Begin, be bold, and venture to be wise.
—HORACE
SO HERE YOU ARE. PERHAPS YOU HAVE ALREADY BEGUN TO unfold your unique plan to earn income, whether to support your family, meet certain financial goals, or build a bigger cushion to help those who may be without.
And I hope that through these pages and the marvelous stories of the many women I have been blessed to meet . . .
Your creativity has been sparked.
Your heart stirred.
Vision birthed.
Ideas born.
I want to tell you how proud I am that you have taken ownership of your finances, your dreams, your strategies, and your future. From the bottom of my heart, I truly commend and applaud you.
Through these pages, together we have walked through the practices, practicalities, and possibilities of increasing your income. You’ve learned how to do the following:
• Unleash the power of financial freedom to begin to live on less and be in a position to help others.
• Discover your unique skills, talents, passions, and knowledge that, coupled with an existing need in a market, can provide an avenue to generate income.
• Take appropriate steps to research, learn, and understand the best business to build and sustain, even when the going gets tough (and it will!).
• Pinpoint the why of your business or idea so you effectively tailor your offered services or products, branding, marketing, and other business needs.
• Expand your thinking to consider earning residual income and a slew of other clever money-making ideas you may want to adopt.
• Tackle slow, steady, and successful growth as your business expands financially and with manpower.
• Conquer saboteurs that stand in your way, including insecurity, fear of failure, lack of time, and healthy work-life balance.
• Reshift your perspective on life and money to begin living generously for others.
• Intentionalize giving through myriad channels, whether financial, through your time, your attention, or by being present with those closest to you.
As I begin this final chapter of the book, I want to talk about expectations. I can’t tell you how quickly you are going to start making money or how much. I can’t tell you exactly what challenge you will face with your particular idea. Nor can I give you a step-by-step plan to growing your particular business within however many months you want it to grow.
Stay with me.
What I can tell you is to count on some detours—plans that may not work out, a contract that may not go through, a deadline that may not be met, a sale that does not happen—you know, setbacks.
Expect Change . . . and Know What to Do About It
While it’s always wise to be strategic and head into any venture with a long-term plan, understand that plans may change because, well, life changes. Circumstances change. And so do opportunities. Setbacks in business are a reality. Maybe your advertisements have not brought in as many clients as you expected. Perhaps you find your market saturated with similar products to yours. Or maybe you discover that another contractor landed that coveted job instead of you.
Not too long ago, I got an e-mail from a reader who works full-time and desperately wants to start her own business, but she just keeps hitting brick walls. Days earlier, she was excited because she had an interview scheduled with a virtual assistant company and was confident she had a good chance at the position. While she prepared as best as she could and stayed optimistic, she didn’t end up getting the job. She was devastated, discouraged, and disheartened. She longs to have less of a commute, to be home more, and to be less tied down to a job, but so far, every time she’s tried to find a work-at-home job, she’s been met instead with a slammed door in her face. She feels completely stuck.
Maybe you can relate.
Another friend of mine had been working really hard to grow his online business and experienced great results. But in the past few months, progress has slowed considerably. In fact, the pace of his business is at a standstill or even dropping off. My friend is frustrated because he invested much time and effort for what feels like nothing.
I can relate to him in many ways, because right before I began working on this book, I had a major setback in my business. For months, my Facebook page had been growing like crazy—to the tune of thousands of new followers every single week! I had experimented with a lot of different things and finally found a system for how and when to post. This strategy worked incredibly well and kept engagement and click-throughs at an all-time high.
For months, the payoff was great. In 2013, our Facebook followers grew by over two hundred thousand followers, our traffic numbers to my website doubled, and our unique visitors almost doubled. The growth was phenomenal and best of all, organic; we didn’t spend a dime advertising on Facebook. And then, about a year later, we had a Facebook post go viral unlike anything we’d ever experienced before. It was insane—millions and millions of people saw the post, hundreds of thousands of people liked and shared the post, our Facebook page follower numbers grew to over six hundred thousand, and our already-massive Facebook engagement blew up even more. I was so excited! We’d set some pretty audacious goals for 2014 and this was going to help us skyrocket and hit those goals much more quickly than I had expected.
But about five days later, something weird happened. It was as if Facebook decided not to show any of my posts to anyone because of the one post that had gone viral. I’m not kidding. Whereas in the past my posts were shown to at least 30 percent (and often 50 percent) of our hundreds of thousands of followers, now only 1 to 3 percent of our followers were being shown my posts.
Comments and likes that had once poured in now trickled into a few here, a few there. Traffic dropped significantly. And our income took a nosedive.
For weeks, we tried everything under the sun I could come up with, but nothing fixed the problem. I was at my wit’s end. I’d never experienced something as unusual as this before. Whenever we’d hit a hiccup with Facebook in the past, after a few days of experimenting, I could figure out how to tweak our posting methods so that we’d be back to normal—or even better.
But this time, none of our hoped-for solutions made a difference. I researched. I prayed. I talked to other Facebook page owners. I researched some more, prayed some more, and by this time felt like pulling my hair out.
We had depended so heavily on Facebook for traffic that when the bottom fell out, every part of our business was hurt—traffic, income, engagement, and the ability to help people through the information we offered on our posts. I worried about what it would mean long-term if things didn’t pick back up again. I had just taken on a lot of new expenses, including upgrading our monthly website hosting and hiring some new team members. Would we continue to turn a profit?
I felt frustrated, and my family couldn’t help but notice and be affected by my high stress level. I couldn’t relax. I couldn’t have fun. And I couldn’t fully enjoy life, or my family, because I was constantly analyzing what I could do to improve Facebook and stressing over how we were going to weather this over the long haul. I was snappy, sleep-deprived, and grumpy.
I finally realized that all of this worry and frustration was accomplishing nothing good. I had done everything I could do to fix the problem, and it was time to step back and reevaluate Facebook, the business as a whole, and how I was going to pick back up and start afresh.
Here are three actions I took that enabled me to rebound from my setback—not only giving me a lot more peace but also helping me to have renewed passion and purpose.
Revisit the Why
This dip in traffic and Facebook engagement caused me to realize that some of my enthusiasm and fulfillment was being fueled by numbers, not purely by passion.
I had to stop and reevaluate the why behind what I’m doing. I spent time mulling over all the reasons I started MoneySavingMom.com in the first place. It wasn’t so I could build a large platform or have a thriving Facebook page (Facebook pages didn’t even exist when I started!).
My why was to help people find practical ways to save money so they can experience the freedom and blessings that come from living with intention.
Reminding myself of this mission has really changed my perspective, renewed my enthusiasm, and given me a burning drive to continue on. It also resurrected some of the types of posts and series that I used to write when the blog was still in its early stages. I wanted to talk about everyday life stuff—posts where I shared my thoughts, the lessons I was learning, and the things our family was doing. Posts that offered a peek into our home and family life. Posts that were straight from my heart, raw and unedited.
Honestly, I was scared to go back to old-fashioned blogging. The Internet had evolved so much since I’d started. Everything was more beautiful and professional—you know, Pinterest-perfect. I didn’t know what my readers would think or if they would even stick around if I started sharing a lot more journal-entry-type posts with pictures and details of our everyday life. But I knew that’s where my heart was, so I wrote an entry explaining why I was making the shift and then jumped in with both feet.
The response blew me away. My readers were so supportive, it was clear they were hungry for more real-life stuff. They’ve been interacting with one another more than ever through comments, and I’ve received more e-mails and notes than I can count from readers thanking me for the change. This would not have happened had it not been for my Facebook page tanking. And it has renewed my enthusiasm for blogging and my readers’ enthusiasm for reading!
Not too long ago, I was sitting next to a writer at an afternoon tea event. She shared with me about the book she planned on writing and allowed me to have a peek at her outline. I thought her idea was brilliant and much needed. As she expressed deep enthusiasm for the project, I interrupted her and said, “You know this excitement and passion you feel for this project right now? You know how you feel like this topic is so necessary to write about? You know how you are telling me all the ways this book is going to benefit others? I want you to remember this moment. I want you to remember this passion and enthusiasm and vision and purpose you have. Because when you get into the thick of writing this book, there will be many moments when it will be hard. It will require sacrifice and struggle. If you don’t continually go back to your why when the going gets tough, you’re going to lose your spark and burn out before the project is completed. Let this passion fuel your writing.”
What’s your why? To help financially support your family? To teach people how to become more organized? To bring hope to those who are struggling? To help support the widow down the street? To help pay off your daughter’s medical bills from her recent surgery? To help pay off your family’s credit card bills? To contribute toward your community youth center? Whatever your reason(s) for earning money, remember why you’re doing it. Always keep the vision before your eyes.
Remember the Progress
Setbacks can discourage and dishearten us if we focus on how far we are from where we’d hoped to be. I spent weeks carrying around discouragement over this Facebook situation. But then I finally woke up and realized how unproductive this was. And truth be told, a few years ago, I would have been thrilled to be where we are right now business-wise. It’s far beyond what I could have ever dreamed or imagined.
When I stopped feeling exasperated and, instead, looked at the enormous blessings, I was able to see many incredible things to be grateful for. And this really encouraged and excited me!
Just today, I got an e-mail from a fellow blogger who was discouraged because she had received notice from Amazon saying they were only going to be able to pay her a fourth of what they’d been paying her for promoting their deals on her site. Right now, the majority of her blogging income is from affiliate revenue from Amazon, so getting her earnings so drastically cut came as quite a shock. She didn’t know what she was going to do. Since Amazon has done the same thing to me—they had cut my affiliate fees from 8 percent to .8 percent—I knew how frustrated she felt. It’s a crushing blow to see your hard-earned effort slip through your fingers, and it feels like there’s nothing you can do about it.
Gratefully, I was able to share with her how my Facebook setback propelled me to think outside the box. And in changing my strategy and shifting my efforts in a few different areas, we have slowly been bringing our traffic numbers back up. They aren’t where they were, but I’m so encouraged by the continued upward trend. Talking to this blogger reminded me of how far I’ve come. Now, instead of feeling down about Facebook numbers, I felt encouraged, hope-filled, and excited about what I’ve learned from the experience.
Don’t allow a slip of your footing to bring you totally down. Use the experience to inspire you to think creatively and motivate you to rethink your options and strategies. When you do this, you make progress. And when you focus on the steps or leaps of change you make, you subtract attention and time away from your setback and instead continue your forward momentum.
Rethink the Expectations
Because of the changes with Facebook, I have to change my expectations and projections and goals. This is not failing; this is being realistic.
I need to stop comparing things to what they once were and start creating new goals and projections based upon where things are right now. Otherwise, I’m going to feel overwhelmed, constantly behind, and like I’m perpetually failing.
Taking the unrealistic expectations off my shoulders gave me massive relief. And it has allowed me to start celebrating the small wins again!
Don’t expect overnight success. Expect slow and steady growth.
Don’t expect every idea or every strategy to triumph every time. Expect failure to be a part of the learning process.
Don’t expect that you’ll never run into personnel issues or clients who are upset. Expect that you’ll have difficult situations and will need to show grace.
Don’t expect that you know everything about running a business. Expect that there are going to be massive learning curves and struggles along the way.
Don’t expect what worked yesterday to work in three months. Expect to experiment and learn as your variables around your business change.
The Final Send-Off
As your excitement builds at the potential financial freedom offers and as you may be brainstorming a particular idea, working through details of a possible business, or already celebrating your first client, I want to leave you with three keys.
Be Consistent
I think one of the greatest markers of success is consistency. If you’re a blogger, this means regularly posting great content and corresponding with your readers. If you own a storefront business, this means opening the doors on time and offering quality products. If you’re a consultant for an accounting firm, it means producing superior work with each contract. If readers, consumers, clients, or customers know they can count on you, they are much more likely to regularly show up and use your services or products.
Whatever you choose to do, take your job seriously. Keep your commitments. Treat your business just like you’d treat your job if you were working for someone else. Because you are working for someone else: your customers!
Someone asked me not too long ago what the secret was to my success. My answer: “There are no secrets; just hard work.” I have blogged almost every single day but Sunday, every single week, every single year since I began blogging in 2005.
That’s a lot of blogging. And trust me, while I truly love it, there were days when I would have rather been doing something else—catching up on sleep, for one. I have stayed up late at night, gotten up early in the morning, and worked on Saturdays and holidays. There have been grueling and exhausting seasons, but the commitment, drive, and consistency have paid off in big ways.
This book is scheduled to release ten years after I first started my own business. I look back on those years and realize that where I am today is not anywhere near where I expected I would be. I thought I’d probably always have some kind of side business, but I never would have imagined running a full-time business, making more than a full-time income, and having sixteen people on my team!
It’s fascinating to look back and see how law school—what we thought would be the catalyst for my husband to start a successful career—ended up being a stepping-stone for a much bigger ministry and business than we could have ever dreamed. The lessons we learned during those lean law school years allowed us to teach hundreds of thousands of families around the globe how to cut their grocery bills and get their finances in order. The struggles we endured financially allowed us to be much more compassionate and empathetic with those who are barely getting by. The experience we gained at sticking with a budget when things were tighter than tight allowed us to be able to inspire other people to live with intention when it comes to finances. The contentment that we gleaned from those years when we didn’t have any extra wiggle room has allowed us to continue to live on little, even as our income has significantly increased. It’s amazing what’s possible when you consistently show up, do the work, and stay the course.
Stay Focused
If you want to get things done, stop doing a hundred things at once. Yes, I know, right now you might be feeling overwhelmed with your business ideas list and your business to-do list. You want to finish your website, start blogging, set up meetings with three potential customers, look for networking events in your area, research advertising options, read those three business books, and look into licensing laws for your state.
Your brain is swimming with ideas, but you’re also in the middle of all the real-life, everyday stuff—like buying a dress for your sister’s wedding, baking a cake for your son’s birthday party, getting the mountain of dishes done, taking the dog to the vet, visiting your mother, and writing overdue thank-you notes.
Multi-tasking can seem like a very efficient strategy to knock out our to-dos one by one. And while studies have shown that women are hardwired to be better at doing this compared to men, it doesn’t necessarily mean we can do it all and do it well. In fact, juggling multiple tasks simultaneously can lead to distractions, which can result in getting nothing done.
In order to accomplish concentrated work in an efficient manner, create a distraction-free zone. Shut out the noise and focus on one thing at a time. Set a particular time frame around your tasks, whether it’s twenty minutes or one hour.
If it’s time to e-mail, e-mail. Go through your e-mails in order of priority and don’t stop until your time is up. If it’s time to research something, do only research. If you need to make a phone call, just make the phone call.
If you’re used to working on your computer while you have a bunch of applications open and with your phone constantly dinging, you’ll be surprised at how much work you can get done in a distraction-free, twenty-to thirty-minute concentrated block of time.
And once you get in the habit of doing one thing at a time, you’ll find your fizzle point, the time your energy wanes and you need to stop what you’re doing and take a break so you can return to your project refreshed and reignited. Personally, I’ve found that I do best by working in twenty-to thirty-minute blocks and then rewarding myself with a short five-minute break to check e-mail or read something online. If I’m working on an in-depth project that requires a lot of brainpower, I’ll often set a timer for twenty minutes and work on it and then set the timer for a fifteen-minute break to clean or play with the kids.
Remember What Matters
Knowing the basics of earning money is a good thing. It’s smart. It’s wise to invest in your present and future by building a foundation for financial freedom. But if you research, analyze, gather ideas, collect information, implement strategies, build products, or hone your skills without a vision of impacting others, value will be lost. Your efforts will lack some meaning. You’ll get that twitch in your spirit every now and again of feeling empty, like something is missing.
I want to leave you with two stories that I recently read that have reminded me of the power of influence we have.
Kristen, one of my blog readers, e-mailed to tell me about her friend Lal, who is a small-business owner in Kansas City. Six years ago, Lal and her family came to the States as refugees and opened an Asian grocery store to serve the growing population of refugees from Burma. Lal’s real passion is supporting the youth in her community and feels that her store is a tool to do so. She understands that young refugees coming to this country are vulnerable to negative influences while trying to fit in and integrate into society.
Lal knew the first step to being able to make a big impact was to expand her store and open a restaurant. She did this the second year in operation with the goal of having more profits to pour into a youth ministry. This summer, just five months after moving to a new location and starting construction on the kitchen, Lal launched Galilee Youth Ministry in collaboration with several young leaders in the Burmese Chin community. She held a nine-week program for kids that included language classes, a meal each day, spiritual instruction, and transportation—all offered at no cost.
Kristen helped Lal in this venture and was taken aback by her friend’s passionate vision and faith. She says,
Unlike Lal, I am not an entrepreneur, so as we planned for the summer I kept seeing “logical” administrative-type reasons of why we shouldn’t start (there weren’t enough teachers, we didn’t have a curriculum, and so on), but Lal didn’t give up. She stayed faithful to the vision God gave her and served over 50 children.
This is powerful stuff! Understanding her business was a conduit to make a difference, Lal pushed forward, actualized growth, and brought opportunities to young people they wouldn’t have had otherwise.
Impacting others isn’t a one-size-fits-all deal. It doesn’t matter if you contribute your time, your resources, or your money; helping others in any way is the heartbeat of living generously.
Pruett is a single mother of two children. Her youngest has special needs and is also a type 1 diabetic. Holidays are rough and though this mom can’t always give her children everything she’d like, they are loved, taken care of, and have everything they need. When her now-teenage son was in kindergarten, Pruett was saddened by the high number of kids in the school district who lived in poverty. Knowing many of them wouldn’t receive anything for Christmas, she surprised some of them with presents and continued this tradition for several years.
Sometime later, through a program with a local group home, Pruett “adopted” two teenage boys without family who lived there. When Christmas rolled around, these boys asked for everyday items like coats, hats, and underwear. Pruett was shocked that a child would even consider these things to be a “gift.”
She decided, along with her children, to get these boys everything they asked for. It meant she had to use most of her Christmas budget on children she would likely never meet. And it meant her own family had to make sacrifices, but they all were happy to do this. Pruett bought and wrapped the gifts, and a volunteer at the group home picked up the presents at her workplace.
A few weeks later Pruett was transitioning into a new job that was closer to home and offered a better salary. On the last day of work at her old job, security notified her that there was a package for her at the front desk. Pruett told me:
I assumed it was a package of paperwork to fill out for my exit interview. I picked it up and didn’t think much of it for the rest of the day. When I got home I remembered that package in my bag. To my utter shock it wasn’t paperwork at all. It was a framed picture of the Christmas tree at the group home with the packages we’d sent underneath it. All of the boys at the home had signed the picture. That picture is still on my bureau after all this time. I look at it every day and think about those boys. That Christmas was so much more than just wrapping up socks and hats for children I’ll never know. I am blessed every day to know that I made a difference in their lives.
Remember, friend, you are an instrument of blessing. You were made for a purpose. You have unique gifts, skills, knowledge, passions, and experience.
Use the ideas and practical tools presented in the pages of this book to chart a course for success. Always remember that money is first and foremost a tool—something that can not only bring more financial peace and stability into your home but that can make a big difference in your community and around the world.
Keep dreaming, keep setting goals, and keep breaking them down into bite-size pieces. Keep moving forward, even if you feel like you’re going at a snail’s pace.
Don’t give up. Don’t buy into the belief that says you don’t have anything to offer.
You are the only you in existence. The world needs your story. The world needs your gifts. The world needs you.
May your life be a force that channels change in this world.