listen up.
If there’s one thing I hope you get from what I’m about to tell you, it’s that there’s more than one way to reach a goal. And just because your future doesn’t end up the way you imagined, it doesn’t mean that it’s not exactly where you’re supposed to be. If you’re a Believer, I’d say to you: Just because you pray for something and don’t receive it exactly the way you asked, it doesn’t mean God’s not answering your prayers. It just means that He’s in control and He has a plan. And guess what? His plan is better than yours. Always.
So where am I going with this? Well, ever since I quit my day job to be a full-time mom and run my business from home, I’ve been getting a lot of questions come through my DM’s, email, etc. about how I went about getting to where I am now. Some of the questions are simply about starting a blog. Some take it a step further and ask about growth. And I feel like to answer them fully I have to start at the beginning.
in the beginning.
I started my blog 4.5 years ago now. In the beginning it was simply a creative outlet – a passion project, as some people call it. Back then, blogging was just starting to take off and I would say it was easier to grow. And grow I did. Before long, I began to shift my focus from simply a ‘passion project’ to a part-time side hustle. As I continued on, I realized that there may be a future in this online community that I was becoming a part of. Early on, I daydreamed about how great it would be if, one day, I was able to make a steady income from my blog and stay at home with our future children (I started blogging the month after G and I got married and we weren’t planning on having kids for a few years).
As a little bit of back story: My mom stayed home with us we grew up and although we were so blessed to have her with us day-to-day, I saw how my parents struggled with finances when the stock market crashed. From that point on, I made a silent promise to myself that I would never just stay at home. I promised myself I’d always pull in some sort of income.
After about a year and a half of blogging on the side while I worked in the research department of a state agency during the day, I decided it was time to make a career change. I knew that, somehow, I needed to get some real-life applicable experience under my belt. I graduated from college with a degree in political science and English, but I knew that my interests, passions and talents were leading me toward the field of marketing. So, I applied for a social media position at a local photography firm and crossed my fingers.
changing the trajectory.
This is where it gets good. I got the job. Not because I knew so much about marketing or had any experience whatsoever with ecommerce or sales. I got the job because of my blog. I heard someone say something one time that has stuck with me for years; “You should have a side hustle. And, if you do, it should complement your day job.” Out of context that’s sort of confusing, but what he was basically saying was that if you have something on the side that you can make your own, do it. Because you never know what’s going to happen. He was also saying, take what you learn from the job you’re on payroll for and put it into something that’s yours. Whether you wake up one day and are like “I’m done working for the man,” or maybe you get laid off, etc. Have something on the side that you love; that you’re passionate about and that will work for you.
So I stayed at that photography firm – my big break into the marketing world – for a little over a year. And then G got a job in Atlanta and we moved. I stayed on with them remotely until I found something here. Eventually, I was hired as a content manager for an ecommerce company. Again, not because I had so much experience in the ecommerce field; or because I was doing anything that similar in my previous position – again, it was in large part because of my blog.
Early on I had doubts about that position. I had doubts about the company and I even took several other interviews at different companies just months into my role there. But this is where (I can easily identify in retrospect) God knew exactly what it was that I needed. He shut down every door I tried to open for myself in leaving that job. And every day that I stayed I learned more about websites, I improved my writing, I learned marketing techniques and social media strategy. Less than 6 months in I received a substantial raise. All the while, I was blogging on the side. I was taking what I was learning during the day and applying it to my blog and social media accounts at night.
a crucial realization.
Why does this all matter? I’m almost there, I promise.
I was there a year and a half when I found out I was pregnant. By the middle of my pregnancy G and I discusses and came to the conclusion that I would stay at home after maternity leave and continue to work on my blog full-time (or, as ‘full-time’ as is possible with a new baby). Now, to be completely honest with you, at that point my blog was growing, but it wasn’t pulling in steady income at all. I wasn’t sure how exactly I was going to make things ‘steady’, but we planned and budgeted and hoped for the best. The plan was that I’d take my maternity leave and put in my two weeks before it was scheduled to end. And that’s what I did.
However, as Fischer’s due date came nearer and nearer I began to receive contract offers. Again, not because of my corporate resume, but because of my blog and my Instagram account. And then, two weeks after I officially quit my ecommerce job, they asked me to come back as a part-time remote contractor. The point? People were offering to pay me for my work, I didn’t have to leave my baby to do it and it was aaaallll made possible by my blog.
The way I see it – my goal in the very beginning was to blog full-time and make money while I stayed at home with our kids. Now, I may not bringing in my main source of income from my blog at the moment, but I am able to contribute to our family’s income while staying at home with my baby boy. As far as I’m concerned, my goal has been realized and it only makes me hungry to do more and to make new goals.
blogging – the reality.
The reality of blogging is that it is HARD. To make real and actual money, especially now that the market is so saturated, takes a LOT of work and, if I’m being completely honest with you – a LOT of LUCK. I have zero intention of giving up on my actual blog, if anything I’ve really kicked it into gear lately. But these things take time and I’m so fortunate to have the opportunities that I have on the side that give me the space to breathe while I realize my goals.
I tell you all this because I want you to know that there’s more than one way to go about things. Your story doesn’t have to be the same as others’ – it SHOULDN’T be. Your’e robbing the world of your perspective and your purpose if you think otherwise.
So, if your desire is to stay at home with your kids and make money while blogging – GO FOR THAT. If it’s to switch careers from something you hate doing to something you love – GO FOR THAT. Get started and keep going because you never know what doors will be opened.
I also just wanted to be real with you guys. I feel like ever since I quit my job to stay at home with Fischer, a lot of people assume my ‘business’ is strictly my blog.. It is, but it’s so much more than that.
join my facebook group! all are welcome.
If you have more questions about my journey or experience, consider becoming a part of my new Facebook group intended to provide a space for bloggers (new and experienced) to walk alongside each other and share our journey! Comment below or email me if you’d like to be invited to the group. Or simply search “The Influencer Diaries – AF Blog” on Facebook to find it and ask to join!
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