There Are A Few Reasons Why I’m Doing Both!

Now the title of this blog post might seem a little bit personal and all about me, but I promise it’s not! I wanted to write this post for a couple of reasons, and one of the biggest is to help you if you feel a certain type of way. When you get involved in the blogging community, it can feel like if you’re not doing it as your full-time job and making £££ from it, then you’re not doing it right. Writing this blog post is important because I really want to squash that feeling.

Being a blogger is simple. If you write on a blog, then you’re a blogger! Simple as that!

Building a resilient mindset and remembering that you are doing it for you, because you have things to share, teach and pass on to others is key to your success.

In today’s post, I’m going to share the reasons why I’m keeping my day job alongside my side hustle of being a blogger, and hope that you take some inspiration and comfort from me doing so. Please follow me on Instagram for more Beautifully Fragile stuff, and I’ll see you on the other side!

Reason One – I Want To!

The most important reason overall – my personal choice!

I love my day job as an Account Manager, and have worked hard to get it! Managing a portfolio of accounts and being responsible for what happens with them is extremely rewarding. Not only that, but I have a very decent salary which is sturdy and reliable. There are many skills and experiences I am gaining from the role too, which makes it even more important to me.

Of course, one day I am going to want to have babies and will need to come away for maternity. Having the blog earning me a small income on the side will definitely come in handy at that point, and I will continue to work towards that.

Mostly, I love the routine of my job and having expectations of me and my professional career drives me forward. I have an amazing team of other Account Managers around me, which makes it even more worthwhile. Being able to socialise, learn, and complete work projects with the team is one of the biggest perks of the role!

If you want to keep your IRL job too, please don’t feel guilty about it! Nor should you feel pushed to give it up, or pushed out of the blogging community if you don’t. At the end of the day, it is your life. You have to do what is right for you! Don’t take negativity to heart, and instead focus on creating the life you want. Your dream life is about you and your preferences, so don’t worry about what others might think.

Reason Two – I Need The Income

Now, this is just my current circumstances, and it might be different for you. But at present, I am not earning enough from Beautifully Fragile to be able to leave my job. I’ve only really been up and running with it since August 2019, meaning this is only the 6th month of putting time and effort into this blog. Some people may be earning income from their blog in 6 months, but I haven’t so far!

It is what it is at the end of the day. I’m spending time growing it in many ways before worrying too much about monetisation:

• writing the best posts I can possibly write + sharing once a week minimum (every Saturday + sometimes a sneaky extra like this one!)
• building an email list and nurturing my subscribers with weekly content
• maximising my reach on Pinterest
• designing web pages that tell my audience exactly what I want to tell them

All of this together means that I NEED to keep my day job as well as wanting to! And I’m not ashamed, embarrassed or worried about it. My blog is something I am so goddamn passionate about and I would create it no matter whether I get paid for it or not. Sharing my experience and advice with you guys is the reason why I do it. Writing posts and creating content is something that just makes me so excited and I can’t wait to work on it every day!

If you’re in the same boat, remember that making a large income from your blog is not guaranteed. In fact, according to Life Hacker website, 85% of bloggers make less than $1000 a month from their blog, and only 4% make that big $10,000+ a month. Rushing to quit your day job is dangerous, and likely to be a mistake! Take your time, be stable for at least 6 months at enough income to sustain your lifestyle, and have a good few months of expenses in savings just in case, before you even think of giving up your job.

Don’t feel pressured and don’t let it bother you if you’re only earning a small amount of money from your blog, to begin with. It’s a journey and each person has a different experience. In regards to my old blog, it took me nearly two years to earn my first £1000. Each blog and each life of the blog is different!

If you need to keep working because you need the money, then that’s just the way it is 🙂

Reason Three – We’re Saving Up To Buy A House + I’m Paying Off Debt

Another huge element to why I’m running a day job as well is because of the income it provides and the stability of that income when it comes to buying a house. We want to make sure that we pay off all our debt and save up a deposit this year (we moved in with my partner’s parents to help!), and so keeping the income from my job is vital.

I believe that you have to have a good amount of income over an extended period of time when self-employed and looking to get a mortgage, so this is also impacting my choices. Making sure I am in the best position to get a great mortgage is vital for the end of 2020! I don’t want to have anything get in our way when it comes to getting accepted for a mortgage, I want to give us the best possible opportunities.

If you’ve got other big life changes going on, it might not be the right time to give up your job and start working on your blog full-time. Keeping both going until you’re in the best place possible and then make a decision as to whether you want to give up your job! Don’t pressure yourself and make sure you’re choosing a sensible time to go full-time at blogging if that’s what you want to do.

I think for me, the biggest takeaway I want for you from this post is that it’s completely up to you what you do with your life. Take off the pressure and make your own decisions based on what works for you. At the end of it all, you need to live with your choices so make sure they are right for you!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this little look into my life + the choices I make, and the experiences might have given you some insight for making your own choices.