Interview with Jim Regan – The Net Fool

This is our first weekend series of “What separate the men from the boys?” where each week we will feature one prominent blogger who has inspired us in one way or another.

This week we are bringing in Jim Regan who is known as the guy who operates The Net Fool – a blog on making money online by “turning time into cash“.

1. We know nothing about you. Give us some interesting and completely unheard facts that make you a great blogger.

Hey guys, this is Jim… also known as “the net fool” around the marketing-sphere. I’m actually, well, not that much of the marketer. It’s a bit funny that I own a successful “make money online” website and blog, eh?

I am currently a student of Finance in college (go Nittany Lions), and am very interested in the economy and the stock market system. As such, I am studying to be in an investing position over the next few years, and would love to manage money in any way, shape or form.

So here’s where theNetFool.com comes in… I write all about making money online because I am simply fascinated with helping other people create wealth through any means necessary! With a big background on the internet, I know about pretty much every scheme, technique and method that has ever been used to turn a profit on the net… and I’m going to tell you exactly how you can do it!

2. When & what compelled you to start blogging?

I originally started theNetFool.com in October of 2007, and this has blossomed into a full fledged online conglomerate that I have formed named JRR Enterprises LLC.

What is this corporation? Essentially, I wanted a controlling company to house all of my online activities under one roof. I am active in marketing, web design, blogging, hosting and am even starting up a new project which you will hear more about soon :)

I am compelled to blog basically by the belief that blogging is a stable income that I can grab simply by helping people make some extra money.

I like pumping as much money into the system as possible, and love the opportunity to teach other people the tricks of the trade that the professionals won’t! To put it another way, I’m a fighter for the “little guy” out there.

3. How has blogging changed your life?

Haha, changed my life? I wouldn’t say that it has. People around campus will shout out “The Net Fool!” as a joke every now and then (no… pretty much constantly), so I guess I have more of a chip on my shoulder.

Make no mistake about it, blogging has been a great way to make a few bucks here or there… but I like the fact that I own a popular blog more for the reputation on the internet than anything else.

4. To what do you attribute your blog success?

I don’t like to give up easily, and I have a pretty cut-throat and scrappy personality. What this means, is that when I see someone doing well, I want to always jump in and do an even better job! I have a competitive nature that I typically use to my advantage… one downside of this is that I try to do too much, haha.

My success would come from this fact that I am a competitor and I don’t like to give up… so if you keep plugging at it, you will be successful too!

5. If you could give one sentence of advice to blogger, what would that be?

You’ve got to win to play, but you’ve got to play to win. Now then, wasn’t that corny? Haha, okay I’m not a fan of one-sentence advice at all, so come to my blog and ask me a question and I’ll give you a nice paragraph, eh? :)

6. What is one biggest blogging mistake you’ve done and in similar situation, how would do differently today?

Answer to enemies… sometimes you just have to let things sit, eh? There have been a few people that have attacked me and my website just to try to get some publicity, and I really hate when that happens.

In one case, which I will not name, a guy made some threatening posts that made me sound like a wimp on his blog. Then, when I responded (BAD MOVE!), he immediately twisted my wording to sound like I was attacking him.

This is a no win situation, and only melted away when I just ignored him entirely… which I totally recommend if you run into this kind of situation.

7. What’s the best way for a blogger to make money, in your professional opinion?

Do something other than blogging! Blogging is a great tool to help you out and to build a network of interested companions that will help you out and support you financially… but in the end, you need something else to be actually successful in making money online.

8. Where do you think the blogosphere is headed over the next few years?

More popular, bigger, better,… need anymore? Blogging has been erupting over the past 2-3 years into a full-fledged industry. I would predict in 3-5 years that it will be just as common to have your own blog as it will be have a Facebook or MySpace account.

9. If you could write a guest post for any blog but were only allowed to write one guest post in your entire life, which blog would you write for and why?

I would write a guest post on ProBlogger.net. This is one of the best blogs around and actually has useful information despite its bloated reader fan base. What’s more? This is one of the only blogs that has ever shut me down when I requested a guest post! Haha, so I’d definitely like to rub it in Darren’s face that he missed a great opportunity.

10. Lastly, tell us one goal in life that you haven’t accomplished yet but are still determined to reach.

I’d like to own real estate, haha. Come on man, I’m just 19, I haven’t had enough time to accomplish a whole bunch of big ticket items. In this market though, I feel like I probably could own a few houses in Detroit, Michigan if I really wanted to, haha.

11. Any other insight or thoughts, you’d like to share?

The economy has been horrendous in 2008, and most (okay, EVERY) MMO blogger out there totally ignores the economy when they write.

If you want someone that understands how the markets work and will put that into educational and easy-to-understand posts every day… check out theNetFool.com! Heck, if you subscribe to my blog you will even get a free eBook on How To Create a Blog :)

Thanks, Jim for taking this interview. It’s a great pleasure to have you around. At the very least, we know you ain’t a fool.

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