Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Is it a Business?

I just read a blog post that said, "Blogs aren’t just online journals anymore, they are small businesses."  That got me to thinking - is that what I'm doing with my blog?  Is that what I want it to be?

If it's a business, I'm not doing so good.  Sure, I sell the occasional ad, and I write the occasional paid post, but that's just it - occasional.  And this year the opportunities have been quite sparse, as compared to past years.  Is it because I'm not devoting the time required, because I'm not really treating it as a business?  Or is it just the economy?

The problem I've found is that I'm also not blogging regularly about the everyday things - the real reason I started this blog - so my blog isn't really an online journal anymore, either.  Does anybody know anything that's going on around here?  No, you don't, because I never get around to blogging about it.  I have good blogging intentions, but I just never seem to get to it.  I feel like I'm always trying to 'get there' but I'm stuck treading water in quicksand and not getting anywhere.  And, at the end of the day, when I finally get to a point where I can sit down, my mind's either a complete blank or I waste all my time on Facebook!  (Hush! You know you do it too!)  I'm sure the lack of personal posts and content contributes to the lack of paid opportunities, too.

I'm thinking that I'm just not disciplined enough to run my own business, or maybe it's just that I have a hard time setting priorities.  I'm home all day, so my priorities tend to be about cooking, cleaning, paying bills, and doing laundry - and various and other sundry duties.  Actually making blogging a top-level priority?  Doesn't happen.  While I love being able to be home - and wonder how everything I do would get done if I wasn't - I think I need to be away from all the home stuff if I'm really going to accomplish something else.  Either that or I need to realize and accept that should I go out and get a job - doing what? I have no idea, I've been too busy being a wife and mom all these years. How do I use those skills? - then all those things aren't going to get done anyway.  So, if I can stay home and still earn some kind of income, it's OK if the floor doesn't always get vacuumed, the dishes don't always get done, and the laundry doesn't get folded for a day or two, right?  Right?  Maybe I just think those things need done and nobody else really cares?

Yeah, I'm not ready to look into small company lending, but with the kids all grown up, out of the house, and able to take care of themselves (HA!), I suppose it's time for me to figure out what comes next.  It would help if I had something I'm really interested in, something that I really wanted to do.  What do I want to be when I grow up?