The Ultimate Blog Podcast - 31. An Ultimate Blog Bootcamp Success Story: Liz Olberding

Episode Date: July 19, 2022

Today we are chatting with Liz Olberding. Liz is an alum of the Ultimate Blog Bootcamp, our course for teaching you how to start your blog. She is also now a member of our membership community and we love having her as a part of it! Liz has been blogging for 6 months now and today she shares with us her journey to blogging, how the Ultimate Blog Bootcamp helped her in her journey, the growth that happens as a blogger. Liz shares how she navigates her schedule with kids at home, a job, and blogging, too! She shares her goals for blogging and Liz even shares advice to new bloggers or those who are thinking about starting a blog! If you are thinking about starting a blog, be sure to tune in to Liz’s episode.Check out the show notes (link below) for links and resources mentioned in this episode!Thanks for listening! Connect with us on Instagram: @sparkmediaconceptsIf you need questions answered before you start your blog, check out The Blog Depot, an online course and membership community!SHOW NOTES: www.sparkmediaconcepts.com/episode31

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. Today, we are thrilled to introduce you to Liz Olberding. Liz is a part of our community, and we are so excited to share her with you today because we know that she is going to leave you feeling inspired and ready to tackle your blogging goals that you have. So welcome to the show, Liz. Hi, thank you. Do you want to start out by just sharing a little bit about yourself, who you are, and all of that with our audience? Yes. As Amy said, my name is Liz. I live in a suburb of Minneapolis, Minnesota with my husband

and my two daughters. I have a three-year-old daughter and a 14-year-old stepdaughter. So we always joke that we're in two very different stages of parenting at the same time. Lots to juggle. I love to cook. I started my food blog only about six months ago after completing the bootcamp. And it's totally become like my favorite hobby, my favorite creative outlet. I joke that I'm a 9 p.m. blogger because I still work full time. And so I do a lot of my blogging, my computer work at night after the kids go to bed and the house gets quiet. So that's me in a nutshell. I love it.

I love that you've jumped right in. And we're going to talk a lot about that today on the podcast is how just kind of having a desire placed in your heart and then jumping on that opportunity. But how about you share with everybody? We were talking a little bit before we got started about when you decided to start a blog. So do you kind of want to share a little bit about your blogging journey in a nutshell? Yeah. So many years ago, 12 years ago, now I had started a blog sort of on a whim with one of my girlfriends. She was in fashion and I was an interior designer.

And we had started a blog together on Blogspot just for fun. Like it was never going to be a business or anything more than that. So it was called Olive Juice because if you mouth the words Olive Juice in the mirror, it looks like you're saying I love you. And so it was just a whole collection of things that we loved. And she would share some fashion things and I would share interior design and then we'd share some recipes and things and she got bored with it and dropped off and I continued it on for a little while and then just life got in the way. I started dating my husband and started getting more advanced in my career and it just kind of fell to the wayside.

But it was one of those things that like, like always kind of wondered in my heart, like, had I kept going with it, where would I be now? Like, would it be something, you know? And I kind of missed that little, you know, creative outlet that I had for myself. And then, flash forward, I'm married, I have kids. I am an interior designer, I said, for years and years. And I was working a

crazy full-time job and didn't get to see my kids very much. And that really bothered me. And so a couple of years ago, my husband approached me and said, you know what? My business needs some help. I need somebody to help with some paperwork and some social media and some little things on the side. Would you have any interest in stepping away from your crazy busy career and helping me? And he's like, you might work full time, but there might be weeks where it's only 30 hours or 20 hours. And you could have the kids home with you those days. And it would just be really flexible. And do you think that would give you a better balance? And I was like, yeah, that'd be great. Let's do that. And it was, it's great. It's, I really, really like it, but I work from home and I went

from this like busy, crazy hustle bustle office to working from home. And I went from a career where I was designing every day to doing paperwork, a little bit of social media. So I missed that creative outlet. And so I always kind of had in my heart this idea that I wanted to start a blog again. And it would probably be a food blog because that was my favorite thing to write about. And I think that that's something I'm really good at. So, you know, we're in this busy, busy phase of life where my kids are in activities and sports and church and everything every night. And I still make dinner every night. And I'm like, I can share these recipes with people. My friends ask me all the time, what are you making for dinner? And I'm like, here,

I was like texting out recipes and stuff to them. And I was like, I need a place. I need a place to write this down and record it. And I need a creative outlet for myself. And I'm going to do this. And I want to do this. So it was just kind of always in the back of my mind that I wanted to start it. I love your story. I love how it like has organically just kind of happened exactly the way it, way it needed to. Yeah. Well, and I, like we were talking before when my husband and I were registering for our wedding, our guests never would get duplicates of something like a pretty white platter or measuring spoons or something. Instead of returning it, I would get duplicates of something like a pretty white platter or measuring spoons or something. Instead of returning it, I would secretly keep it in this credenza in our dining room. Because I knew if I ever did start this blog someday, I wanted fresh, cute things that would photograph well that are like used everyday stuff. It was just this dream that I knew I would do someday.

I just wasn't quite sure when. So you had this on your heart, obviously, for a really long time. Did you tell your husband or anybody that you had this in mind, or was it kind of like a secret little dream that you had? Totally a secret little dream. I didn't tell anybody. I love that. I told him like after I had signed up for the bootcamp, I was like, Hey, it did something. I need some help with the kids one night a week. I absolutely love that. So what did he say? Was he surprised? Yeah. He was like,

I still don't feel like he fully knows what it is. He's like, so what are you doing? What's a blog? But he reaps the rewards of all the recipe testing and all the fun things I make. So he doesn't mind too much. So how did you decide to join the Ultimate Blog Bootcamp and just go for it? Did you know about this in advance or how did you find out about us? And what was the process involved in making this decision to get the help to start your blog? So it was totally on a whim. I wasn't planning on starting it at this time in my life at all. I follow somebody in your community, Sweet Savory and Steph on Instagram. And one day she said, hey, if anybody's ever thinking of starting a blog, you should check

out these two girls. They're great. They do this blogging bootcamp and they're getting ready to start another round. Here's a free webinar link. Go check them out. And I just clicked on it. It was like an out-of-body experience. Wasn't something I was planning on doing. Went to the free webinar, loved what you had to say, signed up for it. And I think we did it on like a Thursday or Friday. And I signed up for the bootcamp and we started on Monday and it was like, boom, let's do this. Come up with your name and call, you know, your hosting company and get on,

you know, everything going and you're just out of the chute. Here we go. You know, it all happened so fast. And it was like this, I remember thinking like, I'm on a ride. I can't get off now, but let's just see where it goes. everything. I'm like, Whoa, I'm on a ride. I can't get off now, but let's just see where it goes. I love, I love that. So was there a part of you ever that you were like, Oh crap. Like, what have I gotten myself into? Or, or did you feel like finally like, Oh my gosh, this has been waiting for me. I would say during the bootcamp when we were in those really technical weeks, I was like, this is not what I thought it was going to be. Because before, when I was on my first blogging journey, it was just, you just write about whatever you want and it didn't matter. There was no research involved or technical of anything. And so that was totally eye opening to me. I had no idea what I didn't know about the back end of blogging. totally eye-opening me like I had no idea what I didn't know about the back end of blogging but since then you know since I've launched and have been doing this for the last six months yeah it was just completely like a piece of myself that I guess I didn't really know was missing

you know I really enjoyed doing it and I've I think I've come a long way when I look back at my first early posts you kind of almost cringe you. You're like, what was I, what was I thinking? But no, I, I it's, it's been so wonderful. I'm so glad I've added this into my life. One thing I've always admired about you. And I, I love when we get to interview our students because we get the opportunity to tell you this, which we shouldn't wait for a podcast interview to tell you, but you have always shown up with a lot of confidence. So whether or not you've had it or not, you've definitely, you've always shown up to everything like the coaching calls and just with this confidence that I'm doing this and I'm making

this happen. And you're willing to be in the state of growth that is required for being a blogger. I mean, none of us start out and are successful like immediately, you know, this blogging is not this quick fix or, you know, quick return. It is definitely a long game. It's a marathon, not a sprint. And you've just always like so gracefully shown up in that way. And I really, really admire that. And I think that's really inspiring that you've had this dream in your heart for a long time. You kept it kind of tucked inside. And then when it was like go time, like when God's like, Hey, it's go time, Liz, like you were there to answer the call and be there. I'm going to get choked up and cry. Um, you were there to be, to just answer the call and say, okay, I'm ready to do this. And whether or not you felt like

scared or whatever, you did it anyway. And to be able to come alongside you on that journey has been like such a gift. I want you to know that is I love having you in our community and on our coaching calls. Liz is still in our alum membership that we have for people who have completed the bootcamp. So we still get to pour into you and watch you grow and cheer you on and all that. And that's just amazing. I love how you never seem like you get too overwhelmed or flustered, but I know I'm sure that you do because we all do, you know, but you're just very confidently moving forward to that next step. And I think that's inspiring. So thank you. Yeah. I think my question for you to share is how do you, is that just your personality that, you know, you can kind of look things in the face and say, okay, I know this is

going to be challenging and difficult, but I can do it anyway. Or is this like something that you really have to practice? Like, I'm not going to let myself get overwhelmed. I'm just going to keep taking one step at a time. What would be your advice for somebody who might get a little lost in the technical side and feel like they want to give up when it comes to blogging? Honestly, I try and just do it. Just keep moving forward. I try not to get in my head and overthink things because I could easily talk myself in and out of everything. So I try and just do it. Just jump in kind of like I did with the bootcamp. Just jump in and go for it before you really have time to realize what you're getting into. Sometimes I think ignorance is bliss.

Just do it. And then once you're in the mix, you can always figure it out. It might not always be the most enjoyable thing or the prettiest thing, but you can always figure it out and you're going to come out stronger on the other side. And now I know how to do all that behind the scenes blogging stuff that I needed at the time we were learning that. But now it's fantastic that I know how to do that. And I do have so much more confidence. And so I would just say, like you were saying, I do try and carry that into everything I do in life is to just quit. Just do it. Don't hesitate. Just get in it. And then once you're in it, it's not as bad as you think. And you can always figure it out. You're

always going to come out on the other side. And what I'm hearing you say there too, is allow yourself to be a beginner. Oh yeah. I think we have to do that, especially in this creative type of work. Like things are changing a lot and we have to allow ourselves to be beginners and things. And it is scary. We were talking before we all agreed, like you might feel nervous the entire time that you're doing it, you know, but like you just said, you're going to learn. And then when you look back, you're like, oh my gosh, I just learned so much. And whether or not you're doing a blog or creating a course or Jennifer and I are in the middle of creating a membership for beginner bloggers, like things like that. It's, you always have to kind of put

one foot in front of the other and just tackle it. Absolutely. Yeah. You're never going to regret trying it. You're always going to learn. A hundred percent. One of the things that we always try to tell our students at the beginning of every boot camp is, you know, it's going to be hard. There's going to be days when you're going to want to give up. You have to get through some of this technical stuff, but we promise we'll be here for you. We promise we'll walk you through it, even on those days when it's hard, but it's going to be so worth it when you get through that piece of it, because you're going to be so proud of yourself. You're going to feel so accomplished and you're going to know so much more than you knew a few weeks ago. Hopefully we told that to your group too, but do you, did you feel that way? Did you feel like once you finally made it through some of those really hard weeks, did you feel like so much more accomplished and so much more educated about blogging by the time you made it through that? Was it worth it to you? Oh, absolutely. I mean, it's, I feel like it's like with any course that you ever take, like you're building the tools that you need to be successful. And, you know,

like with this, everybody wants to get to the fun part, which is the content creation part, you know, and so it's almost like this carrot dangling at the end. And so it's incredibly motivating to push through all of that not so glamorous, hard technical stuff to get to that point. And I think you guys did a really great job of that in the boot camp. You would just kind of say like, okay, you're going to need to know this and this because when you start creating the content, X, Y, Z, and that was just like, okay, get through the trenches now, because we're going to get to the fun part. We're going to get to the part we love. And I would bet that technical stuff feels a little less overwhelming to you now,

if you have to go back and work on something or fix something on your blog. And hopefully, you know that you have resources now when you know where to go. I think that's one of the most important things for new bloggers to learn is that you may not have all the answers, but you can have resources with which to find the answers so that you're not spinning your wheels, so that you're not getting frustrated and giving up. You keep that figure it out attitude and you just ask questions and you go for help. I think it's really important to get that help that you need, whether it's from your hosting company, from a blogging coach, wherever it is, there's always help out there available.

Exactly. Well, I think that's why there's so much value in the membership community too. Like once we've gone through the blogging bootcamp, I still had questions that came up, you know, or I still wanted to bounce ideas off of each other. It's not like I fully know what I'm doing. And that's where I see a ton of value in the membership is that if I do have a technical question, as opposed to spinning my wheels or spending hours researching it, I can just ask and see if anybody knows the answer.

And just the sense of community too. I really love that aspect of our little group as well. I just think everybody's really encouraging and helps each other out and helps each other grow. And that's just priceless. I mean, that is so hard to find. That's hard to find, I think, in friendships and relationships in real life. And especially in this blogging community to have come across that is just so valuable. And I think that you bring up something very important too, is not everybody understands what blogging is. So it's really nice to have a

group of people that you can sit with and you know, like, you know what the other one's doing, you know, the, the content creation piece of it, you know, like the things that you're looking for to be successful in that. And it's not like talking to your friends about SEO and keyword research, and they're looking at you like you have three heads and you're like, what are you talking about? I think there's a beautiful thing about having that community and the accountability as well. And you said something else as you were talking when I was listening. You said it a couple of times, ask, like ask for help. And I think that oftentimes we don't do that enough. We want to try to figure it all out on our own, but time is precious and all of us have a limited amount of it. I mean, we're all busy. We all have all these responsibilities. And so I think that being willing to be a beginner

and being willing to ask the questions that need asked and go to the people who know, because Jennifer and I still go to people that we need to, you know? And so it's always being a learner and always being willing to ask is a really key piece in blogging, in my opinion, and knowing that it is a profession that you get to do that is ever changing and you get to do that is ever changing and you get to grow. And I don't know about you, but I know that's something I really love about, about the job. Absolutely. I get to grow all the time. Well, and I don't really feel like a blog is like a

static thing. Like it's like you said, it's ever changing. It's like a living, breathing thing almost because things are always changing. Like the way you do something changes or the algorithm changes or something. And you have to kind of roll with it and figure it out. And yes, I have to ask questions. I don't know how to do all that stuff. Nor do I have the time to spin my wheels to try and figure it out by myself. So absolutely. Asking questions is, I think, essential to success with blogging. Do you want to start building a foundation for your blog? Do you have questions you need answered before you start? Do you wish that you had someone there to hold your hand through the

process? We are so excited to share that we have created a membership community just for you. The Blog Depot is an online course and membership community that will teach you the foundations you need to build a blog. We teach you about niching down, finding the right mindset, the best platform to build a blog on, and so much more with monthly coaching calls inside the community. You will find the support you need to finally make your dream a reality. The doors are open to join this amazing blogging community, and we can't wait to help you. Find the link to join the blog depot in the show notes. So what does blogging look like for you now that you're six months down the road? So

you're probably feeling a little more comfortable. You've probably got a little bit of a rhythm or a schedule down. What is your day-to-day look like in terms of fitting blogging into your life? You mentioned how you work full-time, you've got two kiddos, you've got a lot going on. And I imagine that it can be a little bit of a challenge to fit blogging in. So what does that look like for you on a daily basis? And how does that feel to you? Do you still feel excited about doing it every day? Oh, I definitely feel excited. Any amount of time that I get to work on the blog is like, it feels like my birthday. It's so exciting. It feels like my birthday when I was a kid. I say that now that I'm in my forties, birthdays are less excited. But yeah, so I, I joke that I'm like a 9pm blogger. That's when I do a lot of my computer work.

And it's at night after we're done with activities and dinner and my little one goes to bed. That's really when the house is quiet and I have extra time to focus on it. So I try and do that a couple nights a week. I'm lucky in the fact that I get really good afternoon light in my kitchen. So that's when I try and cook and shoot my photos is in the afternoon. And so I let myself like one day a week, work on it in the afternoon. I work really, really hard to get all of my work done, my nine to five job work done. And then like one or two afternoons a week, I let myself make a recipe and shoot it and shoot a video or

do whatever. And then at night is when I do the editing and the actual writing of my blog. So it's not ideal. I, of course, would love to live in a world where I get to do this full time and I could, you know, spend my days blogging. I think that that is the ultimate dream for me. But right now this works. It's a great outlet and a way to unwind at night. And I just love any chance I get to work on a day. Just absolutely love. I love how you say that and how you say you get to do it. I think that's such an important mindset to have because there are days when you probably like the rest of us feel a little bit overwhelmed. So like you have too much on your plate, but when you have that mindset, like I get to do this, I, there's a benefit to me and to my family for doing this. I think that keeps you motivated on those hard days and keeps you moving forward and not

giving up on something that's important to you because while it is fun, most of the time, there are days when it's like, Oh my gosh, I have a lot to get done. So just keeping moving forward with that is definitely challenging. So having a mindset of like, I get to do this. I absolutely love that you said that. Thanks. Yeah. I just don't want to sound like too corny, but it just feels like such a fun thing to do for me. I've always loved cooking and then being able to share that as a hobby is great. And my absolute favorite thing is when I get texts from my friends or even people I don't know that tag me on Instagram or something. It's like, oh my gosh, you're baking my sloppy joes that I make for my kids. Every night we have a babysitter. That meal that we

love in my home is now in somebody else's dinner table. And that is still such a cool rush to me. You know, I hope that feeling never goes away. I just think that that's the ultimate goal feeling for me. I don't think it will. I walked in yesterday. We got together with my mom and dad and I walked in and my mom's like, oh, I'm making this lemon zucchini cake.

And I was like, oh, that sounds, that sounds good. And she goes, yeah, it's from in Krista's kitchen, who is a part of our community, Krista. And I think for me as somebody who like helps like teach and coach you guys, I had like this very proud mom moment, not even my recipe. I was like, what you're making Krista's recipe. And my mom was like, yeah. And I was like, um, I have to text her like right away and tell her that like my mom is making a recipe. I was so excited. Like, I think that is so exciting because we put this, we put these things, whether it's a recipe or, you know, an inspirational post or tips or whatever out into the world. And like, we hope so much that the people who need to find it can find it.

And when they do like, it's awesome. It's so, it's so awesome. We had a game night over the winter. My husband and I went down to his dad's house and my mother in law had done, had made a whole bunch of my appetizers. She had done a bunch of my dips and she wouldn't say anything. She just put them out. And I was like, Hey, this is my pretzel dip. And she's like, Oh, I know I've been following this great little blog. There's just tons of gems there. It was just like, you did a really good job. This is delicious. But it was just such a fun, you know, just a fun moment. We all laughed really hard, but it was great. But I bet, I bet, I think when people do

that, it gives you this sense of like, I matter. Yeah. Like you're listening and you're paying attention because a lot of people don't see you scrambling to get your nine to five job done. So you can do the thing that you love the most in the afternoon, like one or two days a week, or getting your kids and everything ready and situated and then sitting down at your computer at nine o'clock. Like, so I think when you find, like when you come across that and somebody makes your recipe or shares, you know, or you walk in like that, you're like, oh my gosh, like I really am doing this for a greater purpose than even I can see right now. And that's the beautiful piece of blogging. I think that doesn't get talked about enough. I think too much. I think we focus

a little bit, sometimes too much on your traffic or your followers or whatever. But I mean, think of the impact that you make on people's lives by helping them with a simple recipe or things like that. Like that's no helpful tip is too small. In my opinion, that we can provide as a blogger to help another individual. I say all the time that I think part of our job description is helping others, adding value to somebody else's life, using our own experiences in a way that helps benefit others. And what a gift that is that we get to do that. A hundred percent. And I think that's such an important thing to say is like, it doesn't matter what you're passionate about, whether it's recipes or exercise or crafts or something, you know, some people have a blog with that they feel like has a ton of purpose and other people

might be sitting here saying, well, is what I have to say really that important? You know, it's, there's a million recipes out there. Like how, how can I find space to share my recipes? Why is anybody going to care? But they obviously do. They just like Amy's mom came across Krista's recipe. It fit what she needed for a family event. And that adds so much value to people's lives. And so it doesn't matter what you're going to be blogging about. You're going to add value to someone's life, even if it's just one person to start with. And so I think that's so important to keep in mind. Your story is important too. Yeah, absolutely. I think like you were saying, everybody has some value to add.

And a lot of times, I don't know that we really realize that. I mean, that was sort of how my journey came to be was that I was making dinner every night for my families in between basketball practice and church and all of that. And my friends started texting me like, okay, a meal planning for the week. What are you guys making? Liz, what are you making? Because I cannot serve my kids macaroni and cheese again this week. Or I make the same four or five things on rotation every week. What are you making, Liz?

And that, I didn't know that I had that value to add. I didn't know that others knew that I liked to cook and meal plan and come up with these recipes each week. And so I feel like, yeah, we can't get stuck in our heads thinking that you don't have any value to add because everybody does. And you just need to have the confidence, I guess, to just go for it and start, start and start bringing that out. And you guys said something, I think, like you don't have to be an expert. I mean, you can know just 1% more than somebody else and you'll be

teaching them something that they didn't know. And that I think was really empowering for me to kind of get over that hump if I did have any self-doubt about it. Like, oh, you're right. I don't have to know everything. I just have to know a little bit more. Like I know just a little bit more than my girlfriend that's defaulting to mac and cheese every night. So I think that's such an important mindset to adopt is that you don't have to be an expert because I mean, let's be real. We're all still learning on this journey, like all the time. And when we can just be really open and honest and say that, like we're all still learning, you know? And so like meet us on the journey and we'll help each other. That's essentially what it is. And what I love is that your friends helped you see your value too, by sending those messages

and stuff. I think that that kind of built a little bit of that confidence for you. Like, oh, you know, maybe, maybe I do know, you know, and I I'm glad that you didn't discount what you have to offer because now that circle of influence gets to grow far beyond those in your life. And I'm just super thankful that they did that because now we get to know you too. I love that we get to connect with people all over. We're in Kansas. The likeliness of us ever meeting like in person is unlikely. Like we would have never probably had the chance to meet you in person, but you know, the internet is, it can be a blessing and a curse, but in this case, it's a blessing, you know, that it allows us to meet with these.

We've only had women. So I'm going to say women who are sitting at home, a lot of them are sitting at their jobs who have this desire and they don't know how to make it happen. And somehow with the interwebs and the way that it all happens, we get connected and we get to pour into you and like help you understand your worth and help you grow. And that's just, that's a gift for us for sure. So something I would love for you to share, you say you have a full-time job still and you're blogging. So how do you make that a priority? How do you, how do you make working on your blog a priority by that? I mean, do you have a schedule that you follow each week or do you kind of look at your week

and then pencil in when you're going to blog? Or how do you organize your time? So I have childcare for my three-year-old, three full days a week. And so the other two days she's home with me, but she still naps in the afternoon. So I do get a little bit of time. So I try really, really hard Monday through Wednesday to get my work done by mid-afternoon, you know, by the end of the week, mid-afternoon. And then I can make something on Wednesday afternoon is usually when I cook and shoot because I get that good afternoon light. And then Thursdays when my daughter is home with me and Friday when she's home with me, then I'm like more mom, you know,

and I can do a little bit of blogging or a little bit of extra work in the afternoon while she naps if I have time. But I really try for those like first three days to like power my nine to five and then get done what I need to and then let myself go. And then, like I said, everything else really happens at night

after they go to bed. I try not to do stuff on the weekends. That's our family time. But I try and do as much as I can in the evenings at night when they go to bed. But every week is a little bit different. And like I said, some weeks are lighter with work than others. And so sometimes I have a little bit more time and sometimes I just don't have any time and that is fine. I just have to kind of roll with it and make it work. But yeah, I try really hard to smush all my work into those like three days and then

use my extra time to blog one of the things we talk about with people who are trying to decide if blogging is right for them is like there may be some sacrifice required on your part in order to fit this into your life are there any sacrifices that you've made and what are they yeah I would say I don't have a lot of TV watching time or just downtime to do other things. You know, what's TV? What's that? Like shows are you watching? I mean, it's taking us forever to get through stuff, but you know, the at night, that's also my time with my husband too, after our kids go down. And so I try not to blog every night. I mean, I could probably, I try not to, I try and just do

it a few nights a week and then he and I can watch a show or do something else together at night. But that time I would say I sacrifice my like downtime to just veg and read a magazine or read a book and, or watch a show because it's plugged in then with my blogging time. What is your goal with blogging? Like, do you want it to look like this forever or what is your, I'm putting you totally on the spot. You can say I plead the fifth. Um, but what is your goal with that? So like, are you like, are you okay with your schedule looking like that forever? Or is your hope for it to look different? My hope is that someday it would look different. I would love to be able to be a full-time blogger. I'd love to generate enough income that I could replace my nine to five. I don't know how long

it'll take me to get to that. I don't have all the time in the world to pour into it. So it might be years and years before I get to that point, if I ever do. But I'm fine with that. I always wanted to feel like something fun for me. And so it sounds amazing to be able to do it full time. But if it's always just a part-time thing, I'm probably fine with that too. I think that that is awesome because I think it speaks to, we can all have different goals. I think that some people have a goal of never really earning anything. Like if they do great, but they just love the hobby of it. And I think others like come into it with a business mindset and there are, there is no

right or wrong way to go about it. And that's the beautiful thing. I've shared this. If you've ever attended a webinar, anybody in or sat in a bootcamp, you've heard me say that I've spent a lot of time thinking that my goal had to match Jennifer's goal. And that actually set me back, I think, for a long time because I thought I should have more of a business mindset of this. I should be wanting to replace the full-time income with this. But I'm a stay-at-home mom.

And it was hard for me to devote that kind of time. And I finally was like, hold on. Me and Jennifer are in very different life stages. And that's okay. And so my goal can look completely different than hers at this given time. And I hope that people see that. If you sign up for the bootcamp or if you decide that you want to start a blog or whatever, you don't have to sign up with the intent of, I'm replacing my income within a year. I mean, if that's what you want to do, then more power to you

and we can help you with all the foundations of that. But that doesn't have to be a requirement to start a blog. I think the requirement is that you have something that you want to share with people. And it's a creative outlet that brings you joy in your life. And that's it. Like that's the requirement. The goals can look different for every single person. Yeah. And I think like keeping your head straight with that is really important too, because it's easy to get caught up, like you said, in the followers and how many people are reading your posts and am I making enough money or any money from it? And that can really send you into a mental tailspin, I think, pretty quickly. My kind of goal for myself was this first year I wanted to launch and just produce like quality content that I'm

really proud of. I wanted to get a lot of content on there this first year, because then next year, I'll be able to link back to Christmas recipes or whatever. I'm not worried about working in advance and trying to rank and trying to do all that. I'm still just starting. So my goal was to get really good quality content for this first year. And then I think next year, my goal for myself might be to grow. I'll probably set some growth goals for myself, but still preserving the fun part of it is really important. I love that you're continuing to have that focus because I've been blogging since 2017. Jennifer has since 2013. And we both, even on the hard days, we're like, we would never choose anything different. Even on the days that we feel stretched, you know, it's still something that we both individually love doing.

Well, and I think that's just everybody's ultimate goal is to find a job that feels like fun and not work. And so the fact that you two have done that is super inspiring. And it just has so much flexibility. Like there's going to be ebbs and flows. And right now, I'm not working on my blog as much because we're putting a little more work into the bootcamp and our new upcoming membership. So that's what's taking priority right now. And that's okay, because I'm the boss and I get to decide what I do with my blog. And I love that. Nobody's telling me what I can or can't do or what I have to do. I went a couple months ago on a food bloggers retreat here locally. And it was like the exact

same thing as signing up for the bootcamp. It was like, I saw it on Instagram and it was just like, you know, click here to apply. And I just did it without even thinking about it. And all of a sudden I was there with all of these other food bloggers. And honestly, I had no business being there. These women had been blogging for five, 10, 12, 15 years. They were all full-time bloggers. They knew so much more than me, but it was the best experience. I learned so much. And I feel like, you know, we all, it was, everybody had something different to give everybody trained on a different topic, but it was, they all said too, at the end, like, it's hard to stay motivated sometimes when you've been doing it this long and it is your full-time job. And having that kind of like renewed, like we all

get together and kind of drink the blogging Kool-Aid again, you know, having that kind of like renewed, like we all get together and kind of drink the blogging Kool-Aid again, you know, having that renewed sense of inspiration and learning from each other to kind of like refresh your mindset was so valuable to them. And they were so kind. I mean, they taught me so much and kind of like took a step back and made sure I understood what was being said. But a couple of them even came up to me afterwards and were like, you inspired me. I forget about those early days when it is so fun and you have so many ideas that you can't

get on paper fast enough. And I loved, you know, feeling that energy from you again. And so I think, yeah, that's the dream to do it full time, but also like, I want it to always be fresh and fun and, you know, what, like you say, go to conferences and go to retreats and things like that to always, you know, grease the creativity wheels and keep it fun and fresh and look at things from a new perspective and learn new, new things to try. And it was really great. It was a great experience. And I think being willing to learn from other people too is always helpful. And I think it doesn't mean that you have to take everything that one person says and say, oh, well, this is exactly the path I need to follow.

But you can take little nuggets from what people offer and say, how can I fit this into what I'm doing and generate traffic or revenue or whatever, use it as motivation. We strongly recommend if you have an opportunity to go to blogging conferences or any chance that you can to connect with others in the industry to do that, because that's only going to help you grow as a blogger. Because having that community and that network of people is so important. And most of the time, I find that most bloggers, not all, but most are willing to share like, Hey, this is what works for me, or this is what doesn't, or this is how I navigate this. And going back to what you said earlier, you can't be afraid to ask, like ask for

the help that you need, ask for the direction that you're desiring. And I think when we are willing to ask those questions, we will only benefit. And people, let's be honest, we talk about that. People like to talk about themselves. So they like to share what has worked and what hasn't and help people along the way. So yeah, I'm glad that you went to that. Yeah, me too. I learned so much. It was so great. I mean, there were a couple of topics were just like over my head as only being six months into my journey. But for the most part,

I felt like I was tracking right along. And someday when I have more time to work on my blog, there is so many different avenues of blogging and different things that you can work on. And that was, it was so great to learn, to get just to like scratch the surface of some of those things. I'm glad you went in your early stages. One of the first conferences that Jennifer

and I went to together, I wasn't even blogging yet. I was just her virtual assistant at the time. And I learned a lot just sitting there. That's, that's when the desire really got planted. And my heart was like listening to everybody. I was like, what am I doing? Just having my stuff on Instagram. Like, what am I doing? You know, I think I'm missing a key component here. So I don't think that you went too early or prematurely at all. I think you went at just the right time. Okay, good. Yeah. So it was, yeah, super inspiring. I can't wait to go to another one because I just could always learn and ask questions and getting inspired. We'll just go ahead and put it out there, Jennifer. She's going to like, whatever.

That's our goal someday is to be able to provide like a conference to people just like that. You should, you should. That you guys, that would be fantastic. It's something that we would love to do. So maybe now that we put it out in the universe. Even if you get geared towards beginners too, I don't think there's anything out there like that. That's a good idea.

Hey, that's a good idea, Liz. Funny you should say that. Funny. Okay. Any other tips as we get ready to sign off here that you would tell or any advice that you would give to somebody who has either just started blogging or is considering it? What advice would you give them? Do it. Just do it. Don't overthink it. Don't

let yourself get in your head about it. Go for it. Just, you know, hit start and start taking steps forward. I think you'll hit some speed bumps. There'll be days that aren't the most fun, but there'll be days that are the most fun and it's so worth it and it's so rewarding. It's fun to have something that challenges you and stretches you. And it's fun to have something of your own

and a creative outlet. For me, that's really important. And I would say, just do it. Don't hesitate. Don't overthink it. Just go for it. You won't regret it. You're the best.

Thanks. Thanks for being here. And I know that they are going to want to connect with you. So can you please tell our listeners where they can find you? Yes. My blog is called Up North Nosh. I'm at upnorthnosh.com and on instagram and all of the other social channels it's up north nosh as well easy to find thank you so much liz thank you for having

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.