With all that knowledge, what are you still doing here?

[missashley8705]

Before anyone goes and gets all hyped up and spazzy, know that this is a question out of genuine interest and not at all meant to be insulting.

I will start by saying that I am trying to start my own virtual assistant business. There are several ways that Fiverr puts a stranglehold on my productivity and I would like to work in a way that isn’t so unnecessarily restricted. However, I don’t know how to make myself an overnight sensation so in the meantime I’m still working like crazy on Fiverr half the time and spending the other half starting my business. This is why I am still here.

On Fiverr there are countless people offering tips or services to better your business. Whether it’s SEO, advertising, marketing strategies, business advice/counsel and so on, there are thousands that market the secret to success in their opinions. It seems to me that if you truly had the skills to succeed, you would have helped yourself first. That’s what I would do.

That’s not to say you can’t be a successful Fiverr seller but in my opinion there is Fiverr success and then there is just plain success. It reminds me of how my mom says that there is a big difference between being told “you’re pretty for your age” verses just being called “pretty”. Both people are a success but just at different calibers. A TRS is Fiverr successful whereas the CEO and founder of Fiverr is just plain successful. See what I mean?

To me, if you truly have the skills to go the distance and you could choose Fiverr successful or straight up successful, the choice would be easy.

There are some Sellers claiming they can give you the keys to success but are completely full of it and then there are those who truly know what they are doing. My question is to those people who have the honest business smarts to become successful but have chosen to stop at Fiverr successful instead of going all the way. Why? Why are you peddling on Fiverr instead of taking your skills to the big leagues?

This question had plagued me to the point of avoiding purchasing these types of services (even though I could use some guidance) because I don’t understand the motives of those offering the service.

Anyone else ever wondered? Just curious 🙂

[Guest joethorn]

You know how the old saying goes: 'Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach.'



I think Fiverr is full of two types of successful sellers. Those who are trying to find a platform for their services, and those who charge a lot more than $5 for their best work. A lot of what’s in between is mostly garbage. (Though not always, don’t shoot me!)



Nobody can get you to page 1 on Google for 5 bucks, nor increase your sales. What you can get though is some advice here and there, and a little help from writers, virtual assistants, and programmers to make your business work better.



You’d be pushed to find a Gig that was incredibly valuable to your SEO on Fiverr for $5. Or that was great advertising, etc. Everything’s usually a flash in the pan, doesn’t work, harmful, or it costs more. Occasionally you can stumble across something worth more than you pay, but I’d say the number of Gigs just looking to make a quick 5 bucks for a simple service done with a bot or by using a pre-written e-book is HUGE.

[adetorrent]

A man once promised to double my money for a fee. ‘Double your own money and keep all of it’ I said to the man.

[missashley8705]

I’m glad you both seem to understand what I’m saying. I was a little frightened that someone would read this and fly off the handle at me about how amazing they are and how dare I call them a loser and say such hateful things about their mother (I’m exaggerating obviously based on the way some people irrationally translate posts to mean something offense even though it’s not).

@joethorn you have said exactly what I think also. These services can’t be as career altering as they claim, otherwise they wouldn’t be here. Even if it was simply great advice, business advice is a billion dollar industry on its own. If your advice could be the difference between success and failure, you could make a whole heck of a lot more than a gig or two for it.

I’m a virtual assistant and I think I’m a pretty good one. So far my customers seem to agree. Assisting is my skill and you better believe that every skill I have is used to benefit myself first and then my clients. That probably sounds selfish but it’s true.

In my opinion, Fiverr is basically a stepping stone on the road to real success (if that’s your ultimate goal anyway), otherwise it’s just something to do on the side.

[steveeyes]

Exposure…there are not too many places that gets the traffic and exposure that fiverr gets. That’s a biggie.

[edwriter]

I think everyone needs to start somewhere.

Fiverr is a great place to do it. No one can deny that being in business for oneself is the ideal. There are drawbacks of course, you’ll have to run your own business and take all of the accompanying risks. There are perks (zero commissions, anyone? No two week waits for payments.) In my case, I’m a writer and I make a living self-publishing and ghostwriting on Fiverr. So, I guess I’m a combination of both. The obvious benefit, like steveeyes said, is exposure and having an easy platform to market your services.

[missashley8705]

Reply to @kjblynx: Hahahahaha I’m sorry miss kjblynx, you caught me! Give my apologies to your dear mother. I didn’t mean it! 😉

[missashley8705]

I totally agree with the exposure part. The nature of my work promotes “regulars” and I have quite a few of those. I’m pretty certain they will follow wherever my services go so that’s good. Again I understand the exposure and the total benefits of fiverr, that’s why I’m still here, plus I heart the forum and I love talking to you all (oh stop your going to make me cry =(( =(( =(( ).

It’s not Fiverr sellers in general that I don’t understand, it’s specifically those who advertise services that make a business or a site successful. I just feel that if that’s true, they wouldn’t need to be here. Know what I mean jellybean?

[safwan]

I am here to teach and help people who are interested in starting their own business. I want to help entrepreneurs start their business, provide them with documentation they will require to start off, provide them with guidance and expertise as I am a marketing and business development consultant.

[missashley8705]

Reply to @safwan: I think you are missing what my point is though. Marketing & Business consultants with the real skills to provide someone the necessary tools for success make major money doing just that. If they have those skills and are the real deal, they don’t stay on sites like Fiverr giving away 20% of their profit. No, they go out on their own or work at firms that are specific to their expertise. This is factual, ask Donald Trump, you don’t see him on Fiverr. My point is that Fiverr is an excellent stepping stone or a part time job but it’s not the pinnacle of success (unless your the ceo).

It’s just not logical for someone with all the abilities necessary to rocket someone else’s business to the next level, to not first do that for themselves. If you can make someone else a great success then why wouldn’t you have already done that for yourself?

Most of us are good at something but we haven’t quite figured out all the necessary elements to making that thing we are really good at our only support system. Generally the things we are missing is some type of business savvy, self promoting, technological component. For those on Fiverr claiming to have all those skills but hasn’t yet used them for their own success… Smells a little fishy.

[artworkking]

It’s pretty simple. Exposure. I think someone said that before.



I earn around $1.8k-$3k a month on here. Being that was meant to be a part-time ‘fling’, I’m pretty happy. I’ve had clients ‘slag off’ the idea of a $5 deal when I refuse to do more than my gig is worth and I remind then that I have a business outside of Fiverr (after they launch into their usual tirade of ‘you must be desperate to offer services on here’). My simple reaction is - 'you must be desperate to try and find services one here?'



Neither case is true.



Fiverr (regardless of the monetary value) is offering a simple service that fills a gap in todays market. I’m very impressed by the model if truth be told. Why use a multi million pound/dollar design agency when you can get great results here? (I’m only saying that as a fair few of my clients here have been pretty hight brow so it’s clear the tide is turning).



It is more the fact that platforms like this are the way forward. I’ve worked for design agencies/promotional companies as well as having my own businesses throughout the years and the natural progression actually hints at working within a platform such as Fiverr, rather that the other way around.



You’ll be a fool to bite the hand that feeds you - find that platou in life that you’re happy living from… it took me 20 years to realise I was chasing the dollar/pound that would never be enough for me to relax and realise enough is enough. My daughter taught me what life is all about in 5 seconds of her being alive.



"With all that knowledge, what are you still doing here?"



Chilling. Enjoying life. Doing what is right. 🙂

---

[Guest joethorn]

Reply to @artworkking:



I don’t think she was referring to those selling their skills on Fiverr. It’s pretty obvious exposure is their reason for doing so. Like myself.



I think she was referring to the so-called ‘gurus’ on here who claim to get you top SEO rankings, a million converting Twitter followers or advertise your product on their site to make you thousands.

[inkpetal]

I cannot stand “Those who can’t do, teach”. If you have no idea how to do, you can’t teach it. Incredible minds and skills who are leaders in their field teach at universities. Unless you can prove through study and/or trade experience that you’re able to “do” you are not granted the qualification to teach. I wouldn’t go so far on a tangent, but that one has always grounds my gears.



I would never call someone unaffiliated with school selling knowledge over the internet (that we can only take their word for that they have) a teacher. Tutor maybe, but those gigs mostly fall more under the category of “some guy selling an e-book he ripped from somewhere”.

[missashley8705]

Reply to @joethorn & @artworkking: Thank you Joe, you’re exactly right. I’m not questioning the motives of every seller. That would be a bit foolish considering I’m a seller too. My comment is directed specifically to those that Joe mentioned… The Business Magicians. “I can revolutionize your business… But not my own” not too convincing in my book.

I don’t even think this applies to every seller who has a business enhancement type gig. I think there are some people here with serious SEO skills who can help Fiverr buyer’s businesses. I think those sellers have also helped themselves but chose to stay on Fiverr in addition to their other ventures. I can only assume it’s for the networking and exposure they receive on here.

This post is about those who offer to do for you what they obviously haven’t done for themselves. The best billboard for your business is you. Think of it like an overweight personal trainer. A mental patient offering counseling services. Someone without a license teaching drivers ed. All of these scenarios make no sense. Just like someone who has no successful business selling tips on how to have a successful business.

[missashley8705]

Reply to @inkpetal: Exactly! The world needs teachers, but the best teachers teach for the simple love of teaching not for the lack of ability to do anything else. Maybe it would be safer to say that “those who are afraid to do it, teach about it” lol because let’s be honest, talking about taking action is much easier than actually doing something.

[Guest joethorn]

Reply to @inkpetal:



The best teachers, like uni teachers, are usually still involved in the doing, just at a more passive level.



The ones to watch out for are those who teach without any evidence they’ve done what it is they’re teaching.

[liquidlettuce]

Reply to @steveeyes: You hit the nail on the head. It’s the same reason folks still sell their used salt and pepper shakers on the ol’ bay. Exposure. The “bay” treats sellers like crap, because they can, and it doesn’t hurt their business, because their product is exposure.

[inkpetal]

Reply to @joethorn: Precisely. So on point there. =D>



Reply to @missashley8705: Yes, the world is so quick to discount that teaching is deliberately the career most teachers set out to have, they want to teach and that IS their “doing”.



Our graduates have to pass university level mathematics, linguistics, and a string of sciences and arts subjects - just to teach in a preschool. If they can’t do it, covering far beyond the level they will teach, they aren’t certified.



It’s boggling that the western view of teachers, even to parents who couldn’t handle high school let alone get a degree, remains “glorified babysitter”. No wonder teachers get so cranky. They spend years of their lives proving themselves, enter an environment where they know vastly more than anyone in the room on a daily basis, try to impart their knowledge and are rewarded with spit-balls. :))

[m2webs]

I must say that OP is generally right but also not right in many cases. So yes, many people work here for some amount and with a bit more efforts can be more successful.



When talking about internet marketing, consulting, etc etc you are wrong. You ask why they dont make so big success with their own business but share that here? A lot of them know that they sell rubbish but if you look at their sales - they sell! So you call it not successful? So you want 1000 blog comments? Seller just turn his program on, let it work some time, and deliver excel report.



Or you have some graphic designer making logos. Why do you think that he is not selling a single logo for $1000 somewhere else? Here, just delivering default 15 minutes work for $5 and then take $40 to send you PSD. He can make $100 per hour. Not good enough ?



Most of the people do some other jobs, just like you. You tell you are half time here half time doing on your own business. 50% of people here do the same. And this is their start.



Also, the point is what do you call success ? Being a fiverr CEO ? Why do you think he is more successful than one video testimonial girl here ? Ok, he has a lot of money. But she makes $3000 a month in a country where $500 is average salary. She log in, read what is written, deliver, do that 10 times a day (like 3 hours of work) and the rest of the time she does what she likes! And she is happier than fiverr CEO 🙂



I can tell my also my case. I sell blogposts here. I do SEO as my primary business and make nice amount of money. Not big but a lot more than average in Serbia. While doing that I managed to buy around 50 small blogs in various niches. I opened 20 gigs to sell posts for 20 niches. I have writer, she logs in check orders, write, deliver and thats it. My job here is to click withdraw button. I make $2 per gig, my writer another $2 plus extras from time to time. $200 of profit per month for something like total of 1 hour of work is like you found $200 in your pocket of jacket you didn’t wear too long 🙂



Why I am writing this post? Because last 5-10 I am in a phase to try to improve number of sales, fix my gigs so a bit more active on forums to see how things work, it is about a time to learn a bit more after 4 years being member here and of course, forum posting may help you get TRS 😃

[missashley8705]

Reply to @inkpetal: true story. I think the phrase “over worked and under paid” was created for teachers lol. The only way I could be a teacher is if I lived in the old days when the rod of correction was acceptable lol.

[missashley8705]

Reply to @m2webs: I’m sorry but for you to say that I’m right in part and wrong in part is wrong. This post is a question based on my opinion. A. There are no “wrong” questions B. There are no wrong opinions. There are wrong statements but I wasn’t making a fact based statement. This is my opinion and it’s valid.

You are turning this into a topic of what’s considered successful where you live, also not what this about. The kind of success I’m talking about it the kind most people talk about which is the kind of success that is recognized universally. Your assistant for blogging isn’t a universal success… Neither are you and neither am I. You can be successful at your own goals but that isn’t a universally recognized success.

Here is a fact. Anyone who has the ability to be the best will use those abilities to make themselves the best. They wouldn’t sell their secret for $5. That’s what I know and that’s the whole point I was making.

If someone is happy working on Fiverr, awesome. Make logos, write blogs, cover yourself in body paint… That’s not the point. Please read all the posts above that specifically address this. THIS IS ONLY TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE WHO SELL SERVICES PROMISING TO MAKE YOUR BUSINESS SUCCESSFUL. This isn’t about every seller on Fiverr like you have attempted to make it.

[missashley8705]

Reply to @m2webs:

[m2webs]

Reply to @missashley8705: Sorry, I may be missunderstood your statement when focusing on people talking promising to make your business successful. So specifically in this case people are just selling scum. But a lot of that kind on offers on internet like “I will show you how I made $$$$$ in a month” or such. Honestly, I do not know if some of them are successful. I suppose many of them succeeded and cheated a lot of people. A lot of not wise people around who trust everything and will give the money to try something. So you are right - people who sell “business success” are mostly selling lies.



Other part I can maybe give an answer is for people who you ask “if you truly have skill why stopping at fiverr success?”. In my opinion majority of people will continue, so they not stop here. This is their start. But also, there are some people who do not know how to succeed. But people are like that, you cant change someones mind. For example I know one programmer working for $1500 per month and here in Serbia it is great salary. But he is just dumb to make a lot more. He is person of that kind, I am happy with what I have and I do not try anything else. And as I know him long time I know he is a killer programmer and big companies could pay him like $50.000 per month as he is a genious. So many people are like that, I know a lot of them.



But for part of your post about “universal success” I do not agree with you. My opinion is that universal success is something that does not exist. Maybe your universal recognized success can exist, but it would like people who made 30-40 millions of $$. Actually I read one news like a year ago and someone made a research and they came with a number of around $90.000 per year is what is generally a rate to count as successful and be happy. But again, there is no such thing. I would go to be happy not universal successful. I mean, someone who made 10 million bucks is probably universally successful but he is SO UNHAPPY as his friend who has 100 million just bought a new yacht of 20 million and he can’t afford that. But that 100 million guy is also very unhappy. He can’t afford to buy 20 very expensive drawings of picaso, da vinci etc and he badly wants that drawings in his living room. But Bill Gates can afford it and even play darts on them.



So it is up per personal goals. You are successful in that rate in which you succeeded per your own goals. I am still not successful. My goal is to visit like 100 different countries in the world and I need like few millions for that. And I try to make it :).

[krisztinarudnay]

Because Fiverr gives tons of customers and buyers for us. Try to put your work offer on a new domain or your website. I bet you won’t get any orders in the first 1 or 2 years. That’s why.

[missashley8705]

Reply to @krisztinarudnay: Umm what does your comment have to do with my post about sellers who claim to have the keys to being successful yet aren’t successful themselves?

We have all said that Fiverr is useful for exposure so I’m not sure why you are repeating it like someone was arguing that.

I don’t need an education on what Fiverr does, I didn’t get level 2 by being oblivious.

I could send you the link to my new website that I opened one month ago to show you the reviews I have already and thus null and void your 1-2 year statistic.

How about this NO ONE IS HATING ON FIVERR! CALM DOWN! IT’S A CALLING OUT OF THE SELLERS WHO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF DESPARATE BUSINESS OWNERS!