How to Start a Blog. Or Some Kind of Online Self Employment.

Thoughts about changing your life in 2021? I didn’t PLAN to design a whole new lifestyle in 2020. Definitely not how to start a blog and create income streams. Let’s face it, I was in corporate America. It’s cushy and easy to believe just by being passionate and giving it your all, the paycheck will continue. But in reality: it’s incredibly volatile.

Even without COVID (which was the cause of my layoff), layoffs and restructures are common. While I’ve already stated how grateful I am in my Thanksgiving post, I want to reiterate it. Being a blogger, well- I am loving it!

So I did not plan this but what I absolutely did THINK ABOUT was that if ever faced with it, I would not want to work for anyone again. Self employment (truly semi-retirement) was going to be my ride off into the sunset. Once faced with the decision (and believe me it was pretty immediate) I had a goal: professional freedom. In September, I wrote a post about breaking tradition and ditching the 9-5 lifestyle.

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.” I used this quote by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry often in my corporate presentations to small businesses. I’ll be d—ed if I wasn’t going to follow my own advice and create a plan, as fluid as it might be.

I’ve always been one to pick up the phone and as my old boss, continual mentor and current dear friend Jill used to say “throw some spaghetti on the wall.” I did a lot of that in between dealing with the “stuff” that goes along with transitioning out of a job. Then my friend Diana told me about the 4 Hour Workweek and, if you’ve read my first blog post, you know that was not only my inspiration and sorta guide, but an affirmation. This life I want is possible.

How to do it? Still learning that. But I can give you a few tips:

1. Google it. You will be shocked how much is out there. You can certainly get inspired. You will also see a lot of trainings and free course opportunities pop up in all your social media. I talk in more detail about valuable resources here.
2. Without the support of corporate departments like marketing and IT, you need to create your own community right? Talk to people, jump on the Facebook groups I recommended in my resources post referenced above and find others that fit your needs. Build your tribe.
3. Do not be afraid of the tech. It is hard. Especially if you don’t have the background but if I can learn things and create this blog, you can too! Make sure when you set up the blog, you go self-hosted. Lots of courses and trainings cover this. Check out this premium course for beginners but the creators, Blogging for New Bloggers, also offer free initial training through a 5-day email course.
4. It doesn’t have to be perfect. You may not know how you want to earn your income (blogging, affiliate marketing, creating a product, freelance writing, or virtual assistant services) but just start. Important right now: GrooveFunnels is FREE for life so sign up. It’s only for a limited time. Once you sign up you’ll have access to all kinds of online training and, importantly, it has all kinds of things you might be able to use in the future. Examples of what it does and/or will do: blog-hosting, webinar service, email automation, video creation, the ability to create websites and landing pages– all in one place. Sign up here, without entering a credit card, check it out and you can upgrade if it makes sense for you (I did). By using my link you can see the page I was able to create in less than 15 minutes (remember, I am not tech-savvy)!

In the end, set yourself up for the life you want. #CreateYourHappy!