"How has Crypto and Blockchain Technology Impacted your Personal Finance?"
Oh wow...
I saw this initiative from @theycallmedan and @LeoFinance and I had to jump in! I love telling this story because to me, it shows how crypto can bring potential and opportunity, to industries that so badly need it. Industries that no longer have to rely on PayPal...To do business online!
...Here's my story, if you have heard it before, I apologize in advance....lol
So it all started in 2017 when PayPal decided to....Kill my business! After 17 years of being in business with them, one morning in April they sent me a notice that my account will be shut down. No recourse. No reason why. No explanation.
I have my theories on why they shut me out, but at the end of the day...95% of my business income was processed through PayPal and 17 years of hard work was gone in an instant. We tried to salvage things, working quickly with other processors but it was just too much lost income at once to save the company....
I was devastated. I ended up losing much more than my business but I made a vow that day...To never rely on one source of income the next time I would set up my business...Because as an entrepreneur, we never stay down...We find ways to keep going!
We're a stubborn bunch ;)
Funny though because my company was actually into Bitcoin close to the beginning...We dabbled in it, mined a bunch, and thought it was the coolest tech out there....But had zero patience!
We mined and sold it...And when Bitcoin went to $100 we cashed out. We thought we made the best decision ever....Let's just say, after it pumped again, I was pissed at myself for selling it all for $100...And decided to let the crypto dreams take a back seat...
Fast forward to 2017 and my interest in crypto started to rise again, not because of the bullrun that was about to take place...But because PayPal left me looking for new ways to accept payments online...
Crypto just made sense!
This was digital currency for digital products (I was an affiliate marketing by trade lol) and there was no way to be 'shut down'...So I dove back in.
How has Crypto and Blockchain Technology Impacted your Personal Finance?
It's not only changed how I viewed everything with online business...I truly believe it saved my life!
So jumping back into crypto I decided to give it 5 years...I would go all in, learn as much as I could but not 'cash' out and make that fatal mistake I did early in my 'crypto career'...I needed a blockchain that could help my business and more importantly....
Help all my customers and community members that no longer had PayPal to rely on for their online businesses as well.
I should say I jumped in...Full 'Steem' ahead...But we'll just say i discovered Hive.
It seemed like the perfect bridge for online entrepreneurs who were left out to dry but still needed a way to accept payments for their business. On top of that, the content creation elements of Hive made perfect sense too. Online businesses have a HUGE need for content marketing, so here is this cool new blockchain that you can build on, accept payments with PLUS rewards you for being an active member of the community.
I continue to pinch myself to this day...It's too good to be true!
So here I am....Almost 3 years since I started my journey here. Diving all in to show my customers and community members how important this blockchain and technology can be for online entrepreneurs....
I haven't cashed out a single token...Not one Bitcoin, Ethereum, Hive, or Leo...And have no plans to yet. Until then, it's accumulation mode. It's building mode. It's community mode....I've learned the 'art' of dollar cost averaging, and never spent a single dime I couldn't afford to lose.
I'm showing up everyday, building awesome relationships along the way and haven't regretted a single second of this experience!
And that...Is how I will set myself up after 5 years of focusing on this journey...For life!
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That's pretty crushing to hear about PayPal - I'm so glad I got Stripe payments set up too for my business, I don't like relying on them - although about 40% of my income still goes through PayPal.
There must have been some reason why they shut you down?
Still, at least it spurred you on to find this place - and thank god for Hive and especially Leo finance wise now!
I haven't cashed out a single token either for fiat, and I'm not just saying that for the benefit of the taxman, it's the truth - my crypto holdings are a red line!
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Yeah man, I wish I knew...I mean I have my suspicions, but in affiliate marketing, everyone was getting their account shut down. We just got lumped in with everyone else.
Sucked, but hey...Like you said, I found Hive because of it :)
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Ah that sort of answers my question - they were targeting an area and you got sucked up in it!
It is a concern though, good not rely on these massive companies for sure!
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Yeah, for sure...Learned my lesson. I was just a small fish and they did a big flush...Just a number in their system, they had no idea what pain they caused.
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I can tell you this much with 100% certainty, they do not give a shit about you!
Better off here!
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Another sad story about PayPal. I'm a bit concerned now as I hear more and more about how PayPal shuts down accounts without the possibility of appeal. I'm sorry to hear it destroyed your business.
I'm also sorry to hear you've sold BTC at that price 🤦.
Good thing as you say, we have Hive now, our home that is growing and developing at a great speed.
Reading your post gave me the idea of setting up my shop on Hive. There were some plans for a Hive marketplace, but don't see it happening. I need to think seriously about this idea and take action.
Anyway, it's great to see you staking and not cashing out, this is important! And good luck!
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Appreciate the comments!
@HiveList has a cool little market place they are building but there is so much potential....Especially with that fun little @hivepay-io project we built ;)
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Yeah you should check out what we have going on over at hivelist.io. We are building a full classifieds on the blockchain as well as we have a store with some of our own stuff as well as ebooks and more. Also currently working on a community store for members to be able to have an online home for their products if they don’t want their own website.
This is what I'm waiting for as I don't really have time to build my website. This will be awesome so hurry up! :D
Seriously, thanks for the work you're putting in for the community.
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working on it, lol
It is inspiring story Jon, instead of complaining that Paypal killed you and keep ranting you worked for alternatives and keep building the business.
May be one day Paypal executives read about Hivepay and think "Oh no!, By shutting that business we did more damage to ourselves than him".
Oh I was mad....Really mad for the pain it caused my customers and my family...But at the end of the day, I shouldn't have put all my eggs in one basket.
So discovering alternatives like Hive, made sense. Now it's just getting all my members to jump on board the train :)
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You know I still can't get an account with PayPal? I give it a whirl every 6 months or so. @jangle still has hers. IT'S NOT FAIR!
Yeah I haven't even tried...My wife has hers but we never use it. I'm stubborn, I won't go back lol
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Jon, you inspire us.
Thanks Kimberly, that's very nice of you to say. I get inspired by everyone in this community myself....You guys crush it every single day!!
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When Paypal accepts CTP, YOU WILL HAVE THE LAST LAUGH
Ha ha ha ha ha ha I'm not holding my breath...I'd rather just become a better option for entrepreneurs that don't want their accounts shut down lol
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Every time I hear you say it has been three years, I have to stop and think about for a minute and figure it out. (lol) just hard to believe how much we have been threw since we started with Hive. I am still following your 5 year plan and have not cashed out a cent and will not for 2 more years at least. Build and earn more crypto for another 2 years at least. It has been an interesting ride so far on wards and upwards!
Yeah man, it'll either make us look like geniuses....Or fools LOLOL
Nah seriously, it's been such an awesome ride...I'm loving it :)
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Ahahahaha. Some good and bad times to remember there. Not a mention of Zen Coin? What a cluster that was?
Payza actually bit me harder than PayPal (which was plenty) but you Canadians were immune to that little fiasco.
I'm still pissed at PP. @jangle and I worked hard to mold ourselves exactly to their 'terms of service' and I was in touch with them routinely. No warning, no change this, nothing.
Ah, well. If we hadn't done that it wouldn't have made us the warriors we are. Like you I haven't cashed a bit out since. And won't.
Zen Coin lol Wow!
I still have the miner on my laptop from that lol
Memories for sure.
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Just an amazing story, same thing actually happened to one of my best friends with Paypal, they froze him 1500 USD that he needed to pay a surgery for his mother, they didn't say the reason about it and that's it, he had to wait almost 1 year to use that money again, so his mother got really sick and it was a sad moment but fortunately he was able to earn that money by doing other works without using paypal anymore.
Now, within my life crypto has been a matter of survival, I've spend a lot of crypto, I really would love to be able to save more BTC, ETH and HIVE but right now the earning that I'm receiving from HIVE is splitted 50/50, so 50 percent goes to my savings and the other half has to be spent for survive.
I wish with all my heart that Hive could rise up like Bitcoin did, starting with a $1 Hive, I know that we're soon from it.
Thank you for your story, brother, I really enjoyed reading it!
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Dang, so sorry to hear that happened to your friend...Yeah PayPal is nasty and doesn't care who you are...They are ruthless.
I think it'll get there...But what's so awesome about the Hive eco-system is that you've got some many amazing communities (like LEO) that you can earn on as well.
So much opportunity here, so much potential. We'll get to $1, I'm sure of it :)
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😂
And wow - I just had the realisation that the very experiences you describe (kicked out of PP, not wanting to rely on one provider, wanting to accept crypto for your biz) must've lead in some way to your creating HivePay - which solves these very problems!
Really nice to see this connection and to hear your story 😎
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The old 'stick it to them' LOL
Yeah we started with Fire-Pay.com and started accepting CTP Tokens last year...But HivePay kinda helps everyone out and raises the bar for the ecosystem...We hope :)
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So many people with PayPal issues. PayPal has inadvertently introduced a lot of people to crypto!
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They really have...And as excited as people are that they are getting in the game, I dont trust them for a second lol
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Always love to read your story you are the come back King. So glad your found a way around Paypal.
Still 2 years to go on the journey before we sit back and smile lol
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I enjoy hearing this motivational story every time I hear it
Thanks man, glad it's not too boring LOL Just a reminder to people, that you go through a lot of crap in this business LOL
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It was awesome to read your journey to crypto, even though I know your story well...;) The way things were before (during the age of Paypal) seems like a lifetime ago. It shows that sometimes even when bad things happen, something amazingly positive can come out of it! If Paypal hadn't shut you down, as painful as the process was, you may never have discovered the value crypto & HIVE has brought to all of our lives...
When one door closes, another one opens... ;) So glad you are here & am grateful for our community! Thank you for sharing your story & looking forward to the next few years :)🧡
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Bam! That's the truth!
The sun always comes out after the rain...Important to note, especially in this business we're in lol
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I think that in some weird way you are thankful for Paypal that they did that... Without that, you probably wouldn't be here and who knows what other great things would you miss...
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That's exactly it man...I was pissed when it happened, but thinking back now...I'm glad it shook me up.
I'm a lot more excited about the future now!
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Oh no. It feels like a nightmare when Paypal closed your account and your 95% of business processed through it. It was really a tough situation. Glad that you did not give up and found alternatives that lead to HIVE and CTP.
Entrepreneurs are unstoppable. No matter how hard an entrepreneur gets hit, he/she will come back and rise like a phoenix. :)
We have decisions when things like that happen...Pack up shop, call it quits.
Or keep moving forward...Part of being an entrepreneur is to problem solve...And crypto is the solution :)
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Great story John, really inspiring for all us newbies enterpreneurs out there! Paypall really f*cked you up but at the same time new paths opened for you! I love how there is always a bright side in every shitty situation!
I wish you all the best on your blockchain journey bro!
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Thanks man, yeah it hurt...But you are right, the new paths opened up.
I'm forever grateful for that!
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That's a great story and form following you i can say that you are putting everything into your business here. Three years is nothing for a new business and this is still survival and development stages. Things are moving rapidly over the past few months so it will be another year before we see the results at least.
Like yourself I am here for the long term and will keep stacking for the next few years to see where this all takes us. Hive is growing and with more people like yourself building here it will be a success for sure.
Bam! Thanks man and that's the truth...We're just getting started :)
3 years is nothing when you think big picture!
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That's why I'm here everyday. A lot of people left when the prices dropped but we keep building for when the rise again. Thats when we really see some growth around here.
Great story and very inspiring.
Thanks for sharing your experience.
Thanks very much for the comments!
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Very encouraging
Thanks for sharing your story
Great story man. I was around when I saw how paypal "killed" a whole industry from one day to the next. I admire your energy and how you managed to turn the boat around.
Thanks man! It was scary...Especially with no answers as to why. I always said, if I was doing something so wrong...Then why did PayPal let me build businesses for 17 years before shutting me down lol Crazy times.
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I guess you'll never buy crypto with PayPal!
And congrats on not cashing out - you're the man!
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Ha ha ha ha ha Nah, I don't think they like me very much these days lol
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STOPwhy???? i can't really understand it, it was so plain without explanation?
hahaha i am not laughing at you, but mostly everyone in here has a story that always begins with BTC. I for example just saw btc when it was around 20$ maybe less, i know it was worth it, but i was young with no money and scared if maybe i was wrong and it is something dangerous (fuck my life :P)
haha someone did learn a lesson since the 100$ BTC :P Great post by the way and it is awesome what you are doing, allowing crypto pays into businesses!
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