My name is Seth Kniep, Kniep’n it real. I like to stay really raw and honest. My goal is to share the highs and lows of what I went through when I started with a single dime and turned it into $100,000.
Here’s what a lot of people don’t realize: if you take a dime and double it to $0.20, then double it to $0.40, then to $0.80, then to $1.60 and so forth, only twenty times will get you to $100,000.
I’ll never forget the day when I was working in Apple’s sales department and made more money for them in one day than I was paid in an entire year.
This is not a rag on Apple. Apple, as a company, is one of the greatest companies ever built in my opinion. What I did not like was the corporatocracy I saw as the company grew. When I moved to the support department, there were so many levels of people to go through to make any kind of difference. I spent more time protecting the company from lawsuits and making sure all the paperwork was filled out instead of training people. I understand people want to sue Apple because they have a lot of money, but I wasn’t coaching anymore, and that’s what I love to do. I finally said “I’m going out.”
I literally walked out of my house with a dime and talked to people, asking, “I’d like to pay off my $24,000 in debt and I’d like to pay off my house. If I double this just a few times, it becomes a huge amount of money. Will you help me?” Most people said, “Sure, I’ll double it.”
I doubled my dime to twenty cents. Then forty cents. Then eighty. I recorded all of these as videos, so you can see them. I kept going until I had $400. Then I took that money, purchased some inventory, and sold stuff on eBay. Some things sold really well and some didn’t. I remember I spent an entire day researching as hard as I could. How could I find out what was selling well? There are some people out there making millions, and I wanted to learn how to do it.
One day, I walked into my house and realized, “I have over a thousand books from school. I’m going to sell them all.” I sold over half of them on Amazon and made a pretty decent profit. Then I went into my garage. I thought, “Americans have all this stuff we don’t need—what can I get rid of?” I started selling everything I didn’t need and use. I started changing the way I live.
I took a dime and glued it to the wall of my garage as a reminder. Someday I wanted to be able to say, “You see this dime? Even if that’s all you have, a single dime, don’t underestimate it. A dime has incredible value.” You could say, “Oh, it’s just a dime. Use it as a tip or to pay for that $17 drink at Starbucks with four hundred adjectives in it.” But a dime has incredible potential.
It’s ten cents. It’s not one cent, it’s ten cents. I know I’m sounding a little facetious, but bear with me. It is the smallest coin for its value. It is the most valuable coin for its size. A dime is really small, the smallest American coin we have, yet it is incredibly valuable. And if I double it twenty times, that dime is a hundred thousand dollars.
Another day, I picked up my phone and called a whole bunch of suppliers. I asked them “What’s selling best?” Some were very cooperative and wanted to help me out. Some were like, “Who is this guy?” I called over 300 suppliers, and the number one thing they told me was selling was vapes. So I started investigating; what is a vape? I used to smoke a pipe at the time and learned that a vape was a healthy alternative to smoking a regular cigarette or pipe.
I was so interested I built an entire online store—and completely failed. I ended up losing money and sold it for an embarrassingly low price. But I learned something: I have to differentiate myself. There has to be something different about what I’m doing that gives value to people.
If someone goes online and sees a hundred different vape stores, why in the world would they buy from mine? I need to give them a reason. That was one of the most discouraging yet helpful experiences I’ve ever endured. But I knew this is what I was designed and called to do, so I kept going.
I kept going and going until I got to the $100,000 I wanted. Now I can say, “Hey, it’s okay if you have only a dime. You can build a company and passive income streams off this dime so that you make money while you sleep.”
A few days ago, I was able to drop what I was doing and take the family to Dave & Buster’s here in Austin, Texas and enjoy the day. I didn’t have to worry about having enough vacation hours or getting behind in work.
Sometimes working at a company feels like you’re saying, “Oh, I only have this much vacation time left. Could you please put a little more in my cup? Please, just a little more.” I became so dependent on what they gave me, so dependent on what my boss said about me, allowing that to affect how I feel about myself. Then I realized I don’t have to live like that. It’s risky, but there is something else I can do with my life.
It’s not about the money. It’s about taking something and building it up. It’s about creating margin for myself and my family. I don’t want to come across as one of those guys who has a super high-end sports car and yells, “Hey, I’m rich! I’m successful! Try to learn from me.” I drive a freaking minivan! And I love my minivan, it’s badass. Why do I love it? It’s practical, it’s what I need.
My goal is to help people create margin so they don’t feel handcuffed to their job. They don’t have to say, “I’d love someday to start painting. I’d love to start that online store. I’d love to go visit New Zealand someday.” Instead of dreaming, do it! There is a way it can be done.
After I reached that $100,000, established several investment properties I rented out, and had income coming in through Amazon and eBay and other stores, I thought, “Maybe I can help people with this.” Before I even took another step I had people reach out to me, saying, “Can you help me? Can you show me what you do?” My time filled up really fast. I realized I was back to where I started; I didn’t have any margin left.
So that’s what I’m here for: I want to be really raw, honest, and totally open about the good and bad. I want to share with you what I’m learning and give any tips that can help you along the way.
You don’t have to go from a dime to a hundred thousand. That’s the symbolic concept for me. I will forever remember the dime as a symbol of what you can do, if you start with something small, stay devoted and faithful, and keep going. It will eventually pay you back. Money is not the end goal, it is simply a tool. The end goal for me is relationship and people—that’s what I value most.
If you are, as I was, dead serious on ending the death-by-paycheck cycle and taking control of your own life, Just One Dime can help you get there. Visit JOD.com/freedom to get started today.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. My goal is to provide something of value that will help you. If you have questions, comment below. My commitment is to respond within 24 hours and answer those questions. Sign up for my newsletter to be notified every time I publish a new blog. If there is any way I can specifically help you, reach out to me, because I would love to do that. My name is Seth Kniep, Kniep’n it real, and I have tons more stuff I can’t wait to share with you and the world.
