ABOUT ME & MY BLOG
Dropout Turned Web-Designer, Blogger & Affiliate Marketer
I've written content pieces of over 2500+ words but don't know why I'm feeling weird writing my about page 😅.
Anyway, a couple of deep breaths & here I go…
So Who am I?
Hi there! I'm Kuldeep Rathore, and this is my little corner on the web for sharing my thoughts, learnings, and experiences.
I'm based in Mumbai and I'm a college dropout turned self-taught web designer, blogger, and affiliate marketer.
I made the bold decision to leave college (Jai Hind, if you're curious) and here's my back story in fast forward manner followed by
the quote I live by…
Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.
A Humble Beginning
I come from a very humble middle-class family where formal education is everything.
But I had a different mindset and couldn't follow the traditional path.
Dropping out of college (within the first 8 months) wasn't easy at all.
I faced a lot of scolding, teasing, and trolling from parents & relatives (well, relatives cannot miss such big opportunity, you know 😉)
But I didn't do it to look cool or carry a dropout tag;
- I wanted to pursue my interests,
- do something of my own
- and live a life of freedom.
I don't know why but I had a firm belief that I can do well in life despite of not having formal education & a fancy degree.
I relied on self-education & that's how I convinced my dad to give me a couple of years to prove my decision.
We'd a deal 🤝- In 2 years, be capable of running the house & actually do it. He wanted me to do some job but I couldn't as I wanted to build something of my own.
The Start of My Digital Journey
Although I wasn't clear about what exactly I wanna do next; I was happy playing club cricket (as I wanted to be a cricketer) & parallelly figuring out how people build businesses online as it was something that intrigued me.
Back then, I couldn't do any physical job.
Why?
As after the practice, I was exhausted & hence I wanted to do something online so that I can save some energy & make profits.
I didn't knew whether things will work out or not but still, slowly & steadily, I started a YouTube channel in sports & entertainment niche while I was still playing tournaments & club cricket, & after 8-9 months, I was able to make a few bucks here & there around 8K-10K every two months from Google AdSense.
The Turning Point (Pandemic)
Things were going smooth & I was making some progress in cricket & YT but then came the pandemic.
Cricket clubs were closed.
No practice, no tournaments, just sitting at home and watching the news for months.
With no degree next to my name, no big connections, and no consistent income, it's hard for a 19yrs old guy to live in the Indian society.
I had to make a change.
That's the time when I decided to fully dive-into online streams as I had no other option & I had to prove my decision of dropping out & following my own path.
When I dived into the digital realms, there were a lot of options…
- Drop shipping, eCommerce, Media Buying, AdSense Arbitrage, Freelancing,
- YouTube, Blogging, SEO, Affiliate marketing & so on.
Discovering Blogging (Business)
During the pandemic, my YouTube channel was on hold because my PC was on its last legs. Seriously, I had a pretty basic setup with no graphics card, 2 GB Ram & If I had continued & done video editing, it would have gone mad.
At that time, I had Rs.7K-8K savings from YouTube and couldn't invest in a new system during that uncertain phase. I enjoyed making videos but couldn't do the editing part.
That's when I chose to do Blogging.
So I bought a domain & an affordable hosting account (Hostinger – costed around 5K) and discovered the amazing world of WordPress.
Although it was a slow start, I managed to learn the ins and outs of WordPress: right from designing to crafting content that ranks, I self-learned by reading articles & a dozen of YT videos (thanks to all of those)
Post pandemic, I ran successful blogs in different niches, made a handsome income via ads & affiliate revenue, and somewhat proved my decision to drop out of college was right (as most had lost their jobs in covid)
Running a house without a college degree was somewhat my parents didn't expected but with god's grace, it happened & that's when they believed in me.
Although it took some years but I upgraded from a basic PC to a full-fledged system. Here's my current setup…
Networking and Learning
Fast forward to 2023, I started networking with industry leaders and experts by attending local meetups and WordCamps.
Here are a few WordCamps I've been to…
- WordCamp Bhopal
- WordCamp Mumbai
- WordCamp Udaipur
- WordCamp Ahmedabad
- PHPCamp Pune
About this Blog & Why it Exists?
This blog is (I better say soon to be) home to the unofficial Elementor tips/tutorials, reviews, a bit about WordPress products, and much more. This is a solo effort, so it's gonna take a little while.
Inspired by Nishant Kasibhatla's advice, my goal is to “Learn & master Elementor & WordPress” by deep learning and sharing my knowledge.
My Aim is pretty simple – contribute and help people working with WordPress & Elementor as much as I can.
Why?
Because when I first stared my blog on WordPress, I knew nothing & with the help of articles & tutorials, I was able to do things on my own & run successful blogs.
Now it's time to give back.
So it's kind of both, self-learning while helping those I can (beginners & intermediates)
My content isn't just about products.
When you're stuck somewhere with Elementor issue & google about it, most probably, you'll find my blog article on the topic.
If that's how you found me, know that I'm a good mind-reader 😉.
Just kidding, have got some experience doing SEO & ranking content.
Transparency Note: To be utmost honest, I do aspire to make money from this blog (affiliate links) by helping those I can.
Know that this is my space, my blog, and I have no allegiance with any theme provider, plugin maker, or service company. I'm an independent blogger.
My recommendations are mine & not influenced by the commission rates.
Feel free to read my full disclosure here.
2024 Update: Launching My Services
As my personal blog gained traction, I received numerous requests to design websites.
Although I had to decline due to other commitments, I always wanted to explore this domain further.
Now, I'm fully committed to growing my online ventures and thrilled to announce the launch of my services.
Whether you're a small business, or startup, or an individual looking to build a high-performing website, I'm here to help.
My services include:
✨ Website Design/Redesign
✨ Landing Page Design/Redesign
✨ WordPress Website SEO Optimization
✨ Speed Optimization
While I continue creating valuable content and growing my blog, I'm now also offering these services to help you achieve your online goals.
If you think I could be the right fit for your project, feel free to reach out (especially if you're looking to build a no-code website)
I'd be honored to work together and deliver exceptional results on time.
17 Fun & Random Facts About me
- Most of my relatives still don’t understand what I do & how I make money 😄
- You’ll probably find me on the ground playing cricket when I’m not at my desk
- I had a good percentile in 10th Grade (84%), & got admission to one of the most renowned colleges in Mumbai (Jai Hind College whose notable alumni are Aishwariya Rai Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra, Vishal Dadlani, Tanmay Bhat & many more) but it’s the same college I dropped out of 😅
- I got to meet handful of professional cricketers when I was playing for SPG Club.
- The distance between me and trends (be it fashion or anything) is similar to that of the distance between the sun & our planet earth
- I’m not addicted to tea, I just want 3-4 cups daily on my desk
- I left a YouTube channel with over 30K+ Subscribers just to try blogging
- I love cycling especially in Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP, one of my favorite places in Mumbai)
- Although I do hear songs & other music, I’m an avid lover of BGM’s & Instrumentals, None of that new stuff appeals to me.
- I’m self-employed & haven’t worked any jobs even after dropping out (no applications, no interviews, no connections, nothing)
- I like things organized & I need a schedule & routines to operate at my best
- It’s been a couple of months, I’ve been following a biphasic sleep schedule & it has helped me tremendously in getting things done
- Although my dad is proud of me, still wants me to give re-exams & do some traditional job, I just stay silent.
- I know one of the best secrets to “make money online” & that is to make videos and write blogs about “how to make money online” (seriously, it still works, people still replicate the strategy but I don’t)
- I love organic traffic more than other sources & hence on most of my sites, about 90% of my traffic is from Google (Organic)
- I didn’t had enough money when I started my first WordPress-based blog & hence choose Hostinger hosting (still one of the best for beginners) & currently, I’m using Cloudways for most of my Elementor sites (as it’s even better)
- This is one is weird – I want people to use the products that I personally use & hence you’ll find those product recommendation boxes in different designs throughout my site (including this page) 😅
That's all there is to know about me.
Thank you for showing your interest, I hope you enjoyed it.
We might interact someday at WordCamps, Until then,
Cheers,
Kuldeep
Products I Genuinely Use & Recommend
Tools & Products – Well, if you're building WordPress websites, you'll need a lot of them. Here I'm sharing the ones I use the most for all of my projects.
4 Comments
Hi there Kuldeep,
Found your blog because I was looking for a way to make Elementor's Accordion widget be closed by default for my wife's Meditation website (which needs a lot of work, I'm trying to overhaul it but i'm not a web designer!), and found your post on it (it 99% worked for me, I left a comment). When I saw in your bio here you were talking about bi-phasic sleep, I remembered an article I read a few months ago, I'd never heard of it before. Here's the link to it, you may find it interesting…it's been around since the Medieval era!
Thank you David for going through my blog & for your insightful comment.
Sounds fascinating & as long as it's working for me, I'm following it 😅
Thank you for sharing the article, I've saved it to my pocket list.
And about your wife's anchored meditation website, yes, it needs work for better conversions.
Let me know if can I help you with any design work.
Feel free to reach out – hello@kuldeeprathore.com
Best,
Kuldeep
Hey Kuldeep,
Glad to go through your blog.
Am an Indian running my own startup in Argentina , US, Canada.
If you are open for collaboration, Let me know
Regards,
Ben
Hey Ben, thanks for your interest.
I'm glad to know about your startup being awarded as the 10 most innovative companies in Argentina. That's impressive.
And about collaborations, I'm always up for it 😅
Hit me up in my inbox (contact@kuldeeprathore.com) & let's get into it.
Let me know if I can help in any possible way.
Cheers,
Kuldeep