Some people choose to blog as a hobby. They are able to enjoy some form of catharsis through the creative process of organizing their thoughts and feelings into words. And there is certainly nothing wrong with blogging “just for fun.” Lots of people do it and they’re perfectly happy doing it. However, if your intention is to make money from your blog or website, if your bigger goal is to turn your blog into a source of full-time income with part-time hours, then you need to take it seriously.
You need to treat your blog, website or other online property as a business, because it is one. It’s only when you give your online business the respect and attention it deserves that you can truly unlock its full potential. And this means you have to be willing to invest in your business too.
When most people stop to think about investment, the natural inclination is to assume this has to do with money. You will need to invest in a solid web hosting provider. You will need to invest in a good website design. You will want to invest in the tools and services that can help your business grow and success. These all cost money.
And the thing with spending money on your business is that the cash can go in one of two directions: it can go toward an investment or it can go toward an expense. Let me explain. When you hire a freelance writer to help ghostwrite an e-book for you, for example, that is an investment. You’re spending money with the expectation of getting some sort of return. This could be money generated from the sales of the book, it could be the greater number of subscribers you gain on your mailing list, or it could be the higher expert status you’re able to attain.
Then, there is money spent that are just expenses. When you accept an online payment and you get charged those PayPal fees, that’s an expense. You’re not getting any sort of ROI on those fees, but they’re simply a part of the cost of doing business.
However, we must all remember that the notion of differentiating between investments and expenses is not limited solely to the expenditure of money. It has to do with your time too, a resource that is arguably even more valuable than money. You can always make more money, but you can’t make more time.
And to this end, you should be very mindful about how you choose to spend your time, particularly when it comes to the growth and development of your online business. Are you investing your time in an activity that benefits your business? Are you doing something that will grow your audience and increase your earning potential? Are you spending your time working toward a bigger goal?
Or are you simply spending your time on tasks and activities that offer no real return? Are you simply writing off your time in your home office as an expense, as a natural cost of doing business? Fun is fun, and it’s undeniable that we all want to spend more time with our loved ones. But if you’re going to hunker down and work on your business, you’d best expect to invest your time in something worthwhile and not just waste it away on activities that have no long-term benefit outside of themselves.
Because that’s an awfully expensive way to spend your time.