Thursday, September 19, 2013

This Should be Titled: Why Bloggers are Unhappy

Before you quit your job to be an interior designer/social media consultant/stylist/professional blogger/photographer with zero experience or formal education...

Read this.

*Disclaimer: I know this is a touchy subject.   I personally know people who have quit their jobs, started their own thing and are able to pay the bills. Those people are few and far between.  We see everyone quitting their jobs, but we never really follow up. Are you bringing in an income?  No judging, just really curious.





13 comments:

  1. I LOVE that you are brave enough to post this! It's so true - I always click through to the "hire me" portions of certain blogs to get an idea of their rates (because I am nosy), and I am really scratching my head at how someone can quit a teaching job and suddenly bring in enough money to cover all living expenses, insurance, and a $5K bedroom refresh by working with small businesses. Their billable hours have to be off the charts to bring in that kind of cash! Or, there's debt.

    I know many save up to be able to do it, or rely on parents or husbands to pick up the slack, but entrepreneurship is a tough road and most people don't succeed. Although it goes against everything we've heard since childhood, sometimes following your dreams is a bad business decision.

    On a career note - it's amusing but annoying to people with actual marketing education and experience when someone thinks that they're qualified to do our jobs because they have good taste and a successful blog. There's a lot more to it than building a Twitter following and adopting a minimalist logo - neither of which will generate much measurable revenue. :(

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  2. Hi Jessie, thanks for posting this question. I recently stopped blogging and am closing my online shop because of similar thoughts and ultimately realizing where my truest potential lies. After a lot of self-reflection and coming really close to being another twenty-something turned thirty-something blogger who quits her day job - I've decided I have more to contribute to society through my "regular" career. And I'm really happy with my choice to continue a career in a non-creative field, even though I'm fortunate in that I could have easily quit and relied on my husband's income for support.

    -Amy

    Some of us just need the reminder that it's okay to have a 9-5 but love the blogs/home decor for personal enjoyment and as a consumer. But hey if someone goes through a similar exercise and comes to the conclusion that interior design/blogger fame is their destiny, I'm all for going for the dream. I would just encourage anyone to be thoughtful about it all, just as you would be in any career move.

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    1. I totally agree with the first sentance last paragraph! I have a blog, but never in a million years expect it to be the next "Young House Love" or a source of income, its solely a hobby! But sometimes I feel like "The Everygirl" and other blogs put pressure for me to dive into my creative side 110% and become an entrepreneur, and if I don't do that its because I'm scared and I'll regret it the rest of my life. It's a little crazy. I'm actually more left brained than right brained, so I appreciate my role as a consulting manager in a public accounting firm! :)

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  3. Hi Jessie. Good for you for bringing this up! Like Anonymous, I stopped blogging in the last year because I wanted to put my focus on my 9-5. My blog was distracting and creating unrealistic expectations for me, and I hate to admit this but was making me feel inadequate in many ways, not to mention superficial ... not a pretty enough house, no designer clothes, no impending kitchen renovation, always needing fantastic, inspiring content for readers, the list goes on.

    Like Anonymous, I feel like I will be able to achieve much more by learning from a great manager and being a part of a diverse team with diverse skill sets. Perhaps the day will come when I want to break out on my own, but until then, I'll stick with my reliable paycheck, talented teammates, and (hopefully) upwards career growth. I very much respect people who have the bravery to jump into entrepreneurship with both feet, but for now, I choose the less glamorous, but still rewarding world of corporate America!

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  4. Thanks C - not really worried about being anonymous, this thing just won't let me post without a Google Account or a URL which I don't really use anymore :)

    -Amy

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    1. Ha, fair enough. And I actually saw you sign your name, but I guess it didn't register? My bad.

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  5. whoa baby that article is amazingly accurate!!

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  6. I read this article a couple days ago and it is SO true. As I'm carving out my own career path, I'm now a supervisor to employees of Generation Y. In a way I kind of feel sorry for them because they are perpetually unhappy with reality being less than their expectations. But then, I also have to ask myself as a manager... if this is their mentality, how do I apply it to make them a successful and engaged part of the team? I don't have the answer to that yet, but it's something I think about often.

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    1. I do a fair amount of career advising for college seniors and recent grads looking to enter the advertising field, and it's really eye-opening to see that some of them have no concept of qualifications. I've gotten pretty good at nicely pointing out that a resume about how active you were in the sorority doesn't indicate that you have skills that make you a better candidate than someone who got an internship and has some projects to talk about in an interview. They expect to get hired immediately and start pitching ideas and managing straight away, which doesn't happen for most people

      God, I sound so old and I'm only 30...

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  7. Thanks for being brave enough to post this! I quit my job last year and thought I would try to blog full time. Which is why I am now back to job searching. As much as I wanted it to work - I just couldn't quite grasp how people swing it. I don't wear designer clothes and my parents don't have a ton of money. I was able to do my own thing since my husband has a great job but we aren't swimming in money. And I think I actually missed working and being challenged. I've come to terms with my blog being an awesome PT thing I will continue to do on the side. But for now, I'm okay with joining The Real World again.
    xoxo,
    Nikki at www.bedazzlesafterdark.com

    Enter my giveaway for a Phillip Lim for Target mini satchel here!

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  8. I read that article last week. While reading it, I was thinking, "yep...mmhmm..ok..sounds about right." When I finished I felt ashamed of both myself and my generation. Unfortunately, we'll probably be the first generation in a while that won't end our lives better off than our parents. I think it's important to understand your motivation and thoughts in order to grow. Despite this article hitting a liiiitle too close to home, I'm using it as motivation to break out of that mold and actually become successful with my business through a little hard work, a lot of bravery, and a WHOLE lot of getting out of my comfort zone.

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  9. Okay seriously. Let's talk about this. I'm all about chasing dreams & such, but I have always wondered how people make this work, sans parents w/ a $4 mill house in Nantucket and/or a husband funding their dreams. And I'm not knocking the folks who have that kind of backing... Gosh, that's great for them - I'm just saying, for the rest of us, I don't know how you do it. And the fact that I haven't figured it out on my own yet seriously makes me feel like a bit of a failure. Especially when my Instagram feed is filled with ladies lunching at 11am on a Tuesday, carrying Hermès bags, talking about their latest joint venture with J.Crew. Or whatever.

    My co-blogger, Karrie and I have this discussion all the time, because she wants me to go into Interior Design full-time (and I would LOVE to, don't get me wrong)... she'll send me quotes - you know, the ones you see on Pinterest or the Everygirl - the kind that basically tell you you're a gutless loser if you don't throw caution to the wind if you don't quit your day job and jump in, like, yesterday. And I'm like, dude. Mama's got bills. Mama's got responsibilities. And I love our blog, but I work in Med Device sales, which is CRAAAZY demanding/run-through-a-wall stressful, and I don't know how to segway / seamlessly transfer from one to the other... hypothetically speaking... without going into massive debt, and living on ramen. In a cardboard box.

    In other news... GOSH it's hard to keep up a blog these days. They're a dime a dozen, and SO much more homogenized than they were a few years ago. It's overwhelming. And kind of a turn-off too (if I see one more all-white office with a parsons desk, gallery wall and gold lamp.......) But there's so much of all-the-same-stuff out there that if I were to quit my job and do this for a living, how on earth do you even compete for traffic?? Even when you do have original, unique content? I guess I just feel exasperated and overwhelmed... and like what used to be SO inspiring and fresh and creative has now become a big, homogenized, narcissistic, zoolander-selfie-taking popularity contest.

    GYAH sorry for the rant. While we keep on keepin' on over here with our little blog and side projects, I would LOVE to hear how any of you have made it work. xoxo

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  10. This is the BEST post I've read in a long while. While the positive side of blogs gives me new ideas for meals and home making, I find myself constantly feeling like the house we were so happy to purchase is somehow not enough. And while I'm so grateful for the opportunity to stay home and teach my children, blogs have made me second guess my decision only to consider joining the masses to pursue a creative venture that everyone else in my city is also pursuing. I love blogs for their sharing of ideas and encouragement, but I'm ready to quit cold turkey just to fight for my contentment!

    Jess
    (a fellow- Raleigh Girl!)

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