Chapter 1: The Journey Begins

Back in September 2021, my friends and I set sail on an online adventure — we created a Discord hangout that swelled to 1000 members. Exciting, right? But in the midst of our celebration, a question hit me: “It was great and all but for so much effort, we should have got something.”

Yep, that something was cash. We’d poured hours into building this digital haven during the pandemic. Met cool folks, learned heaps, and had a blast. But reality check: once the world reopens, who’s sticking around online?

Thinking about selling stuff to our global gang felt like trying to solve an equation that had a million variables. Indians, Americans, Germans — we had ’em all! But more the diversity, more the complications. Plus, understanding foreign payments was as baffling as decoding hieroglyphs. And let’s face it, most were teens who shrugged at ads.

So, a new plan brewed — Instagram meme page. Easy-peasy, right? Grow it, throw in some ads, and boom! Cash incoming!

Embarking on Epic Memez, our treasured meme haven, seemed like diving into a bottomless sea. Yet, converting memes into ads with a mere 1000 followers felt as daunting as teaching a dog to meow. The YouTube gurus chimed in, setting the milestone: 3000 followers required for ad posting. Yet, even if we managed to reach that milestone, there lingered no guarantee that the ad game would play in our favor. The plot thickened in our meme saga.

Then came Andrew Tate, sounding like a digital sage preaching about online money-making — Entrepreneurship, Affiliate Marketing, E-Commerce — transforming dreams into actionable plans. After leading our Discord realm, the thought of working for someone else felt like a definite “ugh!” His concepts truly resonated with me.

With Epic Memez slipping into the shadows, the call of Money Saviors grew louder. Join Amazon’s Affiliate Program, toss some fashion links on Insta, and watch the money stream in. Sounds easy, huh? Hold onto your hats because this journey is gearing up to be more thrilling than a rodeo bull’s dance. Buckle up for the twists, turns, and surprises in this entrepreneurial quest!

Chapter 2: The Birth of Money Saviors

When the idea sparked, I couldn’t wait to share it with Deku (For my friends, I’ll be using their discord name), my partner in this venture. He jumped onboard, eager to dive into this entrepreneurial journey together.

We were on a mission to pick a name for our fashion deal-hunting project, and let me tell you, brainstorming names felt like a rollercoaster ride. Somehow, “Money Saviors” won the race — yeah, it might not have been our grandest moment of inspiration, but sometimes the simplest ideas have the biggest impact. It just stuck, you know?

Our voyage commenced with something all the big shots emphasize — branding. Yep, that was our grand starting point. Because, you know, big brands got that branding game strong… or so we thought. Spoiler alert: That logic needed some serious rewiring. But hey, hold onto your hat; we’re getting there!

What did I whip up as our profile picture, you ask? Well, forget logos with plain words and alphabets; we aimed higher. Imagine this — a Marshmello dripping swag in a classy shirt! Creative, right? Deku wasn’t fully sold on the idea, but between us, there weren’t many options that really clicked.

Getting the affiliate account set up was a breeze. Then came Canva — a game-changer. We even sorted a Blogger site to store our affiliate links, signaling the end of Phase I.

My design attempts started humbly with a basic MS Paint post, then graduated to Canva creations. Little font tweaks, design shifts here and there — each post aimed to outdo the last. We branched out to Facebook under the same name, hoping for some marketing magic.

But reality check — organic reach felt more like searching for a needle in a haystack. We managed a modest 60 followers early on, not too shabby but certainly not the jackpot. And buying followers? Nah, not our style. Collaboration seemed like our ticket to expansion.

Two young guns wading into the vast realm of online marketing — it was just the beginning. The path ahead promised more thrills than a theme park ride!

Chapter 3: The Pursuit of Partnerships and a Makeover

In the world of business, connections are like gold, but they don’t just fall into your lap. I have this old-school method to reach out — shoot a message and hope someone responds. Most times, it’s like talking to a brick wall, but every now and then, you strike gold.

One of those golden connections was with a guy who had a bigger following than mine, all about those fashion videos for men. His content? Exactly the kind that pops up when you’re scrolling through fashion feeds. I tailored my video style to match his vibe, sent out that collab request, and boom! That video hit about 700 views, our record so far.

But hey, lightning doesn’t always strike twice. Tried hitting him up later, but silence from the other end. So, I had to switch gears.

Ever heard of F4F? It’s frowned upon in the YouTube world, but I’ve seen it work wonders for my meme page. Once scored 500 followers in just a week. How, you ask? Find a page similar to yours, follow the folks who like their latest post, and voila! More followers.

Our main competitor? BestuDeals. They showcased what actors wore in movies and real life, racking up tons of followers and hitting it big with trending movie stuff. They were everywhere — Telegram, Twitter, even Youtube.

Tried the same F4F strategy with them and similar pages, but no dice. It hit a dead end. So, I dusted off the old account that helped grow my meme page and tried the same tactics for MoneySaviors. Surprisingly, it worked like a charm!

Then came the thought — maybe it’s our content that’s not clicking. We made the shift to Reels, but man, creating those after a whole day of college was no cakewalk. Nevertheless, we pulled through.

In walked Thomas Shelby — a Peaky Blinders fanatic. He had a knack for what we were doing, given our old Discord days.

Checked our Blogger site — barely any action. Our competitors were all about LinkTree and Telegram, so we made a channel on Telegram as our main hub for links.

But our growth? Slower than a snail on vacation. Stories about Deals of the Day? Got a few views and likes, but nothing to shout about.

Thomas wasn’t vibing with our Marshmello logo or the name Money Saviors. A rebrand was on the horizon. Cue weeks of brainstorming, heated debates, and creative clashes. Finally, our AI-generated logo emerged, with a golden ring inspired by Sonic games — connecting the dots with ‘Money.’

But naming it? That was a tough nut to crack. ‘Deal Finderz’ sounded catchy, but it seemed everyone and their grandma had a similar name. Back to the drawing board we went.

Chapter 4: Dan

In the world of business, every step forward feels like a leap into the unknown. With Deku and Thomas on my team, we geared up to venture into new territories. Our mission? Boost a post and watch the magic unfold. Equipped with a modest Canva design, we posted the ad with a neat and decent shirt as the product.

The ad generated some buzz, a few leads, but not a single sale. Talk about a letdown. But hey, at least it caught the eye of some micro-influencers. Enter Dan, our would-be savior… or so we thought.

Dan, spotting our ad, decided we were his ticket to free products. He proposed a collaboration where we’d provide merchandise for his videos. Sounds like a win-win, right? He promised video releases would rain sales for us. Tempting, but we played it smart — research first.

I went all detective mode, scouting Dan’s collab history. Most didn’t reply, but the few who did painted a grim picture — no growth, no sales. The dreamy sales promise seemed more like a fantasy.

Content ideas ran dry, so we took the leap and sent Dan a couple of shirts. Our deal: he follows our script, we edit, and we slap our logo on it. But then life happened — exams! After that, everything felt different. Motivation? Vision? Vanished into thin air. Back to the grind, I tweaked the plan a bit, suggesting that Dan could handle the script and send us the video. My part would come in later — I’d dive into the editing post my exams.

After the exams, Dan’s videos arrived. Disappointing doesn’t even cover it. Same angles, terrible lighting — nothing seemed right. I tried my hand at editing, brightened the scenes, tossed in transitions, but it still missed the mark. And yes, you guessed it, no logo attached; the video just didn’t hold up to our own standards.

Dan’s critique? Not sugar-coated. He wanted fancy effects and color grading! The nerve! Especially from a high schooler whose videos weren’t exactly cinematic masterpieces. But, because my team invested, I promised a better video in a few weeks.

Amid the chaos of edits and tweaks, my buddy from class, a video-editing wizard, came to my rescue. He took on the challenge, polished up the footage, and viola! Dan gave the green light, and we were all geared up for the big release. But, oh boy, Murphy’s Law struck hard.

When I attempted to share the video on my account, this odd glitch popped out of nowhere! It was like trying to send a text message when your phone’s got a mind of its own. The request to collaborate with Dan? It seemed stuck, refusing to budge no matter how many times I tried. And guess what? Deku found himself stuck in thesame situation on his side.

In hindsight, looking back at that situation, I couldn’t help but chuckle. Should I have just asked Dan to post the video? Probably! But hey, those little missteps in the journey of entrepreneurship sure make for some entertaining anecdotes, right?

Chapter 5: Change in Plans and Conclusion

Our journey in the world of online marketing was an unpredictable rollercoaster. Every twist and turn seemed to throw us off course. We were juggling ideas, trying to strike gold with our content, but boy, it was tough! We hit a wall with our niche limitations — couldn’t seem to hop on any trend. Content struggles loomed larger every day. Then came Thomas with a game-changer — Mohanlal’s Jailer outfit. Boom! Suddenly, everyone wanted that outfit! Messages flooded in, and our spirits soared. But alas, the joy was short-lived. The buzz didn’t convert into sales, and our smiles faded.

That experience made me pause and ponder — stick to our original fashion offers and wait for the right audience, or switch gears to BestUDeals’ style for a shot at the reach we craved. The team morale was down, and we needed a win. So, we chose the latter. I dove into the film niche, following BestUDeals’ footsteps. Our first post on SRK’s Jawan outfit was a hit! It felt like our account’s pulse was back. Views shot up, some even hitting 250!

Despite the extra sweat in editing those videos, the payoff was worth it. We hopped onto trends, featuring stars and upcoming movie outfits. But alas, growth seemed elusive. The numbers plateaued at 100. Then, an exam hit, and I hit pause — my friends did too. Hope was slipping away.

I’ll admit, I have a knack for jumping ship when things don’t click. But this project was the big league, and I stumbled. My impatience and sloppy planning might’ve sealed our fate.

So, what’s next? We’re planning to exit the affiliate marketing game and dip our toes into reselling. It’s a risky move, but reselling offers better profit margins per sale. The game plan? Tweaking our Instagram account to harness our existing audience for sales.

Hopefully, the next one will be a success story.