Who is Jim Makos?
My pen name is Jim Makos, I come from Greece and I make money working from home. Work from home for me means advantage gambling, publishing websites, and creating content.
The short story of my life
I began with card counting at blackjack tables, then moved to sports trading at betting exchanges, played online poker and ended up investing in stock markets and forex. Nowadays I mostly write and create content than gamble or invest, while running a US-based company.
What I write about
My articles and social media posts are usually about:
- Gambling (Betting, poker, blackjack, others)
- Personal Finance (Investing, budgeting, passive income, etc.)
- Entrepreneurship (Working from home, running a business, etc.)
- Web Development and Publishing
- Personal Development
Whom am I writing for? First of all, the majority of my posts are published on my personal websites, like my personal blog. Depending on the success of those websites, I can pay my bills. But we’ll talk about that later.
I am also writing for other websites. I have had the honor to see my articles featured on popular websites and have been fortunate to partner with super-friendly and extraordinary people. I strongly believe that none of these partnerships would have ever happened if I hadn’t started this very blog, JimMakos.com.
Unfortunately, I have yet to write a book. Like most people, writing a book is a task that is always postponed.
Blogging: Writing short articles on a regular basis
Although I enjoyed writing since I was young, it was only when blogging became an internet trend that I seriously considered writing for a living.
Blogging is a kind of informal writing and letting the whole world know the minute you write an article! After all, what is the meaning of writing stuff if no one ever reads them?
With blogging every person around the world is a potential reader the instant you publish a story!
I find that truly amazing.
Blogging also means that I put my thoughts on the virtual paper on a regular basis. Yet, there are no deadlines and no tight schedules. I write whenever I think I have something meaningful to say.
I try to avoid writing just to keep readers coming back. Because eventually, they won’t!
During my blogging endeavors, I have learnt quite a lot about the web development business.
Since blogging is an ongoing adventure, I constantly discover new things that I’m excited to share with my online friends. Maybe some of them (like yourself?) are interested in starting their own blog or company’s website or improving their writing skills. I bet they will find something useful in my blogging and writing tips.
Still, that is not how it all started for me regarding writing. Because at the very beginning, I started writing about gambling!
Gambling you say?
Gambling is a word that is surrounded online by negativity. Even advertising agencies avoid collaborating with websites that target gambling, making monetization of such a website difficult.
On the other hand, there are people that can make a living from gambling like myself. Don’t take my word for it. I am sure you will find plenty of proof for that if you search online.
Most of my blog posts and articles deal with gambling activities, like sports betting, poker and casinos. I also have a Youtube channel, where I upload videos explaining what I do in the simplest possible way. Read more about that here or you can visit my betting blog at BetStories.com.
So, for me internet gambling is advantage gambling. Yet, there are other, more straight-forward investments I am often discussing that you may benefit from.
Investing: Money making money
I guess stock trading is the first thing that comes to mind when talking about investing. It’s a mistake though to consider stocks the only asset to trade. We can trade futures, options, bonds or currencies, better known as forex trading.
Trading is found even in sports betting, called sports trading, a catchy topic that I owe my reputation to.
Thus, while I usually talk about US stocks, that doesn’t mean my trading posts are restricted to stock trading. I occasionally write about trading gold futures, EUR/USD or even Bitcoins, now that the cryptocurrency has become quite a popular thing.
As a result, any strategy or advice I am sharing in relation to trading, pretty much fits every subcategory of online trading!
Wait, there are more investing ideas other than trading and they all have to do with an online business, one way or another. Take photography or web development for example! I am always looking for fresh new investing ideas; ideas that are both fun to discuss, test and make them happen!
Until now I told you what I am writing about and how I invest the money I am making. All this investing and writing thing has led to two additional points of interest that I find myself talking about more and more lately; entrepreneurship and technology.
Entrepreneurship: Business ideas and how to run a company!
Ever thought starting a business?
Well, I myself didn’t back in 2005 when I began writing in this blog. But as time went by and advertisers began knocking on my door, starting my own business was the next step. As I have now incorporated my blogs and run my own web publishing company, I have gained some experience in terms of forming a company, opening business bank accounts, accounting, counseling and legal issues.
Entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life like most people won’t so you can spend the rest of your life like most people cant. - Warren G. Tracy’s student
Better yet, I’m happy to share any knowledge I have acquired during the process. Perhaps it will come in handy if you are lost during the first steps of building a company!
Entrepreneurship of course is not so much about starting a business. It’s more about having an open mind to go down different and unknown paths, being prepared to take risks and test your wits.
I may have become some kind of expert in advantage gambling and investing, but I am always willing to try new business ideas!
Technology: A love-hate relationship
I’m not a tech geek or an expert when it comes to technology, but I am a huge fan!
It’s inevitable not to talk about the latest breakthrough technologies, after solving problems all day long sitting in front of a computer monitor and making my (business) life easier with technological gadgets. From time to time I may review trading or web software, share my opinion on my new tablet or mobile phone and even recommend video games!
Most importantly though I don't do reporting. I am all opinion, all the time. I am not in the industry, I am just talking about and sharing my experience of taking risks online by investing with real money.