Getting Things Done: Running An Online Business

The odd thing about accomplishing successful business-related actions is that often you end up without the time to do some of the things you love. As such, it’s been quite some time since I wrote anything on this weblog. I’m happy to say that my positive thinking, goal setting, and my systematic efforts have brought me enough online writing contracts than I’m making close to double what I was in my part-time job. Which means that I’ve now been exclusively working from home, for the first time in my life.

I couldn’t be happier about it, but it’s amazing how exponentially the workload accumulates. Contract after contract has come my way, after a four-year drought. I’m still nowhere near my earning power, but now I get to work from home, stay away from traffic jams and office politics, high gasoline rates, road rage, and stress. I spend time with the dogs, cats and birds, step out into the backyard, which borders a small nature preserve, or walk up to the nearest mall in about 20 minutes.

As I said, I couldn’t be happier. Well, I could. My own websites are being even more neglected than before, and thus still earning very little. However, indicators are that if I can write quality content to at least a few of my more trafficked websites, I could eventually earn a modest living from my online writing.

As part of my renewed effort, I’ve been reviewing what I want to write about on this website. My conclusion is that the general intent will stay the same: tips and suggestions about running an online business. However, a few things have changed since I last posted:

1. As mentioned above, I stopped working outside the home and now make my entire living from online efforts - primarily writing for other people, and a trickle from advertising revenue on my own websites/ weblogs.
2. I’ve made a great deal of contacts, many of whom are earning a living online, and from whom I’m learning quite a bit about the potential.
3. A number of friends and acquaintances have found themselves either losing their jobs or unfulfilled in their jobs late in their life. They are scared to quit and don’t often know what they want to do next. Others are about to retire, but don’t have enough money saved in their bank accounts and are unsure if they’ll be able to maintain their standard of living.

It’s for these people that I am focusing my efforts on this website. That means that while the future articles here will be valid for anyone wanting to learn about online opportunities for part- or full-time careers, the case studies I’ll be focusing on will tend to lean towards people in their forties and up. I hope that this doesn’t scare off people under forty, because one day you are going to be older, and it seems like there are no safe jobs anymore. Even if you are years away from going into an online business for yourself, reading about your options will make you better prepared than your peers, giving you the advantage of at least having confidence and theory, if not actual online business experience.

One final note. I’ve submitted a weblog proposal much like what I’ve described above to a very popular weblog network. I’m not going to reveal that info here because I don’t want to jinx things. But if I do get in, it’s possible that this site will undergo a rapid change, visually and in terms of amount of content. It’s also possible that if I do get accepted, a new site and domain name (URL) will be setup.

If I don’t get accepted, I’ll continue here with a renewed effort. Either way, content will include: articles about tools and software necessary for various online busineses; various ways to earn money online; specific case studies; interviews; steps for setting up your own websites, weblogs, and e-commerce sites; summaries of articles from other websites; and whatever else I can come up with that relates to running a business online, or supplementing your bricks-and-mortar business with a website.

I hope you’ll check back soon for regular content. I will be trying a couple of page designs out, whether or not I get accepted into the weblog network, so you may see frequent visual changes. for a while, until I settle on something. Feel free to ask questions pertaining to using the Internet to earn or supplement your living, as that was my original intent with this website.

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