Exactly three years ago today, a significant milestone occurred in my life: I hit publish on the very first post of my newly launched blog! This moment marked the beginning of an extraordinary entrepreneurial journey, a path I never truly envisioned for myself but one that has brought immense fulfillment and countless lessons.
Today, I want to take a moment to reflect on these past three transformative years as an entrepreneur and, more recently, as a work-at-home mom. My aim is to share candid insights and invaluable advice gleaned from my experiences, particularly for other work-at-home mothers or anyone yearning to pursue their true passion and build a life they love.
Consider this a heartfelt and comprehensive guide from my journey to yours. Grab a comforting cup of coffee, settle in, and let’s delve deep into the realities and triumphs of building a dream business. I’m an open book, so please feel free to ask any questions or reach out via email – I’m always eager to help and connect with fellow dream-chasers!
My Unconventional Path to Entrepreneurship: From Accounting to Passion-Driven Blogging
For those unfamiliar with my story, let me offer a brief recap of how this all began. Three years ago, I was a newly engaged college student diligently studying accounting. For much of my life, the mantra “go where the money is” had been deeply ingrained. The belief was that selecting a career based on its financial prospects was the most logical and secure route. Given my aptitude for mathematics and a consistent record of high academic achievement, accounting seemed a perfectly rational choice at the time.
However, by October 2014, as I embarked on my third year of college and prepared for marriage to my fiancé, a profound shift began. I was interning at a highly prestigious nuclear plant, a coveted position offering flexible hours and a salary far exceeding what most interns could hope for. On paper, it was the ideal scenario. Yet, the stark reality was that I absolutely loathed the work. Each day felt like a struggle, and the widespread unhappiness I observed among my colleagues solidified a growing dread within me.
It became unequivocally clear: this was not the life I wanted. I didn’t desire the relentless 9-to-5 (which often stretched to 6 or 7) corporate grind, and more importantly, my heart simply wasn’t in accounting. The financial rewards couldn’t compensate for the profound lack of fulfillment.
My wedding was set for December 20th, and just weeks prior, I made the life-altering decision to quit my job. I distinctly recall the shock and disbelief from my boss and nearly everyone around me. “Why on earth would you abandon such a high-paying position that any college student would eagerly seize?” they questioned. What they couldn’t see, however, was the immense emotional toll. I was experiencing near-daily panic attacks, consumed by an overwhelming sense of unhappiness and unfulfillment. A powerful inner conviction told me that this environment was simply not where I was meant to be. Listening to that inner voice, despite external pressure, was one of the most crucial decisions I’ve ever made on my entrepreneurial journey.
Building a Dream: The Evolution of a Work-at-Home Mom’s Business
The inspiration for starting my blog stemmed from witnessing other bloggers openly share their income reports. This revelation was transformative; it showed me that blogging wasn’t just a hobby, but a legitimate career path where individuals were genuinely earning a living doing what they loved. As an engaged woman, my deepest aspiration was to one day be a stay-at-home mom. Knowing that life is expensive and sustaining a household on a single income can be incredibly challenging, my goal was clear: to grow my blog to a point where it could significantly contribute to our family’s finances, enabling me to be present at home with my future children – a priority deeply cherished by my husband and me.
Several months into my blogging journey, I secured a wonderful online job that complemented my efforts, allowing me to contribute financially while still dedicating considerable time and energy to nurturing my blog. This strategic balance proved invaluable. Then, just two years shy of my second blogging anniversary, we joyfully welcomed our first son into the world. A few months later, I confidently transitioned from my second job, choosing to rely solely on the income generated by my blog. This was a moment of profound pride and a testament to the growth and potential of my passion project.
However, my third year of blogging unfolded in a manner entirely distinct from the first two. This was the year “life got real.” It wasn’t merely about building a business anymore; it was about simultaneously raising a tiny human. The reality of being a work-at-home mom is no small feat. This past year presented significant struggles as I grappled with finding my new rhythm and balance. I’m certain countless mothers worldwide can relate to the inherent difficulty of accomplishing almost anything amidst the unpredictable demands and responsibilities of caring for young children. Time management became a constant battle, and the pursuit of productivity was redefined by nap schedules and unexpected interruptions.
As I reflect on this challenging yet incredibly rewarding period, words feel inadequate to express the immense gratitude I feel for calling this career my own. The dreams I harbored three years ago have blossomed into reality, and some days, I still pinch myself, hardly believing this is my life. Nothing truly worthwhile comes easily, and my journey, particularly this last year, has been undeniably tough. Yet, it has deeply laid on my heart a desire to encourage other work-at-home moms. (A quick disclosure: This post isn’t meant to promote one type of motherhood over another – whether you’re a working mom, a stay-at-home mom, or a work-at-home mom, you are all doing incredible work.)
My deepest wish is to inspire and empower other mothers who dream of launching their own businesses, sharing the advice and profound lessons I’ve absorbed along the way. If you’re a work-at-home mom reading this, I would genuinely love to hear your story and your insights too! Crucially, my husband has been my unwavering champion, consistently supporting me and encouraging me never to settle for mediocrity. He urged me not to remain in a job that made me miserable, reminding me that my potential was far greater. So, if you’re dreaming of breaking free from the average and courageously pursuing your passion, this advice is especially for you.
Essential Entrepreneurial Wisdom: Lessons Learned on My Journey
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1. You Must Love What You Do
This might sound like an obvious truth, but its profound importance cannot be overstated. If your ambition is to work for yourself, to meticulously craft a career that genuinely reflects your deepest desires, then the foundation of that endeavor absolutely must be something you love. Without this intrinsic passion, the likelihood of burnout and eventual abandonment becomes incredibly high. It is precisely this unwavering love for what you do that serves as your primary fuel, keeping you resilient and focused when obstacles arise, when discouragement threatens to take hold, and when everything seems to be going wrong. Your passion is the core reason you will continually return to your work, refine it, and push through challenging times.
Think of passion not merely as a fleeting emotion, but as the sustained energy source for your entrepreneurial engine. It’s what transforms tasks into fulfilling endeavors and setbacks into learning opportunities. When you genuinely love your work, it ceases to be just “work” and becomes an integral part of who you are, making the long hours and difficult decisions feel far more purposeful.
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2. You Don’t Need All the Answers From Day One
“But wait,” you might interject, “didn’t you just tell me I need to be passionate about what I do?” Yes, I did, and that remains true. However, this point addresses a different, equally vital aspect of starting any new venture. Very few, if any, successful entrepreneurs or individuals pursuing a significant goal begin with a crystal-clear, meticulously detailed blueprint of their entire journey. The exact final form of your dream is something that often reveals itself incrementally, evolving as you learn and grow.
My own goals and aspirations for this blog, for instance, have significantly shifted, refined, and solidified over these past three years. What started as a broad vision has become much more focused and defined through experience. Don’t allow the fear of not knowing every precise step or your exact desired path to paralyze you and prevent you from taking that crucial first step. Embrace the journey of discovery; begin where you are, with what you know, and trust that clarity will emerge as you move forward.
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3. Practice Selective Listening
As you embark on an unconventional path, especially one as dynamic as entrepreneurship, you will inevitably encounter many people who feel compelled to share their skepticism. You might hear discouraging remarks suggesting your ideas are naive, impractical, or destined for failure. While some of this might stem from genuine concern, in many instances, it’s something more complex. When others observe you daring to pursue your dreams and deviate from the perceived “average” societal path, it can sometimes trigger a subconscious discomfort within them – perhaps because they haven’t pursued their own aspirations.
Whether their feedback is born of jealousy, genuine concern, or simply a limited perspective, learn to take what others say or think with a significant grain of salt. Do not, under any circumstances, allow their opinions to override your powerful gut feelings and intuition. Ultimately, only you possess the true understanding of what you should be doing and the direction your life should take. This principle is, admittedly, far easier said than done. As someone who naturally tends to be a people-pleaser, I’ve personally struggled greatly with the perception from many acquaintances that my blogging work isn’t “real” work – that it’s merely a hobby, an easy pastime, or even trivial. Does it sting? Absolutely. But does it deter me from continuing on my chosen path? Emphatically, no. Your conviction must be stronger than external noise.
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4. You Cannot Excel at Everything
This powerful lesson is one of many that resonated deeply with me from Jon Acuff’s fantastic book, “Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done.” It’s one of the rare books I’ve preordered and have already reread multiple times because its premise is so profoundly impactful. The core idea is simple yet revolutionary: if you are committed to achieving any significant goal, you must consciously choose the areas where you are willing to underperform or even “be bad.” Prioritization is key, and it often means making deliberate compromises.
For me, as a work-at-home mom building a business, those chosen areas had to be household chores like dishes, general cleaning, and laundry. Any stay-at-home parent understands how these seemingly endless tasks can consume every waking moment. By nature, I am quite a clean freak, and I used to dedicate my son’s nap times to tidying up or catching up on domestic duties. Now, I adhere to a strict rule: nap time is exclusively work time. As a direct consequence, I am perpetually behind on many aspects of running a house. Dishes get done while my son eats lunch in his highchair, the main house cleaning is relegated to weekends or evenings when my husband is home, and laundry often piles up, tackled late in the evenings when all I truly crave is relaxation. These are the choices I consciously make – the tasks I allow myself to be “bad” at – in order to excel at my primary goal of consistently producing valuable content, working smarter, and growing my entrepreneurial venture. It’s about strategic delegation (even if to a later time) and focusing your finite energy on what truly moves your dream forward.
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5. Resist the Urge to Compare Your Journey
This piece of advice has been repeated countless times, yet its importance demands constant reiteration. Comparison is, without a doubt, a primary saboteur of success and personal fulfillment in achieving one’s goals. Your definition of success is uniquely yours to create. No one else’s business, life, or journey is identical to yours. You are an individual, with your own unique strengths, challenges, and vision. There is truly no one else exactly like you, and your entrepreneurial path will reflect that distinctiveness.
Nothing crushes joy and satisfaction faster than comparing your nascent dream or your current achievements to someone else’s seemingly polished success. I have, in these three years, achieved levels of success that far surpassed anything I dared to dream of when I first started. However, if I were to constantly measure my progress against that of more established or vastly different food bloggers, I would inevitably fall short. I would feel inadequate, less accomplished, and profoundly discouraged. It is absolutely crucial that YOU define what success looks like for your specific journey, and then embrace and celebrate every milestone you achieve. Comparing yourself to anyone else is, without exception, an always-terrible idea that only steals your happiness and undermines your self-worth.
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6. Embrace Continuous Self-Improvement: Podcasts & Books Are Your Allies
This particular piece of advice holds immense weight. If you’re someone who dismisses “self-help” as being for others, I’m here to challenge that notion fundamentally. We are each granted but one life, and my fervent desire is to live it to its absolute fullest potential. This means actively investing in myself, striving to become the best version of who I can be, not just for my business but for my family and personal well-being. The year 2017 marked a pivotal turning point where I truly committed to self-exploration, diligently focusing on identifying and transforming negative habits or ingrained thought patterns. I began to deeply question my motivations and the ‘why’ behind my actions.
You might be astonished at the profound influence your subconscious mind exerts over your daily life and decisions. If you’re seeking a starting point for this transformative journey, I wholeheartedly recommend every book by Jon Acuff – particularly “Start,” “Finish,” “Do Over,” and “Quitter” – for invaluable insights into business and entrepreneurship. On the podcast front, my absolute favorite is the “Awesome with Alison” podcast. Alison and her husband co-host, and she is truly a beacon of sunshine, practical advice, and genuine encouragement. While it’s impossible to fully capture the essence of every episode, they are free, consistently inspiring, and packed with actionable wisdom. Head over to iTunes, search for “Awesome with Alison,” read the episode recaps, and give it a listen. Trust me, you’ll be glad you did – it’s a game-changer for mindset and motivation.
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7. Don’t Wait for Inspiration to Strike – Cultivate Action
If your strategy for productivity relies solely on waiting for a flash of inspiration to ignite your work, you will, regrettably, be waiting forever. More often than not, there are countless days when I genuinely have zero desire to work. As a new mom, I am perpetually exhausted, having not slept through the night in 14 months. When I’m drained, perhaps haven’t had a proper meal, and have just spent a painstaking half-hour coaxing a cranky baby to sleep, the absolute last thing my mind wants to do is focus its precious mental energy on complex tasks. Of course, some days I wake up fired up and ready to conquer the world, but that spontaneous burst of motivation simply isn’t the norm for me, nor for many successful entrepreneurs.
You must learn to push past “the resistance,” as brilliantly articulated in Steven Pressfield’s essential book, “The War of Art.” This book is a real eye-opener regarding creative inspiration and the disciplined reality of life as an entrepreneur, and I highly recommend it. When you find yourself struggling to initiate or sustain work, it’s vital to have a repertoire of practical strategies to get things done. For me, a go-to trick is listening to an uplifting podcast while I begin the more routine tasks of editing pictures for a blog post. By the time the episode concludes, I’m often in a completely different, more focused mindset, ready to tackle the more demanding writing. When my son used to take two naps a day, I would reward myself with a cup of coffee during each nap, using it as a simple motivator to transition into work mode. You’ll find even more fantastic, actionable ideas on overcoming procrastination and cultivating consistent effort in Jon Acuff’s “Finish” – my enthusiasm for that book is clearly evident!
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8. Never Cease to Learn and Evolve
Finally, and perhaps most crucially, never stop learning. As with any profession, the initial period is largely dedicated to absorbing vast amounts of new information and acquiring new skills. In blogging, this foundational learning phase can be incredibly overwhelming and often extends for one, two, or even more years. While I feel I’ve amassed a significant body of knowledge, I am acutely aware that there is still so much more to discover and master. Now that I have a streamlined workflow for crafting a post, understand the intricacies of WordPress, have dedicated extensive time to photography, and am proficient in Lightroom and Photoshop, it would be easy to simply adhere to the methods I already know.
However, relying solely on existing knowledge means stagnation – never growing, never truly improving my work, and never pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. Therefore, I consciously strive to dedicate at least a small portion of time each week to enhancing my skills and expanding my knowledge base. Whether it’s listening to an insightful business podcast, watching video tutorials to refine my photography techniques, or simply reading a well-researched article related to blogging trends, I actively seek ways to keep learning. This commitment embodies the powerful concept of “1% infinity” – the continuous improvement of your business or skills, even by a tiny 1% margin, indefinitely. These small, consistent efforts compound over time, leading to monumental growth. This brilliant concept is one I learned from Bjork Ostrom, and he explores it in depth in this illuminating podcast episode.
Your Journey Awaits: Embrace the Entrepreneurial Dream
If you’ve journeyed with me through this extensive reflection, consider yourself a true rockstar! For anyone who is currently an entrepreneur or harbors the dream of becoming one someday, I cannot encourage you enough: absolutely go for it. Find a way, creatively and strategically, to make your dream a tangible reality. Both my husband and I are now proudly self-employed, and we genuinely adore the work we do. It demands an immense amount of hard work, dedication, and resilience, but I can attest with absolute certainty that it is entirely possible to build a life centered around doing what you love.
Your unique journey is waiting to unfold. If you have any questions, wish to share your own invaluable tips for entrepreneurial success, or simply want to connect, please don’t hesitate! Leave a comment directly on this post, or feel free to send me an email at [email protected]. I’m always thrilled to engage with my community.
Explore More of My Entrepreneurial Journey:
- Year 1 Blogging Recap: 20 Lessons from My Food Blogging Start
- Our Entrepreneurial Story: A Glimpse into Our Journey
- Year 2 Blogging Recap: Celebrating Two Years of Growth
- Five Years In: My Evolving Career as a Food Blogger
A Heartfelt Thank You to My Amazing Readers
And finally, a profound and heartfelt thank you to each and every one of my dedicated readers. This blog would simply not be what it is today without your unwavering support, your thoughtful engagement, and your wonderful reviews of my recipes. I genuinely cherish hearing from you all. Your encouragement fuels my passion, and I cannot thank you enough for being such an integral part of this incredible journey. I’m already excited to cook up and share even more delicious recipes and valuable insights with you all in the future!