In 2004, when I found out that I was pregnant with our first child, I began searching high and low for something — anything! — I could do from home to earn enough money so I could be a stay-at-home mom. That had long been my dream and I was so determined to do so.
After many different tries and mistakes, I finally landed upon this thing called blogging. I started a few blogs in the next two years — learning a lot as I went! Because there was so much interest in me writing about saving money on groceries, I started MoneySavingMom.com in 2007.
I didn’t have money to invest in blog design, so I started with what I could afford and set up myself: a free blog on Blogger.com with a white background. I didn’t know how to design a header, so I just had plain text at the top that said “Money Saving Mom”.
After a few months, I had been making some money off of affiliate advertising and sidebar ads — enough to invest a little money in sprucing up the blog. So I hired someone to design a header for the blog for $25.
And here’s what it looked like…
Yes, it wasn’t pretty. At all.
But that “ugly” blog that cost me almost nothing to start grew and grew until I finally had to move to Typepad and then to WordPress.
I had no idea that that little blog would be such a catalyst for so many things — meeting so many amazing bloggers and readers, making a full-time income from blogging, having speaking opportunities, getting book deals, the opportunity to give generously, the ability to move to Nashville and work with my husband in business, the opportunity to provide jobs for people on my team…
I don’t share this with you to gloat; I share this with you to encourage you.
Don’t let the lack of money to pay for a very professional website or expensive office hold you back. Don’t let the fear of making mistakes keep you from beginning somewhere. Don’t wait until you have everything figured out to jump in and start working on your dreams and ideas.
Just start… even if it’s not as nice and professional as you’d like it to be.
Experiment… even when you fail and make mistakes.
Jump out of your comfort zone… even if not everyone thinks your idea will work.
Some day, you might look back and shake your head at how little you knew, how much you’ve learned, and how far you’ve come… but you never would get to witness all that progress if you don’t take the first step.
P.S. If you’re thinking of starting a blog, be sure to read my comprehensive post on How to Start a Blog & Make Money Blogging.
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Source: moneysavingmom.com