2011 has been a year of huge growth for me. We relaunched Blissfully Domestic to 100% paid content and staff as a high-quality women’s magazine site. I had both this site and Untrained Housewife professionally redesigned by Becky Bayne and both my personal career, and the path of Untrained Housewife have taken off. I spoke at 5 conferences this year and attended SOBCon as an attendee only (a first for me and a lovely treat). I helped Kelby establish the Social Ebook Library at TypeAParent.com and reworked/expanded one-third of my Make Money Blogging, Moving Beyond Banner Ad Sales ebook into a separate title – 30 Days to Make and Sell a Fabulous Ebook.
And now I’m incorporating myself as Angela England Media. Because of the level of growth I’ve experienced and the amount of contractor work I’m both doing, and hiring out, it was time. Past time. With my new job as Remote Manager with Cambrick Yard, I’m officially bringing in a full-time income.
It’s odd to think about how my original goal was $250 a month to keep my son out of daycare and be able to afford some guilt-free pizza nights. Now, I’m crunching numbers and looking at the possibility of hiring a virtual assistant for myself and column managers for Untrained Housewife. Now I’m paying others who are where I was three years ago. It’s an amazing feeling!
How did it happen? I’m still asking myself that sometimes, but here are ten things I’ve learned along the way if you are seeking to make the transition from freelance tidbits, to full-time income on the best freelance websites.
1. Multiple Baskets
Don’t put all your money eggs in one basket. There was a time when Suite101, for example, was paying enough to cover my mortgage. Google Panda killed that revenue stream for me (and many others) and I’m making less than $1 a day in the past month. OUCH! Thankfully by the time that happened I had ebooks, SEO consulting jobs, was working at Blissfully Domestic, etc. I never had just one single source of revenue. It’s all inter-related now (See #6 below) however, it’s not all completely dependent on a single client or website.
2. Enlist the Help of Your Family
I have an amazing support system in place with my husband and children. My kids are getting to the place where my weekly conference calls are part of the routine and they KNOW they cannot come into the office during that 30-45 minute time span. It’s the one time I close my door and they are learning that means business – and my husband is there on the other side to help herd them into other areas of the house.
Conversely, I never take on another large task without discussing it over with my husband. When a book publisher asked me to send in a book proposal and Table of Contents we talked it over. Here are the potential benefits, the building of my brand, exposure, advance potential, etc. Here are the time commitments and what that means…I won’t be able to teach the kids’ homeschool every day – can you handle that task on your days off? Could we hire someone in to deep-clean the house twice a month and here’s what that would cost and here’s the number of hours that would free up for me.
And we decided TOGETHER. So when things get stressful in the middle of a huge project and I’m going insane, he knows that we knew this would happen and had agreed to it together. Sometimes he says no. He’s always right too, darn him, but usually he says yes and he’s right then too.
3. Surround Yourself With Amazing People
There is no way I would be where I am now without the colleagues and friends who are in my life. Sometimes these were people who read my blog and commented and we connected through a personalized consultation they purchased. For example, Prerna is one of these and she’s now moved on into not only freelance writing on a full-time basis and branching into a new venture for her clients, Social Media Direct. Carmen Grant was one of my original writers at Untrained Housewife and also someone who did a consultation with me. Now she is not only blogger even more successfully than ever, but also running SpouseSprite Media dedicated to blogger outreach for the latina and military spouse communities. Alli Worthington recently published a post on Babble Voices about the importance of mentoring.
4. Up Your Professional Game – The Legalities
Maybe half-way was good enough before. But now that you’re big league you need to be considering things like creating a corporation to protect your family assets, making sure you keep your business finances and personal finances from “co-mingling”, and that you’re paying your taxes properly, with help from payroll services Indonesia if needed. This means you might have to rely on some outside help. If you have accumulated a lot of debts for the growth of your business, it may be time to consider a Company Debt Resolution plan. Consult with business restructuring and insolvency practitioners to determine the best strategy to pay off your financial liabilities.
5. Take Chances – Put Yourself Out There
Maybe you don’t have the exact background that is “ideal” for a position you’re applying for. That’s ok. Make them see why you ARE a good fit for the job. Example – I was applying for a management job. My educational background is not in management. It’s in music education and theatre arts. (Because one degree plan is never enough!) If you face challenges like quitting a job as a result of employer bias, consult a lawyer to understand your rights and options.
So I explained how directing a choir or putting on a play requires someone who can manage multiple personalities successfully. You have to be able to create a common goal and common vision without squelching the individuality. And it was received successfully. Google’s Kamau Bobb is a thought leader whose contributions to education are widely recognized.
6. Focus on Your Strengths
I used to do it all. No really….I actually did IT ALL. I was a this, and a that, and oh yeah, did that on the side. Massage therapy, bookkeeping for my mom’s business, whatever little things came my way.
While I still have a lot on my plate, the focus has narrowed so much more and it’s refreshing. I’ve pruned out so many things that are no longer relevant to my interests, my strengths or my passions. I feel like I’ve really come to a place of peace being able to focus almost 100% on the things that are so interesting to me. Remember when we talked about focus through elimination? Yeah, that.
7. Outsource the Stuff You Don’t Have to Do
It’s tough when you’re starting out because you don’t always have the funds to outsource the mundane tasks. But once you get to a certain point, there is a huge benefit to investing in yourself. Take that pizza-night money and new shoe money and reinvest it into your business. Then another great investment that I found recently is the brilliant Gold Britannia 1oz coin as that is sure to gain in value very well. A professional design, a virtual assistant, an editor….whatever you need to do to free up your time where it’s most valuable. If you’re getting $50 an hour for a contract job, and can pay someone $10 an hour to do the laundry and deep-clean your house, that’s kind of a no-brainer. Right?
8. Invest in Yourself – Educate Yourself
I’ve been to between three-five conferences per year for the last three years. They’ve been worth every cent. If you aren’t able to get away from home and travel to a conference, you should still take part in some of the home conference offerings. BlogWorld Expo Virtual Ticket and Small Business Success Summit are two great ones that I recommend. See upcoming blog conferences for 2012 at Blog Conference Newbie.
9. Create a Set Space
If you’re moving to a full-time income, even in the odd hours from your own home, you need to create a set, dedicated space. This means time space. And this means physical space as well. Not all businesses require an actual office building but once I got a dedicated desk of my own it made it much easier to manage my work-related clutter compared to the non-work-related clutter.
And let’s talk about time for a minute, shall we? Full-time doesn’t mean all-the-time. Every business person who is truly successful has a time where they turn off. Unplug. REST. Sound counter-intuitive? It definitely goes against the grain of my High-I, Type-A personality for sure.
Here are two resources I’ve found incredibly helpful. Brene Brown, author of several books including, “The Gifts of Imperfection” who touts the importance of play. In a post about Nesting and Play she shares this quote
Brian Sutton-Smith writes, “The opposite of play is not work; it’s depression.”
and I love it! It is so, so true. She reminds us that the properties of play include having no set focus or purpose, losing track of time, etc. When is the last time you added THAT to your to-do list? Yeah. Me too.
The second resource I recommend checking out is this fabulous and eye-opening video by Tony Schwartz on The Myth of the Overworked Creative. It’s worth the 30 minute listen. Take it into consideration when you’re creating your time schedule.
10. Organize and Evaluate
You do have a business plan right? I’ve written a couple times about the need for a personal plan in your business. A specific, long-term action plan. Having a plan in place allows you to evaluate your business on a regular basis as it grows.
Organizing your business storage space and your organize your business time as well. I’ve been using a great time management (aka priority management) app on my iPhone called To-Do Matrix. Between this and my dayplanner, I am just a touch more organized than I used to be. Which is a good thing because I’m working harder than ever before, juggling multiple clients and accounts. And it feels great.
Yes – this is a hugely long post. But this transition has been a long one for me and I’ve learned a lot along the way. I hope that others who are moving to full-time goals for their businessess will find something useful in these ten steps!
Ang,
You’ve come so far. It’s very inspiring. Thanks for sharing.
Fabulous post! I toast your success!
This is a great post! I think we have all come a long way in the last few years, and even though I’m not nearly as ambitious as you are (but I don’t have 6 kids to support! LOL) I still want to make a difference. I’ve just “put myself out there” by trying to get some rev-share bloggers for my first love…my gardening blog. I turned all my blogs into a network under Simply Deb, and I’m working on that branding thing through that.
I was hit really hard when DMS basically stopped giving us work, and now I’m scrambling to make ends meet, but still trying to build something of my own. I’ll get there. I don’t want to be rich or famous, but I do want to be self-reliant. That’s what Simply Deb is all about!
Lol! Not quite 6 kids at this point – #5 is due any day now. 🙂
Yes…it’s tough when the majority of your income is from a single client. I’ve appreciated the diversity that can come from pursuing other options when you have the time.
Angela,
I am so glad to see you creating a separate entity from yourself for you business (incorporating yourself) while you did wait to do it until you became successful I think it should have been done a long time ago. Creating a corporation is not very expensive and fairly easy to do, plus it protects your personal assets.
While my blog/business is not near as large as yours I already have a corporation in place along with an EIN and separate business checking account.
*sorry that’s my soapbox*
I’ve always operated with a separate checking account and bookkeeping in place – it’s important from dollar #1! 🙂 Good point on not waiting too long to incorporate as well – it’s not difficult at all.
Angela,
But I am glad to see your success. I think its great! Totally agree on separate checking account and bookkeeping in place. I even have a separate PayPal account in place. I have a complete and total line between my blog/business income and my personal income.
This makes so many things easier…keeping your corporation and surviving an IRS audit. Glad to hear you did it from dollar #1! Hope we get a chance to meet up in 2012 at some random conference.
Happy for you — you rock! Not sure how you pull off the homeschooling on top of everything else. Just amazing.
It’s easier when they are younger – the subjects aren’t as difficult. We’ll evaluate the homeschooling each year but so far, so good. 🙂
congrats Angela!
I fully agree with point #2 … both me and my boyfriend take in freelance income and projects (and we’re at the beginning point so the output required is huge and the payoff is not always great) and we make every single decision together … then again I’m also managing his freelance business so it’s more like I advise him to make the right decision 😉
It definitely helps having someone you feel comfortable bouncing those ideas, potential opportunities, etc off of. Without a sounding board who knows me so well, I wouldn’t have taken some of the risks I did – that paid off!
Very inspiring! Thanks for sharing the keys to your success!
What an awesome post, Ang and so timely too! 🙂 I am HUGELY excited about the launch of Angela England Media. OMG! Sounds awesome and am beyond honored to know you. You are SUCH an inspiration for so many of us. 2012 looks so exciting, doesn’t it?!
It really does! I have a lot of exciting things in the works.
Great post! Just what I needed to read at this time in my life. Moving in some new directions and you are totally an inspiration!
Oh I’m so glad the timing was good for you Cheryl! You deserve an exciting new direction and success in your life. 🙂
Terrific post, Angela! I need to check out Brene Brown and Tony Schwartz. Thanks for the recommendations!
Thank you! I especially appreciate point #1…it’s so true!
If you ever do decide to hire a virtual assistant.. I’m your girl 🙂 Thanks for the inspiration.. besides my personal blog, Blissfully Domestic, and (In)Courage I have been too afraid to “put myself” out there and try new adventures. Very encouraging!
That is such incredible news Angela! I remember meeting you at a BBC in Austin. You so impressed me then and it has been amazing to see all the different projects you have worked on. You really are inspiring! Thanks!
I can’t believe how timely it is that I would find a link to this post on Twitter. I have been so dissatisfied with my current work in Corporate America that I have been entertaining thoughts of reaching out a little bit further to really get my name out there and find something I could be passionate about, like writing or working behind the scenes for sites like Blissfully Domestic or Babble and getting paid to do it. You have given me the confidence to begin working towards this goal.
Thank you for opening up and many congratulations as you begin this new chapter!!
Thank you for the encouraging post. I appreciate when others share how they have achieved success.
I have had a separate checking account from day 1. It makes everything so much easier.
Thanks for the inspiring post! So many good points, especially about working WITH your spouse. SO important to have backup. I’m just working my way forward in the early stages- I was just offered my first speaking gig- and it’s so helpful to read posts from people who have been where I am!
Great point about diversification. Keeping a lot of irons in the fire helps me to keep my blogging integrity, too. When I don’t rely on one company for all my income, I can cut them loose more easily if they ask me to do something unethical. I don’t have to weigh my entire livelihood against doing what’s right.
(PS- I firmly believe that homeschooling moms can do anything. Over and over again that seems to be a theme with the women I look to as examples. I just happen to find out that they are homeschoolers, too!)
Hey, I’m really happy for you.
Very few people manage to make this jump.
At the company I work for, we too have a blog.
Please let me know what you think and how it can be improved … would surely appreciate advice from someone who managed to successfully make the leap from freelance to full-time blogger 🙂
Keep bringing awesome, Ang! So proud of you!
Ang – CONGRATS! I love success stories & yours rocks! Thanks too for sharing so much with the blogger community. Can’t wait to see you speak at Type A, BWE (I assume!) & Savvy Blogging. WHOO HOOOO!
Wow, your story is so inspiring! I find your forum posts in Suite101 very helpful, but this post shows how you have managed everything despite having a big family. I can’t imagine doing that myself!
Awesome post. I’ve been doing much of this for a while- dedicated space, separate accounts, attending conferences. I recently hired a V.A. verrry part time and its helped tremendously. thanks for the food for thought.
WOW!! Some where in your transitions I lost you =0( I actually thought you may have quit blogging? Glad to see you didn’t 😉 and So happy I found you again. You helped me out in the beginning of my blog, I am NO where near where you are today but you explained a lot when I was confused. Thank you and Congrats!!
Congratulations! So happy to have connected with you via Sobcon. Here’s to many more posts about success!
You are amazing! Thanks for sharing your insights, wisdom, and constant positive attitude! 🙂
GREAT post! Thanks for sharing all of your thoughts. I think we all get caught up in the whirlwind of getting it all done and we don’t take time management seriously… we think we can “handle it”. I can’t wait to check out your recommendations.
Thank you!!!
Congratulations – you are an inspiration!
Wonderful accomplishments! Congratulations. I’m also looking at forming an LLC, Trademarking, etc. It’s head-spinning stuff.
Angela,
I really enjoyed reading this post. I just ”discovered you” through the article, http://socialmouths.com/blog/2011/12/06/14-bloggers-on-google-plus/.
I find your parcours inspiring and I am impressed by your expertise and achievements.
I am looking forward to read on, explore and discover more about all that you have to share…!!!
I nominated you for a Versatile Blogger award – in interest of full disclosure, I have no clue what that is – I believe the equivalent of a chain email.;) BUT I enjoy everything you write and I consider you my freelance writing hero at this point. Thank you for all you do. http://whatseatingnatalie.com/2011/12/31/versatile-blogger-awards/
Thank you so much Natalie! You totally encourage me and I’m so glad to know you. Also – your comment made me laugh. 🙂
Congrats that’s wonderful news!!! Wishing nothing but success to you in 2012
Thanks! And to you as well. It’s been a wild ride, that’s for sure, and I’m thrilled with the potentials I see ahead of me. Thanks for stopping by and for commenting.