Get Down To Business in Writings

Within the next few years I hope to get something started. A few things actually. I may end up spreading myself a bit thin, but I’m hoping that one avenue gains enough momentum that it can take more of my focus. Essentially I want to have multiple streams of revenue, and hope that at some point one of them becomes so lucrative that I won’t need to keep up the others. I can’t expect to take on five or more different avenues and be able to fully give myself to any of them.

All I know is that I do not want to cave in and go to college. I say ‘cave in’ because the thought of doing so feels like something I would dread, and I’d resent the universe for pushing me to a point where I had no choice. However, if I was choosing to go to school to learn something I know I’d enjoy, knowing that the degree would automatically get me great pay. I’d just that most of those jobs are for other people. I don’t want a boss. I want to be my own boss. If I were going to make 65k a year though I would definitely suck it up and work at someone else’s business. I’d appreciate a steady paycheck, benefits, and 401K. I could so myself eventually working towards that point, but to start I want to do this on my own. No degree is going to give me connections from where I’m at that will lead to anything substantial as long as it’s something in a creative field, which happens to be what I’m most drawn to. If I wanted to be a psychologist then obviously I would choose to go to school. It’s something that has crossed my mind. I wondered if I’d be good at it. I wondered if I’d enjoy it. But then I also wondered where I’d end up getting a job.

I know I don’t want to work on the weekends, (unless it’s because I choose to, but basically I don’t want a job where I am scheduled to work on the weekends). I know that I want to have free time to spend with my son, and extra money to afford to enjoy life.

I know that my starter ideas, and I will go over some of them shortly, aren’t going to make me rich anytime soon. But with some time and experience and focus one of those avenues might become so lucrative that I’d be making as much as I would at any job I could get without a degree. BUT I want to make more than I’d make working a measly job. In the very least I’d be able to say I’m not unhappy with what I’m doing. I couldn’t have survived being a server. It was eating away at my soul.

I just have many ideas. I’d like to use the internet to make money. There are many people out there making a living entirely online and I want to be one of them. From Youtube profits, to passive incomes that do the work after they’ve been created (like photos or an e-book) to selling homemade things or used items online, to having a storefront on Ebay or Amazon, or doing odd jobs on Fiverr and Upwork, or even blogging. There is a lot of ways to make money and I am interested in all of them. I’d at least give them a try.

I know I don’t want to go to college. I’ve reiterated that many times and time hasn’t changed that. I don’t want the debt. I don’t like school in general. I felt if it were a path that would lead to me finding my true purpose and feeling true happiness then I’d feel at least intrigued. If there is something that I want to pursue and I am feeling motivated and a bit passionate about it then I might someday reconsider. For example, if I always felt drawn to taking care of others then I’d consider going to nursing school. It’s just not something that I’m interested in. I’m sure the money would be nice. I’m sure that I might even enjoy it sometimes, but it’s not what I want and I don’t want to feel forced into a corner to choose something I don’t want based entirely on MONEY.

As of now, school is not in the cards for me. The most I could see myself doing either way is an a school that is entirely online, but more likely just getting a certificate in something just to help me feel a bit more confident.

I’m interested in quite a few things, and there are also a few things I have some knowledge of and interest in that I might like to explore further. I think doing small jobs on Upwork or Fiverr might be a good way to dip my toes in the water, build a portfolio, and make a small amount of money for my time and energy. For example video editing is something I’ve always enjoyed. I could definitely learn more. I could do simple edits to start with, but might be able to move on to more intricate projects. I have some skills with photoshop. I can try my hand at creating some example logos to see if anyone would consider paying me to try to make them one for their business or website. I could also gain some more skills with Adobe After Effects. I’m interested in learning 3D animation. I already downloaded the free software called Blender, which apparently is widely used in the industry. You can even make 3D stock animations and sell them online. You can make 3D logos as well. There are several sites you can sell these on.

I also had once considered stock photography. It’s a passive income, once you get past taking the photos you just upload them and hope they sell. As of now I don’t have anything marketable. I have mostly nature photos. I didn’t even sell a handful of those, and didn’t make enough to cash out anyways. I have considered focusing more on holiday themes, seasons, and border photos (so that text can go in the center). I would just be a matter of following through with it. I’d need to get out and take the photos, or set them up here at home. I’d have to gather the props and do the lighting. It’s not a simple photoshoot. I have a little one to consider. It means the only time I have time to do something like that, or anything on my laptop for that matter, is when he does nap (which he doesn’t always nap) for an hour or two, and at night time for a couple of hours if I stay up late. I wouldn’t want to miss out on any time with my son, but I imagine if I had a real job I’d have to be away for a while. If I were to be focusing on doing something that might get me some experience, and maybe even will give me even a small profit, then I should feel it’s okay to ask my mother to entertain him for a little while so I can get something done.

Essentially I feel like I have to figure out where my future is heading in just the few hours a day that I have. I need to actually actively PURSUE those things instead of just writing about them when I finally have the free time. I have do to this for the next few years. Once he’s in school I really do not want to feel forced to get some part-time job and then all of my time will be spent working and my free-time with him would be too precious to miss out on so I can focus on another path I might want to take.

So I AM PRAYING that by the time he starts school I am at least making some money doing something, or I’ve at least built up a very good portfolio in something that I could use to get a work-from-home position for a company, or even just continuing to freelance but for higher profits. I need to make at least enough to be able to afford to take care of my son. Eventually he will be out of diapers and that will save a lot. But school clothes, supplies, shoes, and toys aren’t cheap and I don’t get any child support. And I don’t want to have no choice but to ask for it either because he’d just give me hell instead. I want to be able to make even just enough to take care of his needs and wants, even if that means I don’t get to buy anything but a handful of thrift store clothing on half-off day.

I know I want to make this money I have last as long as it can, but I am also considered investing in a new laptop. I’m worried the one I have, which is constantly running like a slug, isn’t going to be good enough to do any video editing, or 3D animation. I don’t want to add hours to my attempts to learn just because my computer won’t load the program, or it freezes. I think it’s time. This one is many years old by now.

I’ve considered buying and flipping thrift store and yard sale items, learning what items are sought after and making a small profit. I could specialize in specific kinds of items, i.e vintage decorations, clothing, toys, video games, or books. Otherwise I could just buy and sell anything that I might be able to flip. I could sell vintage items on etsy, or anything else on ebay. I think you can even sell items through amazon. I’ve also considered buying things from Aliexpress, which has lots of items for excellent prices with wholesale discounts. I found some cute peas in a pod toy for $4.50 on there that is selling for $10 on Amazon. That is just one example. Of course I’d have to be willing to front the money. Again, I could sell things like that on ebay or Amazon. I could even sell on Facebook Marketplace. The downside to online selling is dealing with shipping costs. I’ve already got a digital scale I bought years ago with the idea of selling Jewelry. I posted a dozen or more items but never got a single sale. After a month or so I got tired of checking it every day and decided to just give up. I’m sure it’s hard to get items like that to have any views unless someone is looking for that item specifically. So I’m not giving up the idea of selling online, but I’m not sure it’s something I’d do to start with. For one, when I find an awesome vintage item I tend to want to keep it. I also have to keep in mind the size and weight for shipping. Clothing is the number one item sold online. I’ve thought about buying entire outfits and putting them together and selling them as a set. I could also focus on flipping baby clothes.

As far as making money online I did already look into how much I can make before I have to pay taxes. $400. Then you’re considered self-employed and you have to pay self-employment taxes, social security and medicare fees. It’s 15% Does that mean if I make $400 they just get to keep 15% of that? That feels a bit steep for such a small profit. Also, how much time do I have to put in to getting that $400? Let’s consider the time to procure the item, or make the item, or whatever. Also the posting it for sale, and shipping it. I don’t know if it will be worth it to do anything online that isn’t done entirely from my computer, such as odd jobs on Upwork.

I’ve considered making money on Youtube if possible, and that alone is something I also feel quite scattered about when considering. There’s many options. It’s a matter of finding out what could bring in the most viewers and subscribers. It’s also a matter of what is within the realm of possibility for me personally and based on what equipment I have. I don’t have a drone. I also don’t have the ability to go out in nature and film for hours for calming nature videos. I can only make things that I can do from these four walls and the backyard. There is also a lot of oversaturation on many types of videos, and so I’d like to come up with a niche if possible, but that is based on whether or not an idea comes to me. Otherwise I would just choose a few ideas and see how it goes.

Youtube pays based on a few factors, but either way you need lots of people watching your videos. That means you need many subscribers which requires exposure and is aided by being at top of a search. That becomes more likely on videos with enough interactions in comments and likes. Honestly I’d have to get past my negative attitude that I’ll put in all this time and effort and be lucky to get 100 views per video. I base that on prior experiences. I have to recognize it takes consistency. Uploading a couple of videos and giving up is obviously going to mean it’s doomed.

All it takes is one video going relatively viral and then more traffic comes in, more views, more comments and more likes. It might take a year or even longer to reach the point where I can be monetized. I think that requires a minimum of 1,000 subscribers. I haven’t decided what kind of channel(s) I want to focus on. My idea is to try several and see which one might do well, and giving that channel more of my focus.

I’d be happy to make just a few hundred dollars a year with one channel, while looking at it as a way to build my portfolio at the same time, as long as it wasn’t taking me thousands of hours of work which would keep me from attempting other ventures. I don’t want to waste thousands of hours only to end up caving in and going to get a ‘real job’ that I dislike. I really want to make this work. Even if I had to get a part-time real job doing something I enjoy and I’m able to make the same amount during the rest of my work week entirely online, I’d be okay with that as well.

As for ideas I could do crafting videos, how tos, meditation videos, children’s videos, silly videos, trippy videos, compilations, etc. The top grossing channels are actually video gamers. I’d love to make money recording myself playing video games, but realistically you have to have the newest games and newest systems and a whole set up. Also these certain channels are an exception, not the rule. It’s not easy to make money on such videos. They only make the money that they do because they were the first to jump on that idea.

I have all of these small ideas, but none of them feel like ‘the one’. Maybe I’m only meant to dabble in a lot of things for a little bit of money that will add up to more than enough. Maybe I can get lucky and one of them will really take off.

Meanwhile I want to teach myself 3D animation. I might give coding a look over to see if it might intrigue me, though I already feel I wouldn’t enjoy it enough. There is good money in coding.

The general idea is I need something I can do from home, from my computer, at least for the next several years. Once Rowan starts school I only want to work while he’s at school. I do not want to miss out on his childhood. If I were still a server I’d have missed every weekend, and most week nights, the only time he’d be home from school. I know there are many single mothers who do this, but I don’t want to have to.

I am tired of saying I have some ideas, but never following through with any of them. Is it laziness? Is it just a negative mindset that is holding me back, and/or the fear of failure?

What have I got to lose? Time? No, because every day I do nothing it’s still time I’d have lost doing something even if it didn’t work out. I want to push myself to do something small, starting small with once a week. Even if it’s just research or looking for inspiration I should give some time to considering the possibilities, and my options. Recently I learned about taxes for making money online. That is a step in the right direction. I downloaded a few e-books. Maybe someday I’ll get around to reading them.

I wish I didn’t feel so pressured to do something, to start something now. I always put everything off until later and then it never happens. But honestly right now I don’t have a lot of time to spare. I can at least look up something on my phone while Rowan is busy playing piano, or some other activity that doesn’t need my attention. After I finish doing my natal chart research I will begin to teach myself Blender, a 3D animation software. I can start looking at odd-jobs I could freelance to see what kinds of things I might be able to do, and then start brushing up on those potential skills.

Last updated March 08, 2022