I think I have been a “secret or wannabe” entrepreneur for at least four decades! I loved the ideas of “being your own boss” and “your income is controlled by you”.
When I graduated from college, I had no idea what kind of job would be good for me. You see, I grew up on a farm in a very small community, so the only work experience I had was helping on the farm and helping my Mom take care of the house, yard, and garden. We had to plan and prepare for the haying and harvesting crews’ lunches during those seasons. I grew up in a household of eleven, so there were many household chores to do every day. The large yard and garden needed attending to, etc.
I did not happen to get a job in my field of study, which was Psychology. Instead, I started out in retail—in a shoe store, hence my love of shoes for many years! I went from there into bookkeeping and then became an accounting assistant at a nearby University. I was like a honeybee…flitting from here and there…working my way into a better-paying job; thinking the way to go was to work my way up into some sort of management position.
In my early thirties, I was starting to get very discouraged in my line of work as an accounting assistant. I couldn’t really move up in this field because I did not have an accounting degree. I decided to take an accounting class and a human resources class during the summers at the University where I was currently working. I found out quite quickly that was not where my interests rested…I did NOT want to pursue an accounting degree nor work in human resources! (I did not enjoy leading a group where half the participants didn’t “pull their weight”! Therefore, managing a group of people was not my speed.)
Let’s Try Something Completely Different…
I then began to pursue some part-time “side gigs” while I was currently working full time. I was very creative in an “artsy-craftsy” sort of way, so I rented a booth in a craft mall and sold some of my creations and re-sold some antique furniture that I had refinished or found at a great deal. I found that I loved the “rush” of making a profit on a sale. I then rented a second booth in an antique mall in a nearby town. I loved antique furniture and finding “great deals”. Making money from my “passion” began!
This wasn’t replacing my income from my full-time job, so I found another “side gig” selling “Greek” sportswear at the Fraternities and Sororities in the two University towns where I lived and worked.
The Drawback from Making Money from My Passion
These were both fun at first. Then I found out that I had some sort of messed-up-mindset that made it become too stressful if I felt I had to make money from it rather than just enjoying what I was doing in the beginning. I started looking for some other way to make money that I could start on the side while I still worked my full-time job.
MLM (Multi-Level-Marketing) or Network Marketing was introduced to me
I was still looking for some other “career” path that would be very interesting and also very lucrative so that I could replace my full-time income. I answered an ad and went to a meeting on campus. This was my first introduction to MLM or Network Marketing. It was a health and wellness company that interested me, but the principles of Network marketing were what really intrigued me. You could be your own boss, working for yourself, but not by yourself. There was a “team” of people who would be training you, and the income “potential” was enormous!
The several years that I worked with this network marketing company, there were some aspects that I truly enjoyed about it such as the teamwork and that others who had more experience would help you. The training seminars were very fun (which I found out was more important to me than making a ton of money!) I did manage to recruit some other people onto my team and I made it to a level that was considered “prestigious”, but the monthly qualifications to get the income needed was not sustainable.
Maybe it was just not the right company or income plan; maybe a different one would work out better for me. On and off, over the next six years, I started and stopped with several other health and wellness network marketing companies.
My Focus and Mindset Just Weren’t There
For one reason or another, I just couldn’t stay focused for the long term on growing a network marketing business. I would start out strong, really interested in the products and talking to people and selling the products which I believed to be pretty good. But I just had a difficult time recruiting enough other people onto my team to make much income. It was tough for me to have team members dropping out right and left and having to find new recruits all the time. You see, I like to build relationships with people and continue those relationships long term. I don’t like continually starting over building new relationships over and over again.
I Met People Who Were Very Successful in MLM
I know that there are people who are very successful in MLM and Network Marketing because I personally met some of them in several of the companies in which I was involved. They had the focus and mindset that I did not have at the time. I finally admitted that Network Marketing was NOT for me and stopped joining the “next big thing” in an MLM company.
Have You Tried any of those “Work from Home Programs”?
I was obsessed with the work-from-home programs that I would see advertised in the newspaper, on TV or in the mail. I answered several of them, therefore getting on about a billion mailing lists—Yikes!! That was a “rabbit hole” that took me a long time to get away from. It was like an addiction, but I finally stopped reading every single direct mail piece that I received!
Blogging or Writing for Profit Came to my Attention
In 2018, I must have read something about Heather and Pete Reese and their blogging business called “It’s a Lovely Life”. I researched them and the business of blogging for several months before I decided to sign up for their FREE course, 5-Day Blogging Crash Course. In August of 2018, I actually got a blog set up and posted several REALLY BAD posts–(yes, they really were BAD-ha-ha!), then I lost interest, got distracted, got busy with something else or a combination of all three!
This is now 2020 and I had been receiving emails for two years from Heather & Pete Reese of “It’s a Lovely Life”. I again became interested in the possibility of blogging as a business from home. However, I was no longer interested in the same topic that I initially started, so I decided to totally start over. I re-took the FREE course, 5-Day Blogging Crash Course (because I couldn’t remember anything from two years ago!) Heather and Pete Reese give out a lot of FREE content to help people like me who are definitely “non-techy”. Their WordPress Fast Launch course was being offered for FREE at this time, so I jumped on board for that one too.
I Took the Plunge…
I “bit the bullet” and signed up for their course, BLOGGING BLASTOFF 2.0, starting on March 1, 2020. Three days in, I started to get overwhelmed because I started having fears that I wouldn’t be able to learn the technical side of this, but I have already learned so much. It might not come to me as easily as someone else, but I’ve changed my Mindset and now I tell myself, “Don’t be so hard on yourself. Don’t compare yourself to anyone else. Remember that all those people who are really successful and making full-time incomes had to start at the beginning too!”
I Looked at a lot of Other Successful Blog Sites
Some of the other really successful blog sites that I’ve looked at recently aren’t even anything that special. Their writing isn’t any better than mine (some are even worse–ha-ha—that’s just my opinion of course!) But those people have learned how to monetize and do their marketing correctly. That seems to be the main difference between a money-making blog and one that is a hobby blog.
So, let’s see where this takes me this time! I think I have already written better articles than when I started on that old blog two years ago, and I am continually improving.
I will be 60 years old this year of 2020. Let’s hope my focus and mindset is better this year than previously! I am determined to stick with this blogging goal until I actually make money from it! (Which may even take me over a year to accomplish!) It’s never too late to learn new things, right? I will make this one of the best years of my life so far.
I’d love to hear if any of you have also struggled to find a clear career path and what has helped you head in the direction that has been a good fit for you.