They CAN take it away!
The Alentejo, where I live, is known for its rolling hills, cork oak forests, and vineyards, and also as a prominent olive-growing region.
There are olive trees everywhere, in the fields, in gardens, and even in the smallest courtyards.
Some of these trees are hundreds of years old, and whilst there are now some big, mechanised olive orchards, there are still thousands of family-owned olive trees, harvested by hand and in an atmosphere of family fun.
These family-owned trees will typically provide all the olive oil a family can use in a year.
We are now part of that tradition with nine olive trees on our land.
We tend to harvest our olives in November and get them to the cooperative press before Christmas.
So on Sunday, with help from the family, I found myself either up in a tree picking Olives, beneath the tree being rained on by olives, or stooped over carrying crates of olives!
The product of this labour will be the highly prized Alentejan olive oil, known for its distinctive typically fruity, slightly bitter, taste.
The harvesting of my trees has reminded me of the importance of having my own digital assets that I own and control, so let me explain why this is important.
I want to raise an extra 40k online, to do that I need something to sell and someone to sell it to, simple right?
I don’t need to own a product to be able to sell it, I can sell as an affiliate of someone else, and that is one of my potential income streams, though I also intend to create and sell my own products.
But I do need a place to reach my potential customers, and as they are on the internet, social media would appear to be the answer but… here is where an issue can arise if I don’t have my own ‘Owned Asset’
The Problem
Platforms like Facebook, Etsy, YouTube, and X (Twitter) own the platform, you are totally at their mercy, if they say you are out, then you are out. And there are PLENTY of examples here that have happened.
The problem is not just the social media platforms, PAYPAL has shut down thousands of accounts with little or no notice, often holding on to or confiscation thousands of dollars in the process.
Now, please do not misunderstand me, I am not saying do not use these platforms, indeed they can be very helpful in generating an income but….. remember that they can be taken from you at any time.
It is to ensure that I am not held to ransom by the big platforms that a central part of my Forty Short income campaign is to develop my blog, it will be a very important ‘Owned Asset’.
I own the domain name FortyShort.com
It’s linked to a WordPress site that I back up and can easily reinstall anywhere should my current internet hosting company go bust or decide to kick me out.
I will be building an email list of interested parties to whom I can send relevant offers, and that email list also belongs to me and can be moved to another email service provider if needed.
So just like my olive trees, once mature, provide a regular income, year after year, so will my owned assets.
I will write a post soon about the ideas I have for my products and income streams.
I hope you found that interesting, do please let me know in the comments below
All the best
Tony
