Sunil from The Extra Money Blog Thumbnail

Hi Friends, my name is Sunil and I blog at The Extra Money Blog.  This post has been LOOONG pending on my to-do list and I am ecstatic to have finally gotten around to it. A brief background on me:

I am of Indian origin, was born in South East Asia and I speak four languages, of which English is the fourth.  I moved to America at the age when one starts high school. Needless to say it was a culture shock, and that is the biggest understatement you will read today.  I am now a happily naturalized US Citizen.

I went to school at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor where I studied Economics (I know we have a few Wolverine fans in the Yakezie community – GO BLUE!) I then went on to get my Master in Accounting and became a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).  My love for personal finance also led me to my Certified Financial Planner (CFP) license which I never officially used. I got it initially with the intention of working as a financial planner.

I have been through both ends of the spectrum in life, terrible experiences which I wouldn’t even wish upon my enemies, as well as pleasant ones that have convinced me that I am extraordinarily blessed.   It is my belief that “adversities” in life makes one stronger, not weaker.

Why Do I Blog?

I am involved in several entrepreneurial activities, many of which are Internet based.  I am also involved in real estate, investing in equities and I own a small brick and mortar business in my hometown.  I have established and sold an e-commerce business for a quarter million dollars, as well as sold two niche websites each for a five figure sale.

Having accomplished everything I wanted to online, I started blogging last year with two intentions. First, to document and share what I have learned from my entrepreneurial experiences and second, to overcome what I feel is an increasingly difficult challenge in today’s online space; to establish an “authority” blog.

I don’t find it challenging to establish niche websites that generate a couple thousand dollars a month on auto pilot. In fact, I have over a dozen of those today across multiple subject matters. I do find it difficult however to establish a “successful” blog because blogging is relatively new to me, and the Internet is more saturated today than ever before, with the early movers biting away the biggest slices of the pie.

Overcoming challenges that I find “fun” and “exciting” is what drives me the most. And what better way to accomplish that than by documenting chronicles of my personal journey while hopefully being of help to others along the way.  My blog is therefore my capstone project, one which right now is my least profitable online property, but one which I value the most.

What Do I Blog on the Extra Money Blog About?

I blog about Extra Money, mostly “passive” means of generating money that can allow one to live life a bit more on their own terms rather than someone else’s. Having reliable passive streams of income ensures one can be a bit more flexible, mobile, agile, confident and at ease.  If nothing else, to expedite wealth creation or live a “better quality life” now or later, fully understanding the relativity of the phrase.

A simple split test proves there is need for this information. Do you need more money? Maybe yes or maybe no, but do you want more money? Likely. For whatever reason, but likely nonetheless. If your answer is no to either, then I need to know what you know so I can also enjoy Nirvana.

I first started my entrepreneurial endeavors while I was working full time straight out of college with a big four accounting firm. I loved my profession, and I made very good money, but most of it went to Uncle Sam.  I soon realized that a “side gig” is the best tax planning tool available to expedite the “road to riches”; at least in America it is. It is how one can get ahead faster and further in life.  I talk about this topic extensively on my blog.

Generally, my blog spans across four verticals, personal finance first and foremost, entrepreneurship, blogging and internet marketing. I am a student of personal finance before anything else. I also believe that personalities similar to mine find all four verticals somewhat appealing. Said another way, all four verticals likely appeal to a certain personality type, who is the main audience of the blog.

At the very basic level and at least, one must be fully versed in personal finance to ensure a financially stable life.  Those interested in entrepreneurship must first graduate from personal finance school in my opinion. As for blogging and internet marketing, those two are merely forms of entrepreneurship, which are mainly what I am involved with outside of my blog.

The Yah-Kay-Zee

I read several finance books each year, and am subscribed to over 20 finance blogs that I follow religiously.  I cannot pinpoint exactly when and where, but I started to notice the Yakezie badge everywhere I turned. My curiosity couldn’t take a back any longer and I poked my nose right into it. Just a bit later I found myself in the Challenge.

The Yakezie is an excellent initiative and in my knowledge one of the biggest yet close knit communities online.  In my opinion, it fills a much needed VOID in our society today, one which the biggest of universities continue to fail to address. Shame on them all!  And even though not its primary focus, I am very happy to see it reaching out to our youth today in the way it does. Not enough can be said about Sam and team who are making it happen day in day out (Sam – you can pay me for my statement offline).

I am glad to have found the Yakezie, and I hope for nothing but the best for it and its members, many of whom I have gotten to know and developed relationships with.  The community has provided a lot of help and guidance whenever I’ve needed it.

Conclusion

I hope I have done justice to my introductory member post on the Yakezie. It’s not an easy task given numerous brilliant introduction posts before me.  I attempted to provide a brief background of who I am, why I blog, what I blog about and my thoughts on the Yakezie network.

If you’d like to read more about me and what I am doing, please visit my blog and particularly the “About” section which I have been told is likely the longest About section you will ever see on a blog.  This section also happens to be one of my most popular ones in terms of readership comments, so please stop by if you haven’t yet, introduce yourself and say Hi.  I respond to every comment and I would love to see you there!

Sunil
Introducing