“Have you ever had 7-Up Salad?”
…I overheard as I was sitting in my beige, windowless office at my beige desk, trying to focus on completing the monthly TPS reports. “It’s got lemon jello, lime jello, marshmallows…”
I felt myself die a little more inside.
Sigh. Back to exporting the sales for the WordPress site I created for my company. $7,000 this month? Not too shabby… If I can whip out a WordPress site in a week that earns that much money a month, why haven’t I done this for myself? Like, yesterday?
That’s when my old friend self-doubt started to creep in.
What are you going to sell? Who cares what you have to say? A steady paycheck is more important that your dreams.
Touche’, self doubt. That steady paycheck pays the mortgage, dyes my roots, and pays my bar tabs.
So I finish up that report, go home, work out, make dinner, sit on the couch and watch TV. Rinse and repeat.
Fast forward a few months.
I’m at the gym trying to exercise my way out of my weekend Miller Lite habit when one of the girls I see all the time asks me if I’m a teacher. “No, I’m an IT person for a non-profit. And I do web design on the side.”
My face immediately feels hot.
What did I just say? It’s mostly the truth. I’ve been a WordPress super-user for the past 10 years, but I’ve only done little side jobs here and there for friends. I’ve barely made enough to pay a bar tab. Did I just call myself a web designer?
Fraud, self-doubt whispers.
“Really? Too funny, I’ve been trying to find someone to redo our WordPress site. I can’t get ahold of the guy that set it up for us. Want to grab coffee this week?”
And so began my freelance career.
Several months later I had several clients. I still had a full-time job. I had to quit the gym to make time for all the hours I was working. Top that with some family drama and I was perfectly poised for a breakdown.
I won’t get into exactly what happened but it did involve some unprovoked crying in a conference room and a poorly written apology email.
I told you so, self-doubt whispers.
So I finish up that apology email, go home, drink some Miller Lite and watch TV. Rinse and repeat.
This extra money doesn’t feel like freedom…
An email interrupts me eating lunch at my beige desk while checking out Buzzfeed. “Hey Shannon, here are the files you need to get the November reports done. Let me know if you have any questions – thanks!”
Ugh. Back to Buzzfeed. What Taylor Swift song am I? I don’t need your quiz to know I’m Shake It Off, next please! How weird are my shower habits? Medium weird. Next!
32 Amazingly Useful Websites Every Woman Needs To Bookmark. WTF is The Middle Finger Project? I must know more! So I read, and I read, and I read some more. Then I bought Brandgasm 101 and didn’t look back.
I was inspired more than I had been in a long time.
I don’t need to give up my dream of being in control of my time, I just need to troubleshoot it a bit. When people call me up at work and say, “Hi Shannon, this thingy isn’t working,” I tell them to reboot. I know it drives people crazy, but it really does work.
Don’t waste another day. Reboot. Deconstruct. Get to the core of what you love and what you’re great at.
Ask yourself who you can help by sharing it. Find out what makes that thing difficult for people and show them how you can make it easier.
I’m a freakin’ wizard when it comes to building WordPress websites. I love setting them up, styling them, hooking them to email lists, setting up online stores. I get lost in time doing it.
Unfortunately I don’t have unlimited time. I still work 9-5 and have a life outside of that! Working for clients after that is just unsustainable!
Trading my time for your money isn’t what I want.
I want freedom. I want you to have freedom. I want to empower you to do it yourself so you can spend your money on more important things. Whether that’s shoes or a vacation or a graphic designer is up to you to decide.
The website is the easy part.
Anyone that tells you otherwise is trying to separate you from your hard-earned cash.
So make a decision, commit to the 5 Day Website Challenge and make the time to build your website. Do it on your lunch hour. Before work. After you put the kids to bed. On a Saturday morning instead of sleeping in.
I’ll show you the formula for the homepage layout that converts. You’ll find out what pages you must have and what you really don’t need. Start building that coveted email list or start selling that e-book.
Just the facts. No coding. No extra BS you don’t need to know.
Tell self-doubt to go eff itself, because you’ve got nothing to lose.
And remember this, friend – nobody every found the key to happiness in their cubicle.
Love,
Shannon
