The Ultimate Blog Podcast - 2. 8 Benefits of Blogging

Episode Date: January 4, 2022

Today we wanted to chat with you about why we chose blogging over a traditional career. Blogging isn’t necessarily something that either of us planned on doing but when the opportunity presented itself, we went for it!Although blogging isn’t a traditional career path, it is something that can be a career for you and provide a full-time income. From flexibility to learning and growing, there are so many reasons why becoming a blogger is a great career path. Tune in to hear the top 8 of our favorite benefits of being bloggers!Check out the show notes for links and resources mentioned in this episode.Thanks for being here and a part of this community! Connect with us on Instagram: @sparkmediaconcepts or share this episode with your friends!Interested in starting a blog? Join our waitlist for the Ultimate Blog Bootcamp!SHOW NOTES: www.sparkmediaconcepts.com/episode2

Welcome to the Ultimate Blog Podcast with Amy Reinecke and Jennifer Draper. We're on a mission to empower women who want to start or grow their own blog. This podcast is for women who want to learn blogging basics and who crave inspiration and encouragement. Whether you're just getting started or have been a blogger for years, we're excited to welcome you into this space where we are passionate about creating community over competition. We are bloggers who want to encourage you to believe in your potential, step outside the norm, and step into a life where you create your own schedule, your own success, and your own story. Join us for weekly episodes as we navigate blogging

and work from home life, all while raising a family and having some serious fun along the way. all while raising a family and having some serious fun along the way. Hey, so we are so excited to talk to you today about why Jennifer and I chose blogging over working for someone else. Blogging isn't something that either of us actually planned on doing. It was something that it was kind of like an opportunity presented itself and we decided to just go for it and do it. When we were in college, there was not blogging as a degree or anything like that. Still isn't. But something that we are just really passionate about sharing that there can be another career path for people in blogging and it can be really awesome actually to do it. So it's not a traditional career path, but it is something that can provide income and

a career for someone. Yeah. When we started looking into it, we found out there's like somewhere in the neighborhood of 600 million blogs out there. It's kind of insane to think about. And people start blogs for millions of different reasons and some people are doing it for fun and some people like many of us and many of you start because they want to turn it into something more, possibly even into a career. And, you know, a lot of people out there obviously have blogs and only a small percentage of those blogs actually turn into something successful. But we really see it happen and we know it's completely possible. successful, but we really see it happen and we know it's completely possible. And so today what we thought we would talk about are some of the benefits of blogging. Because like Amy said, we chose this kind of by accident, but this is the point we're at in our lives where we both have a blog and we call ourselves bloggers instead of having what you might call a real job where you report to another boss or you work for a company, etc.

real job where you report to another boss or you work for a company, et cetera. So we have narrowed it down to eight of our favorite benefits of this new lifestyle that we've created by being bloggers. So I'm going to start out with the first one. One of our favorites and one of the most important to I think both of us is the fact that we have a flexible schedule. So for me, I have kids who have some extra needs and lots of doctor's appointments and things like that. So I got to the point in my life where I didn't want to feel stress over asking for time off of work, feeling like I was constantly having to make up the time. If I was going to be gone during the day, then I would need to make it up at night and things like that. So for me, a flexible schedule was super important when it came to blogging. I did want to work, and that was important to me to have a job and have some income. But being stuck with somebody

else's schedule was never going to work for me with how busy my life had become with my two kids. Yeah, I can relate to that a lot. Actually, my parents are entrepreneurs. And so I was raised with them having their own business. And so I knew that I wanted to be able to stay home with my kids because that was important to me. They worked a lot of really long hours. They own like a brick and mortar and have a lot of employees. And so while being an entrepreneur was in my blood, I knew that I wanted to be in charge of my schedule. So when my husband and I got married, he had like very clear financial goals and goals for his career that he wanted to do. And to be quite honest with you, I didn't.

I went a really long time without really knowing what I wanted to do. But then we had our first baby and it was important to both of us that I be a stay-at-home mom. His mom stayed at home and I wish that my mom could have stayed home. And so I wanted to be able to be that. And a couple of years into having kids, I wanted something for myself. I'd always done different things to make money on the side. But when blogging presented itself as an opportunity, it just became like this kind of easy decision to make because I can be home with my kids and do all the things that I

want to do, whether it's volunteering in their classroom. I get to take them and pick them up every day from school, which is super important to me. Just the other day, my 10-year-old was home after school and he had had kind of a hard day and just sat at the island and we talked and he just got some of that out that he wanted to like talk about. And I thought to myself, I'm so thankful to have a job that I can work when they're at school, but when they're home, I can be with them. So I wouldn't miss out on those important conversations. So for me, it's really important that I'm able to financially contribute to my family, but I can also be at home with my kids. So another benefit is just to be your own boss. So hard work pays off. And some days it is kind of challenging when you don't have somebody saying,

this is due by five or something like that. But it is something that I love because there's no ceiling. There's no limit to how successful you can be. If I have a dream or a goal in my business, then I know what I need to do to go out there and do it and make more money to achieve it. Or if I want to impact more people, I know what I need to do to do that. I love working for myself and knowing that what I'm doing to kind of move the needle towards my goals is making an impact not only on my life, but on somebody else's life as well. Jennifer, what do you think about this? Yeah. You know, after years of working in a public

accounting firm, I worked in a public accounting firm for three years and I worked in the corporate world for 10 more years. And while I enjoyed the work and enjoyed the people and all of that, to be honest, it felt like kind of a rat race. You know, you have specific tasks and you go above and beyond and you work really hard, but you're really at someone else's mercy in terms of your growth potential and your future.

You can work as hard as you want. And sometimes it's just the circumstances. There's competition with other employees and, you know. You can also work as hard as you want and your salary is the same. Exactly. Yeah. You're a salaried employee. So you could put in 40 hours or 60 hours and you're not going to make a penny more. You're really not in control of that income. And so for me, that is one of the biggest things. I was really tired of working hard and maybe not getting a raise or not getting a promotion that I felt like I was ready for. And having somebody else make those choices for me versus me being able to go out on my

own and figure out those things for myself and come up with new income opportunities for myself and quit limiting myself. Yeah. And I don't like being told what to do. I like being in control. And that kind of leads into our third benefit is that you do get to control your income. It's not like we're saying this is like an overnight success story and that you're going to get rich quick if you become a blogger, but you know, it does take time and you're going to have to figure some things out, but it is so possible

to find new and creative ways to make money as a blogger. There are so many options out there and we're not going to get into all of those today, but the options are almost up to your imagination and the ways that you can make money. And so if you have a month where you're like, I need to earn a little bit of extra cash for some Christmas gifts or a vacation, you can come, I need to earn a little bit of extra cash for some Christmas gifts or a vacation, you can come up with ways to make that happen versus trying to ask your boss for a raise or taking a second job or something like that. Right. And also in regards to controlling your income, I know for me, when I had our third child, I went on my own maternity leave and my blog

continued to earn income and revenue. It was coming in while I was able to be home and be there with my daughter, then I could slowly kind of trickle back in to working more. And she's two and a half now. And I feel like some days I'm still trickling back in. And those income goals are obviously different now than they were when I had a newborn and two older kids at home. So knowing that it can kind of shift with the way that your life is and in the season that you're in is also a huge benefit. Speaking of being home with my kids, that's the fourth benefit that's important to Jennifer

and I is to be there when they need you. So I have two kids that are in elementary school, but then I have a third who is home with me. She does go to like parents day out a few days a week. And I feel like I can be there for the times that I want to be. So like I said, I'm there after school to have those afterschool conversations when they feel like kind of talking about their day. And you know, those are really precious moments that we never get back. And it was important to me that I didn't miss out on those days. It's also important to me to be able to volunteer in their class or to be able to be there or

take them to practice and not having to feel like this huge rush at the end of the day, like trying to have both parents get off work. But my job is flexible. And so I can be there for my kids when they need me. And quite honestly, with young kids, they do need you a lot. And I just love that I have the flexibility to work when I'm able. And yeah, honestly, sometimes that is at night after lights are out for them and then I stay up and work, but that works for me because I've gotten to do the things that I've wanted to do during the day

with my kids. And then I still have something for myself too. Yeah. And I think that when your kids are little, they require a lot of direct hands-on time and energy. And so that's, it's awesome to be able to be there and be, and be so present. And then like when I get to my stage of life where my kids are a little bit older, I have a son that's grown and, you know, working, but living at home. And then my daughter is finishing up elementary school. So kind of in a couple of different stages there, but much more self-sufficient. So they're not needing the, you know, hands-on time that they required when they were younger. But it's interesting that kids really do need time with their parents, even as they get older. They come home from school and

they have things to talk about. They're trying to work out things that are happening in their day. Maybe they need some help with homework or, you know, gosh, they start becoming involved in more and more activities. So they have random times of day that they need to be picked up. I remember when my son was in middle school and high school participating in sports. And gosh, those practices would get done at random times. And if I had been downtown working and had a 30-minute drive, I wouldn't have been able to run and pick him up. He would have been sitting outside waiting on me for 30 minutes to get there. And so it always felt good while it was frustrating at times to be on his schedule. It was always ultimately a good thing because I felt like I was able to do the things that I needed to do

for my family and not feel stressed that I was letting someone else down. Yeah. I think for both of us, the big thing there is just being present. And I think blogging and working from home has allowed both of us to feel more present with our kids than if we were to have gone somewhere else to work. Yeah, definitely. Another benefit to blogging is that you get to do work that you're passionate about. How many people get to wake up in the morning and say, oh my gosh, I can't wait to get started at work today. I know that there are so many who dread that drive-in or dread logging onto their computer. And I can honestly say, I do not hate my job. I love my job sometimes to a fault. I know Jennifer is right in the same boat with me there, but it's something that we're super passionate about. I talk about health on my blog

and how to live a healthy life in mind and body. And so that is something that's been passionate to me for a long time. I actually have a degree in health promotion. And so to be able to utilize what was a passion of mine in my 20s and continue to use it, but do it in my own way. I'm not having somebody else work for me and tell me how to share, but I am able to share what I want to do. And it's so rewarding to talk about what you're passionate about and help other people along the way.

I'm an Enneagram too, and so I love to help people. And blogging just allows me to do that because I'm super passionate about coming alongside people and helping them too. Yeah, and when we talk about work that you're passionate about, it can be big things or it can be little things. So for me, it was always about feeding my family healthy dinners.

And while I was working and all of that, I was always trying to figure out ways to get healthy meals on the table. And so it came about in that way that I wanted to share the recipes I was making with others after friends and coworkers and everybody, they were asking me like, how do you do this? Or what do you make? it came about in that way that I wanted to share the recipes I was making with others. After friends and coworkers and everybody, they were asking me like, how do you do this? Or what do you make? I became known as the person who liked to cook. And so just sharing just something as simple as healthy slow cooker recipes on my website was something that I enjoy doing. I love creating those recipes. I love feeding my family, but sharing that with other people, it's amazing to find people who want that and need that in their lives. And so it's not anything big. It's something totally simple, but I get emails and messages all the time of people

just happy that I've created a new recipe. It's something that they can make. They have all the ingredients for, and they're able to feed their family something they feel healthy about. So when we're talking about passions, it can be something big or something small. It's just something that's important to you, and it's a way that you can share that with other people, which kind of goes along with our next benefit is that you can make an impact on others and the world. So again, whether you're making like this huge impact or a small impact, what you're doing is providing something that other people find valuable. People need help with all kinds of things. So you can use something that you're knowledgeable about, that you know a little bit

about, you know, just a little bit more than the person next door about it, but you can help them by sharing your recipes, your knowledge about health, anything. The examples are endless, but just when you're a blogger and you can make an impact on others, it feels so good to get that feedback. So there's actually people out there reading and utilizing what you're sharing. And I think too, making an impact. I think those of us who maybe went to college, got a degree, but then never found a job, for instance, in our field. I went on to be a bank teller, for instance, and not saying that you can't make an impact. Obviously you can doing all those kinds of jobs too. But I think the important thing to realize is that you can make an impact no matter what degree you have or what degree you don't have,

whether you have a high school education or not, like none of that actually matters. It's, it's just what you decide to talk on. So your actual education history makes no difference. It doesn't matter if you're married. It doesn't matter your race, your gender. You can make an impact on everyone just by sharing something that could add value to someone else's life. That is huge. That's huge to be able to know that your life can change the life of someone else. And like Jennifer said, that can be cooking or health. It can be crafting. It can be organization.

It could be sharing Bible verses and sharing the love of Jesus with people. It can be documenting. There are so many areas that you can add value to others. And that's amazing. That is one of the greatest things I love. We have the Ultimate Blog Bootcamp that we meet students and we help them start their blogs. And that is something that has blessed us immensely because we get to meet all these

students and them tell us how they want to make an impact or how they want to inspire. And it's amazing because everybody has a different story and everybody comes at it from a different lens and it's awesome to listen to them say, this is how I want to make an impact on the world. So the seventh benefit we want to talk about is that you can continue learning and growing. And my teenage self, if I would have told myself, you're going to want to learn a lot someday, I would have never believed it. But I'm 39 now and I love learning. And especially when like you're in the thick of motherhood and all of that, it's allowed me to have something to get really excited about. I never feel bored and I always am willing to learn

something new and how I can share that with others. Yeah. And I think the other neat thing about learning new things is you, you might take a course or take a class and you'll meet new people within those classes and you'll make new connections and it'll broaden your horizons in ways you never imagined possible. I think there's just something to be said for meeting new people who are doing something similar or maybe a little bit different than what you're doing. And you can learn so much from those people as well. or maybe a little bit different than what you're doing. And you can learn so much from those people as well. It's, I think, truly amazing what people are willing to share with you about their own

journey, especially in the blogging world. I feel like it's really that whole rising tides raise all ships. Everybody is very supportive of each other. While there may be some competition in there, I think it's a healthy competition and people are willing to share what they've learned with you. And so just expanding those connections, taking new classes. Gosh, like Amy said, I didn't imagine I would ever be like this. I like to learn. I definitely do. But when you are kind of stuck in a field that you're maybe not super excited about, you're like, okay, I'll learn something new for my job. But when you can apply that to something that you care about a lot, whether it's new cooking skills that you're gaining or new blogging skills that you're gaining, it's just amazing to expand your life in that way. Yeah. All right.

The eighth benefit that we want to share with you is to never be stuck plugging away at a nine to five. I mean, do we need to explain? I never want to do that again. There was so many great things that I loved about it. And I certainly miss some of the work and definitely the people, but not the pressure and the structure and all of that. I don't think I ever want anybody to tell me what to do ever again. I think I'm the same way. And I think that it's important to know that if you're stuck in that nine to five, like there are other options out there for you. You can't like, you know, quit your job tomorrow and become a blogger the next day, making the money that you're making most likely, but it's something that you could absolutely work towards doing. And if you're

unhappy in that nine to five, know that there's another option out there for you. I would not have ever really fit in the typical nine to five, especially as a mom. I mean, kudos to all the moms out there who are plugging away and doing that and then momming at night. I just, I think that that's hard work to be honest. So, you know, we've talked a lot about some of our favorite benefits, but there are so many other benefits to being a blogger. And we'd be curious to know, like, what is your passion or purpose? Like, why do you want to be a blogger? Yeah.

Or why are you considering leaving a quote unquote real job to become a blogger? Because I think that that's something as a blogger too, I think that a lot of people don't think that blogging is an actual valid career. And we want to tell you that it absolutely is. You can actually create a full-time income being a blogger and just know that that is possible if that's something that you want to work towards. Even if your family or your friends or your neighbors look at you like you do what? Yeah. And they don't understand. We're here to tell you, we'll support you. We understand. And it is totally possible.

Absolutely. There's so many benefits to blogging and we love talking about them. So thanks for joining us today as we kind of dive into some of those. We hope that you found one that maybe sparked some passion in you and maybe has you asking some questions as to whether or not this would be an ideal way for you to share something that you're passionate about or maybe add something creative to your life that brings you joy and adding value to others. So if you enjoyed listening today, we would love it if you would share this episode on social media. You can tag us at Spark Media Concepts on Instagram and please leave a review

the reviews, especially as a new podcast. I mean, so much to us. It helps more people see the ultimate blog podcast, and we are just so thankful that you're here. So thanks for taking time out in your day and thank you for joining us for this podcast. Thanks so much for tuning in today. If you'd like to continue the conversation about blogging with us, please find us on Instagram at spark media concepts. You can also sign up for our weekly newsletter where we share blogging tips and inspiration. You can sign up by finding the link in the show notes for those of you who are ready for the next step and want to start your own blog. Join the waitlist for the ultimate blog bootcamp. The link to join the waitlist is also in the show notes. Go out and make today a great day.