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I’m 100% Self-Employed – My Plans For the Future

Last Updated: BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 132 Comments

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Hey everyone! Some of you were wondering where I was yesterday.

Well, I was recovering from all of the craziness after #FinCon13. I still can’t believe how awesome it was, and I learned many things that I want to apply to my work.

For anyone who is thinking about going to FinCon in 2014, I definitely think you should go. I feel dumb for skipping the past couple of years, when I clearly should have gone.

The networking alone is one reason for why you should go, and the sessions are equally amazing as well. PT did a great job planning FinCon! And Ashley Jacobs is a great rapper.

I met so many awesome people. Seriously, the list goes on forever. I am so happy to have met so many of you. There were a couple that I didn’t have a chance to meet who I wish I could have. Hopefully next year!

And to those of you who met me, I am so sorry that I was sick the whole conference. I’m sure everyone was sick of  hearing my raspy voice and my coughing (I was on medicine though, so I was not contagious!).

FinCon was in St. Louis this year, and I’m very happy for that. I live 15 miles from the hotel, so it didn’t take me long to get to the conference. Luckily W drove me on some days as well. It was definitely a very cheap conference for me.

One big positive of having this conference in St. Louis is that it finally brought people to the city that I live in. I truly believe that St. Louis is very underrated (there are a ton of fun things to do here in St. Louis).

I remember when it was first announced that FinCon13 would be in St. Louis, and I heard some complaints from other bloggers. It really made me sad because so many people have such a bad attitude about St. Louis. However, I had many people come up to me and tell me that they actually LOVE St. Louis after visiting. They loved the architecture, they loved the restaurants, they loved the vibe, and they loved how lively the city was when the Cardinals won.

 

I’m finally self-employed!

Yes, you read that correctly. I am finally self-employed. Some of you already know, but I haven’t announced it directly on Making Sense of Cents until right now. I will be publishing a more detailed post on this soon.

Wish me luck 🙂 There are many things that I want to work on that I learned about while at FinCon. I’m hoping that this will help me grow and make my work successful.

 

I want to start working on an eBook.

There are many reasons for why I want to start working on an eBook. I want to give something to my readers, I want to help others, and it would help me look more professional when I am trying to build my brand (see below).

I’m not saying whether this will be a free eBook or a paid one, because I’m not even sure yet. Money isn’t my main reason for an eBook because, let’s be honest, the amount of time it would take to write a quality eBook is very long and the amount of money I would most likely make is very small. Most writers say that when they average out their time with how much money they make with an eBook that it is most likely around minimum wage.

Many writers say that the main positive of writing is that it helps build your brand and makes you more professional to potential readers, clients, advertisers, and so on.

 

I want to work on building my brand.

One thing that I learned from the keynote from Jean Chatzky is that I need to work on building my brand. I’m not sure what I want to do, or how I will get there, but this is definitely on my long list of things that I need to do.

 

I need to promote more effectively.

One big mistake that I do is create content, but I don’t promote it enough. Promoting is very important, and it’s something that I really slack off in. Yes, I will tweet my article once or twice a day and post a link to the article on Facebook, but beyond that I don’t do much else.

 

Accept more interviews.

I have something to admit. I have been asked to do interviews (such as through a podcast), and I have said no. Online interviews don’t make me nervous, because I am able to think about what I am about to say and not have too much word vomit.

Luckily Jeff Rose found me and asked me yet again to let him interview me for a podcast, and I said yes. He asked me a couple of months ago but I said no – because I am a very nervous person.

I often engage in word vomit, and this is what makes me nervous about a “live” interview. That is something that I need to work on.

 

Eventually speak at FinCon.

I attended many sessions while I was at FinCon, and everyone was a great speaker. There was no one whose session I attended where I didn’t learn anything or thought they haven’t been speaking for years.

I would love to someday be able to do this. I always did good (maybe just “okay”) with speaking in classes in high school and college. However, speaking in front of a bunch of very intelligent people who I admire?

That scares the crap out of me. However, I really want to make this a goal of mine. I’m not saying that I will speak next year (AHH!), but eventually I would love to do this. If you have spoken at a conference before, how did you prepare? Were you scared at first?

 

What are your business plans for the short-term and long-term?

Did you enjoy FinCon? Are you attending next year?

 

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About Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

Michelle is the founder of Making Sense of Cents, a blog about personal finance and traveling. She discusses how her business has evolved in her side income series. She paid off $40,000 in student loans by the age of 24 mainly due to her freelancing side hustles. Click here to learn more about starting a blog!

Comments

  4. Tara @ Streets Ahead Living says

    Congrats on the full self-employment! I didn’t attend FinCon but would be interested for next year. Sounds like you had a great experience.

    Don’t be afraid about the public speaking. It can be scary at first but I’m sure you’d be great. You have so much material that would be great for conference.

    Reply

  5. jefferson @See Debt Run says

    first of all.. let me say that it was great to finally meet you. you are just as charming and sweet in person as you are here on MSOC and when you comment around the PF blog-o-sphere.

    secondly.. a huge congrats is in order for your new self-employment. i know that you have done an amazing job with marketing so far, and i do hope your story and brand continues to develop and grow!

    please keep us updated on your ebook progress.. i am wanting to start working on one myself, here at some point, and i would love to see a few updates as the project gets rolling.

    Reply

  7. Martin says

    I wish you the best of luck with self-employment, it can be a very scary thing. I really wish I could of gone to FinCon but I heard about it too late and also cannot afford it. I would love a UK version!

    Reply

  8. DC @ Young Adult Money says

    I’m so sad I missed FinCon this year, and I’m sure when I go next year I’ll look back and feel dumb for missing. I wish I could have met you and all the other awesome bloggers I talk to on a daily/weekly basis, but hopefully everyone is still in the game next year. Congrats on being self-employed! I hope you know how motivating it is for me (and others I’m sure!) to see you create a sizable online income stream. Looking forward to your ebook!

    Reply

  11. Daisy @ Prairie Eco Thrifter says

    Congrats on your self employment, Michelle! How exciting. I didn’t make it to FINCON this year and for that I am a bit sad, but maybe next year. I have been enjoying everyone’s lessons learned and recaps. I always come back from conferences feeling very inspired.

    Reply

  13. Jamie V says

    I learned about it too late, but FinCon sounds like something I’d be really interested in attending. I’ll have to look into next year! Maybe it’ll be in or near Milwaukee.. 😉 Congratulations on being completely self employed! I hope to be there some day, too. I too want to write a book..but I’d have no idea where to even begin. I know the topic, but beyond that..oh boy! In the mean time, my boyfriend and I are trying to set up our brand new travel blog (we leave for Peru on Monday so I think our asses will be put to the fire this weekend to get a first post up!), we’re each trying to start up individual blogs which we call “lifestyle blogs” because we’re not sure what aim we’ll each be taking yet (is Lifestyle an option?). We’re also thinking of selling our photography, and we’re getting into the alpaca business (we bought our fist 2 this summer!). Overall, I think we’ve got some great plans, but we’re getting stopped up by really small technical details and we’re not sure how to overcome the hurdles. We’re looking for a mentor (I guess?) and that in itself is a process. So we’re a long ways off but the seeds have been planted! Your successes make me feel optimistic about our goals. Yay!

    Reply

  14. Jean Chatzky says

    Hi Michelle,
    It sounds like you’re totally on the right track. Your strategy to write an ebook and accept more interviews sounds perfect to me. (And remember when you think about “word vomit” that at least it’s not actual vomit.) Hope to see you at FINCON next year! Jean

    Reply

  15. Lisa E. @ Lisa Vs. The Loans says

    Congrats Michelle! Your future looks bright! So excited for all you and MSOC has to offer 🙂

    Reply

  16. Michelle says

    Michelle, this is HUGE!! Congratulations on living your life the way that you want to! I am surprised that you engage in the occasional word vomit situation. You will do well, looking forward to hearing about your new adventures.

    Reply

  18. Sistergirl says

    Congrats!!! I hope to be joining you soon with being self-employed. I am trying to make money on my blog
    because of being laid off and it can be a scary move but YOU CAN DO IT!

    Reply

  19. Alicia | Jaybird Blog says

    I’ve heard time and time again the advice to do things you’re scared of–so it sounds like you’re on the right track with accepting more interviews and future speaking engagements! You have such interesting and helpful things to share, and writing is just one way to do them. Looking forward to hearing more about your self-employment. Congrats!

    Reply

  20. Kay says

    Just wanted to point out…you are still contagious while you are taking meds!!!! Meds just mask/suppress symptoms, so you are still spreading germs while you are on them, you just don’t feel as miserable while doing so. This is why germs spread so much, because people will take meds and go to work/school/wherever thinking they feel fine, while spreading their virus all around!!!

    Reply

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