Have you ever had a moment in your life where everything changed?
You might not have known it at the time - but the moment was defining, it changed the course of some area of your life in a way that turned things upside down.
I had one of those course changing moments early in my blogging. It was a moment that resulted in my blogging moving from being a hobby that generated a nice bit of secondary income into a full time business.
It was a moment that at the time didn't feel life changing - but it was.
The funny thing about this moment is that it wasn't a discovery of some secret way to make money blogging, it wasn't the day I started one of my blogs… in fact it was a moment that didn't immediately lead to any particular change on my blogs - because it was largely something that happened in my mind - a paradigm shifting moment.
It all started with 9 words from my wife - Vanessa
'You've got 6 months to make blogging full time.'
Vanessa then told me that if I didn't get it to this kind of level I'd have to get a 'real job'.
This sounds like a rather harsh kind of ultimatum but it actually emerged from an ongoing conversation we'd been having about my dream of becoming a full time blogger.
Up until this point I'd been talking about how blogging could one day provide us with a full time income. I'd been showing her the growth of the earnings from the blogs so far and projecting forward to what they might be in the future if things kept going.
I'd been on about it for months and things were going OK - the earnings graphs I kept showing her were trending up - I could see the possibility of one day being a full time blogger.
But I'd been talking a lot…. dreaming a lot…. creating a lot of pretty graphs…. and not really DOING a lot.
Vanessa had very graciously supported my dream for quite some time but realised that to achieve it things needed to change.
I didn't really see it (I was too close and too caught up in my dreams) but Vanessa knew it and so she set me the 'ultimatum' - a deadline that changed my thinking and more importantly led to me changing the way I went about my blogging.
In the moments after Vanessa's ultimatum I had a realization that while I dreamed that one day my blogging would become a business that I'd been treating my blogging like a hobby.
I knew that if I were to succeed in going full time in the next six months that that had to change. I needed to start looking at my blogging as a business now - even though it was only earning a day or two a week's income.
That moment changed everything.
That was the day I....
- started putting serious time aside for blogging
- became more focused upon my core tasks of creating content
- wasted less time on distractions
- became more strategic in my thinking and set myself goals to work towards
- began to look for new income streams - beyond AdSense
- started hustling for advertisers - ringing up businesses in my niche and pitching my blog to them
- began to seek out guest writing opportunities on other blogs and even in main stream media
- started setting myself deadlines for posting a certain number of posts a day and developed an editorial calendar
- I started networking more with other bloggers
- began to invest more time and even money into my learning of different aspects of blogging
- started to look for a business coach who could teach me how to look at what I do as a business instead of a hobby
That day began the process for me of looking at what I do as a business.
While not a lot changed on my blogs that day - the impact over the last 4-5 years has been significant. I've not looked back and many of the things I changed back then have become patterns and a natural part of my blogging work flow.
I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s post, but I want to also thank you for today’s post. I don’t think that I’m where you were as I have no income yet from blogging. Yet I am hopeful, and this post gave me more hope.
I definitely don’t yet treat this as a business, but someday I hope to. I need more content to see if this experiment will work first, and then go from there.
Well you ended your post like many TV soaps and serial does. Leaving us to think what will come in next episode and here what will come in your tomorrow’s post.
Nice to see here also that there is always a woman behind a man success …
Everyday that the sun rises, I try and learn some way to move more towards a business.
Thanks for this great post as it provides me with the daily food for thought!
I am seriously committed to this because making money or not, it’s what I love and will be doing regardless.
Darn!!!… I am still on the ‘AdSense level’! Still a hobby. And not sure if my wife is ready for this to last for a full 6 months! :)
Wow! Love this post. So inspirational. I’m so glad your wife gave you that little “kick in the pants”! ;)
WOW Darrren very interesting story and very right, what really stands infront of most of the bloggers is thinking, planning, dreaming and reading instead of DOING!! The best thing you have done is that you DID it!
And I agree with the point that said you have to start looking for new income streams other than AdSense, I SO AGREE!!
Very well done and said, and I really wish I could shift my blog to the next level!
Best,
Steit
Great post. I look forward to tomorrow’s post. I recently went fulltime in this and only in the last week or so have I started treating my “hobby” as a business.
I think a defining moment in my own career, blogging and freelancing, was when I got an email asking if I could do a design job for $1,000.
Who would pay a kid $1,000 to setup a website?
That was my first thought, but then I realized that I’m not really a kid anymore, I’m a professional, and very nearly an adult. And I had the chance to make more money than I’ve ever made in my life if I just start acting like one…
So I took the job. =)
Now I’m working on developing products, because I’m not letting anymore opportunities slip by…
Today’s post was awesome! Love the blog, as always.
Hi Darren,
This is sound advice and has encouraged me to “get moving” before I get the same ultimatum – which isn’t too far away I suspect :)
I’m looking forward to your mindset advice tomorrow as I need to keep up the momentum now.
Meantime I’m working through “31 Days To Build A Better Blog”.
Thanks Darren.
Dave
You’re RIGHT !!
My business partner and I are in the process of establishing a blog so I found today’s post very timely. For me, the biggest hurdle is finding the time to set up and maintain the blog while working full-time. Finding that balance has been difficult, so I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s post. Thanks for your advice.
On some points I can identify myself with the events you describe in this post. I’ve had multiple moments in my life that changed my perspective. But the moment I started blogging was a definite life changer. I’ve had – and still have – so much jobs that I was good at, but I didn’t really feel it. I didn’t care so much about the thing I was doing. I did it because it had to be done and it was expected from me. The moment I really started thinking about what I wanted to do with my life, this led me to blogging. As described in the first post on my blog: a search for a way to making money online led me to something I’ve always been doing.. Writing AND being a webmaster. A blog gave me the opportunity to combine the two.
Very inspiring post. It’s nice to know that you’re succesful, but it’s even better to know the thought that led you to it :)
THNX!
Daan
– Whenigetrich.com.
Interesting and motivating post Darren . I really enjoy your honesty in letting us know the circumstances of your past . I am sure like me , many would be finding their own motivation from this post for sure .
Hey that was what happened for me too! But in my case, it was my mom…
Being rather traditional, she was always opposed to me becoming an online entrepreneur… and nagged at me everyday when I quit my job to pursue Internet marketing. So I promised her that if I didn’t make it within a year, I’ll go back to a “real job”.
I used that to fuel me and started making a full-time living from blogging and internet marketing in less than a year. I hit $10k/month in Sept 2008.
Sometimes we really need that “ultimatum” as you call it.
‘You’ve got 6 months to make blogging full time.’
that actually sounds like your wife is the boss around there. sorry, mean no disrespect.
Thanks for sharing Darren!
You know what thisakes me think. If i want my blog to be a success then I would need to treat it as one, i would need to act as one and I need to plan as one!
Enlightening… thanks a lot seriously!
Funny enough, we were discussing my blogging feature with my wife yesterdat. At the moment I have a similar ultimatum from my wife as well. So i am working as hard as possible to make my blogging full time.
Wow — timing is everthing. You can’t imagine how much I’m looking forward to you next post.
Can’t wait for the next post. Thanks for all of your amazing blogging advice, tips, and stories.
Darren, I love this post. I have made the switch from blogger to internet markets and business owner. I am treating this as a business and my visitors as potential customers. Can’t wait for what you will post next.
Amen to that…
Hi Darren,
The list is full of blogging strategy and the ways to get involved fully in your blog.Hobby can become the real business one day but it need the dedication and determination.
I am sure if the ways mentioned by you follows by every blogger,one day that blogger can become business blogger.
Thanks for the sharing of your own experience of Livingroom to Problogger,Even B5 and DPS.
These all are not stood in a day but your efforts and dedication was behind the seen which is live today.
Wonderful post, Darren – for sure! I have working on shifting my own mindset this last year. I used to get so mad when the family wouldn’t look at what I do as a business – and that’s when I realized the problem – that I wasn’t looking at what I do as a business. I have to respect myself as a businesswoman if I expect the people around me to do the same.
Thank you, Darren! And thank you, (V), as well!
You’ve hit the nail on the head Darren, funny enough just over the weekend I was discussing with my wife, how I need to look at other monetizing methods outside adsense and private ads as they’re a mission to secure. I’ve resolved to doing web design work for my audience which is within the tourism industry. The idea is now to use my blog as a lead generator for web design work…I’ve just secured my first job to create a website for a guest house. I intend doing justice to this job, so it becomes my word of mouth referral.
Darren –
This post is very timely for me. I am new to blogging and can see the power of it for others, but I have not seen it for me. I think I have been waiting for something “magical” to happen, but I know that is not realistic. I not only want blogging to work for me, but I need it to work for a variety of reasons. Thanks for the boost!
Darren-
Excellent. Always heed wife mandates or else! I’ve had a few of those, and they are motivating to say the least! Keep up the good work.
-Travis
Much valuable time is wasted by many of us. I also think “mindset” has a lot to do with success in any field or endeavor. We should cut out the “maybe” way of thinking. Your success has proved that blogging can be a business for some. Thanks for the post Darren.
A perfect illustration of the point that it’s not capital, qualifications or solely opportunity that determine a successful transition from hobby to profitable business. It’s committing to a decision and following it up with a large dose of hard work.
Another great post Darren!
I might just stay up til midnight and catch the 2d post right away…
Seeing it as a business is the hardest part for me, so I’m definitely interested. It’s a mindset I’m sure.
Ultimatums work great don’t they! My partner and I have given ourselves a similar one to become a fully monetized blog within the next few months… we are on our way.
Thank you for the wonderful post on how we can take our blog from getting traffic and building communities to building a business.
Ya, I agree it was a point of time that someone important in my life told me to treat my website and blogging as business.
It is such truth how much influence SOs and Spouses have on our lives.
Powerful post and I’m pretty sure I needed it. I know I would do things way differently if there was a deadline and the consequence to not meeting it would be something I really didn’t want.
Hmmmm. Right now I’m learning how big accountability is. In this example you were accountable to your wife. I wonder what would happen I were to set up accountability with my readers. For instance tell them I will have x results in x months and have some consequence for not doing it. I think that could be a nice blog strategy.
Wow.. Your wife are inspiration and motivation for you..
She’s also give you target to achieve..
That’s why ladies is very helpful..
Your post is aimed at personal bloggers but is also valid for companies considering blogging as a component of their marketing or communications strategy. Companies should also take blogging seriously, allocate resources to do it right, look at ways to integrate it into their existing processes and always be looking to improve.
Thanks for the post. It was, believe it or not, inspiring. I was just telling my husband last night that I need to look at this more like a business than a side job. I want to grow and take this seriously. Now I just need to learn how to be an entrepaneur! Thanks again and I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s post!
Changing my mindset has been one of the most challenging things I’ve ever tried to do.
Thinking of it as a business is one thing, but your perceptions remain the same. When your mindset changes your perceptions change.
You can think of it like a business, but until your mindset truly changes your actions will not reflect it.
– Jeffery
This is awesome. Am still in the adsense stage
It all about the perseverance and patience. I can realize it from your post.
Hey Darren.
Cool material here. I like that you are talking about that switch-point where a person decided to go to the next step, because after that, it is much easier to just continue.
Nice idea on focusing on that step.
Darren, the shift you made = inspirational. Looking forward to tomorrow’s edition (a *better* name for post :-) )
Great post.
You said to grow blogging into a business, you need to treat it like a business. Great tip and I completly agree on that.
When you see something that has potential there’s always a way to profit from it and that’s wat you Darren did.
Great article. Thanks for sharing, gives hope to new bloggers such as myself.
Nice sharing of story there.I actually in the same position as you were before.Im starting to make blogging almost fulltime now.I just need to learn more how to become better at it.
I love this post! I’m currently in the same situation. I’m currently developing a website that I plan to make a business out of and support myself. Right now the website is in the hands of my developer but I know I could be doing more for the launch of the website even if I dont know how to code. I admit I’ve been spending alot of time dreaming, reading small business blogs how to’s, and podcasts but not enoughing DOING. I talk to my girlfriend about how I’m going to do this and that but still nothing to show for it yet. I work a day job and get mad at myself during the workday because I didn’t do anything for my business the night before. It’s a constant cycle. But this post really put my mind in perspective. If I want to make a career out of it dont think of it as a side project because it will always be ON THE SIDE.
Yes its indeed interesting to see how something which you start as a hobby ( I still sort of think it is ) grows into an income giving one…Its also funny that lot of my hobbies – like photography, web designing, food writing and cooking started coming together into this blog of mine and today every small change I make (bcos I learnt something new ) starts giving me results by way of more readers, more pageviews and thereby more income!
But I am sure if I sit and plan it as a full time job – I would do a lot better than now! Lets hope it gets there one day!
One of your best posts. You and your wife have a great relationship. She challenged you to pursue what she knows you’re capable of. What a blessing!
Never noticed your wife’s name was Vanessa before now. The honey of my life calls me “V” he is the only person in the world who calls me that, reducing my name down to an alphabet. That’s when I knew he was special (smile).
I just received the same ultimatum
Darren,
It’s always our decision. The catalysts vary but it’s the “a-ha” or “uh-oh” moments in our minds that do it.
For me it was simply time. I had been downsized at my last j-o-b and kicked around for a couple of months. One day I awoke and knew it was time to get cooking with my blog and others work at home ventures. Haven’t looked back since.
RB
Thank you for the biographical inside to your blog. It is very encouraging. I have blogged only a few months but adopted a similar mindset. Income this year is not a necessity this year, but blogging is. I cannot explain that, but other bloggers reading this will understand.
I got the mindset this way: I had a message, and if no one else read it, I would still blog from the enrichment. However, I also figured, with around 7 billion people, others would want to read my blog, and they have.
However, this post has some keys. Thanks for opening them up. Bob