Hi, my name is Carla! I have decided to start this blog as a bit of a passion project. I love helping and encouraging others, and I hope to inspire beginner bloggers and those who would like to take their blogs to the next level.
Written by: Carla at Rise and Freelance
Last updated: November 19, 2024
Hi, my name is Carla! I have decided to start this blog as a bit of a passion project. I love helping and encouraging others, and I hope to inspire beginner bloggers and those who would like to take their blogs to the next level.
I am excited to launch this blog because I find blogging to be an enjoyable way for me to express myself, and I’d also like to see how far I can take this project in a business sense.
Over the past 20 years, I have tried various forms of making a little extra money on the side. From blogging, which was more of a personal interest of mine than business, to social media marketing, freelancing and small side hustles, I have gained a lot of experience that I think will benefit others.
I’m hoping to share my experiences with you through this blogging journey. I know I’ll learn a plethora of “do’s” and “don’t’s” while I work through the process of setting up my blog, my website, socials and affiliations.
I’m excited to meet those of you who decided to engage with my content. I love meeting new people, and I hope that my content encourages some of you as you work through your own journeys. I would love to hear from you and hear about your journeys as well.
There are five categories that I will be focusing on to start – blogging, social media marketing, work from home, freelancing, and side hustles. These are the categories that I have experience with, and I am looking forward to sharing those experiences with you.
Blogging …
As an elder millennial born just on the Gen X cusp, I have grown up with technology. I recall blogging in the early 2000’s being so simple and exciting. Any of us could start a blog on Blogger, and share anything we wanted – our hobbies, our passions, our families – the options were endless, and we weren’t worried about monetizing in any way.
I dabbled in a few little blogging endeavors in the early to mid 2000s – I had a blog dedicated to my young family’s life at the time. I basically just shared the adventures we went on, the food we ate. It was a very early version of a lifestyle blog. I had a blog for travel. Travel is a passion of mine and was my major in college. I even had a blog dedicated to my love of plants – I am slightly obsessed. All my blogs were very unsophisticated, but they were little passion projects, and I enjoyed the little corner I had carved out for myself on the internet to share with family and friends.
Social Media Marketing …
With the rise of various social media platforms, blogging seemed to take a back seat as I dedicated time to my personal social media accounts. I like the micro aspect of sharing on socials, but it’s not quite as fulfilling to me as the storytelling and planning that occur on a blog. Though, don’t get me wrong, we cannot underestimate the power of incredible social media management and the ways we tell our stories today.
In the early years of social media marketing, I was given the opportunity to manage the social media accounts of a couple of schools and school district offices that I worked for. I actually really loved figuring out algorithms, the best times to post, and a little bit of SEO.
Work from home …
For as long as I can remember I’ve had the desire to earn an income from home. It’s not that I don’t enjoy some aspects of spending my days in an office, it’s just that I yearn for the freedom that a more equal work/life balance would provide.
Nearly 20 years ago, I attempted to start a career in virtual assisting. I paid for a course that came via post mail. It wasn’t really a course in that there was no assessing of my knowledge and skills, but I did receive a thin coil-bound book that listed tips that guaranteed would launch my virtual assisting career. It didn’t. And instead of spending more time at home with my then-young children, I ended up working even more outside of my home, and giving up on my work from home dreams.
Freelancing …
As much as I have needed to work a full-time job these past several years, I have dabbled in freelancing here and there on the side. I have a strong background in administration, social media management and bookkeeping, so there is work to be found. I have signed up as a member of various marketplaces, such as Upwork, and I have done some side projects by word-of-mouth references.
The Side Hustle …
I feel like “The Side Hustle” is such a normal thing now for people. Much more than it was several years ago. With soaring food and housing prices, having a little extra income on the side has been somewhat of a necessity for a lot of people. I have explored many different side hustles to make a few dollars here and there.
There is always the option to find side hustles online, but there are also plenty of opportunities offline as well. The trick is to find the “legit” offers, and to find opportunities that fit in with the rest of your life.
I think one of my favourite side hustles has been pet sitting. I love animals, so it didn’t feel like a “job” to take care of furry and feathery friends when their “parents” were out of town. That said, there are a lot of factors to consider when pet-sitting, and it is important to set yourself up for success before taking any jobs.
My new passion project …
As I mentioned above, this is a passion project for me to be able to share my experiences via my blog. I am going to be writing a series called “My Blogging Journey” as I initially set up my blog and everything that comes with starting a new project or business.
I will be covering the following topics in this series:
Choosing a niche for my blog
Selecting a name for my blog
Blogging platforms
Web hosting companies
Creating a website
Creating social accounts
Affiliate marketing
Social media marketing
Planning content
Creating Newsletters
Side Hustle options
And more
My intention is to take this seriously as a business, so I plan to post weekly and communicate with the freelance and blogging communities throughout the weeks.
I hope you’ll join me on my blogging journey. I can’t wait to share and help others while growing my own blog.