It was the lack of any proper schedule and way too many small job assignments that got it all going in the first place. Part-time unemployment has its downfalls, but by learning to work online, you can adapt to big unknowns in the consistency of your regular job. You can eventually transition to full time, self promoted, in your own right, successful entrepreneur. This is the story of how I went from rigging and moving heavy equipment, to writing and earning an income online.
Family & Finances - They'll Strong Arm You Into Motivation!
A short one year back, I was helping a long time friend from early childhood run his business. Like his father before him, he is a contractor in the fine art of moving heavy machinery. It might seem like a joke to use a word like "art" to describe this kind of work, but consider the following.
Foresight, experience, and focus are the requirements necessary to earn that vital trust when using your daily tools. The pen might be mightier than the forklift, but it can't drive the machine that picks up 40,000 pounds. Terrifying and stressful on occasion, the combination of skill and teamwork bring a feeling of extreme satisfaction.
That's all well and good, and I was proud to work hard for such a trusted friend. As time went on, my skills improved and I flirted with the idea of becoming a contractor myself. The problem was that after about a year, work slowed down. On top of that, many of the jobs would only take a couple hours to complete. If I wasn't bringing home the bacon for the family expenses, I had to find something else to do!
Back At The Homestead & The Question Of Scheduling???
Not to get too far off track and into the topic of relationships, but I'm a lucky fellow that has a great wife. I have plenty of issues that plenty of women probably wouldn't be able to tolerate. Helping my wife succeed by watching the kids and providing support can't be listed among them. Trust me. I wasn't always this way.
Ecstatic about the continued success my wife was having (and still is) in her career as a sales coach, I was filling the role of taking care of the kids more often than ever before. Why not? My work was slow, but we still needed the extra income. Having a family is expensive because two growing boys eat a lot.
I dreaded the idea of finding a second job. It didn't make any sense. Give more of my time away from the family to make money we would probably have to use for childcare. ??? Then there was the fact that I never knew beforehand what work looked like moving machinery! At least not until around 4 or 5 pm the prior evening. So what to do?
An Idea From The PennyHoarder?
To be honest, I can't remember exactly where I got the idea to build an affiliate website. It might have come from ThePennyHoarder, a website known for ideas on how to make and save money. I recollect reading about selling on eBay and drop-shipping, but it was affiliate marketing that jumped out and grabbed my attention.
"What is affiliate marketing", you ask? In basic terms: you promote a product or service that is not your own and collect a percentage of the sales you drive.
The idea of being able to make money writing about something I love and never have to warehouse any product was a big deciding point. I didn't have a product. Nor did I have much money to invest in other products. As was soon revealed, starting an affiliate website was something I could afford to do on a month to month basis.
3 - 6 Months Of Pure Faith & Patience - Maybe More Like A Year
So off I went full steam ahead into the world of building an affiliate marketing website. Let me tell you, there's a world full of scam artists out there so be careful! I had a good feeling and read a few testimonials about an online service and community not so unlike this one (except you don't earn crypto - yet).
After a couple weeks going through courses and asking questions of the community, my first website was in full swing. My knowledge of the internet and skills in marketing had just barely cracked the shell. Compared to some of the work I see on Steemit, my skills still have a way to go.
One of the selling points about the group I joined to learn affiliate marketing was a promise that things wouldn't happen quickly. Sounds like either a scam or the flat out honest truth. Turns out that when you write for rankings on search engines, it does take a while to see good results. They were telling the truth, but it wasn't the kind of pill you swallow for good flavor.
Slow But Steady Results & An Occupational Fork In The Road
Some people who are able to dedicate themselves to an affiliate marketing website start seeing results in about 3 months time. For myself, the good search engine results took more like a year. It all depends on the time you have and are willing to put into the work. However, something else happened as I was building out my website.
After learning to write the way search engines desire, I noticed a large demand for just that type of work. Seemingly by miracle, I looked into a job forum website called Upwork and landed my first writing gig. The client needed someone to write about fishing.
He didn't offer great pay, but it's important to add jobs to one's portfolio and to get the feet wet in a new field of work. Now I offer a much larger body of work in my writing resume and am able to charge a higher rate! Step by step, it's all a building process.
Time To Fire The Boss - A Near Immediate Family Blessing
In some ways, I had it pretty good. Taking the hours moving machinery while working online was bringing some helpful extra income. But doing all that while still acting the role of Mr. Mom so much of the time was taking its toll. Yes, it was time to fire my boss and that wasn't easy.
Some folks have stories telling about terrible work scenarios they are able to leave behind. Mine was bittersweet. A friendship dating back to early childhood old isn't something to walk away from lightly. My boss took it hard, but the guy I helped train is doing a great job in my stead. We're all still friends, though he hasn't been able to get me back on a job site yet!
Since I began writing and working full time from home, there's been drastic improvements in our family relations. For anyone struggling with the search to spend more time with your family, don't give up. I have more time and taking care of the family needs gives my wife more time.
It trickles down to the attention we can give to our two boys. That's the whole reason we keep searching and trying to build a better life. So we can continue to give to our own families as we reach out and try to help others.
