For the newbies: What's ya name, and where do ya come from?
Hi family, my Name is Norb (Or Norbs, Norby, Norbert – and in Spanish roll the r Norrrberrrto – sounds hot when women say it :P). I come from Poland originally, and migrated to Canada when I was three years old. I have lived in and around Toronto Ontario most of my life (Scarborough rep!).
Norrberrto ha, Tell us about your offline hobbies, what do you find yourself doing when your not juggling your IM career?
Believe it or not, I’m 30 years old and still love to skate/snowboard often like I did when I was 15. My studio is filled with gear that overlaps from work to play, so when it’s not being used to make money, I play my piano/keys and make music, do photo shoots of anything cool, grab my video camera and record a spider eating a bug in a corner of the studio – you know – the normal quirky everyday things that happen in a creative studio :P. I love good food & travel – though lately my business seems to have me by the pants so it’s tough to get away at the moment.
Impulse filming is great! When did you make your first $1 online, and think: 'This is me'?
Hmm good question, I’m not sure if I can remember my first dollar online… See – before starting my own product lines and projects aimed at affiliate marketers, I worked with and for big tier-1 brands simply whoring my talents into TONS of media and marketing campaigns. So I can probably say I made my first dollar from somebody online about 10-11 years ago when a client paid for his work. At that time I was quite naïve to affiliate marketing or marketing online in the ways that we do as groups now.
I simply LOVED and still LOVE designing, producing, expressing and whoring my talents in any media possible, I started seeing that the term ‘starving artist’ didn’t apply to me once I transitioned from drawing, painting, dancing, playing piano… into graphic design, websites, logos, radio ads, tv commercials, full branding treatments and media campaigns etc. All this whoring of my talents started to inadvertently teach, train, and condition me to how business works on the top level of many sized companies – how they REALLY make money… Here I am charging 10-20K on a huge branding treatment for company x who then turns around and monetizes my assets into millions on various products/sub-brands/awareness campaigns, and more. I knew eventually I would evolve from professional services into in-house monetization strategies where the only person I was whoring my talents for was myself or my partners…
See – Our industry, be it online marketing, web/media design servicing, publishing, running a portal, whoring your talent – whatever… All revolves around many variables that take you through this journey like a whipping rollercoaster. My first bundle of cash was when I was extremely young – promoting night clubs and dj’ing thurs-sun every week.
My second wave of success came when graduating college, I just scraped by with my grades however was already scooped for a whopping salary and finishing my first 40K contract for a big client. Within 3 months I went from college student who paid his own way whoring his DJ/music/club promotions skills to business owner (NC Media), employed for a huge salary, first BMW – first house – age 20. Even a few years later when my house was built, I lived in it for just over a year and sold/flipped it to pocket another 70K profit on my investment there…
I can’t say that it was planned – it’s part of the rollercoaster that I got on, and to be honest I still haven’t gotten off and don’t plan to! These days I’m going through yet another spike of success and it seems that this one is going to be the biggest of them all so far, this last year since joining and getting acquainted with affiliate marketing more has skyrocketed my potential full throttle.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years time? Have you got a long term goal?
10 years? No clue. While I do plan ahead and always have goals, I can’t think nor want to plan THAT far ahead. My long term goals are probably skewed to most peoples perception of success. To be honest with you I would love to be on a beach teaching kids English and Art under palm trees, I would love to travel the world and explore cultures/people/ways of life, I would love to actually go back and do what I was doing before all my art/talents got whored – meaning spend more time just doing things I enjoy i.e. drawing, playing my keys, singing, dancing, being expressive but not for money just for the sake of it. If you were hoping for me to say I am aiming for a lambo and a mansion in Beverly hills, I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed.
My long term goal is to remain healthy, explore my life to its fullest, and never stand still for too long. The money is inevitable and it hasn’t changed me or my desires in the past, it has however taught me that even when you plan, and plan big – always incorporate a ‘s#!t happens’ clause. Just when things seem to be going your way – S#!T happens!
What’s your first thought the moment you wake up? How much you made in your sleep? Or gimmie a coffee?
Oddly enough, even though I’m not too religious, I thank the man upstairs for giving me another day, then I usually yawn and stretch my way to my laptop in my upstairs office to make sure all systems are go. Funny things happen when you sleep. In fact my sleeping schedule has been MESSED since ‘success’ happened. When people are out to get you, it usually happens at night (in various ways – enough for a separate interview). Anyway, once I am satisfied that all my sites are up and there are no emergencies, I do my morning - and yes coffee plays a vital role!
If you were able to go back in time and change things, would you? and what would you change?
Not a darn thing! Well ok, I would have chased more tail! I would take even bigger risks in this crazy thing we call life. I’m grateful for all that has happened to me, both good and bad. As a kid I went through some pretty crazy times, however in retrospect they have made me a bull now from street smarts, to instincts in business, to survival, to being a natural born hunter.
*Norb = Rambo!* Does anything worry you about IM/AM? The internet is changing every day, who's to say this will last?
The only consistent thing in this world – is inconsistency. You are absolutely right! I’ve been blessed with some amazing times during this rollercoaster ride! I’ve also had the rug pulled from under me – making 10-20K a month down to ZERO within 3 months. Going from a house, beamer, 100K+ in the bank, to 4-5 years of horrible business moves and bad investments and almost losing it all. IT DOESN’T LAST – It only changes and evolves/morphs/grows into different monsters and if you’re caught off guard or miss your mark you can lose it all quick.
Again it comes down to risk management and I am definitely a risk taker. Once you have some money to play with – this game becomes different, the game of ‘making more money from existing money’ comes into play. I don’t ‘worry’ per say, I just react. Not really worried or scared anymore, been through too much and all I can say is ‘if success happens for you – own it – every second of it – maximize it and don’t let go’. I like to quote Eminem’s line re your ‘moment’ You better lose yourself in the music, the moment You own it, you better never let it go You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow, This opportunity comes once in a lifetime yo.
In your earlier days did anybody say to you it's not a real job? If so, what was your reply?
Yes, many many many times. I’ll go as far as to say that the woman I almost married, successfully got me to give up my dream of ‘making it on my own’ and go pursue a 9-5 again…. For the sake of our future and potential family and another house and and and.... I did it for about 3 months and couldn’t take another moment of it. In my career, I’ve worked for others under salary a few times for a few years, loved it and hated it but it’s NO different re the risks. I was a cushy 6 figure earner and when the company started downsizing, I was one of the first to go (execs/highest paying go first, then they work their way down). To add insult to injury, they phoned me with the news on my day off – I’m sure they had their reasons perhaps…
It all comes down to perception, how you perceive a ‘job’. I don’t see what I do as a job, real or not it makes me a lot of money and it allows me to do what 95+% people cannot – BE IN CHARGE OF MY OWN LIFE – EVERY DAY – ALL DAY – ALL YEAR. What job allows you that? Do I have risk? Sure I do – HUGE. Is this for the lighthearted? NOPE!
Can you lose money and time quickly? YEP. Can you make 100K in a few months? ABSOLUTELY! Can you predict where you’ll be next month? NOPE. However I could list 5 interviews worth of perks and reasons this industry can be viewed as a ‘real job’. My perception is also skewed because I wear many hats, so if internet marketing as an affiliate is going bad in the current market phase, my publisher accounts could be going great! Or I could have lined up 5-10 publisher clients that want my services, or I can take 10K and throw it at a big PPC campaign to try to flip it… I see this industry as literally a playground to make money in. If you don’t know how to play, or if you just suck, keep practicing with or against those better than you. The more often you practice things that create success, the better your chances at actually achieving it. I call what I do as running a business, not having a job.
It’s a portfolio of revenue streams, it’s a creative outlet, it’s an amazing way to meet people and network, it’s every freelancer and contractors dream!! No overhead (well ok tiny bits), no equipment costs per project (my studio which I LOVE), no big staff (all virtual and great partners who work at their own pace of success), no driving/wasting time/spending time with people I dislike… So yes perhaps you’re absolutely right – it’s not a real job because it’s not like any job out there...
What really makes you happy? Online and/or offline.
The feeling I get when I travel, the vibe I get when partying with close friends be it a bbq or a club. When I have something to share with my family that is an epic move/experience for me. The rush I get from being in the half pipe, the feeling I get when I wake up after pulling an all nighter or two, and looking at my newest creation all polished and ready to show a client or my affiliate family. Orgasms, five figure weeks, fresh air, dancing (break/pop), battle DJ’ing, trying to sing knowing full well I can’t! Anything that gives me a butterfly.
What 1 thing would you change about AM if you could? Anything..?
I’ll give you more than one. *Get rid of all the CPA’s with shady TOS and T&C. *Get rid of .zip submits and lead generation models *Get rid of PPV and bot traffic providers *Get rid of shady publishers and affiliates *Get rid of DP! Just kidding – but at least overhaul their mods *Create a better and more reliable quality standard re serving cookies *Get rid of all adware and gateway installs that mess with cookies/AM offers
Anybody you would like to thank for your success online?
My moms, my partners, my affiliates, myself for not giving up and being a good hunter, my corona for drowning those hard times, my trees, my friends that doubted me, and anyone else that has ever doubted me – you fuel me!
In one sentence, what are your very top tips?
Practice only things that create success *Stop watching TV, stop listening to the news, start creating your own *Research well for 4 days and launch in 1hr instead of throwing crap out there in 1 hour and spending 4 days fixing it *Take risks – no risk no reward – big risk big reward *Open a business (costs under $100) start learning about tax write offs *Take this stuff seriously and you will see rewards *Don’t dilute yourself, commit to something until you PROVE that it works or it doesn’t. Don’t juggle 10 unproved things at once *Keywords still run our world, learn how to manipulate and research good keywords for both PPC and or BUM *Document your success – maybe take an interview some time – it really makes you dig into your own brain – this has been therapeutic in a sense actually.
Any final words to choppers?
You’ve all witnessed and taken part in a great success so far here at Niche Choppers. In fact you’re witnessing it get bigger and better every day. I would be nothing without you (or still chasing clients that owe me money), and many of you would be far behind where you are now without this place. In closing I’d like to say that collectively we make a great team. I surround myself with success, and eventually success surrounds me 10 fold. Those that surround me are also surrounded by success, and in a perfect world this equates to epic proportions of catapulting and viral growth.
As I grow, you all grow, I’ve seen MANY of you grow and I am honored to be able to say that for the first time since starting me career in the media field, I’m making amazing money by helping others make more money instead of helping CEO’s of companies get rich with a new brand or new campaign. You have no idea what it feels like to say that you’ve paid out over 350-400K within 6 months to your partners! What it feels like to have people from across the globe email you thanking you profusely for changing their lives, or what it feels like to get bombarded by publishers that want to partner with me or show me their bag of tricks in hopes of a colabo… My final words to you all are to keep surrounding yourself with success, don’t scatter yourself or try to follow/chase/replicate everything you see that makes a buck. Choose your role models and choose a path to practicing success until that practice pays off <<>
Thank you family, This has been a fun exercise and I hope you enjoyed learning a little more about the brain behind this place.
Keep chopping and keep positive, and I’ll quote myself from earlier today with this thought – “Whether you believe that you can – or you cannot – you are correct”.
Norb Czufis.
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An Interview with Niche Choppers Creator Norb Czufis
