in my real job, I’m quitting. Period. The end. I love blogging so much more than my cubicle job, so it’s fantastic to meet someone living the dream (even if you haven’t left your other job yet, it’s cool to know it’s possible…). Thanks!
I had the same approach as far as quitting as soon as blog income was greater than day job income, but for me it’s not quite as simple… You have to think about benefits, no W-2 which makes qualifying for a mortgage a nightmare, and the fact that if Google decides to demote or drop your site, your income, even from places other than Google, could drop to zero almost instantly.
That is very true. Thankfully we can live just fine on hubby’s salary if we had to, so I have a built-in safety net. If I find a job I enjoy more than the one I have now, I may not want to quit anyway. Being at home all day writing actually doesn’t sound that dreamy 100% of the time…maybe I could spend half the day volunteering and the other half blogging… :-)
Or maybe supplment blog income with other writing jobs too…
I love to read these great stories about how each blogger ended up here. I feel boring coming from a finance background. You came from music and internet nerdyness to successful blogger on your own hard work. That is great to read about.
Great story Flexo!
I have to admit, until reading your story I was a bit intimidated by your site size. But now, I’ll stop by more often. I definitely feel like I’m in the right place with the Yakezie group!
Thanks for the great read!
Glad to hear you’ll stop by!
Thanks for sharing your story. Consumerism Commentary was one of the first PF blogs I started following back in 2006 when I started my blog. I like the fact that you blog anonymously yet have still been very successful at branding yourself.
Wow, it seems like I’m one of the few here who aren’t familiar with BBS. Good introduction. I also studied music in college (I actually used to run the music department at my church before I retired from it)!
You’ve been extremely successful with your blog and I’m glad you are willing to help others get to that level one day!
Hi Flexo
“To focus specifically on keeping myself accountable for my financial decisions and learning about personal finance” were also two reasons I started my small blog. 9 months on it certainly is keeping me accountable which is great. Unfortunately on my blog I also hoped people would comment more allowing me to learn also but that doesn’t seem to be happening other than a couple of regulars (readership does continue to grow though which means the situation could improve someday). That’s why I like the Yakezie. Many many personal finance articles to read every week from which I learn plenty.
Consumerism Commentary don’t receive as much commenting as I’d like, either.
Cool to read about your background Flexo. I had read a couple things about your beginning in the past and know you were one of the original PF blogs, but to know you got started online, even if it was a different topic, that early in the BBS days is awesome.
You are certainly one that many of us look up to and I bet most of us can’t wait to pick your brain on how to succeed at this stuff :)
“Being anonymous has allowed me to post the intimate details of my own personal finances without fear of some future employer Googling my real name and getting a peek inside my bank accounts.”
This is why I’ve gone anonymous, too. I appreciate your honesty and transparency, and I completely understand how the anonymity gives you the freedom to do that.
Hi Flexo, good to learn you were a music major too. Whatever happened to your staff writer? I remember interacting with a VC Andrews, who I thought wrote well. Was the other one Kelly?
It would have been fun to be a staff writer on CC, although the rejection gave me a tremendous amount of drive to just try and make it on my own which I’m thankful for.
Cheers, Sam
In my experience, staff writers have a tendency to want to move on. Perhaps I drive them away. I’m very picky as an editor, and I should probably give my own articles the same scrutiny. Nevertheless, I continue unfettered.
Interesting thoughts. It really is like a personal relationship that needs to work since a blog is so personal for the owner. Are you planning on getting another staff writer?
Not at the moment. I have a new project in the works though that will need writers. Something to work on when I’m working for myself full-time.
I’ve found the same on my other site, that staff writers tend to move on when they burn out or find better pay elsewhere, just the nature of the beast.
Great intro post! You have quite a history online, dating back to dial-up bulletin board days. I remember being a kid way back when, thinking those things were a moderately interesting, but that’s it. I guess teenagers develop other interests:) Ironic that here I am, with my own blog!
Anyway, thanks for sharing your background with us.
Flexo,
Great intro! You were one of the first Blogs I discovered. I am always shocked when I read your posts in my reader and there are no comments. I think it has to do with how well you write, and the fact that your posts are some of the best researched out there in our niche.
Keep up the amazing work, and if anyone is wondering Flexo does have a chin in real life (and he isn’t as yellow lol)
I’m amazed that more readers don’t speak up, as well. Spread the word, let’s get some conversations happening.
Wow Flexo, you have been around for a while. I avoided doing anything more than using Google for quite a few years but I am glad I finally got into blogging. Like you I make reasonable money from it and I love my job online! I don’t hold down a day job though!
Best of luck on going full time writing, I am sure you will have no shortage of work!
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Thanks for sharing your story Flexo. I didn’t know you went way back =) I think it’s nice to hold down a job and blog in the side. It keeps things spicy. When you get bored of your day time job, you think about your blog. When you’re bored of your blog (maybe?) on the rare occasion, then you think about your day job.
Nice to meet you Flexo. I think it’s awesome that you still keep your day job and do all of your writing outside of that. My day job is kinda boring but I’m hanging on to it for the stability and b/c it lets me do lots of fun stuff when I leave the office. Makes me enjoy and appreciate the weekends a lot more than if I didn’t have a job and thus no money but tons of free time.
Flexo, I was thrilled when you joined the group as a resource for us newer/smaller bloggers. I enjoy your writing (and Smithee’s) and look forward to learning more about your future project.
To those that didn’t know about BBS, it just means you still have the bloom of youth. It seemed even more amazing than my first microwave!
Hey Flexo, thanks for sharing your story. You’ve been with this for a long time so it’s great to have your experiences as part of the group.
Great post, I’ve heard most of the story before, but never the music portion. Love the podcasts, too, it’s the only one I listen to consistently.
If you start blogging full time, will it be hard to give up that other stream of income? I imagine you’re raking it in with two sizeable incomes, letting one go might be difficult.
When I feel I can safely walk away from my salary, benefits, and the slightly higher security of working for a solid corporation, I’ll know it’s the right time. That’s a lot to walk away from in favor of an income I thought I’d never achieve from blogging for the most part but and income that could disappear in a moment’s notice due to the nature of the Internet.
Where does your fear of sudden disappearance of blogging income come from? Was there a month or two where your income declined tremendously and you had a “oh sh*t” moment or something? Just curious to know.
There seems to be a ton of different money making options once you’ve established a decent blog so that no one income would crush the blogger’s income completely. Thoughts?
First – while I have a number of sources of income for writing, perhaps 80% of them rely on traffic on Consumerism Commentary. I don’t offer any “information products” or e-books at this point, so that’s not part of the consideration. While traffic from regular readers is steady, that’s not what produces income. Websites are reliant on Google for most of their income-producing traffic. AdSense directly, but everything else indirectly. If Google, currently providing 75%-85% of traffic, decides to change their algorithm, demoting or removing Consumerism Commentary, not only would AdSense income disappear (it wouldn’t be in Google’s best interest to let that happen anyway), but almost all other income would disappear. If I can only deliver 15-25% of the impressions I had previously, advertisers would not be as interested.
I see. Can you share with us what percentage of your income comes from Adsense? When I read around the blogosphere, it seems that only a minority of revenue i.e 20% or so comes from Adsense. But, if a lot of your readers are coming via Search, then Adsense would be a bigger proportion obviously.
20% sounds about right for AdSense, but the point is that almost all of the non-AdSense income is indirectly influenced by Google.
Gotcha. Can you give an example or two of what non-Adsense income indirectly influenced by Google? I’m sure others are curious to know. thnx.
Any cost-per-impression ad deal if your traffic is heavily influenced by Google, any affiliate advertising if your traffic is heavily influenced by Google. Even flat-rate ad deals will be influenced by Google — a big drop in traffic thanks to no visitors from Google means that advertisers will walk away as fast as possible. Unless you earn income off your regular readers, you need traffic from the outside to drive income. For the most part, that traffic from the outside is driven by Google. Google owns us all, so play nice with them.
Gotcha, sounds good. It’s just funny when everybody talks so highly about Google since they are right here in SF and I know a bunch of them. I was hoping for a more balanced oligopoly in the Search market, as well as the contextual ad market. Hope MSFT or Yahoo or someone can compete effectively so people aren’t held hostage.
I’m playing around with Adsense now, as I’ve never used it on FS. What are your thoughts on putting the Adsense banner ad below each post instead of before? Wouldn’t it make sense to let the reader read the post first, and then perhaps the Adsense ad will have a solution for the reader to click on? Or do you find that before the post is best b/c readers just search, hit the post, and then hit the ad? I’m a total newbie with Adsense, so bear with me. Watching some educational videos now!
Hey, Flexo and Sam! I just wanted to say thanks for this conversation. I’ve been interested in this topic for a while (breakup of income and such) but it’s hard to find much information except from a few sources. I think this could be a great topic for a post aimed at bloggers.
Very smart thinking as that has been one of the things that I have been preaching for quite some time now – while organic search traffic is awesome it’s important to never be too reliant on any one source of traffic (especially one that is outside of your control and could disappear).
Great post. It’s cool to get an inside view of how it all started! I also love the stories about how blogging has eclipsed day-job income!
Great job Flexo!
It’s always good to have someone like you to aspire too. Great background, although I can’t be part of the Yakezie Rock Band. My parents use to make me practice in the basement because they were worried I would break the china. Thanks Mom and Dad :-( They did however allow me use the phone to dial up to my favorite BBS sites. I remember looking through the phonebook to find all the BBS sites with Zones (exchanges) that were local calls so I didn’t get in trouble. Oh the memories…
As a kid, I racked up phone bills of $400 from modem calls I *thought* were local (same area code). My parents were not happy… dad wanted to close down the operation…
That happened to me too back in the day when my dad signed up for America Online. I think the bill was like $300…my dad was pissed! Especially since all I was doing was playing games and wasting time haha.
Great to have a seasoned, semi-pro blogger in the group. Don’t think any of us realize the potential growth, and very funny how you just took a common name at the time not expecting it to grow. Now Flexo is a name easily recognized in the blogging community.
Congrats on the many successes and hopefully much more in the future.
Yes, the old “when is it time to walk away from my real job to take on blogging full-time” question! It sounds like you are almost there, Flexo! It’s going to take a leap of faith, to be sure, but if you don’t have faith in yourself, nobody will.
I hope in four or five years I can be at the same point you are! :-)
Best,
Len
Len Penzo dot Com
Flexo, thanks for sharing your neat story. I’m impressed with your ability to adapt from BBS to HTML and on to building such an amazing blog. Congrats on how impressively you’ve built it to a point where it can be your full time job! You’ve really had some interesting experiences. Love that you have a musical background as well…that’s pretty unique. Definitely hope to continue to get to know you and read more of your stuff!
I just decided to join the Yakezie Challenge today and reading your article was just another fresh wave of motivation!
My only regrets about my blog is that I started in 2007 while I could have started back in 2001 when I met my best friend and now partner in this adventure!
My main goal is to live from my blogs as you….but I still don’t make more from my blogs than my day job yet. The problem is that I keep making more money at my day job which put the challenge to another level ;-)
I hope we will have the time to chat in the upcoming months!
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