Epiphanies in the Shower

So, I usually have my best ideas either in the shower, in the ten minutes before the alarm goes off, or on the treadmill.  Probably something having to do with my brain being unoccupied by the fifty or so things I juggle every day.  A few mornings ago,  the light bulb went off during the rinse and repeat step of my morning routine.

A little background: I’ve been an accountant and small business consultant for about fourteen years.  But, in the last few years I’ve had this nagging urge to take my life and career in a new direction.  Specifically, in a writing direction.  So, a couple of weeks ago now, in a fit of pique and frustration, I sent an email to a blogger who writes about blogging as a profession and asked him how realistic it was to think I could create revenue with my blogs.  I’ve known for a while I needed help, but wasn’t sure what I needed to do.  He basically said that without a product of some kind, it’s possible, but a lot harder.  He was encouraging, but not overly so.  To make a short story shorter, since he didn’t try to sell me anything, I did a little research and then decided to sign up (and pay for!) his course called The Authority Blogger

Anyway, his course is all about being an authority in your niche and creating trust with your readers so that they buy your products and services and read your blog.  It’s a very Relationship Marketing approach.  However, neither ChelleWrites nor this blog really lend themselves to a product or a service.  They are both about my life and what’s happening in it or what I’m thinking about.

So, about a week into the course, I’m going through my morning routine, trying to figure out how to create a product people will want to buy that I won’t feel like a fraud selling, when I realized that because of all the negativity I’ve felt about accounting for the last few years I’ve never even considered blogging about small business.  I’ve got twenty plus years of experience, the last fourteen consulting on my own, that I could bring to the table, and I never even considered it!  Plus, I immediately thought of two “products” I could give away and about a half a dozen posts I could write for my flagship content and a couple people I could ask to guest post.

My point?  Sometimes the best ideas are staring you right in the face and all you see is something blocking your view.  I knew I wanted to blog as a profession.  What’s more, I knew I needed to learn a lot, and even then I had no idea how much!  If I hadn’t taken the step to ask someone else what they thought of my plan (albeit out of sense of frustration) and then given what they said a lot of thought, I’d still be spinning my wheels.

The wonderful thing about the Empty Nest years is we have time to explore all the things we’ve always wanted to do.  Do you have something staring you in the face that you’re looking around instead of at?

P.S. Look for a new blog Coming Soon!