This is probably the hardest post I've ever had to make on my blog. However, it is a necessary post. Yes, I've made the tough decision to leave the Freebie trading Industry behind. Let me give you some background behind this decision.

I was talking with one of my business coaches via the phone, explaining to her where I am in my online business and where I was trying to go. She was extremely impressed with what I've been able to accomplish, but also extremely concerned about how much I have on my plate, considering what I'm trying to accomplish. We then came to the conclusion that if I am to really succeed, I will need to let something go. There were two options. Either leave the Freebie Industry behind, or the other stuff that I'm trying to accomplish.

Most of you know that I'm a science and math teacher. My passion is for helping people understand biology. In fact, I did a Bachelor of Science Degree in biology and a Master of Science degree in Neurobiology and I enjoy teaching the content so much that I decided to build an interactive Biology site, to teach biology using simple videos, games and other resources. I don't want to get into all of the details here, but if you want to check it out, you can visit my Interactive Biology site to see what I've been up to.

When I weighed the two (Freebie Industry and my Interactive Biology Site), I truly believe that I can contribute much more value with the biology site and help out more people doing that. However, I also had to consider the fact that the Freebie Industry is making me money right now and the Biology site isn't. At that point, I had to ask myself the question – What is more important to me, Making More Money now or helping more people over the long run? The answer to that question was obvious to me. Money is good, but it's not what REALLY matters to me. When I die, I'm not taking any money with me to the grave. However, if I can affect more lives in a positive way, then my life would not be in vain.

In addition to everything, I'm starting a second Master's degree (in education) in 3 weeks and that will be taking a significant amount of my time.

The Freebie industry has been great to me. I've learned a lot, met some GREAT people (I was going to name some, but I didn't want to miss anyone), and have been able to help a lot of people (at least I hope I have). I think that there is still a lot to happen in the freebie industry, and based on some recent discussions, I think that things will get even better over time, and I wish all of you the best who are still involved.

I'm Selling Most of What I have

We've decided (Chris Deals and I) to sell CaliStyle101, our Freebie trading forum AND the PrizeFast network of Freebie Sites. We've posted the sites for sale on Flippa. If you are interested in purchasing the sites, you can use the following link to go directly to the listing, which includes a full income report and traffic details. It has everything you need to be able to see the value of the sites and how much money is made from all of the sites.

www.calistyle101.com is For Sale on Flippa!

Included in the sale is:

  • The CaliStyle101 forums with over 34,000 members
  • The Prizefast Network of 6 Incentivized Freebie Websites
  • Full rights to my 2 ebooks (The Freebie Report and the Freebie Cash Formula)
  • Rebranding tool for the Freebie Cash Formula
  • The Following Domains: CaliStyle101.com, PrizeFast.com, FreebieCashFormula.net
  • 2 Aweber Mailinglists with approximately 3700 subscribed emails
  • Amember installation on the CaliStyle101 domain
  • 3 Kencinnus plugins for Amember: Amail, AMSalesFunnel and AMProtect
  • Idevaffiliate installation integrated with Amember

What will Happen with TheFreebieGuy.net?

That's a good question. At first, I thought about selling it. However, I've decided to keep it and just use it to document what I've learned, and am learning, in terms of building an online business. Since I will no longer be promoting the Freebie Industry, I'm removing that content from the blog, and will be solely focusing on showing what I've learnt and am learning as I build my new business. However, if someone makes me an offer I can't refuse, then I can't refuse it 🙂

As you can see, a lot has gone into bringing what I have to where it is right now. From building this blog, to adding the forum and the Freebie Network, to partnering with other bloggers, interviews, being featured on MSN Money and working on traffic generation, I've learned a lot and have established a lot. However, I tend to think that God had me go through all of these experience for me to learn things, and use it to do bigger things. As I leave the industry, I know there will be mixed emotions. Some people will be sad, even disappointed, and maybe even happy (hopefully not). However, know this. I've enjoyed my experience, and wish NOTHING but the best for each and every one of you. Remember this, you can do anything you put your mind to, but you have to believe in yourself and be willing to work your behind off to accomplish your goals.

If you have any questions, comments or well wishes, I invite you to leave them in the comments section below. All the best!

About the Author Leslie Samuel


Leslie Samuel a business coach for high-performing entrepreneurs. As the host of the Leslie Samuel Show, he teaches how to build an online business. "Changing the world one post at a time” is the mission he strives towards. As a former university professor, he has a passion for education. He's the founder of Interactive Biology, a blog and YouTube channel dedicated to making biology fun for students and teachers. As the head of training for the Social Media Marketing Society, he helps social media marketers get the training they need to stay on the leading edge of social media.

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