I’ve been blogging for my business site Inside Sales Dude in March 2017 a few months after my VP of Sales job was eliminated.
Since then I’ve:
- Published 100+ articles on sales and management
- Created and Sent Twenty Newsletters to my subscribers
- Tweaked and modified the blogs layout, theme, format etc.
I started the site after reading an article by Seth Godin where he said, “Everyone in business should have a website. If others can only find you on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter etc. then you have given up control of your online identity.”
My intention was to use the blog as a resume enhancer. I would write about my area of expertise, Inside Sales Management. The whenever I interviewed for a job, I could use my blog to further establish my expertise.
I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I enjoyed writing. Instead of it being a chore, like in was in school, it became a way for me to clarify my thoughts, express myself and feel creative.
My second surprise was that within a few months, I had been contacted by 3 different people who saw my blog and wanted to hire me for consulting projects.
That’s when I realized, I might be able to make a living as a self-employed consultant.
I continued to write articles and send my newsletter regularly, relying on these to drive new business.
All went well in 2017. I completed the projects, my clients were happy with the results and I finished the year with decent earnings.
I am still writing articles and sending my newsletter weekly. I also republish posts on LinkedIn.
I know people are reading.
- I’ve got about 500 people on my weekly newsletter. According to Mailchimp at least 150 open it each week.
- Another 20-40 people a day visit it from my LinkedIn reposts.
- A few people each week come via Google searches.
But unfortunately, I’ve had no new requests for consulting in months.
Looking at it objectively, my efforts at ISD to drive consulting business, are not working.
I still enjoy writing. I like telling stories, sharing lessons and mentoring which the blog enables me to do (by proxy).
I love when someone reaches out to me to tell me how an article helped them.
But it’s getting close to the time for me to make a switch.
I still need to earn some income and ISD isn’t cutting it.
I’d prefer not returning to work as an employee again.
That would be the easiest thing to do. I know I can land a decent position earning a good income in sales management. But I really enjoy the challenges, freedom and lifestyle that comes with part-time self-employment. For me, it’s worth earning substantially less (but not zero).
My next step is to pivot ISD to something in consulting that people will pay me for (like?), shut it down and do something entirely different, or get a job in sales management again.
I’m not sure where I’m headed next but I’ll let you know when I do.