60 Days Tomorrow

There are roads in SL. I have never seen one but they are there. There has been a thread on here somewhere about roads in SL. See if you can find it. You'd be surprised how many people I have heard say they have a car. If you think you would enjoy building one, have a go! It could be fun, you would have your own custom made car! You sound good at scripting too so this may not be a problem for you. It may even get your faith in SL back I doubt there are many good classic cars out there.

CX, do you think car enthusiasts would be interesting in coming to look at cool SL models of cars (real and fanciful) even if they don't drive them? Because I would think your VW enthusiasm would be a GREAT way to distinguish yourself and attract visitors. And - most importantly - something you would have fun building.

Also, it would take a lot of land, but you could probably build a little demo track where people could take your automotive models for a spin. That would be very fun. Like go-carts!

Another idea - instead of going through the overhead of setting up your own business, advertising it, getting the word out, etc, have you thought of actually working as a scripter for one of the more established businesses?

You don't have the overhead, you don't have to worry about selling items, you can script things for other people. You don't even have to be premium.

For example, the company I help manage, Hosoi Estates, is always in need of good animators and are willing to employ them and simply pay them for their work. They would have no overheads, no costs - just get paid for the work they do.

60 days is a drop in the business bucket

nearly 2 years for me, and I am still struggling, just took on extra tier to be able to keep using the land that was on loan to me, and I know I will not be able to meet tier with my sales

saw a tiny increase in sales that has now fizzled out

it is hard to be motivated to create, if one is trying to sell those creations and one gets no sales

and face it, anyone who puts their stuff up for sale, IS doing it to make some SLmoney... even if just to help cover the tier and/or rent.

(myself included, I had to face that fact, I do it for the money, yes I love creating, but if I were not wanting to make SLmoney from it, I would be giving it away, and not selling it)

I signed up with basic account first and then went premium and I get the L300 weekly.

I'm just a 60 day wonder... hardly skilled enough to write scripts for pay. The idea is appreciatated.

"CX"

Hi CX,

I'm sorry you are feeling so frustrated. It's understandable, epsecially given the technical bugs going these days. I hope you stick around longer to really decide if SL is for you.

I followed your picks and then tried to find your store in the mall. I couldn't find it but then realized that the mall is your business. That's a pretty big undertaking for someone with only 60 days.

I started my business a couple of months ago and it's booming. I'm not going to be rich but my sales have gone way beyond my expectations. I admit I'm lucky. However, I was in SL 6 months before I decided to open a business. Before that I worked jobs that I did for fun and made a little money here and there and got to know and understand SL better.

I don't know what your expectations were for RP sims. Those that expect anything like WoW, I find are usually disappointed. I'm not into RP myself but I do check out the builds sometimes because I find some of them amazing and admit most seem empty.

As for the bonus. I was a basic account holder for a couple of months and then increased to premium. I received my bonus exactly 45 days later, which was L$1500 at the time.

CX, not wishing to sound harsh, but the days of just coming into SL, building any old thing and being able to sell it have long gone, I'm afraid.

My advice would be for you to keep your costs down while you learn what you can really do to earn money in SL - owning a mall for rent can be risky - there's a glut of malls out there with empty space in them.

Learn to build some things and give them away to friends, and get their honest opinion on what they think. Learn what is already out there, especially what can be got for free (you're never going to make any money if something similar to what you build is available as a freebie). Learn what is missing, and how much people would pay for it.

Then start selling

Let's be clear - a year ago in December 2006, you got 250L if you put payment info on file right away, and 1000L if you converted that membership to premium. I got 250 the first day, and a couple of weeks later when I went premium, I got the 1000L.

I guesstimate that this process ended along with First Land, since First Land was being badly abused by alts.

No, it was changed later, around May 2007, around the same time they changed from immediate signup bonus to bonus after 45 days. I noticed the change because I was between alts at that time.

You missed another category there, CX:

5. People who have quietly worked over an extended period of time, building their store inventory, quality and their reputation as an honest, moral resident.

I don't know you, but don't leave yet.

Finally someone pointed what the poor person was talking about.

In the start its not easy these days with all the people selling objects on sl.

As for RP people that don`t RP in those sims. What you expect from under 18 age groups on sl. There are so many problem within the commuity on sl its just not funny anymore.
These days you need to work very very hard to make
a living on sl as a newbie user.

Instead of being NEG and jumping on CX why not try to help him? But then again those that only offer NEG reback are themself unhelpful.

Usagi, I think it's very important to keep people's expectations in line. If people are here strictly for the money, they have a rude awakening coming to them. Unless they are:

1. Gifted artists
2. Talented animators, possibly with motion detection technology (to compete with Bits & Bobs quality)
3. Established programmers who can learn LSL fairly easily
4. Any one of the above PLUS a great marketer
5. Or just a great marketer

... you are not going to see a satisfying return. If you have to learn everything from the ground up, what should you expect? No, the start isn't easy, but this race is not for the swift. It is for those who can endure and adapt - learn the skills, both creatively and businesswise, to make stuff better and market stuff better. Be patient, improve your craft, and learn the best ways to market your things.

That is the best advice I think we can give anyone who is 60 days in or less.

I don't see where anyone was negative or jumped on CX. I see people sharing their experiences and offering their advice.

Frequently that is not what we want to hear.

6. People who have found SL to be a wonderful place to explore and make friends, a place to relax, listen to music, learn new things and experience the wonders created by others' imaginations. Those people have money because they realize that entertainment costs money and SL is the best deal on earth. I've dropped around $100 into SL just in buying Lindens. That's less than 4 movies, if you count the price of tickets, a bucket of popcorn, some Junior Mints and an absolutely gargantuan drum of soda pop (seriously, who drinks 64 ounces of pop in a 100 minute movie? What kind of mutant bladder do they have?).

CX - to figure out your place in SL, first relax. Don't let profit motivate you. You have friends here, so meet up with us in RL. I'm still sorry I missed you at the party you threw, but I had fun trashing the place with everyone who was left when I got on that night. I met a handful of new people and some old friends. Once you're relaxed, play. Play with scripts or building or whatever catches your fancy. If you get frustrated, go play with something else for a while and come back to it later.

You have a place. 60 days isn't enough time to know what it is yet. I'm 37 in RL and I don't know what my place is yet in RL. I'm a baby in SL, even with the standard SL time dilation. Just stop looking so hard and let the answer reveal itself to you. And please stick around.

If you call some of the early post helpful......oh well

Usagi, I don't think anyone has really had a go at CX. They may have been a bit short because tbh 60 days isn't that long, but no one has been mean to him. Most people have given advice and expressed that they don't want him to go.

Yeah... I'm the one you see at the back of the cinema with my bag of crispy MnMs and the biggest drink they do. The cinema I go to does the biggest drink I have ever seen - I mean huuuuge! And you get free refills. They said that I was the only one to ever go back for a refill lol.
What can I say....I lurrve my Sprite.

Thats might be true. But these days the game is so full of people selling objects and services. Its very hard to make things work as they say. 60 days is not enough yes, but this explaination is just heart stopping...

No one has been harsh or mean to me not on the forums.

Truthfully I haven't even met a griefer inworld. (not yet anyway)

I have a couple of unique ideas I am working on.

I guess my expectations were just too high from the LL Hype.

"CX"

I'm sorry if it felt like I was jumping on you, but I just know a lot of people came into SL because of the news stories and they think they're going to make a lot of money easy and don't care about much else.

It can be really really hard to meet people and find your little spot in SL. Really hard. Explore and try new things.

Cars are hard because there's no real place to drive and the lag makes it hard. VWs are wonderful though. In the otherplace I had a beautiful baby blue bug that I bought after it was rebuilt.

First off I didn't think you were jumping on me. I did find a track last night to drive my SL cars on.

In RL I have a baby blue and white VW also:



(I'm very proud of it)

"CX"

Dear Mr. X....

your mall is nice, your prices are fair, your stuff is cool and you are a great person.

no, you won't make a bunch of money right away (darn it!) but i see that you like to be creative, and that will make all your efforts worth your time.

so far, i don't see that you've done anything "wrong" that wouldn't make your land or stuff desireable. it's very nice.

keep doing what you are doing, follow your 'paintbrush' and see where it leads you. best of luck!

I couldn't ask for higher praise... Thanks

OMG a 181. It's so beautiful.

WOW... not many people know what a 181 is. I am impressed.

"CX"