On Starting a Business – Part 1

I’m no expert, in fact I’ve just started working on starting a business – but I’ve gone from having nothing, no plan, no direction, no drive, to having everything available for my taking.

I am sure that you’ve noticed my absences at both the holidays and then again the last 2 weeks. It wasn’t because I didn’t feel like writing, or that I didn’t have any content to write about, rather the opposite. I was working on me! I was working through some online courses that I purchased, and going through Stuck to Unstoppable, an online small group workshop (sooo worth it, but more on that in a bit). So, yes, I’ve been absent, but I have a good reason and now, I’m back and I’m all YOURS! 🙂

Starting a Business – The Foundation

Pretty much since Emmett’s birth, I’ve dreamed of staying home with him. Not necessarily being a Stay at Home Mom, but rather a Work at Home Mom. I wanted to continue to contribute to our income, and I really do love working, but wanted to be my own boss.

My initial dream was to start my blog and begin making thousands of dollars a month. If you’ve been in the blogging world for any length of time, you know it doesn’t work like that, but I was naive, or maybe just hopeful – either way, I knew what I wanted and started working towards it.

I’ve written on this blog since Emmett was approximately 2 months old and I am not making anywhere near what I had hoped. But, I truly don’t care! I love writing, love having this as my outlet, and it led me to realize that I wanted to start my own business. At first, this business was Beachbody.

I joined in June of 2014, hoping to slowly build up my customer base, and grow my team (or downline). In the beginning, I was doing very well, I didn’t make a ton of money, but I made money. I was getting people to join under me (as customers), quite frequently, but then my passion for it died. Why? Because I was only in it for the money, only I didn’t realize this, until I started working with my personal performance coach.

You still with me? I know this is a lot of information, but I’m really hoping some of it is useful to you.

After about 3 months, things started to fizzle and I wasn’t making the money that I had wanted and expected. I had no interest in doing the work, because I didn’t love what I was doing. I frequently procrastinated when it came time to work on my Beachbody stuff, I just didn’t want to do it. I tried everything to get myself motivated, from thinking of being home with Emmett, to having SO much money, but I just couldn’t do it.

I felt lost, sad and like I would never be able to leave my day job. Then, I happened to respond to a newsletter that Tara from FamilySportLife had sent out, just to tell her how much I loved the goals printable she had. We emailed back and forth a few times, she started giving me advice on how to create my vision for this blog, and a business. Our conversations progressed and eventually I asked her to be my coach.

We worked 1:1 for 6 weeks, but the very first thing she helped me see was that I was selling Beachbody products, for the money only, I had no passion or spark for it. I had literally not seen this, she helped me see the way, by asking me the tough questions and getting to the bottom of my thought process.

Shortly after I discovered that I was in it simply for the money, I cancelled my membership. I do not hold any ill feelings towards Beachbody, overall I had a positive experience with my coach and the company, it just wasn’t right for me. That’s not to say that it couldn’t be in the future, but at this time, it’s just not right.

Before I go any further, I think it’s important for me to point out, that I worked with Tara, both 1:1 for 6 weeks, and then couldn’t get enough of her, so I joined her small group workshop. I would recommend her for both, she has packages and payment plans available. Additionally, (because she is so awesome), she has a FREE group on Facebook, Love Deeper. Play Bigger. Live Better. You would be silly not to join us (yes, I’m in the group, too. I told you, I can’t get enough), there’s going to be a ton of personal development going on! Definitely take some time to check her out, and think about joining her. I am not an affiliate, I simply think she does amazing things, and changes people’s lives. I want EVERYONE to experience this!

 Why am I telling you all this?

Things are going to be changing around here, in a good way. A VERY good way! I will be rebranding (eventually) to JillianOKeefe.com (I already own the URL), while my focus will continue to be “telling all” when it comes to motherhood, I’ll also be including more of a business aspect to things.

I want to be honest with my readers, because I want you to stick around and grow with me. But, as I venture into a new territory and cover new topics, I may lose readers. However, at the same time, I will likely gain more readers as I settle down into my niche.

This is a HUGE step! I’ve always had this in my head, being my own boss, that is…and now it is FINALLY coming true! I get to share every step along the way with you, the good, the bad, and the ugly. I want to help you learn from both my wins and my losses, because there is a lesson in everything.

With all that said, you’ll continue to see content surrounding being a mom, parenting, toddlers, children, marriage, etc – that isn’t going anywhere! I’m simply expanding my direction to include work at home moms and mompreneurs. Really, REALLY exciting stuff!! 😀

In my next post, I want to talk about how I got to this point. Go back, and start at the very beginning and give you all the nitty gritty details. I hope you’ll stop by to check it out!

Your turn!

Have you ever gone through a blog rebranding? Any advice you can give?

What dreams or visions to you have of starting your own business? Do you have things holding you back?

Please share in the comment below!

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