Well, am I? I’ve been in this working-for-myself mode for about a year now, slowly growing my freelance writing business, and I have to say that I’m in a much better position now than I was when I first started. I’ve also started to put a little more focus in Beyond the Rhetoric, as I’m starting to learn how to make an extra couple of bucks from this blog. In fact, I just received my first Google Adsense cheque in the mail this morning. I don’t think of myself as a Dot Com Mogul in the same ilk as John Chow, but according to this checklist, as appended by Stephen Fung, I’m not that far off.

Alright, let’s get started. There were seven items on the check list when John Chow did it, but Stephen added numbers eight and nine for good measure. Someone really ought to add one more so that it’s a nice even ten. In any case…

  1. Your income must come about as a result of the money you make on the Internet: Well, I’m a freelance writer and pretty much all my work is for websites, so yes, I make my money on the Internet. Check!
  2. The minimum internet income level is $10,000 a month (you cannot add income from other sources to hit this $10K level): Um, nowhere close. Working on it.
  3. You have no jobs outside of the internet: I was tempted in the beginning as things were pretty slow, but not anymore. Check!
  4. You have a personal blog with your name as the domain name: You’re here, aren’t you? Check!
  5. Your blog must be updated at least once per week: I’m doing it almost every day now! Check!
  6. A Google search of your name must be at the #1 spot: It only happened last week when I ousted that Hong Kong singer, so Check!
  7. You must be willing to help dot com mogul wannabes: I’m still a wannabe, but I’m helping anyone who asks (I’m looking at you Dylan). Check!
  8. Give time, money, or anything of value to a charitable cause each month: I signed up for a monthly donation to UBC last year. Check!
  9. Personally help at least one person establish their online presence via a blog or website or help them enhance one they already have every month: Not quite there, but I am helping the aforementioned Dylan with his slowly evolving blog.

So, tallying it up, I have seven out of nine, maybe even 7.5 if you give me a half-point for the last point. On my way to Dot Com Mogul status, but I have a feeling that #2 will be a huge hurdle to overcome.


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