It’s not all rosy being a full time blogger

David Peralty wrote a fantastic post a few days ago entitled ‘Con’s of Being a Problogger‘. I can relate to what he has said much I honestly believe he drugged me and got me to write the post for him!

It’s refreshing to see someone cover one of the cons of being full time on the web as all we ever see are posts raving about how great it is. Don’t get me wrong, I love what I do and I don’t think I could ever go back to a 9 to 5 job unless I really had to however it isn’t as rosy as everyone makes out….OK, it is that rosy but you do lose some things that you probably didn’t think would matter to you.

Are you lonesome tonight?

The biggest thing you lose being self employed via the internet is social interation. Perhaps those who run companies and have staff won’t have a problem with this but the majority of those self employed via the web are by themselves so unless you get off your ass and make a point of going out and meeting people in some way then you’ll find your life will get repetitive and boring.

I have been self employed via the internet for 3 or 4 years now so this is not new to me. However, I have felt the loss of social interaction badly in the last month, mainly because I just got back from travelling. I had spent 8 months travelling the world and meeting new people and all of a sudden I was back into my normal routine. Thankfully I’m getting myself back into my normal routine which basically involves training some days and playing poker most other nights at my friends or at the casino.

Is the grass greener?

I was out with friends on Saturday. I used to work in Finance with one of my best friends and he was telling me about the job he does now. He’s doing contracting jobs for £300 a day (over $600 a day) and mentioned how I would get into the job pretty easily due to my previous training and his recommendation. It’s something I’ve actually been thinking about this week but it’s mainly from a financial point of view ie. I need to clear some debt I ran up from travelling and I’d like to save up enough to deposit for a house.

Would I stick with a job like this? No, I don’t think I could do it long term. If I was in a job like that I would be thinking about how I could use the money to start another internet project so I wouldn’t have to work for someone else! The grass is always greener on the other side but I’ve been on both sides of the fence and whilst the lack of social interaction is annoying sometimes, the freedom you get from working on the internet is priceless to me.

Here’s a good example. My friends asked me a few weeks ago if I wanted to go over to Donegal in Ireland with them for a long weekend away (they had booked a few months ago when I was still in New Zealand). I told them that I would decide nearer the time. So this morning I was talking to my friend Andy and he asked if I had decided whether to go, I thought for about 5 seconds and then decided a weekend away is just what I’m needing. 10 minutes later I was booked up!

What’s so special about that? Well my friend Mark (the one in the Finance job) cant make it because he only has so many holidays to use, this is something I don’t have to worry about. I don’t have to ask anyone for time off, all I need to do is remember to plan ahead for the days that I am off.

It’s this freedom which I could not give up. I love travelling and a full time job would greatly reduce the opportunities for me to do that.

Full time self employment via the internet isn’t for everyone. Some may find that the lonely aspect of working for yourself far outweighs the freedom the job gives you. As I said, there are days when I feel like that too….but then I remember what it was like to get up at 6.45am every morning for the daily commute!

The financial aspect of working on the internet is not something which concerns me just now however I am aware that is something that will be more important in the future when I have more responsiblity (wife/kids etc). Until that day though, I’m happy being a full time blogger!

* This post was inspired by David Peralty’s post ‘Con’s of Being a Problogger‘. You should also check out the follow up post ‘Pro’s of Being a Problogger‘

Written by Kevin Muldoon from Blog Themes Club
Posted on August 8th, 2007 and filed under Blogging
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