Crossing the Chasm to going as a full time blogger

April 2nd, 2007

36 comments

Expert: Liew Cheon Fong, LiewCF

#2 of 30

About the Expert

Liew Cheon Fong, or LcF as he likes to be known, is author of LiewCF.com, one of the most popular blogs in South-East Asia. LcF is Malaysia’s first full-time blogger. A former professional programmer and webmaster, LcF courageously made the jump from hobby blogging to blogging as a full-time, successful career.

Today he enjoys working from home and spending time with his family as well as ever increasing popularity at liewcf.com with thousands of daily visitors and millions of hits per month. Chitika is pleased and honored to host this international blogger’s words of wisdom on crossing the chasm from part-time to full-time blogging.

I just finished reading John Wood’s “Leaving Microsoft to Change the World”, who made a life-altering decision to leave Microsoft and founded “Room to Read”, a non-profit organization that has established more than 3,000 libraries in the developing world.

I am nothing to compare to John, but I also made a difficult decision which changed my life two years ago — becoming a full time blogger.

Back in 2005, I was a small webmaster for a local cosmetic company who only blogged in the free time. My blogging income was as much as my job’s salary. The idea of quitting my job and becoming a full time blogger came to my mind.

It was a hard decision. It was about quitting a stable job with fixed salary and bet on a new job with unknown income. As far as I know, nobody has done that before in Malaysia. I probably was the first full time blogger in Malaysia! I had no one to seek for advices or guides.

However, I was only 25 year old and loan free. I had prepared enough savings for six months living as a backup. My biggest risk would be failing the job as a full time blogger, wasted few months time, and back to 9-to-5 office job as a webmaster or programmer. I can handle it!

My family members were not tech geeks. They did not even understand a “blog” nor “blogger”. I only told them that I will quit my job and work at home using Internet. Though my family did not understand what would I do after quitting my job, they still gave me their full moral support. Until today, my mother still does not understand what I am doing and how do I get checks every month! *grin*

Family support was the most important to support my decision as a full time blogger.

When I told my blog readers about my plan, I received generally good wishes and, of course, some negative voices. Some laughed at my poor English command. Some asked me to be realistic because blogging is not a job. There are always people to discourage your dream. Ignore them!

After a month of consideration and planning, I handed over my resignation letter to my manager at August 18th, 2005, a day before my birthday. I became a freeman and a full-time blogger September 9th, 2005.

The life as a full-time blogger is great! I have plenty of time for my family and freedom to go to anywhere at anytime. My current blogging income is few times more than the webmaster’s salary two years ago. But, I have gained a few more pounds since then. :P

I proved that full time blogging is possible. Some bloggers, especially Malaysian bloggers, have been inspired and become a full time blogger too, or created their second income source.

Cheers!

About the Author: Karla Escolas is part of the CRM/Marketing team here at Chitika Inc. She also specializes in working one-on-one with publishers using simple optimization techniques to increase their revenue. Follow her on Twitter @KarlaChitika to find out more.

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36 Responses to “ Crossing the Chasm to going as a full time blogger ”

MB Chu Says:
April 2nd, 2007 at 8:57 pm
Hey Liew .. that is a big leap of faith man. Best of luck to you.
Big_Dog Says:
April 2nd, 2007 at 9:04 pm
Cool story man - It makes me want to give up my job and take a shot!
B4andafta Says:
April 2nd, 2007 at 9:06 pm
First full-time blogger from Malaysia? Cool, man. Hey, that is totally awesome! Keep up the good work!
Big D Says:
April 2nd, 2007 at 9:15 pm
>>>However, I was only 25 year old and loan free.

Wow…can you tell me how to do that?!?!
LiewCF Says:
April 4th, 2007 at 11:03 am
Thanks for the comments. :)
@Big D: I have no car, no house, no credit card at 25 year old.
LiewCF on Chitika Blog Says:
April 4th, 2007 at 11:41 am
[...] Dear friends, I told you that I was writing an article for Chitika’s Month of Expert Blogging. The article had been published now on Chitika Blog, title “Crossing the Chasm to going as a full time blogger“. In the article, I shared my experience of quitting my job and became a full-time blogger two years ago. [...]
Jack Says:
April 4th, 2007 at 12:15 pm
Liewcf: i am Malaysian full time blogger too. I start to be a full time blogger after i finished my study in the college. I start to blog on December 2005. Now my blogging income is better than the local webmaster or programmer. I start my blogging life with few hundreds bucks only. Luckily, i get the support from my family, gf and friends.
Calvin Says:
April 4th, 2007 at 4:12 pm
Well I’m Malaysian too Liew, Jack. But I just started blogging full time last March. I quit my job at one of the local university to be with my family. I still don’t know what’s coming - but I’m prepared and my wife is very supportive of the idea. Unlike you guys - I haven’t not making much money from my blog so far.

But I’m pretty positive it would increase substantially over the next few month as I will devote more time blogging from now on. Currently, most of my online income is from selling stuff on eBay and consulting works.
Larry Lim Says:
April 4th, 2007 at 9:42 pm
Congratulations! I’m a Malaysian too - not a blogger, but a website entrepreneur since 2005.

I have the luxury of working a couple of hours a day from home and yet make more money than most salaried senior managers. Although, I have a fair bit of travelling these days due to consulting demands and speaking gigs from companies.

If you’re attempting to leave your job and try making online too, let me tell you that it’s definitely possible!
Jack Says:
April 5th, 2007 at 12:16 am
calvin: you have to be patience. Spend more time to the blog for first few months.
Mei Ling Says:
April 5th, 2007 at 1:59 am
Liew,

Its always very insipiring to read success stories!

Being self-employed at the moment after 7 years of corporate rat race is very tough - I’m now in my 7th months of self-employment. Trying to build my small time business, blogging in between and trying to run an online store - everything seemed like an uphill battle. I sometimes wonder if there is really a light at the end of the tunnel.

I know nothing is impossible. If my mind can concieve it, I can achieve it, right? :)
Marco Says:
April 5th, 2007 at 10:26 am
Liew, you have inspired me alot.

Thank you!
Nasir Says:
April 5th, 2007 at 11:43 am
Cheers Liew! Impressive feat, I must say.

I’m neither a full-time blogger nor an infopreneur, but I do make sufficient income full time off the Net for nearly a decade now - that is I never had to take full-time employment all these years, although I wish I make a lot more, perhaps if I had spent more time on blogging all these years. I however sorta missed the blog and infopreneur marketing wave the past couple years although I have actually dipped into blogging as early as pre-2000.

How envious when I see these types of success stories, but they are quite inspiring I must say for me to get back on track and revive my almost dead online presence.

But I wonder how do one gets the title “msia first full time blogger?” Any accredition to that? Or was it just a self-claim? I was wondering if any other full-time blogger (in this deep sense) or other full-time netrepreneurs that we read off traditional media out there would rule out such claim?

Does LcF make money 100% off blogging, and nothing else? How about bloggers out there that make money off both blog and other ventures like Jeff Ooi, Josh Lim, Raja Petra, Fione Tan, Irfan Khairi, Saiful Sham,, Kidino, Zamri Nanyan, Patrick Chan, Senze and the list goes on….?
Sajid Iqbal Says:
April 5th, 2007 at 3:56 pm
Nice to hear of you Liew! I too wish for such oppertunity to come…but my English command is more worst than you. :}
scoobie Says:
April 5th, 2007 at 6:17 pm
I’ll say, LcF is the first successful full time blogger from Malaysia who has been known internationally. How about that Nasir.
mi(sual).com » Blog Archive » Malaysian Pro Blogger LiewCF Says:
April 5th, 2007 at 8:34 pm
[...] In his article “Crossing the Chasm to going as a full time blogger“, he writes the tough decision and negatives voices he had to face on becoming a full time blogger. Quite an interesting story. When I told my blog readers about my plan, I received generally good wishes and, of course, some negative voices. Some laughed at my poor English command. Some asked me to be realistic because blogging is not a job. There are always people to discourage your dream. Ignore them [...]
Make Money Online: Weekly updates 07-April-2007 Says:
April 6th, 2007 at 5:20 pm
[...] Read LiewCF at Chitika blog. In this week of Chitika’s 30 days 30 expert bloggers, read on how my mentor also my friend LiewCF start off his journey in money making online. [...]
Chris Says:
April 7th, 2007 at 12:32 am
Hi bro.

I remember the days when I sat in the office, surfing your website. Your honesty in posting out your income and your success has been THE TURNING POINT in my life. I wasn’t really that happy in office and I wanted to do something that I would really love. By reading your liewcf.com, I’ve gained priceless knowledge by learning from your experience. So in the end, I quit my 9 to 5 daily job. It was the greatest feeling in the world to be your own free man.

Now, I’m running 3 blogs daily. I never knew that blogging could be so damn tiring. Seriously, to come up with good original posts, a huge chunk of my day’s time had to be used. But I love it. I learn and earn at the same time. There’s nothing more in the world that has satisfied me more than being full time into blogging.

Again, THANKS A MILLION to you, bro.

Chris.
Tranix Says:
April 7th, 2007 at 5:21 pm
But we need to get a decent job for med. insurance, and other benefits when we’re retired.
The First Malaysian to Make a Living Working Full time On the Internet « Sabahan.com Says:
April 8th, 2007 at 5:20 pm
[...] I was reading LiewCF’s post over at Chitika.com blog where he shares his experience quitting his nine-to-five job in August 2005 and became the first Malaysian professional blogger. [...]
KL Stocks Says:
April 10th, 2007 at 3:36 pm
Very inspiring Liew… u’ve got a great blog with excellent tips
napy8gen Says:
April 11th, 2007 at 9:19 pm
I knew liew back in webmastermalaysia which I found in year 2001. anyway..I knew a guy which is not malaysian but kryzgstan who live in malaysia and married a malay.SO he also blog he quit his job earlier then liew. I guessed in may and Jun 2005.but before he blog he has a succesfull tutorial website which also make some money..
Making A Living Fulltime Online at TheSelfStarters.com Says:
April 14th, 2007 at 4:52 am
[...] Read more of his post “Crossing the Chasm to Going As a Full Time Blogger“ Share and Enjoy:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. [...]
Chitika Blog Bash Says:
April 24th, 2007 at 12:03 am
[...] Crossing the Chasm to Going as a Full Time Blogger [...]
Make Money Online: Weekly updates 28-April-2007 Says:
April 29th, 2007 at 4:11 pm
[...] Liew Cheon Fong, LiewCF - Crossing the Chasm to going as a full time blogger [...]
StockTube Says:
May 3rd, 2007 at 2:50 pm
congrats to you liew … i’ve visited your site but somehow i couldn’t drop a comment or two … not sure what could be the problem though …

anyway, you’ve done a marvellously with your full-time blogging job (oops, not a job) …

cheers …
Nasir Says:
June 2nd, 2007 at 11:15 am
scoobie: “LcF is the first successful FULL TIME BLOGGER from Malaysia who has been known INTERNATIONALLY.”

Scoobie’s statement can also be argued its legitimacy.

1. Blog, according to Merriam Webster: “a Web site that contains an online personal journal with reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks provided by the writer”.

MW does not specify anything about using formal blogging software (Wordpress, LiveJournal, Blogger etc.)

2. “Blogger” according to Wikipedia is a blog creation and hosting service owned by Google. (Editors of) Wikipedia further defines a blog as “a WEBSITE where entries are written in chronological order and displayed in reverse chronological order. Blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject such as food, politics, or local news; some function as more personal online diaries.”

Hence, the history of blog can be traced to as early as pre-HTTP era, as early as 1983. This is exactly like coining the term Web 2.0 by Tim O Reilly, when Semantic Web/Web 2.0 is just exactly as the original Web (1.0) according to its inventor, Tim Berners Lee.

One of the earliest bloggers, Jerry Pournelle started blogging in 1994 (so did I BTW!). Then in 1998 & 1999, Open Diary, LiveJournal and Blogger began their web service operation I, a Malaysian, although while staying overseas at the time, personally started using these services in 2000 (or earlier) - I continued using these services in 2002 when I returned to Malaysia.

As Napy8gen might have hinted, I’m sure many other Malaysians have been a full-time “successful, internationally known” bloggers, earlier than Liew, except that they still are or prefer to be under the radar of the Malaysia Boleh phenomenon. (Some people prefer to boast that they could be earning RM100K/month from Internet/Blogging, but some prefer to never disclose such earning or any decent income off Blogging/IM to public except to respective govt tax agency).

I think, such a claim of otherwise (first this and that) is a just a typical marketing ploy. Liew however, is perhaps, “the first to claim, or to have been claimed as the first full-time blogger in Malaysia”.

The word “blog” is so loose in its definition and is such a young worldwide term, and I think staking a claim for anything regarding it will backfire.

More pondering would be, when did Liew started blogging, and when did he first made it his full-time career? — only Liew can answer this. And does Liew consider himself a blogger, a webmaster, a journalist, a publisher, a professional freelancer/microworker or an entrepreneur? Can one person be only one but not any of the others, or can one become all of the above, and thus is no longer a blogger-only person by carrer.

Anyway, nobody’s question that Liew is an inspiration for his success and being one of the pioneers of Malaysia glocal with regards to Internet Media/Marketing.
Tim Says:
July 16th, 2007 at 4:11 am
HI Liewcf,
glad to see you success blogging. I also have a dream like you, but i have some queries:
1. Is it abit too late if i start from now ??

2. Do you need someone help to maintain your blog? bcoz im looking for more experience on writting blog.

3.Is it a must to register a .com website?

Rgds,
Tim
LcF Says:
July 18th, 2007 at 3:04 am
@Tim: 1. never too late to do something 2. Yes, you can contact me for guest blogging. 3. .com is not a must but good to have.
budzer Says:
July 26th, 2007 at 9:09 am
Hi LCF. congrate. you deserve it man.
Puneet Verma Says:
August 12th, 2007 at 12:33 am
Online morning to all of you …
Online morning is development of internet and security by webmasters,web developers from India and World for hard security of online information.

Thanks and cheers
webmaster Puneet Verma
angie Says:
September 22nd, 2007 at 3:31 am
You’ve got my vote Liew!
Mr Henree Says:
October 18th, 2007 at 9:24 am
I support you with both my hands and legs!
Kevino Says:
November 4th, 2007 at 8:12 am
Hey Liew, as a Malaysian..I am proud of you. Keep up the good work. Man!
Immer Says:
January 27th, 2008 at 5:39 am
I have plan to quit my day job and been arguing with my wife. I show her this post. Hope it’ll change her mind.
Allan Says:
May 14th, 2008 at 4:49 am
hey im jus 17yr old ….so do u think i cn be a blogger like u did?coz i always stick wit my com. almost 24hr…..and i was so boring doin da sme thing such as updating FRIENDSTER profile………