In thinking about yesterday’s post and one from 6 weeks earlier I realized that that I’ve gotten caught up in thinking too much about my work problem rather than dealing with it.
The problem is that my consulting business is not generating enough money to support my family and I don’t have enough in savings to retire.
I like the idea of being a part-time consultant and coasting gently into retirement. I love the idea of never needing to work again.
But just wanting something badly and thinking (obsessing) about it has never made it happen for me.
For me change always requires action.
Inside Sales Dude was an experiment. It is time to end it.
After launching the blog and stumbling into several consulting gigs, I decided to see if I could turn it into small consulting business.
I gave it a shot. But the time has come for me to end it.
Here’s my plan:
- I am going to stop writing new articles for Inside Sales Dude. For the immediate future I’ll leave the site active.
- My next ISD newsletter will be my last one. In it, I’ll explain why I’m sunsetting ISD and will encourage my subscribers to follow me on Ainslies.org.
- Ainslies.org will become my primary (and only) site.
- As soon as my wife recovers from her surgery, I am going to start looking for a job.
Interestingly, I don’t feel at all like I’ve failed. I think it is because I deliberately started the business as an experiment.
Here’s what resulted:
- I helped a few clients improve their sales organizations.
- I learned about WordPress, blogging, SEO and “the blogging business”.
- I learned to express my ideas with more clarity, transparency and occasionally humor.
- It covered my bills last year, while giving me a lot of free time.
- My “how-to” type posts have helped some of my readers.
I learned even more about running a business, selecting a niche and targeting customers.
All in all, it was a fun and rewarding experience.
And now with little fanfare, Inside Sales Dude is coming to a close.