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Ask HN: How did you make your first $10,000?

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Re: Ask HN: How did you make your first $10,000?

#25
post #10

AllAdvantage: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AllAdvantage Back when I was in middle school (on AOL)

Someone actually made money from AllAdvantage? How?! I think I earned $100 or so but was never paid.

About.com paid out $800, a few small companies paid $100, but Northrop Grumman took the prize for paying out $9300

Although not explicitly stated, I think there was a minimum requirement of $100 to get a payout from a given company. Checks were issued from each company individually, so you literally had to make $100 from a given company to get that payout.

Re: Ask HN: How did you make your first $10,000?

#26
1. I made money high school doing web sites and tech support for individuals and small businesses around my neighborhood. Most of this work either came through friends & family or people I'd met while working in a student job helping people use the computers at the local library branch.

2. I made more in college by making up a paid job with the student affairs department (one that did need to be done, not make-work), related to my role with the student government, and then doing it. Is that entrepreneurial?

3. After I dropped out of college I worked doing odd jobs / handyman work, and as a contractors apprentice, doing home renovations. Once I learned the ropes, I went out on my own and worked for myself doing that.

4. After I finished college I went back to doing freelance web development, again working for myself.

While I learned things at all of these, any of them could have been my first $10k if none of the previous had happened.

In between, I worked non-entrepreneurially at a series of non-profits / not-for-profits -- a summer camp, my university, a hiking club. I now work for a growth stage company, and it definitely has its advantages in stability and ability to focus on the parts of the job you like. No doubt I will work for myself, and for other non-profits, again in the future.

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