Online Entrepreneur Certification. Getting Rolling!

Today I completed lesson 1 of level 1 of the Wealthy Affiliate Online Entrepreneur Certification.

A Little Background

If you haven’t read my prior post, here is a little background as to why I’m doing this. In July 2019, I left a career in banking to become an online entrepreneur. It was a long search; I looked far and wide, and finally, I found Wealthy Affiliate, a robust platform which will help me build a solid foundation for my online business. In September 2019, I signed up for the free starter account, and after only a couple of weeks, I decided to sign up for the Premium Membership.

My decision was easy. After browsing the Wealthy Affiliate platform and interacting with the community, it became apparent that for less than $1.00 per day, you get a tremendous value. As of today, the annual subscription costs $359. It is $49 if you choose the monthly option.

Why am I blogging about lessons I have completed?

I’m serious about becoming a successful online entrepreneur. My goal with the Wealthy Affiliate Online Entrepreneur Certification is to complete two lessons per week and write about the key learning objectives, my impressions of the lesson, and personal progress. Writing about each training session will force me to learn all the critical elements of the training. At the same time, as I come across new tools, resources, best practices, etc., I will capture them in this blog and share it with you. I hope you decide to join me in this new adventure.

Online Entrepreneur Certification-Level 1

Getting Rolling! is lesson 1 out of 10 of the Level 1-Getting Started. This 10-lesson course is part of the Wealthy Affiliate Online Entrepreneur Certification. These ten lessons are currently free with the Free Starter Membership. The goal of Level 1 is to build the foundations of your online business.

These are the lessons that will be provided in Level 1:

Lesson 1-Getting Rolling! This is a welcome introduction from Kyle and provides a high-level diagram of how you will be successful. You will watch a walkthrough video of the platform. I completed this lesson today. You can read more details below.
Lesson 2-Understanding how to Make Money Online. You will learn the affiliate marketing money-making process. You will also create (write down) your financial goals.
Lesson 3-Choose A Niche. You will understand what a niche is, the importance of selecting a niche, and how to do it.
Lesson 4-Building Your Own Website. Here you will choose the type of website you want, pick a domain, and the kind of website design.
Lesson 5-Setting Up Your Website. In lesson 5, you will learn how to log on to your website, activate/update plugins, and delete default posts, pages, and comments. You will do this via WordPress.
Lesson 6-Getting Your Site Ready for Search Engines. You will learn how to set up a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) plugin, which will help you get your website basic SEO ready for search engines.
Lesson 7-Creating Your Initial Website Content. In lesson 7 you will create your first blog post (About Page) and blog page (Privacy Policy)
Lesson 8-Creating Custom Menus on Your Website. Here you will use WordPress to create your first website menu.
Lesson 9-Understanding Keywords. In lesson 9, you will learn what a keyword is and why keywords are important for search engines. You will also practice searching keywords using Jaaxy.com
Lesson 10-Congratulations and Your Next Steps. The last lesson of Level 1 training congratulates you on all you have accomplished with these nine lessons and encourages you to become a premium member.

Review of Lesson- 1 Getting Rolling

Key learning objectives:

Introduction to Kyle and Carson, the two co-founders of Wealthy Affiliate
Kyle provides a diagram of how you will be creating success:
- Choose an interest
- Build a website
- Attract visitors
- Earn revenues

Kyle offers two crucial pieces of advice:
- Don’t be afraid of asking questions. I can already tell that the Wealthy Affiliate community is fantastic. In the couple of weeks that I have been part of the platform, I have noticed that if you ask a question, you will have several people to answer it and encourage you. People in this community are here for-profit, but they genuinely care. They are very generous with their time when they answer questions. I also noticed that there are many levels of proficiency within the members, which I think is beneficial. As you start creating your online presence, you certainly want to have access to experts, but you also want to be able to chat with people that are at your same level, people that can relate to you, and can support you as well.
- Take action on what you learn. I find this is also very important. As you go through the lessons, you will build your website and your business. You don’t just learn some theoretical principles and then apply them after you have finished all your courses. These are hands-on lessons that make you apply what you learn on the spot. I think it is easier to learn this way.

You will watch a walk-through video which goes over how to access:
- Training. Your “core” training courses, classrooms, and training history. There are 1,000’s of training resources available.
- Live events. You’ll get education directly from industry experts and have a chance to take part in live online classes.
- Live Chat. You’ll get instant help and coaching. You can jump into a live chat and interact in real-time with fellow aspiring and successful internet entrepreneurs.
- 24/7 Help Center. Because Wealthy Affiliate is available in most countries, you can post community questions that are likely to be answered any time of the day.
- Real-time Personalized Notifications. You’ll know when someone has contacted you, responded to your questions, and get other essential system alerts.
- Jaaxy keyword research platform. You can instantly research keywords, find domains, uncover niches, brainstorm ideas, and analyze your websites.
You will complete your account set-up process. You can control your presence within Wealthy Affiliate, add to your blog, and manage your account settings.
Go over the two membership types: free and premium.