An Unexpected Way I Gained Confidence and Took Action in Starting an Online Business
By: Emilio Trenzado
Tags: Passive Income, Making Money Online, Money Mindset, Entrepreneurship, Growth Hacking

An Unexpected Way I Gained Confidence and Took Action in Starting an Online Business Emilio Trenzado Jan 10, 2019·4 min read

Sometimes ideas come from an unexpected action.

I have always dreamed of making a living solely through online businesses. I have tried multiple times to launch a product or service unsuccessfully. I can’t really say I gave it my best, and I ended up giving up after a couple of months every time after losing confidence. I spent money on equipment, websites, and other that I thought would help me become successful, but I let finding excuses and self doubt end my dreams instead of putting in more action. Then all of a sudden, after some relaxing time during the holidays away from my job, I decided to buy a product to help me brainstorm and organize my ideas for starting a business. Little did I know this product would spark my entrepreneurial spirit in a different way than my previous efforts.

This product was the reMarkable tablet (Remarkable.com). I began to research the product, and the first glaring detail was the high price ($599). I could buy other products like an iPad pro or other tablets that had more functionality, but I was really attracted to the fact that it was specifically made for note writing and drawing with a paper like experience. If I bought it from the reMarkable site, I would get a 30 days trial no questions asked, which helped make mydecision. One unexpected event that drastically changed my mindset came as I was looking for a discount before I made the purchase. After a couple of quick searches, I found that someone had offered a $100 off referral code, and after I tried the link, it worked. I paid the now $499 plus tax with free 2–3 day shipping, which seemed like a harmless easy thing to do.

Once I ordered it, I had an idea of further investigating the reMarkable tablet referral program. I found out that after I purchased one, I could register for my own referral code, and I could make $100 for each person that used the code, as well as, getting them $100 off. I signed up right away thinking it would be cool to make the $500 back I paid for the tablet, which was a simple enough goal.

I received the tablet on Christmas Eve, and I played around with it a little bit. I thought it worked well after I got the latest update, but then Christmas festivities came along and left it on the back-burner for a couple days. I brought it with me on my vacation 2 days later, thinking that the leisure time would get me in a relaxed mood, and I would want to brainstorm ideas about businesses on the tablet. I took it out twice for short periods during the 4 days and the plane ride. I did like the convenience of not carrying around different notepads and just writing without notifications or emails popping up. It was really distraction free, but then again I didn’t use it much and enjoyed my vacation.

When I got home, I started getting antsy again with business ideas as the new year approached, and I was heading back to my job in a few days. I thought I would look at several platforms to get more information about the reMarkable tablet in order to get the best use of it. As I kept reading Reddit posts and watched several YouTube videos (there weren’t that many which helped the process), I saw that most comments were about people finding it expensive for $599 and wishing it was $300 or less. I started interacting with these comments and posts, and I also mentioned that by the way, you can get $100 off and left my referral link. Within a day, I got my first referral. That meant I was going to get $100 more off. I would be at a cost basis of around $400 now, which made it really easy to confirm my purchase of the tablet.

I woke up the next day thinking I would keep looking for posts, messages, and any place where the reMarkable tablet was being reviewed or discussed. I thought I would be more aggressive, and also post on Reddit on how anyone could get $100 off with a referral code. After another day, I was at 3 referrals. It was minimal effort and action, but it was working well. This got my juices flowing, and I started watching videos and reading about people making money by passive income, how several people created products that flourished, and basically anything that gave me information on how I was going to get to working for myself full-time.

I started back on my regular job, and I didn’t work on the referrals for a few days. When the weekend came, I went back to brainstorming new ways of getting more referrals. I had a clear achievable goal now to get the reMarkable free or even make money now (I later read the terms and found that the maximum I would get back was the price I paid — bummer!). I even made a YouTube video about the referral process and how someone can get $100 off and then get $100 off for each of your referrals to possibly get it free. After less than 2 weeks and minimal effort, I had 9 referrals.

Even though I will only get $500 back, this quick journey finally catapulted me to heights of confidence and motivation that I haven’t felt in years. Just a little action, and I got some success. I have since found Podcasts, mostly Tim Ferriss’ https://tim.blog/podcast/ (I have no affliation), that were about entrepreneurs that have succeeded online. I got referred to lots of books, advice, methods, and strategies to start with. I also think when I make a purchase, if I can get this product for free somehow. Now all I have to do is come up with a product or service. That’s the easy part, right?