Don’t quit working your day job, yet

Don’t quit working your day job, yet

It’s been a while now that I have been posting this blog and working toward a lifestyle reboot, using the Internet. Within the months, I’ve learned so much about running an online venture,  content marketing, and how to be profitable in all of it. Not only that, I’ve learned a lot about myself, as well. Although I love what I do, and feel very fortunate to be where I’m at today, working online does have it’s drawbacks.

 work

Now, you may be wondering why on earth I’m writing about reasons NOT to do what I am doing. Well, I think it’s noteworthy to point out the things I am seeing that might end up as a conflict for others. I mean, some of it conflicts me, so why wouldn’t it? As with anything, there are negatives to overcome. Ain’t nothing free. But you can make up your own mind, after you read this post.

5. SOLO-PRENEURSHIP IS TRULY SOLO — at least in a corporate environment they tell you what to do and when to do it-you have lunches with others, and you can stop in at the coffeepot and chat. Oh,  but wait, you say…that’s WHY I want to do this. NO bosses, no deadlines, no dumb coffee chats. Um. No. Because well, things have to be done-and guess what? You are the head cook and bottle-washer of your own destiny. Can’t blame anyone else if you don’t succeed. And those lunches are a lot more than you remember, actually.

4. I’M OFF SCHEDULE — yeah, that too. There are no excuses to be made when things don’t happen when you expect them to. That book release that you told your newsletter subscribers about…yeah, that needs to be happening when you tell them it will. If you don’t follow all your own rules, chaos will ensue. Some people (like me!) get this frozen in place syndrome when inactivity takes over. I have to see forward movement or I get stuck.

3. NONE OF THE OLD TRICKS WILL WORK — did you know that even setting deadlines and using organizational apps to keep you on track might fail? That’s right. You may be determined to succeed but there are still only so many hours in a day. You can pad and pad but if you don’t do the work, well, it ain’t happening, now is it? YOU are the work. YOU are the worker. And karma really truly can be touchy when she wants to.

2. I LIKE WORKING ALONE — REALLY??? Whoever said that, ever? I mean, some days I want to put ear buds in and listen to white noise instead of the droning of a radio or tv, but that noise means something else in life is happening around me. The dog and the hubby doing their stuff comforts my solitude on some days. On others, the beauty of a coffee shop… but wait…if you have given up that bonus office job, you cannot really afford the luxury of a leisurely visit to that pricey little coffee hut, right? Because believe me, it will become something of a necessity if you should follow the old “I’m working alone” regime.

SCREECH>>>> halt the dream machine. working

1. MONEY IS AN ISSUE — UNTIL YOU SUCCEED. This one is the biggie. You have to be able to fund this venture, right? No matter what, you have to have money — and so many quit their day job before it’s time.

Setting up your online kingdom can be a great thing, and for many who are out there doing it, a dream come true. But there is a lot to it. You have to be able to pay bills and feed your pets. Be sure to think and plan for things like bad months when no one is buying what you are selling, and of course, the off-chance that someone you are counting on decides to fold their own business.

I’m not trying to scare anyone off of doing the lifestyle reboot, going it solo, being an online entrepreneur, not at all. It is my working dream. I am going to make it happen. I am excited at the prospect in fact. But I like to face the reality too, and I hope you are the same.

 

About master

Kim Smith is the author of the Shannon Wallace Mysteries, and the Mt. Moriah Series- plus, YA fantasy, and Bizarro fiction. All available on Amazon.

Subscribe to the Zanies See the sidebar to sign up!
+