When and How I Did It

I was overwhelmed with gratitude at the amount of friends, colleagues, former colleagues, acquaintances, and strangers who reached out to congratulate me on launching this site. Thank you! I had some great exchanges with many of you and am really humbled by the encouragement and support.

During those exchanges, the same questions kept coming up, so I figured they were the perfect topics for my next blog: “When did you have the time to do this?” “How did you put this all together?” In a nutshell, this has been a labor of love for many nights and weekends over the past six months to a year, and it was hard work to pull off! It still is, but I’m devoted to it and enjoying creating new content and exploring potential opportunities.

I Don’t Watch TV

I can’t believe I put that in writing. But, it’s really true. And it explains “when” I did this all. After work, I spend time with my family until my son goes to bed. Once 7:30 or 8 p.m. comes around, on many nights I’m back in front of the computer. 

Once I really committed to launching the company and website, I spent a lot of nights working out logistics. How do I get a domain name? What do you mean a domain name isn’t the same as a website? How do I find a photographer? What am I going to write about? How do I change the font color on one part of the website without changing it on another part? It was overwhelming.

The “when” came with some sacrifice, relatively speaking. I stare blankly when someone asks me if I’ve seen You or whatever the hot new series is on Netflix. At times I feel like I’m missing out or out of the loop. To be fair, I’ve never really been much of a TV person, but I knew I had to find the time to make this work if I was ever going to launch. Sure, I still take time to unwind. I love to read. And for me, reading is totally different than getting sucked into the TV or binge-watching a series.

I Really Enjoyed it All (Minus Tech Issues!)

There is some corny adage like, “if you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.” Sappiness aside, it’s true. As frustrating as website issues or writer’s block can be, overall, I really had fun. And am continuing to have fun. That’s the “how I did it.” Enjoying it kept me going when I was tempted to pick up my book and postpone wrangling a tech issue for another day.

The “how” also came with help: a website developer and a friend who guided me through all these steps to conceptualize the company and launch the site. A professional photographer who made me laugh so I could look like my authentic self while doing the most unnatural thing ever: pose for “relaxed” photos.

And not to sound like an Academy Award acceptance speech, but suffice it to say that the “how” is also due to my husband’s support and constant encouragement to keep going.

You Can Do it Too!

I got the sense that some of you asked me the when and how questions because you have your own ideas you are exploring or want to explore. I’m here to say, go for it! If you devote time on the nights and weekends (or whenever works for you) to invest in yourself, you won’t be sorry.

Even if you spend a Friday night writing a new blog and then lose it because you clicked the wrong button on Square Space (I might be speaking from experience), it’s time well-spent. You will have nurtured that entrepreneurial spirit and planted the seeds to watch your idea grow. And you never know until you try.

Good luck!  For now, I’m off to order You — it was originally a book!